Greetings, Rocksmith fans!
My guitar and bass are currently getting intonation adjustments and thicker strings at Guitar Center, so the next Legacy DLC Review will need to wait a little longer. In the mean time, here’s a listicle you guys have been asking for since we wrote 15 Rocksmith Artists in need of a repeat DLC pack. From the The Riff Repeater editors in no particular order, here are 15 artists with one or two DLC singles on Rocksmith in need of a full pack.
It’s happened with Lamb of God, Pearl Jam, and Allman Brothers Band so who could be next?
Daniel’s picks:
1: Stevie Ray Vaughan
Considering Vaughan’s DLC presence throughout both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it’s about time we got a full pack of his songs. In addition to providing some very challenging, technical guitar work, I’m very interested in seeing how the game handles his signature “trainwreck” compound bends and dry, powerful tone.
Necessary songs:
Crossfire (Please please please please please please Ubisoft SF?)
Pride and Joy
The House is A-Rockin’
Cold Shot
Texas Flood
Riviera Paradise
Couldn’t Stand the Weather
2: David Bowie
This one is a particular favorite among the editors. The man himself is quite a skilled guitarist, and many of his hit songs have featured some major guitar talent, including Mick Ronson, Earl Slick, Robert Fripp, and even Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Necessary Songs:
Let’s Dance (Hey that’s another SRV song!)
Fame
Heroes
Ashes to Ashes (dat bassline)
China Girl
Ziggy Stardust
3: Toto
This is a personal favorite of mine. Sure, some may call it easy-listening “dad rock,” but damn, can Steve Lukather lay down some tasty solos, and both Mike Porcaro and David Hungate are incredibly skilled bass guitarists.
Necessary songs:
Africa (It’s a little hard to hear, but there’s an intricate arpeggio guitar track throughout the song)
Rosanna
Goodbye Girl
I’ll Be Over You (Featuring Michael McDonald on backing vocals!)
Pamela
I’ll Supply The Love
4: Parliament/Funkadelic
This is stretching the rules a little bit, since they are technically two groups, but they might as well be one, since both function identically as George Clinton’s backing band. This pick comes courtesy of Dan Amrich himself, who commented with this on the aforementioned repeat DLC pack list.
Necessary songs:
Flashlight
P. Funk (Wants to get Funked Up)
One Nation Under a Groove
Can You Get To That
Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication
Maggot Brain (The funk Free Bird)
Super Stupid
5: Creedence Clearwater Revival
This is likely to be a favorite among the Rocksmith user base. While they might not have the most challenging guitar parts, I’m sure anyone can have fun zoning out to their simple rhythms and catchy riffs regardless of instrumental skill level.
Necessary songs:
Fortunate Son
Lookin’ Out My Backdoor
Proud Mary
Up Around The Bend
Down On The Corner
Bad Moon Rising
Elliott’s picks:
6: Modest Mouse
Did you know that Modest Mouse has more than two songs? Songs that aren’t Float On or Dashboard? In fact, they have like 10 albums, 96 song- well you get the picture. Modest Mouse has a lot to offer to Rocksmith and we can finally get some more banjo-tar action!
Necessary Songs:
The Ocean Breathes Salty
Dramamine
Never Ending Math Equation
Dashboard (hey, I never said it was a bad song)
Karma’s Payment
Dirty Fingernails (I really like this song, it’s so unconventional)
Bukowski
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes (So we’re playin’ playin’ playin’ this awesome bassline)
7: Vampire Weekend
It was great to see Vampire Weekend get a single in Rocksmith DLC. Since it happened I have been hoping for more to come. They have had a three pack in Guitar Hero 5 and an on-disc inclusion, DLC on Guitar Hero iOS and on the main setlist, and of course A-Punk appeared on Lego Rock Band. Catchy riffs and fun bass lines, and of course a lot of tremolo picking! What’s not too like?
Necessary Songs:
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Diane Young
Campus
A-Punk
Giving Up The Gun
White Sky
Holiday
Unbelievers
8: The Shins
We got Caring is Creepy and then when Rocksmith 2014 came out we were treated to For A Fool, but we could always use some more of The Shins. There’s always room for a few more indie rock songs right?
Necessary Songs:
New Slang (this song will change your life)
Phantom Limb
Saint Simon
Australia
So Says I
Gone For Good
9: The Guess Who
You know I’m Canadian right? Well, I’ve seen The Guess Who a bunch of times and always hoped they would get a song in either Guitar Hero or Rock Band but of course it’s always the same, it’s always American Woman and the intro is never left in… Of course Rock Band eventually delivered No Time and Hand Me Down World, but more I say, more of this underrated Canadian classic rock juggernaut!
Necessary Songs:
No Sugar Tonight
Laughing
Undun (so jazzy)
Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon
Hand Me Down World
No Time
Clap For The Wolfman
10: Pixies
Where is My Mind is a song that should have been in music games a long time ago, but who would have thought I’d have the opportunity to play with a real guitar and eventually bass! The addition of Here Comes Your Man as DLC was very welcome, but there are still a lot of great songs we could nab from their extensive catalog. Lord knows Rock Band got enough of their songs! Bassists pay attention to the simple yet hypnotic bass lines of Kim Deal.
Necessary Songs:
Hey
Wave of Mutilation
Debaser (broken talkies right folks?)
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Gigantic
Vamos
Bone Machine
Oscar’s Picks
11: Blur
Britpop never seems to get the love it deserves. Unless you’re name is Oasis, or Song 2, you seem to have no chance of making it in a video game these days. Rocksmith’s on disc setlist having Jarvis Cocker gives me hope that one day we’ll see some Pulp proper, but that’s neither here nor there. Blur‘s catalogue goes way deeper than Song 2, and if you’ve been turned off on the prospect of more Blur because of the repetitive guitar part in that song, I urge you to check out these other songs. You mind may very well change!
Necessary Songs:
She’s So High
Bang
There’s No Other Way
For Tomorrow
Girls & Boys
Parklife
Country House
Beetlebum
12: Whitesnake
There’s really only two possible words to describe Whitesnake: simply awesome! Playing Is This Love will make you realize this simple fact, and have you crying more more more! Seriously though, it’s easy to dismiss Whitesnake as another one of those silly hair bands from the 80s, but you’d be wrong. First off, they date back to the 70s! And secondly, there’s really technically sound guitar playing in these songs, and in fact, there’s a strong blues influence in there as well.
Necessary Songs:
Walking in the Shadow of the Blues
Love Hunter
Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City (Live)
Still of the Night
Here I Go Again
13: Heart
I always presumed that Heart’s masters were lost, explaining why they got so few songs in Rock Band. The question has to be asked now, though, since Rocksmith doesn’t need masters, why haven’t we gotten a pack from one of the greatest female-led rock bands of all time!? Barracuda and Crazy on You are good starts, but Heart has so many great songs with great guitar parts that it’s shocking that Rocksmith hasn’t returned to the Wilson sisters for a few more songs.
Necessary Songs:
Magic Man
Kick It Out
Heartless
Straight On
What About Love
Alone
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You
14: Deep Purple
If there was ever a genre that you could call criminally underrepresented in Rocksmith, it would be prog rock. A few Rush songs, a Kansas tune, and some more modern disc songs is about it for the genre. Putting some more Deep Purple, especially their more prog-y tracks, is a perfect way to rectify this. While a few of their songs might be a bit long, the level of variation makes it feel like a couple different songs in one!
Necessary Songs:
Hush
Child in Time
Fireball
Lazy
Space Truckin’
Woman from Tokyo
Burn
Perfect Strangers
15: Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar’s songs might not be the most guitar driven in the world, but sometimes you just gotta have those bona fide party classics in your repertoire! Hit Me With Your Best Shot is a classic, but to join it with tracks like We Belong, Shadows of the Night, and Love is a Battlefield would make you the life of the party, at any party. Plus, she rocks!
Necessary Songs:
Heartbreaker
You Better Run
Promises in the Dark
Shadows of the Night (Side note: This is the greatest music video ever.)
Anxiety (Get Nervous)
Love is a Battlefield
We Belong
Invincible
Hell Is For Children
So there you have it, a bunch of our musical opinions in YouTube and image form. Which artist that received 2 songs or less would you like to see a pack from? Let us know!
