YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 129 (Natural Landscapes)
(Originally finalized on March 14, 2025)
Preface: Last week's theme was pretty meaty, so we're gonna keep it light this week, with a theme that I've had sitting on the back burner for a while - songs named after different types of geographical landscapes! The hardest part will be deciding which songs make the final cut...
Monday: Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills [The Number of the Beast, 1982]
Comments: The release of Iron Maiden's third album was a defining moment for the band, introducing their new singer Bruce Dickinson (and what a debut - listen to those pipes!), and igniting controversy over their presumed Satanic allegiances, thanks to the title track. This song - a rousing battle cry - describes the white man's historical genocide of Native Americans while settling the New World. "Run to the hills! Run for your lives!"
Tuesday: Led Zeppelin - The Ocean [Houses of the Holy, 1973]
Comments: Utilizing a metaphor for the crowds at a show, this song of gratitude (on the opposite end of the spectrum of band/audience relationships as that which would inspire Roger Waters of Pink Floyd to write his magnum opus The Wall) from Led Zeppelin's fifth album features one of their most recognizable opening riffs. And that's saying something, for a band that has so many songs that get frequent radio play. "Singing to an ocean, I can hear the ocean's roar."
Wednesday: Ted Nugent - Queen Of The Forest [Ted Nugent, 1975]
Comments: In lieu of a jungle song (turns out there are so many good ones, I had to save them for a splinter theme), here's a song about a forest from Ted Nugent's debut album. In light of Nugent's unfortunate political alignment, a song like this one raises questions about the frequent contradiction between a hunter's reliance on nature, and his attitude towards it. So when Teddy sings his respects to Mother Earth, you can't help wondering how to reconcile that with what little regard conservatives have for the state of our planet. "She's got the power to turn out the light."
Thursday: Rainbow - Lady Of The Lake [Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, 1978]
Comments: If there were a second subset of landscape besides jungle that would make a sufficient splinter theme, it would be bodies of water. But don't tempt me; I'm trying to reign in my impulses here, nearing the end of this music log's second quarter in overtime. So here's a song from Rainbow's third album, and the last that would join Ronnie James Dio's voice with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. It's about the mythological event in which King Arthur received the legendary sword Excalibur from an enchanted fairy. "A beam in the shade from a silvery blade has shattered the edge of the night."
Friday: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Born On The Bayou [Bayou Country, 1969]
Comments: With a jungle song and a river song, I could have filled half this theme with CCR! But opening their second album, Born On The Bayou is one of the band's highlights, and a visceral anthem for the deep South. You'd never even know that main songwriter John Fogerty wasn't actually from the South! In fact, I had to give the edge to this song over Swamp Music from Lynyrd Skynyrd's own second album, despite that band's genuine Southern pedigree. "Wish I was back on the bayou, rollin' with some Cajun Queen."
Saturday: Captain Beyond - Raging River Of Fear [Captain Beyond, 1972]
Comments: I do appreciate the opportunity to share another song from the phenomenal debut album of Captain Beyond - the band that featured cast-offs from Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, and Johnny Winter. And this is one of the better tracks to play isolated from the rest of the album, since so many of them weave seamlessly into one another, as parts of extended suites (one of which we heard on my Extraterrestrial Voyage). "The raging river of fear, my friend, is running through us all."
Sunday: America - A Horse With No Name [released as a single, 1971]
Comments: The working title, "The Desert Song", makes it more explicit, but this is a song that effectively evokes the ambience of being in the desert - a terrain the addition of which adds a nice balance to our otherwise fairly fertile journey. Initially released as a single, this acoustic folk ballad that wears its Neil Young influences on its sleeve was appended to the band's debut album after making a splash on the charts - ironically overtaking Neil's own Heart of Gold for the #1 spot! "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name. It felt good to be out of the rain."
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - India/Mountain Time [Live From Nowhere In Particular, 2008]
Comments: We already did a whole theme dedicated to the mountains - and it even included a song by Joe Bonamassa! But here's another one; it's one of his older highlights. The studio version that appeared on his second album was mostly unremarkable, but in concert he developed it into a showstopping tour de force. Many live versions exist, but this one from nowhere in particular circa 2008 was among the first to show its potential, and is still one of the best. "West on 80 and it won't take too long, 'til the road starts climbing up to mountain time."