Madonna can be many things. This song conveys an epic story of love, truth and regrets. I don't quite know what it's about, but I find myself being swept up in a profound tale she is telling. Maybe that's secondary. The song is just as much about what a great voice she has. A lot of her other music doesn't convey this. She has various musical guises but she has a glorious voice not always obvious in her other songs. Also, the arrangement is neat in how the song comes nearly to a stop in the middle, and then starts up again, reaching an emotional pitch a second time. It has great synthesizer too.

I discovered this work of absolute genius today - it was on a 3 disc Bowie compilation ("The Platinum Collection") which a colleague was playing at work.

The song starts with an echoey 80s drum sound with a repeated guitar riff, behind which we begin to hear a beautiful chord sequence played on the synth. The riff drops out and Bowie sings a fantastic melody over the chord sequence, which takes many subtle and grand turns. The song has a relatively complicated construction and instrumentation.

My favorite ever guitarist. The song is on the Tones album, which was his 1986 debut for Warner Bros, produced by David Tickle(they should work together again - Eric's records have never sounded this good since). Trail Of Tears begins quietly, building up for quite awhile into a fusion of new-wave and Texas Hendrix - yes, you heard me, and it works. At the end the rhythm section drops out and you float with just synth and guitar, which coalesces into Bristol Shores' quiet, arpeggiated clean guitar intro. Bristol Shores is heartfelt and lonely guitar pop, also with a kinda new-wavy feel. I've never heard anything quite like this magical pair of songs, or quite like the sound & style achieved on this record. Eric really should think about revisiting this sound.

The exquisite standout of the Virus Meadow album and easily And Also the Trees's best song from its early years, "Gone�Like the Swallows" steers away from the sometimes frenetic vocal intensity found elsewhere on the record it comes from for a more reflective but still passionate approach. Simon Jones delivers his lyric with all the deep-voiced intensity of a student of Wordsworth and Shelley reciting on the hillside to nature (which in some respects is pretty much the point of the song). But Jones isn't explicitly anti-modern � consider the mention of the aeroplane in the sky at various points � while the music is equally ancient and up-to-date in feel. Digital delay on the guitars turns them into rolling, darkly chiming flows and waves of sound, dramatically crashing behind the steady rhythm section and Jones' increasingly intense words. Bass and drums alone wrap everything up on a brief, spare note.
(AMG)

Beneath the avant-garde lyrics and futuristic synth textures, there was always a pulsing dance music quality that drove the classic Duran Duran sound. As they progressed into the late '80s, they allowed that dance element to move up front and dominate their style. A good example of this tactic is "Skin Trade," a hit whose silky and funky style led to it being mistaken for a Prince song. The lyrics have a surprisingly direct, soul-searching feel to them as they lay out scenarios of people shortchanging their dreams to make money. These moments are followed with the dramatic proclamation that makes up the chorus: "Will someone please explain/The reasons for this strange behavior?/In exploitation's name/We must be working for the skin trade." The music lends contrast to the angry tone of the lyrics by creating a sultry, mellow melody that juxtaposes verses with a soft, hypnotic ebb and flow with an ever-ascending chorus that revs up the song's inherent drama. Duran Duran's recording is fuelled by funky but gently layered guitar textures and subtle drum work that push its groove along, plus some atmospheric synth textures on the chorus. Interestingly, Simon LeBon uses his normal tenor voice for the choruses but sings much of the verses in a lush, soulful falsetto that led many pop fans to initially mistake "Skin Trade" for a Prince ballad. The result was a perfect blend of slow-dance textures and adult social critique. It didn't do as well as "Notorious," just barely making the Top 40 in the U.S., but it got plenty of radio airplay and is fondly remembered by the group's fans as one of Duran Duran's most mature achievements of the late '80s.
(AMG)