A couple of weeks ago, I dedicated this space to my five favorite hard rock songs of all time. You can read that post here.
But who am I to limit my musical exploration to power chords and incendiary riffs?
What about the easier, softer side of rock? Soft rock?
Since this is my list, I am excluding power ballads — songs that starts unobtrusively but end in a cacophony. So no Stairway To Heaven or Long Time on here.
Instead, here are my five favorite songs from the gentler side of life:
5. Aimee, Pure Prairie League. Yep, love this one in spite of how infrequently I get to hear it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY
4. Angie, Rolling Stones. True story: in my tennis playing days of yore, a group of us convinced a friend that Mick Jagger was singing “I inject” instead of “Angie.” With friends like us …
3. Cover Me Up, Jason Isbell. Is he soft rock? Country? Americana? I don’t know. I do know he is brilliant.
2. Peaceful, Easy Feeling Eagles. The smoothest example of the genre I know, and a fitting tribute to the late Glenn Frey.
1. One, U2. Hard rock, soft rock, anthem, or single . . . this is one of those that transcends genre, style, and era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSwGrzx1wQQ