One of the better records of this ilk, surely for this one, which is hard to find and is such a typically great theme. Kojak, of course, was the blowpop sucking detective played by Telly Savalas. And like the "Rockford Files", "Baretta", and "S.W.A.T.", deserves it's place in the not-so-rare groove DJ file. With the obligatory Moog sound leading the melody, it becomes instantly recognizable (and dateable). Whoever the cats are on this session are cutting some decent shit for sure. They also turn out a surprisingly funky version of the M.A.S.H. theme, as well as the three aforementioned. The crazy Peter Pan cover art is there, with cute stuff like poorly drawn representations of Alan Alda looking at a martini glass, and Gabe Kaplan's finger being bit by Baretta's Cockatoo!!

Does anyone know the composer?

Beautiful composition and production with a darkly uplifting, somber mood and feel. Definitely will make you stop and focus on it as you are filled with melancholy feelings, though once the song ends, you feel better than when it began. Hard to find album, but you can listen to the song on myspace.com/acautionarytale.

From their criminally overlooked album 'Beats Rhymes & Life', "Get A Hold" features Q-Tip over an extremely smooth production from a young J. Dilla (aka Jay Dee of Slum Village, Pharcyde, and Jaylib). Better reasons to nod your head just don't exist.

This song is simply unreal. It starts out in a kind of 4/4 samba groove with a highly prominent cuica and a funky strummed acoustic guitar chord progression before the super-catchy pizzicato-violins riff comes in, and Abilio's mellow voice singing the melody. It's sunshiney and catchy, with a bit of a haunting aftertaste, very Brazilian. I can never hear this song enough times!! Abilio Manoel is a Sao Paulo-based singer-songwriter from the late-60s-70s (still active) who wrote a few moderate hits without attaining even a Marcos Valle level of popularity. Good for Marcos, since Abilio's work would have caused me a few sleepless nights if I were him. And both on the same label, too! Abilio's stuff is hard to find, but very worth the effort.....I've already given Dusty Groove the heads-up about the CD....

Theres something beautifully melancholic about the best British (Early) house music, and of course, theres nothing quite as melancholy as a Brass Band. I haven't heard the whole LP, but this track off teh 12 inch single brings a tear to my eye everytime I hear it.

Whoever it was that thought of doing this cover was a genius, I'm sure they thought it would be solid cheese, but instead its one of those moments of inspirational magic. I'd love to hear their version of "Strings of Life".

uplifting, string-laden, lyrically abstract modern indie-pop. i think adam green`s strenght as a songwriter lies in his ability to combine bizarre random lines of text and catchy, but sophisticated melodies to something that`s bigger than the sum of its parts. that`s why i prefer his latest work to what he did back in the moldy peaches, the more well-produced sound really helps to balance out things. the strings on this song, for instance, is what makes it a slice of near-perfect sunshine pop. i really need to get around to actually buying this album soon..

Soft melody, breathy female vocals, bells, catchy rhythm.

Watch the music video.

Good music to fall in love to. Classic Air use of Acoustic guitar, french accented voices singing English, and melodious synthesizers. Fall in love with Air again.

This track by british session musician and library composer Alan Hawkshaw is the just the perfect soundtrack to cruise along a coast highway and, as the title suggests, you might want to do this in a sportscar (if available) for maximum enjoyment. Featuring incredibly lush strings and an Alpert-esque trumpet playing the melody it's not unlike "Pacific Coast Highway" by Burt Bacharach in mood and feel.

Another "detective themed" song that sounds like the backside of the theme from 'The Streets of San Fransisco'. Heavy basses, powerful percussion, trumpets and a cool melody to top it off. Run before they catch you!

Heard this track on french radio and discovered that it will be released on 12" sometime in May 2002. Alexander Kowalski, a 23 year old based in Berlin, has created a tech house excursion that is extremely infectious. A great driving tune! My only qualm are the vocals which I must admit are mildly cheesy but they grow on you and many people I have played this to end up liking it after a few listens.

Does it get any more happier and sunnier than this? This is a true sunshine pop / jet-set lounge piece with a fast paced beat, lush strings, woodwinds and a catchy melody. The style reminds me of Bacherat's 'Pacific Coast Highway' and Alan Hawkshaw's 'Girl in a Sportscar'. Just imagine your self beeing on the French riviera, crusing around in your sportscar with a beautiful girl at your side and you are the king of the world as you drive into the sunset.

I can be very wrong here, but it seams that this is the title song for the movie with the same name, made in 1998. I could have sworn that this was a piece from the 1960s, the sound, the arrangement, the instruments, sound incredibly accurate and realistic. I found this song on the excellent 'Jet Set Society' compilation from our own eftimihn on this site, a brilliant pick.

Melancholy,nice smooth rocking groove.

pretty mellow feel, music video's great.

Terrific downbeat with a very sparse feel. Great soundtrack-inspired piece of moody Bristol trip-hop, with nods to Barry Adamson and Jimmy Webb.

By late 1983, when Altered Images' third and final album, Bite, was released, Altered Images were already dead in the water. The group had never made any particular headway in the US, where their blend of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Monkees (not to mention Claire Grogan's bizarre, baby-talk hiccup of a singing voice) was just a little too weird for mainstream tastes, and in their native UK, their colorful look and bubblegummy 1982 singles "I Could Be Happy" and "See Those Eyes" had forever typecast them as a kiddie-pop band. Grogan was already branching off in her second career as an actress (she played the title role in Bill Forsyth's 1982 cult classic Gregory's Girl), and Bite seemed like a mere contractual obligation. For the most part, it sounds like it, too, but the brilliant single "Don't Talk To Me About Love," which led off side two, was a welcome surprise, and possibly the best song they ever did. Mike Chapman's production recalls his work with Blondie, while the disco-tinged electronic beat, chicken-scratch electric guitar part and rubbery, melodic bass part all sound closer to New Order's "Blue Monday" than Bananarama's "Cruel Summer." Grogan herself is in an entirely different mood than usual, with her newly-lowered singing voice (and slightly improved enunciation) displaying a rueful, almost petulant edge that suits the cranky lyrics. Only at the very end does she shoot into her usual helium-pitched unintelligibility, with an air of "See, I can still do this, I just choose not to anymore." Coupled with the most indelible chorus of the band's entire career, it all adds up to a minor masterpiece. Sadly, however, nobody wanted to know.
(AMG)

This is an astonishing song! The band from New Jersey was closely related to Timothy Leary's community for which they performed gigs, like on 4th of July 1967.This song wasn't even published, only one acetate is left of the recording session which was in Apostolic studios in N.Y in 1968. Billy Barth which was the member, recalls that this was the only song recoreded.There is an instrumental "Flesh Kingdom" which was issued by TV Toy Billy's brother's band.
The song has a marvelous organ introduction and it has love relation lyrics which fit very well to melody.Apparently this band did not have appropriate management because he deserved a much better fate.

Superlative version of this track with some wild percussion and brass. I assume this was on one of her LPs, but I have it on a strange 45 sampler of her and other artists called 'spinalong'. Utter winner - keeps changing key. Her voice is cool and characterful enough as it is, so the effect is pretty wild!

Minimal, yet melodic, 'high-fashion' Electro.

This song is a mellow eletronica piece that blends the jittery feeling of jungle with the melodic nature of more ambient techno.

Guitar Rhythm, bass driven, melodic song. Beautiful vocals


available to buy at http://shop.kilburnstaterecords.com/track/sing-to-me

Beautiful and intense song, musically and lyrically. The breathy and sometimes nasal vocal sound won't suit everyone, but the melody itself is of undoubted beauty, and the arpeggiated piano backing (shades of Bach and Chopin at times) contains a good dose of this writer's usual harmonic subtlety.

Despite couple of questionable decisions over the arrangement and mix, this is an extremely good song with an excellent lyric.

Particularly good is the harmonically-driven chorus, but there are a number of subtleties, as is evident from the opening instrumental sequence.

Why does he insist on recording his voice with so much distortion? It could almost drive you crazy...

A pure joy to listen to. Australias Architecture in helsinki manages to do popmusic that quite no one else at the moment. They never forget to craft a melody like the old masters but at the same time throws in so many new ideas as possible. The owls go is a minisymphony with a childrens choir, horns and could be described as somewhere between maher shalal bash and polyphonic spree.

Very mellow, beautifully played song. The lyrics suggest a lost love, and a longing for the past that anyone can connect to.

Most of the soundtrack to this comedy-caper flick is pretty standard '60s soundtrack material. This track, however, is moody, top-notch crime jazz... The arrangement is chaotic but stirring with some really heavy bass-piano, wailing brass, and organ (used more as an atmospheric sound effect than to deliver any melody). Special thanks to Darrell Brogdon for playing this on his Retro Cocktail Hour.

A 60's Italian soundtrack tune that magically combines Pop and Renaissance. Harpsichord and wordless vocals (here, by I Marc 4) were not uncommon in the 60's, but here they are together: if only church music really sounded like this! From a killer sountrack album that has several treatments of about three or four excellent base melodies - all of them excellent. Worth every penny.

Very popular Canadian pop band. You know them from Kindercore Records...home of Of Montreal, The Olivia Tremor Control, Richard Davies. This song is an orch-pop, bacharachian, stereolab ish number

More from Canada's Ashley Park Spin Magazine, Uncut, Billboard, and Magnet all rave "Beatles, Bacharach, Kinks"...This song is a jazzy take on that uber hip college sound.

Back with yet another Ashley Park number. This one is bit more Floyd-ish, but of course the Beatles sound is a bit of an influence. Used on Felicity. Very cool.

This is from "Flying Saucer", which for me is the record of the decade. It's electronic synth-pop w/ 2 female vocalists. There's an youthfulness and innocence about the music that makes me think it'd be a good soundtrack for a manga. There's some grown up melancholy there, too, on some of the songs.

Quincy Jones is renowned more for his great arrangements than for his melodies, but I think this tune, from the soundtrack to 'the deadly affair' is really great. It's a slow bossa with a haunting lyric. Astrud sings in her trademark cool, detached style. I never grow tired of hearing this one. Astrud seems to have made a few impromptu appearances on film soundtracks, and I'm always on the lookout for more; one other great one was the Ennio Morricone score 'casse' (burglars), on which she sings two tracks.

This exceptionally haunting and lyrical song by Quincy Jones has received its definitive interpretion by Astrud Gilberto with arrangement and accompaniment by the Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley. The melancholy urgency of the piece resonates well with the dark/sad tonality that pervades so much of Bossa Nova music, though its character is also reminiscent of certain otherwise very different pieces from the bebop era, which had a formative influence on Quincy Jones' music. There is definitely the remote influence of Charlie Parker and especially Dizzy Gillespie. It's truly a completely unique piece. The drifting melody which seems to skirt over the chord changes has a beautiful inevitability. Only a very gifted and skilled musician could have contrived such a beautiful work. So Quincy Jones deserves especial credit for crafting this song from the film "The Deadly Affair."

Astrud's delivery, so typically limpid and restrained, only serves to heighten the intensity of this darkly passionate song. The subtle but somehow fierce organ playing of Walter Wanderley acheives a sizzling romanticism that perfectly complements the reading of Astrud's apparently detached fatalism.

In my opinion, this track is a true musical masterpiece. Its remarkable economy of means is a testament to the skill of the composer as well as the artistry of the performers. In fact, it's a nearly perfect combination of expressive means and poetic intent. The beautiful resolution, with Astrud's perfect striking of the high B-flat over the half-diminished F-minor seventh, is a moment of sublime dramatic intensity, though profoundly understated, as is typical of her finest artistic moments. One is reminded of Miles Davis. Her poetic skill is rooted in subtlety.

I have listened to this extraordinary track hundreds of times, and always experienced chills rising up on the back of my neck. How amazing that this incredible musical gem was omitted from the original album A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness. Perhaps it was too intense, too heavy; whatever the case, it's a truly remarkable piece of music.

I'm truly grateful to have discovered this great albeit minor musical masterpiece. There's really nothing else quite like it! The sizzling but subtle sensitivity of the rhythm section (Claudio Slon on drums, possibly Joao Gilberto on guitar and Jose Marino on bass) adds an intensity to the piece which helps project the almost existential tone of the song.

I'm really swept away by this obscure and neglected work, which attains -- for me at least -- to a peak of poetic intensity really rare in music. As is usual with Astrud at her best, it accomplishes its artistic ends with what seems like the most minimal of means. But subtlety is always the avenue to the most profound of artistic experiences. I think this is a remarkable example -- one of the greatest -- of the wedding of popular music and high art. It is a truly perfect performance. In my opinion, its greatness increases rather than diminshes with repeated listenings. There is only one word for that -- it's magic!

A very funky track from Astrud's final US album. Very bass-heavy and percussive, just an excellent song. Stanley Turrentine's tenor sax doesn't meld with Gilberto's voice nearly as well as Stan Getz' warmer tones did, but that's a minor flaw that doesn't detract from the overall song too much.

This unique song, unique to the whole body of work by the obscure Asylum Party, unique in every sense... If anybody ever wanted to create the sound of pure nostalgia in itself, this is the closest anyone ever got. I wonder what other people feel when listening to this song. I get utterly and hopelessly nostalgic, even though I don't know what for. It's not that I'm particularly old and know many times and eras, it's not that I have to dig particularly deep into my memory to get to that one dark part that's so irrevocably gone it makes one's heart ache and break. I don't know what it reminds me of, if of anything at all. It seems to be simply the soundtrack of some good times, times much better than the one you're stuck in right now, the soundtrack of reverie and the painful awareness that nothing will be the same again. I sometimes think it reminds me of beautiful summers I've known, the heat and sun that burnt my eyes, but then it seems just as fitting for a summer night at an open fire or an autumn window blurred with falling rain. The initial beats sound as if they could lead to anything, they even sound deceptively cheerful until the first melancholic screech of a guitar... "Feeling that hole that is just my soul..." Yeah, that must be it!

Melodic chaos...quite enjoyable

this is a great mellow funky jazz Hungarian styled piece in the vain of Gabor Szabo...has a great drum beat with superb jazz guitar interplay by Atilla...well worth tracking down

A very sweet, acoustic song about the beauty of a lover's smile in the morning.

Acoustic gritty melancholic guitar, bossanova with electro Rap..haunting melodic chorus

A staple Northern Soul fave ,though not a dancer its cool breezy rhythym has been loved and revered by everybody from Dusty Springfield to Joss Stone ,.A relentless verse chorus onslaught boosted by fantastic brass and clen drums with a melody to sit down for .One of this over exposed genre.s unsung artists who is well worth a second look .

A great track to jam to. Extremely different for Ms. Furtado. If you're into it, this is a great song to hoop dance to :)

Not a particularly well-known song which was originally a B side and not on any of their original albums, it's actually particularly musically advanced for the time. A pity that George Martin didn't get them to do a few extra takes of the vocals, as the difficult harmony signing which starts the song sounds...difficult. The song, which deserves to be more talked about, contains interest and variety in its melody, rhythm, harmony and arrangement. In its way this is truly a masterpiece.

Melancholy and haunting. This song overwhelms me.

This is my favourite song of all time. I can really identify with a song about a girl who wants to sleep all the time and dream about horses. Whenever I'm feeling down, I listen to this song and the trumpet line always makes me feel a bit better.

This song starts with lush orchestration and a pretty melody, followed by Ben Folds' sweet and wonderful voice, and then the bouncy piano line kicks in and the whole effect is sublime. I really like this song, and I'm not usually much of a Ben Folds fan, even.

In his home country France Benjamin Biolay often is praised as the "nouveau Gainsbourg", he's a singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, orchestrator and plays various instruments. His debut album "Rose Kennedy" shows the impact "Histoire de Melody Nelson" had on him, as this is also conceived as a concept album. The track "Rose Kennedy" sounds very 60's in its instrumentation and feel, with lush, rich strings, warm Fender Rhodes keyboard, gentle and dreamlike vocals with a sparse dose of electronica and some samples thrown in.

style: pop, downbeat. Smooth, easy, just the right amound of bossa, drums, synthesizers. Kim is just a great song all around and only 7 some minutes long. But you don't ever want it to end. Keeps your head nodding. Burgalat is the master of instrumentation as much as Sean O'Hagen is to the High Llamas. He can produce a mellow, warm, lush sound like no one else at the moment.

Had it been released under different circumstances, this song might have been one of the enduring soft-rock classics of the early 70s. It's got a catchy, haunting melody and one can easily imagine it charting alongside Bread or Seals And Crofts or whoever.

Best Of Friends were essentially the East Coast-based songwriting/guitar duo of Bing Bingham and Joe Knowlton. I'm not sure how, but Eumir Deodato and legendary bossa nova producer Roberto Quartin took a shine to them and recorded this album for Brazilian release on Quartin's eponymous experimental label of the early 70s. The album even features Dom Um Romao on drums. It's actually a straight-forward pop-rock album of its era, with little to no Brazilian overtones. This same duo would later make an album on RCA as "Joe And Bing."

This title track was also covered by Astrud Gilberto on her 1972 "Now" LP, arranged by (coincidence?) Mr. Deodato himself....

Where the more known Elephant 6 sound like the Beatles in melody, this track matches George Martin's 'Beatles Mid-Period' production.

if you love trio jazz ie bass, drums, and piano you will love this version of a great standard. along with chuck israels on bass and larry bunker on drums. i never get tired of this song also check out the 2nd cut elsa a very dreamy song

This album has been called "Britain's answer to 'Pet Sounds'", and while I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, it is certainly a masterpiece of psychedelic pop, and even more impressive when you factor in that Nicholls was barely 19 when he wrote & recorded it. Nicholls was indeed influenced by Brian Wilson in his melodic construction and orchestration, however...the album's sound is very reminiscent of the pseudo-Spector work that Andrew Loog Oldham was using with Del Shannon at this period (Oldham, not so coincidentally, also produced this LP). This song in particular, with it's intricate multi-tracked harmonies really hints at the kind of promise Nicholls' career had, and had this album not been shelved at the last minute, it's anybody's guess what may have followed.

Birgit Lystager is incredible, a Danish cross between Astrud Gilberto and Karen Carpenter with really artily written and composed pop songs. It's hard to choose just one tune from this magnificent and scarce album, but I'm often unable to get that "Eyes and hair and legs, oh what a sight/She's a flash of light in darkest night...." chorus out of my head for days at a time. To the above two chanteuses I might also add a dash of Joni Mitchell because of the conversational lyrics and melodic savoir-faire (maybe I should also mention Francoise Hardy right about here as well!). The arrangement is lush and expansive with more than a hint of Bacharach (whose "Another Night" is covered spectacularly on the same album). All this is already more than enough, but lovely Birgit also opted to go the extra mile and pose stark naked on the gatefold LP cover, tastefully exhibiting her considerable assets. (Heh heh, he said "assets.") In any event, this song, and the album it comes from, would be completely brilliant no matter what she looked like. Extremely hard to find, but WELL worth the search. I recommend Soulseek.....

lilac and deep blue/velvet symmetry where all emotions are filtered thru sound to encase the listener in suffocating oblivion; i drown in good music like i do in a crowd of people, but for different reasons

One of the better known Blind Melon songs of of their self-titled debut, yet still fairly unknown. This song is a personal favorite of mine and preceeds No Rain on the album tracklist. Lead singer Shannon Hoon's voice plays off the acoustic guitar beautifully and his simple message is clear, change is okay. My favorite lines in the song plead with us clear and simply that,

"When you feel your life ain't worth living you've got to stand up and take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die. "

Some may not like this song, but others will fall in love with it. I've grown up listening to this song and i have continued to love it.

Fun Fact:

Lead singer Shannon Hoon donned a question mark on his head and performed this song live on The late show with David Letterman shortly after Kurt Cobain's suicide, in his own way dedicating the song to him.

the intro to this song is on a kazoo. the rest is guitar and awesome lyrics.. "i'll make a shoehorn out of your shin" ... my only complaint is that this song is too short

A very ethereal song that is perfect for the lilting girlish voice of Blossom Dearie. She is also an accomplished pianist and plays on every song she sings. She is backed by a standard jazz trio on this track and they play in a wonderfully subdued manor that allows her voice and the words to be the focal point of this song. Originally written by a french songwriter, Blossom Dearie heard the song while living and performing in France in the mid-1950's. Upon her return to the United States, she asked her friend, songwriter Johnny Mercer, to write english lyrics to the wonderful melody. The words he wrote tell a beautiful story of love lost, but fondly remembered thru a familiar smell or sound. A standout track from the marvelous LP of the same name. Give it a listen the next time you go to your local music store.

This has been recorded by several others, including versions by both Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough, the composers, but Blossom's version is the best! It swings!

fave part:
I dig! I'm in step.
When it was hip to be hep, I was hep.
I don't blow but I'm a fan.
Look at me swing. Ring a ding ding.
I even call my girlfriend "man," I'm so hip.

This is a track of off Dearie's second Fontana album "That's Just The Way I Want To Be". An overlooked gem of a record, unusual sounding for Blossom, blending together jazz, bossa nova and folk with nicely arranged orchestration. "Sweet Surprise" has a dream-like, airy feel with it's jazzy waltz rhythm. The album is available on the japanese "Whisper for you" compilation. Unfortunately, her first Fontana album "Soon It's Gonna Rain" from 1967, featuring lots of Jobim and Bacharach songs, has yet to be released on CD.

Just when I had almost lost all hope of ever hearing a new Dylan song which, as a combination of an engaging vocal performance and fascinating lyrics, just fill you with a strange sense of happiness - he comes up with this one. While not being like a typical Dylan classic, this one has a very, very warm feel to it + vocals which I thought he couldn't produce in 2001 anymore. After the rather cold and almost posturingly melancholy "Time Out of Mind" album, "Love & Theft" was pleasantly wise and human.

One of Dylan's first electric folk recordings which blended a melodic tune with imaginative lyrics which piled one image on top of another creating an almost psychodelic picture

This whole album is a masterpiece, but "Blow Up" is a track that should definitely be better known. It's a vibes-piano-bass-drums quartet session with Herbie on piano that inexplicably was never released at the time, only in Japan over a decade later. It was available on CD for a while in the early 90s, but has since been deleted. The track builds on a steady, understated 4/4 groove anchored heavy bass and creative drumming courtesy of Joe Chambers. Eight minutes of relaxed heaven, with messrs. Hutcherson and Hancock engaging in sublime vibes/piano dialogue over a very catchy theme. Seek out this album any way you can!

Lovely melody, heart-achingly poignant lyrics with a rush-of-blood chorus.

This is a hard rock power ballad, close to heavy metal at points, from Boston's fourth album. It's extremely overlooked, especially since it compares with some of their biggest hits.

Kind of like a drole walk through rainy streets in Europe somewhere. Light, jangley echoy guitar reminds me of Ocean Blue, The Smiths and more but in a more mello mood. No one seems to know who Brandi Ifrgray is... he sang for Shadowplay before releasing two very cool CD's "Le Mutant" and "Stargazer".

One of former drummer Brian Bennett's best tracks. Mellow space funk with synthesizers, a deep bassline and weird sounds. Almost gives the feeling of floating around in space.

there is something very modern about this song. it's a timeless tune that was later reworked by godzuki on the album pop romantique. brillant song and my personal bardot favorite.

'Bright Eyes' O'Connor Oberst is a gifted lyricist and probably the best for his age (19 at record release). With his literary references and unconventional recording, listening to Bright Eyes is quite an experience. In this instance we meet the protagonists of the novel, 'The Unberable Lightness of Being,' and find in their weightlessness the desire to escape. Slow acoustic struming by O'Conner steady his intense vocals and between the chimes and reverberating forte piano we experience a disjointing storm used to great effect. The song has us drifting at sea with a delicate melody until we are at last erased like a skeleton in chalk. Bright Eyes sings - 'Let's sail away disappearing in a mist. Let's sail away with a whisper and a kiss. Or vanish from a road somewhere, like Tereza and Tomas, suspended in this bliss.' We feel his expressive words and sound pass through us, and late in the day we find it echoing softly in our heads. Quite an accomplishment for someone who couldn't drink yet, I look forward to following his career.

Peers and close friends of Stereolab, Birmingham's Broadcast are one of the most interesting alternative pop acts in the world. This song is an example of their extraordinary skills in crafting a haunting, beautiful melody to go with a sound that's like a son of the band The United States Of America and Ennio Morricone. These folks took four years building their own studio. Can't blame them a bit as the results are simply stunning.

For me, this perhaps the absolute apex of the much-admired Italian 'Easy Tempo' series of compilations (it's on Volume 8). The formula is similar to other tracks I've recommended - a sexy wordless vocal, a light bossa beat, some strings. But that really doesn't tell the story! The chord sequence is extremely catchy and uplifting. This is a truly incredible three minutes.

acoustic guitar, soft sounding song but it has very strong vocals performed by Bryon Mack.
I like the song because it has a very pleasing melody and the vocals can really be felt, they aren't just heard.

Another amazing version of this fantastic tune. This features several very different-sounding multitracked guitars, and really is quite astounding. It feels very short at a little under 2 and a half minutes. The opening features an acoustic guitar playing a wonderfully delicate and precise rhythm, accompanied by a nice wall of strings and electric guitar hits. A twangy picked guitar plays the melody, building gradually for about a minute.

The track then explodes into a quite amazing sequence, in which a dirty-sounding fuzz guitar picks out a bassline while a manic and jazzy improvised guitar solo moves around over the top and the strings maintain some solid bluesey chords. The sound is extremely funky, and vaguely reminiscent of some tracks from the late 60s 101 strings album 'Astro Sounds from beyond the year 2000', but ends up being more tasteful. Pure genius!

This is what the future sounded like in 1982,misguided technical prophecy and electronic keyboards,but underneath such dated cliche lies a beautiful watery melody ,the sort of tune you could dive into and wallow for ever.

This was Trevor Horn,s apprenticeship,a place he learnt to meld melody with beat and beauty before moving on to conquer the world,the album isnt that good but this tune will stay in your head long after you slip into sleep .

A super-sweet bossa-pop tune. From one of Burt's solo LPs, but actually sung by an unnamed female trio who do magical things with the hypnotically pretty melody line.

Such a very sad song, with simply wonderful melody and harmony. This arrangement, originally issued on an album of the same name, makes the very most of its poignancy and drama. Bacharach himself sings beautifully,while carrying all the intelligence and emotion of his song. I don't think I've conveyed what it is that's so superb about this record, so will return to this review at a later date.

The opening line may be, "I left my heart in San Francisco," but from there it deviates into its own song, a lovely and unsettling ballad of love gone awry. A haunting melody and swelling, Spector-like production (strings, accordion, chimes, etc) make this one to listen to repeatedly.

I'm beginning to sound like and old record, because it seems I'm repeating myself in commenting on songs... but this another recommendation. If you have read other comments on my fave songs, I guess you'll know what to expect. A strrrrrrrrong melody, backed by a great orchestration. Butterscotch only made album and a couple of 45s. Take it from a devoted popfan... this is one hell of a tune !

"Just Lust" was the B-side to the Buzzcocks' highest-charting single, the Pete Shelley punk-pop classic "Ever Fallen in Love?," eventually reaching number 12 on the U.K. singles chart in September of 1978. The mysterious co-author " Dial" is, in fact, a pseudonym for the band's early manager, Richard Boon, who also shared songwriting credits on "What Ever Happened?," the B-side to the Buzzcocks' infamously banned first single "Orgasm Addict." However, the effect of his involvement in not apparent here, as the music is classic Buzzcocks � masters of the punk-fueled power pop nugget. The rhythm is springy, the track's nervous tension as wired as the melody is infectious. Punchy verses with quick-hit vocals are alternated with short dreamy sections of woozy flanged guitar and chopped up-tempo shifts, the band expertly maneuvering in tight spaces. Shelley follows the twists and turns with clipped phrases followed by drawn-out melodies in sync with the compact arrangement: "Your dream to possess/It hurts/It's so unjust/Just lust, just lust/If nothing mattered less/Then I wouldn't make a fuss/Just lust, just lust/I was slow to catch on and that just makes it worse/If passion is a fashion then emotion is just a curse." Though the track was also included on the Buzzcocks' second album, Love Bites, the group had yet to make an impact in the United States. Thankfully, this little gem was not left to languish in obscurity as it was included in the influential collected singles package Singles Going Steady, compiled as the band's introduction to American audiences and released in the states in 1979.
(AMG)

Just a perfect, perfect pop song. Makes you wanna dance and groove along, but at the same time it's soo unbelievably sweet and a just a liitle melancholy. It starts with a drum beat, and then there's this bass-and-drums groove for a few seconds. Then a little sweet electric piano line enters, just before the voice begins singing the melody: "I'm drinking stars up in the sky, you know where you are / I'm driving cars around your house, it seems so fun". When it's time for the chorus ("So listen to my bubble go pop / I'm coming in, I'm coming over the top"), the main voice sings over a backing vocal doing an "ooh" harmony, and then there's absolute genius backing vocal, where the word "pop" becomes "papapapa". After that, a little guitar riff/solo, along with a very cool electric piano line. Then it just repeats everything all over again one more time, for infinite happiness. The time for a middle break has arrived. A new funky bass groove with lots of different "papapa"s harmonizing together. Now, go back to the first bass-and-drums groove, with a jazzy, relaxed guitar solo, and then it's just grooves and grooves and heavenly harmonies, "Blowin' bubbles".

It's in waltz time, with a strummed electric guitar intro followed by female vocals, bass & drums. There's a short female vocal counterpoint part, then the louder chorus. Towards the end the song changes key with a solo guitar figure, joined then by bass, then the the synth & drums enter in a musical explosion that's really cool.
I did'nt like this song at first, liking the rest of the album("Winds Take No Shape") better but the song has grown into one of my favorites on this record.
The full album is one of my favorites of the decade, second only to "Flying Saucer" by Astronaut Wife.

Richly melodic, attractively textured instrumental track at the end of an otherwise rather unassuming album. Nice chords. Nice synthesizer and guitar work. Co-written with the original guitarist of Genesis, Anthony Philips.

I heard it for the first time in mid 60's.
For me, it sounds like a rock and roll performed by
a great orchestra, with a very beautiful melody.
The violins carry the main theme, backed with exciting drums who gives the "rockanrollesque" sound.
I think this version is much better than the original, performed by his author the french singer Christophe.
In the instrumental pop style I prefer Mauriat, Pourcel or Lefevre's orchestras than Caravelli's, but this version is excellent and I can't find it mistakes.

The balance of beautiful, introspective lyrics (which are mostly spoken rather than sung), and lonely instrumentation combine to create a top-notch stunner. As a whole the album Dinner Music is a very eclectic and interesting assortment of songs. I wish "the lights wouldn't turn low and it wouldn't be time to go", but the way this song captures the feeling of yearning and melancholy is absolutely perfect.

I almost know nothing about the Chad Mitchell trio, except that John Denver was in the group. I'm not even sure that this is the same guy for that matter. I guess it's really not too suprising that an old folkie would team-up with geniuses like Bob Dorough & Stu Scharf for a little boot in the ass, since those guys seemed to be working a lot of crossover pop material. That's really the reason I picked this up, basically to see what could happen.

The record ends up being incredible actually. Imagine a mix of "golden throat" type schmaltz, Tom Rapp-ish hip folk, Nilssonesque melodrama, and the poetic and jazzy humor of Scharf & Dorough and that will sum it up. It can grow on you for sure.

This track is in the sort of word jazz thing in a highly characterized way hard to describe without taking up too much space... just listen. I think this was a piece from an Alan Arkin LP. Suppose I will have to get one of those now.

Johnny Marr once said that he wanted to write a song with an unforgettable guitar intro, like Eric Clapton's "Layla". He was, at the time, talking about the penning of the Smiths' "How Soon is Now?" The Chameleons' "Swamp Thing" does everything still that "How Soon is Now?" did for me when I was 16. Difference is, I haven't popped in a Smiths mixtape since I was 20.

There's somthing very romantic about this song. I've never really paid too much attention to the lyrics of this particular Chameleons track, although Mark Burgess' oddly peotic songwriting skills on other tracks have haunted my mind years after I had heard them. This tune is led and driven by the chord structure more than just the delayed, jangly guitar, or the powerfully precise drumming. Midway into the tune, the song goes from minor chord structure to major chord structure, even though the lyrics remain as bleak as a Manchester weather report.

Whenever I hear this song, one word always pops into my head, "pretty". That's what this song is. Pretty.

The original track off of Strange Times is haunting with a kind of 16 Candles-esque jangle shoegaze chorus. It's beautiful and haunting in a way that will conjure the victories and pratfalls of long term relationship.

An AMAZING rearrangement of "Eleanor Rigby". Earland kills on organ, and he's backed up by the incredible Melvin Sparks on guitar and Houston Person on tenor sax. An absolute classic of Hammond jazz.

It's most romantic music that I've ever heard! I don't think Chet Baker is well at singing a song, but his way of singing & playing is very emotional & to be moved. Above all, this tune is the best one of all his works, I think. Swingy & very positive melody. I feel as if I'm in the heaven on the earth. Why don't you try it if you wanna be romantic.

Great great cover of the Tom Tom Club song, and the highlight from Chicks On Speeds recent 99c album. Weighing in at almost 7 minutes, this is a great slab of electronica. Yes, ironic, yes, self referential, but here they totally excell their art school roots. Plinky plonky melody makes me think of the song 'Popcorn', and the nonsense chorus is like the poppier end of 60's girls with a dose of the Actionettes. Way too cool!

Chris Botti is an accomplished musician in the worlds of Jazz and Smooth Jazz. His style is reminicent of Miles Davis but with a more melodic approach. This song incorporates an ultra-lounge feel with a cool jazz vibe. Botti's trumpet playing here approaches Miles Davis' minimalist playing style.

Often miscategorized as an Aphex Twin rip-off, it seems that Chris Clark took IDM's last fresh breath with his first album, 'Clarence Park'. This song is one of the examples that demonstrates just how much potential this man has. He's able to juggle rhythms and melodies while constantly tweaking the dynamics of the actual sound waves. Few people play their Electronics like Clark.

nice one! i discovered chris montez lately and i like what he has done.
this song is a cover of astrud gilbertos song from the album "beach samba" (which i didn't recognize until reading it at allmusic.com) and begins with a nice organ-melody as an intro. i especially like the sound of that organ, it's a very sweet and not to heavy one. so that it fits perfect into the mood of this song and giving it a little more sweetness.
as always chris montez sings like a woman and if one doesn't know this it wouldn't be necessarily clear to one. (correct english....?)
while searching for chris montez stuff i came across "the more i see you" performed by montez which was covered last year by a onehitwonderband here in germany and you couldn't escape to hear it at least twice a day no matter where you were leaving and going. the cover was very strict arranged along montez' version. i wonder how i would think of the montez original if this onehitwonder band wouldn't have done this cruelty?!
anyway, last years summer was great anyway...(sex every day...)
and now, you go and listen to that montez guy!!

Chris Montez had two musical periods. Two shots at the limelight.

It's his second musical era (1966-68) that I like the most.

In 1966, Herb Alpert produced 'The More I see You' & with it, Chris had a huge international smash single. It was a cover of a 1940's tune given a sort of 1966 Beverly Hills treatment & was very nice.

Unfortunately the pairing of Chris & Herb didn't produce anymore hit singles but they went on to make four very nice albums.

This song is from the third album, 'Foolin'Around' and it's one of my favourite Chris Montez songs.

There have been a few retrospective Chris Montez compilations and they always seem to leave this song out, which, frankly, baffles me.

It's sort of Rio meets Beverly Hills 1967 in sound.

It's also my favourite version of the song which was also covered by Astrud Gilberto and I believe, many others.

'We won't do anything that shouldn't be done, only the groovy things like having fun'...& there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my book.

This is the title track to Chris Montez's third album with A&M, produced by Herb Alpert & it's very, very sweet, but, for some reason not sickly so. That's the magic of mid-'sixties Chris Montez.

This song was almost a hit in Britain. It was released just as the pirate radio stations were about to be banned. It was 'Record Of The Week' on Radio London the week it was shut down and sadly never grabbed it's deserved foothold after that.

A lot of people are taken aback by how high Chris's voice was when he sang, but once you get over that, his music from the A&M era (1966-8) is strangely addictive. Very warm and melodic.

He did mostly cover songs, mostly 'hits of the day', but also generous helpings of classics from the 1940's & '50's. Always giving them a brand new very mid-'sixties treatment.

"Captain Future" was an end-70s Toei Animation science fiction series directed by Leiji Matsumoto (The same team who did all the clips for Daft Punk's singles from the "Discovery" album). For the german release of the series a whole new soundtrack was recorded by Christian Bruhn. The title track is an incredible mixture of funk and disco with sequencers and analogue keyboards galore and very Edda Dell'Orso sounding vocals providing the lead melody (the similarity is striking, but the vocals were performed by Bruhn's wife Erika).

I'm surprised to find I haven't recommended this song before. An enchanting piece of futuristic pop written by Ennio Morricone, this great tune was part of the score for the wonderfully stylish Mario Bava movie 'Danger: Diabolik'. Christy, who also sung on some Piero Piccioni scores, was (is?) a heartfelt 'belter', and here she sings the italian lyrics, which are peppered with English phrases, especially passionately. There is a cool echoey effect on her voice, giving the whole affair an other-worldly, underwater feel. Musically, it's a very catchy psych-pop track, with a twangy, rocky guitar. It's quite short, but extremely powerful.

If the free design had come from greenwich village and opted for a more folk pop approach they could have sounded like the candian siblings Chuck and Mary. Their songs perhaps doesn´t have the same strong song hooks as "the design" but way more make up for it in their timeless sound and magical voices. Especially on this heartrending track which you can find in an orchestrted version on their second album or acoustic on their first.I´d go for the acoustic one.

Lots of Cilla's earlier material was top quality, this Lennon/McCartney song (never actually recorded by the Fabs) knocked me out when I first heard it on my cousin's Dansette in 1964. Spooky melody which almost strays into jazz territory in the instrumental break. Sophisticated pop of the highest order.

If you like progressive instrumentals, I urge you to give this song a listen. One of the best, most intense and melodically well-crafted instrumentals I've ever heard. Off their first album, "The 1st Chapter".

Perky, pint-sized bossa chanteuse Claudette Soares scored big in the late 60s by following Wilson Simonal's stylistic lead into an irresistible mix of pop, samba, French ye-ye, boogaloo, soul and bossa. This is a perfect example of the strangely Isaac Hayes-influenced arrangements to be found on her 1969-70 "pop" LP trilogy, and another winner from the then-unstoppable Adolfo-Gaspar writing team.

Oh, the breathy coquettishness of it all!! When she asks "Would you like some of my tangerine?", I just melt.

Really cheering to find so many other Longet recommendations on the site. This festive gift seems only to be available on the Japanese "Best of" but repays handsomely the effort in seeking it out. Highly melodic and atmospheric it begs you to curl up in front of a real fire with a loved one in a cottage miles from anywhere...

Claudine recorded a number of Margo Guryan songs which are all impossibly fey, seductive and bewitching and I couldn't get through a week without them. (BTW I would also recommend all of the tracks (not one duffer) on Margo Guryan's album Take a Picture)

This track wasn't what I expected. My previous favorite version of this song (although I have many) was probably the one by Mel Torme on his 1962 album 'Right Now'. And since that version was arranged by Ogerman, I had expected this version to be simply an instrumental version like Torme's recording - a cool, finger-clicking, jerky pop number. In fact, there's something much cooler and more sophisticated about this version.

The tune is picked out first by an organ, and then by the brass and woodwinds before returning to the organ, which then jams around the main tune. A really beautiful string section comes in early on, creating some unusual chords that really add to the song and work very well alongside the 'cool' effect of the organ and rhythm. I wish Claus had recorded more songs with this mixture of percussion, jazzy instrumentation and lovely thick string parts. A few tracks on one of his other 60s LPs, 'Latin Rock,' come close, but I'm not sure any of them are as nice as this one.

deceptivly simple, eerie melancholic electronic piece from the soundtrack to the (frankly disappointing) soderbergh remake of "solaris".
half clinical, half emotional. pretty good stuff.
sounds a bit like something off radiohead's kid a, only more reflective and less pretentious.

Club 8, consisting of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Johan Angergaard and vcalist Karolina Komstedt, started of in the mid 90s with a twee indie pop sound, with jangly guitars (Angergaard being a major Smiths fan) and simple instrumetation. With the release of their self- titled album in 2001 they added some electronica without losing the general tone of their music which is basically well crafted, melodic, gentle, airy, etheral, melancholic indie pop. Karolina Komstedt vocals are quite similar to early Nina Person of The Cardigans or Claudine Longet in their airy, angelic, dreamlike delivery. "The Next Step You'll Take" is a bossa nova influenced track, with gentle acoustic and electric guitars, some percussion and vibraphone. Nothing groundbreaking, but they combine well known elements in such a charming, delicate way i find them hard to resist.

Rather than single out any song on this record, i'll recommend the album as a whole. A journey to Paradise in sound. Robin Guthrie & Elisabeth Fraser have moved beyond their post punk/goth beginnings to forge a style i would call ambient -rock. This record & the following record "The Moon and the Melodies", with the addition of Harold Budd & Simon Raymonde is also pure heaven.

Chris Martin is an angel. This track is very special. A very private song about a very public matter. Namely Gweyneth Paltrow's Breakup with Brad Pit and her engagement to Chris Martin. His vow of love to her. Heartfelt & touching. This Album is very inspired!

I don't think this song needs an introduction because love or hate Coldplay, most people should know this song by now. It's their most famous anthem, and is a truly beautiful song. The melody and harmonies sound amazing, and Chris Martin's vocals are really outstanding. The lyrics are really cool, and the guitar/bass sound great as well. And as I type, I'm 3 hours away from seeing them live at Crystal Palace! ^_^ Five out of five.

Of all the releases on spains siesta label i especially hold "Memory La" by Greece`s Constantin Veis closest to me. Constantin veis who along with his brother sang and wrote songs in 80´s group The Fantastic Something. A kind of Simon & Garfunkel for the the indie/twee generation. On Memory La he continues in the simon & garfunkel style but throws in a more singer songwriter vibe along with bits of jimmy and burt. Crystal clear acoustic guitars and a wistful melody dominates "people and places" that removes this listener looking out on the mediterrean sea with a glass of ouzo in your right hand.

Lovely, mellow bossa nova track. Coralie Clement is the sister of Benjamin Biolay, who wrote almost all the songs on the album and produced, arranged and played a variety of instruments on it. There's a timeless quality about this song, certainly due to the fact the arrangement is simply impeccable and delicate and Coralies whispery, rather flat but warm, sensual voice sounds like a cross between Astrud Gilberto, Claudine Longet and Jane Birkin. The whole record is a quite a gem.

it's about time i recommended some vreeswijk. after all he's one of my very favourite artsts, and pretty obscure outside scandinavia. it's hard to decide wich song to post, as i guess you'd have to be scandinavian to enjoy the masterful, deceptivly simple lyrics. the best way to describe the man is as kind of a swedish crossbred of serge gainsbourg, tom waits and bob dylan.
this is one of his best-known songs, a qusasi-joyous melancholy number about death and hopelessness.
i once heard someone say something that summed up the power of this guy pretty well: "I don�t understand swedish, however I do understand Cornelis Vreeswijk"


the best place to start if you're interested n an initial taste, is probably the new 2-cd set. if you're like me, youll soon advance to the original lp's and the 5-cd set "master cees memoarer".

lyrics:
Somliga g�r med trasiga skor, s�g vad beror det p�?
Gud fader som i himmelen bor kanske vill ha det s�.
Gud fader som i himmelen bor blundar och sover s�tt. Vem bryr sig om ett par trasiga skor n�r man �r gammal och tr�tt?
Vem bryr sig om hur dagarna g�r? Dom vandrar som dom vill.
Medborgare, om ett hundra �r finns du ej l�ngre till.
D� har n�n annan tagit din stol, det vet du inte av.
Du k�nner varken regn eller sol ner i din m�rka grav.
Vem bryr sig om hur n�tterna far? Jag bryr mig inte ett sp�r. Bara jag f�r ha mitt ansikte kvar dolt i min �lsklings h�r.
Jag �r en tvivelaktig figur, duger ej mycket till. Bakom ett h�rn st�r d�den p� lur, han tar mig n�r han vill.
Somliga g�r med trasiga skor tills dom har slutat g�. Dj�vulen som i helvetet bor f�r sig ett gott skratt d�
a very, very bad and rushed translation of the lyrics,most of the humor and finer points are lost but at least you'll know what's it about:

some walk around in bad shoes, say, why is is it so?
maybe the good lord up in the sky wants it that way.
the good lord up in the sky sleeps calmly now.
who cares about a pair of bad shoes when they are old and tired?
who cares how the days pass? they go the way the want.
fellow citizen, in a hundred years you will no longer exist.
someone else will have taken your chair, but you won't know about that.
you'll feel neither rain nor sun, down in your dark grave.
who cares how the nights pass? i don't care at all.
as long as i get to keep my my face tucked in my love's hair.
i'm a questionable character, not good for much.
behind a corner death lurks, he'll take me whenever he wants.
some walk around in bad shoes/ until hey walk no more
the devil, who lives down in the hell/ will have a good laugh then.

very laid back quality music.. uplifting just when i given up on pop music and along comes this great band.. great album to close to see to far.

hmm, well its just such a gorgeous song, mellow and warm, a bit melancholy. very evocative of those early autumn days when the sun is low and golden and everything feels a bit warm and slow.

A slow waltz which is almost a Lennon pastiche but still a great example of Neil Finn's trademark combination of clever lyric and lyrical melody.

Cubismo Grafico -- aka Gakuji Matsuda -- has quickly become my favorite J-Pop act, and this here is one of my favorite tracks. My impression of J-Pop has been that it is either too overtly dancy or sickeningly cute for my tastes. (To be fair, my bias is based on a relatively small cross-section of music.) Anyway, this track is neither. This is an extremely well-constructed selection that strikes me as both very modern and very "easy" in a way that sounds good to my ears. On this track, Gakuki Matsuda is credited with guitar, steel pan, rhodes piano, mc-303, turntable, and voice. So, yeah, he seems like a talented guy. The music is structured around a child's narration of an amusement park attraction (found on the fascinating "Sounds For Little Ones" compilation of a few years back). The sample lends a fun, playful atmosphere. Delicado thinks he has spotted two of the musical samples used here (or at least the compositions used), and I'm pretty sure he is right. They're both very well known, and, much to the credit of this song, I'm amazed I didn't spot them myself. I'll give you a hint: one of them is one of Burt Bacharach's biggest hits.

Extremely catchy, while still unique and instrumentally experimental, with a definite heavy moodiness to it

Chill classic!

Both shocking and extremely cool, this has to be heard to be believed - a 'rock' adapation of Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor which really does rock. Cy Coleman lays a huge funky breakbeat and a heavy bassline on top of the beautifully dark, doomy theme. A jazzy guitar comes in and out as the track builds. I've never heard anything quite like it (I mean that in a good way). I am now unable to hear the original piece without Cy Coleman's breakbeat!

A Detroit take on Kraftwerk,Depeche Mode and European Disco,sparse remote synthetic drums and bass lines,and squelching fat melody lines that you can still hear in todays pop and R and b (Justin Timberlake,Timbaland ,Lady Ga Ga ),lends heavily from Trans European Express but is also looser and a tad more joyous .

simply because it's gentle, chiming and so full of yearning. i'm a sucker for that.

1930s France is one of my favorite times/places for great popular music making. If you are like minded then you won't want to miss this recording. A gorgeous melody that will have you singing along even if you don't understand a word.

This songs starts out so beautifuly mellow then turns into a screaming symphony. So powerful.

I saw a video of this a couple times on MTV and never forgot it. I finally caught up with the album "Meet Danny Wilson" years later, in a used bin. None of the three members are named Danny Wilson; it's named after a Frank Sinatra movie. They dress like Sinatra fans as well, and the music's influenced by that era, but it's pure new-wavy piano pop. Reminds me of Joe Jackson, but softer, more romantic. "Lorraine Parade", "Nothing Ever Goes To Plan", and "Steamtrains To The Milky Way" are also album highlights.

An eighties incarnation of the epic sadness and yearning that the Walker Brothers did so well with the songs of Jaques Brel and Bob Gaudio(Sun aint gonna shine Anymore).This band was a rare thing at this point ,they had aspirations to write great timeless songs when drum machines ruled the world.On this ,they suceeded ,the songs heartbreaking climax could make a man cry,awash with brave brass and orchestral tears leaving a man broken in two and drowning in his own tears by the time the song fades into an eerie percussive silence .

Former beat exponent Zoot Money quickly coming to terms with the arrival of psychedelia with almost soul selling precision .The bands only single has backward cymbals,flutes and lysergic lyrics but doesnt go the way of its peers of the time avoiding lightweight whimsy and stodgy jamming .In amongst these stellar components is a brilliant melodic pop song that gives a lesson in how to jump on a bandwagon without falling off.Co written by Andy summers later of The Police and if you know Synchronicity 2 by this band then "Madman" is where that may have come from

Slow and intimate song, heavenly melodies and what I think is a perfect harmony. One of the songs on the "Weeps" album from the shamefully underrated band Daryll-Ann. Just about anything from this band is great stuff, obvious references to the Byrds and other sixties' jangle-pop, but strong enough to survive.

Delicate instrumental by Dave Grusin, that grows with each listen and has all the charachteristics of late 60s arrangements i love so much. The instrumentation is diverse, rich, yet subtle with piano, organ, horns, flutes and wonderfully arrangened, smooth strings and some harp embellishments thrown in. The mood is mellow, romantic with a dose of melancholia. Another great instrumental from the soundtrack, "California Montage", has recently appeared on "The Get Easy! Sunshine Pop Collection", while this one unfortunately is only available on vinyl.

great acoustic guitar, haunting lyrics... One of the best from this band

That rarest of anomalys, psychedelic Northern soul,a strange land where a late sixties slice of psyche pop can run amok with soul legends and funk obscurities in some dingy cellar club in the middle of Blackpool.Innocent and as catchy as hell ,some de riguer flanging and Who style backing vocals cannot deter this song from its righteous melodic path.

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.

This exquisite recording of this well known song was actually given to David Cassidy by the composer, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. David's version is an extremely sensitive take on the song and far less commercial than Barry Manilow's; the latter version being recorded after he heard Cassidy's! David also has the distinction of being the first artist to have a hit with the song. His recording was huge all over Europe before Barry Manilow heard it, recorded it and took it to the top in the USA.

THE perfect popsong ? Not sure, but it comes close to it. The tune has that typical late 60s "sound". Bombastically orchestrated in the "Barry Ryan style"... it's a melodrama with lots of
catchy hooks... IF you can find it, you will love it ... I usually rate a song not higher than
8/10, but this one... well, what can I say... 11/10 !!!

Sorry folks, I am not a real David Essex fan, but this guy could sure record a great orchestrated popsong... it has all the right stuff (for me that is). The drive, the energy,
the passion and a thumping orchestration, cracking like a whip on the melody...

An incredible harp track that lives up to the title, establishing a late 60s/early 70s jet set lounge mood right from the beginning. Backed by a jazzy rhythm section with just bass, drums and some sparse guitar work it's due to Snell's melodic, dreamlike, almost etheral harp playing that makes the track so evocative. I was pleased to see the track was just selected by the Thievery Corporation as an opener on their compilation album "The Outernational Sound", good choice i must say.

David Snell is an amazing harpist. This track was originally released in 1975 and is from the "On the Side of Angels" album. Since then, it has been found on a variety of compilations; The Mighty Mellow, Cinemaphonic 2: Soul Punch and many others. A great jazz track.

This song - like the whole Secrets of the Beehive album - leaves me breathless... awash with gentle melody, so atmospheric and dripping with beauty.
Acoustic guitars roll on a painted lanscape; subltle fingers tug at long-forgotten memories...

"Sunlight falls, my wings open wide..."

Indeed, the kind of song that could make you fly!

This is a beautiful bossa-tinged theme with a great blend of strings and brass. The flute/trombone melody is accompanied by an incredibly rich and airy string sound, which swells as the melody builds. The strings alone compel me to listen to this track repeatedly – their remarkably thick, drenched sound recalls some of my favorite Ennio Morricone pieces (particularly those on the fantastic ‘Mondo Morricone’ compilation). Musically, the entire ‘Hammerhead’ score seems to have been influenced by John Barry's Bond scores, and by the less goofy parts of Burt Bacharach's ‘Casino Royale’ score. As well as being a haunting movie theme, this track has elements of that classic loungey film score sound from the mid-sixties.

Another haunting song, Soul Meets Body is beautiful. "You're the only song I want to hear, a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere . . ." I like where this genre of modern rock is evolving, it's rather unique, definitely going to buy this album and see what else it has on it.

Very nice sound to it, you got your basic instrument set in this one, I like it because of the lyrics.. They're not totally simple. It's easy to understand today's pop and stuff like that, but Deathcab actually puts some more effort into their music.

Somewhat Math-y rock with beautiful instrumental guitar tones, unusual atmospherics, and a mind-blowing conclusion

A friend told me about this band around Christmas time, and knowing my particular musical taste, couldn't understand why I hadn't heard of them before. The LP 'The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark' is superb. Soulful country music with some stunning harmonies and mellow, warm production.

A rather beautiful, melancholic song. Very West Coast 1968 sound, at it's emotional, sensitive, melodic best.



This song and artist should be and should have been far more well known.

"I should have known it from the very start
This girl would leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people, what I'm telling you
keep away from Runaround Sue


I miss her lips and the smile on her face
touch of her hands and this girls warm embrace
so if you don't wanna cry like I do
keep away from Runaround Sue"


Half sad, half funky. A very groovy Doo Wop - track with a funny melody that makes it hard to believe that the guy is really blue...

Drunken sounding ska instro. Mellow goodness.

OK, OK, OK........I know that many of you hipster types out there are probably wincing at this recommendation, but...deal with it. I'm sure that most people are all too aware of this track, and probably avoid it at all cost, but in my humble opinion, this is one of the best pop radio songs ever recorded. I think I heard it first when I was about 12 or 13 while on summer break from school. I was immediately drawn to the eerie, repetitious, heavy delayed intro guitar line. Granted, it has some cheezy lyrics, and a fairly melodramatic tone overall, but this song will forever hold a special place in my heart....awe.

I feel like very few people fully appreciate the music of Donovan, which is a shame because he may be the greatest musician of the psychedelic era in the 60's. Atlantis is his best song. A sort of whimsical and beautiful song which tells the story of the lost continent. Probably the best psychedelic song there is. It lacks the self-indulgent meandering that plagued the Grateful Dead, and lacks the obvious drug references of most psychedelic music. It's not overly rock and roll, but not overly folk either. A brilliant song with a very strong, beautiful melody.

An exquisite and much-sampled version of this nice tune from the Valley of the Dolls soundtrack. The slow, funky beat is simply one of the sweetest you will ever hear, and the harp melody is ethereal and beautiful.

I've got 5 or 6 Dot Ashby albums, and this is by far my favorite song of hers.

It's breathtaking, no mistake. The bass and drums are steeped in funk, yet keep it mellow. A flute (?) section keeps it nice and light. Its all held together by 'Dorothy's harp' her playing is perfect, sprwaling rich deep soundscapes.

I can't emphisise how perfect this song is. If you've hard any version of 'Windmills...' I'm sure you can imagine a harp suitung it well.

I belive Cadet have recently reissued the 3 albums Ashby did with them (Afro Harping, The Rubiayat of Dorothy Ashby, and Dorothy's Harp), but they can still be hard to get hold of. An excellent quality copy from an original LP can be found on Dusty Fingers Vol.1, also on vynil.

I'm not sure if this is available on CD.

This one fits well with with my previous reccomendation in the melancholy/eerie vein. I read somewhere that the song was in the African JuJu style, but discofied of course given its 1976 production. It was this song that proved to be the Dr. Buzzard . . . was not your average disco band. Cory Daye's vocals are beautiful and harken back to an earlier era of classic jazz vocals, like Ella and Billie. The children's backup vocals are what gives it the spooky quality, probably because the intrumentation is dark, like seeing those cute (but scary) kids come out of the corn fields in Children of the Corn. The last chorus just sends chills down my spine as Cory digs into the lyrics and dances around them as the everything sort or brightens up, like the sun coming out after a summer rain. This makes the title all make such perfect sense.

Cosmopolitan Disco with a warm orchestration igniting the perfect melody, Cory Daye's vocal performance can't go wrong. Dr. Buzzard's music is unlike any other music with the battered "Disco" tag. As with most of their discography, this is highly recommended! Also try "The Gigolo and I" and "Transistor Madness-Future DJ" from their wrongly criticized "Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Meets King Pennett" album.

The soundtrack to Bedazzled is remarkably good, one of a few much-hyped records floating around in my head that has actually lived up to my expectations. This instrumental is notable for its haunting mood and astonishingly beautiful chord sequence. The flute melody, lush strings and gentle latin percussion combine beautifully. Musically, it's one of those pieces that's so good you want to cry.

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)

The fabulous Ms. Kitt pours out her heart on this track in a way not usually heard in her songs. She puts away the diva and brings out the tender and emotional woman within as she sings of witnessing a budding romance between two people only to reveal at the end that one of them is her man whom she saw with another woman.

I'm glad that I get the opportunity to be the first to recommend a Bunnymen track, especially since their early work, which I feel is far stronger than anything after "Porcupine," is unknown, primarily Stateside, to many.

"Heaven Up Here" is a car losing it's wheels at full speed while cornering on a high mountain pass. Will Sargeant's opening chick-chick-chicking on guitar gives way to a straight bassdrop, headlong into Pete DeFreitas' insistent pounding on drums, while Ian McColluch's yelps sound utterly desperate, claustrophobic, pleading and angry simultaneously. There's a pause in the careening during the bridge, just long enough for Ian to remind us that "We're all groovy, groovy people...we're okay, we're okay," before it all plunges straight down the cliffside, banging, exploding, scraping and finally, ending succinctly.

I don't ever recall hearing back then, and rarely today, such a beautifully cacophonic melding of swirling psychedelia and assaultive punk/pop. The guitars are cascades of shimmering shards of sound. Les Pattinson's coy, but effective bassline floats beneath the furious energy DeFreitas unleashes on his drumkit. "Mac the Mouth" may be the frontman, but I think this gem is DeFreitas' piece all the way.

After 20+ years of living with this album, and this song in particular, the pump, pump, pump of the bass drum still sends shivers up my spine. Don't overlook this album as a whole either!

On �The Cutter� fellow Liverpool natives, Echo and The Bunnymen successfully wed the Eastern influenced psychedelic sounds made famous by hometown heroes, The Beatles. Crafting Eastern influences into a new post-punk hybrid that was sweeping England in the Early 80�s. It was songs like �The Cutter� that would help define the newly coined Neo-psychedelic sub-genre, practiced by such group�s of the period as The Chameleons U.K., Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds amongst others. The track opens with a keyboard approximation of Indian strings, whirring briefly before the band kicks into a percolating groove of popping bass, driving straight drums and chinking guitar accents. Ian McCulloch adds another layer of �60 nostalgia, employing his expressive, slack-jawed vocal delivery that conjures aural images of the late Jim Morrison as he unfurls lines that drip with apprehension �Who�s on the seventh floor? / Brewing alternatives / What�s in the bottom drawer? / Waiting for things to give�. The Eastern strings re-enter at strategic points, filling in space between verses and McCulloch�s esoteric pleas to �spare us the cutter!�, which sounds like a good idea in any case. The arrangement also veers into epic territory quite unexpectedly in the second half, signaled by a sweeping wave of keyboard and McCulloch�s more subdued delivery as poses a string of rhetorically poignant questions, �Am I the happy loss? / Will I still recoil? / When the skin is lost / Am I the worthy cross? / Will I still be soiled? / When the dirt is off� -as the music swell behind him. Like any good single, the track never looses steam, cruising through each section with power and grace. A nod is in order for Ian Broudie, who�s smooth production helped The Cutter become Echo and The Bunnymen�s first top ten single in Britain and a linchpin track for the Neo-psychedelic movement.
(AMG)

This Hillard and Garson song first recorded by the Romantics in 1963 gets a smoothe Bossa makeover on Eduardo Costa's LP "Eduardo Costa & Os Hitmakers." It has Hammond organ leads and 60's guitar and a mod sound similar to the many Parlophone/Odeon releases of the same period. Its a sweet melody and the LP has a fantastic cover with Eduardo standing at the Hammond in s shag-rugged recording studio wearing an outfit that would make Austin Powers jealous.

Relaxed and melancholic song... E's beautiful lyrics and the tasteful use of effects make this a song that stays with you the rest of the day.

astonishingly beautiful, early 70s brazilian masterpiece. a classical piece disguised as a pop song, with a simple piano playing a wistful melody punctuated by an amazing unexpected ascending chord hook. gismonti sings the original version, with a string section and morricone-like wordless vocal backing him. for the final minute the key changes and the vocals and accompaniment stop, and the solo piano veers off into satie territory, before resolving back into the refrain. gismonti re-recorded this a few times, after finding success in europe as an avant/classical composer. this song also inspired the guitar and mandolin trio agua e vinho, who cover it on their self-titled album along with a few other gismonti compositions.

Recommended to congratulate them on winning the Mercury prize this year. Irrelevant I know, but you can't help feeling pleased for them - nice guys sometimes win!

This is the opening track from the winning album, and whilst it ticks the "epic" and "melancholy" boxes often associated with Elbow, it is also a startling track, with it's hypnotic, careworn sound punctuated by jagged blasts of brass. Then there's Garvey's bruised but beautiful voice. A cracking start to a cracking album.

Well done lads!

Try to remove this from all the boring "classic rock" trappings its acquired over the years. Appreciate what a fascinatingly strange combination of overheated pop, symphonic grandeur, and rock-ish muscle this is. So 1977, yet so timeless. Thank you.

The amount of 80s talent was really incredible on Electronic's debut single: Bernard Sumner (New Order) doing vocals and synths, Johnny Marr (Ex-The Smiths) on guitar (pulling off a wonderful solo in the middle of the song), Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) providing background vocals and Anne Dudley (Art Of Noise, arranger on ABC's legendary "Lexicon Of Love") orchestrated a wonderfully lush string arrangement. The outcome is a fluffy, elegant, slightly melancholic and almost timeless piece of british pop music (except for that dated, rather bland sounding electric piano).

Straight up pop song with a disco sheen. I haven't liked many songs in Electronic's catalogue, despite featuring Bernarnd Sumner from New Order and Johnny Marr from the Smiths, but this song is up there with my favorites from each group.

This song features Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys. What star power!

The lyrics are typical Sumner - casual dream-speak about his relationship with the world.

The refrain is gold, as are the melodies.

Check out the song here:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=42979805

A slice of unbelievably sweet, lush electronica from Elegia. An insistent, original, clattery percussive line and the most enormous heart-rattling sub underlie a sparingly used, sweeping string riff and a vocal which you can't quite make out--I think that's to the good in this song, since Elegia are no Paul Simon--except in fragments. It's sung with strength and melancholy, perfectly structured and as moving as any six minutes I know.

Though this song may be described as a tear-jerker, it is perfect in its genre. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the setup of the song is simple and effective. Three sad verses, about what would happen 'if you would go away', are followed by what wonderful things would happen if you wouldn't, accompanied by a melody of heavenly beauty...

Gypsy Punk? The whole "Unza Unza Time" CD is full of tracks played with full tilt and bravado comparable to the most energetic punk rock. Gypsy/Eastern European melodies and harmonies sound very honestly and convincingly. English/German/Serbo-Croatian? lyrics are full of irony. Overall very energetic and convincing Eastern European ethnic music with the right dose of rock decadence and insanity.

Emm Gryner is a Canadian woman now resident in Los Angeles.

Her songs tend to be melancholy and confessional and can become a bit much after a while. Nevertheless, I think she is a great talent who will continue to mature.

'Atlas' is more upbeat than most of her work...if you get a chance to see her perform do so, she's very dynamic.

Here is her website: http://www.deaddaisy.com/ - you can order CDs directly from her.

This is an extremely atmospheric soundtrack piece, with a wordless vocal melody from Edda Del Orso. Strings, electric harpsichord and some subtle electronic effects set the scene. There are also some beautiful Bacharach-style twists with brass. Overall it's a deadly serious and delicate number, incredibly intense, while still sounding very 'cool' (whatever that means...).

Thanks are due to bobbyspacetroup for bringing my attention to this track. I foolishly thought I must have heard all the brilliant Morricone in existence. I was wrong. This is an incredibly perfect track, slightly reminiscent of the track 'Jet Society' by the Cordara Orchestra. It has lush strings, and a melody that is typical of Morricone - simple, obvious even, but very effective, with great instrumentation (in this case, harpsichord and later brass).

Another wonderful Morricone piece. Taken from the first Dario Argento movie "L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo ", this track has all the typical Morricone trademarks of that time. The first bars of the song would easily be mistaken for an early Jobim song, kicking off with a soft bossa nova style drum pattern and accoustic guitar, but when strings and melody joins in, with lyricless la-la-la female voices, this is definitively Morricone.

This track, heck, make that soundtrack, is fast becoming an all-time Morricone favourite for me (that's saying a lot-I would hate to have to count the # of soundtracks I have collected by him). It describes, quite evocatively and soulfully, exactly what it feels like to be in a dream. No synthesizers, either (well, obvious synthesizers), just celeste, strings and Edda doing this descending scale thing. And the drums and rhythm pick up and we are off to the races in some kind of cosmic heaven. It's a jangly melody that keeps spiralling higher and higher. I don't think Edda has ever hit any higher notes! The whole "Vergogna Schifosi" soundtrack is glorious, really. I know that sounds stupid, but it's so short and sweet and filled with beautiful, mysterious and lush instrumentation. Worth seeking out the CD. I found mine thru Lionel, the fello at Hillside in the UK. Thanks Lionel!

This bizarre Morricone pop tune sounds as if it came from a parallel universe. With an instrumental mix of guitar, harpsichord, bass and drums, it achieves the same kind of spooky, melancholic atmosphere as 'Deep Down', another Morricone film song from the same year. But in contrast to Christy's passionate vocal in 'Deep Down', Peter Bloom's delivery is light-hearted and much more low-key. Both tracks feature classic Morricone wordless vocal effects and some truly ridiculous lyrics. I haven't seen Partner, but I'd be interested to see how this song fits in to the story:

"I want to be your dazzling white knight
I'll splash you sizzling cool with bright light

I'll kiss your cleanliness
...Your soft, silkiness
Oh what happiness:
It's biological...

SPLASH
DASH
FLASH"

Ridiculous words, but the arrangement makes the track genuinely powerful. Shame Ennio didn't bring this one out for the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall last year.

You probably wouldn't expect an amazing easy listening track by Morricone on a western soundtrack i guess, but that's what you get here. Except for the harmonica intro this is pure Morricone lounge and it features the most delicate use of a muted, toned down trumpet sound one can imagine. The way it's gently built up is just fantastic and it surely can make your hair raise, it's so subtly but overwhelmingly performed. After the harmonica there's piano chords fading in, then the song kicks off with subtle strings in the background and with a midtempo drumbeat. Wonderful melody, after a while the strings start to crescend leading into a swirl and a harpsicord is added in the right places. This track just melts in your ears like italian ice cream in the sun. Another gem by Ennio, the song was even issued as a single in Italy in 1972, together with "Sonny", recommended elsewhere on musicaltaste.