20 Exquisitely-Produced Songs That MUST Be Played Loud As Hell

9. Bon Iver €“ "Beth/Rest"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPSvDoqUl8Q When Justin Vernon dropped "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" in the summer 2011, the album gained near universal acclaim from fans and critics alike. The one sticking point was this son; a shameless, 80s-aping power ballad that sounds like everything from Bonnie Raitt to Bruce Hornsby to Journey. As the closing track from "Bon Iver, Bon Iver," "Beth/Rest" is an absolute curveball, a stylistic leap so large that it caused many fans of the album's more traditional folk and baroque pop stylings to question whether Vernon was trying to be ironic. He wasn't. Not only is "Beth/Rest" Vernon's favourite track from the album, it's also the most sonically impressive, with a feast of electric piano, horn arrangements, saxophone solos, cigarette-lighter guitar solos, and plentiful reverb that sounds as immaculate as any song released this decade. Play it on a late night summer drive, with the windows rolled down and the volume cranked up to the max, and you'll understand why it's so much more than 80s pop parody.