Alternative History

The Top 10 Songs by Heart: These Dreams

Heart was a band inspired by mystical, larger-than-life rock n’ roll and determined to show how girls with guitars could fill out arenas on the strength of their original material. It was quite a mission that the Wilson sisters set up for themselves. What was the…
Alternative History

The Top 10 Songs by The Byrds: The Daring Innovators

The Byrds must’ve made every band of the 1960s, regardless of fame, feel inadequate. Nobody could produce folk-rock melodies and harmonies that were quite as beautiful. And no other band looked quite as cool. But this was merely the starting point of a short but…
Alternative History

10 Best Songs by Grateful Dead: American Beauty

Grateful Dead is, for a good chunk of American music listeners, the finest group ever produced by the country. Indeed, on its long and strange trip, these hippie-rockers touched on a variety of vital musical styles, from old country to zany psychedelic rock. Grateful Dead is…
Alternative History

10 Best Songs by Boston: More Than a Feeling

Boston was, in an age where the quality of the recording studios and ability of band members was vital, the culmination of a DIY vision. Initially the one-man project of the highly inventive guitarist Tom Scholz, Boston’s songs, eventually, became radio staples. Boston…
Alternative History

The 10 Best Songs by Nazareth

Nazareth’s own brand of hard-rock was the bedrock on which many other bands built successful careers. They had the songs, the swagger, and the vocal pyrotechnics of a singer that can stand toe-to-toe with any of the most famous frontmen. Still, Nazareth is horribly…
Alternative History

The 10 Best Songs by Free: Walk In Their Shadow

Free was one of the first truly great blues-rock bands capable of taking a minimalist, but muscular guitar-based sound and making it a success with giant live crowds, as well as radio listeners. But the group members were also young and plagued by personal demons. Where does…