Six Same-name Songs

I decided to write an article about songs which have the same name as each other where I describe and compare them. I selected six song groupings which have the same title. I embed the official YouTube audio for one of the songs for each grouping.

Satisfied

In 1989, singer Richard Marx released an energetic pop rock song “Satisfied”. This is a guitar driven song featuring synth and organ. Fourteen years later, his Capitol Records labelmate Bob Seger released his “Satisfied” song. Bob’s song has a similar energy, but it is totally different. It’s an upbeat piano driven blues track. Five years later, soft rock singer Robbie Dupree known for “Steal Away” released a song with that name. Robbie’s “Satisfied” is similar to Bob’s song with its blues feel and piano. It has a relaxing vibe. This song is a fusion of Bob and Richard’s songs as it brings back rock being a blues rock song. One thing all three songs have in common is they all feature organ.

Satisfied - Robbie Dupree (2008)

Is This Love

We’re going to a similar type of 80s rock to Richard Marx’s “Satisfied”. In 1986, Survivor released the rock song “Is This Love”. It has a catchy melody driven by guitar and synths. Jimi Jamison sings powerfully. The following year Whitesnake released their power ballad “Is This Love”. This song also uses a mix of guitar and synths. David Coverdale sings passionately. These two songs are similar, both having an arena rock sound of its time and featuring guitar solos.

Is This Love - Survivor (1986)

Georgia

This is a change of pace to something soft. In 1976, Boz Scaggs released a song called “Georgia”. This is an optimistic soul song about a person. I like how it includes horns which are utilised well. A few years later Elton John would release a song “Georgia” about the US state. This is a gospel song where Elton plays organ and harmonium in addition to piano. There is a quiet and effective guitar solo which is totally different to a rock guitar solo. Both songs are led by the piano. They are melodic songs which feel alike as they have common genres.

Georgia - Boz Scaggs (1976)

Isn’t It Time

In 1977, The Babys released the wonderful soft rock song “Isn’t It Time”. John Waite sings so passionately. It’s a melodic piano driven song. It has so many different instruments including horns, orchestra, organ, guitars and prominent female backing vocals. All the elements are mixed in right with the guitars rocking well in a supporting role. Boz Scaggs released his own song “Isn’t It Time” three years later. This song feels like both soft rock and soul. It’s keyboard driven featuring a mixture of electric & acoustic pianos and synths. It has a rocking guitar solo at the halfway mark. These songs have a similar vibe with both having female backing vocals. Boz’s song is good, but it can’t compare to the majesty of The Babys’ song.

Isn’t It Time - The Babys (1977)

Take Me Back

We’re going to an Elton John country song released in 1980. On “Take Me Back”, Elton plays a Wurlitzer electric piano and sings in a southern accent. This is a relaxing song featuring a fiddle solo. Bonnie Tyler released her “Take Me Back” in 1983. Bonnie’s song opens with guitars and soon an acoustic piano appears that has a prominent place. This song really rocks with its heartland rock vibe. These two songs are very different genres, probably being the most different songs with the same name seen so far.

Take Me Back - Elton John (1980)

I Go Crazy

Soft rock singer Paul Davis released the warm song “I Go Crazy” in 1977. It’s a piano driven song featuring synth and understated guitar. Paul sings gently and melodically. Blues singer and guitarist Buddy Guy released his own “I Go Crazy” in 1993. His song opens with guitar which is soon joined by all instruments including piano. This is an intense blues song which features horns. The two songs are so different, though some lyrical similarities exist. I like Buddy’s song, but Paul’s song is the best, being something special.

I Go Crazy - Paul Davis (1977)

So you just read a discussion of different songs with the same name. Some of the songs featured are singles while others are album tracks. Rock is the primary genre with the other genres blues, soul, gospel, country and pop also featured. If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in my similar article “Rock Songs Referencing Each Other”.

Ten Great Capitol Records Songs

One of music’s successful record labels is Capitol Records. Capitol Records is an American record label which is now part of the Universal Music Group. I had written a similar article “Ten Great Universal Music Group Songs” where I included a few Capitol songs. I have been paying attention to Capitol Records since I started listening to Bob Seger’s music in 2010. Bob is of course featured in this article.

Up On Cripple Creek - The Band (1969)

This song is sung by drummer Levon Helm. Levon and The Band sing well together in the chorus with their backing vocals. Its opening is the drums with bits of guitar. This rock song is influenced by blues and country. As someone into keyboards, I love how this song has three keyboard parts (piano, clavinet & organ). The clavinet gives off quirky vibes. Robbie Robertson’s guitar plays a supportive part in the background and has a stronger presence in the last quarter of the song.

He Can’t Love You - Michael Stanley Band (1980)

Michael Stanley is an American rock singer who unfortunately passed away two years ago in March 2021. The Michael Stanley Band is a band he fronted. This is a catchy heartland rock song. It’s sung by keyboardist Kevin Raleigh. It has driving guitars with good piano backing. There is an organ in the background. It features saxophone from Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons. I get Bob Seger vibes from this song with it reminding me of my favourite Bob Seger song “Even Now”.

Heartbreak Radio - Delbert McClinton (1981)

This song opens with a brief drum intro and it goes into electric guitars backed with piano. The piano is in the rock & roll style. There are horns in parts of the song bringing a soul influence. At the halfway point, there’s a saxophone solo with good piano accompaniment. It was originally recorded by Scottish singer Frankie Miller who co-wrote the song with songwriter Troy Seals.

If This Is It - Huey Lewis & The News (1983)

This is a fun pop rock song. It’s probably the first major hit song on this list. It opens with a drum intro and then Chris Hayes’ detailed guitar part comes in. The keyboards in the song are piano, organ and possible synths. The piano gives off a light rock & roll feel. The backing vocals in the chorus support Huey’s lead vocals well and give off a 50s vibe. Huey sings powerfully and melodically. Chris provides a fun charming guitar solo. The guitar solo plays again in the end alongside the last chorus and the concluding section as the song fades.

These Dreams - Heart (1985)

Heart is led by two sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. This song was written by Martin Page (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics). Bernie Taupin is Elton John’s lyricist. Ann usually sings their songs, but this song is sung by Nancy. This is a synth driven soft rock song. The synths offer a gentle reflection of dreams. I get South American vibes in the chorus from one of the synth parts. Interestingly, Johnny Colla, a member of the previous song’s band, sings backing vocals on this track.

Don’t Mean Nothing - Richard Marx (1987)

This is a pure fun rock song. It opens with drumming followed by guitars and the whole band joins in. Michael Omartian plays piano. Richard sings powerfully. Three members of The Eagles are on this song who are Joe Walsh on guitar and Randy Meisner & Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals. Joe gives a powerful guitar solo with good accompaniment from Michael’s piano. The organ has a supportive part. There is a good instrumental section led by the piano at the end.

Is Love Enough - The Doobie Brothers (1991)

This song was written by Walt Richmond & Jerry Lyn Williams. Interestingly, Walt co-wrote & played piano on the Bob Seger song “She Can’t Do Anything Wrong” that same year which I featured in my article on Bob Seger piano songs and Jerry had written the Eric Clapton song “Running on Faith” that I featured in my article on piano rock songs. This song features a mix of piano and synths. The synths seem to be emulating horn sounds. It’s sung by original lead singer Tom Johnston. Tom sings in an expressive and melodic way. There’s an organ which has a good subtle presence. At about the three-quarter mark, there’s a dark intense blues rock guitar solo. The guitar does more playing in the last section of the song.

Beautiful In My Eyes - Joshua Kadison (1993)

We’re now changing to something soft. This song has a gentle warm sound. Joshua sings soulfully and plays the piano powerfully. It opens with Joshua’s singing and piano playing with subtle organ. There is slight drumming close to the one minute mark and the full band comes in. This song seems like a song on Elton John’s wonderful 1989 “Sleeping With The Past” album such as “Amazes Me”. There is an orchestra and a powerful gospel sounding choir. This is a very melodic song. Next month will be the 30th anniversary of Joshua’s debut album “Painted Desert Serenade” this song comes from.

Manhattan - Bob Seger (1995)

The song opens with Manhattan traffic. Harry Stinson’s drums come in with the traffic before other instruments join in. There is an intense guitar part and a dark piano part. Roy Bittan gives great rock piano playing. The mix of piano and guitars work well. Bob sing-speaks this song. There is a synth undercurrent throughout the song. This song is an example of an epic long Bob Seger song. The song closes with sounds of Manhattan traffic like how it opens.

Can’t Stay Alone Tonight - Elton John (2013)

Capitol Records was the US label of Elton John’s 2013 Mercury Records album “The Diving Board”. I’m not in the US, but had to include this as I’m an Elton John fan. This is a melodic country ballad Elton John wrote the melody to lyrics by his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. This song has no guitar with it driven by Elton’s piano. The slight keyboards give a nice whistling effect. Though this isn’t in Elton’s usual style, the song sounds positively and uniquely Elton with his singing, piano playing and melody. The bridge brings in a good melodic change.

This is my personal selection of Capitol Records songs covering a 44 year period. They showcase music that really rocks as well as gentle ballads. The artists featured range from major stars, well-known names and those with a degree of success but may not be widely known. It’s fitting that we opened with The Band and concluded with Elton John as The Band are one of Elton’s major influences.

Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Elton John

I’m a fan of Elton John so I decided to write an article highlighting ten powerful rock ballads by Elton

John. I like piano in rock music, and the piano in these songs is played by Elton who’s the world’s

most successful singing pianist. I featured some of his hit songs in this list. I tried to select songs that

are both rock and ballad. If you don’t agree with my assessment of a song being a rock ballad, I

hope you’ll at least be interested in the song. All these songs are composed by Elton John with lyrics

written by his lyricist Bernie Taupin. I mention some of the musicians who played on these songs in

this post, most of which are Elton John’s band members as well as session musicians he’s worked

with. The most prominent member is Elton John’s guitarist Davey Johnstone who appears on eight

of the ten tracks. We begin with a song from the most popular period of Elton John’s career. 

Candle in the Wind (1973)

This song is part of Elton’s most successful studio album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and was

recorded with the original Elton John band line-up of Davey Johnstone (guitars), Dee Murray (bass)

and Nigel Olsson (drums). The piano is most prominent in the verses. It has both acoustic and

electric guitars. The electric guitars give the song a rock feel, featuring the great guitar riff played

throughout the song. This is one of Elton’s most well known songs which is a showcase of his

melodic songwriting skills. I would like to see Elton record a whole album with just the four

instruments in this song (piano, guitar, bass, drums) and nothing else (meaning no keyboards,

percussion, strings, horns, etc) except backing vocals.  

The Fox (1981)

It opens with a piano which is soon joined by harmonica. After that Elton sings, with subtle drumming

by Nigel Olsson. A few guitar notes by Richie Zito are played. Dee Murray’s bass gets a bit louder.

After about a minute the drumming gets more intense with the guitar parts played a bit more. This

song has a country/americana element with the harmonica giving a sound different to the usual Elton

song, but at the base it has the traditional Elton John song structure. This song is a good example of

Elton mixing his own style with something different. This song’s rock elements come most

prominently from Elton’s great piano playing.

Healing Hands (1989)

This is my favourite Elton John song. It opens with Jonathan Moffett’s drums which is joined by the

piano four seconds later. The piano is joined by Davey Johnstone’s guitar and there is some

synthesizer parts. The guitar parts may not be very loud, but they do have a rock feel. Elton plays a

great piano solo that rocks at about the two and a half minute mark. Elton does great powerful

singing and I really like the optimistic message of the lyrics. I love the lyric "There’s a light, where the

darkness ends" in it.   

Amazes Me (1989)

The song has good backing vocals in the opening part and later on in the song. Elton delivers soulful

strong vocals. Davey plays rock guitar throughout the song. There is suddenly an intense guitar solo

giving the song a sudden jolt which contrasts with what was heard before with its stronger rock feel.

Near the end it is good to hear Elton sing the chorus line "could be this tune" very expressively unlike the previous instances.

The One (1992)

This is an epic long rock ballad going on for five minutes and fifty three seconds. It starts off simple

and slow, and the song gets more intense about fifty seconds in with the drums. In the first chorus

there is an acoustic guitar part. The piano and the drums give some rock in the chorus. The second

verse starts off slower with subtle drumming and then brings back the intense drumming and some

electric guitar comes in. Elton delivers a good piano solo which is supplemented with synthesizer.

Elton’s part at the end of the song is similar to his piano solo which is soon joined by a good rock

guitar part. The guitars on the song are played by Adam Seymour and Davey Johnstone. I assume

that the electric guitar parts are played by Davey, but I don’t know for sure. This song is reminiscent

of "Candle in the Wind" as both songs have acoustic & electric guitars and a rock guitar part, but no

guitar solo.

Believe (1995)

It opens with piano and subtle acoustic guitars. Drums soon join in. There is an orchestra and some

electric guitars. Near the end of the first verse, the electric guitars become more prominent which are

a strong part of the chorus. The electric guitars give the song a rock element. There is also a good

electric sitar solo by Davey Johnstone. This song can be described as a power ballad. 

Something About the Way You Look Tonight (1997)

This is his biggest hit as it was paired together with "Candle in the Wind 1997". It opens with all

instruments featuring a memorable opening played by the orchestra doubled on guitar. After that

piano is the dominant instrument which it continues to be during most of the verses. It features organ

by Paul Carrack. It has a great melody. About three minutes in, there is a good guitar solo played by

Davey Johnstone or John Jorgenson (who were both in Elton’s band on this album). Following that

there are some more prominent guitar parts.

I Want Love (2001) 

This song comes from his great 2001 comeback album "Songs from the West Coast". The album

had a back to the 70s approach, yet also is the most modern sounding album he’s made. The album

featured session musicians and his original two band members Davey Johnstone (guitar) and Nigel

Olsson (drums) who are both on this track. It opens with the great piano opening that’s joined by the

acoustic guitar played by Bruce Gaitsch. Interestingly, Bruce co-wrote Richard Marx’s 1987 hit rock

song "Don’t Mean Nothing" that I like. We hear some bass guitar notes, Nigel Olsson’s drums and

about twenty seconds later Davey Johnstone’s rocking electric guitar parts come in. There is a

bridge which gives a good change to the melody followed by Davey’s great guitar solo. This is one of

Elton’s best songs showcasing his strength in writing a melodic rock ballad.

Tinderbox (2006)

This song has a 70s Elton feel and also features both original band members Davey Johnstone

(guitars) and Nigel Olsson (drums). There is both acoustic and electric guitars, with the electric

guitars coming in at about the two minute mark. The bridge has more guitars and rocks well. There

is also good organ on the song by Elton’s late keyboardist Guy Babylon who died in 2009. His late

bassist Bob Birch is also on the track. Bob plays noticeable bass notes in the opening part as he’s

the only instrument other than piano in that section. Bob Birch died in 2012. The album "The Captain

& the Kid" that it's from is the last Elton John studio album that they both appeared on.

Candlelit Bedroom (2013)

This is a very Elton John song, having his signature piano based rock ballad sound. Doyle Bramhall

II’s guitar joins in about a minute in giving a good addition to the song. About two and a half minutes

in, there a rocking guitar solo which is good to have. We then go back to the chorus. It’s fitting that

this song list both opens and closes with a candle song which interestingly were released forty years

apart.  

I hope you enjoyed reading this list of Elton John rock ballads. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts

on any of these songs. If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in my previous article "Sci-Fi

Elton John Songs".

Toto Tribute Album

In this post, I will write of an imaginary album I'd like to see (the first of more posts like this to come). This album is a tribute album to the Rock band Toto by successful names in Classic Rock, with some being very big names. For those of you unfamiliar with Toto, Toto is an American Rock band formed in 1977 whose hits include ‘Africa’, ‘Rosanna’, ‘Hold The Line’, ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’, ‘I’ll Be Over You’. When Toto formed, their line-up was Steve Lukather - guitar & vocals, David Paich - keyboards & vocals, Steve Porcaro - keyboards & vocals, David Hungate - bass, Jeff Porcaro - drums and Bobby Kimball - lead vocals. In the current line-up Steve Lukather, David Paich and Steve Porcaro remain with Joseph Williams as their lead vocalist. The songs I selected come from their original line-up except for ‘I’ll Be Over You’ that’s from 1986. As I like Piano in Rock music, and also when the singers themselves play it, I am envisioning most of the singers playing Piano. I will give some ideas of how their versions of the songs can go in the section about the songs.

As this is a personal selection of mine there are some Toto songs highly regarded or popular not included here. Some of what I write about these songs will be short giving the reader more room for imagination for these covers. This list comprises 12 Toto hits and album tracks by artists that I think could make a version of these songs that I’d like. What's interesting is that most (if not all) of these artists have worked with at least 1 of the Toto members as a session musician and some even appeared on a Toto album. However, I won't be listing their connection with Toto as that will make this post go on too long.

Elton John & Bob Seger - Rosanna

I'll start with my 2 favourite singers Elton John & Bob Seger. This version would have Elton's original band members who are still with him Davey Johnstone (Lead Guitar) and Nigel Olsson (Drums) as well as the Original Members of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band who are still with him Alto Reed (Saxophone), Craig Frost (Organ) and Chris Campbell (Bass) with Elton on Piano, Bob on Guitar and a horn section like on the original. As the original had 2 lead vocalists, I envision Elton singing Steve Lukather's part and Bob Seger singing Bobby Kimball's part. The synth solo section would be replaced with back and forth interaction between Alto Reed and the Horn Section.

Michael McDonald - Make Believe

Michael McDonald was the singer Toto originally wanted who's closely connected to them and I think that he could really sing a great version of this song with his powerful voice with him obviously playing Piano.

Boz Scaggs - Georgy Porgy

Toto Keyboardist David Paich co-wrote some songs with Boz for his successful “Silk Degrees” album and as Boz even recorded an unreleased Toto song (until it appeared on the “Toto XX: 1977-1997” album) ‘Miss Sun’ which became a US hit, this song which David wrote could have been something Boz did as it has a Rock/Soul feel. As Michael McDonald and he have similarities and toured together, I put their 2 songs together.

Don Henley - I’ll Supply The Love

This song suits Don Henley's voice and I can imagine him singing this. He would play Drums on this and I envision his version being less Progressive Rock than the original.

Richard Marx - It’s a Feeling

It's time for a real ballad to slow things down. Richard would play Piano on this.

Journey - Hold The Line

This would be interesting as both Toto & Journey were popular American bands around the same time whose work went into Pop Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock and they both were influenced by Jazz.

The Doobie Brothers - Manuela Run

This song could be done a bit like their hit ‘The Doctor’, but wouldn't have a section in the song where the Keyboards stop. The Doobie Brothers recently had Keyboardist Bill Payne who'd done session work for them join their touring band, so he'd play Piano and Organ and this version wouldn't have the synths of the original.

Jackson Browne - I’ll Be Over You

Jackson would play Piano on this song and I think his voice is a bit like Steve Lukather who sang the original.

I originally intended Glenn Frey to cover this song, but as he tragically passed away recently I had to choose someone else for this song. Interestingly, Glenn lived above Jackson in the early 70s in LA. RIP Glenn Frey.

Billy Joel - Africa

Even though this song has strong World Music influences, I think it has a bit of a Billy Joel vibe. The original had only a little Piano, but in this version after the intro the Piano would kick in more prominent than the original and be there for the whole song. The original is a bit like Billy's 'River of Dreams' which has a similar intro and he'd bring more of that song into this version including a Piano solo similar to that one.  

REO Speedwagon - I Won’t Hold You Back

Their lead singer Kevin Cronin would play Piano on this and this version would sound more like their hit ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’.

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - St. George & the Dragon

Eric would sing the verses (Bobby Kimball part) and Steve would sing the choruses (David Paich part). Steve could sing the "I Can Tell By The" lines at the end very powerfully. I'm envisioning Steve playing Organ and/or Piano on this song. The Guitar parts would be altered to Eric's style.  

Steely Dan - 99

Donald Fagen would play Piano and this version would sound like a track off their debut album “Can’t Buy a Thrill” by using that style of arrangement. This would be interesting as Steely Dan is an influence of Toto.

What did you think of it? Are there other covers you'd like to see? Think a different song better suits an artist I chose? Have other ideas of where these covers could go? Have ideas of Producers for a song or the whole album? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments. Hope you liked this post.