5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #83

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. Mama, by My Chemical Romance

Yes, I'm throwing in something completely different from what I usually put in just to keep y'all on your toes. I don't usually listen to much emo stuff, but this song is so quirky and catchy (despite its incredibly dark overtones) that I can't help but find myself tapping my toes along to it and singing it long afterward. It has a rather eastern European folksy nature to it at some points, but then at others it is unapologetically punk rock. It works out surprisingly well.

2. Too Rolling Stoned, by Robin Trower

This is one of those cool songs where it has multiple distinct parts that get switched between. It goes from a funky uptempo groove to a slow, swaggering blues tune and then back again. Lots of soul here. You can kind of tell this is one of those songs that just came together by the band jamming and jamming and jamming (especially since it clocks in at about 7 and a half minutes). This was also one of my nephew's favorite songs when he was still a baby, so that should also give it further credit.

3. Come on Feel the Noise, by Slade

This song is better known for the version that Quiet Riot put out, but quite frankly I like this original version by UK glam rock outfit Slade better because it has more sparkle, shine, and warmth to it. Plus, it feels like the band is having a bit of a party while jamming this out. Vocalist Noddy Holder in my opinion is also one of the most under rated and sadly overlooked singers in the many decades of history of rock n' roll. So much power, grit, and soul in that voice. It hits you like a truck in all the best ways.

4. Review Your Choices, by Pentagram

If you like Black Sabbath, then odds are you're going to like Pentagram. They both have a rather similar sound, though Pentagram is not completely a clone of the famed doom metal quartet. This tune in particular has that Sabbath feel, but Bobby Liebling's voices is NOTHING like Ozzy Osbourne's and it works quite well for what the band is doing. The lyrics are rather full of dark imagery and flow quite well. I like the phrasing and the way the verses connect to and reference one another. Give it a listen.

5. Anyone's Daughter, by Deep Purple

You really don't hear a whole lot of ballads like this any more. It has sort of a Bob Dylan-esque quality to it (though quite frankly Ian Gillan's voice is a thousand times better than Dylan's ever was). This is one of those songs I'd definitely consider a toe tapper and could hear someone performing in a pub. I think one of the best parts of the whole song though is Jon Lord's piano solo part-way through. It's so bluesy, yet at the same time still has some classical elements to it.