Emotion All Over Them: Part I
Written by: | AndMetalForAll |
Published: | January 09, 2013 |
Three part article about the most emotional tracks in rock. With emotional I mean everything that covers all sorts of sentiments and feelings, it can be about: love, hate, nostalgia, friendship, loss, drama, hope, death, conformation or family among others. I'll try to keep my attention in the various fields of rock: from the most progressive to the softest areas of the genre. In this article will be featured tracks that may serve as an alternative to the typical list of emotional tracks. It's NOT a list, it's only meant to inform. I think most of my articles are written with the intent of informing "the audience", and to enrich one's knowledge of music. This article is no exception.
Queen - The Show Must Go On
It's the final track of their last album with Freddie Mercury. When recorded Mercury was very ill and could barely walk. May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it. Recorded in 1990 it is about the continuous effort of Freddie Mercury to perform despite his illness. Freddie Mercury died in 1991. It comes off the very good album entitled Innuendo which is in my opinion THE MOST emotional and sentimental track in hard-rock music. The level of performance and heart in the song is incredible, making it one of top 5 tracks ever composed in the history of Queen.
Rainbow - Vielleicht Das Nächste Mal (Maybe Next Time)
From the 1981 Rainbow record Difficult To Cure, it's an instrumental performed by the magical hands of Ritchie Blackmore. One of the few instrumental tracks released officially from Blackmore. It starts slow but hits its peak at 2:08, with one of the fastest solos in hard-rock. The song finishes as it started: emotional, deep and sad.
Saga - Not This Way (Chapter 10)
"Not This Way (Chapter 10)" is taken off of the very credible 1999 album entitled Full Circle. It's the tenth chapter of the only puzzle in rock history, with the name The Chapters. The puzzle is about the Cold War and most of the story centers on technology, science fiction, aliens, or the resurrection of the dead through technology. This particular chapter tells the part of a scientist that meets with one of his constructions and feels responsible for everything he ("the scientist") "made" him ("the construction") do.
Deep Purple - When a Blind Man Cries
It was recorded during the Machine Head sessions in December 1971, powerful and dramatic with the main spotlight on Ian Gillan's voice. Because Ritchie Blackmore disliked the song, the band never played the track in live shows during his tenure in Deep Purple, with the exception of one time when Blackmore was ill.
Rush - Afterimage
From far it's one of the most powerful and emotional tracks in Rush's discography, and certainly one of the best in rock. The track was dedicated to Robbie Whelan, a friend of the band who worked as an assistant engineer on some of their earlier albums. It deals with the loss of a friend and the emotional aftermath that follows. Later, the lyrics were dedicated to the daughter and wife of Neil Peart who died in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Perfect performance, powerful songwriting and superb instrumental arrangement.
Deep Purple - Soldier Of Fortune
"Soldier Of Fortune" is one of the favorite tracks to any Deep Purple fan. Composed and written by Blackmore and David Coverdale. Taken off of the 1974 Deep Purple's record entitled Stormbringer. It's one of the most influential and powerful ballads in the history of rock. There are various cover versions from different types of bands like Opeth, Whitesnake, Blackmore's Night or Black Majesty; with intense and soulful vocals from Coverdale and a magical guitar composition from the master Ritchie Blackmore. David Coverdale delivers the best performance in his career in this track.
Genesis - No Son Of Mine
From 1991's We Can't Dance record of the legendary Genesis. "No Son Of Mine" is a very strong and emotional song that tells the story of a broken family: a father that rejects and abandons his own son. Phil Collins delivers an excellent performance, particularly, in this song. Although it isn't, instrumentally, the most depressive song you can find, its lyrics and meaning are something to take notice of.
Pink Floyd - Echoes
It's definitely one of my favorite tracks of all time. This legendary song comes off the 1971 Pink Floyd's record entitled Meddle. It's by far one of the most epic tracks of the progressive scene. It's also one of the most difficult to interpret and explain its meaning; many people may interpret it like me as being about loneliness. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Roger Waters explained that the song's lyrics were an attempt to describe "the potential that human beings have for recognizing each other's humanity and responding to it, with empathy rather than antipathy."
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - C'est La Vie
It's an acoustic ballad performed and written by Greg Lake from Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This 1977 acoustic ballad is about resignation and conformation of someone that had his heart broken. "C'est La Vie", it's a French expression that may be translated to English as: "That's Life". With excellent vocal and guitar arrangement.
Marillion - 100 Nights
It's the third song of the trilogy "This Town/The Rakes Progress/100 Nights", it tells the story of a man that lives life without caring about the consequences. The man "plays the game" but ends up being played, because his woman is seeing another man. This track is very well written and can have several interpretations. Technically, it contains excellent songwriting, amazing solo and performance. It's clearly an emotional song about someone that cheats and ends up being cheated.
Saga - If I Were You
Song taken off of Saga's 2004 album entitled Network. It's a song about a person's need to move on with his life. It's a song about hope and perseverance. Not technically complex but it's definitely intense and dramatic at its own way. Michael Sadler's voice is perfect and is accompanied by the very good Ian Crichton at the guitar. Extraordinarily moving, yet it has the ability of giving hope and a feeling of acceptance.
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
It comes off of the perfect Led Zeppelin IV released in 1971. It's my favorite track, and one of the most played songs of all time. Its meaning centers on a woman that is greedy and gets everything she wants all the time without giving back any thought or consideration. It's one of the most well designed songs in music: lyrically, instrumentally, the band's performance and its concept are just perfect. It's definitely one of the few masterpieces in the world of music.
Guest article disclaimer:
This is a guest article, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest article, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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