THE BEAT GOES ON: My Favorite Things

 

While drawing up Top 10 lists might be seen as a crass symptom of the commodification of culture or a byproduct of competitive capitalism, such lists, in fact, have an august, venerable history dating back at least as far as the Bible. Think about it: The first Top 10 list was dictated by none other than the Lord to Moses. (I speak, of course, of what is popularly referred to as the Ten Commandments, although they are more properly translated as the Ten Utterances.) While that list was more prescriptive than descriptive, it pretty much laid the groundwork for modern civilization as we know it. It gave us ideals to live up to in our daily lives and provided criteria by which to judge civilized behavior.
 

 

We haven’t lost the impetus to come up with such lists; in fact, we have made the devising of them into something of an annual ritual, with critics’ year-end Top 10 lists of popular entertainments such as movies, books, and recordings, as well as the most important or influential people and events becoming ubiquitous. Such lists are ephemeral, however, serving more as consumer guides for holiday shopping than rankings of any lasting import.
 

 

It’s in that spirit that I’ve decided to take the long view this season and, rather than tally up only the most recent achievements, commemorate those that have stood the test of time—time here measured in terms of the rock era—and devise several lists codifying the artists, songs, and sounds that keep me coming back, month after month and year after year. These lists are decidedly personal and by no means intended to be in any way “objective.” There’s no fun in that, so why pretend otherwise?
 

 

So cue up Julie Andrews. No, on second thought, make that John Coltrane. These are a few of my favorite things:

 

[N.B. For an additional 10 in most categories, see The Next 10].

 

Top 10 Albums
    1.    Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan
    2.    Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
    3.    All Things Must Pass, George Harrison
    4.    Imperial Bedroom, Elvis Costello
    5.    Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell
    6.    Horses, Patti Smith
    7.    Revolver, The Beatles
    8.    Innervisions, Stevie Wonder
    9.    Sandinista, The Clash
    10.  Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams 

 

Top 10 Songs
    1.    “Idiot Wind,” Bob Dylan
    2.    “Born To Run,” Bruce Springsteen
    3.    “Lost in the Supermarket,” The Clash
    4.    “Talk of the Town,” The Pretenders
    5.    “Superstition,” Stevie Wonder
    6.    “A Day in the Life,” The Beatles
    7.    “Talent Show,” The Replacements
    8.    “Trenchtown Rock,” Bob Marley
    9.    “People Have the Power,” Patti Smith
    10.  “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” Velvet Underground
 

Top 10 Groups   
    1.    The Beatles
    2.    The Band
    3.    The Velvet Underground
    4.    The Clash
    5.    The Pretenders
    6.    The Replacements
    7.    Radiohead
    8.    Talking Heads
    9.    U2
    10.  Wilco

 

Top 10 Artists
    1.    Bob Dylan
    2.    Bruce Springsteen
    3.    Patti Smith
    4.    Stevie Wonder
    5.    Joni Mitchell
    6.    Elvis Costello
    7.    David Bowie
    8.    Ani DiFranco
    9.    David Byrne
    10.  Bob Marley

Top 10 Songwriters
    1.    Bob Dylan
    2.    Joni Mitchell
    3.    Randy Newman
    4.    Ray Davies (The Kinks)
    5.    Paul McCartney (The Beatles)
    6.    Carole King
    7.    Paul Simon
    8.    Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)
    9.    Leonard Cohen
    10.  Pete Townshend (The Who)

 

Top 10 Vocalists
    1.    Ray Charles
    2.    Roy Orbison
    3.    Joni Mitchell
    4.    Johnny Cash
    5.    Marvin Gaye
    6.    Sam Cooke
    7.    Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders)
    8.    Al Green
    9.    Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
    10.  Aimee Mann
 

 

Top 10 Rock Visionaries/Producers
    1.    Brian Eno (Talking Heads, U2)
    2.    George Martin (The Beatles)
    3.    Phil Spector (countless 1960s hit singles, George Harrison)
    4.    Todd Rundgren
    5.    David Byrne (Talking Heads)
    6.    John Cale (Velvet Underground)
    7.    Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan)
    8.    Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Los Lobos)
    9.    Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel)
    10.  Jeff Lynne (ELO, Traveling Wilburys, Roy Orbison)

 

 

 

Top 10 Guitarists
    1.    George Harrison
    2.    Robbie Robertson (The Band)
    3.    Richard Thompson
    4.    Ani DiFranco
    5.    Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
    6.    Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
    7.    Eric Clapton
    8.    Joni Mitchell
    9.    Pete Townshend (The Who)
    10.  Neil Young

 

 

 

[N.B. For an additional 10 in most categories, see The Next 10].

 

 

Seth Rogovoy is Berkshire Living’s award-winning editor-in-chief and music critic. His next book, Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, will be published by Scribner in early December.

 

Do you agree or disagree with Seth Rogovoy? Post your Top 10 lists on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/berkshireliving.

 

Photo of Richard Thompson by Ron Sleznak; photo of Elvis Costello by James O’Mara/courtesy Shore Fire Media