All was fine until the eve of the recording session, when a Frank Zappa concert was held in the casino’s theatre – which then partially burnt down due to an incident involving a flare gun, leaving Purple to sort out alternative studio arrangements. Smoke On The Water related the seemingly fantastic – but 100 per cent true – story of what happened when Deep Purple decamped to Switzerland’s Montreux Casino to record their fifth album, Machine Head. Much later, Clapton’s stellar MTV Unplugged version of Layla further enhanced the song’s legendary reputation, and its place among the best rock songs is now forever secured.Ģ: Deep Purple: Smoke On The Water (from ‘Machine Head’, 1972) However, after Layla the song was included on 1972’s successful The History Of Eric Clapton compilation and reissued as a single it went Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic – and it’s only grown in stature ever since.Įffectively a song in two movements, high-profile guest Duane Allman played a key role on Layla’s first part, coming up with the distinctive riff and the slide guitar solo, while drummer Jim Gordon’s evocative piano piece formed the song’s second part, with producer Tom Dowd adroitly splicing the two together. ![]() Indeed, while the song’s parent album, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs briefly scraped the US Top 20, it failed to chart in the UK and was regarded as a failure. Layla is now regarded as such a colossal song that it’s hard to imagine it emerged from a time of personal darkness for Eric Clapton, who recorded it with his short-lived group Derek And The Dominos. Though only a medium-sized hit on release (it stalled just shy of the Billboard Top 40), La Grange is regarded with fondness by rockers of all stripes, while Rolling Stone dubbed it “a standard for guitarists to show off their chops” – a recommendation that surely earns the track its place among the best rock songs.ĥ: Derek And The Dominos: Layla (from ‘Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs’, 1970) The key cut from Billy Gibbons and co’s third album, Tres Hombres, it was at least partly based on two John Lee Hooker songs (Boogie Chillen and Boom Boom), but ZZ Top coated it in a delicious Texan spice of their own. La Grange arguably dukes it out with Gimme All Your Lovin’ as ZZ Top’s signature song, but as it remains one of the finest examples of Southern rock, we reckon it deserves the nod. Listen to our Rock Classics playlist here, and check out our 20 best rock songs, below.Ģ0: ZZ Top: La Grange (from ‘Tres Hombres’, 1973) ![]() From Led Zeppelin to Deep Purple, The Doors and more, Dig! salute the cream of the genre-shapers, stadium-fillers and FM radio hitmakers, and pick the 20 best rock songs of all time. ![]() It might be a singular guitar riff, an anthemic chorus or an evocative melody that renders it special, but a truly great rock song has the ability to transcend time – and its appeal can span generations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |