Ok, before I proceed, I’m gonna lay this out there.  I’ve omitted any U2 song from this countdown, simply because my bias is too great.  I love that band…obviously, but I can’t even try to rank anything of theirs with other songs.

I am starting to warm up to the new U2 album, it’s not that bad…but it’s definitely not their best work.  Moving on…

Here we are at Number 8.  No, there’s not a piano riff in this song, but it’s a great one nonetheless.

Number 8

Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

You want a grand song, with a sweeping melody, and a tremendous hook?  Here it is.  Much has been written about the legal troubles with this one. The Andrew Oldham Orchestra claims that The Verve used a little too much of the originally negotiated portion of their recording of The Rolling Stones  song “The Last Time”.  It was a thin claim, but it held up, and eventually the songwriting credits went to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, in what was one of the most ridiculous copyright cases this planet has ever seen.

Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft commented, "This is the best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years."……which was true.

Despite this, rest assured, this is not any type of ripoff ala Vanilla Ice.  The song stands up, and will for a long time.

The official video follows, which is pretty decent actually.

 

And now for your bonus coverage.

I love this version from Live 8, give me Coldplay backing up this song, and it’s gold Jerry, pure gold.

 

Of course, any great song always translates well when stripped down.

 

And here’s the song these days, performed by the newly reunited band.  Another great performance.