Classic Rock 3

We begin our third selection from the vaults of classic rock with perhaps the greatest track of them all — Bob Dylan's 1965 release, "Like a Rolling Stone", which not only confirmed the artist's iconic heft but placed him firmly at head of a cultural revolution that would change the world. Four years down the line, the international mood had darkened, hence Keith's keening guitar and Mick's talk of storms and war on 1969's "Gimme Shelter" . . . fast forward half a decade more, and you get Led Zep's towering "Kashmir" (1975): East meets West in hard rock nirvana.

Some of rock's greatest singers can be found at the top of their game, in Next Steps.

What makes rock truly classic? Perhaps it's something to do with that spine-tingling reaction that takes place when vocal and instrumental elements produce something greater than the sum of their parts — you can feel it on Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around the Bend", with its alarming opening riff, which is matched by John Fogerty's powerhouse pipes; and it's right there in the soulful twists and turns of Python Lee Jackson's "In a Broken Dream" on which the U.K.-based Australian outfit were joined by guest singer Rod Stewart.

We guide you from backstreet pub to super-sized arena, in Deep Cuts.

Sometimes great rock needs nothing more from a venue than a couple of cheap formica tables, some spit and some sawdust . . . and in those surroundings the music of Essex pub-rock gods Dr. Feelgood always thrived: check out "Milk and Alcohol". But sometimes, a sound demands the immensity of a stadium, transformed by star-scraping tunes into an amphitheatre of rock 'n' roll dreams, and that kind of set-up is a basic requirement for the likes of Journey ("Any Way You Want It"), Boston ("Don't Look Back"), and Heart ("Barracuda").

When it comes to rock, you can define the word "classic" any number of ways — in fact, sometimes it's used to mean little more than "really good", but that's too loose a definition for us here in the Essentials vaults, so we've narrowed down the interpretation to signify "untouchable" . . . these are the tracks that helped define rock and, most importantly, they've stood the test of time, whether we're talking about the cornerstone folk-rock of Bob Dylan, the operatic rock of Meat Loaf, the glam rock of Bowie and Bolan, or the piano rock of Elton John. You'll find all the greats here — John Lennon, Paul McCartney (both rockin' solo), Rod Stewart, Jim Morrison, Bruce Springsteen — and the company they keep will remind you exactly where to set the bar for "classic".