YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 164 (Young Man Blues)
(Originally finalized on October 26, 2025)
Preface: I surveyed a number of "young" and "old" songs for this theme. I originally felt it could make for an interesting contrast, but it seems "old" is less often used to refer to a person as "young" is. In any case - without stepping on the toes of my Coming of Age theme - I settled on the subject of age progression, with a concentration in songs about young men.
Monday: Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine [Appetite For Destruction, 1987]
Comments: During an era when hair metal was mainstream, and heavy metal was getting heavier, Guns N' Roses came on the scene with a stripped-back, straightforward approach to hard rock music, continuing the legacy of such bands as The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith. Their debut album from 1987 contains multiple radio hits, including one of their most successful rock ballads - a song that needs no introduction.
Tuesday: Pink Floyd - Childhood's End [Obscured By Clouds, 1972]
Comments: For a concise summary of this album's place in Pink Floyd's discography, I refer you to the last song I shared from it, during my Precious Metals theme. Suffice to say, the building blocks for the followup were in place, but that one small step to the Dark Side of the Moon would represent a giant leap for music-kind. Starting with a trademark Pink Floyd slow fade intro, this song - named for a prominent sci-fi novel by Arthur C. Clarke (of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame) - contains a rough blueprint for the later song Time.
Wednesday: Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes [All The Young Dudes, 1972]
Comments: As we learned in my fourth edition of Band Connections, Mott The Hoople was an early glam rock band from the '70s, which featured a founding member of Bad Company - guitarist Mick Ralphs. Although it was their breakthrough hit (written for the band by David Bowie, who served as their patron and produced this album), I ultimately opted not to share this song then. But it looks like fate has given me a second chance!
Thursday: The Who - Young Man Blues (Live) [Live At Leeds, 1970]
Comments: Recorded - and released - in 1970, Live At Leeds became one of the earliest and most celebrated live albums of the classic rock era, showcasing one of the British Invasion's preeminent rock & roll bands at the height of their abilities as a live act, between recording the rock opera Tommy, and FM radio darling Who's Next. Although the deluxe edition contains a lot more material, the original release opened with this hard rockin' cover of a jazz tune.
Friday: Styx - Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) [The Grand Illusion, 1977]
Comments: Although you're sure to be familiar with the other major hit from Styx's 1977 album The Grand Illusion (a little song called Come Sail Away), has there ever been a young man who's faced the challenges of growing up and not found himself relating to the lyrics of this song? I know I did. Written by singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw, what originated as a dig against one of his bandmates turned out to be a source of reassurance for many of us, in the face of doubt and uncertainty about the unknowable future.
Saturday: Neil Young - Old Man [Harvest, 1972]
Comments: I very nearly shared this song for my third edition of Band Connections, but once again, I'm happy with the song selections I ultimately decided on. Although enormously popular, I'm lukewarm about Neil's quintessential middle-of-the-road album (and its title track) - which features his all-time greatest hit (the massively overrated Heart Of Gold). But, also very popular, here's a song I like better from the same album, about a young man relating to an old man, that's relatable to old and young listeners alike.
Sunday: John Fogerty - The Old Man Down The Road [Centerfield, 1985]
Comments: One could argue that John Fogerty has a domineering personality. But then, he was the creative force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival's enormous success. Nevertheless, theirs was a band with a messy breakup. John's own brother Tom quit the band, and when the band dissolved, John sold his rights to free himself from his contract - eventually resulting in a lawsuit (however unsuccessful) over this song, accusing John of plagiarizing himself!
Honorable Mention: Silvertide - Adult Child [Show And Tell, 2004]
Comments: Straddling the line between childhood and adulthood - which, after all, is the source of much of a young man's turmoil - is a song that's really too good to be an obscure bonus track solely available on the Japanese version of the only full-length album released by a little known retro rock band from Philly. But then, everything about this band speaks of enormous talent that inexplicably fizzled out way too soon. Sure, Walt Lafty sang for Santana on live TV, and Nick Perri briefly played guitar for Shinedown, but we wanted more Silvertide!