I traveled far away from home on business last week, and whenever I travel without my loved ones in tow, I always get very weepy because I miss them and I think that I’m going to die and never see them again. When I do die, I hope it’s many years from now, surrounded by all those I love. And if I’m fortunate enough to go to heaven, I hope that I hear one of the songs below cranked up to eleven as I fist-bump St. Peter and high-step through the Pearly Gates. These are not my favorite songs of all time, mind you. I’ve covered that in a separate post. No, these are songs that have always struck me as epic and magisterial and worthy of serving as the entrance theme to the Great Beyond. Here we go…
- “Eruption,” Van Halen — All these years later, I’m STILL blown away by the incredible sounds that Eddie Van Halen was able to create with his guitar on this massive and truly historic track. There was guitar before this song. And then there was guitar after this song. It was better after.
- “Let It Rock,” Bon Jovi — I love this band and I love this song, which opens Bon Jovi’s breakthrough album, “Slippery When Wet,” still one of the greatest album titles of all time. This track is heavy on the organ, which is a particularly heavenly instrument, as we see again with my next pick.
- “Foreplay/Long Time,” Boston – These guys were all about epic rock and they get epically epic on this track, with a sweeping organ solo, moments of silence, and weird outer space noises. When they rip into the opening guitar riff of “Long Time,” it really is a beautiful thing.
- “These Dreams,” Heart — Just in case God is not a head-banger, I serve up this lovely song from Heart that was used, most famously, as a theme song of sorts for the Challenger disaster back in the 1980s. It still gets me when they sing, “There’s something out there/I can’t resist.”
- “Father Figure,” George Michael — Yes, this is a love song, but isn’t God all about love? He certainly is the ultimate father figure, no? I’ve always loved this lyric: ”If you are the desert/I’ll be the sea/If you ever hunger/Hunger for me/Whatever you ask for/That’s what I’ll be.” And that keyboard riff that opens and closes the song? Heavenly.
So, those are my picks. What song would YOU like to hear on your way to that great concert hall in the sky?