YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 170 (Another Time Around)
(Originally finalized on November 21, 2025)
Preface: Time is, not surprisingly, a popular subject for songs, as I discovered during my last theme dedicated to it. So here we go again, another time around the wheel, to kick off the final quarter of my music log.
Monday: Pink Floyd - Biding My Time [Relics, 1971]
Comments: Appearing on an early restrospective from before Pink Floyd achieved mainstream success - which constitutes an eclectic mix of album cuts, early singles, and outtakes - I consider this song to be one of the band's greatest overlooked gems (yet still overshadowed by another track from this album - Careful With That Axe, Eugene). Starting with a sleepy shuffle, it builds to an absolute powderkeg of symphonic cacophony.
Tuesday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) [Electric Ladyland, 1968]
Comments: And on the subject of overlooked gems, here's a song that features one of the world's greatest guitarists' most incendiary guitar solos - and it doesn't even get any radio airplay! It's also overshadowed on The Experience's third and final album by two of the band's [deservedly] biggest hits - All Along The Watchtower, and Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
Wednesday: REO Speedwagon - (I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come [R.E.O., 1976]
Comments: A more conventional song choice with a very similar title would be Your Time Is Gonna Come from Led Zeppelin's debut album. But its focus on organ to the exclusion of guitar ensures that it's not one of my favorites. So instead, here's a song by a band whose rock 'n' roll pedigree isn't adequately represented by their hit singles.
Thursday: The Moody Blues - Gypsy (Of A Strange And Distant Time) [To Our Children's Children's Children, 1969]
Comments: Their fourth album in just three years - and the first to be released on their own label - The Moody Blues were an established act by the time they released this concept album inspired by the Moon landing. Written and sung by guitarist Justin Hayward, this song became a radio favorite and concert staple, even outshining the album's intended single.
Friday: The Rolling Stones - Time Waits For No One [It's Only Rock 'N' Roll, 1974]
Comments: Even two weeks isn't enough time to cover all the notable songs that have been written on this topic. Cream has one that I considered, but I'm not crazy about the lullaby-like interludes. There's also one on The Stooges' debut album, but it's awfully short. So here's another one by The Rolling Stones, from the tail end of their golden era, and the last album with guitarist Mick Taylor, before he would quit the band and be replaced by Ronnie Wood.
Saturday: Styx - Too Much Time On My Hands [Paradise Theatre, 1981]
Comments: Although Styx debuted in 1972, it wasn't until the middle-late '70s that they attained real mainstream success. This is, therefore, one of their later hits that I like, from the album that preceded the rock opera Kilroy Was Here (which spawned the phrase "domo arigatou, Mr. Roboto") - the popularity of which is diminished considerably by its unmistakably '80s sound, and concludes the band's original run with their classic lineup.
Sunday: The Doors - Love Me Two Times [Strange Days, 1967]
Comments: I'd been hoping for a second chance to share this song ever since it was passed over for my Counting Numbers theme. One of the more pop-friendly tracks on The Doors' sophomore release, this song - which features Ray Manzarek playing a harpsichord - followed People Are Strange as the album's second single, and (though credited to the whole band) was guitarist Robby Krieger's second big hit, after Light My Fire.
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - Happier Times [The Ballad of John Henry, 2009]
Comments: We're going back to the future for the honorable mention, with a 21st century track by Joe Bonamassa. Joe has an album titled Time Clocks from 2021, but I'm choosing an older track from his early breakthrough album The Ballad of John Henry, which shows his growing maturity as a songwriter, and features an understated guitar solo that has nevertheless been described in the past by producer Kevin Shirley as one of Joe's best. No offense to Joe's later output - I've been a dedicated fan since before this album originally came out. And I don't disparage him courting a broader, more mainstream audience, but his music has been trending a little too polished in recent years. Still love it, but I feel like the truly memorable and standout tracks are getting fewer and farther between. I guess you could say, "I remember happier times." ;-)