Off of the band's second album, this is the toughest, teeth-gritting song they ever wrote. You want to see the musical formula that Rage Against the Machine absolutely copied for every single song they wrote? Here is an entire genre of rock, prototyped in one song.

Mitch Mitchell absolutely makes this song in his decision to undersell the drums in the verses, accenting the descending guitar line and keeping time in the cool, asymmetrical gaps with only the kick drum. The payoff comes as the drums flail into full effect for each chorus.

Take your pick of Jimi Hendrix guitar solos for your favorite. For me, the work on "Spanish Castle Magic" is near the top. Extra points for writing a backing part specifically for the solo. It's actually kind of surprising how many guitar solos in the golden age of guitar solos were performed over chorus parts or something we'd already heard. I love when guitar solos are given new territory over which to range.

I often think about Jimi Hendrix as writing pretty out-there songs that are cool and thought-provoking but not really talking about his own life and experiences. You'd never think that this song, dragonfly riding and all, had a personal genesis. In fact, the Spanish Castle was a Seattle-area club where Jimi had some of his first live music experiences as a teenager, both listening and playing. "Spanish Castle Magic" is the homesick memory of a young guy thrown by the eruption of international fame, when very few people yet had experienced such a displacing phenomenon.