This is a rather ridiculous but super–catchy take on this theme to the 1967 spoof Bond movie. Performed by German session musicians, it ends up being a rather groovy mix, with viola d’amore, flute, female wordless vocals, harpsichord, and that other staple of the Baroque era, funky drums. It’s short and sweet and really very cool. The late sixties were cool for many reasons, but one of them is that they could accomodate TWO albums called 'Bacharach Baroque' - this one, and the other great Snuff Garrett-produced one by 'The Renaissance'. Both are superb.

I got this CD from a mate a while back and I didn't take the time to sit down and listen to it until about a week ago, that was a mistake! This is a great tune with quite haunting vocals, which remind me of Scarborough fair in a strange way, uplifting chorus mixed with great double base sound.

Female vocals, song about how love changes people. It was in the season finale of How I Met Your Mother.

One of the most nonsensical song title ever, yes, I know and much derided for that reason, but to quote Otis Redding when told his lyrics didn't make any sense, "I'm gonna worry about settin' the groove. I get that groove going, they don't care what I say." Boogie Oogie2 has got groove to spare, with a jazzy intro (similar to Boogie Nights by Heatwave) before that bass line drops in shakes the floorboards. Just like all the dance craze songs of the 60s, the disco era about vocals were mostly used as a counterpoint to the rhythm section. The Mizell brothers add a touch of sophistication to this female-led band (Hazel Payne and Janice Marie Johnson on bass and guitar - they're the ones on the awesome album cover) which is a step further in the commercial direction after their work with Jazz Funk kings like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz and Johnny Hammond. This song is up there with G.Q.'s "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" and anything by Chic in the sophisticated disco category.

Adam Richmand new PATIENCE EP is incredible. Mr. Richmand not only wrote all the parts on the record but he produced it. This POWER-POP/ROCK record covers all aspects of love and loss. He starts the record out with a heart felt honest song, "Baby I�ve Changed." You can hear the earnest in his voice. I would recommend this record to anyone who wants honest songs with rock beats and power-pop vocals.

Punkish with gravelly lead vocals (male); very good harmonies for this genre; great songwriting. Two guitars, bass, drums. Jesus, what a song about the twists life will take on ya! Better than anything outside of Interpol that I've heard in a long time.

A beautiful track off Air's already classic debut album "Moon Safari". Actually the instrumental backing of this song is based on a track they released in 1996 ("Les professionels", later compiled on the "Premiers Symptomes" album). This one boasts such an enveloping warm analogue sound with all the vintage synths Air used (Moogs, Fender Rhodes etc.). On top of that there's the dream-like, sensual vocals by Beth Hirsch that gives it such a floating, laid-back tone. Sounds like the impression of a late summer sunset transcribed into sound. Wonderful.

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

Watch the music video.

An outstanding version of this much covered Jobim tune by japanese singer Akiko with Corinne Drewery of Swing Out Sister providing guest vocals. Starts out light and fluffy it later gets into full gear with electric harpsicord, orchestra, percussion, saxophone and a massive background chorus all blended together wonderfully by Paul Staveley O'Duffy (who also produced all but one Swing Out Sister records).

Nujazz maestro extraordinaire has taken Alemaro Romero's "Tema de la Onda", a Sergio Mendes-style light vocal bossa number, and turned it into a jazzdance smasher.

Conte takes the female lallation-like vocals and a simple two note piano riff, adds his trademark samba/dance-skewed percussion work with a huge shaking piano breakdown, and creates a number that would have been as much a dancefloor filler in the 70s as it is today.

Alessandroni is probably best known for his characterstic whistling on Ennio Morricone's spaghetti soundtracks. Apart from that he was also one of the few sitar players at the time, guitar player, composer, arranger and the founder of the chorus group "I Cantori Moderni" that was featured on a lot of italian soundtracks of the 60s. In the early 70s he had the opportunity to record a "solo" album, not a score, with a big orchestra without any restrictions (which means it didn't had to fit the mood of a film). The result was "Prisma Sonoro" and it's very Morricone-esque stylewise and regarding the texture of the music with lush strings, horns, wordless vocals,harpsicords etc. Unfortunately it's scarcely available on vinyl, but the track "Punti di vista" was issued as "A spanish village" as a bonus track on the Hexacord release "Di Tresette Ce N'E' Uno Tutti Gli Altri Son Nessuno & Other Western Themes".

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.

The vocals are the bomb.

Straight-up rock song. Guitar, bass, drums, vocals. The drummer really shines on this track, letting loose two awe-inspiring double-bass fills. Vocalist Myles Kennedy sings fantastically as always, and the guitar work is standard for Alter Bridge. Just an overall great rock song.

the exellent title track from reggae ladies althea and donna's 1978 effort, uptown top ranking. don't know too much about them, except that this is a nigh-on perfect album. short and sweet (about 35 minutes), but without a single skippable track. great arrangements and vocals, though the lyrics seem to borderline between daft and genius in places. still, this is top class, and absolutely essential party music.

a wonderful production, this song features a good mix of stereotypical rock and dance sounds with Amanda's raspy vocals. i wish i heard it dance clubs more often.

The best disco song ever... the vocals are so sultry and seductive as only a former porn star's can be... the beat is irresistable.

Normally I'd steer well clear of anything on the Acid Jazz label - the early 90's bad music debts have a long way to go to be paid off - but the presence of one of my soul idols just tipped me into buying this natty little blue vinyl 45.

Everything that made me love Etta James' Fire (see recommendation elsewhere on site) is amplified through this brilliant, brilliant song. Bettye's vocals are super-harsh, matching the song's acid sentiment and grasping rock-funk.

It's a tribute to how well this single is done that I thought it was a new vocal performace from Bettye instead of a reworked version of an old song. Bravo!

Absolute beauty. A soulful chastisement about not winning, not breaking even, and not getting out of the game. Vocals as pure as morphine from the poppy, and just as hedonistically addictive.

This stunning Southern soul platter features virtuoso brass and drums, as well as what is possibly the only acceptable squealing electric guitar riff in recorded music.

I love this song so damn much.

The vocals are both soothing and hauntingly beautiful along with the music. It has a heartfelt, yet sorrowful feel to it.

This song really seems like it should be on the soundtrack of some movie that would be a cross between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix and... I don't know, something about samurai. If you don't like electronic music, you won't like it. But one good thing about Aphex Twin is that he establishes a clear sense of movement without vocals. Most of his songs (this one included) tell a story really well.

Guitar Rhythm, bass driven, melodic song. Beautiful vocals


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

Shock modern recommendation. The entire 'Triggers' album sounds great to me, with Bertrand Burgalat's production very prominent alongside April's vocals.

'The Life of the Party' has lots of interesting electronic and vocal sounds, including some excellent synths, and a cool and rather spooky chord sequence.

Big thanks to robert[o] for turning me on to the album.

Almost a clasical piano piece but with amazing vocals

Not quite as easy as I'd expect from A&C, having a more rocky almost Krautrock feel. An insistent bassline, nice harmonising vocals, shiny almost Can-like guitars, with these very, very nice pastoral breakdowns. Vaguely psychedlic almost.

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.

I'm really blown away by this song (and this entire album), it's simply a masterpiece to my ears. A possible comparison might be to Oba, La Vem Ela by Jorge Ben (who Verocai arranged for), as the guitar chords and lush, cool tones are quite similar. This song however moves with a much greater sense of urgency, and right from the start, it a spills out like a mournful plea. As a listener, the attention to detail in the arrangement and instrumentation is obvious. The song is packed densely with sound and great short soloing, all played skillfully by a large band of famous contemporaries, whom Verocai personally recruited. There's something very magical about how the vocals and instruments combine, and how the song plays out. It feels as though you are witness to a uniquely perfect and possessed performance that would be impossible to reproduce. A beautifully moving and perfect song that leaves you craving more.

A beautiful and really unique track which merges Brazil with electronica (Arto is Brazilian, and a guy called DJ spooky added some beats). It opens with a bare, spacey beat. Fragmented guitar, vocals and organ drift in and out until the song builds into a climax with a simply beautiful synth-string sound. The song manages to be uplifting while retaining a slightly spooky twin-peaks type of feel to it.

A delicious slice of indie-pop. Very european sounding (influences by early Cardigans, Saint Etienne and Birdie spring to mind), this duo (consisting of Evelyn Pope & Bill Cowie) are actually from Boston. With all ingredients properly in place to conjure up images of a breezy summer day: Warm, analogue keyboards, horns, trumpets and some joyful flutes (played and arranged by Z� Luis) and very light and breezy female vocals.

A lovely version of this Deodato-penned number, and it's one that truly swings. Plus, it's got those ba-da-dum vocals that I love more than life itself!

This is the sound of summer in the sixties as I remember it from my childhood. Sunny, light, breezy. Its from one of Augusto Alguerro's 2 Polydor releases, and while not as funky or bizarre as some of the other tracks, in terms of shear fun pop its a total star. Starting with a nice little trombone riff, its quite fast with wordless vocals, flute and light brass. It has the very good production that you always seem to get with 60's polydor LP's. I wonder if the Ragovoy that wrote it is Jerry Ragovoy who I know better as a soul writer, penning Lorraine Ellisons mighty 'Stay with me baby' amongst others.

Alt-rock, currently popular. It's got a catchy hook but is unique in its sound too. The vocals are especially interesting.

Electronic rock - even if you're not a fan of the genre, I recommend it. I don't tend to listen to electronic rock but this song has a good beat and the vocals have an unusual but interesting quality.

Very mathematical and idiosyncratically textural use of completely conventional rock ensemble instruments (guitar, keysboards, effects petals, vocals, bass guitar, drums.

Travelling music if there every was any. No matter the vehicle, you roll with this in the deck and it's just nice. Guitar in overdrive, Echo effect in full effect, vocals... hey we've been there. The lone guitar note break is the bomb if you are playing air guitar.

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.

One of the more unusual mashups you'll hear. Combines the music of "Novacane" by Beck with Doris Day's vocals from the song "I've Never Been In Love Before," which is from Guys and Dolls. Pretty groovy. It works!

Beautiful, uplifting synth-crossed acoustic sound with their typical hint of sinister mood lingering throughout. Streaming trumpet, whirling keyboard and delicate vocals singing of a hit and miss existence. "Take a walk in the park, take a valium pill/Read the letter you got from the memory girl/But it takes more than this to make sense of the day/Yeah it takes more than milk to get rid of the taste." This and "Electronic Renaissance" are my two favorites by this group, and incidentally stand apart in sound from everything else they've created. Do your ears a favor and hear it...

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.

This is one of those odd discoveries: a track on a CD I've owned for about 8 years, but which I had somehow overlooked. I buy a lot of CDs, and I guess is one of the later tracks on a long compilation cd. Still, that's not much of an excuse, is it!

This is a slow, groovy instrumental (well, with wordless vocals) with funky drums, some fine fuzz guitar work, nice spiky brass and some very pleasing chord changes. It is strongly reminiscent of similar work of the time by people like Johnny Harris. I have a few tracks by completely different artists with a very similar feel/orchestration and closely related chord sequences. It's simultaneously very hip sounding yet quite square with the choir and strings. I love it, obviously.

A great track from the excellent "solo" LP by the Portishead vocalist (actually it’s a collaboration with Paul Webb - one time member of sublime 1980's pop group Talk Talk - calling himself Rustin Man for some reason.) The arrangement suggests a low-key take on one of Bacharach/David's statelier ballads, (like say "Aprils Fools" or "Trains and Boats and Planes"), which develops a wonderfully sad groove on the chorus. There are lovely strings, a great, woozy horn solo, and some inspired use of subtle, dissonant electronic textures and spooky female background vocals (both very Ennio Morricone.) Meanwhile, Gibbons does her most stylized take on Billie Holiday at her most stylized - which really shouldn't work, but somehow ends up being just right. Strong song from a very strong album.

A stunning piece of music. It's a lush swirl of clavinet, strings, and slightly distorted vocals -- easily the best song on what was my favorite album from last year.

Absolutely cracking track. I was nuts for this back in 1990 when it came out and recently rediscovered it. A really nice mix of guitar driven pop, excellent Beach Boys influenced vocals and catchy, shuffling beat. Just a great track. Bob are a hard band to track down stuff by because their name is so generic. But you can listen to it (and all their releases actually) at their site - http://houseofteeth.co.uk/

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.

This track is folk music, with acoustic guitar and harmonica accompanying Dylan's vocals. I love it because of the sound, as well as the message of the video. Dylan is politely telling his ex how he feels about the terrible way he treated her.

Bobby Darin - truly one of the smoothest singers the US has ever produced, and there's nothing that showcases this pop-cabaret style like his tenure at Capitol. A singer of great versatility, he swings effortlesly on this album, having great technique and even greater rhythmic feel.

Call Me Irresponsible, something of a standard really, is my favourite. Darin's vocals make you fall in love with his irresponsible, unreliable, unpredictable charm. Accompanied by finger clickin' good Richard Wess big-band sounds. Wow. Whatta man.

This song protests against our media-bombarded American culture and has fantastic vocals. Here is a little-known singer who should be famous.

hammond groover number one, brian auger, teams up with julie driscoll for a song that doesn't sound like anything else. the choir by driscoll is quite strange and repititous (straight from the bengal???), vocals by auger just blows me away.

'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.

The Midlands-based retro-futurists put this out as a single and it should have been a massive hit but, of course, it wasn't. Still, it's one of the sweetest songs I've heard in recent years, abetted by Trish Keenans's insouciant yet heartwarming vocals � and a lovely tune.

Ever wonder what a collaboration between Young Marble Giants and Tuxedomoon in, say 1981, might have sounded like? Well, now you know....
Stark bass lines, antediluvian drum machines, and lilting, little-girl-lost vocals collide with welters of noise and lyrics full of images straight out of David Cronenberg's "Scanners".
Gorgeous, grisly and grim - a great track from what might be the record of the year.

Haunting and magical with fragile, baby-doll vocals. The song describes common sentiments, repeating the phrase "park that car/drop that phone/sleep on the floor/dream about me" with such earnestness that, if you were the object of such affection, it would be nearly impossible not to come back.

This track is recommended for: fans of the Magnetic Fields, Radiohead

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.

"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)

Clare Fischer's oft-covered Latin jazz classic was first recorded by the man himself on a 1966 album whose title escapes me right now. Cal Tjader first cut it on "Soul Burst" the same year, but the truly classic rendition for me is the 1971 Tjader re-recording on "Agua Dulce." With a smooth, flowing Rhodes-based sound, some synth effects floating around and none other than Wendy & Bonnie on backing vocals, this version is the one to beat.

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.

Do you like soft rock? Belle & Sebastien? 60's pop?

If you answered yes to the above, this song (and the whole album) is a must listen. Twee vocals, cheeky lyrics, delicate harmonies and the occasional trumpet solo fill out a song about a schoolgirl crush gone wrong.

Quite simply a perfect song for lying in a grassy field watching the sun set.

Fantastic vocals, as usual for Celine Dion. Powerful, with almost a gospel feel.

Powerful vocals... the verses have a strange and different tune- they sound almost like Celine's making it up as she goes along, but in a good way. Even if this isn't her most heartfelt song, it is very good and fun to listen to.

This great ethereal brasilian pop number is from the portuguese language version of Chico Buarque's 'lost' 1970 album, recorded in Rome with Ennio Morricone, while he was in exile from Brasil. While Buarque's vocals are excellent, it's Morricone who really shines here, providing exquisite sweeping arrangements, and some great backing vocals from his protege Edda Dell'Orso.

The original version of this Brazilian classic, it was covered by just about everybody. Has that children's chorus doing backing vocals that the Brazilians seem to love so much.

A great torchy song about solitude and lonliness transformed into a thumping dancy powerhouse! Chris Rea was so right in getting Ms. Shirley Bassey to record the vocals on this song and Oliver Adams and Johan Gielen remixed the rather bland original into an amazing fast-paced house anthem!

"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).

latin influenced, amazing vocals, opening guitar line is fantastic, lyrics are beautifully written, This song is just really powerful!

A cool portion of that underated genre, easy soul. Bradford's vocals (a less roaring Shirley Bassey is the nearest comparison I can think of) complement the light arrangement perfectly. Fits in with that whole John Schroeder Orchestra vibe. Sometimes you just want a lovely vocalist singing a nice song.

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.

this is a nightmare in song form. the demo version (without vocals) is significantly less creepy, but still brilliant.

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.

A solo single from a member of Japanese space rock collective Acid Mothers Temple. For them she plays Synthesiser (a nice old Roland) Cigarettes and Beer. On this she also sings.
Its a strange sounding thing, theres no bass or even much lower mid range. Echo'd synthesiser, a very old sounding drum box, and vocals all occupying the same accoustic space to very psychedelic effect. But yet, very poppy, the vocals stay with you for ages.
Lovely stuff.

I love this Spanish version of the Stevie Wonder classic because it the new instrumentation. It is still very Stevie Wonder with a new, latin flair. The vocals are absolutely amazing, this guy can really sing.

Much like Miss Kittin or Adult., Crossover are convincing that minimal neo-new-wave-electro can revitalize the underground with a self consciousness and dry delivery of vocals.

Cyrkle recorded the soundtrack to this X-rated adult film in 1967 -- only shortly after after their biggest hit, the Paul Simon-penned "Red Rubber Ball." The film didn't screen until 1969. Judging from the title track, it is a pretty cool score and maybe not what I would expect. Soft, almost bossa acoustic guitar and wordless ba-dum-dum vocals that could of come off of a Gary McFarland record. Supposedly, Cyrkle appear in the film as well.

Man! You really have to get up early in the morning to find tracks like this. LA big band funk, banks of brass, electric bass throbbing away, and the hard hitting Jimmy Gordon on drums! But the best part is the vocals, done it a way that makes it sound like an Odeon recording from late 60's Brazil!... Stunning. The rest of the LP is no slouch either though, and reminds me a lot of Quincy's late 60's work and the Project 3 era Enoch Light stuff.

Highly recommended to lounge DJ's and fans of mod rarities.

Fast, good clean vocals, powerful song. Techy yet simple.

The film "Candy" was recently released on DVD, and as soon as I saw it, I had to get the soundtrack. The reason is this track, which plays over the final scene in the movie. There are great elements of late-60s film music all over the place here...sitars, wordless vocals, terrific rock breakbeats, you name it. A fantastic song, and one that I can listen to several times through, in spite of it's five-minute length (I usually have the attention span of a meth-addled fruit fly).

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.

With the exception of the silly dropping "daaaaaayyy" at the very end of this track, it's probably my favorite reworking of a Bowie song. The epic, quickly fading strings and strange raising/falling echoing voices pushing thru Bowie's unchanged vocals, wonderful. The strings add more power to Bowies lyrics.

The deep and catchy voice again...plus kinda cool lyrics...check it out. The beat is a bit more of a dark and repetative type sound, really the vocals in this are what the song is all about. Plan to have them get old really fast though as they do repeat the same thing over and over many times.

featuring bobby gillespie of primal scream on vocals. a song which seems to come right out of an asylum.

Deftones are a band that needs no introduction. They have been rockin the world for 7 years now, straight out of Cali. They have played with just about every band out there and have even been in a movie, The Crow 2. They are also known for covering the song Wicked by Ice Cube with another California band called Korn. Head Up rocks you from the moment it satrts till the time it finishes, if you want heavy this is it. Its not too crazy but at no point does it ever give off the immpression that it won't kick your ass. The song also has Max Cavalera (former lead singer of Sepultura and new lead singer and founder of Soulfly)singing backup vocals. If you play a sport and need a little bbost to get you in the mood to kick some ass, put this to your ears and let loose.

cool high speed clean guitar instrumental with a 1950s tonalizer sound. I feel like I'm watching Sputnik in orbit while hearing a jet break the sound barrier when I listen to this. Deke and the Ecco-Fonics are noted for a phenomenal period-style production on albums, retro but never wistfully nostalgic songwriting, and exceptional virtuosity at live performances. The rest of this CD is loaded with great vocals and hip tunes.

From the era when it seemed every band was named after a fabric, this angular indie gem was, for my money, one of the very best singles of the nascent Britpop era. Precipitating the self-referential indulgences of later bands, but not with the aura of smugness that pervaded the Albarn-esque dahn-tha-dawgs mockernee, the legend that is no-surname Lawrence (from alternative gods Felt) spews forth a classic.

The best way to describe this is 'miserable glam' - a great Mud-style beat clashes perfectly with Lawrence's scathing vocals of how he hates everything about so-called classic rock: "Spector's wall, knock it down; Jerry Lee, run him out of town." He ends up extolling the virtues of MOR and, in a stroke of utter pop genius, segues his tune into Middle Of The Road's hit Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep as sung by the kind of girl who populated the 70's Top Of The Pops LPs.

'Destroyer' is neither a heavy metal nor a goth band. 'It' is Dan Bejar who is better known as one of the singers and song writers for Vancouver's 'the New Pornographers'.

'Sublimation Hour' is representative of Destroyer/Bejar's music. The music and lyrics are reminiscent of 70s David Bowie.

Be warned: Bejar's vocals are somewhat eccentric and not to everyone's taste (thank goodness the Pornographers have 3 vocalists).

Destroyer have a new album coming out October 8th (or thereabouts) on Misra: http://www.misrarecords.com/home.asp

This is a song by a one-man band, the DMX Krew. He's from England, and he uses only recording equipment and instruments that predate 1985. As you might guess, this guy has an affinity for a trademark 80s synth sound...but this song somewhat deviates from his normal style.
This song is fast, catchy as all get out, and features some of the most striking robot vocals I've ever heard in a song. There's a catchy guitar riff throughout, with a jet distortion sound that makes you feel like you're on an airplane, with a driving electronic beat under it that will make you want to move your head about. This song is just utterly fantastic. I work in a record store and have reccommended it to many people, and I've yet to meet a person who already knew this song...or that didn't instantly LOVE this song. I've gotten hoards of people hooked on this band.

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.

The strong vocals make this so much more than a simple 'fed up love' type song.

This song is a little more....soulful.. than lots of the stuff I listen to. I find it utterly charming though. Dusty was a goddess, and singing this lovely, simple Goffin/King song she completely slays me. It's a slow arrangement in which Dusty is accompanied by piano, light, gospel-style backing vocals and unobtrusive strings. There's nothing complex or especially clever here; just beautifully executed and perfectly distilled pop.

A great song that describes the joy in reuniting with the one you love after being separated. Two versions of this song were recorded. This version appeared on Dusty's album of the same name, and the other version was used in the film 'Casino Royale'. This album version is superior simply for the fact that the sound engineer put a slight echo into the vocals and it gives this song a haunting sound that makes the beautiful words even more lovely than before.

Just wonderful. The CD reissue for this album is Philips 846 049-2 if you're interested in hearing the rest of this album. The song is truly Dusty with the husky vocals and the quiet but wanting tone. Bacharach comes through clear and strong with his interludes. The whole thing is as I said, just wonderful...

I can't get enough of cool electronic beats, guitar strums and whispered vocals. This track is a good example, it's from an album by the keyboardist from Luscious Jackson and bassist from the Breeders.

Ed Lincoln is a Samba Organist and this was probably his best known song at the time, its on all his greatest hits LP's. Its a pretty wild number, with lots of silly organ tricks, a kazoo (!), some Mexican style trumpets and lah, lah vocals. It stops and starts, is groovy, is damn catchy and makes every day a sunny day. (very useful if you live in the UK).

When I heard this album by the Brazilian organist Ed Lincoln, I really wasn't expecting a tune like this. It's a beautiful, tender vocal, sounding like something from a Francis Lai soundtrack, with lovely male-female alternating vocals and an exquisite Morricone style trumpet blending well with the guitar/organ/percussion instrumentation. An absolutely stunning track - playful but slightly sad at the same time, with some spooky laughter/sighing from the female singer towards the end.

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.

This song is great! "Fire in the Disco/Fire in the Taco Bell" It's so cheesy, but so perfect. Plus, Jack White's vocals are always slightly off-kilter. A great, great track.

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).

A quasi-psychedelic throwaway from one of Elvis' later, cheesier movies. This song in particular gets a bad rap because it's presented in an ultra-campy dream sequence with groovy go-go dancers writhing and a man pouncing about in a dog costume. But I'm addicted to the song itself, which has a gorgeous arrangement with harpsichords, punchy trumpets and pillow-soft backup vocals by The Love Generation (who also sang on The Partridge Family's hits). And Elvis' vocal performance is more gutsy than you would imagine at this stage in his career. Worth seeking out!

Ely Arcoverde is a Brazilian organist. His sound is similar to Ze Maria but not as chime-like and almost even a church-organ sound at times. I love this LP because it has a real low meditative sound. It is a quality I find in much of the music from Bahia as opposed to that from the south. The quarteto inludes organ, drums, bass and - a quality that I love alongside the organ - an accoustic guitar. It is mostly instrumental with some vocals similar to the way Jorge Ben would just make repetetive humming and moaning noises in his early LPs. The whole record has a very dark and mysterious feel - sad and lonely the perfect LP for the dark just the light from the stereo tubes flickering. It is available on ebay a lot, it is Ely's most popular LP and it should run you about $50 - 75.

60's beat with female vocals (english) and doublepicked & reverbed guitar sound. this song must've been a hit in the 60s because even the dreaded Spotnicks (sweden) have covered it.

great intro. deep deep vocals that almost make the overly simple lyrics forgivable. typical love story gone wrong, but how can you not love 'those brilliant teens'?
the backing vocals annoy me a bit ... but it's one great song. i don't know anything about this band though.

The score for Pasquale Festa Campanile�s mean but effective film "Autostop Rosso Sangue (Hitch Hike)" seems to be a precursor to the score for Oliver Stone�s mean and ineffective "U-Turn." On second thought, not just the score but the entire film. I wonder if Stone had seen this movie before making "U-Turn." At any rate, I�m here to talk about the music, and both films feature absolutely incredible scores by Morricone.

The arrangement here is pretty spare � I�m pretty sure that this track is mostly improvised -- and plays like a toned down spaghetti western theme. Morricone can evoke more feeling from a small group of musicians than most film composers could from an entire orchestra. The twangy banjo sounds great over the plodding bass line, and I love the subtle organ sounds. Ultimately, the real star here is Edda Dell'orso whose wordless vocals meander over it all.

Well, i guess you just can't recommend too much Morricone. So, this is another track off the excellent "Mondo Morricone" trilogy (Note: With the completion of the trilogy with "Molto Mondo Morricone", the formerly out of print first two parts "Mondo Morricone" and "More Mondo Morricone" have been reissued with 2 bonus tracks each). This track has it all: Gentle bossa nova rhythm, subtle triangle, swirling, almost surreal sounding strings, harpsicord galore and on top of it magnificent vocals by the incomparable Edda Dell'Orso.

I love the beat and the vocals.

eO's through-composed, symphotronic poem incorporates exotic world-fusion compositions with heavy post-dubstep beats, evocative vocals, and elegant instrumentation.

Very lo-fi indie pop, there's something incredibly endearing and plaintive about this song. Guitar, drum machine, toy keyboards, and multi-tracked vocals.

great new song (05) superb all around. lyrics, vocals, instrumentation. 100% recommended!

this song, made by the zappa-esque belgian band, the evil superstars, is more zappa-esque then zappa would ever get.

it feels like a huge record store collapsing and, in the process, blending all kinds of style elements in a composition of pure pop-mayhem. the song sums up a dozen of genres at supersonic rate (such as death metal, rock, crooning and even jazz) but never falls apart.
the music is perfect, played by talented musicians who try to sound like it's their first time handling a guitar or drum kit.
but, the one thing that makes this whole thing sound like it does are the vocals and absurd (or cheezy?) lyrics by the lead singer mauro pawlowski, for example:
"HE IS SOMEKIND OF A BAD GUY BUT WHEN HE READS THE PAPERS NOWADAYS HE HAS TO HOLD BACK THE KEROSINE IN HIS EYES SOMEWHERE IN A FORTRESS HE HIDES HIS MISTRESS I'M TALKING 'BOUT A PLANKTON EATING ROBOTCOW IN A CARDBOARD DRESS"----need i say more?
if you want to hear free jazz going pop, then check out this one!
nice introduction link: http://www.deadbeattown.com/bands/superstars.htm

The song is heavy, complex enough to be interesting, and simple enough to headbang. The bass is particularly awesome, with slap accents throughout. Not to mention Mike Patton's legendary vocals. The song seems to be about losing your mind as you grow older. It clearly has something to do with going mad, with Patton's screaming and laughing in the background between verses.

I really like this song for the punchy rhythm in bass(accompanied fantastically with the guitar, drums, and Bottum's carnival-like keyboard), and Patton's variance in vocal styles throughout.

An old Lotte chocolate commercial song turned into an infectious disco-ish club track.
The song starts with a loop of the famous "we like music, we like the disco sound" sample and with social dance instructions in Japanese, and then turns into disco with a groovy bass line and wah-wah guitar, to then apply the commercial song's vocals perfectly.

inspired by traditional American Folk Music 'When I Was a Young Girl' contains beautiful vocals, haunting lyrics and a great beat.

Leslie Feist is an incredible artist and i would highly recomend the entire album 'Let It Die' (preferably the 2004 re-release).

Neo-New Wave Electro gets elevated to new hights with a sampled looping punk bassline, understated breakbeat work, and new girl of the moment, Melistar on dry-detached vocals.

vocals, guitar, drums, synthesizers. Flaming Lips songs remind me of impressionist paintings with little bursts of color everywhere. This song isn't as colorful as some of their others, but it's definitely likeable. The lyrics can be interpreted as deep, but they're delivered really casually in a flowing manner. This isn't a sparse piece. There's little interesting details happening all the time, like intermittent cymbal crashes to little guitar moments to weird synthesizer noises. It creates a texture that's interesting to listen to, but at the same time simple enough to listen to without exploding your brain or something. A really enjoyable piece overall.

Raw, passionate and abrasive female vocals.
You may like this band if you like any of the following:
Sleater-Kinney
Helium
Blood Red Shoes
Blonde-Redhead
Le Tigre

I have never seen this on a Greatest Hits album or heard it on the radio. It never made the US top 100 (although at this time the Seasons were apparently more popular in the UK).

It's surprisingly long for a Four Seasons song (6:11), and takes its time moving from the slower, "Lay Me Down" sections (with the more typical harmonies) to the more rock-oriented "Wake Me Up" sections. The closing refrains feature the types of harmonies you'd expect from early-80s Chicago. Frankie Valli handles the lead vocals, but stays away from the high-pitched stuff.

If you liked GENUINE IMITATION LIFE GAZETTE, this should be right up your alley. For those most familiar with the early-60s stuff ("Sherry") and their disco hits ("Who Loves You," "December 1963"), the 1969-1970 recordings might make a lot of sense as a bridge between the Four Seasons as a group of singers fronted by Valli in 1962 to a vehicle for some great compositions by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio in the mid-1970s.

a very futuristic song sung in german by the french chanteuse france gall. you have to dig the opening 'computer' vocals.

One of a few especially jazzy and hip tracks by France Gall, I enjoy this one even more than I enjoy her more sugary pop tracks like 'Christansen'. The arrangement is quite spare - basically just France singing with a groovy small jazz combo. She also gets into some very cool scat vocals. Very, very cool.

One time member of the Sambalan�o Trio, Cesar Camargo Mariano, teams up with French teenage seductress, France Gall for this fast-paced jazz-samba. Her voice oozes innocence but also sex, like a French Astrud Gilberto. A true coquette.
The band was recorded in Brazil, the vocals recorded and overdubbed later in France. This track evokes the "international" feel of the 60's where covert deals were done in international airport lounges and in the back of limousines.

Beautiful vocal song from a little known italian soundtrack. The italians just couldn't do no wrong in the late 60s/early 70s, this just floats gently along with a flutes, harpsicord, sweeping strings and chorus. Nice, light vocals on top of it, can't identify the female vocalist though.

Exremely well arranged song, i absolutely love these almost surreal sounding female vocals throughout the song and the harpsicord embellishments, combined with a slightly calypsoed beat, sounds unusual for me for that time. There's something special about it, maybe it's because i could imagine the song in a David Lynch movie, giving it a whole new context, like Bobby Vintons "Blue Velvet" wasn't the same after watching the movie...

Before the (deserved) hype and the sell out concerts, this tune- a B Side on one of their earlier EPs- was the first Franz tune I'd ever heard.

The raw, slightly out of tune vocals, the wonky synth/organ riffs, the lyrics about Archduke Ferdinand's assassination by Gavrillo Princip, as sung to his wife Sophia? How can anyone resist?

It's a shame they don't play this live at their shows!

A tiny nugget of sparse beauty. Punk as fuck.
Nothing is wasted here, bass, drums, guitar, backing vocals adding minimal textures to carry Freda's direct, heart rending vocal, which itself is virtually vibrato-free. An astonishing recording when put in context of the overblown rubbish which dominated the charts at that time (most times, come to think of it).

This LP was recorded for export in 1968. The group is Dom Salvador (piano); Neco (guitar);Wilson Das Neves (drums); Pedro (percussion); Sergio (bass); and Joab, Zeze, Edgardo and Valeria on vocals.

P'ra Que Chorar is the opening track of this amazing LP. Its light, it moves, and the vocals are reminiscent of the landmark Sergio Mendes Brazil 66 recordings. Its also sung in English, as are several of the songs on the LP. Im not sure who penned the original version of the song, but its rendering here is wonderful and sets the tone for this entire landmark LP.

I plan to post the entire LP on my website www.sabadabada.com later this month.

Japanese born, residing in Italy to run Temposphere, a division of Right Tempo, Gak Sato creates a Nouveau-Samba with shimmery electronics to match the bed of Brazilian drums. But above all, this track also features soulful and surreal vocals of the "Lounge Lizard's" Steve Piccolo.

It's hard to pick a particular Gary McFarland song to recommend: although I love almost all of them, there aren't that many that particularly stand out. Most have some of the same trademarks: whistling or wordless vocals, brass, guitar, and a gentle bossa nova beat. They're slightly wistful, and make me feel like it's summer whenever I hear them. McFarland also worked with some outstanding musicians, including Gabor Szabo and Kenny Burrell on guitar, Grady Tate on drums, and Willie Bobo on percussion.

Long live the king is actually slightly different - it's a simple, upbeat number with a rock beat, bacharach-style trumpet, and picked guitar; a boogaloo-style saxophone also makes an occasional appearance, as does a hammond organ. The German 'Latin Lounge' CD showcases his work on the Verve label, and it's all excellent.

Wonderfully melodic virtuoso blues guitar work. Minor key tonality. As usual on Gary's tracks, the vocals are rather dwarfed by the over top magnificence of his guitar playing.

this is how 'lounge' can sound. Large sound, excellent vocals, unique lyrics. This song has a romantic feeling and would be excellent for a night at home with your special someone.
Try it out..

A band that blend elements of classical, jazz, funk, rock, folk, and electronic music.

Why i like it; a beatiful song about moving forward in life, and Katie Noonan's vocals are wonderful to listen to....

...Say i love, i live and breathe in now....

What a winning track! Opening with Morricone-style 'boing' sounds, this is a sexy, funky pop song with interchanging female/male vocals and pounding drums.

The sub-genre of pop songs in this style, featuring flirting and laughing alongside groovy 60s backings, is under-appreciated. I can think of a few more examples: Piero Umiliani's 'Flirt a Rio', Marcos Valle's 'Ele e ela', and my previous recommendation, Ed Lincoln's 'Bon-jour'. Mina's 'Parole Parole' almost fits as well, although the interplay there is a bit more dramataic than flirtatious.

Confusingly, there's another track called "Love, L'Amour, Amore" by Gerhard Heinz, which appears on the "Melodies in Love" compilation of his work. But I gather from hearing a clip that this is a different track altogether.

great young girl "lala" vocals, catchy downtempo bassline. some fairly standard sax playing. originally from a series of german "educational" porn films from the sixties, and it�s pretty easy to tell. no moaning though. pretty similar to the more relaxed efforts of peter thomas, this is one good piece of horny sixties kitch.
how come porn music was so much better back then?

An August Darnell penned song that rivals much of the prestigious 'Dr. Buzzard' catalog. Smooth, tropical, moderate-tempo late 70's Cosmopolitan-Disco tune with wordly lyrics...and Lordes Cotto on vocals!

An addictive and perfect track, which fuses several of my obsessions (vocal groups, Ennio Morricone-style chord sequences, Brazilian pop) with incredible power. The song is a Brazilian standard, written by Baden Powell, but this version is very different to any other I've heard. This recording opens feverishly with brass and strings, maintaining a doomy and very serious mood throughout. All the same, it manages to be extremely groovy, with rock drums and a twangy guitar accompanying the strings and harmonizing vocals. The arrangement is quite brilliant and never sounds crowded, with a stark feel produced by the different parts dropping in and out. The part of the track which to me is pure genius is the instrumental break in the middle, which sounds like it's excerpted from one of the coolest of Morricone's late 60s B-movie soundtracks - honey smooth strings, blended with some excellent drums and a cool trumpet part. The vocals are also rather gripping - always very serious sounding, and often wordlessly chanting the melody.

Goldfrapp borrows heavily from Ennio Morricone's "Invezione Per John" (from the "Gui La Testa" soundtrack) for this track and pulls it off perfectly I think. Terrific wordless vocals.

Gorgeous track off Goldfrapp's latest - a lush slice of 60's tinged sexiness, all breathy vocals, soaring pop strings and hints of Serge Gainsbourgh.

A mere pastiche? More than that I think. The track certainly has strong echoes of times past, but there is also something distinctly modern in the mix too.

There is other good stuff on this album, but it took me a few listens to absorb and appreciate it - which is no bad thing.

this is a twisted sort of house/techno number that will appeal to non-lovers of house. Its heavy enough, tweaked enough, etc. and the vocals are nice and twisted. dark, but still humorous "im losing my mind"

guitarist and songwriter greg brown tells us how he feels when someone says 'haveAniceDay'. midtempo acoustic number with gruff bassy vocals. very good for themed comps or person-specific mixtapes. from an album called The Live One and various MPR/NPR performances at their archives. repeat listening assured.

If this song was a person, it would have filed a restraining order against me within 3 days of its release. As a part of last year's second best album, "Veckatimest", this song features unconventional musical arrangements which could at times sound dissonant. However, its mystical lyrics and impeccable vocals make this song a masterpiece.

I know very little about Hal - I just picked up this LP for a dollar on a hunch that it might be good. It's pretty great. There are two or three very strong 'mod' tracks, and then this, an example of my favorite kind of easy listening cut. It's very pretty and reasonably slow, with nice strings, good piano and solid percussion. There are some vocals, but their involvement is minimal. If I have a complaint, it's that the piano becomes slightly overbearing. But it's a cool track all the same.

beatiful song, -amazing- vocals. you will feel this song.

This is the final track off their 1982 LP "Heartache", which is the Most Underrated LP Of All Time, and one of the three or four best of the 1980s!! The song actually sounds quite a bit like David Bowie's "Let's Dance" (which it preceded by about 18 months, in case anybody wants to raise plagiarism issues), only serious instead of stupid.
It's one of the more subdued tracks on the LP, which I would characterize as being most like the livelier end of Simple Minds (say "Sparkle In The Rain" or "Once Upon A Time"-era), but with a powerful lead singer who is probably closest to Jay Black of '60s hitmakers Jay and the Americans, or maybe Gary Puckett of the Union Gap (I am not knocking Jim Kerr's vocals by the way).

The full track listing for this wonderful LP: Time After Time, Living In A Heartache, Madelaine, L'Image Craquee, Spirits; The World, Dancing Inside You, Major Major, Too Late To Fly The Flag, Standing In The Rain. Produced by Mick Glossop.

This song sounds a bit chaotic with various instruments and dubstep playing in the background, but the vocals are very nice to listen to and the beat is very catchy.

Lewis from WIRE formed this side band with John Fryer back in the late 80's. Watch Take care is probably the coolest song ever shat forth from the doomed Enigma label. It's a complete winner though. Scary, bumping bass rift... dark vocals. It's like pop goth almost. Very memorable. One of my favorites of 1989.

Heatwave's first two albums can almost be seen as prototypes for Michael Jackson's breakthrough album "Off the Wall." With Rod Temperton, future Quincy Jones and MJ collaborator, driving this album the sound is both funky and catchy, sophisticated and accessible. "Lay It On Me" is an overlooked album track that bubbles and gurgles under the surface of the groove until the chorus arrives with strings soaring for the ectasy of Johnnie Wilder's sweet vocals, "lay it on me, lay your sweet love on me!" Beautifully arranged and excellently executed and just one of many classics of their debut album.

I've come to really like this band, but when I first heard them, I wasn't so keen. Like many great bands, Hefner feature a highly distinctive singer, who can take some time to grow on you. This simple 3 and a half minute pop song has an engaging arrangement, in which the piano, drums and guitar are superbly complemented in the chorus by synth, brass, and some great backing vocals. The chorus is quite glorious, with a chord sequence that somehow reminds me of the group Mercury Rev's very best songs. The words go very well with the emotional music as well: 'Lost feelings of love come flooding back/Every time you cry/ you give me little heart attacks/Love seems strongest when it's new/but that's something I can't prove/I can't prove that I love you...'

The only other reference point that occurs to me is Pulp - as the song builds, lead singer Darren Hayman's delivery becomes ever more exhuberant, like that of Jarvis Cocker in the best Pulp songs. Looking at the CD, I notice that the excellent backing vocals are by Amelia Fletcher, who if I remember correctly did some Wedding Present backing vocals, and was the singer in the Sarah records band 'Heavenly'. Anyway, this is a really infectious track, highly recommended.

The Finnish ultra speed hardcore. There are two vocals. Both are screaming all the time. One Of them is macho, "tough guy" style. It can be nice introduction to Hero Dishonest.

genki japanese pop band's take on france gall's classic. reworked in japanese, hi posi takes this cover the upmost hyper level. ^.^ complete with breathy vocals, hi posi add their own personal touch to the german oldie.

A stunning piece of pop, one of a few great and really hip sounding tracks Hildegard Knef recorded around this time. This sounds like a Bacharach song made even cooler, stripped down to its essentials. Knef�s smoky, detached vocals add to the effect to make this a real winner.

Sublime bossa from Japan's Himiko Kikuchi. The sound of a soprano sax causes many to reach for the "off" switch (thanks Kenny G!), but Himiko has made it not only acceptable again, but almost hip (almost!). The song starts off with baby noises, before wordless, female vocals come in and introduce the memorable melody. It then moves into a suitably paced bossa rhythm. I have been listening to this track for a few years now (courtesy of Compost Record's "Gl�cklich IV" compilation), and I just can't tire of it. It's one of my all time favourites.

Holly's always been prolific, but never more so than in the mid nineties when this fantastic tune was released. There were usually a couple of her own albums out every year, plus releases with her girl group Thee Headcoatees, and the quality never dropped.

This is a typically brilliant slice of Holly's sound - pop blues riffing with her who-cares vocals. It fixes me within such a groove whenever I hear it.

Random reminicense: One of the best live performances I have seen was Thee Headcoats and Thee Headcoatees on stage in North London at Hallowe'en, treating the crowd to the BEST EVER version of Monster Mash. At that gig I saw Holly milling around the crowd before Thee Headcoatees took to the stage and was struck by her luminescent beauty and remarkable poise. Truly she has everything. She's worthy of heroine status.

After her brief burst of mainstream recognition guesting with the White Stripes, Holly's back in the comfortable indie heartland these days. I really can't think of enough nice things to say about her.

I think Marvin would be proud of this version, though quite unlike the original. A typical brass band sound introduces the song for a couple of verses which then drop out as drums and hand-claps accompany a group singing vocals over the top. Raw yet fun. I've edited this audio clip to try get as much as possible a feel of the song into it.

Fanatstic vocals; such a great pairing.

This is a slow, sultry, intimate piano-led song that makes a remarkable contrast to the frosty "Isadora" (q.v.) off the same LP, despite both songs having basically the same acoustic guitar / bass / drums / piano / vocals lineup. The difference between this kind of soft-rock and, say, the Carpenters, is that the latter were schmaltzy beyond endurance while Illusion provided the genuine article ...

"Face Of Yesterday" was recorded earlier by Renaissance on their "Illusion" LP, which gave its name to this group, which was actually mostly the same Renaissance lineup (with Jane Relf and Jim McCarty) before the Camp / Dunford / Thatcher group took over Renaissance. I know, I know, you can't follow the players without a scorecard in this case ...

awesome (and not exactly mainstream) canadian new wave band. quite an intro. trivia: kevin crompton of skinny puppy fame used to be in this band.
this particular song (music, vocals and lyrics) just makes you nod and say 'that's new wave'

Classical melodic death metal brutality and beauty combined, interesting vocal message and important moreso now than ever. The vocals on this song are although as brutal atempting to follow the melody more than the rest of the album.

A beautifully desolate version of this track is remixed by gusGus and available on a Innocence Mission promo. The vocals remind me of the more coherent tracks by Elizabeth Fraser. The title is apt, it's quiet and simple, music for reminiscing by a forest stream during a winter walk.

Not everybody remembers this, but the "other" side of the famous "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" album featured five rather terrific songs. And this one has "cool passion" written all over it, because the lyrics are straight-ahead I'm-in-love-and-I'm-almost-tongue-tied-about-it but within a medium-paced 6/8 framework rather than a frantic groove. Meanwhile the organ and the choir-like backing vocals give it a lot of warmth. So it sounds like what I'm saying is that it manages to be both cool and warm at the same time. That may not make sense, but it's a great song off a classic LP.

Incidentally, rock writer Dave Marsh in one of his reviews said "It's now garbage" about this LP. Bullfeathers! It's still a classic. It makes me wonder what Marsh thinks is not garbage these days -- misogynous rubbish about ho's and bitches perhaps?

A breathtaking cover of the Jerry Butler classic, drawn out to 11 1/2 minutes of heartwrenching glory. A true masterpiece from Hayes' most brilliant period. Beautiful string arrangements by Dale Warren, and ghostly backing vocals make this something that you won't soon forget.

The 9:52 long track immediately blasts you off your feet with a ethereally heavy series of riffs and Aaron Turner's rough vocals. Keeping it interesting, the structure continues to evolve, and drifts downward into a more dreamy movement which stays dense and builds the tension for the following verses. About halfway in, the song reaches the first climax that (I think) embodies the "Threshold" in the song title. After which, it moves into a more contemplative section, smoothing out the turmoil and tension brought on by the first half, while building its own. Beautifully, it succeeds in building yet another crescendo, only to end in free fall, with guitar and bass fantastically accenting the mood. The bass in this song is truly something to behold, wavering and powerful in its tone.

What I like about this song reflects on why I like Isis' music in general: it's complex, atmospheric, emotional, intricate, and smart. It truly is "thinking man's metal." Isis is all about themes and atmospheres, emotions and vibes, rather than clear ideas and lyrics. It's visceral, raw, and transcendent. And in some ways, I think this song embodies everything that makes them great.

Sparsely instrumented, bossa nova-tinged ballad by New York-based Indie-Pop trio Ivy. Very breezy, airy sounding due to a delicate muted trumpet riff and Dominique Durand's charming, accented vocals (reminding me of the even more accented singing Claudine Longet).

mostly the lyrics/vocals but the music is also pretty chill idk

Close Up And Reak is a lovely album but this is my favourite track. It's a bittersweet tale of a person's (possibly Jane's), gradual loss in humankind. The song opens with a wailing violin which then introduces a soft, acoustic blanket of intsrumentation topped with Jane's wistful vocals.

westbury music fair, new york - saturday march 20th 2004 21:00

jay black walks onto the stage balls first, sings every song that ever mattered, smashes a guitar over someone's head, and then tells the audience to f*ck off as he walks into the wings.

jay black - 1
westbury township - 0

jay black is the standard by which all other men should be measured. i remember hearing "this magic moment" on the radio for the first time when i was six-years-old and being awestruck by his vocals.

those who have not yet been initiated to the phenomenon that is jay black should immediately run to the nearest record store and pick up a copy of "come a little bit closer - the best of jay and the americans".

he will delight you with great signature tunes like "some enchanted evening", "walking in the rain", "sunday and me", and many more... you'll love him... i love him!!

"Sun, the moon, the sky ... and you and I," - I wish I knew where the samples used in this track are from - from the opening piano melody to the refrain (it's possible that the vocals were recorded specifically for this tune). If someone can help out, thank you. I am pleased to hear Jazzanova offer such decent track. After being disappointed by the less than stellar remixes 1997-2000, I was thrilled to hear a very good original creation off of their forthcoming debut full length. Soulful, mellow and ez.

The best pop song of the year taken off what is probably the pop album also. I can´t remember the last time i was so uplifted by a pop song. It is like the best song the avalanches never recorded only with proper vocals.

There's a great dynamics in this piece of prog-rock as it combines sharp and interesting melodies with great but simple soundscape. There's a lot of air in the record an Martin Barre's guitarplaying sounds easy on top of heavy riffing duet of bass and drums .Ian Anderson's vocals are just perfect for this song. I would not change a thing here.

Who?

As a 60's girl group collector who's been at it for a number of years, I'm always delighted when some compiler somewhere turns up an absolute gem. As this is from the sleevenotes-shy semi-legal Marginal records, I had to find out on my own that this is infact Jill (with bonus "l") Gibson, Jan-of-Jan-and-Dean's girlfriend and rock photographer. Jan and Dean also recorded this song.

Very quiet vocals in contrast to a lot of 60's girl groups - almost a little Margo Guryan in there if it weren't for the stomping in the background. No info at all on the production. If anyone can fill me in, I'd love to hear it.

i'm too tone deaf to fully describe why this song is so good. it's melodic and melancholic without being too depressing. vocals and production are outstanding.

The title of this Sommers/Almeida album is spot on: gentle, soft arrangements by Laurindo Almeida, simple yet effective with guitar and lush strings, embellished with flutes, harps and vibes and Joanie Sommers' vocals dominantly on top of it.

This is from a great album that I recently received as a gift. Andalucia opens with a beautiful echoey acoustic guitar. It's a tender, simple song, with delicate guitar playing, entertaining lyrics (like 'Andalucia - when can I see yer'), and a great melody. The atmosphere is enhanced by a steel guitar and some nice multitracked vocals. I guess Cale's voice is an acquired taste, but I find him rather earnest and charming.

My experience of Boogaloo, a style to which I'm quite new, has been varied. In short, I love some of it and don't quite get the rest. The key to me seems to be the right instrumental and percussive blend, and vocals that don't dominate too much.

Although it sounds quite generic, this track manages to satisfy me on the criteria above. From a very lucky thrift store find (this album is up there with James Brown's 'Black Caesar' among my top bargains ever), this opens with a nice solid groove, featuring saxophone, brass and layered, relentless percussion. The vocals seem pretty much off-the-cuff - the main 'Boogaloo baby - baby baby do the boogaloo' is joined by a mixture of muttered Spanish and screaming. The attraction of this song is really the texture - it can't really claim any musical or lyrical sophistication. But the instrumentation and groove are really first rate.

If someone would have asked me say ten years ago what artist's oeuvre I would take with me to a desert island, I would with dead certainty have answered: everything by Joni Mitchell, please. I'm not so sure anymore, although it could well be that I, when push comes to shove, would still make that choice. So it may not come as a surprise now that for a long time my all time best album was one of Joni's, Don Juan's Reckless daughter, where her cooperation with Jaco Pastorius really took off, for instance on this song where she's questioning her love for a man who's new sweety has already moved in while still keeping poor Joni (assuming the song is sort of autobiographical) on the side as his Off Night Backstreet. Jaco's warm bass carries the whole song and is almost like a second voice to Joni's singing, it blends marvelously with her cold metal guitar, some nice echoey and spacy flageolets too, great additional vocals - "Backstreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"- by JD Souther and Glenn Frey, drums by John Guerrin, subtle and tight. PS Be warned that the soundfile is quite big (500 Kb).

An incredible, hard-to-describe classic from Jorge Ben. It opens with a funky, feverishly strummed chord sequence, and builds up beautifully. Warm strings come in, while the vocals become more and more manic (in a good way). I really can't do this song justice in words, but I urge you to check it out. Jorge Ben really is a genius songwriter, and his backing group, 'trio mocoto' really rock.

Genius strumming and amazing vocals. I have to confess that the first thing that occurred to me when I heard this, other than how brilliant it is, was the sudden realisation that The Wedding Present were not a very original band. Not only that, but they were vastly inferior to Josef K.

From what I've heard, this is probably the Josef K song that most emphasizes the 'mega-fast strumming' thing that they had going on (sorry - I'm not very eloquent today!). It's just an incredibly catchy, brilliantly executed single that just sounds otherworldly to me.

vocals: Sting
from the disk Joshua Bell: At Home With Friends

As a huge Moody Blues fan, I'm always excited to hear a new track by the frontman, Justin Hayward. This track from his 96 solo album is one worth listening to.

Somewhere between 91 and 96, Justin learned to handle his guitar like George Harrison. You'll notice this if you listen to the Moody Blues' 99 offering Strange Times, but that's not the point. On this particular song, you get the Harrison-like guitar-riff along with the haunting vocals that Hayward is famous for. Combined the two are a powerful mix. This song and all the others on the CD are worth taking a listen too.

I can't find enough words to express what I think of this stunning track.

The lead vocals, harmonies and arrangements are as close as you are likely to get to perfection.

Lyrically, it is both cleverly written and emotive, and combined with the beautifully simple melody and Hayward's ethereal vocals, totally heart-rending.

Very very few songs have instantly reduced me to tears (for the right reasons at least!) but this is one of them.

An over-the top introduction to Kansas. This was the song that hooked most Kansas fans.

It showcases the band members individual talents:
Dave Hope's excellent bass
Robbie Steinhart's violin and vocals
Rich William's guitar work, often harmonizing nicely with Robbie's violin
Steve Walsh on keyboards and vocals
Kerry Livgren's Lead guitar, and hopeful, powerful lyrics.

This is a song about a tragic break-up. Keane seem to be masters at the tear-jerker that rocks. It starts with piano, bass, & drums, and guitar comes in for the climax. But my favorite thing about it is the singing. Keane's singer at times has an improbaby high voice, yet you know it's a guy. They're like Queen in the vocals, but they sort of out-Queen Queen with the highness. That's part of their appeal for me. Anyway the song goes from annoyance to anger to grief in a rocking climax.

One of the far too few originals on this great underrated LP.The duo has a familiar west coast pop-jazz sound,much like their labelmates Bud Shank & Joe Pass.Except where as those two have way too much generally lackluster output,this duo has tons of talent packed into one exciting session! Ken plays an icy alto & soprano not unlike Paul Desmond and Beverly sings with all the grace and soul of ladies like Lena Horne and Dinah Shore. In this track, one of the most energetic on the LP,the group swings in a brisk 5/4,with Ken blowing a soulful line and alternating into creshendos with Beverly paralelling in a sassy vocalese. Wonderfully breezy,and just the kind of peppy bossa-like lounge tune you'll listen to over & over & over...They also do great versions of"A Man & A Woman"(with Ken adding some tasteful vocals himself)and "Eleanor Rigby"! A tough record to find, and no compiled tracks are anywhere to be found.... sad.

Kenny Rogers provides quite the haunting lead vocal on this track. The jaunty drums and choir vocals only enhance the creepiness.

Nice and heavy, love the solo, the distorted vocals, everything.

How best to describe such a tableau as this? Another Indian gem imprinted into my brain from my recent holiday.

Parts of this song are so much like the Grease 2 soundtrack in spirit it's untrue. Mix that with the kind of Hindi film beats that have become close to my heart over the last couple of months and you're talking about the kind of song which will keep me awake thinking of its greatness.

The female backing vocals are the cherry on the crumble. You can just picture the wide eyed lovely saying "An-thony GONSALVES!!"