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(Originally finalized on January 27, 2025)
Preface: I've been going through and polishing up some old themes on this music log - improving the formatting and adding links to playlists. When I reviewed Week 43, Animals, it occurred to me how close I got to covering the Chinese Zodiac, without even trying! So I thought we could give it another go around, as we approach the Chinese New Year. I'm not going to cover all 12 animals (that would be a bit of a stretch), but I think I can muster seven or eight (even considering that I've spent a lot of good options already).
Monday: Deep Purple - Flight of the Rat [Deep Purple In Rock, 1970]
Comments: I was tempted to pick Pressed Rat And Warthog by Cream - which could double up for rat and pig, thus killing two birds with one stone - but that song is legitimately weird. Black Sabbath's got Rat Salad, an overlooked instrumental from their hit album Paranoid. But, compared to its two and a half minutes, this song - from Deep Purple's first album featuring their prime Mark II lineup - gives you much more bang for your buck, stretching out to almost eight minutes.
Tuesday: Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger [Eye Of The Tiger, 1982]
Comments: As much of a cliche as it is - and it's a huge cliche - and even despite it being dated to the '80s, this Grammy Award winning song - an album opener and title track, which was written expressly for Rocky III - is actually pretty good. I mean, it really rocks. It's got a good beat (I don't even mind the '80s drum sound), a great distorted guitar riff, impassioned vocals, and inspirational lyrics. You have no reason to feel guilty putting it on your workout playlist.
Wednesday: Harvey Mandel - Snake [Cristo Redentor, 1968]
Comments: I spent the most time this week deliberating on songs to represent the snake. Tube Snake Boogie by ZZ Top was an option. Ted Nugent and Rainbow both have songs titled Snake Charmer - either one would have been a good pick, but I featured Ted Nugent on my last theme about animals, and I've already featured Ritchie Blackmore once this time. Besides, how could I pass up a rare opportunity to share some music by unknown guitarist Harvey Mandel? His liquid leads earned him the nickname "The Snake" while playing for Canned Heat. And what could be a more appropriate choice to fill a spot that, last time, was taken by a musician nicknamed The Lizard King?
Thursday: The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses [Sticky Fingers, 1971]
Comments: From a time when rock bands could perform ballads that were heartfelt without sounding cheesy, here's one of the greatest songs from one of the greatest albums by one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time. I've always loved the story behind this song (whether true or not). While in a relationship with Mick Jagger, singer Marianne Faithfull ended up in a drug abuse-related coma. Upon waking, Jagger expressed his relief that she came back to him. To which she is alleged to have replied, "wild horses couldn't drag me away."
Friday: Ten Years After - Hard Monkeys [A Space In Time, 1971]
Comments: I very nearly picked The Yarbirds' live cover of Too Much Monkey Business - a song from Chuck Berry's first album - for this slot, but it's not one of my favorite of their 'rave-ups'. More often than not, references to monkeys in rock songs tend to refer to addiction (the proverbial "monkey on my back"), and this is no exception. But, despite not being one of Ten Years After's most notably standout tracks, it still has a really mellow groove, and a good guitar solo to boot (which is only natural, with Alvin Lee at the helm). It just goes to show the caliber of this band.
Saturday: Alice In Chains - Rooster [Dirt, 1992]
Comments: My first pick for rooster songs would be The Rolling Stones' cover of the blues standard Little Red Rooster (although it's been performed by many artists over the years). But since I already featured it on my Early Stones theme, we're going to take a rare detour to the early '90s grunge scene with one of Alice In Chains' biggest hits (and for good reason), Rooster. With allusions to the Vietnam War, it's a stirring song of perseverance. But I can tell you, since my neighbor recently bought chickens, I've had a different outlook. Now I hear roosters crowing constantly at all hours - night and day - and I just wanna wring their little necks...
Sunday: Pink Floyd - Pigs (Three Different Ones) [Animals, 1977]
Comments: Skipping dog because it's the most represented animal in song titles (and I can't resist reserving it for its own theme - stay tuned), we finish with the last sign in the Chinese Zodiac - pig. And let me tell you, I had to exercise some serious self-control to avoid making half of this theme just songs from the Pink Floyd album inspired by George Orwell's cautionary dystopia novel Animal Farm, titled Animals. So, despite its 11 and a half minute runtime, consider this one track (they're all really great) an exercise in restraint. :-p
Honorable Mention: The Primatives - The Dragon's Song [The Lovers of Kali Yuga, 2001]
Comments: For the honorable mention, I want to highlight one of my favorite songs by 21st century folk rockers The Primatives. There's a good chance you haven't heard of them, as they were a local band of my personal acquaintance. A very friendly, free-spirited family, I owe what little experience I have as a performing musician to them. I know I'm biased, and everybody thinks their local bands are the bee's knees, but The Primatives' music really is great. What I love about this song, sung from the perspective of an old dragon at the end of his lifespan, is that even a hundred million years feels fleeting when your life is at its end. Make the most of the time you've got, because you're not gonna be here forever.