The Friday Five

Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dā – fÄ«v| : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button in iTunes and share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up the media player of your choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.

The Five:

“Solitude” by Black Sabbath (from Master of Reality, 1971)

Master of Reality really is an odd bag; it contains arguably some of the band’s heaviest riffs, and then there is “Solitude.” The last thing you expect to hear on a Sabbath record is a flute that could have been lifted from a Nick Drake record.

“Laundromat Blues” by Albert King (from The Complete Stax-Volt Singles: 1959-1968, 1991)

Albert King + Booker T. and the MGs + The Memphis Horns = Instant Classic. This is the blueprint for the blues-based rock of everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn.

“High Rollers” by Ice-T (from Greatest Hits: The Evidence, 2000)

I will admit that I know very little about Ice-T outside of the realm of his “hits.” Oh, and Body Count; that record was a must for every angst-ridden teen of my generation.

“Ahmad’s Blues” by Miles Davis Quintet (from Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions, 2006)

Miles and ‘Trane taking it slow and easy, with plenty of room to let the rest of the quintet shine.

“I’d Rather Have You” by Earth, Wind & Fire (from Last Days and Time, 1972)

The early Earth, Wind & Fire records don’t quite have the spark of everything from 1974’s Open Our Eyes, and forward.

iTunes clearly is messing with me today.

What’s on your shuffle today?

About the Author

Michael Parr

Husband, Father, Writer, Musical Voyeur, Pop Culture Glutton, Gourmet in Training. I'm the tall guy behind all these short guys. You can find me on the Twitter.

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