5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #81

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. Flying High Again, by Ozzy Osbourne

This has to be one of my absolute favorite songs in Ozzy's solo repertoire for one reason and one reason only: Randy Rhoads's super radtastic amazing as hell guitar solo. It's said that he locked himself in the studio and didn't eat, drink, or sleep for two or three days and worked on that solo over and over again until he got it exactly the way he wanted it. It definitely paid off because it is blistering, yet melodic. You can hear the neo-classical chops of Rhoads pour through here more than almost anywhere else.

2.  Wine, Women, an' Song, by Whitesnake

This is one of those great boogie tunes that starts out with some really hot bluesy piano. It gets you moving and excited, but when the electric guitars and the rest of the band come kicking in it's enough to make you want to scream at the top of your lungs and lose your mind to the good time you're having. Sadly Whitesnake doesn't make music like this at all any more, but for those who know where to look the good old stuff can still be found.

3. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), by AC/DC

This is one of those arena rock anthems that does nothing less than get a crowd on their feet and excited. It's usually put as the last song in the band's live sets (and for good reason). You can't really get any better than cannons being fired mid song to accentuate just how powerful of a song this really can be. It's big, pounding, and has enough of a slow to mid tempo groove for you to be able to easily fall into rhythm with. I definitely salute anyone who gives this song the respect it deserves.

4. The Mob Rules, by Black Sabbath

Want some Sabbath that isn't Ozzy but still kicks serious ass? You need to play this track RIGHT NOW. Tony Iommi lays down an absolutely killer riff while Ronnie James Dio howls like a wolf and the rhythm section thunders away like there is no tomorrow. It's also a great song to listen to if you're into stuff like warnings against going mindlessly with what the general public has to say all the time no matter what and not really thinking for yourself. 

5. Killers, by Iron Maiden

This is New Wave of British Heavy Metal music at its absolute finest. Its bass and vocal centered build-up followed by the galloping guitars and blistering solos. Plus, it's pre-Bruce Dickinson era so it still has that punk fueled Paul Di'Anno goodness to it as well though with better production quality than their previous album had. If you need something that works better than a cup off coffee to get you going in the morning, then this is the track for you.