Prelude 12/ Suite Madame Blue - Styx

I know most people seem to hate Styx. Why? I assume it has to do with Mr. Roboto but it's a guilty pleasure. The fact is, that was off their 11th album and they put out some incredible tunes long before that song came to be. Suite Madam Blue was off their incredible 5th album, Equinox, released in 1975. This whole album is incredible, one of my personal favorites, but this song especially stands out for me. It is also another song with a short instrumental lead in similar to Long Time/ Foreplay. Written for the upcoming bicentennial, the musical flow in this song is phenomenal and musically outstanding. This album also marked the end for their original guitarist John Curulewski and the beginning for Tommy Shaw. It is a relatively long song, but a perfect close to a great album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SInH7BLVGRk

Suite Madame Blue

Time after time I sit and I wait for your call
I know I'm a fool but, why can I say
Whatever the price I'll pay for you, Madame Blue

Once long ago, a word from your lips and the world turned around
But somehow you've changed, You're so far away
I long for the past and dream of the days with you, Madame Blue

Suite Madame Blue, gaze in your looking glass
You're not a child anymore
Suite Madame Blue, the future is all but past
Dressed in your jewels, you made your own rules
You conquered the world and more....Heaven's door

America...America...America...America
America...America...America...America
America...America...America...America
America...America...America...America

Red, white and blue, gaze in your looking glass
You're not a child anymore
Red, white and blue, the future is all but past
So lift up your heart, make a new start
And lead us away from here

Fore Play / Long Time - Boston

Almost everybody has heard of Boston's More Then A Feeling, and for good reason, but what about the rest of the album? This debut album from 1976 is one of the greatest debut albums and one of my favorite albums of all time. Every song off of it is incredible, but the closing pieces Foreplay ( which is an instrumental intro to Long Time) and Longtime are incredibly written and produced. I especially love the piano in Foreplay, and the guitar work in Long Time. Boston took forever to released another album, and never quite had the passion they had in the first, but at least they gave us that one incredible album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQifd7O_N5k

Foreplay/Long Time

It's been such a long time
I think I should be goin', yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'
Sail on, on a distant highway
I've got to keep on chasin' a dream
I've gotta be on my way
Wish there was something I could say.


Well I'm takin' my time, I'm just movin' along
You'll forget about me after I've been gone
And I take what I find, I don't want no more
It's just outside of your front door.


It's been such a long time. It's been such a long time.

Well I get so lonely when I am without you
But in my mind, deep in my mind,
I can't forget about you
Good times, and faces that remind me
I'm tryin' to forget your name and leave it all behind me
You're comin' back to find me.


Well I'm takin' my time, I'm just movin' along
You'll forget about me after I've been gone
And I take what I find, I don't want no more
It's just outside of your front door.

It's been such a long time. It's been such a long time.

Yeah. It's been such a long time, I think I should be goin', yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'
There's a long road, I've gotta stay in time with
I've got to keep on chasin' that dream, though I may never find it
I'm always just behind it.

Well I'm takin' my time, I'm just movin' along
Takin' my time, just movin' along
Takin' my time, yeah I'm takin' my time...

Doctor, My Eyes - Jackson Browne

It took me awhile to get my hands on Browne's 1972 debut album, finally achieving it this summer, but boy was it worth it to hear doctor, my eyes on vinyl quality. The piano in this song has such an upbeat feeling, I can't help but sing along every time. The lyrics are well versed, and their delivery is excellent and perfect when voiced by Jackson. Also, this song was covered by The Jackson 5......THE JACKSON 5?? Covering a debut hit?? You know it's gotta be awesome, right there. Fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4XA3ukG0Tw&feature=related - Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2zWXpdZo8g&feature=fvw - Jacksons

Doctor, My Eyes

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years,
Through the slow parade of tears wtihout crying,
Now I want to understand,

I have done all that I could
To see evil and the good without hiding,
You must help me if you can

Doctor My Eyes
Tell me what is wrong
Was I unwise to leave them open for so long?

As I've wandered through this world
As each moment has unfurled,
I've been waiting to awaken from this dream,
I never notice them until I got this feeling,
That its later that it seems,

Doctor My Eyes
Tell me what is real
I hear cries
Just saying "Its' too late for me",

Doctor My Eyes
Cannot be disguised
Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry?

Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath helped redefine, and almost create really a new heavy metal sound, although today it doesn't seem that heavy at all. Ozzy's voice and wild attitude helped launch this band to ridiculous heights. Sweet Leaf starts off their 1971 album Master of Reality, and yes, it is about marijuana. This is probably my favorite song of theirs, as the guitar is so simple yet so powerful. Well worth the listen if you are looking to rock out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5jBG9lki7M

Sweet Leaf

Alright now!
Won't you listen?

When I first met you, you didn't realize
I can't forget you or your surprise
You introduced me to my mind
And left me wanting, you and your kind

I love you, Oh you know it

My life was empty, forever on a down
Until you took me, showed me around
My life is free now, my life is clear
I love you sweet leaf, though you can't hear

Come on now, try it out

Straight people don't know, what you're about
They put you down and shut you out
You gave to me a new belief
And soon the world will love you sweet leaf

3 Dressed Up As A 9 - Trooper

I'll be the first to admit it, this is not my favorite trooper song. I do however think the title is extremely clever and I always get a laugh out if it, and have even used it in my daily life. This happened the other day, causing this song to become planted in my head for 2 solid days. Another Canadian band, hailing from Vancouver this time, this song kicked off their 1979 Flying Colors album. It is a fun little song, anchored by incredible vocal performance and a very solid and catchy musical progression, along with some rather humorous lyrics. This song makes for a great sing a long at any social gathering where drinking is involved, especially if a 3 dressed as a 9 is in attendance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNo7jT5jnSc&feature=related

3 Dressed Up As A 9

Hey wait a minute
Who do you think you are
Comin' on, comin' on
Like you're some kinda movie star

Wearing twelve hundred dollars
D'ecollet'e
You looked a whole lot better to me
From twenty feet away

You're just a 3 dressed up as a 9
You're only, wastin' my time
A 3 dressed up as a 9, hey yeah ...
(All dressed up but you're only a 3, a 3 dressed up as a 9)

Socially
You know you fit in just right
But as for me
I'm gonna have to pass tonight

Well you can say what you like
Be what you wanna be
You can suit yourself, baby
But you don't suit me

You're just a 3 dressed up as a 9
You're only, wastin' my time
A 3 dressed up as a 9, hey yeah ...
(All dressed up but you're only a 3, a 3 dressed up as a 9)

Hey wait a minute
Who do you think you are
Comin' on, comin' on
Just like you're some kinda movie star

Well you can say what you like
Be what you wanna be
You can suit yourself baby
But you don't suit me

You're just a 3 dressed up as a 9
You're only, wastin' my time
A 3 dressed up as a 9, hey yeah ...

Roads To Moscow - Al Stewart

Now, I can't recall the exact story of this album, " Past, Present, and Future" by Al Stewart, and it may be the first album my dad owned ( although I believe that was Killer, which we will get to), but instead I believe it was the first record he truly sought out to find. When I started up my collection, I received it and made it one of the first ones I listened to. Although I'm not huge on many of the songs on it, Roads To Moscow easily makes up for that. A very guitar driven song, detailing an experience by fighting and then being captured in WWII, Roads to Moscow pulls you in and gets you interested in the lyrics. I always get pulled in when the bass finally kicks in, and can't focus on anything else but instead find myself lost in this song. His guitar solo work is light but very captivating. Released in 1974 and weighing in at 8 minutes, this song is a must have for any real collection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAqP35A9Oi8&feature=related

Roads To Moscow

They crossed over the border the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood - word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and our knees
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolyensk and Viyasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come - riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow,
Standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know
Which way to turn, which way to look, you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night
You'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning road leads to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it'll almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening now it's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time
That I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break", I say;
They turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know
Why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers
"Never"
And the evening sighs and the steely Russian skies go on forever

Jesus Is Just Alright - The Byrds / The Doobie Brothers

Jesus Is Just Alright, although originally written by Arthur Reid Reynolds (apparently) was originally recorded by the Byrds for their 1969 album Ballad of Easy Rider, but did not prove to be a big hit. It was also rerecorded in 1970 by Underground Sunshine, and again failed to get notice. It wasn't until it was again released by the Doobie Brothers on their 1972 album Toulouse Street that the song got any notice. I prefer the Doobie Brothers version, but they Byrds is just as rocking and well worth the listen. Also, for any tv buffs,this song is covered on the short lived Freaks and Geeks, jammed out on a piano at the party, which is a pretty awesome rendition and definitely worth checking out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtKbqEIY58&feature=PlayList&p=C3B9CFDDDB00191D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3aYJibxMOQ&feature=related

Jesus Is Just Alright

Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright

I don't care what they may say
I don't care what they may do
I don't care what they may say
Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright

Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright

I don't care what they may know
I don't care where they may go
I don't care what they may know
Jesus is just alright, oh yeah

Jesus, he's my friend; Jesus, he's my friend
He took me by the hand; Led me far from this land
Jesus, he's my friend

Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright

I don't care what they may say, I don't care what they may do
I don't care what they may say, Jesus is just alright, oh yeah