81. Great White - Shotgun Willie's

2013 Music Top

Position: 81 of 100

Artist: Great White
Song: Shotgun Willie's

Album: Elation (2012)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83022429
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/rr91zm1z/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/23314091
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/Shotgun+Willie+s/4GB8Pr?src=5

This incarnation of Great White, without their legendary vocalist (Jack Russell), is still capable of churning out great rock songs. This one, coming of their 2012 album, is written around the idea of chasing back your youth, of finding yourself in a place that hasn't changed as you have through the years and rediscovering the all too familiar feelings of your younger self. "Take me back in time, under the moon of '89"...

82. Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free

2013 Music Top

Position: 82 of 100

Artist: Solomon Burke
Song: None Of Us Are Free

Album: Don't Give Up On Me (2002)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83021584
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/3axautqi/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/806396
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/None+Of+Us+Are+Free/2BtkAV?src=5

Courtesy of my explorations of House MD for the previous year, I discovered another great song. Solomon Burke's take of the classic None Of Us Are Free from 2002 used here in the ending of a Season 2 episode. Again, I find myself shocked that a song written about slavery can still be perceived today as having very actual and relevant lyrics.

83. The Jeff Healey Band - As The Years Go Passing By (Live)

2013 Music Top

Position: 83 of 100

Artist: The Jeff Healey Band
Song: As The Years Go Passing By (Live in Germany)

Album: - (1995)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83020523
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/yk6kstqm/


Jeff Healey, a blind man that learned to play the guitar sitting down became one of the best blues guitarists of all time. Unfortunately he already passed away from glaucoma by the time you're reading these lines. All we have is his work from up until now, and here, in this 1995 concert we see him do the outmost justice to the Albert King classic. When the guitar kicks in, you can't tell me you can't feel the chill.

84. Joe Bonamassa - Had To Cry Today

2013 Music Top

Position: 84 of 100

Artist: Joe Bonamassa
Song: Had To Cry Today

Album: Had To Cry Today (2004)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83019695
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/r7wk3twe/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/7731962
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/Had+To+Cry+Today/2gHQIz?src=5
Joe Bonamassa is one of the last new real blues guitarists that I've seen come out. While he might be odds on favourite to hold the distinction of being the last of a dying breed (especially since Jeff Healey died and Jonny Lang withered away stylistically), he is surely deserving to be placed in the same conversation as some of the other great blues guitarists of all time such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the rest of them. Following his 2003 amazing album (Blues Deluxe) in which he managed to play in the style of many of the afore mentioned guitar players, he released in 2004 the album Had To Cry Today with the title track being a cover of the famous Blind Faith song from 1969. And what a cover it is! I've always maintained that whenever an artist is covering a song he should do his best to take that song to achieving as close as 100% of its potential. Well, boy does Bonamassa ever deliver! This being, hands down, the best version of Had To Cry Today I have ever heard and I think he truly brought the song to a point from which there can be no further improvements. That's what I call 100%!

85. Bobby Vinton - PS I Love You

2013 Music Top

Position: 85 of 100

Artist: Bobby Vinton
Song: PS I Love You

Album: Mad Men - Music From The Series, Volume 1 (2008)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83019487
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/ify4gt4u/
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/P+S+I+Love+You/4UpSkf?src=5


This song came to my attention via the TV Show Mad Men. Used all the way back in season 1 it fit perfectly to the mood and time of the show. A love song sung from the perspective of one who is away from his loved one, a classic hit that has since been recorded by more famous singers among which even one Frank Sinatra, this version from Bobby Vinton stands out through the simplicity of the composition and the warm voice that brings it to life.

86. Jorn - Song For Ronnie James

2013 Music Top

Position: 86 of 100

Artist: Jorn
Song: Song For Ronnie James

Album: Dio (2010)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83016327
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/71t9zt8n/
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Song+For+Ronnie+James/55pDcM?src=5
Originally meant as a tribute to Ronnie James Dio when initially recorded in 2009, the album became an epitaph upon its release in the wake of Dio's death in 2010.
Jorn Lande is a very interesting singer whom I first came across by accident when I found some Whitesnake songs that turned out not to be Whitesnake. To put it eloquently I'm gonna quote what Mickey Moody or Bernie Marsden (I can't remember exactly which) said to the other one: "you should check out this kid I found in Norway, sounds like a young David Coverdale". It's true, David Coverdale is the closest voice I can place Jorn Lande to, but his bag of tricks doesn't end here. I don't know how he does it, but he can also mimic very well Ian Gillan's style of singing as well as Ronnie James Dio and even Phill Lynott (check out his 2008 album of covers Unlocking The Past it is absolutely remarkable). I can understand a guitarist doing it, like Joe Bonamassa mimicking the styles of BB King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck and even Jimmy Page, but, for the life of me, I don't know how a vocalist can do it.
The fact that Jorn was a big fan of Dio is evident, not only in this song, but also due to the fact that on his 2013 album there are at least two more songs dedicated to "the father of the sign". This particular song, filled with themes from the lyrical universe of Dio is, in a way, a lament to the life and art of a man that enriched the universe with his presence and left it poorer for his passing.

87. Heaven & Hell - Falling Off The Edge Of The World (Live)

2013 Music Top

Position: 87 of 100

Artist: Heaven & Hell
Song: Falling Off The Edge Of The World

Album: Live At Radio City Music Hall (2007)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/83016326

Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/yizyq6qq/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/16961054

This particular incarnation of Black Sabbath has always been my favourite (despite owning only three of their songs for a very, very long time) exceeding even the one that featured Deep Purple's Ian Gillan. I wonder if the people at this concert realised how lucky they were to be attending one of the best concerts ever in the history of music. The band is absolutely flawless, the mix is perfect and Dio is in excellent voice (despite being 65 and probably already carrying the seeds of his fatal cancer) and it just elevates every song to the quality of a masterpiece. Most songs recorded up to even the mid 80s are robbed of their full potential (especially in the rock arena) because of either the poor tools available for recording or for sound processing or because of certain chemical influences on the performers that would end up affecting their abilities to play (most famous case would be Jimmy Page) so whenever one of these songs gets re-recorded in the current era, provided that the singer's voice hasn't deteriorated beyond the point of no return, the results are absolutely astounding. Such is the case of this concert that takes the "Dio Years" Sabbath songs and puts them on steroids and, in this case, bigger turns out to be better.

This particular song starts out as a ballad of a man slowly slipping into insanity only to turn on a rhythm break and a Dio phrase into a full on rocker where we're all falling into madness and, to be honest, looking at the world today, I'm almost shocked that lyrics written back in 1981 can still prove to be so current. Geezer Butler really stands out on this song as his rhythm line is all over the place from slow and ominous to frenetic but he ends up keeping the song together and on track and delivering a truly great performance.

88. Robbie Williams - Let Me Entertain You

2013 Music Top

Position: 88 of 100

Artist: Robbie Williams
Song: Let Me Entertain You

Album: Life Thru A Lens (1997)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/83016325

Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/mqiiase3/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3087542

Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/Let+Me+Entertain+You/4Bo7tg?src=5

I was on the elevator one day, leaving the house to go to work when this song popped into my earphones and BAM! All of a sudden I found myself filled with this rich amount of energy and I took a second to realise that this is actually a very good song and that Robbie Williams, for all his Take That poppiness, churned out one of the best rockers of the late 90s. No surprise that the video is inspired by KISS' stage persona - one of the most outrageous rock shows on Earth. Bottom line to take away: whenever you find yourself low on fuel, this song is a great kickstarter.

89. Joe Cocker - Highway, Highway

2013 Music Top

Position: 89 of 100

Artist: Joe Cocker
Song: Highway, Highway

Album: Have A Little Faith (1994)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83015919

Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/wt1bf7bm/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3508465

One of the first albums I ever received as a present from my folks when I was a kid was Joe Cocker's Have A Little Faith whose selection I know was nothing short of accidental, but still, what an album! This 1994 jewel contains about as many great songs as there are tracks on the album. The last song on side A (I know, cassette tapes!) was this ballad that most likely started my fascination with the concept of the highway to the point where, today, there probably isn't a song about "a highway" that I've heard and didn't like. In this particular song, the highway is the symbol of that road of life that we're all going on, or that it is carrying us depending on which perspective you feel like adopting. Last year I was feeling a little nostalgic and this song proved the perfect way of connecting again with that kid who found a Joe Cocker tape stuck into his boots on Saint Nick's morning, back in 1994.

90. Cargo - Destin

2013 Music Top

Position: 90 of 100

Artist: Cargo
Song: Destin

Album: Destin (1995)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/83015435
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/2xitk1bi/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/58115331
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Destin/3NNYsw?src=5

Despite ripping off part of the riff from Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral", the end result turned out quite satisfactory and the vocals are a definite upgrade over Ozzy's voice. I first discovered this song back in the days of cassette tapes, from a very good friend, but since I wasn't into this much rock at the time, it remained overlooked until, a couple of years ago, I did some extensive web prowling trying to build back a Cargo discography from their original period. I believe Ovidiu Ioncu "Kempes" to have been the best Romanian rock vocalist of all time, his voice having the effortless capacity to send shivers up one's spine and have long regretted the way he chose to leave the music scene back in the early 2k years. Setting aside the personal troubles of the man, if one was ever to assemble a catalogue of the best Romanian rock, this song would undoubtably belong very high up in its ranks. On a more personal note, this song about death, was unfortunately revived late last year after an unexpected brush with its protagonist but whose encounter, so far, we've been lucky enough to avoid.

91. Daft Punk - Get Lucky

2013 Music Top

Position: 91 of 100

Artist: Daft Punk ft Pharell Williams
Song: Get Lucky

Album: Random Access Memories (2013)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82578066
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/8irsf6s8/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/67238735 - album version
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/Get+Lucky+feat+Pharrell+Williams/59nNFy?src=5 - album version

This was definitely the hit of the summer, not only for me but for the entire world as well. Daft Punk's album was a smash and, on a personal note, a serious enticement for me to explore their music further. On this particular song, though, Nile Rodgers, formerly of Chic and one of the most prolific producers ever, is involved which probably helped lend the composition such a catchy vibe (he's the guy in the video that's playing guitar). This guy has been responsible for an amazing decade of hits and is probably one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. Setting aside the work he did with Chic and Sister Sledge (though samples of two of those songs ended up launching Hip-Hop altogether - Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight - and revitalising the musical career of one Will Smith with Gettin' Jiggy With It), this guy produced the following: Diana - Diana Ross, Let's Dance - David Bowie (incidentally his biggest selling album), Original Sin (single) - INXS, The Reflex, The Wild Boys and then the entire Notorious album from Duran Duran, Madonna's Like A Virgin album, B52's multi-platinum comeback album from 1989 called Cosmic Thing (one might remember Love Shack off this album), multiple movie soundtracks as well as video-game soundtracks among which the bestselling Halo and Resident Evil. This is what you get when you let loose a musician of this calibre on today's scene. Within 24 hours of the single's release Spotify announced it was its most streamed song in both the US and the UK for the entire 5 year history of Spotify's life. It's just such a cool and positive song that clings to your brain and you keep hearing it on and on and on even long after it's finished playing and that, my friends, is the stuff that hits are made of.

92. 3 Doors Down - Dangerous Game

2013 Music Top

Position: 92 of 100

Artist: 3 Doors Down
Song: Dangerous Game

Album: Away From The Sun (2002)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82579049
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/d5uvk8fq/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/2172902
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/s/Dangerous+Game/2NQOKd?src=5

To my shame, I only discovered this song back in 2012, when it was already a decade old. This happens to be one of the last good rockers from the 2k years and such a better staple of American modern rock than Nickelback ever was. Unfortunately this style was nothing more than a passing phase as rock music continued its so called "evolution" to the point where I haven't heard a good mainstream rock song having been released in the last few years with the exception of a few new releases by "old" artists, perhaps. The "dangerous game that we play" is the one called life I guess. A great pick me up song.

93. Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat

2013 Music Top

Position: 93 of 100

Artist: Al Stewart
Song: Year Of The Cat

Album: Year Of The Cat (1976)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82574768
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/2fv5nvdk/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3100130
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Year+Of+The+Cat/2IuI5O?src=5

This song found itself peaking at number 8 on the Billboard charts back in 1977 ushering in a new genre of folk that involved more instruments and enabled some of the great ballads of the 80s to come alive. This particular song, Al Stewart's most recognisable hit worldwide went as high as number 3 in the Canadian charts. Filled with images of the old world, the melodic British English and Bogart movie references, it has more than enough bait to get me hooked. The lyrics are some of the most beautiful I've heard in a song ever. Going against the rule that songwriting needs to be kept simple and to the point in order for the listener to connect, passages such as "strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime" or "she comes out of the sun in a silk dress running like a watercolour in the rain" or "the drum-beat strains of the night remain in the rhythm of the newborn day" are simply mesmerising poetry that carry over to song perfectly. In the end, the song is about finding what you never knew you needed when you never knew to look for it, it's about breaking your cycle (in this case fate has it broken for you) and just going with the flow. A feeling I know most of us would enjoy, but are never put in that magical circumstance where things just happen, and we all know we never go chasing for it of our own volition.

94. Robbie Williams - The Road To Mandalay

2013 Music Top

Position: 94 of 100

Artist: Robbie Williams
Song: The Road To Mandalay

Album: Sing When You're Winning (2000)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82574767

Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/nms4797a/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3102428

Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/The+Road+To+Mandalay/4CN9E1?src=5

Save me from drowning in the sea... Robbie Williams definitely left his mark on the late 90s and the early 2k years. He was much greater in Europe where his albums dominated the charts, than in the US. Srangely enough, once he did cross over to the states, he faded away and lost his successful streak. This track, from his amazing 2000 album, is a song that feels like it's about the closure of an era and it's perfectly suited for me as I transition from my 20s (already two years behind me, but somehow still refusing to let them go) and into my 30s.

95. ZZ Top - Jesus Just Left Chicago

2013 Music Top

Position: 95 of 100

Artist: ZZ Top
Song: Jesus Just Left Chicago

Album: Tres Hombres (1973)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/82574765
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/a2qu9hgy/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3667320
Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Jesus+Just+Left+Chicago/2gWLT1?src=5

Back before the beards and the 80s Synthesizer period (Eliminator, Afterburner & Recycler albums) ZZ Top was a strong blues trio from Texas and their 1973 release made their name known. This particular Chicago-style blues song is so full of feeling showing a side of Billy Gibbons' guitar style that is often overlooked when thinking of this musician today. The religious aspect of the song is not the typical usage of religious themes in blues songs, but rather a device to get to one of the best puns I've heard in a song with Jesus turning Muddy Waters into wine, all in all a great song.

96. Deep Purple - Dead Or Alive

2013 Music Top

Position: 96 of 100

Artist: Deep Purple
Song: Dead Or Alive

Album: The House Of Blue Light (1987)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/82574764
Vplay link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/zzhvufqj/
Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/2518255Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Dead+Or+Alive/2Jqfw4?src=5

Another song off the 1987 Deep Purple album, this one features the back and forth passages between Jon and Ritchie that had become a staple of the MK2 lineup. Again a straight-up rocker with a no-bullshit rhythm line held by Pace and Glover. Off course neither of these two songs (this one and The Spanish Archer) was the single off the album, instead, the record company pushed a poppy, tongue-in-cheek, "Call Of The Wild" which was such a poor choice that the band didn't want any part of filming the video. As a result, gems such as this and there's at least two more awesome songs on the album, got overlooked and the album was marked down as a failure which is a real shame because, again (unfortunately) "Dead Or Alive" is a song that's much better than most songs that Deep Purple put out in the current MK7 line-up.

97. Ted Nugent - Stranglehold

2013 Music Top

Position: 97 of 100

Artist: Ted Nugent

Song: Stranglehold

Album: Ted Nugent (1975)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/82574763

Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/ebi6auxi/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/834269

Sharkgroove link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Stranglehold/4nqv3i?src=5

In the movie The Neverending Story II - Return To Fantasia, the red herring motivation that gets the kid to re-read the book "The Neverending Story" is that sometimes, when you read a story the second time you discover new things. With that in mind, I spent the summer plowing through the House M.D. series. Aside from all the inherent fun and entertainment the show provided, I actually discovered the saying to be true and this particular song is one of the examples of that. In episode 18 of season 5, this song is used for the opening sequence (which I've dutifully appended to the top video) without any actual consequence to the rest of the story. It's just one of the coolest riffs in rock history and somehow it's the perfect background to House doing a cool and nerdy stunt with a matchbox car and somehow it stuck with me for a significant amount of time throughout the year.

98. Niecie - Skin To Skin

2013 Music Top

Position: 98 of 100

Artist: Niecie

Song: Skin To Skin

Album: Beyond The Surface (2011)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82578067

Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/nxx81fy6/
Deezer Link: http://www.deezer.com/track/13964442

Sometimes everything just clicks, like in the case of this blues piece of wonder from blues veteran Niecie. I discovered this song courtesy of the South Australian Roots and Blues Podcast that I listen to (subcribe in iTunes) and was blown away instantly. This song is about as close to perfection as it comes. The harmony between the guitar tone and the singer's voice is amazing. Just enough echo to mimic the guitar reverb. I've always argued that a great blues song doesn't have to have some sort of intricate guitar heroics, but rather a great feel which is more often than not obtained through the guitar tone. This song comes from Niecie's second album called Beyond the Surface, which, according to the singer's website "hit the charts landing at [...] #8 on the Blues Top 50".

99. Deep Purple - Spanish Archer

2013 Music Top

Position: 99 of 100

Artist: Deep Purple

Song: The Spanish Archer

Album: The House Of Blue Light (1987)

Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/82553501
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/txjv1uut/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/2518252

Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/The+Spanish+Archer/2FVtCb?src=5

Disappointed of Deep Purple's effort on their latest album release of 2013 I found myself going back through the classics in searching for clues as to what went wrong.

The 1987 album The House Of Blue Light, along with the 1975 Come Taste The Band are probably two of the most overlooked Deep Purple albums released after the formation of MK2. I managed to do some cherry picking off those albums to satisfy my thirst of good (feel-new-to-me) Deep Purple songs. This particular gem off the 1987 album is a full on rocker. Ritchie Blackmore is just going on full throttle everywhere, Ian Paice is driving a bullet-train rhythm and Gillan is actually keeping a good vocal line throughout the entire song and, best of all, the lyrics actually seem to make sense. In the end it feels like a song about an unbalanced relationship where one side ends up profiting from the other and this mythical Spanish Archer is fate's great equalizer. It takes a song like this to put it into perspective for me, just how important Ritchie Blackmore was for Deep Purple. Basically every song from the House Of Blue Light is eons ahead of most songs off the newest Deep Purple release, save for only one.

100. Traffic - Shanghai Noodle Factory

2013 Music Top

Position: 100 of 100

Artist: Traffic

Song: Shanghai Noodle Factory

Album: Last Exit (1969)

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/82552493
Vplay link: http://vplay.ro/watch/e4648i5g/

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/2420967

Grooveshark link: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Shanghai+Noodle+Factory/2J4y7X?src=5

Kicking off the Top 100 for 2013 is a song by Steve Winwood's band Traffic. I was passing through a Saturn in Munich, last year, when, among other jewels I found a double album compilation of Traffic songs called Gold. It was just the right ticket! I've been curious about Traffic ever since I saw Steve Winwood with Eric Clapton live, and I have to say it did not disappoint.

The sound is very typical of the late 60s and early 70s, a combination of rock with just a splash of reggae and Steve Winwood's clear vocals laid over the top of it. This particular song had some staying power in my rotation mostly due to the exotic location it evokes. In the port cities of Old China like Macau and Shanghai there was an entire tradition of noodle making where the dough is prepared by hand then pressed with the help of a long bamboo stick and then cut finely into noodles. These traditions do well to have survived even to this day. Ultimately I perceive the song to be about despair, about toiling away in such an industry, day in, day out. This feeling of running in place, of constant struggle without anything to show for it, is very relatable in this day and age. Wether you do it in an office, in front of a computer keyboard, or in some sweaty hall folding dough and pressing and cutting noodles, the feeling of wasting your life each hour at a time is very real and very similar wherever you do it.