Mor-Than-Words

Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) – Don McLean I knew of this song, but hadn’t really listened or understood it’s message until one day in art college. We had a visiting tutor who did a presentation all about Vincent Van Gogh . I was doing a graphics course and the history part of art was my least favorite lesson, really wasn't to sure how these old masterpieces were meant to help us with our logo and brand design. But this guy started off his lesson by telling us he was a friend of John Lennon ’s back in his Liverpool youth and that got my attention. He went on to say how misunderstood and under rated Van Gogh's art was in his own lifetime and how Vincent had never believed people took him seriously. I was sort of following his point, the poor artist with his own troubles trying to get his paintings appreciated, and it playing heavy on his mindset. Then at the end of the lecture he played a montage of Van Gogh's work with this song playing as its soundtrack. The song is name

    You're the First, the Last, My Everything – Barry White I've recently been learning about music syncing, which is where songs are placed into TV shows and movies. There is a big market for this now with so many more TV channels and streaming services, as well as big Hollywood movies. Each placement can earn good money depending on where it's being used and factors such as how much of the song is used. It got me thinking about TV shows I can remember that used music most effectively. There was a series on Channel 4 in the UK back in the late 90's called Ally McBeal , it was the story of a young lawyer that had moved to Boston. She was having lots of life issues at the time, for example her ex boyfriend happened to work at the same law practice, as did his wife. The funny thing about this show was music was almost one of the characters, there was the usual background incidental music of course, but each of the main characters also had a theme song that played in their

  Eternal Flame – The Bangles This is such a sweet tune, huge song from my teenage years, melted my heart. There weren't that many all girl groups around then, so The Bangles were a big hit with us teenage boys. I didn't understand the power of the lyric back then, I just thought it was another slushy song to have a slow dance to. When you look at the words they are very moving and powerful. The early backing sounds like a music box, just imagine winding it up with a little key and watch it spin round. The lovely soothing backing vocals fill the song out, then when it lifts up it takes you with it. The guitar versus the string backing takes this above the usual 1980's power ballad. Susanna Hoffs ' voice is so achy, you feel what's she's going through. For gods sake put her out her misery, do you feel the same or is she just dreaming. The Eternal Flame image is very symbolic. Apparently it was inspired by the flame that burns at Elvis 's graveside in Gracela

    Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz I wasn't really aware of Lenny Kravitz before this song, he's a huge artist in his own genre, but after this song he went main stream. Love the guitar and feeling of this tune, let's put it this way 'It Rocks!' This song starts with a roar and it just don't let up the whole way through. Back in 1993, I remember hearing this and being really grateful thinking that Rock music was still alive after all the random music left over from the 1980's (not my favourite decade). Back then there were still music shows on main channel TV, seeing Lenny rocking out with his guitar made that cool again, he's a dude. Indie music was gaining ground, guitar bands were happening again but songs like this just still jumped out. This song appeared on a compilation cassette I had, most of the other tracks on there were the worthy 'trendy' tunes, then this explosion. It's one of those songs where the words and message are

    Running Bear – Johnny Preston I love this song. It's another one from my childhood, it sounds like a kids song, lots of chanting and takes a bit of imagination to get what's going on. It's actually a love song about two Indian's from different warring tribes, they're not allowed to be together.  This is a proper story song, loads of words, total tongue twister. Songs like this were big in the 50's, it's not an obvious setting to write a song about, I guess Westerns were very popular around the time and Cowboys and Indians were a real hit with the public. All sounding very exotic to us over here in the U.K. anything that shouted American was fantasy. Even as a kid listening to this song as a 45 single on a record player 30 years later, it really caught my ear. It was like listening to a bedtime story in three minutes. Running Bear is a cool Indian name, it gives such a strong image of a powerful fast huge guy and Little White Dove gives the impression of

    Wherever You Will Go – The Calling  No idea where this one came from, total American power ballad, it's well chessey but I love it. I'm a sucker for sentimental songs like this, all about always being with the one you love. But it's not really a happy song, apparently it was written about a husband who had lost his wife of over 50 years. The songwriter, Aaron Kamin , was at his grandmother's best friends funeral and the idea for the song came to him. How the husband who was left behind would have followed his beloved if only he could have. Can he now exist without her? The words almost say that they would come back to haunt you if that was possible, love that strong can't be broken. The need to be together is so strong. But like all good songs, you can take it's message in so many different ways. Also most listeners don't delve to deep into the meanings of songs, they just catch onto the suggested obvious tone of the chorus. The general understanding of

     These Boots Are Made for Walkin' – Nancy Sinatra You ready? Love the sliding guitar on the intro to this song, it’s like your heart pounding, you know it's all about to go South. The whole tone and the message are so well matched, you know she means what’s she saying. It’s such a clever, simple way of spinning the ‘leaving’ song idea, mistreat me and you'll get it. When this was a big hit for Nancy Sinatra back in the sixties I expect this was quite racy for it’s time. The words are so well crafted, keep plugging the same message, with some fantastic visual references. The backing is also so dramatic, you get the urgency of the situation. You better start behaving yourself or I’m off. Really like the use of the horns in this, it’s one of those really sparse sounding songs, but when you break it down there’s lots going on in there. It takes some doing but this song is so sexy sounding at the same time as actually saying I'm in control here. In fact it was written b

  Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus  This whole song hangs on one line from the lyric, ' Man, I feel like mold '. When I heard this blasting out my stereo in 2000 from yet another mix tape, I thought what a great phrase and it sums up being a teenager perfectly. Proper rock guitars and sing along chorus, I think we can all relate to this one even through we'd probably forget all about that side of being young. The words of this are so American, especially referencing bringing a gun to school, but are still very clever and speak directly to their target audience. Leaving the rest of us to be both jealous of their youth and secretly delighted we don't have to live through all that embarrassment again. How hard was it for any teenage boy to get the attention of the one girl you were helplessly in love with and she just didn't even know you existed. This song came from a real place, that feeling of being an outsider, as always with these silly songs there's usually a dark

  Footloose – Kenny Loggins From the distinctive drumming intro, then that dramatic guitar riff, were off on three minutes of fun. What a great tune to get the ole foot tapping, certainly makes you feel footloose. While the 1984 movie of the same name might not be quite my cup of tea, this title track from Kenny Loggins is a masterpiece of 80's rock. Can't ever get tired of that guitar sound, the rest of the backing is so up beat it's nuts. The lyrics aren't exactly complicated, but they are positive and capture that feeling of wanting to break out the working week and go enjoy yourself. Don't let your life just pass you by, get out there and have fun. Lose your blues. Wise words. As with lots of these successful 80's movie, working on the assumption they made a lot of money once, let's remake them. There's a 2011 second version of this movie, using the same theme music but this time with a more Country twist by an artist I really like, Blake Shelton

    Castle On The Hill – Ed Sheeran I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Sheeran , it just so happened that one of his school friends was working with us at the time. He casually asked if we would like to go with him to meet some of his mates, a few of us from the office tagged along to a Cuban bar behind Waterloo station in London for Friday drinks. As we were chatting away Ed popped up, he'd had a few big hits by then, but he wasn't recognisable enough to cause an issue. We had a pleasant chat with him and left the friends to enjoy the evening. I wasn't a big fan at the time but came away thinking what a nice guy he was and very grounded. Soon after he blew up into a global superstar, Taylor Swift duets and all. Then role on a few years, my niece managed to win a competition to see Ed live at Wembley Stadium . She asked would I take her and being the 'cool' uncle, I said of course. As they were winning tickets we had a great view, near the front. I have to say he blew

    Feed The Birds – Mary Poppins ( Julie Andrews ) I was watching a documentary on PL Travis , the author of Mary Poppins , and her relationship with Walt Disney who took her stories and made them into the iconic movie starring Julie Andrews . It seems there is always a sub plot to all these most famous stories, PL Travis was a complicated character and her books much darker than the animated film. The story of their relationship and PL Travis attempts to stop Walt Disney making his masterpiece has also been turned into a movie, Saving Mr. Banks . Personally I prefer that film even more than Mary Poppins itself as it gives you a glimpse into how they made the amazing Disney films back in the day. The storytelling and settings were as clever as the game changing animation techniques they developed, but the part that fascinates me personally is how the Sherman Brothers came up with the amazing music that's featured throughout the film. Taking the plot and dialogue and crafting t

    Space Oddity – David Bowie Today would have been David Bowie 's 74th birthday, and it's the 5th anniversary of him passing on the 10th. I remember my dad was taking me to the train station when news of his sudden death came on the radio, it shocked the music world especially as he had only just released a new album. David Bowie was yet another of the 70's artists that I never quite got, really liked some of his songs but couldn't ever see the musical genius that most other music lovers could. This is an amazing song, it so sums up the space race around the time of it's release 1969. Bowie really did move with the times, I like a song of his, ' Love You Till Tuesday ' which was released in the swinging sixties. Glam Rock then had a strange effect on his appearance and song subject matter. His later life stuff went well above my head, to conceptual for me. My main image of Bowie is dancing his way through one of the campest videos ever with Mr. Moves Like

  Come Away With Me – Norah Jones Need to relax and de-stress, listen to this lady's voice, it'll make you feel sleepy just hearing her sing. Norah Jones has an amazing relaxed style, this track is so soothing and tranquil. Love the subtle texture and slightly up and down movement of the melody, you could almost be on a boat drifting on the ocean. The bass player is like a clock in the background and the gentle guitar adds to the mood. This one is from 2002, it's the title track from Norah's debut album. It's quite Jazzy for my usual tastes, could be considered a slow blues, but it's quality production and arrangement makes it so listenable. The song itself wasn't much of a hit in the UK. The album of the same name on the other hand has sold over 26 million copies and falls bang in the middle of what used to be called Easy Listening, in other worlds it has global appeal. Even to those people who say they are not music lovers, it's the sort of music that

You'll Never Walk Alone – Gerry & The Pacemakers We lost Gerry Marsden yesterday, this song of his with his band The Pacemakers has played a big part in my life. My Dad is a Liverpool supporter and I associate this song very much with him. The lyrics are so powerful, the message is so supportive, it's a wonderful concept that you'll never be alone. You need to keep going, walk on and keep the hope. The song was iconic amongst football fans, to see the entire Kop stand at Anfield sing this as one sends chills up your spine and puts fear into the opposition. It went to another level when they sang it in tribute to all the 96 fans that died in the Hillsborough tragedy . I'm sure when Gerry searched this song out he could never thought how iconic it would become. The song is from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and the words make perfect sense as part of the story, but it takes a bit of belief to take such a song away from it's setting and release

  Happy – Pharrell Williams Happy New Year, here we are in 2021. Thought I'd try and cheer myself up with this joyous number, HAPPY. We could all do with a bit of this after the year we have just gone through. It's not my usual sort of thing, but it's a very positive, catchy song and I love that. It's like a more modern version of Stevie Wonder 's Happy Birthday song. I associate this song with a holiday I had a few years ago, it was at a family owned holiday camp and the entertainment team used to start each evening's show with this song banging out the speakers. We had a lot of fun that week and it brings it all back hearing this song. There's nothing complicated about this song, the lyrics are fun and a simple statement that bad news can do one. Reading up on this, as well as being a huge No.1 in the US, apparently this was the best selling song in the UK in 2014. It was No.1 here on three different occasions and is the eighth best selling single ever,

    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

Hold Back The River – James Bay I'd never heard of James Bay until hearing his album playing at a hi-fi show. This track stood out to me, then as ever I seem to have heard it everywhere. It keeps popping up in playlists and on TV shows. Strange old lyric, guessing it means, just stop time for a while and let me enjoy the moment. There is a sense of lost love, life getting in the way of his relationship. Guessing the reference to riding bikes in the sky is a reference to the film E.T. and being young. I like the guitar parts on this and it's quite old fashioned sounding to me, the intro with the guitar sounding mournful and his voice full of sadness draws you right in. It's a good imagery song, as we can all understand the chances of stopping a river flowing, but you have to hope it works out for him. There's a good chant in the middle for the crowd to join on with, a quite section going into a build just so he can chuck as much emotion as possible into the repeated ch

I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher Thought I'd Cher this one. You may get the very unsubtle reference to the movie 1993 ' Groundhog Day ' if you have ever seen it. Basically the main character, played by Bill Murray has to repeat the same day over and over again until he finally sees the error of his ways. Each morning he wakes up his clock radio beside the bed is belting out this same song .  I hear this song a lot in my head since I've been waking up each morning during the pandemic lock-down. Probably something Sonny Bono couldn't have contemplated when he wrote it, recording it with his then wife the iconic Cher. Each day at the moment has a big shadow of yesterday hanging over it, just wondering if today is the day I'm going to get up and find the worlds back to normal. But never-mind the strange association this is a classy song, well constructed and performed. You can tell the joy between the couple, even in their voices, that they can face

    Vienna – Ultravox Happened to discover Midge Ure on social media today, he was mentioning it was 36 years ago since they recorded Band Aid's 'Do they know it's Christmas.' Midge never got the credit he deserved for what he helped to achieve in using music to change the world, Sir Bob had the louder voice. But seeing this reminded me of this great song by Midge's band Ultravox. This is basically classical music but using electronic instruments, the heart beat in the background is powerful. The intro sounds like compressed thunder, it makes you feel cold before you ever hear the lyrics telling us about frosted window pains. The piano talking over the top and the lovely little runs on the organ and drums make it all so dreamy. I bet over the years this song has meant a lot to loads of people, especially the band themselves as it was a huge smash record. Some songs like this one can be taken out of their time period, out of the so called genre and just admired f

I'm Sorry – Brenda Lee I'm sorry but this is a quality tune. It's like a daydream set to music, so soothing, Brenda's voice verses the violins is a match made in heaven. You believe every word, the spoken part sounds so sad, she was totally taken in and now she's sorry. As apologies go this one would take some beating. Being young is no excuse, but Brenda was 15 when she recorded this, you'd never believe it from the quality of her voice. Her vulnerability as a teenage girl comes across in the words and it's a fair representation of how two worlds, being young vs mature, collide as the backing is so sophisticated and grown up sounding. The lyrics aren't exactly Shakespeare but get their point across very well, there is a sense of upset and they express the pain of a break up and wrong doing. Song's like this with their big production and professional musicianship always seem to flow so well, I love the pure sound not bad for 1960. Brenda's Sweet

  Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohn It’s 25 years since I was walking in Memphis . I was on a weeks long road trip with my parents, whistle stop to Nashville and then Memphis. I liked Country and Blues music back then but didn’t know their history's as I do now. Memphis was brilliant, even the drive there surrounded by the forests in their fall colours was mesmerizing. Being huge Elvis fans we did Sun Studios, I can still look around the recording room in my head. It was only while we there I found out it was also where Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis started. We then did the Graceland experience, Elvis’ iconic home, fascinating and moving. Then in the evening we hit Beale Street , home of the Blues. We ventured into BB Kings bar and I can still remember the smell. Let’s just say it was a very relaxed atmosphere, sitting on a high stool, drinking a Bud, listening to the house band was amazing. It felt like being in a movie. Marc Cohn sums this all up perfectly in thi

  Spirit In The Sky – Norman Greenbaum   This song seems to haunt me, it keeps popping up all over the place. My generation know it as a very random hit by ' Doctor and the Medics ' from 1986, but the original by Norman Greenbaum is now my preferred version. The sound is a bit dirtier and rockier, the guitar in there almost sounds like a police siren, it swirls round in the background. Really catchy tune, proper Rock drumming before it was ever a genre in it's self. The subject matter is obviously not to everyone's beliefs but that doesn't take away a positive theme and it's not preaching. This was out smack bang in the hippie era, plenty of long hair on this one. Apparently Norman had seen Porter Wagoner, the Country artist, singing a gospel song on TV and thought I could easily do one of those and had the words done in 15 minutes. The fact he was Jewish has nothing to do with it. I have this song on loads of compilations, but also associate it with a recent

  People Are Crazy – Billy Currington This song makes me smile every time I heat it. Love the simple story of it, I can fully imagine meeting that old guy at the bar, loving hearing his stories and getting his views on this mad world. This is a Country song in it's truest form, telling a tale of love and friendship. The lyrics are so clever and it reminds me of Kenny Rogers classic ' Lucille ' as it places the listener right there in the sounds and smells of the bar and what's going on around them. It's so descriptive it makes you want to know the outcome, pull up a stool and order a cold one. The backing is a true Country shuffle with what almost sounds like a nursery rhyme hook, it's not over complicated and helps you hear the story unfold. The nature of the song's sentiment also gives the song a purpose, because let's face it 'People are crazy.' The payoff being that the story teller gets rewarded for being kind to a stranger is also a good li

Dick-A-Dum-Dum – Des O`Connor It was announced that Des O'Connor has died aged 88. I'm from the generation that know him best for his TV presenting instead for his singing, I remember his chat show on ITV on a Wednesday night. It seemed to be on every week of my entire childhood, he always seemed to end up in fits of laughter which as a kid made him seem really silly and fun. I also recall his stint doing Take Your Pick, mostly because of the brain hurting, yes or no game. It should be so simple but your so conditioned to answer a question yes or no, you never really stood a chance. Des was famously taughted by comedy duo Morecambe and Wise for his singing ability, which most people agree was totally unfair, but proved what a good sport Des was for going along with the joke. Des had some big chart hits before becoming an entertainer. This song was a big one from my childhood, really simple melody and repetitive words so fun to sing along to the chorus. We had a Des O'Con

    Song For Guy – Elton John   I ended up on a Zoom call with Stuart Epps , a very well known music producer and studio engineer for some of the best known artists and bands. He was telling some great stories about of some of the big names and studios he'd worked with. It's a who's who of music royalty, it was amazing to get the chance to speak to him. He played a big part in Elton John 's career and that leads me to this song. Elton is another artist that a fully admire and I really love some of his songs but can't pretend he was one of my influences, guitars all the way for me. But as a song writing partnership Elton and Bernie are up there with the best of them. Which makes this song stand out as it's the only one Elton wrote alone. Usually he'd be crafting a melody around Bernie's supplied lyrics, but here he came up with an soulful instrumental. Stuart told the story how it was getting near the end of a long studio session when Elton mentioned aga