My Top 1000 Songs #525: Open My Eyes

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

This blazing single from Nazz's 1968 eponymous debut always takes me back to my pre-teen exploration of classic rock roots, when I pivoted from the AM Top 40 station that first lured me into my love of music to the more historically-inclined FM stations. Having first been converted to a young classic rock enthusiast by my love of The Who, I was obviously thrilled the first time I heard this song's reworking of the "Can't Explain" opening chords come blasting out of my home stereo. But the song quickly pivots into a high-energy blend of raw garage band rock and headier psychedelic ventures, blistering guitars and trippy flanged reverb, Philadelphia rockers channeling their inner Cream/Hendrix/Yardbirds.

Todd Rundgren--still appearing as guitarist/songwriter but not yet taking the mic--would soon take the band in a more pop-oriented direction before heading out on his own, but here they appeared in all their ragged Nuggets glory.

Todd in 2014: