Clang & Clatter

Look behind you. Popdose’s Friday Five is here.

Scorpions - “Holiday” (Love Drive, 1979)
Another tender jam from the Scorpions. These guys did the hard rock ballad so well. Love it.

Neal Morse - “Mercy Street” (Testimony 2, 2011)
As the title suggests, this is the second autobiographical album that details how this Spock’s Beard leader decided to leave one of the most respected modern progressive rock bands to embark on a solo career that matched up with his conversion to Christianity. I like the tune, but it seems it really needs to be listened to in the context of the entire album. Despite that, there are several vocal melodies from this that are absolutely golden.

Nirvana - “Lounge Act” (Nevermind, 1991)
Meh. I’ve never really liked this one much. It lacks the energy of the rest of the album until the last third of the song when Cobain starts screaming.

Collective Soul - “Maybe” (Disciplined Breakdown, 1997)
Say what you will, but I really liked Collective Soul back in the day. Some of their tunes have aged well, while others haven’t. As far as I’m concerned, “Maybe” is in the list with the former.

Saint Vitus - “Look Behind You” (The Blasting Concept Volume II, 1990)
I was listening to the excellent previously-unreleased Hüsker Dü outtake “Erase Today” from this SST compilation just yesterday. And since I absolutely loved this comp and very nearly wore the cassette out back in the late-80s, you would expect that AllMusic would give it a 1.5-star rating and lead off their review with this comment:

Perhaps unwittingly, The Blasting Concept, Vol. 2 marks pretty much the exact point at which SST Records irretrievably lost it.

That may be true, but it doesn’t make me love this Saint Vitus track—and most of the others on here—any less.