5 Songs That Prove Singer/Songwriters Can Also Rock Out

When you see the term “singer/songwriter,” you often see the word “acoustic” attached to it somewhere. The word “sensitive” usually gets lumped in there somewhere as well. What you won’t often see is the word “rocking.”

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But there are exceptions. These five singer/songwriters proved that being a solo songsmith doesn’t necessarily stop you from turning up the amps and going for some cathartic release.

“Jump Into The Fire” by Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson gained recognition as a singer and songwriter who tended to favor fluttery, flowery compositions, such as the ones that comprised his 1968 album Aerial Ballet. In 1971, he released the album Nilsson Schmilsson, which would prove to be the most successful of his career. And many of the tracks certainly stick to his reputation as an ace balladeer. But then there’s “Jump Into The Fire”, where Nilsson wails wildly over the throbbing bass line of session man Herbie Flowers. If your song finds itself in a Martin Scorsese crime epic, as “Jump Into The Fire” did in Goodfellas, you know it has some rocking heat to it.

“Lawyers, Guns And Money” by Warren Zevon

To be fair, Zevon always straddled the line between singer/songwriter confessionals and rock songs with reckless abandon pretty well. But his 1976 self-titled album, the one that brought his career back from oblivion, stuck mostly to slower stuff. When he came back two years later with Excitable Boy, he let his rocker flag fly with a little bit more freedom. The album’s closing track, “Lawyers, Guns And Money”, comes out swinging with crunching power chords from guitarist Danny Kortchmar. Zevon’s wild-eyed vocals, so in tune with the reckless protagonist, just add to the potent effect.

“Big Shot” by Billy Joel

Billy Joel slowly found his way into more of a rock milieu as his career progressed throughout the 70s. That transition came partly from the fact that he started recording with his touring band. Producer Phil Ramone also knew how to bring out the edge in Joel’s music now and again. Joel has released many songs with some crunch, some of which became big hits. But for our money, his most searing rocker is “Big Shot”. The barking guitar riff that begins the song sets the tone for what’s about to come. And Joel is in his element, sneering and scoffing at the titular character, who didn’t know when to call it a night.

“Boulevard” by Jackson Browne

Perhaps no one epitomized the empathetic singer/songwriter type in the first half of the 70s quite like Jackson Browne. On songs like “Rock Me On The Water”, “Late For The Sky”, and others, Browne seemed so overwhelmed with his feelings that he had no choice but to detail them for his audience. As an artist, he saw the wisdom in turbo-charging his music a bit, even without sacrificing the sight. These efforts hit a peak on the 1980 single “Boulevard”. David Lindley, who had often added lyrical guitar parts to earlier Browne work, here offers an unmistakable jolt with his serrated lead.

“Pay In Blood” by Bob Dylan

We all know that Dylan started the whole trend of songwriters “going electric.” Many songs from that mid-60s period certainly bring the raucous energy, even if they’re often a bit disheveled. Anybody expecting Dylan to mellow as he aged clearly hasn’t been paying attention to his career. From the 2012 album Tempest, “Pay In Blood” offers a focused guitar attack that makes it sound like it would have been at home on The Rolling Stones’ Tattoo You. Dylan taps into the fierce attitude of the music with some of his most blistering lyrics, right down to the refrain: I pay in blood, but not my own.

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