Originally published in 2015 - Watershed plays Columbus August 9-10-11 in the year 2019. Click here for details.
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Watershed Rankings by Nick Jezierny Day 2 (Songs 55-45)
Click here to read Day 1 (The Bottom Ten)
Wallflower Child (55): This is probably going to cause some debate. This is my least favorite song on Three Chords II. In fact, I’ve wondered why “New Life,” “Star Vehicle” or “Laundromat” didn’t get on the live record over this. I think about that type of stuff from time to time. I also wonder how certain songs are left off Greatest Hits packages. My two prime examples: "Stone In Love" for Journey, "Gimme Some Water" for Eddie Money. There are three better versions of “Wallflower Child" — Hoarse’s version is excellent, the one from Colin’s "Live From Cleveland” disc I bought from Ricki C. in Raleigh and the original Watershed version from one of the early recordings that I’m not ranking. This is the only case where Watershed made its own song worse!
Watch this! A fan making that version even worse from Comfest Bozo Stage.
Joe O. - I agree with Nick that Hoarse’s cover of this song is the definitive version. It also led to the Watershed/Tim Patalan partnership. The worst version of Wallflower Child is the tattoo that sits on my left shoulder.
Ricki C. - First off, and completely off-topic, regarding Greatest Hits, between the two of them Journey and Eddie Money have exactly ONE good, let alone great, song, that being Eddie's "Two Tickets To Paradise." On the subject of "Wallflower Child," I remember thinking the first time I heard it WAY back in the day at Ruby Tuesday, "This sounds like a song The Monkees might have sung." (In my 62 year-old world, a power-pop band writing a song that sounds like The Monkees is a positive notion.) Plus how many rock & roll bands write songs for and celebrate the shy, retiring members of their audience? Sometimes I think this is the song that established the Watershed "we're all in this together" persona that they honor to this day.
I-65 (54): This probably would have made the “Bottom 11” if I hadn’t been driving on I-65 in Nashville when this came on the iPod two years ago. That was pretty cool, and so is the guitar in this song.
Colin G. - I-65. Hmm. Is it good? Is it bad? Dunno. I do know that we approached our first record on Epic as the start of a musical family tree so that any direction we went after would make some sort of sense if you traced it back to its roots. Watershed never released another song quite like it though I guess the League Bowlers cover this ground. The more I think about it, this never should have been on Twister. FYI - First performed at the Ronald Koal Memorial Show at the Newport Music Hall. RIP Ronald.
She Picks The Songs (53): This song shows Watershed getting closer to its signature sound. It probably should be higher on this list, but man, this is very hard to do!
Joe O. - Somehow I actually worked the word ipecac into a song. Good for me.
Superstressed (52): It never fails that this song comes on when I’m running late and in traffic. It’s what I get for having an mp3 disc of all Watershed songs in my car’s CD player for the past two years.
Joe O. - I don’t want to speak for Colin, but I think we were all pretty damn stressed at that time, fighting to hang on to the Epic deal. Frank Aversa, the self-proclaimed “King of Huge” got a great drum sound here, and Herb wails on ‘em.
Colin G. - When it's all said and done, Star Vehicle might be the record I am most proud of. It's not our best record, but we were left for dead on the side of the road yet still made a damn good record. Playing for pride. It was the first time but not the last. Plus it just rocks. Who is that on guitar anyway?
Watch this! Live from Slim's Downtown.
Romantic Noise (51): Great lyrics, but a little slow and not quite a ballad.
Joe O. - Not only is this a great song, it’s super-important for us because it’s the first thing we did with Patalan. Probably the single recording session that sticks with me the most.
Colin G. - Yeah Nick, pull your head out of your ass. Didn't you read Hitless Wonder? In all seriousness, the song probably doesn't get it's due because us assholes couldn't really pull it off live. Tim P. just produced it so well we could never make it live up to the recorded version. Great song though. One of my faves.
Consolation Prize (50): “I’ll tease you like a slug teases a vending machine” is pretty memorable.
Joe O. -The line that I always like to sing is “I’ve been biting off erasers, so I can’t take anything back.”
Colin G. - Love this song. Got squeezed out of set by Anniversary. Herb's finest drumming and check out that tasty feedback before the last chorus. Yum.
On A Broken Radio (49): I like the idea, but I think because it’s the third ballad in a row at the end of “Brick and Mortar” that I don’t appreciate it more.
Joe O. - One of my favorite afternoons of the B&M sessions was hashing out these lyrics with Joe Peppercorn.
Ricki C. - I TOTALLY disagree with "Broken Radio" being this far down the list. It made a great closer to the shows on the "Hitless Wonder/Brick & Mortar" summer tour of 2012, coming after all the rock power & command of "Black Concert T-Shirt" and other ravers during the encores. Dare I say it brought a new depth to the Watershed show? Maybe. While we're on the subject, I'm also surprised to find "Set The World On Fire" so far down the list below at number 47. Those are the two "Brick & Mortar" tunes fleeting member Joe Peppercorn had the biggest influence on, so maybe a pattern starts to emerge.
Watch this! Live at the Bluestone.
New Depression (48): I once slid on some ice and my car ended up in a ditch while listening to this song. My car had no damage, until another car hit the same ice patch and T-boned me. What was amazing was I out there waving frantically at the oncoming traffic to watch for the black ice and the first handful of cars obeyed. Finally, the guy who wasn’t paying attention slams into my car about two minutes before my AAA tow truck arrived to pull me out. That wasn’t a good day.
Joe O. - I remember working on this song for months in the basement of 387 W. 4th Ave, where our good buddy Jeff Hassler was living at the time.
Watch This! Live from Frankie's Toledo on the tour that inspired Hitless Wonder. Poochie smokes.
Set The World On Fire (47): This is a good song, but I think so many on the latest record are better. I was a little surprised that this was the second single (or at least I think it was).
Colin G.- Love playing this song. Sound-checked with it almost every night on Brick & Mortar tour. In retrospect, wish the keys were a bee sting louder in the chorus. Listen for them.
Below: Live from CD1025 Big Room. Andymanathon 2013.
Give A Little Bit (46): This is still better than Supertramp’s original and the Goo Goo Dolls’ cover, even though they aren’t the same song. But they do have the same title.
Joe O. - For some reason I didn’t care much for this song back when Star Vehicle came out, but now I dig it a lot. The intro snare hit always takes me by surprise—not that I sit around listening to old Watershed albums. Much.
No footage of this song. But enjoy this mystery promo video. Who made this and why?
Get Over Me (45): Did you ever notice how many pronouns are in the song titles on Twister? I notice that type of stuff for no good reason.
Joe O. - Good call on the pronouns, Nick. Our buddy David Martin noted that same thing way back when. Whenever I hear myself singing this song, I always want to tell myself to “Lighten up, Francis.”
Ricki C. - Our first "Stripes" reference of the countdown. I love it. Can Wicked Scepter be far behind?
Let's wrap up Day Two with the legendary Reverend Todd Baker and his TV Show "What The Hell Was That?" live from Raleigh, NC in 2013. All kinds of great footage including an interview with the even more legendary sound man and longtime Watershed supporter Jac Cain. If you look close you may even catch a glimpse of Nick J. himself.