THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

18."SHAPES OF THINGS-THE YARDBYRDS



"SHAPES OF THINGS" CAME OUT YEARS AHEAD OF IT'S

TIME.IT SEEMED TO DEFY THE ORDINARY LIMITATIONS

OF POP/ROCK MUSIC IN EVERY CONCIEVABLE WAY.IT

WAS A SONG THAT QUESTIONED EVERYTHING ! WILL

TIME MAKE MAN MORE WISE? WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW.

THE QUESTION CAUGHT US OFF GUARD AND SO GRABBED

OUR ATTENTION.

THAT ATTENTION WAS THEN EXPOSED TO THE MOST

MIND-BLOWING GUITAR SOLO ANYONE HAD EVER HEARD.

FILLED WITH DISTORTION AND FEEDBACK JEFF BECK REELED

OFF A MODAL SCALE OF NOTES SO UNIQUE AND PERFECT

-ALL YOU COULD DO WAS SAY WOW ! AND WAIT FOR THE

NEXT TIME IT GOT PLAYED.



WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

17."LADY STARDUST"-DAVID BOWIE

"IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A GREAT ALBUM YOU'VE GOT TO SIT DOWN
AND REALLY WORK AT WRITING SOME GREAT SONGS"-SO SAID
DAVID BOWIE AFTER RELEASING HIS MAGNUM OPUS "ZIGGY STARDUST"*.
AT TIMES IN THE ALBUM BOWIE SPEAKS FOR THE FICTICOUS CHARACTOR
"ZIGGY" BUT AT OTHERS HE ALSO SPEAKS FOR ZIGGY'S EXTREMLY-
PASSIONATE FANS ".......OHHH HOW I SIGHED,WHEN THEY ASKED IF I KNEW
HIS NAME" BOWIE SINGS AFTER-"THE BOY IN THE BRIGHT BLUE JEANS,
JUMPED UP ON THE STAGE !".HE SEE'S AND DESCRIBES THE ANDROGYNOUS
ROCK SUPERSTAR FROM EVERY ANGLE-WITH COMPOSITIONS SO
BRILLIANT THAT THEY DEFY THE CONVENTIONS OF WHAT IS USUALLY
POSSIBLE IN A THREE MINUTE POP SONG."LADY STARDUST" IS AN
EXSTENSION OF THOSE BOUNDRIES AND IT SHOWED THE WAY TO
POSSIBILITY'S IN ROCK MUSIC THAT NO ONE PREVIOUSLY HAD THOUGHT
OF.

*The full title of the album is "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
and the Spiders from Mars".

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

16. "KANSAS CITY/HEY,HEY,HEY,HEY-THE BEATLES

THIS IS PROBABLY THE CLOSEST THING IN THE BEATLES SONG CATOLOG
TO WHAT IT WOULD HAVE SOUNDED LIKE TO HEAR THE BEATLES
IN HAMBURG,GERMANY AT THE STAR CLUB OR IN LIVERPOOL AT
"THE CAVERN".SOMEWHERE BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAY'S THE
BEATLE'S CAME UP WITH THIS MEDLEY OF LIEBER/STOLLER'S
"KANSAS CITY" AND LITTLE RICHARDS "HEY,HEY,HEY,HEY".THEY
PLAYED IT OFTEN AND IT WAS A CROWD FAVORITE.IT WAS ALSO
ONE OF THE LAST COVER SONGS THE BEATLES RECORDED APPEARING
ON THIER THIRD ALBUM "BEATLES FOR SALE".WITH McCARTNEY
LEADING THE VOCAL CHARGE AND THE BAND ROCKING HARD
BEHIND HIM-LEADING INTO ONE OF GEORGE'S BEST EARLY GUITAR
SOLO'S AND FINALLY SEGUING INTO THE LITTLE RICHARD SONG
WITH IT'S CALL AND RESPONSE VOCAL ALTERNATIONS IT'S JUST
A LITTLE OVER 2 MINUTES OF SOME OF THE BEST STRAIGHT AHEAD
ROCK N' ROLL OF ALL TIME.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

15. "BANG A GONG"-T-REX

IN MUSIC,LITERATURE,ART OR FILM VERY FEW PEOPLE CREATE A
COMPLETELY NEW GENRE.EDGAR ALLEN POE DID IT WHEN HE BECAME THE
FIRST HORROR WRITER AND MARC BOLAN{AKA-T-REX} DID IT WHEN HE
INVENTED GLAM ROCK.THOU THE GLAM ROCK PERIOD DID NOT LAST
LONG;THE EFFECTS OF IT SEEMED TO PERMANTLY CHANGE ROCK MUSIC.
IT SPAWNED A PLETHORA OF GREAT ARTISTS FROM "DAVID BOWIE" TO
"MOTT THE HOOPLE"-AS WELL AS ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WHO TOOK ON
IT'S PERSONA AND THRIVED SUCH AS LOU REED,ELTON JOHN,IGGY POP
[OF THE STOOGE'S} AND DAVID ESSEX.
ALL OF THE HAIRBANDS OF THE EIGHTIES OWE THIER ORIGINS TO
BOLAN YET NONE HAD THE GENUIS THAT BOLAN,BOWIE AND IAN
HUNTER OF MOTT THE HOOPLE POSSESSED.
IT'S HARD TO CONCIEVE OF HOW THE FORMER FOLKIE BOLAN MADE
THE "WILD MUTATION"* TO GLAM ROCK STAR KING-BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT
ABOUT IT.HE WAS THE ORIGINAL INNOVATER OF GLAM ROCK AND EVERY
ONE ELSE JUST FOLLOWED.

*David Bowie-"Rock n' Roll Star"-Ziggy Stardust

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2008-COPYRIGHT
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

14. "A WHITER SHADE OF PALE"-PROCAL HARUM

BASED ON BACH'S "SLEEPERS AWAKE" AND "AIR ON A G STRING"
THOU NOT EXACTLY LIKE EITHER;PROCAL HARUM'S AUDACIOUS
SONG STAYED AT THE #1 POSITION ON THE BRITISH POP CHARTS FOR
SIX WEEKS.IN AMERICA IT REACHED #5 AND SOLD OVER A MILLION
COPIES{PLATINUM}.
WITH IT'S HAUNTING ORGAN MELODY AND ULTRA-TRIPPY LYRICS
"PALE" WAS THE PERFECT SONG FOR THE PEAK YEAR OF PSYCHADELICA;
1967.IT'S THE MOST PLAYED SONG ON BRITISH RADIO OF ALL TIME AND
OVER 800 ARTISTS HAVE RECORDED COVER VERSIONS OF THE SONG-
WHICH MUST BE SOME KIND OF RECORD.THERE IS NO OTHER SONG
EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER "PALE" THAT EVEN REMOTLY RESEMBLES
IT.IT'S A "ONE OF A KIND" SONG THAT ONCE HEARD IS UNFORGETABLE.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

13 Commonalities:American Book's 1800's-1900's

Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and Mark Twain's
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

by Pete Holly

1.Both books take place in America
2.Both center on two main characters and
the complex relationship between them.
3.Both books revolve around events expierienced
during travel.
4.Both books were and are described as trash by some
and genuis by others.
5.Both books sidestep traditional christian values in
favor of alternative beliefs-yet neither totally eschews
christianity,in fact there are strong christian elements in
both{truth tellin' and such}.
6.The path is clear in both-it's either the "The River" or
"The Road".
7.Neither book's have tight neat endings but leave the door
open for more adventure's.
8.Both book's portray differances between "City Folk"
those of the country.
9.Both dis-regard the traditional begining,middle and end
approach for a much more expansive and entertaining
yarn style.
10.Both book's were based on real people and mostly true events.
11.Both book's stretch the truth but in an enlightening fashion.
12.Stop's in towns signal that an important event is about to take place.
13.Both pronounce the importance of Black Freedom.

Pete Holly-copyright-2008

THE PRE-WIRED BRAIN

YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ "STEPHAN PINKERS" BOOK'S
{HOW THE MIND WORKS,THE BLANK SLATE,ETC.}TO CATCH
SCIENTISTS ON TV MAKING ERRONOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT
THE NATURE OF NATURE AND THE NATURE OF
THE HUMAN MIND;BUT IT HELPS.JUST LAST NIGHT ON A SHOW ABOUT
ANIMALS,INSECTS,BIRDS AND SUCH WHO MAKE THIER OWN
CONSTRUCTIONS WITH NO PREVIOUS EXPIERIENCE; A SCIENTIST
STATEDED AT THE END HOW AMAZING THIS ABILITY IS CONSIDERING
THAT "HUMANS CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT BEING TAUGHT".
THIS IS A TOTALLY FALSE STATMENT.HUMANS MANAGE TO LEARN
A NUMBER OF HIGHTLY COMPLEX SKILLS WITHOUT BEING TAUGHT;
THE MAIN ONE BEING LANGUAGE;WHICH NO OTHER ANIMAL HAS
MASTERED WHIETHER TAUGHT OR NOT.
ONE OF THE GREATIST,IF NOT THE GREATIST SKILLS OF ANY
LIVING ORGANISM ON PLANET EARTH IS THE ABILITY OF A
GROWING HUMAN BABY TO LEARN LANGUAGE WITHOUT BEING
FORMALLY TAUGHT-BOTH SPEAKING AND UNDERSTANDING.
THE HUMAN MIND IS NOT A BLANK SLATE ! IT COMES WITH CERTAIN
INNATE ABILITY'S AND ONE OF THEM IS TO UNDERSTAND AND
SPEAK WORDS.OUR BRAINS ARE PRE-WIRED TO HAVE THIS ABILITY.
THAT BRAINS CAN LEARN TO SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND SPEECH
SIMPLY FROM BEING EXPOSED TO OTHER HUMANS DOING THE
SAME MAY BE THE MOST MIRACLOUS EVENT A HUMAN CAN WITNESS.
BUT AS 'PINKER' POINTS OUT IT'S REALLY JUST THE WAY OUR BRAINS
WORK.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2008-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED