The Pinnacle Of.....?

Bellycaster

Pick a Band/Artist and post what you think their "Pinnacle" of Songwriting is/was. Their "Opus" if you like.

Kind of like, the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of *Insert* for want of a better term.

Lots of Classic acts out there, but it can be anyone.

I'll go with this.

I'd assume a lot of people would go for "God Only Knows" or "Good Vibrations" which are both fantastic songs, but this stands apart in it's greatness.

Give me some more.

RocknRollDave

The Smiths - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs' Tears

not_the_dj

Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland

not_the_dj

Steve Vai - For The Love of God. This is the Expo '92 performance. I remember seeing this on the TV at the time, amazing.

Phil_aka_Pip

Camel - The Snow Goose

Focus - Eruption

xSkarloey

Zeppelin- Kashmir

AC/DC- Let there be rock

Maria Jesus- The Birdie Song

Zodiac51

UFO - Lights Out and Rock Bottom off the double live Strangers in the Night album, in fact any track off that really.

bertie

Wanted -  The Dooleys

mike_l

Metallica Master Of Puppets

Iron Maiden Number of the beast, although (IMO) Seventh Son, Somewhere in time and Fear of the Dark are very close

Megadeth Rust in peace

All the above are the albums, rather than single songs.

Although (IMO) this is Maiden's greatest ever song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BBtLMLQfiRo

 

 

TheOtherDennis

I couldn't possibly narrow it down that closely and still agree with myself in ten minutes, never mind tomorrow or longer ahead, but for now, this is what comes to mind.

For me, there's something about The Beatles You Won't See Me that just hits the spot. It's a perfect little pop song on Rubber Soul and when someone played it on the radio a a while back they just laughed and said "And that isn't even one of the good ones!"*

Beyond that, I agree with There Is A Light, Kashmir and I'd like to add Whole Lotta Rosie for the sheer Top Gearness of its glee and rudeness and "Go on, be offended, I dare you!"

Although I'd disagree with Levi Stubbs' Tears, brilliant though it is - for me Bragg's finest moment is Between The Wars.

And having mentioned one soul giant, how about Stevie Wonder's I Wish, Till You Come Back To Me (which he wrote when he was just 17, ffs) or Uptight, or Smokie Robinson's Tears of A Clown, or The Tracks of My Tears.

So many songs to choose from, I couldn't possibly narrow it down to just one.




*Yes, yes, I know this blows a fatal hole in my own argument, but I still think it's actually better than some of the Beatles tracks that are supposed to be superior.

Bellycaster

bertie;187063" said:

Wanted -  The Dooleys

Don't talk daft,

"The Chosen Few" was much better

xSkarloey

Billy Bragg's best song for me is "God's Footballer".

TheOtherDennis

And how like that Beach Boys track does the verse to this sound?

Bellycaster

@mike_l

Good Maiden tracks, but my Maiden Opus has to be this.

@TheOtherDennis

Yes, Robert Palmer track does resemble that melody a bit.

Aslo the Nah, nah, nah, nah bit at the end of Surf's Up reminds me of a similar nah nah in The Beatles "A Day in the Life" after the lyrics "Somebody spoke and I went into a dream".

mike_l

@Bellycaster

not a bad call, and a good track, but Hallowed is one of the tracks I always go back to.

Bellycaster

Although they're not my Favourite band, here's another Masterpiece.

randomhandclaps

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMogMOjIH8M

Bellycaster

@randomhandclaps

Genital Warts, Lol.

I actually bought the album when it came out, they're great.

DulcetJones

Genesis, "Suppers Ready", for prog anyway.

Bucket

Children of Bodom - their early albums are really good but a little too much emphasis on notes per second and not on songs - it's perhaps not that mature. And the lyrics are awful. Their more recent albums have been way too commercialised and watered-down - like an American interpretation of Scandinavian metal. In between those periods is their third album, "Follow the Reaper" which IMO is when they got everything just right - melodic, technical, their best songwriting and probably their best playing too. And it's a little special to me because I consider it the album that was my introduction to extreme metal.

Metallica's pinnacle is Master of Puppets, but you knew that anyway.

I'm very much in a minority here, but I think Black Sabbath's peak was Sabotage.

richardhomer

Here's an unfashionable one; 'Love Over Gold' by Dire Straits. Knopfler's writing had developed enormously in just four years since their debut - it had become almost cinematic ('Telegraph Road' and 'Private Investigations' in particular). Bigger arrangements, different keyboard textures and 'that' guitar style and tone (Schecter 'S' types into a MkII Boogies) at its zenith.