GUITAR WORLD'S 100 GREATEST (MY ADJUSTMENTS) (part 2)

This is part 2 of my "adjustments" to Guitar World's list of 100 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Songs. Part 1 is here.

26. The Stooges - "1969" I just inserted it here. The Stooges kick the shit out of most bands that "classic rock" radio plays.  I could have chosen lots of Stooges songs, but "1969," leading off their self-titled debut from that same year, was a roaring counterpoint to lots of the hippie Woodstock stuff going on at the time. More people need to check out The Stooges.  I'm glad they finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  R.I.P guitarist Ron Asheton.

27. KISS - "Detroit Rock City (live)" I moved this up a few notches, GW had it at 33. And I replaced the studio version with the one from Alive II. "You wanted the best, you GOT the best! The hottest band in the world..."

28. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - "Cinnamon Girl" Neil and the late Danny Whitten were a great team. This song is really simple, but if it was easy, everyone would write songs like this. Incredible riff. GW had this at 31, I bumped it up.

29. Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love" which shows off Jimmy Page's godly power, not just as a guitarist but as a producer. Moved up from 35.

30. Yes - "Starship Trooper" Well, I may come off as a bit of a snob sometimes, but on the other hand I am a huge Yes fan. I'm glad GW choose this song instead of one of the more obvious ones. From their third LP, but their first with guitarist Steve Howe, The Yes Album. I never get tired of this song.

31. Derek & The Dominoes - "I Looked Away." Of course GW went with "Layla," but "classic rock" radio has kind of driven that one into the ground for me also. It's a great riff, a great anthem (and a great piano song as well as a great guitar song). To me, Derek is Eric Clapton's best period ever. Putting Eric and Duane Allman on the same record, it's still incredible to hear them together. I think "I Looked Away" is one of the most underrated songs in the Clapton cannon.

32. Bill Haley & The Comets - "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" It sounds quaint now, but in 1954, I'm sure it was pretty radical.  And the guitar is tasty as hell, props to Danny Cedrone who played guitar on the track.

33. Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden" GW had "Run To The Hills" at #37, but I replaced it with this song, because I prefer the Paul Di'Anno era to the Bruce Dickinson era. Iron Maiden is creepy and evil sounding.  At the same time, "Run To The Hills" was the first Maiden song I'd ever heard, and really turned me on to them, so lets call it a tie, OK? I knew Maiden's imagery was very horror-film-like, and I was surprised to hear them do such a political song. Anyway, guitarist Dave Murray rocks on both songs.  On "Iron Maiden," he plays with co-guitarist Dennis Stratton, and on "Run..." with Adrian Smith.

34. The MC5 - "Kick Out The Jams" in the place of "Carry On Wayward Son." It's just a matter of opinion, but I think "classic rock" radio would actually rock more with more Stooges and MC5.

35. Cheap Trick - "Surrender" They always seem a bit underrated. GW had it at 39, I moved it up four spots.

36. Alice Cooper - "School's Out" Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce were a great guitar team, and Alice Cooper was a great BAND. This song is also a bit overdone, but it's timeless (at least as long as there are schools and summer break).

37.  Michael Jackson - "Beat It" I was glad to see GW include this song, even though no rock stations would ever play a Michael Jackson song.  The fact that he used Eddie Van Halen on this song was pretty radical at the time.  Michael often choose cool guitarists to work with, including Steve Stevens and Slash, but this was his best rock moment.  The fact that you couldn't hear this song on rock radio made rock radio, to me, seem old and out of touch (their very limited playlists didn't help either).

38. The New York Dolls - "Personality Crisis" I used this song to replace a Motley Crue song that was included by GW.  I don't like GW, but I respect that Nikki Sixx has always given a lot of credit to the Dolls for their influence, and even gave them the opening slot on their summer tour (which I think is still going on). But the Dolls are another great, underrated band. They deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they deserve to be on the radio also. Sylvain Sylvain and the late Johnny Thunders: great guitar team.

39. Bob Dylan - "Subterranean Homesick Blues" I'm not sure who the guitar players were on this song, but it's got great playing. Also, it marks one of the most radical artistic departures from a major popular music artist.  Going from folk to rock (or funk) like this... these days, everyone plays electric and acoustic music, but it was a radical idea back then.

40. The Rolling Stones - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" I moved this up from #46. Yes, it's a bit overplayed, but what a classic.  Undeniable riff. Keith Richards and Brian Jones on guitars.

41. AC/DC - "Hells Bells" Obviously "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Back In Black" are bigger songs from the Back In Black album, but I love how this song opens the album. It's their sendoff to Bon Scott, and the first time we hear his replacement, Brian Johnson. As always, Angus and Malcolm Young are devastating.

42. Dick Dale & The Del-Tones "Miserlou" I moved this up from 50.  It's truly an iconic piece of music, and bless Quentin Tarantino (one of the greatest soundtrack curators) for putting it in Pulp Fiction.

43. Crosby Stills Nash & Young "Carry On" I used this to replace CSN's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." I think this is better, and, plus, Neil Young is on it (I think: I know all four guys were on every song together on Deja Vu). When you see it live, it's cool to watch Stephen Stills and Neil go back and forth on lead guitars. David Crosby is a good rhythm guitarist, and Graham Nash is just a great musician. It's a great song to open a concert with.

44. The Grateful Dead - "Bertha (live)" I replaced "Truckin'" with this, I don't need to hear "Truckin'" anymore. This live version opens the "Skull Fuck" album, and they opened with this the first time I ever saw them. I'm not always into the hippie/jam band thing, but Jerry Garcia was a cool guitar player.

45. Link Wray & His Wray Men - "Rumble" Another badass instrumental used in Pulp Fiction, but not included on the soundtrack. I moved this up from 62.

46. The Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Another great George Harrison composition, and in this one, the Fab Four gets an assist from Eric Clapton. I moved this up from 63.

47. Heart - "Barracuda" Yes, also driven into the ground by radio, but what the hell, it's  great riff.  Nancy Wilson is an underrated guitarist, and in the interest of fairness, it's worth mentioning that Roger Fisher was the other guitarist in the band at this point. I moved this up from 64.

48. Pearl Jam - "Corduroy" GW choose "Evenflow," which is a great (and has a monster riff that I think Stone Gossard came up with), but "Corduroy" is probably my favorite Pearl Jam song. When they play it live, it just raises the entire arena. People don't talk about Mike McCready enough when they talk about the best lead guitarists around today, but he is one of the best.

49. Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" You just can't deny how huge Van Halen were in their day, and how great they were. I used to sort of "blame"them for hair metal, but I realized that was ridiculous.  This song is one of Eddie Van Halen's coolest moments.

50. The Yardbirds - "Over Under Sideways Down" This is from the Jeff Beck era, which is my favorite.

1969: NOT JUST ABOUT WOODSTOCK

So, there's been a lot of hype about
Woodstock's 40th anniversary and how big of a deal it was. I realize it was a big deal, but lots of other stuff was happening in 1969. It was the year I was born! Here's a few other cool music events from that year: Former Buffalo Springfield member Neil Young went solo: his first solo album, Neil Young, wasn't great, but the follow-up, released later that year, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was his first album with Crazy Horse. Led Zeppelin and The Stooges released classic self-titled debuts (Zep also released their second album in '69), and The Allman Brothers Band and Santana and Yes also released their debuts. Sly & The Family Stone released Stand!, Bob Dylan went "country" with Nashville Skyline, The Velvet Underground released thier self titled classic, Creedence Clearwater Revival released Green River and Blind Faith released thier only album. The Beatles wrapped things up with Abbey Road, The Rolling Stones had Let It Bleed and The Who unleashed Tommy. Also in 1969, Earth changed thier name to Black Sabbath (they'd release their debut in early 1970). A good year for music, and not just hippie stuff.

PROG ROCK ALERT: "YES" TO TOUR WITH ASIA

Even though the Yes website has no info yet,
an email from Bowery Productions says that Yes and Asia will play Montclair, New Jersey's Welmont Theater on July 29. Double the Steve Howe! I hope he's in good shape. Of course, it is still the Jon Anderson-less version of Yes. I wish they would cut that out already.

In cooler Yes news, drummer Alan White will be performing the music of John Lennon at a benefit concert for Race for the Cure (an organization dedicated to fighting breast cancer) at the Snoqualmie Casino. Yes' Chris Squire will also be there, as will former Yes guitarist/singer/songwriter Trevor Rabin, who left the band in the early '90s. Also in the band, one of my favorite singers, Shawn Smith of Brad! (Alan White was in an early version of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, by the way).

YES CANCELING MOST OF THEIR FAKE TOUR DATES

I'm not the kind of guy to wish ill health on anyone.  But I am glad that Yes, featuring a singer from a Yes tribute band that the group found on myspace, is cancelling most of their upcoming tour dates. They say that it's due to "an unseen medical condition." Hopefully everyone is in good health, and the "medical condition" is a combination of well deserved poor ticket sales and a case of "tail between the legs."  Bring back Jon Anderson, we'll all feel better.  

YES TO RELEASE SYMPHONIC LIVE

By my count, Yes has released seven live albums, a live EP and a live box set (The Word Is Live, which I was honored to contribute liner notes to). Plus, the Yes offshoot Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe also has a live album. Does anyone need one more live album?

Of course! Symphonic Live, due out February 24, was recorded on their 2001 tour which featured the lineup of Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Alan White and Steve Howe. They didn't have a keyboardist at that point, so they just replaced Rick Wakeman with an entire orchestra. I regretted missing that tour, but I do have a DVD recorded from one of the shows, and it's great. I'll be glad to get it on CD.

It's a bummer that Squire, White and Howe are continuing on with thier bogus "Yes" tour without Jon Anderson, though, so the least said about that, the better.

BILL BRUFORD RETIRES FROM LIVE PERFORMANCE

Bill Bruford is one of the most talented drummers ever to sit behind the kit. A true artist, he would probably frown on the fact that my (and many other fans) favor his late '60s/early '70s work as a founding member of Yes; of course, he also played in a few different versions of King Crimson, a band called U.K. and he was even Genesis' first touring drummer when Phil Collins started singing for them. Bill led many of his own groups as well. He just announced that he is retiring from touring. I've seen him with Crimson and Yes (and the sort-of-Yes-reunion group Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe) and he was just great. He is about to put out his autobiography, which should be interesting, as he sort of looks down a bit on rock/pop with a sort of detached semi-fond bemusement. But what a career, he really pushed drumming to a new level.

JON ANDERSON: "NOT YES"

I was wondering how Jon Anderson felt about his bandmates Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe touring with an "understudy" as Yes.

Well, he's let his feelings known on his website. His post is called "Disappointed, and Very Disrepected." He basically says that only Alan called him to see how he was doing after he fell ill, and that no one asked him his opinion about thier decision to tour without him.

There's been two other times where Yes sort of went on without Jon when he quit. In 1980, Jon quit the band and was replaced by Trevor Horn of The Buggles (later to become a big-name producer) for the album Drama. I have a friend who cites it as his favorite Yes album, but really it didn't work. The band toured, but tickets went on sale before the album came out, and in that pre-internet era, people weren't aware that Jon wasn't in the band. It didn't go over well, and after one tour, Yes broke up.

He quit again in 1988, and the band tried to go on without Jon: from what I've heard, they were going to have guitarist Trevor Rabin sing; they started working with singer/multi-instrumentalist Billy Sherwood (who would briefly join the band about a decade later); or that Roger Hodgson of Supertramp was working with them. Ultimately, none of that happened, and Jon rejoined when Yes and Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe "merged."

There are two people you absolutely need to have Yes: one is Chris Squire and the other is Jon Anderson. But tickets are about to go on sale for this farce. I LOVE Yes. But I won't be buying tickets for this nonsense. Guys, cancel it, say your apologies to Jon, and hit the road in 2009. Or whenever Jon's ready. This is a bad idea. There was talk a while ago of a tour that would be Chris Squire touring with his pre-Yes band, The Syn (Alan White would play drums even though he wasn't in the group), Alan touring with his band White which would also include former Yes and current Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes, and Steve Howe doing solo acoustic sets. Then, they'd all get together and perform songs from Drama. The tour was cancelled, the reason that was given was that someone had visa problems. But now the same guys are touring, but using the Yes name. Not cool. Call it "Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White." But not Yes.

YES: JUST SAY NO!

A few months back, Yes cancelled their summer tour because of singer Jon Anderson's health problems. 

Now, we hear that Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White are going to be doing an Anderson-less tour for their 40th anniversary. 

Who's singing? Oh, some guy who used to sing for a Yes tribute band. Please, guys, reconsider. Just because Journey and Boston did it, doesn't make it right. But you can read more about it here (if you must). 

JON ANDERSON - GET WELL SOON

Yes is one of my favorite bands. I was looking forward to seeing them this summer. Unfortunately, singer Jon Anderson has been having respiratory problems, and has been advised to cancel the tour. I've interviewed Jon, he's always been super cool.  It's amazing when someone you've listened to for decades turns out to be so cool. Anyway, I hope he gets well soon, and sings again. I hope Yes tours again in the future. 

YES!

Coolness be damned, Yes has always been one of my favorite groups. I've had the privilege to work on some of their reissues.  The other day, I bumped into singer Jon Anderson and showed him my work on one of their box sets, and we started talking. He told me that when Yes do something again, keyboardist Rick Wakeman won't be with them - again. I think this is the fifth time he's left the band! It seems to be partially about his health, and this doesn't seem to be an angry split, as Rick is being replaced by his son, Oliver Wakeman.  Rick's other son, Adam Wakeman, plays keyboards in Ozzy Osbourne's band, and also on Black Sabbath's tours. 

Anyway, the tour is called the "Close To The Edge And Back" tour, so hopefully, they'll be playing all the songs on the Close To Edge album (only three songs anyway, of course they're all long). They're also having a contest with VH1 Classic, where fans have the chance to join the band onstage for "Give Love Each Day," a song off of their last album, Magnification. That'll probably end up being their final album: it costs a ton of money to record a Yes album, and the fans aren't really dying for new music from them anyway. But here's hoping that they tour for a long time. 

ASIA'S RETURN

In the early '80s, when the original lineup of Asia - former King Crimson/UK/Uriah Heep bassist/singer John Wetton, former Yes guitarist Steve Howe, former Yes/Buggles keyboardist Geoff Downes and former ELP drummer Carl Palmer - got together, I doubt many people expected them to become pop superstars. Somehow, they were able to curb their prog-rock tendencies and come up with some tight pop songs that made them into MTV stars. They sounded as much like Boston as any of their former bands.

I can't front, I was into their first album. The second one was OK, and after that, the band started splitting up. It's funny how every prog rock band seemed to have these massive revolving door lineups. The band actually went on for years after everyone but Downes left. But last year, the original lineup got back together; this year they'll release a brand new album. And now there's another Asia out there made up of some of the guys that Geoff Downes played with in the more recent lineups! Hopefully, this won't lead to a reality show competition of some sort.

I don't know if I care about the band putting out new music and touring - since I don't have any of their music anyway. But I think it's cool that a band that were dissed by critics before they ever released a note is popular enough to tour more than two decades later. I do hope that Steve Howe and Yes do something again at some point - as far as I'm concerned, Asia is Steve Howe's second band. Or third, really, since none of Asia's songs are as good as Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle." Asia were, however, better than GTR.