Standard Music Monday Intro:
Let's say I have a CD player in my truck. And just for the sake of a blogable subject let's suppose that the CD player broke one day in such a way that the compilation CD currently in the player could not be ejected, the volume could not be changed from its position at medium loud and I cannot change over to the radio. If I'm in the truck and the key is in the ignition, then the CD is playing at medium high volume and it will continue to play until I exit the truck. It's music will span a trip to the corner convenience store for some Jumbo Juicy Love or across the entire nation. So I am stuck listening to this CD for all eternity. What 15 songs would I want the CD to contain and why?

My top 15 Songs in no particular order.


Previous Mondays:

#1 La Grange by ZZ Top from the album Tres Hombres.

#2 Magic Man by Heart from the album Dreamboat Annie.


Today's offering: #3 Train Kept A Rollin' by Areosmith from the album  Get Your Wings. This song was written by Tiny Bradshaw, Lois Mann and Howard Kay . Bradshaw first recorded the song in the early 50's. Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio released a rock and roll version in 1956, numerous other such versions by groups such as The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead, Twisted Sister and Aerosmith have been recorded since. I came to love this song in the mid to late seventies. During that time some friends had a band that played local bars, clubs and open air concerts, they called themselves Fragile. They figured it was already stenciled on their amps and other equipment so it was a kill two birds kind of thing.

I traveled with the band and helped load in and out and set up and break down equipment. I collected the cover charge at the door, checked ID's and tossed out the patrons that got too rowdy. Sadly, I am totally and completely void of any musical ability and luckily never tried to prove otherwise. I did once ask Keith, one of the guitarist in the band, to teach me to play bass. He laughed. Then he did a double take and said, "Oh, you're serious." He told me up front that my hands looked like Easter hams and that it was going to be a challenge. The lessons or should I say lesson lasted about thirty minutes. It was then that Kieth explained that, "Randy, sadly it appears that you are the origin of the stereotype that white folk have no rhythm.... Our entire race thanks you.... now put the bass back in the case. Some people are musically inclined and others lift heavy stuff. Luckily we have heavy stuff that needs lifting."

The band would play, Train Kept A Rollin', almost every night. About half way through the song there is a break that has a guitar solo the ends with a screaming, train whistle sounding note and then (at least in Fragile's version) a loud drum slap.... The bass player (yes he was a white guy and yes he had rhythm, no need to rub it in) was a gun/black power/anything that goes boom, kind of guy, He devised some flash pots out of smokeless gun powder, 5lb coffee cans and an extension cord. (Children and for that matter adults, do not, I repeat , DO NOT, try this at home or at work or even in a large field 20 miles from anything flammable.) He would string the extension cord through holes in the bottom of the can and then cut the cord and place a small, weak piece of metal in line in the could and then cover it with varying amounts of gun power. He would then cover the top of the can with aluminum foil secured with duct tape and plug the cord into the wall. He had a foot switch built in to the cord and he would set off these flash pots at the precise moment of the drum slap. And they almost always worked. But as is the case with most homemade explosive devices they had their drawbacks.

First of all smokeless gun powder is smokeless in very small amounts. He did not use small amounts. He used varying amounts each night and while he was filling the cans he could be heard to say something along the lines of "Lets try this.". Second most of these clubs were located in old buildings that were built before anyone had the bright idea to short out an extension cord in some cans filled with gunpowder, so they never thought to put in extra-super-heavy duty circuit breakers. And having been retail stores at some point in their past these clubs all had low hanging "drop" ceilings.

On any given Friday in the late 70's the following scene would play out in a club in Lawton....

......Screaming guitar solo followed by loud drum slap that is drowned out by two very loud simultaneous explosions, one on either side of the stage. There is a very bright flash of light followed by complete darkness, silence and the feeling of being enveloped by thick smoke. Silence broken by the screams and thrashing of patrons that had never been to a Fragile concert before...... as the smoke begins to clear you can see ceiling tiles hanging from the ceiling grid and many more tiles strewn throughout the stage area of the club.

We would then flip the breakers back on and open the doors so the smoke could clear. See... they always played Train Kept A Rollin' at the end of a set so they could take a break while the smoke cleared and we put the ceiling tiles back in place and got the amps fired back up.

To this day when that part of the song comes around on the radio or on a CD I instinctively throw my arms in front of my face and hold my breath. It's not that big of a price to pay for all the fun we had "back in the day"..... except when that part come around and I'm driving.

Fragile's version was a cross between the Yard Birds an Areosmith.