The Top Ten Blues Traveler Songs

Often, we mark time with music, and use albums as the chapter headings for segments of our lives. "Four" was the first CD I ever owned (my only previous musical attachment was on cassette), and in the thirty years since then, Blues Traveler has always been a voice in the back of my head when I think about both myself and music. Recently, I have found myself on a bit of a binge once again, so I figured it was time to boil down all these years into a list of my absolute favorite Blues Traveler Songs.

In chronological-ish order:

But Anyway (from Blues Traveler)

No matter how many years pass by, I've never found myself really getting into the first record. Something about the jam and funk imbued within it doesn't quite mesh with my personality. The exception to that is this song, which I think hit me originally because of the rapid-fire delivery sounding akin to another song on this list I already loved. The lyrics about toilet seats and eye cancer are so bizarre I find them charming, and this song was a zygote (see what I did there?) of ideas that would come to term later on.

Optimistic Thought (from Travelers & Thieves)

I seem rather enamored with these wordy songs, which I have been told shows up in my own writing. This one bounces along as the words form an almost endless path of cobblestones for us to travel, and I love the idea of disgracing life being considered an optimistic thought. This one gives me the feeling of a renaissance fair, and though I would never go to one, this at least makes it feel welcoming.

Sweet Pain (from Travelers & Thieves)

I've been playing this song on repeat. Maybe it's because I'm a wordsmith who hides in the shadows, but the story of Cyrano being used to explain the frustration of being unable to express yourself openly is something that resonates with me. It's a slyly deep lyric, married to the sweet jangle of twelve-string guitar, and an absolute bellowing roar come the bridge. It's something I can't replicate for myself.

Conquer Me (from Save His Soul)

There are definite eras in the discography, and this song was the turning point. The way a blues riff became a rock motif, the focus of the writing, and the sticky melody, all point toward what "Four" would soon become. The tale of this mountain climber not only reached a high point on its record, but showed from the summit there were new lands soon to explore.

Run Around (from Four)

The success of this song was a surprise, and became a North Star that grew dimmer as the universe's expansion drifted it further away. Maybe a semi-cynical story song with a harmonica solo never should have become popular, but indeed it did, and something about it just sounds like my youth. All you need are four chords and an idea, which this song shows with aplomb.

Hook (from Four)

The bitter cynicism of this song rings a bit different today, given how the next thirty years played out. It became a bit prophetic, but I can still listen to this and feel like I did the first time I 'got it'. John Popper was absolutely right that the hook is all that matters, but he also throws in his best harmonica solo (one of my favorite solos of any kind, to be fair), and that rapid-fire bridge that has been humiliating karaoke singers ever since. The truth never goes out of style.

Canadian Rose (from Straight On Til Morning)

This song is the saccharine chaser to the bitter taste of the previous two entries. They are built from the same elements, but with the spotlight pointed in opposite directions. The best Blues Traveler pop songs are the ones that were never intended to be pop songs, and this is a perfect example of that.

Pretty Angry (from Bridge)

When I think about songs that use grief to fuel art, this comes to mind first and foremost. As this one builds and builds, the loss is palpable, and the instinct to wish things unfolded differently is beyond natural. Coming to the realization, after all the emotion and the raging, that it's a waste of time not to move forward is both crushing and hopeful. Maybe things were never the same again, but something good came out of the pain.

After What (from Bastardos!)

There's no grand reason why I love this song so much. It just happens to be a great tune with a great melody that stands out to me as the best song of the back half of Blues Traveler's career. I don't want to make it sound like they fell off dramatically, so perhaps that gives this one the nod.

Christmas (from A Very Special Christmas)

This is an interesting choice, because I tend to say I hate Christmas music. This has been my favorite Christmas song for a long, long time, for that exact reason. The lyric that starts, "Comes a time for Christmas and I really have to ask, if this is feeling merry how much longer must it last?" is something I quote every year. Getting me to embrace holiday music is such a tall task this one more than earns a spot on the list. It's one of the few songs that sounds honest about what the holidays mean to some of us.