Top Ten: Recordings/Albums I Want To See

Been a while since I’ve posted one of these!

Here’s my list of the top ten records or albums I’d love to see released:

10. I’d love to see a Christmas album from Kelly Clarkson. She’s got a great voice that would lend itself to a great Christmas record.

9. I’d love to see Eddie Vedder re-record some of the old Bad Radio tunes. There were some pretty good tunes from that bad.. especially Believe You Me and What.

8. I’d love to see Chris Daughtry’s studio recordings of his songs from American Idol be released.. if they even exist. I’ve heard rumors that they do, but I’ve not seen confirmation anywhere.

7. I’m a big fan of acoustic versions of songs. In that vein, I think it’d be fun to see Pearl Jam re-record all of their studio albums acoustically.

6. With Carl and Dennis dead, and the ongoing legal issues between Brian, Mike, and Al, this will never materialize..  but I’d love to see a Beach Boys album of hits recorded using modern technology. It would surely be better than the crap that is Summer In Paradise.

5. A Christmas record by Carrie Underwood. She’s got such a great voice and a full length album would be great.

4. I’d LOVE to see a Temple of the Dog reunion. They’re the greatest 90s supergroup. 2011 will mark the 20th anniversary of the original album.. would be great time for a reunion record!

3. Zac Maloy’s next album. Cmon Zac — put out some new music! Maybe even re-record Secret..

2. The long-rumored Garth Brooks / Trisha Yearwood duet album. This has long been rumored to be in the works. When they got married, many speculated that the album would finally see the light of day. But so far, it’s not materialized. If this album does get released, I hope it includes a studio version of “Wild As The Wind” from Garth’s Double Live set.

1. A Pearl Jam covers album. Pearl Jam’s notorious for playing covers at their live shows, so I’d love to hear their favorite covers done in studio. Tracks would need to include: Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young), Baba O’Riley (The Who), The Kids Are Alright (The Who), I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty), Break on Through (The Doors).

Heh, seems Pearl Jam made a big appearance in this list!

Daughtry Does The Toadies

Wow.. I hope this gets released on iTunes.

Top Ten: Zac Maloy Songs

Zac Maloy was the singer for the 90s band The Nixons and is now a solo artist, writer, and producer. Here’s a listing of my favorite ten songs Zac’s been involved in.

10. Get It On from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD.

9. Starkiss from Zac’s Yellow EP.

8. Passion from The Nixons’ Halo and Foma CDs.

7. Used To from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD and Daughtry’s self-titled CD. Both versions are great. Daughtry’s rendition adds a new bridge that he wrote, so they’re different.. but the same.

6. Come Back To You from David Cook’s self-titled CD. An absolutely amazing song!

5. 3 Days from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD.

4. Early Morning Phone Call from Zac’s Life CD. Zac’s first solo hit.. great tune.

3. Perfect Day from Zac’s Life CD.

2. Sister from The Nixons’ Halo and Foma CDs. When thinking about this list, I initially had this song first.

1. Secret from The Nixons’ Six EP. Not as well-known as Sister, Secret is an amazing ballad. I would love Zac to re-record this for a solo album or EP. Zac, if you’re reading — re-record Secret!

Top Ten: Pearl Jam Songs

This is a VERY difficult list to create since every Pearl Jam song is amazing in its own right.. but I’ll give it a go!

10. Brother from Ten (Redux)

9. Satan’s Ben from Vitaliogy.

8. Animal from Vs.

7. Come Back from Pearl Jam.

6. Off He Goes from No Code.

5. Yellow Ledbetter from Lost Dogs.

4. Alive from Ten.

3. Better Man from Vitalogy.

2. Daughter from Vs.

1. Even Flow from Ten.

Interestingly enough, not all albums are represented in the above list. This was very difficult to compile.. there were a lot more songs I wanted to add!

Top Ten: American Idol Contestants

For quite a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to blog about on here since I post the family-types of things over at tomandmonica.com. So I came up with an idea to post ‘top ten’ lists.. about anything. Fun, right? Well, hey.. I think so.

For my inaugural list, I’ve decided to start out with my top ten American Idol contestants.

(10) Brooke White. Best when at the piano. I love the Carly Simon vibe.

(9) George Huff. Good ol George. His happy, genuine performances were enjoyable. I’d love to see him release a cover album of Motown standards.

(8) Jason Castro. Unique style. His recordings of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s ‘Over the Rainbow’ are awesome.

(7) Allison Iraheta. Such a great voice at such a young age. I’m anxious to hear what her album sounds like.

(6) Kris Allen. The newest idol. What I liked about him was that he never swayed from his style. He never overdid his performances.

(5) Blake Lewis. Idol’s original risk taker. His rendition of Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’ was amazing.

(4) David Cook. He has that ‘it’ factor. Great voice, great presence. Very likable and humble.

(3) Carrie Underwood. Outstanding country singer with a somewhat cross-over feel to her. I have a feeling she’s going to be in the business for quite a while.

(2) Kelly Clarkson. The original. No list of this nature would be complete without her. It was really a toss-up between Kelly & Carrie, but Kelly won out since she was the first.

(1) Chris Daughtry. Best rocker to appear on the show. Monica and I saw him in Lubbock.. puts on a great show. His debut CD is one of the few CDs I can actually listen through in its entirety without skipping a track.

Yes, I’m a Band Geek

I am a band geek.. and there’s definitely no shame in admitting that. I marched a bunch of shows throughout my seven years of marching band.

The below video is from Spring 1997.. my freshmen year at Tech. It happens to be the last light show performed under the direction of Keith Bearden and, at the time of this post’s writing, the last light show performed by the Goin’ Band. The Star Wars/Star Trek light show is one of my top two favorite shows I’ve marched.

Ah, nostalgia..

The Ten Best Songs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard

Pearl Jam – Brother : The song that supposedly almost killed Pearl Jam. Apparently during its recording, Stone Gossard ended up not liking the riff and refused to play it causing Jeff Ament to nearly quit the band. This song isn’t commercially available in a completed format. It’s on Lost Dogs but only as an instrumental; however, a polished master found its way on to the internet last year.

Darius Rucker – Something Here : While not technically Darius Rucker’s song, it’s still damn good. It appears on Paul Sanchez’s “Between Friends” CD with guest vocalists. Darius’ vocals are simply amazing on this song.  [ iTunes ]

Paulo Nutini – Last Request : Great song from the talented vocalist from Scotland.  [ iTunes ]

The Nixons – Secret : Known for their hit song “Sister”, The Nixons were a highly talented band that didn’t gain the staying power they deserved. “Secret” is a ballad from their indie EP release “Six” on the Dragon Street label. The EP is long out of print, but they pop up on eBay quite frequently.

Tim Locke – Many Happy Regrets : Tim Locke is a DFW singer-songwriter extraordinaire; bands include Grand Street Cryers (disbanded), Coma Rally, Calhoun. This is simply a great song from his solo disc “Love Songs For The Very Low” that is sadly out of print.

Mother Love Bone – Man of Golden Words : Amazing song by the seminal Seattle grunge band. The song contains, in my opinion, some of Andrew Wood’s most powerful lyrics.  [ iTunes ]

Slash’s Snakepit – Beggars and Hangers-On : The best song from Slash’s band.  [ iTunes ]

Freddy – Defying Gravity : Made famous on Kidd Kraddick In The Morning; guy’s been through a lot professionally. Supposedly a new album is in the can awaiting a distribution deal.  [ iTunes ]

Eddie Vedder – Croon Spoon : Soundtrack tune featuring a duet between Vedder and Susan Sarandon — no, really.. It’s a fun tune.  [ iTunes ]

Zac Maloy – Perfect Day : My favorite song of his first solo album. Great hook and lyrics.  [ iTunes ]

Cover Me

There’s just *something* I like about cover songs and artists paying tribute to another artists. Many times cover songs are inferior versions of the originals. But here is my list of cover songs that I feel are just as good if not better than the originals:

• Garth Brooks – Fishin’ In The Dark. Orignially recorded by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Garth’s version adds a level of enthusiasm not found on the original.
• Carrie Underwood – I’ll Stand By You. Originally recorded by The Pretenders. Carrie’s version adds emotion and a country twang to an already amazing song.
• Chris Cornell and David Cook – Bille Jean. Orginally recorded by Michael Jackson. Chris did an amazing arrangement and recording while David took Chris’s version and took it to the next level.
• Daughtry – Used To. Originally recorded by Zac Maloy. Daughtry’s version changes the original up a bit and adds a new bridge/version. I honestly cannot decide which I like better, so we’ll just call this one a tie.
• Green Day – I Fought The Law. Originally recorded by Sonny Curtis and The Crickets. Green Day’s version is simply amazing as is The Clash’s version of the song.
• Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Over The Rainbow. Originally recorded by Judy Garland. “Bruddah Iz” adds his signature Hawaiian twist to the song and does a remarkable job.
• Pearl Jam – Rockin’ In the Free World. Orignally recorded by Neil Young. Pearl Jam routinely covers this song in their live show; it can be found on many of their official bootlegs.
• Pat Green & Cory Morrow – Stuck In The Middle With You. Originally recorded by Stealers Wheel. Pat & Cory’s duet recording of this song adds a great country feel to the song.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Love Rollercoaster. Orginally recorded by The Ohio Players. RHCP’s version of the song is a thousand times better than the original.
• U2 – Instant Karma. Originally recorded by John Lennon. I’ll not say that U2′s version exceeds the original, but it’s definitely a great recording.
• David Cook – Eleanor Rigby. Originally recorded by The Beatles. David’s version (I’m not going to get into the whole Doxology stuff) is a great recording that takes the song to a new level.
• Disturbed – Land Of Confusion. Originally recorded by Genesis. Disturbed’s version transforms the song into a great rock tune.
• Boyz II Men – In The Still of The Night. Originally recorded by the Five Satins. Boyz II Men’s version is very smooth and adds a new dimension to the song due to their great harmony.
• Alanis Morissette – My Humps. Originally recorded by the Black Eyed Peas. I’m just throwing this in here because Alanis’ version is quite funny. Supposedly it was recorded as an April Fool’s Day joke in 2007. Video is available on YouTube.