by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:5th May 2017

Get your motor runnin’

What would be your, must have, road trip anthems?

Just before you jump in your trusty wagon, ready to take on whatever looms up along the highways and byways ahead, I'm sure you would have selected those perfect tunes to keep the wheels turning.

Quite often we listen to music that is characteristic of the country/region we are driving through, just to make it a bit of fun.

Sometimes, there is an album that forms the backbone of a trip. Rag 'n' Bone Man's 'Human' accompanied our Norkfork Road Trip in 2017, and George Ezra's 'Wanted on Voyage' on our Spanish Road trip of 2016.

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The fantastic road between lierna an olico in italy, as seen from lake como.
Touring Lake Como
You can't beat a selection of Dean Martin while touring the Italian Lakes.
Our black Audi S5 convertible parked across the valley from the hillside town of Les Baux-de-Provence in the south of France
The view over Provence
A playlist of Serge Gainsbourg, Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Sacha Distel, to name but a few, and French café music while meandering through Provence villages.
Our audi rs5 convertible, with the hood down, parked by the windmills of consuegra, overlooking the plains of la mancha in central spain on our spanish road trip
The Audi RS5 gazing across the plains of La Mancha, Spain

Spanish guitars across La Mancha, The sounds of Miloš Karadaglić, I know, he's not Spanish, but his sound, his rendition of the Concierto de Aranjuez is spine-tingling. (It's rather strange that I first heard it on the soundtrack to Brassed Off, played by an English marching band).

You, of course, have the sounds of Julio & Enrique Iglesias to keep you company.

Gary standing next to our rental hummer h2 in a bronze colour next to pacific highway one in california
The Hummer H2 from our 2006 West Coast USA trip
Now the US, well this depends on where you are. In 2006 we hired the Hummer, and it was a mix of Americana, from Hotel California by the Eagles to Elvis, and you guessed it, 'Viva Las Vegas' as we headed down the Strip in as we concluded our trip in Las Vegas.
Our ford mustang convertible parked up in the big bend national park in Texas
The Mustang in Big Bend NP in Texas.
And in Texas and New Mexico, we may have gone a little more Country and Western, except when we pulled into Amarillo, and of course, it had to be Tony Christie and 'Is This The Way To Amarillo'.

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Here are some of our favourites

These can appear anywhere
We have some tracks that keep on popping up, regardless of where we are travelling, here's the list.

Promised Land: Chuck Berry

You can't beat a bit of Rock 'n' Roll, and this is uplifting without pushing the tempo too much. Sure the guitar rifts fly along, but Chuck's delivery just make you tap the steering wheel

Up Around the Bend: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Gary fears for his life here as my air guitar routine to this can be a little frantic! It's a retro throwback that followed us around the world and brought smiles along the way.

Town Called Malice: The Jam

Despite being another uptempo hit, it just gets the fingers tapping again, maybe with a touch of head bobbing thrown in. It's a hit from both our teens and a cheeky little bit of nostalgia for us.

Lust for Life: Iggy Pop

A belter from the Trainspotting soundtrack that introduced us to Ewan McGregor. Now there's a guy that loves an adventure with his 'Long way...' series of adventures with his friend Charlie Boorman on two wheels.

King of the Road: Roger Miller

Another classic, with Roger Miller's soft delivery, a wonderful way to soak up the miles in the golden afternoon sun. You could opt for the Proclaimer's version, but they have the next spot on our playlist.

I’m Gonna be (500 Miles): The Proclaimers

The melodic twins from Leith, Scotland, a port area of Edinburgh, hit the music scene in 1987 with 'Letter from America', but it's 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' that we blast out and confession time we don't have to be 500 miles from home.

Ring of Fire: Johnny Cash

Actually, Gary normally starts with this before devouring a whole Johnny Cash album. Memories of his childhood with a well-worn copy of Johnny Cash at San Quentin in the gramophone player (Yes, he is that old!).

Route 66: Depeche Mode

This is definitely Gary's choice, not the original Nat King Cole version, nor the later Chuck Berry rock 'n' roll version, but the boys from Basildon, Depeche Mode. If I let him, there would be more of Dave Gahan's iconic tones, but I have to put my foot down; how can I forget the DM bar in Tallinn? (For more, check out 'Memories of Tallinn, Estonia')

Sweet Home Alabama: Lynyrd Skynyrd

Another retro classic and one that lifts the spirits. It seems to be a track that appears as we are heading along one of those long, straight national roads where you can almost see the curvature of the earth and nothing around you.

Jack & Diane: John Cougar Mellencamp

Once again, it's a slice of classic Americana, one from my teens, but as many summers have passed since then, it seems to have a '70s feel to it. Whatever the case, still a firm favourite.

The Road To Hell: Chris Rea

It's one of Gary's favourites again, and I'm sure it's because Chris Rea is a petrolhead, but it's also a story of one of those journeys that we've all had. Just check out the rather dodgy '80s video. How many times have you been stuck in traffic, entering a city, and the weather's against you have you felt like this?

Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Tears For Fears

This is another Gary's. It's a track from one of his first CDs. It also helps that the video featured a wonderful Austin Healey, and it's the absolute anthesis of the 'Road to Hell' . Once again, it is a memorable video, and not for the hairstyles, well it was the '80's.

New for 2024

Some later additions
Since writing this post in 2017, we've covered some miles on road trips throughout predominately Europe & Africa, and some new favourites have landed. Tracks that appear on trips time and time again, interspersed with some regional sounds. An Icelandic Road trip wouldn't be the same without Björk, or the road trip through Zimbabwe without Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but these are tracks that pepper that soundscape.

Human: Rag'n'Bone Man

This banger from the delightful Rag'n'Bone Man, a giant of a man, who proves you should never judge a book by its cover. Actually, this inclusion is really the album of the same name. Rory, you've followed us on many of our travels.

Back to Black: Amy Winehouse

How this didn't make the original list is a mystery to me. A word of warning, this track contains some of Amy's colourful language, but that makes it real, and shows her soul. We lost her too early in 2011, but she shone brightly in her all too short life.

Shotgun: George Ezra

Now George has been with us since his breakout album 'Wanted on Voyage', with tracks such as 'Barcelona' & 'Budapest' setting the travel theme, but it's 'Shotgun' from 'Staying at Tamara's' is the one that pops us most frequently.

Feeling Good: Nina Simone

Another artist that I'm surprised missed the original cut, because Nina's with us both at home and on the road.

And when we're on a road trip, we're generally 'Feeling Good'

And those to be avoided

Remember it's meant to be a relaxing road trip
We avoid a couple of tunes, mainly Gary's choice. They get the pulses racing in the wrong way and can transform a relaxing road trip into a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

Firestarter: The Prodigy

Gary loves this track and the album it comes from, but we both concede it's not great for a road trip.

Have a listen, and see what you think.

Ride Of The Valkyries: Richard Wagner

Sometimes Gary goes cultured - but this is a step too far. I think I see a change in his eyes; there's a glint of the devil in him, and the hands tighten on the steering wheel; it's time to change the track to something more relaxing, let's try 'Nimrod' from the Enigma Variations by Elgar

Times have changed, and the evolutions will continue. When I started to drive, it was a C90 mixtape, 45 minutes of wonder, before flipping the tape, unless you were flash and had the auto function. Then it was CDs, and multi-stack CDs, until MP3s and line in from the mobile phone. Now we're streaming.

One thing that doesn't change is a road trip is enhanced with a soundtrack. What do you think?

Share your secrets

So, what's on your playlist? Do you have a soundtrack for a trip? And what do you avoid when you're in road trip mode?

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