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They’re Red Hot

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band featuring Sam Moore: “Hold On, I’m Coming > Soul Man” Play this track

One of a few spectacular performances at the 25th Anniversary concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band is on point and on fire. Bruce is successfully paying homage and letting it rip at the same time. Bravo! -John Stix

Pretty rockin’, I’d say. A good version of “Soul Man” is always welcome. -Rock Stamberg

Billy Preston: “Nothing from Nothing” Play this track

Billy Preston during his mega-hit days in the early-to-mid ‘70s. Still sounds great, too. -RS

Gospel rock at its best. Jerry Lee Lewis would be proud. This is a killer track. -JS

Doors: “The Crystal Ship (Isolated Vocal)” Play this track

All the mystery and danger are right here in the vocal. -JS

Sparks: “Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is” Play this track

Trust me, this song *is* as good as I say it is. It’s good too. -RS

Up there with the best of a Zappa-like narrative for a song. The baby is born and almost immediately wants to return to the womb. It’s known that laughter is the best medicine. So, listen to the lyric and enjoy your medicine. -JS

Van Morrison: “Coney Island” Play this track

Van Morrison: “I’m Tired Joey Boy” Play this track

These two songs are inexorably tied together. Found on Van Morrison’s sublime Avalon Sunset album from 1989, these tracks define what’s beautiful about beautiful music. A+ stuff. -RS

Van the poet at his most commanding. It’s also the first appearance of the word “famished” on NHT. -JS

Paul McCartney: “Calico Skies (Remastered 2020)” Play this track

Melancholia made majestic. As good as any Beatles track. -RS

I didn’t follow the individual Beatles after the breakup. So, I didn’t know this song, nor its reason for being. A love song for the ages. I do hope you have someone to share this with. -JS

Three Fates Project: “The Endless Enigma Suite, Pt. 2” Play this track

I had the ELP album Trilogy, I just didn’t listen to it much. This orchestral version, I could barely hear KE anywhere, has all the drama, flourish and fanfare that made up the best of ELP. I am drawn the chorus melody and am stopped in my tracks every time it comes around. -JS

Faces: “Stay with Me” Play this track

Now *this* is great rock ‘n roll. Listen to how guitarist Ronnie Wood was already ready for The Rolling Stones three years prior to joining ‘em. -RS

The kind of raucous rock that rolls (because of that piano) that we heard in Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and become the backbone sound of Delaney and Bonnie, Derek and the Dominoes, and now The Tedeschi Trucks Band. It could be argued that The Faces achieved this sound more successfully than the Stones. -JS

Leon Russell: “Roll Away the Stone” Play this track

The opening part has hints of the Stones “Stupid Girl.” And there is a 50 second piano intro before the song comes in. That acoustic piano drives the song throughout, with a Blues-Rock/Gospel stew that both simmers and rocks. Need we any more proof that Leon Russell was a first-rate songwriter? -JS

Todd Rundgren: “A Dream Goes on Forever” Play this track

Armed with just his always insightful lyrics, an acoustic piano, and a Rock of Gibraltar melody, I am enthralled. What about you? -JS

Ryan Adam’s: “New York, New York” Play this track

This song just makes me feel good. I love the acoustic guitar/Hammond organ bed married to vocal harmonies delivering nothing but melodic hooks. Then there is almost chaotic sax part that resolves in the end. -JS

Eric Clapton: “They’re Red Hot” Play this track

Clapton sans guitar swinging with a smile. I looked up the Robert Johnson recording, and his version was just as up and happy. I didn’t know that. -JS

Warren Zevon: “Werewolves of London” Play this track

Did you know this reached #21 in The Billboard Hot 100? That makes Warren Zevon a one-hit wonder. Guitarist Waddy Wachtel came up with the famous “aaaoooo” howl based on the song title. Did you notice the piano riff that beds this song just goes around and around without changing? -JS

Three Dog Night: “Shambala (Single Version)” Play this track

Three Dog Night made some good records in the early ‘70s and this is a good example of their song-based, harmony driven style. -RS

I never heard this song before Rock suggested it. But it feels good and the vocals, including another wolf howl, are a ray of sunshine. -JS

Simon & Garfunkel: “Mrs. Robinson (Demo)” Play this track

Here it is before it was. -JS

Ennio Morricone: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” Play this track

Everything you ever wanted in a song; flutes, trumpet, whistling, vocal grunts, tremolo guitar, tubular bells, a choir, military drums, scream singing and voices pretending to be a wah-wah effect. And it was a hit too! -JS

Ray Charles: “The ABC Song (edit)” Play this track

Some guys can sing anything. -JS

Grateful Dead: “Loose Lucy” Play this track

Taken from 1974’s Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel album – a personal favorite of mine – this track is sure evidence that the Dead were always a song-based band. Even when they were delving into their explorations onstage, each song always had a definite and crisp ending. This studio track is one of their best. -RS

Keith Richard’s: “How I Wish” Play this track

Another favorite of mine, this catchy rocker shows Keith Richard’s composing a song the way he and Mick Jagger used to do. No riff-based tune here. From Keith’s excellent debut solo album, Talk is Cheap, released in 1988. -RS

Ben Kweller: “Walk on Me” Play this track

I love Ben Kweller. What a songwriter. This rollicking track is from his Sha-Sha album from 2002. -RS

Elton John: “Take Me to The Pilot (Live)” Play this track

This acoustic piano trio and song, absolutely live, just rocks! -JS

Early live Elton rocked. His original live trio was comprised of drummer Nigel Olsson and the late bassist Dee Murray, both of whom were also fantastic singers. Olsson remained in Elton’s live band right up until the end. -RS