YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 140 (It's Good To Be King)
(Originally finalized on May 22, 2025)
Preface: We'll keep with the fantasy theme (more or less) this week, and focus on songs about kings.
Monday: Wishbone Ash - The King Will Come [Argus, 1972]
Comments: Having only recently discovered how good this band is, I'm excited to have an opportunity to feature them on my music log. With a dual lead guitar approach that's been compared to Beck and Page in The Yardbirds (although far more stable than that lineup was), I've never heard a single one of their songs on the radio, but this track hails from what many call their best album. Highly influential, it stands alongside some of the best progressive rock epics of the '70s.
Tuesday: Freddie King - Palace Of The King [Getting Ready..., 1971]
Comments: What's a list of songs about kings without giving consideration to the three Kings of the blues? Although we're doing songs that mention kings, not artists named King, so here's Palace Of The King by quite possibly my favorite King of the blues - the Texas Cannonball himself. Although much beloved, I feel like Freddie doesn't get as much exposure as Albert and B.B., but the energy he put into both his singing and his playing is infectious!
Wednesday: B.B. King & Eric Clapton - Riding With The King [Riding With The King, 2000]
Comments: Speaking of the three Kings of the blues, here's B.B. King with Eric Clapton performing the title track from their turn-of-the-millennium collaboration. For blues fans (and I'm of the opinion that Eric Clapton was never better than when he was playing the blues), I recommend it. Although the song was written by influential songwriter John Hiatt, reportedly inspired by a dream of flying on a plane with Elvis, I think it works really well adapted in this context.
Thursday: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - It's Good To Be King (Live) [Live At The Fillmore, 1997]
Comments: Originally appearing on Wildflowers in 1994 - Tom Petty's second solo album (not billed with the Heartbreakers) - this song is a relatable treatment not to literally being a monarch (for, as Shakespeare wrote, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"), but to that longing desire we all harbor for those moments in life when we get to feel in charge and pampered by others, however briefly it lasts. Featured here is an extended live version of the song, which grew to epic proportions in concert, representing one of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' greatest musical achievements.
Friday: Crosby Stills Nash & Young - King Midas In Reverse (Live) [4 Way Street, 1971]
Comments: One of Graham Nash's compositions from his days with The Hollies, I had considered sharing it on my Band Connections theme dedicated to CSNY, but the truth is, I much prefer this version from CSNY's concert album 4 Way Street. I think the stripped back production suits the somber theme of the song better. Although common tellings of the myth of the Golden Touch do incorporate karmic retribution, one can imagine an even more depressing curse in its opposite. For in our darker moments, it can sometimes seem like everything we touch turns to dust in our hands...
Saturday: Rainbow - Kill The King [Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, 1978]
Comments: Rainbow's first album offers a gentler, more melodic selection in the form of a song titled The Temple of the King. But while I was researching the band for my proto-metal episode of Band Connections, I discovered this powerhouse on their third album. If you're a common peasant living under an oppressive regime, harboring treasonous thoughts of regicidal ideation, you're likely to view the king less as a beloved ruler than a worthy target of scorn.
Sunday: Rush - A Farewell To Kings [A Farewell To Kings, 1977]
Comments: We bid adieu to our regal theme this week with the title track from Rush's fifth album, which starts out sounding like a medieval lullaby, before kicking into full gear. Admittedly, I'm not the best ambassador for this band - for all their undoubted talent, they've never managed to wriggle their way into my favorites. But I can say that I've been enjoying listening to some of their less overplayed and radio-friendly compositions of late, in service of this music log.
Honorable Mention: Aerosmith - Kings And Queens [Draw The Line, 1977]
Comments: This song will make a perfect segue into next week's theme (and now you know what next week's theme will be). From Aerosmith's fifth album, I found this hidden gem while researching songs about kings (and queens). A little different from the band's usual straightforward approach, it's dark and heavy and imaginative; some have even described it as prog. Just make sure you listen to the full album version (which I've linked), and not the truncated single edit.