Led Zeppelin - 50 Personal Favorites (Part 1 of 5)

Well, It's not been easy narrowing down and ranking so many Led Zep songs ...
So please bear with me cos this is my 50 personal favorites ...
Unswayed and uninfluenced by how other fans might have ranked theirs elsewhere
I will break them down by the 10s to create more excitement and anticipation as to what and how my Top 50 Led Zep songs have turned out to be
So feel free to comment or perhaps even post your own Led Zep rankings in here ...
Cheers

50 - 41 : Part 1
50 South Bound Saurez [In Through The Out Door]
49 Carouselambra [In Through The Out Door]
48 Communication Breakdown [Led Zeppelin]
47 In The Evening [In Through The Out Door]
46 Dazed And Confused [Led Zeppelin]
45 Gallows Pole [Led Zeppelin III]
44 Ten Years Gone [Physical Graffiti]
43 Immigrant Song [Led Zeppelin III]
42 The Song Remains The Same [Houses Of The Holy]
41 The Wanton Song [Physical Graffiti]


audio clips :

Feature Song : While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Revisted)

REF : Feature Song : While My Guitar Gently Weeps

more videos :
The Beatles

The Muppets

Todd Rundgren & Joe Jackson

Tribute To George - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The Rest on DailyMotion
HERE

Bruce Springsteen - Further On (Up The Road)

title : Further On (Up The Road)
Original Recording Artist : Bruce Springsteen
Written By : Bruce Springsteen
year : 2002
chart : Did Not Chart
album : The Rising

** not to be mistaken with Bobby Bland's 1957 "Farther Up The Road"
Farther Up The Road has been covered and performed by :
* Don Preston (1968)
* James Brown (1973)
* Mick Hucknall (May 2008)
BUT also under the title "Further On Up The Road" by :
* Eric Clapton (1975)
* The Band with Eric Clapton (1978) [The Last Waltz]
* Mietek Blues Band (1996)


lyrics :
Where the road is dark and the seed is sowed
Where the gun is cocked and the bullet's cold
Where the miles are marked in the blood and gold
I'll meet you further on up the road

Got on my dead man's suit and my smilin' skull ring
My lucky graveyard boots and song to sing
I got a song to sing, keep me out of the cold
And I'll meet you further on up the road.

Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Where the way dark and the night is cold
One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road.

Now I been out in the desert, just doin' my time
Searchin' through the dust, lookin' for a sign
If there's a light up ahead well brother I don't know
But I got this fever burnin' in my soul
So let's take the good times as they go
And I'll meet you further on up the road

Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road

One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road
One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road.


Studio Version :
album : The Rising [2002]
title : Further On (Up The Road)














audio clip :



Live Version :
album : Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin
DVD : Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin
Year of Recording : 2006 November
Year of Release : 2007 (U.S.)
retitled : Further On Up The Road














audio clip :




Cover Version :
cover version title : Further On Up The Road
artist : Johnny Cash
album : American V: A Hundred Highways
note : posthumous album by Johnny Cash released on July 4, 2006
Year of Recording : 2003
Year of Release : 2006














audio clip :


video clip :


YouTube : [Studio version]
Bruce Springsteen, The Rising, 2002


Bruce Springsteen (Live),
Filmed at First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 6-10-2002


YouTube : [Live , with The Sessions Band version]
Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band, Live in Dublin (DVD) [2007]


Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band, Live in Dublin (DVD) [2007]


Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band, Torino, Italy, [2 October 2006]

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Wayne Swayze (18 August 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.
Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2008. He continued acting until, in 2009, he became too ill to do so.


Title : She's Like The Wind
Artist : Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser
year : 1987
chart : #3 Billboard Hot 100
album : Dirty Dancing Soundtrack



Final Acting On-Screen Performance :
A&E original mini-series "The Beast" (shown in Asia on the AXN TV Networks).

Reception for The Beast :
Patrick Swayze's performance was highly praised.

• Alan Sepinwall writes "...you watch Swayze in "The Beast", and you realize that this is the best performance of his career - that the opportunity to play a part like this, and to play it as well as he is, may be fueling his ability to keep fighting against the cancer. And you realize, in an odd silver lining, that the cancer may, in turn, be fueling the performance".
• The New York Times writes that "Patrick Swayze's performance... is impressive for its resistance to cliché...".
• Suzan Young writes: "Patrick Swayze gives the performance of a lifetime as the hard-edged FBI agent Charles Barker in A&E's The Beast".
• Ray Richmond writes: "'Beast' has a far grittier feel and look than one would suspect from a show starring Swayze – not to mention one on A&E. The action often is energetic and intriguing but is sometimes brought down by Fimmel's uneven performance. …What's unmistakable is the killer work of the star. May the man somehow beat the odds and fight defiantly on".
• Kelly West writes: "For an original series, I think A&E has something great on their hands. The Beast is definitely drama series with an edge, showing the darker, grittier side to FBI undercover work".

Patrick Swayze at Wikipedia : Here

Audio : She's Like The Wind

The MixTapes 001

Tracks :
01 - The Moody Blues : Talking Out Of Turn (Long Distance Voyager) 1981
02 - The Carpenters : Superstar (Carpenters) 1971
03 - Creeper Lagoon : Under The Tracks (Take Back The Universe And Give Me Back Yesterday) 2001
04 - The Killer : Bones (Sam's Town) 2006
05 - Orbit : Medicine (Libido Speedway) 1997
06 - Crosby, Stills & Nash : Daylight Again (Daylight Again) 1982
07 - Collective Soul : Where The River Bends (Collective Soul) 1994
08 - Shinedown : Burning Bright (Leave A Whisper) 2003
09 - Pearl Jam : The Fixer (Backspacer) 2009
10 - The Fortunes : Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again (-) 1971
11 - Daryl Hall & John Oates : Go Solo (H2O) 1982
12 - Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry : 7 Seconds (The Guide [Wommat]) 1994

Collective Soul - Collective Soul / Rabbit (Album)

Artist : Collective Soul
Album : Collective Soul / Rabbit
Year : 2009




Track listing :
1. "Welcome All Again" - 3:54
2. "Fuzzy" - 3:59
3. "Dig" - 3:18
4. "You" - 3:51
5. "My Days" - 3:42
6. "Understanding" - 4:23
7. "Staring Down" - 3:35
8. "She Does" - 3:26
9. "Lighten Up" - 3:36
10. "Love" - 3:32
11. "Hymn for My Father" - 2:53


about the album :
Collective Soul released their eighth studio album, another self-titled, but designated by the band as Rabbit. It was released on August 25, 2009 by Roadrunner Records.

A rabbit appears on the cover of the album, which was initially to be known as Collective Soul. Frontman Ed Roland told Billboard magazine: "We weren't trying to be confusing. We just thought, 'Oh, we'll come back out and feel really fresh and new. And we'll use a picture of a rabbit,' which to us means fertile. It's rebirth and all kinds of cool spiritual meanings. But somewhere along the line people started calling it 'Rabbit,' even the recording company. That's fine - as long as they call it something."

Collective Soul is Collective Soul's first release with a parent label since the group started its own independent El Music Group label in 2004.

Collective Soul also includes two songs ("You" and "Understanding") that were written by all members in the band, a first for Collective Soul. According to singer/guitarist Ed Roland: "I think it's the confidence that the other guys have gotten in their music skills and the songwriting and also, for lack of a better term, me letting go of my ego a little bit..."


Singles / Charts :
The first confirmed single off of the new album, titled "Staring Down", was sent to radio stations on June 8, 2009, and the second confirmed single is "Welcome All Again", which was sent to stations on July 6, 2009.

"Staring Down" has reached the top 20 on the Mediabase Hot AC chart and has also charted on Billboard's Adult Top-40 chart.

The album debuted at #24 on the Billboard Hot 200.


Audio Clips : Collective Soul / Rabbit



YouTube :
Staring Down, Live In Cleveland 6/22/09


Welcome All Again, Live in Indianapolis



Album Reviews :
Ultimate Guitar

Amazon

Music Review

Sputnik Music

Drive-By Truckers - Danko/Manuel

title : Danko/Manuel
artist : Drive-By Truckers
year : 2004
chart : Did Not Chart
album : The Dirty South





















about the song:
Written by Jason Isbell, 2003 a a tribute song "for and about a couple members of The Band who are no longer with us." "

Jason Isbell: "When I started writing this one, I wanted to capture some of Levon Helm's feelings about the deaths (and lives) of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko. The longer I worked on the song, the more impossible that became. I felt like the best I could do was to explain my own attitude toward being a working and traveling musician."

Recorded in 2003 by the Drive-By Truckers for the 2004 album The Dirty South.


Danko/Manuel :



lyrics :
Let the night air cool you off.
Tilt your head back and try to cough.
Don't say nothin' about the things you never saw.
Let the night air cool you off.

I ain't livin' like I should.
A little rest might do me good.
Got to sinking in the place where I once stood.
I ain't livin' like I should.

Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold.
Maybe I can only hear it in my head.
Fifteen years ago they owned that road.
Now it's rolling over us instead.

Richard Manuel is dead.

God forbid you call their bluff.
Like the nightmares ain't enough.
Remember when they used to say that we were tough?
God forbid you call their bluff.

First they make you out to be
the only pirate on the sea.
Then they say Danko would have sounded just like me.
"Is that the man you want to be?"

Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold.
Maybe I could make it bigger overseas.
Fifteen years ago they owned that road.
Now it only gives us somewhere else to leave.

Something else you can't believe.

Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold.
Maybe I can hear poor Richard from the grave.
Singing where to reap and when to sow
when you've found another home you have to leave.

Something else you can't believe.

Richard Manuel (The Band)

"Isn't everybody dreaming?--then the voice I hear is real.
Out of all the idle scheming, can't we have something to feel?"
--"In a Station", Richard Manuel

Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his contributions and membership in The Band.
Richard Manuel's emotional, soulful voice and his beautiful songwriting was essential to the success of the original group.



On March 4, 1986, The Band's lead singer, pianist, and drummer Richard Manuel after a gig at the Cheek to Cheek Lounge outside Orlando, in Winter Park, Florida, with the reunited Band, committed suicide in a motel room in Winter Park. He had seemed to be in relatively good "spirits" but ominously thanked Hudson for "twenty-five years of incredible music". The Band returned to the Quality Inn, down the block from the Cheek to Cheek Lounge, and Manuel talked with Levon Helm about music, film, etc., in Helm's room. According to Helm, at around 2:30 Manuel said he needed to get something from his room. Upon returning to his motel room, it is believed that he finished one last bottle of Grand Marnier before hanging himself. Manuel's wife Arlie — drug addled herself at the time — discovered his body along with the depleted bottle and a small amount of cocaine the following morning.
He was buried a week later in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario.

Quotes about Richard Manuel :

• "Richard Manuel was a whole show unto himself. He was hot. He was about the best singer I'd ever heard; most people said he reminded them of Ray Charles. He'd do those ballads, and the ladies would swoon. To me that became the highlight of our show."--Levon Helm
  

• "He brought a lot of powers and strengths to the group. He brought in gospel music from his church upbringing. Plus, he loved to play and just come up with new things. It was like having a force of nature in the band." --Rick Danko
  

• "Richard not only had the voice, he had this great rhythmic feel..." --Garth Hudson
  

• "Richard was a sweet, sweet guy... Always pushed the envelope beyond where it would go. Drove one hundred fifty miles an hour in his driveway; faster on the road." --John Simon
  

• "I was madly in love with Richard... At the time, [1975] we had the same troubles. I felt insecure and he was clearly insecure, and yet he was so incredibly gifted....For me he [Richard] was the true light of the Band. The other guys were fantastic talents, of course, but there was something of the holy madman about Richard. He was raw. When he sang in that high falsetto the hair on my neck would stand on end. Not many people can do that." --Eric Clapton
  

• "Richard Manuel's is the first voice you hear on the first Band album Music from Big Pink. After a Robbie Robertson guitar intro that sounds as if it's being fed through Garth Hudson's Lowrey organ at its most distorted, his aching baritone launches into the first reproachful line of `Tears of Rage`. As it arches over `arms`, you can't help thinking of Ray Charles, the singer who more than any other shaped this unlikely white soul voice from Stratford, Ontario. And by the end of the first chorus you realize why, in an almost unspoken way, Manuel's fellow Band vocalists Levon Helm and Rick Danko always looked upon him as the group's `lead` singer." --Barney Hoskyns
  

• "Well, let's see: I started [in music] at nine and quit. Then got back to it when I was twelve. Then I became a party star. In fact, I became a party!" --Richard Manuel
  

Tributes / Posthumous Recognition :

• In 2003, the Japanese company Dreamsville Records released selections from a solo concert recorded in Saugerties, New York in October 1985, in a compilation entitled Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway.

• Eric Clapton recorded his tribute to Richard Manuel, "Holy Mother", on his 1986 release August.

• San Francisco-area group The Call, who had collaborated with former Band members Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson, dedicated the video for their 1986 single, "Everywhere I Go" to Manuel. The dedication appears at the end of the video.

• Robbie Robertson's self-titled solo album from 1987 opens with "Fallen Angel", a song dedicated to his former bandmate.

• Rick Danko sings lead on "Too Soon Gone", the reformed (minus Robbie Robertson) Band's tribute to Richard from the 1993 album Jericho.

• In 2002, Counting Crows released Hard Candy, which contained the song "If I Could Give All My Love -or- Richard Manuel Is Dead", inspired by the late musician. The inspiration from the song, according to Duritz, came from the sense of "not lasting" he felt when he went to bed and read a newspaper that stated Richard Manuel, lead member and piano player of The Band, had died. Duritz stated that the sense of impermanance was "overwhelming" and 15 years after the death of Manuel this sense inspired him to write the song.

• In 2004, The Drive-By Truckers released The Dirty South, which contained the song "Danko/Manuel". The lyrics contain the phrase "Richard Manuel Is Dead" and also refers to other members of The Band. Writer Jason Isbell: "When I started writing this one, I wanted to capture some of Levon Helm's feelings about the deaths (and lives) of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko. The longer I worked on the song, the more impossible that became. I felt like the best I could do was to explain my own attitude toward being a working and traveling musician."

• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, lead singer Jason Isbell had joined the rock band Drive-By Truckers in 2001 while they toured in support of their album Southern Rock Opera. He recorded and wrote with the Truckers for their next three albums.On April 5, 2007 Isbell announced that he was no longer a member of Drive-By Truckers. Jason was the writer of the Drive-By Truckers' "Danko/Manuel" tribute song. He plays the song with his new band in his gigs.

• 2005 saw musical recordings by Head of Femur ("Song for Richard Manuel" on "Hysterical Stars") and by Mike Skliar ("Goodbye Rick Danko" in his self-titled collection); in 2008, Michigan roots quartet Steppin' In It released the album "Simple Tunes for Troubled Times", which contains the song "The Ghost of Richard Manuel", while Isaac Gillespie's album "1971" featured "Richard Manuel the Pacifier".

• Richard Manuel's grave is at the Avondale cemetary in Stratford, Ontario. Richard's hometown Stratford honoured him in 2004 with a sidewalk star and a memorial bench.

Tribute Page : HERE

Richard Manuel Album Discography : HERE

Richard Manuel Photos : HERE

Richard Manuel at Wikipedia : HERE

THIS IS MY STORY (Biographies) : Richard Manuel of The Band


Audio Clips (Tribute Tracks):
Danko/Manuel - Drive-by Truckers, The Dirty South (2004)
Fallen Angel - Robbie Robertson (1987)
Holy Mother - Eric Clapton, August (1986)
If I Could Give All My Love -or- Richard Manuel Is Dead - Counting Crows, Hard Candy (2002)
Everywhere I Go - The Call, Reconciled (1986)




YouTube :
Whispering Pines - The Band (1969)


Tears Of Rage - Richard Manuel with The Band, at Woodstock (1969)


You Don't Know Me - The Band, "The Band Is Back" tour (1983)


The Shape I'm In - The Band, "The Band Is Back" tour (1983)


Danko/Manuel - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, @ Local 506 9.6.07


Danko/Manuel - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Common Grounds in Gainesville,Florida on May 5th 2009


If I Could Give All My Love -or- Richard Manuel Is Dead - Counting Crows (2002)

Richard Manuel (The Band) [more tags]

REF : Richard Manuel (The Band)

more tags ....

Rick Danko (The Band)

On December 10, 1999, just days after the end of a brief tour of the Midwest that included two shows in the Chicago area and a final gig at The Ark in Ann Arbor,Michigan Rick Danko's heart gave out,and he died in his sleep at his home nearWoodstock, New York.


Rick Danko :
Richard Clare Danko, Dec. 29 1943 - Dec. 10 1999.
Lead singer. Instrument: Bass, violin, guitar of The Band
The music will live forever.

Life :
Rick Danko learned music as a young child, became an apprentice butcher at age 14, was a member of an American/Canadian Honky-Tonk Rock’n'Roll band at 17, an international Rock’n'Roll star with “The Band” by age 23, and died at age 56 of a heart attack.

Rick Danko was a kind, fun-loving, goofy man who used a distinctive and flowing style when playing bass (aided in part by his use of a fret-less bass beginning in the mid-70’s) and sang with a pitchy, falsetto voice on many of his lead-vocal tracks with The Band.















Rick Danko, The Last Waltz, 1976




Quotes about Rick Danko :

• "I think Rick was one of the greatest and most soulful singers I've ever heard. Definitely, the most original bass player I've ever heard, and one of the kindest hearts to have ever graced this planet."
  -- Robbie Robertson
  

• "Rick Danko is one of the all-time great writers, musicians and interpreters. The first time I heard Rick, I knew he was something out of the ordinary, a commanding presence both inspiring and healing. Even after thirty years, his soulful, artistic integrity never wavered. Rick Danko was an artist true to himself and to the rest of us."
  --Richie Havens
• "Rick Danko was a special friend. A great singer, unique musician and wonderful soul. His music and charisma had the power to move and inspire. His knowing chuckle could always bring a smile. And though we don't have him with us anymore, we will always be able to hear his voice and feel his spirit."
  --Eric Andersen
  

Rick Danko on lead vocals for The Band :
Two notable songs by the Band that Danko sang lead for included “Stage Fright” and “The Unfaithful Servant.” Both became staples for the group’s live performances, and both are among the best of the music the group recorded.


Authorized Biography : HERE

Rick Danko's Album Discography : HERE

Rick Danko's Photos : HERE

Rick Danko at Wikipedia : HERE

Tribute Site : Rick Danko - His Life, His Music & His Legacy

Tributes Songs :
Drive-By Truckers - Danko/Manuel, The Dirty South (2004)
Steve Forbert - Wild As The Wind, Just Like There's Nothin' To It (2004)
Jonas Fjeld - Rick, Tidevann (2001) http://theband.hiof.no/lyrics/rick.html
Luke Doucet - The Day Rick Danko Died, Blood's Too Rich (2008)
Amy Fradon - Silver Wings, Small Town News (2000)
Blue Horizon - Back To Memphis
David Munyon - Song For Danko, Song For Danko (2006)
Sonny Miller - Danko's Blues (All In All), Jewels Dance Hall (2005)


Audio Clips (Tribute Tracks) :
Drive-By Truckers - Danko/Manuel (2004)
Luke Doucet - The Day Rick Danko Died (2008)


YouTube :
Rick Danko - When You Awake


The Weight - Rick Danko with the Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra (1999)


Stage Fright - Rick Danko, Paul Butterfield and Blondie Chaplin, Madison Square Garden (1979)


David Munyon - Song For Danko (2006)