Photo: WENN
No band becomes a stadium-conquering force of nature overnight - it takes years of toil, working your way around the innate ability write that universal song; the one that entertains and touches the masses.
From 'Demons' to 'Radioactive', Imagine Dragons have a canon of these tunes - only ever destined to fill arenas. Their class as songsmiths and and as a live act has been captured on their new concert DVD, Smoke + Mirrors. To celebrate, and to get under the skin of their music, we asked guitarist Wayne Sermon to pick 10 of his most favourite and essential tracks that helped shape him. It's a pretty classy selection, taking in everyone from Paul Simon and The Beatles to The Killers.
Imagine Dragons release Smoke + Mirrors Live on 3 June. Available on DVD, Blue-ray, Digital Download & exclusive fan packages. Pre-order it here.
1. Boston - 'Don't Look Back'
"Listening to my dad's vinyl collection was my introduction into music. These guitars sounded HUGE on a vinyl. I mimed all the solos on a tennis racket when I was eight with my big brothers. Happiest memory I have."
2. Crosby, Stills & Nash - 'Our House'
"This song is an auditory warm blanket. It's truly impossible for this song to get you down. It puts me right smack dab in my own house - even down to the two cats in the yard. (They were the neighbours smelly cats but I'm still counting it.)"
3. Beatles - 'Hey Bulldog'
"I don't think this is an amazing song. It's a good song. But I love it. It's 1969. No one in the Beatles is getting along. The band is almost over. They can't even be in the same room as each other. But there's a video of John and Paul singing this song together. They are both genuinely happy. Smiles ear to ear- both of them. It made me realize at the heart of it they always loved making music together. That never stopped. Other stuff just got in the way."
4. Billy Joel - 'Piano Man'
"Perhaps the greatest American songwriter. I feel like this is song where everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard it. I was nine, at Zion National Park in southern Utah. I was nowhere near a bar, but it still takes me back there every time I hear it."
5. Egyptian - 'Hesitation'
"I remember Dan and his now wife Aja had just started dating and were writing together. This is their side project. I loved this song from the first time I heard it on his mom’s kitchen table in Vegas. It's their best song together."
6. Imagine Dragons - 'It's Time'
"Speaking of Dan's kitchen table, this song was writing on that same table. I remember Dan stomping his feet and clapping his hands. That rough recording made it to the final record. I'm proud of this one. We originally had two OK songs, and we cut them up, rearranged them, and ended up with two great songs that became 'It's Time' and 'Amsterdam' from our first album."
7. The Shins - 'Rifle's Spiral'
"Great song. Actually, great album. Probably their best which is saying something. Plus, if you're a fan of stop animation, the music video is stunning. Check it out."
8. Neil Young - 'Heart of Gold'
"I feel like Neil is reaching through my speakers and choking me with his earnestness. He's never written a lyric he didn't mean. He has never sung a note he didn't believe in. OK, he ties Billy Joel as greatest American songwriter."
9. The Killers - 'Mr Brightside'
"I think every guitar player is steaming mad that they didn't write that lick. Best guitar line of that decade, no question. Shout out to Dave for writing it, and the band that started things in Vegas. Seeing their rise to the top certainly inspired us to no end."
10. Paul Simon - 'America'
"The song made me want to go to America, even though I was already there. He somehow captures Americana without a hint of cheesiness or pretence. He's always only written what he knows. He's lived it all and his music catalogue shows it. OK, so it's a three-way tie for greatest American songwriter."
