Mor-Than-Words

    Don’t Look Back In Anger – Oasis Oasis were another turning point in my musical journey. Matt from work brought in a cassette tape of their first album and my ears pricked up straight away, suddenly my generation had it's own guitar band, proper sing along lyrics and attitude. Brilliant. I had always been envious of other eras in music, when the crooners were out run by the rock 'n' rollers, leading to glam rock and punk, dance and hip hop. The movement that became called 'Indie', all these independent record labels fighting the big labels for better chart positions. This is back in the day before you could release tracks from computers in your bedroom, never mind streaming. We even had chart battles with the likes of Oasis vs Blur , I should have been on Blur's side, I'm an Essex boy after all. I did like them and bought their albums on CD, but Oasis won out for me, cooler and nearer to my idols like the Stones and the Beatles . Bands with four or fiv

Free Fallin' – Tom Petty  This song sums up just how I'm feeling right now, not sure what's above or below me. There's a massive release when you're not sure what's coming next, but it's also scary as hell. I feel like I'm free falling at the moment and I don't want to hit the ground, this song seems to keep popping up. It gets referenced a lot within the songwriting groups I'm part of as a masterpiece of melody. I'm not a huge Tom Petty fan, but I do like lots of his hits, plus he was a big part of the Traveling Wilburys with a collection of my other favourite artists. I've also a massive soft spot for ' I Won't Back Down ." This was from Tom Petty 's first solo album which he wrote with Jeff Lynee of ELO fame. My guess would be he had the fact he was free of the confinement he had felt being in his band The Heartbreakers in his mind, suddenly he didn't have to please the others anymore. Lots of artists that come

    Hole In The Bottle – Kelsea Ballerini Been hearing this song on the Country radio, I think it's a great fun song. Tis the season to get sozzeled after all. Kelsea Ballerini has become a beacon in the new generation of great Country artists. She has had some very thought provoking songs like Homecoming Queen , even the most popular of kids still have their issues. Peter Pan , about never growing up, I certainly relate to that one. Then other big hits that just make you want to have a good time, Yeah Boy for example, aimed bang at the young Country girls. I've seen her perform on the Opry on YouTube and think she is amazingly talented. She also seems like a totally genuine person, but that does she to be true of a lot of Country stars, they do seem to be more grounded and able to look after their fans maybe more than other genres. These newer stars seem to have a great way of releasing songs that portray their lives and what they are currently going through, then as they ma

Fairytale Of New York – The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl I always used to say this was my favourite Christmas song, but not so sure now. I still really love it, it's one of the things I look forward to when this comes on the radio each year. But when my generation were always referencing Maria , Wham or East 17 , this was my Christmas song. They didn't like it then as it was a miserable anti Christmas song, I'm not anti Christmas, far from it, but I always knew this was a special song. But as with all things this has now become main stream, even traditional, but because of that it has to be dumbed down even to the point they are now censusing it's lyrics. Doesn't seem a lot of point to me, it was always an edgy Christmas song about a drunk bloke and his misses having a barney on Christmas Eve and ending up in jail. It's never going to be Silent Night is it. There is a real magic feeling built up round the song, probably to do with the tragic accident that killed

Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West) – Benny Hill This was Christmas No.1 from 1971. Benny Hill is no way PC these days, but he was a comedy king of the 1970s and this song is genius from whenever it was produced. Such a silly story, but so well told. Benny's TV show was a series of funny sketches and songs, this one stood out and so it was released as a single. Apparently it was inspired by Benny's own experiences as a real life milkman. You sort of guess that from the full extent of the lyric, it's to well informed not to have come from a real place. Ernie's big rival is Ted the bread man, with both men trying to grab the affections of widow Sue. The battle fought between them with bakery and dairy produce is so well scripted. Love the fact it's references come from that era, to think of a milk float being pulled by a horse takes you back to bygone days. His horse being called Trigger is a brilliant nod towards the Roy Rogers , the singing cowboy. My Dad had a

Johnny B. Goode and Earth Angel – Marty McFly   For my 100th post, I thought I'd go a little off piste and feature my favourite scene from my favourite movie. 'Something that really cooks'.  One of the best songs ever created, Johnny B. Goode , of all the massive songs throughout the history of music this one must be up there with the most important and it probably is the best Rock 'n' Roll record there is. Of course I should have posted the Chuck Berry version but watching this film as a teenager probably made me want to play guitar even more than being a huge music fan and loving all those great bands. Totally love Chuck Berry and he's one of my biggest musical influences, but fair play to Michael J. Fox , he totally nails this. I'd guess the writer of the Back To The Future trilogy settled on the characters going back to 1955 just so it could be this song that Marty McFly could preform. They liked it that much they even wrote in back into the second fil

  99 Red Balloons – Nena As it's my 99th post, thought of this little tune. Totally 80's this one, plenty of synths, processed instruments and vocals. Just a full on Euro Pop song, supposed it would be a pop song with balloons involved.  It was a big German hit that they translated for the British market, apparently the English version carries a different meaning to the German one, it was the German version that made the US charts. It was all inspired by the releasing of balloons at a Rolling Stones gig, the lyrics tell a story of the balloons being mistaken for a UFO and causing a major indecent, that leads to war breaking out between nations which in turn nearly destroys the world. The English version is a bit more light hearten but you wouldn't have taken this as an anti war song by the nature of the vocal performance and the pulsing beat of the song. The English version tells us how toy shop balloons get released and get mistaken for something sinister sent by a foreig

2 Become 1 – Spice Girls This was the first of three consecutive Christmas number ones for the Spice Girls , this one was 1996, Too Much 1997 and Goodbye 1998. This is probably my favourite Spice Girls song, love the gentleness of it, it's a long way from Wannabe . Viva Forever was done in a similar soft style and I really like that one as well. I had a strange relationship with this band, I remember taking Wannabe to Australia with me on a Now album, playing it for my brother who was living over there and telling him that they were the next big thing back home. They then exploded the music scene, but I often thought their music wasn't as polished as it could be. There personalities and the media created characters almost over shadowed the songs they put out, it was more about who was your favourite girl than your favourite song. Baby Spice, Emma Bunton just in case you were wondering. There's no denying they were one of the best groups of a generation. Their managemen

  O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Katherine Jenkins Well I had to do a few Christmas songs, but I didn't want to go for the obvious.  I really like Katherine Jenkins voice, I bought her Christmas album a few years ago, this song is my favourite off of it. I'm not a big classical or opera fan but think this is class, I like the understated backing, it's both somber and uplifting in places. Her voice sounds like the wind or something spiritual, the whole piece takes you on a journey. The lyrics are a bit over my head, it's celebrating the son of god coming, but being a translated ancient Latin hymn I guess it's going to be a bit serious. Apparently it's a hymn that used to be sung during Advent, a different part being sung each day leading up to Christmas Eve. As with most ancient tunes the words and music have been adapted and changed through many decades with debate as to what was original and what was added along the way. Whatever it's origins I find this very

  Crystal Chandeliers – Charlie Pride I was very sad to hear of the loss of another Country legend yesterday, Charlie Pride . He made a big impact in Country for being one of the first Black artists to be able to go main stream and join the Grand Ole Opry . He had some big crossover hits and reading all the tributes to him proved he was a big influence amongst his peers and a host of future stars. This wasn't his biggest hit, but it's the song I associate him with, I love this song. He's soft delivery and the instrumentation are really sweet and comforting. The lyric is very clever, a complete social comment on how people can get to thinking they are better than they are, trying to fit in to high society but soon enough they realising it isn't all it's cracked up to be. The reference to the Crystal Chandeliers is a great way to say how money doesn't but you happiness, love is more important. I've mentioned my 2015 visit to Nashville in a number of posts, I w

I Hear You Knocking – Dave Edmunds I was reminded of this amazing song this week, turns out it was No.1 in the UK 50 years ago, it stayed there to be the iconic Christmas No.1. I used to play this on a 45 single my dad had, always loved the dirty guitar parts. The intro is amazing, sounds other worldly and the backing so fits in with the message of the song. You can picture the person stood at the door, banging away and getting more frustrated as the song goes on. That'll teach them to go away. Dave Edmunds is one of those characters from the world of music where you hear his name mentioned by all the artists deemed to be much more successful than he was. He was around the scene helping them all get famous and being a big influence on other musicians. He completely transforms this song for me, I really like the boogie woogie version by Fats Domino but being a guitar lover I think this version is superb. The different sounding guitars on it and the steady back beat make this a rea

  I Am, I Feel – Alisha's Attic I remember this one from 1996, it came back to my mind yesterday as I was on a songwriting course co-hosted by Shelly McErlaine (born Poole), one half of Alisha's Attic . The group was a duo made up of Sheely and her sister Karen Poole , who happen to come from close to where I grew up in East Essex, UK. They have a famous father, Brian Poole who had a band called Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, they had major success in the 1960s. Shelly is married to Ally McErlaine , from the band Texas , they now have an country band together called Red Sky July along with Charity Hair. Shelly is now a songwriter/producer/talent scout and is an amazing person to listen to about how to craft a song. It seems she has worked with so many huge names, but the biggest thing that came across was her absolute love of music. The song itself is a sorry tale of how a man is taking a girl he's with totally for granted. The lyrics are a very clever reply to how he

  Space Cowboy – Jamiroquai – Remix – David Morales I had a love hate relationship with Jay Kay in the 90's, liked some of his songs but every time you saw him interviewed he always seemed to annoy me. Hats. But as soon as I hear this dance version of his bands anthem Space Cowboy it transports me back to that nightclub dance floor. I used to love throwing some shapes to this one, the whole 90s clubbing scene was loads of fun. Being with your mates and having a few beers, just out enjoying yourself. As always we didn't know how great it was at the time, but looking back now we were very lucky to be out and about at that certain time. Each generation has their own scene, what now has been called Ole Skool music holds a special place in my heart. This remix by David Morales, speeds up and adds to what is a clever song to start with. I always thought Jamiroquai were quite Jazzy with their music, all a bit over exaggerated. But fair play they were huge at the time and Jay Kay di

Six Feet Apart – Luke Combs Luke Combs is the latest in a long line of Country stars who have come from nowhere to be the main man at the moment. Seems like everything he releases is a huge hit. The Country crowd seem to refer to him as the every man, he doesn't act like the big star, he's just down to earth and says it as it is. Even in situations like this Pandemic he can sum up the mood of all of us with a simple lyric, who'd ever thought we'd have to stay 2m apart from each other or as they would say in the US, 6 feet apart. I think this song is very well put together and vents all of our frustrations towards this crazy situation the whole world has found itself in. It must be very therapeutic to be able to put your thoughts and feelings into a song, knowing it will also help others to deal with their own experiences. Only problem being he released this back in March and it's more true now than then. And I agree with Luke I miss all those same things, but hope

  Norgaard – The Vaccines So with the announcement that the scientists have cracked the COVID vaccine, thought it was appropriate to feature The Vaccines . I only know this band from this song, but know they have had loads of hits. I used to hear this in our local nightclub, The Pink Toothbrush , back when I used to actually go out on a Saturday night. It's a quick burst of punk music, this track used to jump out at me every time it was given a spin. Love the angst in there and quick wit, the jangly guitars give it a great edge. Plenty hear to sing along with and throw yourself around a dance floor. It's all about being young and care free. The speed of the thing is what gives it it's energy, a total random ramble of lyrics. Apparently the song is about Amanda Norgaard, a model the band met on a night out. Not sure it's exactly a love song as some of the references are a bit harsh. Getting your message out there in 1.38 is a great way to get a listener to prick their ea

Release Me – Engelbert Humperdinck To celebrate England coming out of Lockdown I thought we'd have Engelbert pleading to be released. Always loved this song, it's his vocal performance that takes this simple lyric to an entirely different level. The backing sounds like a stage play, he belts the hell out the words. I for one believe he wants out of there, the power and sadness in his voice would shatter any heart. This was a huge hit for Gerry Dorsey, better known as Engelbert Humperdinck , a clever stage name that once heard was hard to forget. He had some great songs such as ' The Last Waltz ' and ' Spanish Eyes ' but I know him best for this one. The words are one long plea to get your current partner to except the fact that it's over between us and we want away. The orchestral backing makes the makes the whole thing sound so dramatic and urgent. The story withing the lyric and the sad undertones makes it no surprise this started life as a Country song, c