This song is the perfect starter for Dramarama’s “Vinyl" record. The jangling guitar and manic pacing kick things off with a bang, so to speak. As to what John is singing about, when listening to the track, clearly there is some sort of excitement conveyed. I always thought that excitement was for starting or ending a road tour because of the driving references. A careful read of the lyrics reveals a little more. Perhaps the excitement John is singing about is about procuring and experiencing illicit substances (okay drugs, I said it!)

Either way, this is one fine tune and really gets me pumped up every time I hear it.

This song just came up on my stereo and just as every time I have heard this song, I was immediately drawn into the groove. It was nearly 30 years ago that this song poured out of my radio speaker and I experienced it for the first time. I fell in love the song and Dire Straits at the same time. I was in graduate school at the time and music radio was degenerating into disco and other worthless uninteresting fluff. “Sultans of Swing” was like a slap in the face, a call to wake up and listen to a real music again. The story Knopfler tells in this song is as evocative as his guitar work. Thank you Dire Straits!

In five short minutes, this song takes all the teenage emotions of lust, love, and angst and delivers them to the listener in the lines “You were licking your lips and your lipstick shining, I was dying just to ask for a taste”. What an absolutely perfect lyric. That said, the album “Bat Out Of Hell” is pure fluff, fun fluff but with nothing truly interesting to say. I have always viewed this album as parody, particularly of Springsteen from that era whose “epic” numbers on “Born to Run” always seemed so contrived and pretentious. In that light, Meatloaf’s parody is hysterical fun and Bruce comes off as a poser.

This song is a haunting examination of the mind of a killer, at least as perceived by Ray Davies. I am not sure if Ray had a specific person in mind but thoughts of the infamous people that society has bread fly through my head as I hear this song. The song hooks you in from the start, “I see so little hope in you…” and makes the listener pay attention to the end. What a fine nugget this song is.

I have been intrigued by this song for decades. I don’t really have a clue what it is about but I have always thought that the singer is relating how difficult it is to walk around in one’s own skin. Our protagonist seems to lament past decisions and perhaps future choices. Undoubtedly this is one cool song and I am glad someone finally put up more Spirit lyrics.

This very thought provoking song rips me to my very core when Stevie sings, “You've killed all our leaders”. I am still scarred by the deaths of Dr. King, JFK and RFK and this song brutally reminds me that sticking one’s neck out too far can get it chopped off. As for the rest of the song, Stevie sums up the plight of the forgotten (at least until election time) urban populace with venom and world weary wit. What a great songwriter, sic ‘em Stevie.

This song has an irresistible musical drive fueled by the interplay of the bass, violin and (I think) slide-guitar riffs. The lyrical imagery is amusing if nonsensical but fits the musical vibe. Come on, “and cowboys on acid”, what a great juxtaposition of ideas.

Actually, after review the lyrics and one more listen, I think this song is about a guy and his girl on a crazy drug/alcohol fueled road trip. I offer that explanation up for what its worth but this is still one cool song to digest!

This song seems to be a semi-whimsical ode to Earth Day. There seems to be no mystery about that in regards to the lyrics. I saw the group perform this song a few years back and John Easdale admitted that he rarely performs this song but he wasn’t sure why. There is (of course) a bigger question regarding this song. Recently, the subject of Earth Day was a topic of discussion and I was asked when exactly, is Earth Day. In my mind this song started playing and I responded “It's April 21st and everybody knows today is Earth Day”. Well, imagine my chagrin to learn that Earth Day is April 22! So what’s up with this song John? Maybe the lyrics should be, “It's April 21st and everybody knows today is the day before Earth Day”? I guess John is just having some more fun with the son

This is the other hidden treasure on the “Feeling Strangely Fine” album. Last year, this song came up on the stereo right after attending the memorial service of a family friend who had passed after being struck by lightning. As it played, I nearly burst into tears because I interpreted the lyrics as recognition that life is really a short gift to us all. I felt the singer had also lost someone recently and was imploring all his friends and family to last a long, long time. Whatever the band intended with this song, it is a beautiful reminder to live the life we have to its fullest.

I recently saw Melanie perform and I think she has one of the most powerful and emotive voices ever. This song offers empirical evidence of that claim. Listening to this song raises the hairs on the back of my neck when Melanie’s voice kicks in on the chorus. I think her music is generally dismissed as people only remember her for her novelty hit “Brand New Key” (She clearly was annoyed/chagrinned performing this number in the concert I saw.). Her covers of “Lay Lady Lay”, “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Ruby Tuesday” are eye and ear opening experiences. No one that I can think of uses the entire dynamic power of the voice like Melanie can. She can go from heart-felt whisper to brain-rattling blasts effortlessly. Melanie is an amazing vocal talent. While at the concert mentioned above, Melanie claims that the practice of raising one’s lighter in concert first happened while she performed “Beautiful People” (I think that is the song she mentioned) at Woodstock. She wrote this song, inspired by that event. This is an absolutely awesome tune.