Here are my favorites in order:

1. "Wurm", Yes
2. "Mouthful Of Grass", Free
3. "Kohoutek", Journey
4. "Black Currant Jam", Moby Grape
5. "Owed To 'G'", Deep Purple
6. "The Whale", Electric Light Orchestra
7. "Bella Nova", Asia
8. "Taurus", Spirit
9. "Any Colour You Like", Pink Floyd
10. "Collibosher", The Small Faces

What was the name of that instrumental on the X-Files movie soundtack? Teohitucan or soemthing like that? I love that one.

Sorry, I think E.L.O.'s "Daybreaker", "Fire On High" and "Drum Dreams" are better. Actually, so is the instrumental version of "In An Old England Town".

How could you not mention "Buck's Boogie"?

Another personal favorite is Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Wham". "Sweet Lullabye" by Deep Forest is also excellent.

Would Floyd's "Great Gig In the Sky" count as an instrumental?

I gather that this category should really be titled Instrumentals by artists that don't typically do instrumentals. Otherwise, I would nominate lots of jazz tunes, lots of tunes by the (Dixie) Dregs, Jeff Beck, Michael Hedges, Al DiMeola, etc.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorites:

La Villa Strangiato - Rush
Water Song - Hot Tuna
Jessica - Allman Brothers
Don't Start (Too Late) - Black Sabbath
Peaches En Regalia - Zappa and the Mothers
Discipline - King Crimson
Difficult To Cure - Rainbow

>Would Floyd's "Great Gig In the Sky" count as an instrumental?

Yes (moaning woman notwithstanding)

>Water Song - Hot Tuna

Good one.

>La Villa Strangiato - Rush

I like YYZ, myself.

Oh, I know one I like. "Carnage Visors" by The Cure. Long though.

"One of These Days" by Pink Floyd, if it counts, is another.

I like Mason Williams' Classical Gas, and one of rock and roll's best selling instumentalists, Duane Eddy's pieces, like Rebel Rouser and Red River Rock. Then there's The Entertainer, theme of The Sting.

Well, from the piano side of things...
Some of Billy Joel's early instrumentals, especially the prelude to "Angry Young Man" are pretty good (and certainly flashy). More subdued but jsut as good is Elton's "Funeral for a Friend."

I love Jimi's "Pali Gap" though it's not so popular with other folks.

Since Benn and I have been discussing McCartney these days, I'll nominate most of his instrumentals for some of the boringest instrumentals in pop/rock. In fact, The Beatles didn't do instrumentals that well either.

We need a category for "almost instrumentals" like "Shine on you crazy diamond" and other long tunes with just a verse.

>"One of These Days" by Pink Floyd, if it counts,> is another.

Yeah, instrumentals with minimal spoken-word lyrics count, too. There's only the one "lyric" in "One of These Days", and the song isn't even listed on the lyric sheet. The Rolling Stones' "Stoned" counts, too.

How about Steely Dan's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"

How 'bout Floyd's "Careful With That Axe Eugine" (which is, of course, both the title and the lyrics in their entierity bar the "oooooooo"-ing)

Goog, I agree about Macca's instrumentals. "Crossroad Theme" is about the only decent one he did. No, wait a minute. I forgot about "The Rockestra Theme". Now that kicks ass!

Another personal favorite that's almost too embarrassing to mention, but I'll do it anyway, has three different titles to it. Originally it was called "Cotton's Dream" and even had lyrics. Then it was used by a soap opera and was given the name of that soap, The Young and The Restless. But it wasn't until 1976 when it was used in the Olympics that the song became very well known, under yet another title: "Nadia's Theme (The Young and The Restless)". Yeah it's pure fluff. Yeah, the hook of the song, the piano part, is ridiculously simple. But I still like it. I think it's a beautiful piece of music.

Don't worry, Benn, you're in good company here. I once bought a greatest hits of the original versions of soap opera themes just for that one piece and I really love it cuz it's a beautiful piece of music. And thanks for its history, too. But I've got to ask you how did you know about its history? Or is it too embarrassing to ask? BTW, for anyone who may not know why it was (and might still be) called "Nadia's Theme" it's for the former Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci.

Yeah, I got the soundtrack to St. Elmo's Fire just because of a couple of the instrumental pieces.

I used to have the 45. I think it said it was originally called "Cotton's Dream." Somewhere along the line I have seen a music book that had the lyrics to the song in it. Unfortunately, I don't remember any of them.

The other day at Kroger's, I heard the original version of this instrumental, but quite honestly, I prefer the remake of "Pipeline". The one done by Dick Dale ("The King of the Surf Guitar") and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Their version gets the blood in my veins moving at Warp speeds! I love it! It works, despite the differences in music styles between Dick and Stevie. Classic.

I havent heard it for a while as I lost my copy of it but the album "Symphony Sessions" By David Foster has some amazing instrumentals on it. I think most of them were film themes, has anyone any more on this?

Here are a couple of REAL old instrumentals that I remember from childhood ...

First, I remember my sister's stack of 45's had a recording called "Telestar" that I really enjoyed listening to. (circa 1960's)

Second, in my junior high school days (early 1970's) there was an instrumental tune called "Popcorn" that was played by (appropriately enough) a group called "Hot Butter".

Just thought of another one ... this one is from the mid 70's. The name of the instrumental is Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills. I always liked that one ...

I looove "Telestar". It's one of my favorite instrumentals of all time, and I wish I'd've thought of it earlier. I remember "Popcorn", too.

I suppose Pick Up The Pieces by The Average White Band qualifies as an instrumental, even though they do a little singing during the song.

Couple of disco era instrumentals I like: "Fly Robin, Fly" and "Get Up and Boogie" by Silver Convention.

Benn, the first one has lyrics (granted they're not particularly imaginative...)

Fly Robin Fly
Up into the sky...

Yeah and the other has the lyrics "That's right!/Get up and boogie/" and "Boogie!". What constitutes too many words before a song ceases to be an instrumental, we wonders.

If they sound like they had thought behind them, then they probobly disqualify it...

Funny, I always thought it was "Get down and boogie"!

Not the Silver Convention song. "Get Up and Boogie" is the song's title.

I know. I'm just commenting on the mis-heard lyric.

Oh, and another song like that was "Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc.

That had more words than the others, though.

"Well, we talked about it.
Talked about it.
Talked about it.
Talked about it.
Talked about
Talked about moving.

Gotta move on.
Gotta move on.

Won't you take me to Funytown?"

Not a whole lot more, mind you...

Is Funytown just down the road from Funkytown?

Gonna Fly Now (The Theme to the movie Rocky) has a few lines in it, yet I would consider it an instrumental (the voices just being the supporting "music" for the main melody) ...

Trying hard now
It's so hard now
Trying hard now

Feeling strong now
Won't be long now
Feeling strong now

Gonna fly now
Flying high now
Gonna fly, fly high

By the way ... the writer of the songs "Eye of the Tiger" and "Burning Heart" used in the movie was Jim Peterik of "Survivor" ... strange, there is a "Jimmy Peterik" listed as the lead vocalist of the 1974 group "Chase" which ended tragically in a plane crash, killing Bill Chase and three other members of the band. If it is the same "Jimmy", it is understandable why he named his band "Survivor".

"Is Funytown just down the road from Funkytown?"

I swear, I'm ready to give it up. |sigh| Yeah, sure, Scott. It's just my imagination that any mistakes I make are pointed out, but nobody else's are. Uh huh. Suure. |grumble, grumble|

My buddy Benn! ... did you NOT see the post in between yours and ScottN's? ... I'm tellin' you that Jim Peterik (the creator of the group "Survivor") was in the past a member of the group "Chase" ... (a CD of which YOU own ... the one titled "Pure Music"?) or else there is the eternal "double-name" syndrome to contend with ... (yeah, right)

He had just broken-up with the group "The Ides of March" and was in-between work. It was a perfect time for him to fill-in his resume with a stint with Chase ... (yet ANY Jim Peterik website doesn't list him associated AT ALL with Bill Chase)

Well, Derf if you insist on a response...

The Rolling Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll in its entry on Chase, does confirm that Jimmy Peterik was the lead vocalist with Ides of March and Survivor. I thought it was an interesting connection and an interesting origin for the "Eye of the Tiger" band's name. I just didn't really have anything to say about it, Derf. Sorry. Wasn't ignoring you.

Sorry, 'ole bud, but the last e-mail I got from you, you said you didn't recognize any of the Chase band members, only the critic's name. (Nat Hentoff) ... I thought I was sending you a lightning bolt. Oil well ...

It might have been, except for the fact that I don't particularly like Survivor and have only dimly heard of Ides of March. It is cool to know though.

"Spasmodic Moods" and "Power/Africano" both by Earth, Wind & Fire.
"Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic.
"Chocolate Buttermilk" by Kool and the Gang.
"H2Overture" by War.
Pick 80% of the tracks by Booker T. and the MG's, but "Time Is Tight," "Groovin'" and "Melting Pot" stand out.
"Think" from SUPERFLY soundtrack.
"Snow Queen/Maiden Voyage" by Blood, Sweat & Tears
(technically, not a complete instrumental, but the vocal comes early and is kept short)
And don't get me started on jazz...

Well, I WILL get started on jazz:
BLUE TRAIN, GIANT STEPS, LIVE AT NEWPORT (John Coltrane)
STEAMIN', WORKIN', RELAXIN' & COOKIN' WITH THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
FREE FOR ALL (Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers)
TIME OUT (Dave Brubeck Quartet)
"Spain" by Return to Forever

Kinda Blue by the Miles Davis Quintet
If I should just do a song instead of albums, Work Song by Cannonball Adderly.

Gary,

This may not be the forum for Brubeck bashing, but in Blue Rondo a la Turk Desmond seems cool, but Brubeck seems forced. It's like if Fonzie is leaning against a wall exuding coolness and along comes Potsie to imitate him. I don't think it was an accident that Take Five, a song that doesn't feature Brubeck at all, was the big hit.

Well, I always considered Brubeck the weak link in all the groups he led! He had the strangest sense of rhythm I think I've ever heard. Or non-rhythm, I should say.

Blue Train is definitely John Coltrane's best album (the only other Trane I have currently is A Love Supreme). Kind of Blue is one of my favorite Miles Davis albums. "So What" and "Blue in Green" are IMHO the best tracks on it. Other favorite Miles (The Master) albums include Sketches of Spain, Bitches Brew (however, I do not currently own a copy. I used to.), Tribute to Jack Johnson and Pangaea. Other favorite jazz musicians include King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, David Sanborn, John Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis.

Well, he did use some strange tempos, Gary... For example, Unsquare Dance is in 7/8.

This track on The Matrix soundtrack by Rob D, "Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino mix)."

Anyone else know it? It's techno/classical, and it's fantastic.

"Cinema" by YES from album 90125

My votes go to:

"Axel F (Theme From Beverly Hills Cop)"-that cool German Harold Faltermeyer

"Miami Vice Theme"-Jan Hammer

"The Brazilian"--Genesis

almost ANYTHING by Orbital (do they count? Only in a select few of their songs are there vocals. "Illuminate" with David Gray is one of them.)

and the instrumental tracks from "To Live And Die In L.A." by Wang Chung. (YES, Wang Chung! I don't care that Blender magazine voted "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" the 3rd Worst Song Of All Time! You know where they can stick it, I still like that song, and the group!)

Whoa! Nothing else said about this in five years!

Anyhoo, "Peaches En Regalia" by Frank Zappa.

It's a good instrumental, I mean!

Andre, I agree. (As I mentioned on day 2 of this thread.) In fact, the whole Hot Rats album has great instrumentals.