Classic rock is a genre ofmusicthat has a significant number of varying angles within its history to study. There are the songsthat helped rock bands or artists make it bigand become “classic” in the first place, and the tracks that are irreparably changed in transformational waysby placement on the live stage.Classic rock is so versatile and wide-rangingthat it even has its own roster of immediately available and at once iconic list of tunesto shake up a night of singing karaoke.
One observation that doesn’t come up very often, however,is the length of great classic rock songs. It’s easy to get lost in the long exploratory jams, or the 3-4-minute fare that’s as connective within the genre as vital muscle tissue, but what about those brief segue tracks that are two minutes or less? Moments that stick around long enough to create a feeling or make a statement that keeps listeners on the hook? They can be as foundational as early rock and roll, rough around the edges, or poetic as a folk song.
10Elvis Presley, All Shook Up (Single, 1957)
A Swinging Country Sway
Elvis Presley released the Otis Blackwell-composed song “All Shook Up” in 1957, becoming one of the earliest recording artists to do so.The track was a major success in Presley’s lengthy catalog, topping the country and R&B charts for a time while also eventually going double platinum.
Much like many other rock and roll pioneers of the ’50s era, Presley had more than a few early songsthat functioned well within a two-minute or less time structure. The format would become less common as the decades moved forward, but Presley had a knack for a quick love song like “All Shook Up.” Shaking and quaking within a well-honed country rock beat, Presley radiates a cool, yearning swagger that, even in his earliest days, made him worthy of the singular title of Elvis.
9The Beatles, I’ll Follow The Sun (Beatles For Sale, 1964)
Some Early McCartney Magic
“I’ll Follow The Sun” was a Paul McCartney composition issued by his band The Beatles in 1964 in the UK on their albumBeatles for Sale, as well as in the United States onBeatles ‘65. Credited under the famous Lennon-McCartney songwriting umbrella, it was one of the duo’s earliest original compositions (with McCartney claiming to have written it at 16 years old).
While it won’t be said that “I’ll Follow The Sun” rivals the later reach of the league of style and exploration that The Beatles would eventually evolve into as a group, the song shows that McCartney already had a knack for pop-rock balladry even early on. The track has emotional sentiment, structure, and a sense of maturitywell beyond the group’s fledgling years at that point. “I’ll Follow The Sun” was a few bright rays of the dawn that was yet to come for The Beatles.
8Simon & Garfunkel, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, And Thyme, 1966)
A Fast Folk Way To Slow Down
Written by Paul Simon for the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel’s 1966 LPParsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)“references New York City’s Queensboro Bridge, which runs between the area’s boroughs of Queens and Manhattan. The song coincides with the architectural structure, as it feels like a brief, yet catchy journey between two points, all narrated by Simon and the ever-reliable Art Garfunkel.
“The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)” is a jazzy, bouncing slice of charm that doesn’t have an overarching amount of concern or care for the world or the subtext beneath it. There arejust sweet harmonies, happy feelings, and the pleasure of simply enjoying the road. There’s so much wonderful to be said in reveling in the pleasure of what lies ahead, brought on by rolling wheels or the simple time kept by your own walking feet.
7Warren Zevon, Frozen Notes (Excitable BoyOuttake, 1978)
An Outstanding Anthology Cut
Initially an unreleased outtake from Warren Zevon’s 1978 albumExcitable Boy, “Frozen Notes,” was finally given an official release in 1996 on Zevon’sI’ll Sleep When I’m Deadanthology (with a version featuring strings put out on a laterExcitable Boydeluxe release). A trackonce labeled as an afterthoughtshowed a lot of life when it finally got to see the light of day.
“Frozen Notes” is a brief piano-led ballad accented by those strings that play so eloquently into Zevon’s aching exterior, put on full display here. By the time the song hits the full crescendo, you feel the desperation within and how Zevon has painted a picture where nothing but loneliness and loss has taken hold of him. Perhaps the musician felt like “Frozen Notes"was an incomplete thought due to how brief it is, but it feels right, exactly as if it was always meant to be this way.
6Bo Diddley, Gunslinger (Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, 1960)
A Cowboy’s Rebel Rocker
“Gunslinger” is the track that inspired both the title and Western outlaw cover motif of early rock and roller Bo Diddley’s 1960 albumBo Diddley Is a Gunslinger. The persona seems fitting, as Diddley’s established status as one of the initial shapers of the rock and roll genrefeels a lot like the maverick nature of the Doc Holliday of his time.
Backed by one of his rhythmic, chonking, trademark Diddley beats, Diddley takes on the nature of a gunslinger, with a dead-eye sense of rock and roll rhythm and an unmatched sense of style and approach. Diddleywas an unflappable statesman of the six-string sound, and “Gunslinger” feels like an introduction to the character he embodied so well.
5Cowboy Junkies, Mining For Gold (The Trinity Session, 1988)
A Chilling Traditional For The Working Class
Canadian alternative country band the Cowboy Junkies released a gorgeous statement to the power of brittle, vulnerable roots-rock with the rollout of their second album, 1988’sThe Trinity Session. Led by a reimagined cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and the stunning originals “200 More Miles” and “Misguided Angel,“The Trinity Sessionis buoyedby the stirring prayer that is the a cappella introduction of “Mining for Gold.”
Embodied by nothing more than the lilting haunt of lead singer Margo Timmins' echoing, evocative voice, “Mining for Gold” is a traditional song in the vein of “Dark as the Dungeon,“with an equal sense of tragic rumination for the fate of the mine worker.“Mining for Gold” not only serves as a perfect segue to this album’s material but sets the mood in such a shivering, solemn, staggering way that feels entirely unexpected in the best way.
4Buddy Holly, That’ll Be The Day (Single, 1957)
Another Jump Start To Rock And Roll
With a more abbreviated version that’s under two minutes on the live stage (as in the clip above), Buddy Holly had a tangled history with his song “That’ll Be The Day.” Initially recorded in 1956, his record label at the time refused to release the track, disliking Holly’s two prior singles. After re-recording it with his new band, the Crickets, in 1957, Holly went on to not only have a major hit but also a songthat’s considered significant to rock and roll’s development.
Holly’s lyrical theme on “That’ll Be The Day” would be one reflected throughout songwriting to come, with love, the concept of heartache, and not being able to go on if the one you cared so much about was gone. Of course, given that Holly would die tragically young in a plane crash not long after this period of time, “That’ll Be The Day” sounds oddly prophetic,like a day that actually wound up coming true, just not for him.
3Janis Joplin, Mercedes Benz (Pearl, 1971)
A Statement Of ’60s Philosophy
“Mercedes Benz” is an a cappella song written by Janis Joplin along with songwriter Bob Neuwirth and San Francisco beat poet Michael McClure that was released on her 1971 albumPearl. The bluesy number showcasing the raw, raspy voice Joplin was so known for was part of the final set of songs she recorded,put to tape just a few days before her untimely demise.
On the surface, “Mercedes Benz” lyrically feels like it’s coming from the perspective of a narrator whose only wish is to be rewarded with more prosperity in her life. The truth lying beneath, however, was thatthe desire for more consumerism and material gains was only leading to more and more sadness, giving “Mercedes Benz” a ’60s hippie-leaning rejection of such ideas being associated with positivity. Joplin’s voice tingles with the emotion that gives the track a type of power few others could ever match.
2Van Halen, Eruption (Van Halen, 1978)
An Axis-Pushing Instrumental Piece
“Eruption” is an instrumental song that only exists in the recorded catalog of rock group Van Halen purely by chance,as it began as a warmupthat guitarist Eddie Van Halen would use before the band played live. It wasn’t initially considered for Van Halen’s self-titled 1978 debut album, but after producer Ted Templeman heard Van Halen play it in-studio on the guitar, he decided to include “Eruption” as part of the tracklist.
The instrumental not only grew and expanded its legend as it became more and more of its own animal on the live stage, butit also popularized the technique of two-handed tappingas part of overall guitar-playing style. “Eruption” is not only a fine lead-in to the group’s cover of the Kinks' “You Really Got Me” on the LP, but also sets the world on fire by demonstrating just how much of a beast on those six strings that Eddie Van Halen really was.
1Cat Stevens, The Wind (Teaser And The Firecat, 1971)
A Loving Little Folk Tune
Used as an introduction to Cat Stevens' 1971 fifth studio album,Teaser and the Firecat, “The Wind” is a track that is so perfectly and essentiallywhat has always been so charming about Stevens' music. A form of a message statement to the artist in under two minutes that’s both so peaceful and low stakes.
“The Wind” feels like a summary of the journey Stevens has taken to find truth, his identity, and the trip he has taken as a human being. Those seem like such grand and far-reaching notions that would require paragraphs of explanation and time to determine in full, but with a guitar, his voice, and just a handful of words, Stevens makes “The Wind"a grand little slice of perfect appetizer completion.
