Classic rock doesn't do it for me anymore--I'm likely to hear Queen or Foreigner. And sometimes oldies don't grab me, either; let's retire "Magic Bus" and "All You Need Is Love" without delay.
But how about this stretch of eight tunes? It's like when I was a new driver at 16 and I used to scare the crap out of my Mom when I'd start thumping the dashboard in our Ford--there was a kind of soft vinyl area just beyond the steering wheel I could reach while driving.
Here's the joyous set I heard on the way home recently (no women, unfortunately; could've used Dusty Springfield's "A Brand New Me" [1969 single, 1970 LP track] or the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"):
Elvis Presley--"Suspicious Minds": Still sounds incredible--the perfect balance of commercial and personal.
The Beatles--"Any Time at All" and "Think for Yourself" (back to back during what they call "Double Beatle Boogie"): The former is Ringo's most rollicking drum track on record, while George's third or fourth piece of writing is appropriately harsh; who had used the word "opaque" in a song before that?
Gene Pitney--"She's a Heartbreaker": A frantic vocal by the underrated vocalist who usually sounded emotional yet skillfully controlled. Too hard to sing but fun to attempt.
Marvin Gaye--"You're a Wonderful One": I put this title on a picture of my daughter Emily when she was born. Marvelous Marvin rides a fine groove here.
The Rolling Stones--"Play with Fire": One of the obvious firsts for the Stones as they explored the hollow contrasts of the English class system (acoustic guitar vs. harpsichord in the musical approach).
The Monkees--"The Girl I Knew Somewhere": Penned by Mike Nesmith, sung by Micky Dolenz, and with the kind of melodicism that's long been buried in so much of current, murky pop music. And yes!--the harpsichord player (Peter Tork) gets to solo this time.
Clarence Carter--"Slip Away": Sexy, propulsive, yearning--a hit that seems to be barely remembered.
There you go...a bunch of AM radio era sparklers that spanned my entire drive home; not one dud in the bunch. But I had reached my destination and got out of the car--I was still bouncing!