Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Top 10 Lists Watchmojo.com Wont Do: Kevin Gilbert Songs

Kevin Gilbert, my favorite musician of all time. The odds WatchMojo ever even mentioning his name on any list are about as good of a chance I end up playing some of his music on 89.3 The Current.

They may some day do a Jeff Buckley Top 10 songs, although that kind of seems silly since Jeff only had 1 official album in Grace, but he has a ton of other unreleased songs, live tracks, and of course the double LP of demos on Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk).

But Kevin and his many projects, that spanned about 11 years while he was alive, and approaching 20 years since he died, that a ton of which has been released posthumously (I count 5 releases that are studio, including the 2015 Thud Deluxe/Anniversary), has a plethora of music that was just in those official releases; per a Top 10 and Honorable Mentions for him wouldn't be all that difficult to do. And that's not even including some of the covers, namely the Genesis ones from ProgFest 1994 which was officially released as well.

And there's of course a lot of stuff that still has not been released, although with the Nuts, Bolts and Deluxe Thud, a lot of that stuff now has come out, but given how prolific he was recording, every year, month, week, day, I still suspect there's more that could come.

But other than 1 selection on this list, I chose just to focus on the studio releases from his different work. And of course this is like splitting hairs in ranking, as I could easily stick more than half of the Honorable Mentions below in the Top 10 (or 11 as I took a liberty). In other words, take every track I chose, and even throw in another 10-20 others, and throw them in a hat and pick any of those 10 and I would have no problem with those being included and ranked in whatever order for the most part.

But I will say, #1 really is the song that made me become a huge fan. I knew his name, some of his story and even some of his music before 2004, but it was that Summer or early Fall where I fell head over heals and found his music to call to me. And it has ever since.

Blurbs? not now, or maybe not ever really. I dunno. I may at some point, or maybe do a YouTube video for them. I think the songs speak enough for themselves, so much, I doubt anything specific right now I could write, would add more to them initially.

But maybe down the road I can try and find the time to..I may do the previously mentioned Jeff Buckley though with a slightly different Entry title, lol.

10. Because of You from The Power of Suggestion, 1987


9b. Goodness Gracious from Thud, 1994



9b. Water Under the Bridge from The Shaming of the True, 2000




8. Air Dance from A View From Here, 1988



7. Finally Over You from Nuts, 2009



6. Things She Said from Toy Matinee, 1990



5. Best Laid Plans from The Shaming of the True, 2000



4. Imagemaker from The Shaming of the True, 2000



3. Tired Old Man (Puppet Suite) unreleased, 1984-85?



2. Home/Progress from The View From Here, 1988




Honorable Mentions:
The Ballad of Jenny Ledge (Toy Matinee, 1990)
Turn it On Salvador (Toy Matinee, 1990)
There Was a Little Boy (Toy Matinee, 1990)
Queen of Misery (Toy Matinee, 1990)
City of the Sun (The Shaming of the True, 2000)
Long Day's Life (The Shaming of the True, 2000)
Staring Into Nothing (The Shaming of the True, 2000)
Suit Fugue (Dance of the A and R Men) (The Shaming of the True, 2000)
Shrug (Because of Me and You) (Thud, 1994)
Joytown (Thud, 1994)
Shadow Self (Thud, 1994)
Waiting (Thud, 1994)
Welcome to Suburbia (No Reasons Given, 1985)
When Strangers Part (No Reasons Given, 1985)
From Here to There (The Shaming of the True, 2000)
The Sultan of Brunei (The Kaviar Sessions, 2002)
Indian Burn (The Kaviar Sessions, 2002)
This Warm Night (The Power of Suggestion, 1987)
The World Just Gets Smaller (The Power of Suggestion, 1987)
Kashmir (Led Zeppelin, Kashmir EP 1995)
Childhood's End (Nuts, 2009)
The Best of Everything (Bolts, 2009)
Big Heart (Thud Remaster/Anniversary Edition, 2015)
Until I Get Her Back (Demo) (Thud Remaster/Anniversary Edition, 2015)



1. Last Plane Out from Toy Matinee, 1990