One of my all-time favorite Christmas CDs is "A Christmas Together" by John Denver & The Muppets.



Actually, scratch that. It is my all-time favorite Christmas CD.

I have listened to this CD (and before that, the record) more times than I have listened to almost any other album. (The exceptions being "5150", "The Stranger", "Gordon", "Pyromania" and "Dark Side of the Moon".)

When I was a kid, my sister had this record and we would listen to it over and over again. And every time we would listen, we would laugh at the little things that make the Muppets the classics that they are.

Gonzo: ♫ "Now bring us some figgy pudding..." ♫
Miss Piggy: "Piggy pudding."
Gonzo: "No, FIGGY pudding. It's made with figs."
Miss Piggy: "Oh."
Gonzo: (under his breath) "And bacon."
Miss Piggy: "WHAT?"

If you don't own this CD, do yourself a favor and go purchase it. You won't be disappointed.

Track Listing:

1. Twelve Days Of Christmas
2. The Peace Carol
3. Christmas Is Coming
4. A Baby Just Like You
5. Deck The Halls
6. Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913
7. The Christmas Wish
8. Medley
9. Silent Night, Holy Night
10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Let's face it. There are some songs that go against everything we hold sacred in music and yet, for some reason that can't be explained, we listen to them on a regular basis.

For instance, "Larger Than Life" by the Backstreet Boys.

I know that the Boys are nothing but high-paid karaoke stars, yet whenever I hear this song, I crank it up to full volume and sing along like I'm one of them.

Which reminds me of a story.

When I was a DJ at a local bar here in Salt Lake (yes, Salt Lake has bars), there was a Metalhead regular that complained that I didn't play enough Metallica. (Gee, I don't know why. It's so easy to dance to "Master of Puppets".)

At the time, the Backstreet Boys were one of the top requests I would get every night. Whenever I played "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)", this guy would jump around on the dance floor like he was having a seizure.

And the guy wasn't even drunk.

I can't explain it, nor can I explain why I have this urge to listen to the extremely foul & fairly talentless Insane Clown Posse.

I'm sure you all feel the same way with your guilty pleasures.

Rob - the same guy who had an Ozzy-inspired upside cross on his Levi jacket in the previous post - put the following on his list:

• Barry Manilow
• John Denver

Don't feel bad, Rob. I think deep down inside of everyone, there's a little bit of Barry Manilow. How could there not be? Early in his career he wrote television jingles - "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there", "You deserve a break today" "I am stuck on a Band-Aid". For a television jingle to be effective, it needs to stick in your head for years. For this reason, it's only natural that we sing out "Looks Like We Made It" or "Copacabana" on occasion.

In fact, out of the fifteen people that responded to my email asking for guilty pleasures, thirteen of them mentioned Barry. The other two were just afraid to admit it.

Right there with Barry is a whole slew of girl bands: Go-Go's, Bananarama, Spice Girls, Pussycat Dolls and The Bangles.

And how could we forget The Veronicas?

RadioActive Jam - who happens to be a grandpa - is almost bragging when he talks about The Veronicas on his blog. Here is what he wrote to me:

I can honestly say I've listened to their CD more than any other album in my life. Which I think is weird, and maybe a little scary but harmless just the same. It's not that they're the world's most awesome band, though they *are* good; I don't really know why I listened to them day after day, for months.

With the girl bands, solo acts like Britney, Christina, Mandy and Jessica all have closet fans.

Another very popular type of music that was mentioned by most of you was 80's Hair Spray Rock:

• Poison
• Warrant
• Ratt
• Cinderella
• Twisted Sister
• Whitesnake
• Quiet Riot
• Bon Jovi

I think the love for guilty pleasures is the only explanation why the "Macarena" was Number One on the Billboard charts for FOURTEEN WEEKS!

At least, I hope that's the reason.

The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar. -Jimi Hendrix

Once I picked up an electric guitar, I lost interest in piano, and I just wanted to rock. - Juliana Hatfield

There are a lot of legends and folklore in rock music:

• Ozzy threw puppies out to audience members and told them to kill them or there wouldn't be a show
  
• Marilyn Manson is the goofy-looking kid from "The Wonder Years"...or was it the kid from "Mr. Belvedere"?
• Elvis Presley - and 2Pac Shakur - are still alive

One of the most famous stories told is about guitarist Robert Johnson. According to legend, Johnson met up with the devil at the crossroads one night and sold his soul to learn to play the guitar. (This is referenced in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou and slightly tweaked for the Charlie Daniels hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia.")

Whether it's true or not is not important. The simple fact that there is a man that may have actually sold his soul to learn to play guitar is fascinating. I think it speaks volumes about what kind of affect guitar rock has on all of us.

The band that made me want to be in a rock band was Def Leppard. (See the story here.) In fact, Def Leppard was the reason I started doing this "Why We Love Music" series in the first place. Their CD, Yeah!, which contains covers of all the different glam rockers of the 70's inspired me. In the liner notes - one of the many reasons why you should still buy CDs instead of just downloading MP3 - the boys in Def Lep tell the reasons behind each song they covered. As a self-described music geek, I ate this up and decided to see what songs have truly inspired regular people.

And guitar rock is one of those inspirations.

I remember, as a kid, watching old TV clips of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I remember seeing the girls scream and faint and cry. I thought then, "Why are they crying? Those girls are whacked!"

Years later I was at a Van Halen concert. When the lights went down to signal the concert was about to begin, the crowd went nuts. Lights flashed on the stage as Alex Van Halen sat at his drums and Michael Anthony - with his Jack Daniels-shaped bass guitar - took his place on stage.

Just then, a lone guitar wailed. Before I could catch my breath, Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar both came running out from opposite sides of the stage - both playing the guitar intro to Sammy's "Only One Way to Rock."

I screamed like a little girl and had to hold the tears back.

Thom wrote the following:

VH was my first big rock infatuation. The musicianship coupled with the showmanship totally blew my 14-year-old mind.

Brett wrote:

Isn’t it amazing how a familiar tune can change the whole perspective of a day? Just like smelling just the right combination of flowers and fresh air takes me back to playing in the fields behind my house as a kid, I can’t hear "Hot for Teacher" without deep-seated memories of high school returning in full detail. Memories that took years of counseling to remove in the first place, I might add.

Aleisha had this to say:

I remember watching the "Hot for Teacher" video on MTV. Maybe that is why I am teaching now.

But it's not all about Van Halen. Many of you have written to me and informed me that groups like AC/DC, Rush, Aerosmith and Styx have had some sort of influence on you. Also mentioned were guitar players like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Steve Stevens, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Randy Rhoads.

Randy Rhoads - for those that don't know - was Ozzy's guitar player after he left Black Sabbath. (NOTE: Randy also formed the group Quiet Riot.) The team of Ozzy & Randy was one of the best, arguably ranking up there with Page/Plant, Jagger/Richards, Tyler/Perry.

Alan wrote to me:

The first time I heard "Crazy Train", I felt like I had been hit in the stomach by something powerful.

Rob said this about Ozzy:

Ozzy carried me through the angry teen years with style. I got in plenty of trouble putting a lighted LED upside down cross into my jacket. I was also busted for carving out a math book to hide a walkman and speakers in and cranking "Shot in the Dark" in back of the bleachers.

Guitar has such an amazing effect on people. I mean, as far as I know, it's the only instrument that officially has an air equivalent.



Although, I do admit that I play a mean "dashboard piano" while I'm listening to Billy Joel's "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" in the car, but that's for another post.

As most of you know, I'm a DJ. It's what I've wanted to do since I was kid. There were many DJs that I would say influenced me to follow this dream - which is a topic by itself - but I would dare say that Dr. Demento is towards the top of that list.



I loved to listen to the Dr. Demento Show. Every Sunday night at 10:00 - one hour after I was supposed to be asleep - I would grab my portable radio with headphones and tune in to Rock 103.

The DJ who was going off the air would read the following advisory:

"Dr. Demento is a nationally syndicated show. The management and advertisers of Rock 103 do not necessarily sanction or promote the material contained in the Dr. Demento Show."

At that point, the Doctor himself would say, "Good evening..." and I would hunker down under the covers and prepare for two hours of hilarious songs and comedians.

I was not the only kid at school doing this. Every Monday morning at school, you could tell which kids stayed up until Midnight to hear the "Funny Five".

People like Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer and Alan Sherman all became part of my regular listening.

And then there was Weird Al Yankovic.



For many, Weird Al is synonymous with parody. There is no one in the business that does a better parody - most of the time with the original artist's blessing - than Weird Al.

When Al was thinking about doing a parody of Nirvana's "Smell Like Team Spirit", he asked Kurt Cobain if he could do it.

"Is it about food?" asked Cobain.
"No, it's about how your lyrics are hard to understand," replied Al.
"Cool," said Cobain

When I asked you to send in your influences, Weird Al made the list more than groups like The Beatles or Led Zeppelin.

Thom (AKA Stabbim), bass player from the band Sons of Nothing, wrote the following:

The first album I ever bought with my own money was Al's In 3-D. He hit at just the right time and in just the right way to completely hook me, and to this day still has my undying fan loyalty.

He's also, as I was not to find out until over a decade after first becoming a fan of his music, one of the best Rock & Roll frontmen I have ever seen. Seriously. That someone so fantastically talented deliberately makes a living by creating such silly, whimsical art instead of taking themselves or life all that seriously puts what I do to shame, and always will.

Trav the Movie Man - a sort of "Rain Man" when it comes to movies - had this to say about Weird Al:

Dare to Be Stupid is the only Weird Al tape I ever had to replace from wearing it out. This became the tape I would play billions of times in my walkman at night while on long overnight roadtrips while my dad drove across Indian reservations, Kansas, and the like.

Mike, a mime/stand-up comedian, had this to say:

The first time I saw the "Eat It" video, I knew that I wanted to do something like that for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I can't sing, but I'll be damned if I didn't try a number of times.

But it's not just Weird Al that has fans' undying love. I did an All-Request show on the radio and I would say about 75% of the requests were for songs like "The Streak" by Ray Stevens, "Spiders & Snakes" by Jim Stafford, "Leader of the Laundromat" by the Detergents and of course, "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry. (FACT: The only Number One hit by Chuck Berry was...you guessed it..."My Ding-A-Ling" in 1972.)

Yep, novelty songs have a place in music history. They can have an influence on people just as much as anything else.

And not just for 12-year-old boys sitting under their covers listening to Dr. Demento.

I am a self-described music geek. It started back with Sesame Street. I loved to sing along with Cookie Monster as he taught us that "C is for Cookie".

That's good enough for me.

My older siblings all were into music. I used to borrow their records and sit in my room and listen to them on my Fisher Price record player.



In 1979, I asked for a tape recorder for Christmas.



Along with that, I received two cassette tapes: the Muppet Movie Soundtrack from my brother, Martin and the Grease Soundtrack from my sister, Barbara.

I listened to those tapes all the time. I knew every song in it's entirety. I knew how long of a space was between each song. I listened to them so many times that I had to replace them both long before the invention of CDs.

And then there was Billy Joel's The Stranger. My oldest brother, Bob, listened to Billy Joel all the time and he had two copies of The Stranger on vinyl, so he gave me one. (I think the one he gave me was from an old girlfriend, but I wasn't going to complain.)

By that time, my stereo had been upgraded to a Sears brand record player/tape player/AM FM Radio.

I wore that record out.

A few years later for Christmas, my grandma decided to give me some money instead of socks. I was so excited because I already knew what I was going to buy with it: Def Leppard's Pyromania.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I walked into Disc Jockey Records with ten bucks in my hand and found both the cassette and vinyl of Pyromania. I remember trying to figure out which one I was going to buy and decided to go with the vinyl because, I argued, vinyl outlived 8-Track tapes and they would probably outlive cassettes also.

(A few years later, after wearing out the vinyl, I purchased Pyromania on cassette...TWICE...and then finally on CD. It still is the only album that I have on vinyl, tape & CD.)

My music collection has grown drastically since then. At last count, I own over 5,000 CDs and I haven't even counted my records and tapes for years.



So what is this all about? Why am I telling you all this?

For the next few weeks, I am going to do some serious writing about why we love music.

• What is it about music that causes us to get up and move?
• What is it about classic rock that causes grown men to play air guitar?
• What is it about music that we grew up with that makes it so much better than today's music?

These are the things that I'm going to be writing about. But a lot more than that.

I'm asking you, the reader, to send in your feelings and ideas.

What kind of music inspires you and why? If you were being interviewed on MTV as a famous rock star, who would you say were your major influences?

I want to hear from you. Email me at musicinmypants at gmail dot com

I'm not trying to start arguments about who the greatest bands of all-time are, nor am I asking for you to try to convince me of the greatness of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I just want to know your feelings and thoughts on music.

I think this is gonna be great.

Tomorrow, I will be turning 35. I don't really have any feelings about it one way or the other, I just see it as another birthday.

I have, however, decided to make a list of 35 Songs from every year I've been alive. I will post these periodically throughout the year, until I am able to find 35 songs in 2007.

Oh yeah, just so you know, these songs are not what I consider to be the Greatest Songs of that Year. What it does contain is my history; songs that were influential to me for a variety of reasons or songs that just bring back good memories.

I have tried to include the reasons why each song is included on the list, but some songs are on there just because I like them.

One more thing. The songs that I picked for each year are based on a number of factors including Billboard charts, rock encyclopedias, album release dates, single release dates and certain websites. I have tried to put the songs in the correct years, but some may be a year off. I'm only saying this because I know someone out there is going to try to correct me. So before you waste your time, don't.

Now without any further ado, let's star with...

1972

The year I was born. A lot of great songs were released in 1972. Granted, it took me a few years before I started to recognize the songs, but once I started listening to music, I never stopped.

A Horse With No Name by America

I didn't know it when it came out, but this would eventually be the first song I would ever learn to play on the guitar.

American Pie by Don McLean

I didn't know Buddy Holly when I first heard this song. Granted, I had probably heard a few of his songs, but I had no idea who he was and what an influence to musicians he was at the time.

Even when I heard "American Pie" I had no idea it was about Buddy Holly, but I did know that whoever Don McLean was singing about, meant something to him.

This eight and half minute epic needs to be read to be fully understood. Check out Jim Fann's interpretation of American Pie. It's quite extensive.

Burning Love by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was the King from March 1956 until about October 1962, with 17 Number One Hits. Then music started to change. The English bands were starting to make themselves known and the Beatles were ready to take the world by storm.

Ten years later, an older, more mature Elvis hit the charts - Number 2 - with a song called "Burning Love". It would be his final Top Ten hit, but it just proved that the King was not dead.

Five years later, when he passed away, I was five-years-old. I didn't know a lot about him at the time, but I knew that the world lost a King.

Changes by David Bowie

I have to admit, my introduction to David Bowie was "Under Pressure". Sure, I knew that he sang songs before that, but the first time I actually remember putting a name to the voice was on "Under Pressure". (Hey, it could be worse. I could know him as the guy in Labyrinth.)

Anyway, after hearing that song, I decided to check out the rest of his songs, I just didn't know where to start.

I listened to a classic rock station at the time (Rock 103!) and I would call them and ask them to play Bowie. (Believe it or not, there was a time in radio where you could actually request songs.) I didn't have any song titles, I just wanted to hear anything by the man, because I figured the DJ would pick the best stuff.

The song that I heard was "Changes" and the DJ (Barry Moll, I think) said "Here's some requested David Bowie." I listened closely because I felt that I owed it to the DJ.

I was totally blown away!

Not only with the song, but the fact that I called a radio station and the guy played a song for me.

That was my first step in wanting to work in radio for a living.

Could it Be I’m Falling In Love by The Spinners



Day After Day by Badfinger

I think it's fair to say that Badfinger had one of the worst runs of bad luck than any other band in rock music. (Def Leppard comes close, though.)

In 1970, Pete Ham & Tom Evans wrote a song called "Without You". That song would - two years later - become a Number One hit for Harry Nilsson (see below) and later, a Number Three Hit for Mariah Carey.

About the same time, their group, Badfinger, was one of the first groups to sign on the Beatles' Apple label.

From there, luck kept going their way. They helped John Lennon on his Imagine album, Paul McCartney asked them to sing a song for the Peter Sellers movie, The Magic Christian, they had three singles hit the Top Ten, with George Harrison produced "Day After Day" breaking the Top Five.

Yep, everything was going perfect.

Then they realized that Apple was going under. The band signed a contract with Warner Bros., but their songs were on the Apple label. After the Apple label went under, the royalties of their songs were tied up in legal matters, costing the band thousands of dollars.

By 1974, they were in debt and the lawyers were still working out the situation. Pete Ham, seeing that he would never get anything he had coming to him, hung himself in April 1975.

The troubles for the surviving band members continued until November 1983, when Tom Evans hanged himself, also.

The band will never know how much of an influence they had a guy in Salt Lake City, Utah. They would have no idea that, when he was trying to get his child to sleep, he would sometimes sing:

I remember holding you while you sleep
Everyday I feel the tears that you weep
Looking out of my lonely gloom day after day
Bring it home baby make it soon
I give my love to you

Do It Again by Steely Dan

STUPID FACT: One of the early versions of this band was called "The Leather Canary". The drummer at this time was actor Chevy Chase.

Steely Dan is one of those bands that people often confuse as being a person.

"Steely Dan? Yeah, I love his songs."

The simple fact of the matter is, there's not even a Dan in the group. There's a Donald (Fagen) and a Walter (Becker), but no Steely and no Dan. (Truth is, they got their name from a book called "Naked Lunch".)

Do It Again was their first big hit. I don't know if I have any big memories with this song except that whenever I hear it on the radio, my stereo is turned up and suddenly I am singing my guts out with the band.

Eric the Half a Bee by Monty Python

I love Monty Python. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this skit/song. In fact, I go by the name of "Eric Chase" on one of the radio stations I work for and I use this quite a bit.

Do yourself a favor, find this - complete with the skit that precedes the song - and laugh until your sides hurt.

Everything I Own by Bread

My brother played guitar. I remember back when I was younger that he used to play a lot of Cat Stevens, James Taylor, John Denver and Bread.

He probably played a lot more, but those are the artists that I associate with his guitar-playing.

The lyrics of "Everything I Own" are amazing. While a lot of people use it as their wedding song, it was actually written - according to David Gates - for his dad after he had passed away.

This is one of the few songs that I've been trying to teach my daughters to like so they will choose it as the "Daddy/Daughter" dance at their weddings.

About 35 years from now.

Heart of Gold by Neil Young

Hold Your Head Up by Argent

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash

I liked this song long before they used it in the opening scene of Grosse Pointe Blank, but that sealed the deal.

I'll Take You There by Staple Singers

Joy by Apollo 100

Layla by Derek and The Dominos


Lean On Me by Bill Withers

Let’s Stay Together by Al Green

I almost feel like this list was picked after I watched a Tarantino festival.

If I had could only pick 18 songs to be on burned compilation CD, and then that CD would be the only CD I would ever own, you better believe that this song would be on there.

Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) by The Hollies

I always thought this was Creedence Clearwater Revival. In fact, when I was 13 or 14, I bought the Creedence Chronicles cassette tape from Columbia House Record Club, assuming that it would include this song. Needless to say, I was very disappointed when I didn't find it on the cassette.

Never Been To Spain by Three Dog Night

The only reason I even started liking this song is because I heard Elvis sing it on the Madison Square Garden concert.

STUPID FACT: This song was written by Hoyt Axton, who also wrote "Joy to the World". His mom, Mae Axton, co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel."

Nights In White Satin by Moody Blues

When I was younger, I used to listen to a morning radio show called "Jon & Dan". They used to play a fake commercial called "Arnold Sings the Beatles."

In the commercial - a parody of K-Tel ads where they sell useless compilations - the announcer would talk and then you'd hear an Arnold impersonator singing along with the Beatles.

It continued to say that if you called now, you'd also get "Arnold Sings the Doobies" and "Arnold Sings the Moody Blues."

At that point, the Arnold would say "Breathe deep the gathering gloom, Watch lights fade from every room".

Every time I heard it, I would laugh.

Oh Girl by The Chi-Lites

Peaceful, Easy Feeling by The Eagles

When I was teaching myself to play the guitar - the thirteenth time - I really wanted to learn this song. I kept getting stuck on the chord where it says, "I got a peaceful, easy feeling." I would play the chord and sing, "I got a pea..." and then I would screw-up the chord and go back. "I got a pea..."


About this time, I noticed that my wife was laughing. I had been so focused on trying to get the chord, I had no idea why she was laughing."Why do you keep saying that you gotta pee?" she asked.

I still can't listen to this song without thinking of that.

Rocket Man by Elton John


Rocky Mountain High by John Denver

A lot of my music influence comes from my older brothers & sister. My sister loved John Denver almost as much as she loved Barry Manilow.

While there are plenty of John Denver songs that I can honestly say I love, this is probably my all-time favorite.

Saturday In The Park by Chicago

School’s Out by Alice Cooper


Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple



Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin

One of my favorite parts in Wayne's World was when Wayne went to the guitar store to check out "Excalibur", the Fender strat that he had his eye on.

As he was about to break into song, the clerk points to a sign that says "No Stairway to Heaven."

Wayne looks at the camera and says, "No Stairway. Denied."

I think every guy who has ever picked up a guitar laughed at that, knowing that we all learned to play guitar for one simple reason: To play "Stairway to Heaven."

Interesting Fact: This song never hit the Top 40 in the United States, yet if you ask most people to name a Led Zeppelin song, this would be the one they would name.

Stuck in the Middle by Stealers Wheel

Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty were a duo known as Stealers Wheel when they recorded this Dylanesque, pop, bubble-gum favorite...as K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies continues."

I liked this song even before it showed up in Reservoir Dogs. I think my first attraction to it was because the group's name was "Stealers Wheel" and being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, that made me want to like them.

But the song is quite catchy and I also am a big fan of Rafferty's work. ("Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line" will be on later lists.)

Superstition by Stevie Wonder

It's a trip, it's got a funky beat and I can bug out to it!

Taxi by Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin is one of the greatest storytelling songwriters of all-time. Unlike a lot of songs that are a bunch of words put together in a poetic form, Harry's songs have a beginning, a middle and an end.

Interesting thing about this song. I never really loved it until I went to see Mandy Patinkin in concert. Sure, I had heard it many times before that, but I didn't actually listen to this song until I was sitting there, listening to Mandy tell the story of two former lovers that meet again later in life.

The Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show

Let's be honest here. Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show were not what you'd call "magazine cover worthy."



But I think that is what makes this song work. Well, that and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics that mock a lot of the stupid things the artists of the 60's were doing.

Even though this song was released in 1972, it didn't actually hit the charts until February 1973. One month later, the band finally made the cover of Rolling Stone.

(Stupid Fact: This song was written by children's poet Shel Silverstein. Shel also wrote "A Boy Named Sue" which was made famous by Johnny Cash.)

Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed

I had heard this song quite a few times on the classic rock station that I used to listen to, but I never really got into it until it was used on a commercial for the Honda Scooter.

Without You by Nilsson

We're going to pretend that this is the only version of this song that you have ever heard. As far as we're concerned, Mariah Carey never sang it and Air Supply definitely didn't sing it.

(I will, however, give credit to Heart, but that's just because I wanted to marry Ann or Nancy when I was younger.)

You Don’t Mess Around With Jim by Jim Croce

Like so many before him, Jim Croce died before he could really become a star. And also - like many before him - his death was due to a plane crash.

Four simple rules are found in this song:

1. Don't tug on Superman's cape
2. Don't spit into the wind
3. Don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
4. Don't mess around with Jim

Whenever I hear this song on the "Oldies" station, I find myself singing along.

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I first heard this album when I was on my mission.

I know. A missionary listening to G-N-R is blasphemy, but I really couldn't help it. It was played everywhere we went. There was a Saturday TV show in Chile called "Sabado Tequila". Basically it was like "Friday Night Videos" that I had grown up with. The show would play the most popular music videos every week. The big echoed voice of the host could be heard every Saturday afternoon from almost every house that we visited.

It was on "Sabado Tequila" that I first saw the "November Rain" video.

Now, I had liked Guns N' Roses before that, but after hearing that song, G-N-R made me an even bigger fan.

Electric guitars + an orchestra = Classic

(Of course, having Stephanie Seymour in the music video was also a selling point.)

Now, there are two volumes of "Use Your Illusion" but this one is my favorite. Not only does it include the previously mentioned "November Rain", it has a cover of Paul McCartney's "Live & Let Die" (you know I'm a sucker for covers), a cameo appearance by Alice Cooper on "The Garden", the original version of "Don't Cry" and a break-up song called "You Ain't the First" which includes these classic lyrics:

You was just a temporary lover
Honey you ain't the first
Lots of others came before you woman
Said but you been the worst

And then there's the very Black Sabbath-esque "Coma". Easily one of the best songs in this band's library.



Track Listing

1. "Right Next Door to Hell"
2. "Dust N' Bones"
3. "Live and Let Die"
4. "Don't Cry (Original)"
5. "Perfect Crime"
6. "You Ain't The First"
7. "Bad Obsession"
8. "Back Off Bitch"
9. "Double Talkin' Jive"
10. "November Rain"
11. "The Garden" (featuring Alice Cooper)
12. "Garden Of Eden"
13. "Don't Damn Me"
14. "Bad Apples"
15. "Dead Horse"
16. "Coma"


Tayster's Rating (Out of Four):