Music that has stood the test of time

[Dom Tuk]

Looking back at music of the 60s till the 80s very few have stood the test of time and sound refreshing/challenging/real now as they did in their time. the likes of Pink Floyd/Stones/beatles/Led Zep etc seem passe to me when i play their music now. I would not put David Bowie in that bracket as i reckon his music still appeals to me now. Are there any others?

[devilwoman]

cliff richard, i'm going to see him in concert at birmingham, next friday , cant wait.

[jenstar]

I'd agree with Bowie still sounding quite fresh, whereas a lot of the artists who were inspired by Bowie in the 70s sound VERY dated - Roxy Music and (especially) Sparks.

Undoubtedly the Beatles do sound very dated now, perhaps due to innovation sounding dated very quickly. For me, the things that stand up best now from their catalogue are the less rocky, less "produced" numbers - In My Life, Blackbird, Eleanor Rigby.

I'm sort of starting to appreciate Kate Bush more now, having not really paid much attention to her until recently, and it sort of slowly dawning on me that "Running Up That Hill" is just a bloomin' great record.

[welshwil]

jenstar ur damn right about kate bush. the doors are timeless, nirvana aqnd rem started in the 80's so does that count?

[boomerang3]

Neil Young has definately stood the test of time, as have Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel. Another one would be Bruce Springsteen.

It's no surprise that these guys are the ones i consider to be the 4 greatest songwriters of all time, and nothing stands the test of time better than a great lyric. The fact these guys are still going strong may have something to do with the fact that, with the ezception of Simon and Garfunkel and some of Springsteens later material, they did not form part of "popular" music, which of course is where the beatles lose out. Obviously not every song will stand the test of time, as the world changes, but a good song will. The beatles, zeppelin, stones, the who, the doors and such wrote great songs for their time but obviously there are only a few standouts because they opted for different approaches to writing. Anyway, i hope i've answered for you.

[hyptonic]

I think The Smiths are still great

[Toni Blaire]

I'd certainly agree with the nomination for Bruce Springsteen, who was FANTASTIC at Birmingham NEC on Thursday night. I'd also add Joni Mitchell, whose music is the inspiration for a host of imitators, most of them second-rate, these days. Add to these the underrated Al Stewart and Janis Ian, whose work sounds as fresh today as in the seventies/eighties. They're also great in concert. Of these only Springsteen had more than one Top 40 singles hit. There's also Nick Drake who died in 1974 who's supposed to have inspired a great many contemporary singer-songwriters/groups but I can't see why (although I do like River Man) I can also still listen to Queen 2 (from 1974) and connect it to what My Chemical Romance are playing at the moment. P.S. Why are most of the songs chosen for The X-Factor contestants so dated ?

[welshwil]

oh! and the beach boys