10 Hard Rock Songs Added At The Last Minute
The classic songs added at the buzzer...
Making a good rock album can typically be a grueling process. While it might be fun to sit around all day playing music, honing down a song until it's as perfect as it can be is something that can drive any musician to the brink of madness. Even when you think you have every song figured out, one idea might spark creativity right when you're about to wrap up.
Whether it's in the subgenre of metal, alternative, or just plain old rock and roll, many rock stars have added songs at the last minute that ended up saving the records. Though the record may have been lined up and ready for production, these songs manage to bypass everything that had come before and stand out as some of the best material these bands have ever written.
Some of these songs have even gone from being not in the running to being the lead off single for the records they are a part of. It may have taken a long time for some songs to fester, but sometimes the stars align and give these musicians the perfect song for the moment. They may not have taken that long, but when they're this good, that's hardly a bad thing.
10. Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were one of the most explosive bands of the early '90's. With their unique blend of funk rock and punk ethos, the band had some of the catchiest hooks in the hard rock world, from "Knock Me Down" to "Give It Away." Ironically enough though, the one song that broke the Peppers into the mainstream was a ballad they didn't give a second glance to.
When the band were combing through material for their record Blood Sugar Sex Magik, producer Rick Rubin was convinced they didn't have that one hook song yet. Opting to leave the studio for a bit, Rubin went over to Anthony Kiedis' house and started to pick his brain for ideas. After going through different song fragments, Rubin stumbled on a book of Kiedis' poetry and was struck by one entry he had about not having a partner.
Urging him to turn it into a song, Kiedis brought his poetry into the studio and toyed with it until John Frusciante found the perfect guitar part to go with it. As opposed to the more energetic songs on the record, "Under the Bridge" began to look at the darker side of the party lifestyle, which ended up sending the band into the stratosphere.