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.

his voice is almost gloomy, but in a striking and haunting way. it does fit the mood of the song--it sounds earnest and intense without being too singer-songwriter-y.

Much like Aretha Franklin did with his 'Respect', Otis Redding took this song and made it his own. The Stones' driving guitar becomes funky, pulsating horns. When Redding breaks it down at the end with his signature improvisational style there's no turning back. This track'll leave you going, "Mick who? The Rolling whats?"

One of the last Carpenters singles from their final studio album. I find this sweet 'n perky song strangely compelling, since it shows Richard and Karen Carpenter awkwardly trying to adjust their wholesome image to an early '80s synth pop template. Karen's voice is so processed and overdubbed that she blends in seamlessly with the synth-heavy backup -- still, the effect isn't cheezy but full and lucious. Knowing that Karen was slowly dying during this time makes this tune odder still.

'The Events Leading up to the Collapse of Detective Dullight' is not a song but a narrative story, and it’s funny as hell. The off-kilter character voices of the already brilliant stream-of-consciousness plot are cartoonish enough for their own Saturday morning series. When the detectives start their investigation nothing makes sense. There’s Jell-O, serenading butterflies, file cabinets, murder, catacombs, and all the seasonings for a hilarious dream. I am usually brought to tears when Detective Slots reads from his revered exercise in free verse titled ‘The Cause of Gauze’. I will supply you with a sample:
"Oh, the cause of gauze. The Manuels have fondled many memories from my lap though each memory has its own lap and swimmers swim laps. Even swimmers have laps however and while in that condition many require a delicate gauze."
If you hear this without purchasing the actual album, 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimisical Verse,' then you are being cheated. The dreams of this band are as colorful as the illustrations they provide us in their album sleeves. The 'Where's Waldo' pictorial representations enrich the listening experience by engaging us in a journey deep into the frying-pan brains of these madmen. In fact, this is a perfect introduction into a very strange world of psychedelicado. Think the Beach Boy's 'Smile.' The reaction of my friends after hearing this have been harmoniously the same, 'they have to be on drugs.' The truth is Of Montreal are not on drugs, they are drugs.

A perfect piece of contemporary pop music: uplifting and sunshiny, yet with the right dose of melancholia. The production is excellent, as well as the instrumentation with a very driving rhythm section, warm electric piano, guitars and horns. What makes this really stand out is the terrific string arrangement by Richard Hewson (A protegee of George Martin and quite busy arranging during the 70s) which is very floating, sweeping and lush.

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.

Searing r&b cover of the ? & the Mysterians classic. Maybelle almost sounds like she singing this about somebody else, and like she's amused by the pain she's caused. I know it's been comped a number of times, but I'm not sure of where.

Nico Fidenco scored all of the infamous "Emanuelle Nera" movies and these are a demonstration of pure, unadulterated sleaze, but very solidly arranged and composed with wordless female vocals, rich strings, flutes, horns, trumpets, percussion etc. All scores were released seperately in Japan, but for a very nice introduction the Dagored compilation "Black Emanuelle's Groove" is sufficient.

For those who like Mike Simpson's "Jungle Odyssey," Nino Nardini and Roger Roger's "Jungle Obsession," and Henry Mancini's "Hatari," I would recommend Manne's entire "Daktari" LP. Prime late '60s Exotica Africana.

Cool in the Xxtreme !
Sixties dance jazz funk instumental from harpist Dorothy. Complete with organs, flutes and bongos it is driving classy joyful music .

The album also contains the awesome "Action Line " which is weirdly atmospheric and deeply strange

My personal favorite version of this song. Cilla Black has a very rich and powerful voice that is just right! She sings it with much more feeling than Dionne Warwick's more popular version a year later. Burt Bacharach originally wanted to use this recording on the soundtrack to the film 'Alfie', but Ms. Black declined.

I'm just reacquainting myself with the entire Low album after buying it on CD (my LP has been out of my reach for a few years). It really is utter genius. If they were in any other context, I don't imagine I would enjoy some of the guitar solos featured in this song. Here, they work brilliantly though. The musical basis of 'always crashing in the same car' is quite simple, but the superb musical performances and odd, otherworldly production give it an incredible richness. Bowie's vocal is mournful, and doesn't dominate the track.

A great version of this Troggs song, which formed one side of Spiritualized's first single. It's a pretty straight cover version, but with a richer production and that probably soon to become hip again early 90s dance/indie crossover sound (wah wah guitars, funky drums). Actually, it has aged pretty well, and I still can't listen to it without singing out loud when I hear it 'I've been watchin' you; and a lovin' you in vain...'

If you had one of the premium movie channels in the 1980's, you may have happened across a late-night showing of the Softcore-Porn-Musical film "Cinderella". While several of the musical numbers are quite good and rather amusing, the best song (imho) is "Art to Zebras", performed by 'Fairy Godmother' (a stereotypical crossdressing gay black man). This song is basically a list of all of the items he has stolen from the townspeople... and being that the film was made in 1977, yes, it is a disco number. Definitely a relic of it's time but nonetheless a great number from one of the films I keep in my Guilty Pleasure Chest.

This song is an interesting case study into the question of 'why do I like this version of the song more than any other'. I have a half-baked theory that for me, I mostly just like the first version of any great song I hear, regardless of whether or not it is the original or 'best' version. But this track is so different to the Rolling Stones's version that I think it would probably divide people pretty clearly. Produced by Lee Hazlewood/Billy Strange, 'as tears go by' is here recast as a crisp pop bossa nova. They even change the chords slightly (adding a new chord as she sings 'by'). To me, this makes the song vastly superior to the original (or any other I've heard). But I'm not sure anyone has ever agreed with me yet on that one...

Beautiful acoustic instrumentation
Two part vocals are well done
very moving
great composition, emotive climax

A very tasty and rather 'European-sounding' cover of the 1967's psyche-jazz Tom Scott's original from the well-known session percussionist-vibraphonist Emil Richards. Although it comes in a compilation of Emil's best late 60s latin-jazz recordings (interestingly, not a single horn instrument is used in the whole set!), this is an energetic percussive jazz-rock piece, with great vibraphone and bells(!) solos.

Groovy! groovy! This is one of the better versions of Tom Scott's indo-jazz swinger, and has been compiled a lot over the years. It has this great buzzy sitar played by Bill Plummer, and some sweet flute by Ira Schulman, who's presence on the album just sets the whole thing off! Dave Mackay's the blind pianist behind a lot of great west coast jazz like Don Ellis & Emil Richards, and his touch is just effortless. The two harmonize on the best tracks, like this one, sounding an awful lot like Jackie & Roy at times! Also, Vicky does a great Gismonti-inspired piece called "Moon Rider" and there's a version of Mackay's moody "Here" that's just sublime. A winner all the way, and must for J&R fans for sure.

Beautiful and atmospheric music, superbly recorded. Intensely poetic lyrics. What an incredible advance this represents from his work with the band Japan! Superb synth voices from longtime collaborator Ruichi Sakamoto sound a searching chord sequence over which a gorgeous, heavily treated trumpet solo comes in and out. Sylvian's voice is richly expressive.

The idea of a funky jazz harp rendition of this classic Jim Webb song is probably cheesy to some people, but trust me, this one works brilliantly. The opening shimmers delightfully with fender rhodes piano, strings, and a huge breakbeat. Dorothy's harp then takes over, and we move into a nice pop/funk/jazz take on the song. The relentless beat is pretty funny when you compare this version to others (e.g. the Glen Campbell hit version, also Nick Cave's classic stripped down version from 'Kicking against the pricks'), but it is really very charming, happy stuff. A similar funk/pop hybrid occurs on her version of 'Windmills of your mind' - highly recommended.

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.

I originally came across this recording on the soundtrack to the film 'the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' and I have been thanking my lucky stars since! Taken from the rare and out of print LP 'Crazy In Love' (which you should purchase on sight if you ever come across it!) Ms. Richards throws a good swing into this exquisite torch song and brings down the house with the help of Billy May and his orchestra! I am forever indebted to the person or persons who compiled the 'Priscilla' soundtrack and led me to this great song and the original LP from which it was taken!

This song was a hit in 68 and I havent heard it sins late 60�ties. On a taxi from Brussels to Maastricht I was pusseled to recognize this old song and started a search on internet, found it,
many good old memories.

Guitar, piano, violins, drums, backing chorus and Ornella Vanoni singing in this gorgeous San Remo hit from 1968. This is one of the type of 'slow burn' italian 60's pop hits that I can't get enough of, sort of mid-tempo with a rich detailed backing arrangement and vocals with a certain weight but which by the end will soar.

I didn't know anything about 'The Lion In Winter' from 1968 until a few days ago. I had the TV on in the background when my attention was grabbed by one particular song in the movie. "That must be John Barry's work", I thought to my self. His use of strings and trumpets are unmisstakable -- and surely I was correct!

'Chinon / Eleanor's Arrival' has the same type of sound as Barry's later soundtracks such as 'Moonraker', 'High Road to China' and 'Out of Africa'. In fact, I first thought I was listening to a passage from 'Moonraker' when I heard this song the first time. The arrangement is brilliant, the lush rich strings, trumpet and female- male choir really makes this song stand out. It has a very majestic, grand feeling to it and it really fits the scene it is used for in the movie.

This is a great song to listen to on days when nothing seems to be going right. In my case: when driving my blind sister around in a delapidated taxi, with broken windows, and a gas meter on empty. The best line in my opinion is: "Blind or crippled, Sharp or dull. I'm reading the Bible by a 40 watt bulb. What price freedom. Dirt is my rug.
Well I sleep like a baby with the snakes and the bugs". I love this track! Keith Richards played lead guitar and sings backing vox on this one. Their voices/styles mesh together very well. It's one of the more bluesy tracks on the record, but it's done very well...not like a lame neo-white boy blues revival thing. It's actually believable...after all, IT'S TOM WAITS FOR CHRIST SAKE! I think this is one of the more powerful songs on the record. Well...maybe a toss-up between this one and "Chocolate Jesus"...or "Hold on"...or "Get Behind the Mule" (you can't beat the lyric: "Punctuated birds on the power line. In a Studebaker with the Birdie Joe Joaks. I'm diggin all the way to China with a silver spoon, while the hangman fumbles with the noose..."). Hell...it's just a damn good record.

"I wanna make you the happiest man alive". This one has to be heard to be believed, taken from a new compilation by "Crippled Dick Records" called "Les Chansons Des Perverts", described as "a collection of dirty gems". Rich, loungy sounding production with lyrics which still would qualify for the "parental advisory:explicit lyrics" label even today.

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.

Turn the lights down, turn the volume up and just LISTEN!! Whatever mood you're in, this will enhance it. The strings are just brilliant. I've listened to this track AT LEAST once a week for 25 years and will never tire of it. The whole concept of ELO captured my imagination from theearly 70s, and although they got a bit commercialised over the years, who didn't? Some say they copied The Beatles, isn't that the sincerest form of flattery? Other bands copied ELO (Cheap trick, Huey Lewis & The News,etc.). I defy any music lover to not like this!

The first track from the first of Joni�s �jazz� LPs of the late 1970�s is all about opposition and equilibrium, (as are all her songs from this period). It is both richly melodic and dense/chant-like in structure, empty and lush in arrangement, its propulsive/hypnotic groove studded with Jaco Pastorius� weird, atonal bass speed bumps. Joni�s words/voice/performance is likewise wildly romantic and knowingly jaded simultaneously. The song is the sound of best singer/songwriter ever elegantly/effortlessly pushing the envelope.

When my sister and I were small, this album was the one we listened to most commonly for naps, after a lunch of something like chili, fritos and "green" kool aid. It's the most solid album the Carpenters ever did by some distance, and Richard actually wrote two of the best songs, "goodbye to love" and this one. It blends well into the follow-up, "road ode". Other standouts include the title track by Leon Russell, "it's going to take some time" by Carole King, and "i won't last a day without you", another golden Carpenters interpretation of Roger Nichols/Paul Williams. I would love to hear this song performed by Astronaut Wife. See "konsu" for that link...

Stirring, honest, down-to-earth tribute to the late Chicago mayor, Richard Daley Sr.

A brilliant pop song from Auckland bubblegum pop combo The Brunettes. The interplay between Heather and Jonathan's voice is just fantastic, and the song gets the crowd dancin' every time. Imagine Jonathan Richman and Debbie Harry dueting with Chuck Berry on lead guitar ...

The album that this track is taken from was one of those strange albums that acquired mythical status in my mind. Based on a mixture of rumor and personal imagination (I could never actually find a copy), I convinced myself that this must be the coolest album ever made, a perfect fusion of moog, latin and mod sounds. A few years later I picked up the album very cheaply on ebay. Beautiful and interesting as it is, many of the tracks go slightly over the line for me.

'Dansero' is the only track on the LP that captures the blend that I was looking for. It's nice and short at under 3 minutes, and features a delightfully kooky introduction that sounds like the Jean-Jacques Perrey moog flourishes that the group Stereolab sampled on their 'Transient Random Noise Bursts...' album. The drums and moog then join up for a nice pop instrumental, catchy and bouncy. Different moog effects are piled on, but always quite effectively, making this one of the most enduringly successful moog-pop tracks in my collection.

Lhasa is a Mexican-American woman now resident in Montreal, Canada.

She sings in French and Spanish and incorporates elements of Latin, French and Yiddish music into her sound.

She has a stellar back-up band that includes some of the best musicians in Montreal's rich music scene.

'De Cara a la Pared' is a very sexy and romantic number that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

NB: the CD cover art is among the ugliest I've ever seen.

See it here:

http://mapage.noos.fr/weblhasa/v2/discographie/fr_discographie.html

In some ways an obvious pop-punk classic, but still one that's generally overlooked in favour of their singles. One of the greatest nights between my best friend and I was the time that not only did we discover this was both of our favourite Blondie song, but we found out that, rather shamefully, each of us harboured a secret crush on Rimmer from Red Dwarf.

The song is the best among some real class on Plastic Letters. The noises made by a band on the brink of the mainstream super-success they were so worthy of. Deborah Harry never sounded tougher (except perhaps on Rifle Range), a persona that fits her like the ripped catsuit she famously sported on Top Of The Pops.

A musical excursion through psychedelia,hip hop,country and jazz,in a compact slice of sample rich mayhem,uses Them "I Can Only Give You Everything" as its pivotal riff along side typically obscure Beck lyrics and Stooges drumming,these shambolic ingredients cook a juicy mean groove.

I'm not going to say much about this track aside from it being one of my favorite Sammy Davis, Jr. performances. This really shouldn't work, but it does. Chalk it up to the genius of Sammy.

This is pure fun, a track with that 'easy cheesy' sound which many people love to hate. But wait, this is brilliant! Although rather clunky and an extremely 'square' take on 'hip', this is quite magnificent, honestly. Backed by a relentless beat, Ronnie plays the tune on 2 pianos, while for the bridge section the superb harmonies in the Beach Boys original are played out beautifully by the London Festival Orchestra. Although it's something of a guilty pleasure, I have to recommend this track very highly. Listening to it now on headphones, I notice that it even has that stereo effect having each piano come out of a different channel, an effect used to great effect on his version of 'soulful strut'.

Eleanor Rigby does not immediately seem like the kind of song which would sound good as a cover version, but this fantastic version by Oscar Peterson proves otherwise. It opens with a simply heavenly string sequence from Claus Ogerman. Then Peterson’s gentle and percussive piano comes in backed with an driving bossa nova guitar and a huge, rich string arrangement. The tempo then switches over to a more jazzy style with a walking bass.

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 wrote it and sang it. It is a statement about technology and asks the question whether or not we actually need what we say we want.

Most people probably prefer 'Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious' or 'Spoonful of Sugar', but this is my favorite song from the classic film. It can still make me cry whenever I hear it.

Well mostly just Toots on this track. A breezy, two-minute instro carried by Toots' whistling and a very rich, energetic arrangement. Very good stuff. There are a few other instrumentals on this (mostly) excellent disc, and this Thielemans original is easily my favorite.

An incredible doomy pop masterpiece, 'For one moment' is a dark, haunting ballad, laden with rich strings. I guess what makes it stand out is the recording itself - Lee was a master of studio techniques, and so the whole thing has an uncanny, almost Phil Spector type feel to it.

A very swinging, groovy Latin jazz take on Shorty Long's Motown classic finds Lewis at the height of his form. As expected, Richard Evans turns in an astounding arrangement, utilizing handclaps, studio chatter and a magnificent horn chart.

this is one of my favorite jazz songs, it has a great progression and a great structure. it's uptempo. the entire album is one i've listened to many, many times all the way through. i don't know a whole lot about jazz but the song sounds extremely rich, while all the instruments work together wonderfully.

With the likes of Buzzsaw by The Turtles and Dance With The Devil by Cozy Powell, Groovin' With Mr. Bloe is one of my favourite late 60's-early 70's groovy "novelty" pop instrumentals.
Beginning with a tight drum beat that carries on throughout the song and followed by one of the fattest basslines ever, this is a real dancefloor gem for hip crowds. Best of all is the harmonica lead by Mr. Bloe himself, a session musician by the name of Harry Pitch. Groovin'...became a surprise top ten hit but the best credit to the song is that it allegedly still enjoys club play by Richard Searling, the legendary northern soul deejay.

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.

A song like a perfect evening under starry sky, with rich and keen vocals, full of grace and harmony. A pure love confession! "Heaven on earth
that's what you've made for me since the day we met..."

Super Furry Animals are one of a select group modern bands I really like. In a sense, they are too 'rock' for me, but they are so furiously inventive and original that I'm always impressed by their songs - even the ones which I wouldn't necessarily listen to by choice. 'Hometown Unicorn' is a masterful pop anthem with a rich Bowie-like 1970s feel to it. The lyrics are also masterful, and concern the late 70s story of Frankie Fontaine, who claimed to have been abducted by an alien spacecraft. From the first line of the song, I was hooked - 'I was lost, lost on the bypass road...' Many thanks must go to my friend and fellow site user, phil for introducing me to this track and this band.
ps, the group are incredibly good live as well.

A superb recording of a really perfect song. Ennio Morricone's theme to the obscure movie 'metti, una cera a cena' (one night at dinner) is here performed in a classic crisp, clear version by Roy Budd. I'm not sure if I love this recording so much because it was the first version I heard, but I think it may even be better than the Morricone recording. Anyway, if you don't know this song, you will probably recognise it when you hear it. It features an infuriatingly catchy repetitive female wordless-vocal over a gentle bossa beat, with rich strings and piano. Every now and then everything goes quiet and all you hear are the vocals and a faint tremelo guitar. It is really amazingly beautiful. There is also a great italian version of this song by Milva, which sounds amazingly like the group Stereolab.

The King of Rock And Roll excells himself in this 1996 track from the various artists album ' The Songs Of West Side Story ' . Done as a kind of Blues / Waltz, it is of course a girls song as a norm and only Richard could get away with this gender reversal version and boy it really works !

The album also has a great version of 'Somewhere ' from Aretha Franklin too.

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.

sort of like a psychedelic Esquivel

Taken from her rare full length LP (many 45's and 78's are floating around out there) this wonderful track is perfect for Trudy's full, slightly husky voice. She is accompanied by the Billy May orchestra and he knows how to frame her voice with just the right arrangement! This fabulous composition by the great team of Comden and Green swings with all of the joy and enthusiasm you feel when you find your soulmate. Sadly, this album is out of print and somewhat rare. If you can get your hands on it, God has smiled on you and you should rush to the checkout counter without delay!

Fabulous cover version of a song which has been covered soooo many times, northern soulful foot stomping version, which great vocals, shouts and musical phrasing by Ms Houston

one of my fave songs at the moment. what's better than a funky sitar mover? a funky sitar/moog mover! i think you can find it on ebay or on some indian comps.

"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)

Starts with a piano tinkling up and down the scale, and then the whole Latin Orchestra starts, ultimately Edmundo's raspy voice bellows out of the speakers sounding for all the world like Shaggy's drunken grandfather. Kind of Rhumba, very very danceable, surprisingly modern sounding with a terrific breakdown to the piano in the middle. Beware Edmundo ros has done another version of La Bamba which is terrible.

A beautifully clear female voice emerges out of a rich synth backing of subtle harmonies provided by Bob Noble. Judie Tzuke (best-known for "Stay with me till dawn" of 1979 which was a minor UK hit) recorded a number of excellent tracks over the years. A reviewer on Amazon describes her as the "fifth biggest selling British female singer between 1980 and 1985", but I'd almost forgotten about her until I stumbled across one of her albums on CD in a shop the other day, prompting a return to some of my LPs and tapes.
This particular track has long been a favourite of mine for its emotional depth, but for whatever reason it's been a long time since I heard it. It would have helped had I been able to buy it on CD - unfortunately it doesn't appear to be available on any current disc.

This song, as heard at the death scene of "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet", is a piece from Richard Wagner's famous "Tristan und Isolde."
I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I can tell you this:
A few years ago, after studying Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" and watching Baz Luhrmann's version of the film, young student Kip Kinkel became obsessed with what is often called "the greatest love story ever told." Kip believed that "Romeo and Juliet" was exceptionally relevant to his own life. He had recently been a victim of unrequieted love and he felt his parents' constnat pull over him. One day, Kip had a psychotic break. He carried a gun to school and shot several of his classmates, killing them or leaving them seriously injured. He ran. As his parents arrived back at home, Kip blasted "Liebestod" on his stereo, took up his gun, and shot and killed both of them. The music was still playing loud and clear when the police arrived at his home to arrest him.
Scarily enough, that is how moving this music really is.

This lovely late 60s pop track is wistful and atmospheric. The instrumentation is exquisite (vocal group with a delicately strummed/picked acoustic guitar, strings), and there is a cool false ending. The result is a very rich sound, evocative of lost summers. A sound which I'm very fond of...

Need I say more? It's beautiful, rich and dark. He wrote and recorded some songs in prison, but this isn't one of those.

It's hard not to smile when you hear this lovely, rousing late 60s number. Roger Nichols is the composer (along with Paul Williams) of many late 60s and 70s hits for, amongst others, The Carpenters. He wrote this song with 'Pet Sounds' lyricist Tony Asher, and they created a beautiful combination of sunny soft pop sounds (handclaps, brass, group harmonies) and pleasing, happy words. Musically, it is superior and extra-catchy, with nice Bacharach-esque touches and great instrumentation. The lead vocal also deserves a mention for sounding almost supernaturally brilliant (far better than it sounds in the sound sample). The singer is Melinda Macleod; her voice is lovely anyway, but here it sounds as if 3 perfect takes have been somehow overlaid on top of each other to produce an incredibly rich, soothing effect. It's over quickly - in just over two minutes. At which point I normally listen to it again a few times.

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

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Rod Stewart?? But hold your horses, buckeroos! This is one incredible funky take on Rod's old show-stopper. Simtec & Wylie were a duo from Chicago who were modeled after such testifyin' '60s soul acts as Sam & Dave, Williams & Watson, Bob & Earl, Mel & Tim and the like. In the early 70s, they signed up with Gene Chandler's (of "Duke of Earl" fame) vanity label, Mister Chand. There, somebody convinced them that recording a cover of "Maggie May" would be a great idea. It was. First of all, they got rid of that exasperatingly unfunky mandolin intro from the original and replaced it with an electric guitar with heavy feedback. They also sped the tempo up considerably, transforming the whole thing from something rather cloying into a defiant statement...these boys aren't content to remember their time with Maggie, they're back to show her what they've learned in the meantime.

Masterpiece! This record, a legend amongst those who know it, with its fine writing, arranging and singing clearly deserves its place in the Pantheon of great pop. It may have failed commercially in its time but the beauty of their pop puts it amongst the best of our times and explains why 37 years after its creation it remains exquisitely artful to our ears. I could write 100,000 words scratching at what I love about this group and their first 4 records, and this song alone.But, the Free Design deserve, rather than my dull hyperbole, a good listen. Rousing and sublime, almost TOO GOOD to have been a big hit. If you read a bit about them you realize that these singing siblings made some naive career choices that favored music over money. Our gain.
Some bonehead on this site claimed The Free Design sound like Stereolab. That writer got it butt backwards. Sadly, Stereolab doesn't have the skill to really reach the musical and spiritual depth of the Free Design. Stereolab's OK, don't get me wrong, but they are often a pale imitation of a much richer source. Letitia from Stereolab cites The Free Design as one of her all-time favorite bands, so at least they have sublime taste and honesty when it comes to revealing their sources.

Guaranteed to lift you up way high.
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Fave part: "Wish that I were corny....:

Fusing pyschedelia with Velvets drone, the 10 minute plus "Marquee Moon" is a staggering piece of music from one of the best albums of the NY punk movement. I'm not usually a far of virtuoso guitar heroics, but here it works so well ... with Richard Lloyd & Tom Verlaine's distinctive guitar technique seemingly battling it out for supremacy. Many bands have based their entire career on this song.

The title track of Television's 1975 album is the greatest statement of their cumulative abilities as a band. A majestic epic of dual guitar interplay, metronome bass playing, unconventional jazz drumming, and the strangled vocal screeds of Tom Verlaine, Marquee Moon begins with a double-stop riff. A second tangled guitar weaves in, a bass thuds upward, and a lockstep rhythm forms behind the surreal lyrics. From the chorus to the long, flowing jams that follow the third verse, the guitar interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd amazes again and again. Instead of rhythm and lead guitar, the two guitarists trade solos and phrases, tones and colors. Even when Richard Lloyd plays simply, he dominates the color and tone of the solo he underscores, and when he lets loose a solo, it flows like poetry, phrasing and declaiming the beauty of the notes it contains. Band leader Tom Verlaine twists and curves his notes all over here, careening in on himself and threatening to implode before finding a perfect spot. The majestic peaks this song climbs to seem almost impossible, and it very nearly stumbles by running long. However, nothing can detract from the climactic jams that culminate in Tom Verlaine's singing bird-call guitar notes and gentle spills of warbling riffs.

"Mrs. Bluebird" by Eternity's Children is one of the great songs I carried away from the now-defunct LuxuriaMusic. This version is from a "children's record" produced by Richard Preston & Louis Philippe. The arrangement is pretty faithful to the original, maybe a little longer with subtle but important differences. Philippe's singular vocal style compliments the song suprisingly well. Very cool.

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.

One of the great mysteries of 60s Aussie Psych. This track first appeared on the Datura Dreamtime CD and I have been playing it to death since - yet no one seems to have an inkling as to who the band were. It's really creamy late pop psych complete with Byrdsy guitars, rich harmonies and sitar like sounds. Wonderful chorus too.

A near-perfect take on this classic song. Ronnie dispenses with vocals, instead building a beautiful mood with some great strings, a relentless beat and percussive guitar. The bluesey melody is carried delicately by the piano. I'm not really getting it across here, but the track is astounding - astonishingly addictive and well recorded, building wonderfully to a warm and incredibly groovy climax.

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

An instrumental arrangement using only strings, this piece starts out slow and builds. Its overall tone is sweet and full of emotion. Very seldom does one encounter a song of pure aesthetic beauty, with no ulterior motives or elements, but this is one of those songs.

Max Richter has been influenced by minimalistic modern composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich, but his work has its own distinctive feel. This song, among others by Richter, was featured in the 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction.

Richards unique take on this standard is unlikely in the extreme.
Recorded for Vee Jay records in 1964 as am album track it seems it only appeared on 45 an "Oldie".
Almost big band in style it's about as jazzy as richard ever got-so far ! It's available on numerous re-issue albums.

I was heard a female version -same backing but different tune and lyric. I've never managed to find out what it is.

Music for pussies producer Steve Albini once answered when he shared his thoughts about the genre powerpop. So, perhaps that makes me one then but anyone who likes melodies got to admit that the genre has produced some gems over the years. Richard x Heyman is one of the standouts in the genre. When he doesn´t tune his rickenbacker in his tabbey road studio in new york he goes out searching for homeless cats. So, maybe now i got you all concvinced that the man differs a bit from the average powerpopper. Out of my hands is taken from the mighty fine cornerstone and is overflowing with hooks,hooks my friends which is exactly what i need right now.

This stunning instrumental is a reasonably straight version of a classical piece by Maurice Ravel, originally written in 1899. Eumir plays piano over a dense string background, adding a tiny bit of jazz phrasing. The texture of the layered strings and piano is remarkably intense and beautiful, and the piece is quite exquisite. I expect this recording would offend classical purists, but I must admit that having heard this version first, I still like it the best. Perhaps this is down to the sheer richness of the string recording, which may be endowed by studio wizardry rarely used in classical recordings. Either way, it's really quite incredible, and I urge you to check it out.

A perfectly distilled instrumental which seems to capture everything poignant and affecting about Badalamenti's soundtrack work. 'Perdita' opens with a faint piano, being played seemingly with one finger, which gets louder and is joined gradually by a rich string section. Rather like some of Ennio Morricone's best themes, this is very simple, but so beautiful that it doesn't end up sounding obvious or clich�d. On the other hand, perhaps I'm just being nostalgic about being 16 again.

Fascinatingly morbid yet compelling rocker about euthanasia.

One of the more famous song-poems, this is sung by the man with a thousand names, Rodd Keith. Being English, I had never really heard of the song-poem concept until an article in (I think) Cool & Strange Music magazine. Then this compilation CD came out and, wow, pinch my cheeks and call me a convert.



Anything that encourages the bizarre side of human nature gets my approval and song-poems certainly do that. Especially the right wing freaks, who seem to be over-represented in the genre. This is one of those very over-zealous numbers, stating (pre-Watergate) that Nixon is "a man of priceless worth".



What I love about Rodd Keith is that, no matter how banal or weird the lyrics kicked out by some Arkansas dweller are, he gives a sterling performance. This is no different. The spirit in which the song is written is strictly adhered to by Keith, adding of course to its overall charm.

Soaring choral evocation of a cold bright day on a busy river. From Piero Piccioni�s soundtrack to a Swinging London exploitation film in which an Italian eccentric encounters bikers, fox hunters and a haunted castle.

This song is a very traditional sounding Metallica song: deep pitched, unique guitar riffs combined with the amazing lyrics and voice of James Hetfield, as well as the consistent, strong drum beat of Lars Ulrich. Truly an amazing song.

The centre piece of Paul McCartney's 2005 album Chaos and Creation. This song is the equivalent to Dylan's Tangled Up in Blue on Blood on the Tracks. An extraordinarily personal song for McCartney and without an obvious chorus. The album is a masterpiece - all instruments played by the man - sympathetically produced by Nigel Goodrich but in the end it is the songs - fantastic. I can tell you that Lennon would approve - best ever solo album by a Beatle ... maybe but up there with Plastic Ono Band and all Things Must Pass and Ram.

You can't keep talent down is the message.

So far the best thing I've heard all year! The Minders return, this time they invite us into their neighborhood by way of Golden Street. We still feel the quaint influence of Britain's great pop secrets, the Kinks, but we also hear another side of this band that has been long overdue, themselves. The Minders have discovered their voice only glimpsed at in earlier recordings. And 'Right As Rain' is as good as it gets. There is no avoiding the contagions found in the head-bopping performance, you will be infected with a fever you may never wish to recover from. Put plainly, you will love this song, guaranteed! The drumsticks click, the bass rolls in, the electric guitars whir, the beat throbs and then, in a moment of pure expectation, we hear Martyn's vocals like honey dripping from heaven. It is Martyn's voice that carries us through this song and we are disappointed when he pauses to breath. The longest pause comes during the backwards guitar solo, complete with screaming feedback and enriched by keyboards and bass. The refrain is just as exciting when Martyn returns to refill our ears with his perfect British accent. By golly, I wish you could hear it now.

The Carpenters have become like Abba were for me about 15 years ago - I can lose hours at a time just listening to their best songs with the volume up high. I actually never really dared to venture beyond my favorites from Abba's hits, but with the Carpenters I have a few LPs and recently picked up a 5-CD reader's digest set, allowing me to hear some less famous tracks by them.

This track is a bit of a revelation for me. Highly produced, early 70s. Piano-led, with strings, guitar, bass etc, and Richard providing some backing vocals. Karen's singing is beautiful as ever, although her voice sounds a bit funny - she over-pronounces words like 'goes'. The verse is plaintive and moody, while the brief chorus is funky in that glorious way tracks from the early 70s can be funky. This section is reprised with pretty sick flute playing!

In all, a really beautiful track that for me showcases all the best things the Carpenters have to offer. The band are still stigmatized by many, for reasons I'm not exactly clear on. I understand that this kind of highly produced, clean sounding music might not be for everyone, but if you've just been put off listening to them because they're not very cool, maybe give this track a try!

While i can't say i'm an admirer of Jackson, his first two Epic records "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" are a reminder he wasn't always that pathetical popular figure he is today but a talented performer and songwriter with an array of gifted people to back him up as arrangers, songwriters and musicians. The most imported credit goes to the legendary Quincy Jones, who really gave these records an incredibly rich sounding, impeccable prduction. All instruments, funky guitars and bass, swirling disco-esque strings, horns and brass, vocal harmonies and syths, are in the right place here. The production is detailed, lush and transparent sounding, easily beating most of todays pop productions, even more so on the remastered versions of these records.

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.

Neko puts her golden throat to this sultry old soul number and creates magic.

It is one of the few covers on her new album 'Blacklisted' but is the one where she really demonstrates her voice's depth, range and emotion.

Simply brilliant.

This song has been getting a lot of well-deserved attention lately as a re-issue. This is a pants-wetting monster, with a tough, stunning, and powerful sound that really defies description. It's richly soulful funk, slow, psychedelic, pensive, viscous, and extremely affecting. A great variety of sounds in the instrumentation, rhodes, flute, baritone sax, sax, congas, bass, guitar, drums, with no single instrument dominating the track. All the instruments shine together however, in a very spare and sensible arrangement. We should all be thankful that this was found and once again given some proper spotlight.

I first heard this cover of a traditional folk song via the 20 jazzfunkgreats blogspot. But I'd heard of Fairport convention previously, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and all that, but like so many English people i couldn't bring myself to listen to an English folk group - well MY LOSS.
The song is in two parts, with an eye opening second half drone jam. Spellbinding stuff, with the violin scraping long notes, and (presumably) Richard Thompson scattering trebly white noise almost chords around on top it. It's hard to gauge how much cross fertilisation back and forth between America and the UK their would have been but it's hard to imagine that this wasn't informed by the Velvet Underground.

Sort of a neo-folk tune that is very poetic and rich in symbolism. Beautifully sung and written. It will be on the Album due out on Nov.14th 2006. If you would like to hear this tune try posting the following address in you broweser for a Live performance:

http://www.mp3fusion.net/mp3_download/5338635/Joanna_Newsom_Joanna_Newsom___03__mp3.html

I�m not sure if this ballad comes from the good old times of rock-n-roll where Little Richard captured the censors attention because of shouting and leering at the audience while wearing make up or if it`s part of his "gospel era". (In 1957, in the midst of a sold-out tour, Richard quit rock-n-roll to become a preacher in the Seventh Day Adventist Church...) But one thing is for sure: his screaming distinctive voice together with the affirmative melody make this (first?) version of "Send me some lovin` memorable!

"When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings."

shakespeare's words, rufus wainwright's voice. beautiful.

This instrumental version of sophisticated lady is unlike any other I have ever heard. The harp is used alongside some strange instrumentation and recording techniques to create a unique other worldly sound. There is also a Richard Maxwell trademark - an incongruous, rasping 50s style sax solo in the middle. He was a pretty interesting guy, all in all; his Decca albums pretty much all seem to be interesting.

"Spin, Spin, Spin" is a graceful and romantic folk song which Callier sings with a smirk - almost as if he's in on a secret joke. His guitar phrasing is pitch perfect and his voice is both rich and subtle. HP Lovecraft covered this tune as a string-heavy psych-lite track on "HP Lovecraft II," but I prefer this original rendition's low-key and unpretentious acoustic charm.

The opening track from Acid House Kings' latest record "Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays". For me the song captures perfectly what a sunday morning should feel like : it�s gentle, light, clear blue sky, sun-drenched yet with a light breeze, a certain freshness. The song represents all that with a very light, transparent, mostly accoustic arrangement, enriched with some synth strings and guitar and with the charming voice of Julia Lannerheim including some nice ba-ba-ba's. The whole album is excellent and highly recommended.

With the wild African rhythms, yelped back-up vocals and honky-tonk piano, this song is bizarre and crazed and lot of fun. Lyrically it's also very cool with Mick Jagger singing from the persona of a very gentlemanly and straightforward Satan. It's also incredibly timeless and influential. Listen to Outkast's recent album, or the Libertines, or the Music and you can hear shades of this song without a doubt.

Following shortly on the heels of Of Skins and Heart, "Tear It All Away" still was the picture of a developing band, but one already more comfortable with the studio, able to use subtlety and quiet drama to inform its cool, soothing yet tense take on post-punk filtered through psychedelic touches. The familiar Byrds-derived guitar and Bowie-tinged lyrical regret and sighing crop up as they so often would in the earliest days, but there's a clean, blue tinge to the whole performance, something that feels inexpressively like an eighties recording rather than a sixties throwback. Call it the space in the mix, the gentle keyboards here and there, or the substituting of folk and country roots for something more urban and faster-paced. The lovely mid-song solos show the Marty Willson-Piper/ Peter Koppes team still well within its element, and the whole composition has a rich, lush feeling to it that's most attractive.
(AMG)

This clever little gem was written by folk singer/songwriter Richard Shindell and originally appears on his 1994 Shanachie release, Blue Divide, as "The Ballad of Mary Magdalene." A perfect example of Shindell's non-confessional, often ironic, storytelling, it recounts the ill-fated love affair between the title character and JC: "Jesus loves me, this I know/ why on earth, did I ever let him go?/ He was always faithful, he was always kind/ but he walked off with this heart of mine." On this version, Shindell is joined by fellow folkies Dar Williams (lead vocal) and Lucy Kaplansky (harmony). In 1998 A.D., the three artists became incarnate as Cry Cry Cry for one album, which, if you like three-part harmony, is almost a religious experience. A good example, too, of what Shindell can do with a Martin acoustic.

great new track from interpol

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.

Amazing song from the 1960's blending powerful luscious strings with a fast paced catchy melody. One might think that you have landed in the middle of a international crime affair in the French Riviera. Would work amazingly good as a theme-song for a TV-series (maybe it has been used that way already?)

The best "drag" performance by both Julie Andrews and Robert Preston in the film,'Victor / Victoria'.

"The Witch" was the Sonics' debut single, released on Etiquette, the Tacoma, WA-based label owned and operated by local hero Buck Ormsby, member of garage rock pioneers the Wailers, who are known for unearthing the obscure R&B song "Louie, Louie." Reworking the tunes of Little Richard and Bo Diddley, the Sonics worked the local teen-hop circuit as a rock & roll cover band until eventually coming up with some original material with "The Witch" and what would become the flip side to the single, "Psycho." After revamping the lineup, taking on various members of the Searchers, Gerry Roslie commandeered the vocal duties with a bracing blues shouter style that would become the group's trademark. "The Witch," roughly recorded in mono, is a brooding rocker based around a revved-up blues progression with quivering guitar and a basic sax line holding down a simple riff, drums kicking away in the background. Roslie belts his cautionary tale, sagely advising all to steer clear of "evil chicks," with vocal-chord-shredding wails: "So you know the little girl/Who's new in town/Well you better watch out now/Or she'll put you down/'Cause she's an evil chick/Say, she's the witch, oww!" The band barrels on, lacking any semblance of finesse, stomping into a tempo shift and doubling the speed as Roslie howls, "Well she walks around/Late at night/Most other people sleepin' tight/If you hear her knockin' on your door/You better say get away/Wha whoo!" Guitarist Andy Parypa lets loose a note-stumbling guitar solo in a style similar to Dave Davies of the the Kinks. "The Witch" would become a regional hit, receiving extensive airplay on the powerful Seattle AM station KJR, but the Sonics would never break nationally, most of the country not yet ready for the extremely aggressive attach of the group's rough-and-tumble music.
(AMG)

One of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s greatest songs here performed as a incredibly soothing and rich instrumental with guitar and strings, produced by the great Claus Ogerman.

Listening again to a compilation I made almost four years ago, I heard this magical track, which really had a big effect on me. It's probably not for everyone. Meandering and rather wistful, it's not at all funky like some of their later work, but I find it utterly compelling.

As you might have heard, Novi Singers were an incredibly talented quartet of vocal singers recording in Poland in the late 60s and 70s. They did several amazing records. This is taken from what I think was their first, Bossa Nova. But rather than renderings of songs like 'One note samba' and 'Desafinado', the album consists of a delightful and varied collection of originals in a related mood. The result is like bossa nova from a parallel, slightly more melancholic universe.

The accompaniment is a slow, gentle bossa played by a small jazz group, with some rich strings dropping in and out, and the vocals (all wordless/scat) take centre stage. The chord sequence is staggeringly beautiful, and at times the vocalists take slightly extravagant scat solos.

It sounds strange to say it, but this is really one of those tracks that seems to tell an enormous, emotional story, in spite of the fact that it doesn't contain one word! It would make a fantastic soundtrack to a silent movie.

One of those superb rock instrumental tracks which I think my fellow musical taster Delicado would describe as "Miketastic". Led by a series of driven electric guitar sounds over an overlaid backing of mellotron string and keyboard pads, it's richly expressive. The LP contains several strong songs and could well be his best yet.

Merely one of dozens of killer Simonal tracks (my favorite male Brazilian voice outside of Milton Nascimento), this one is a stellar example of joyous 60s pop, impossible to hear without seeing images of mini-skirt-clad girls dancing away on American Bandstand or something. Handclaps, a "pa-pa-pa-pa-pa" hook in the chorus, Stax-style horns, Simonal's deep, rich wonder of a voice, what more do you want?

This song has a folk-based sound on guitars and pop melodies. Its an awesome song for those who are into slow music. Those of you who are familiar with The Sundays can understand the sweet voice of Harriet Wheeler.

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.

If you ask any industry bigwig right now what�s gonna be the next big thing, they�ll all say the same, �Sea Shanties�. Every one of them. You think I�m joking? Well listen up ignorami because I�m not.

You might have noticed ripples rolling in from the Indie scene on both shores of the Atlantic, as The Coral, The Decemberists, and others, have romanticised the plight of the seafarer, but now Shanties are due to hit the mainstream, and hard. As I write this Richard X is in his London studio working on the final mix of �Salty Seadog�, an explosive slab of �neo-shant� purred over seductively by Rachel Stevens. Cathy Dennis, my old pal from our days changing skates at Norwich Rollerama, told me yesterday that she�s just sold three �Shanties� to some �top name artists�. For legal reasons I�m not allowed to say who, but let me assure you these are white hot names. The kind of names that kids get on their knees and pray to. So, you see, Shanties are big business. I�ve also heard that Jennifer Lopez, J-Lo, �Loopy� Lopez, Jell-O, whatever, never one to miss a passing fad, is rumoured to be changing her name to One-Eyed-Jenny. Make of that what you will, might just be street talk. Now what concerns me is the forthcoming release from Britney Spears. This you may have heard about. It�s called, �Wingin�, Blingin� and Not!�, and it�s a �fresh� adaptation of the 19th century poem/song, �Winkin�, Blinkin� and Nod� by Eugene Field. I know this song from the glorious version by Cass Elliot�s pre-fame folk trio, The Big Three. It�s less a shanty than a bewitching lullaby, intended to lull a child into restful slumber, as Winkin� and gang sailed not in rusting trawler through the bleak North Sea, but, �in a wooden shoe/off on a river of crystal light/into a sea of dew.� And it contains some of the most hauntingly beautiful oooh ooohs and aahh ahhs ever waxed, as Tim Rose and Mama Cass harmonise the rolling waves of slumber. Nevertheless because of it�s sea-faring theme (�we�re going fishing for the herring fish/that live in the beautiful sea�), it�ll probably get caught up in the nets of the inevitable �Sea Shanty Fever� cash-in compilations that will soon litter our shores like syringes and floor tiling. I wanted to draw your attention to it now before it gets beaten blue and bloody by the Spears, and rattles out over supermarket tannoys the world over.

By 1965, Brian Wilson's professional and personal lives were in such a state of constant panic that it was almost inevitable that he would turn to readily available forms of rock star relief. While his self-medication (and underlying mental illness) would ultimately render him into a poster boy for an imaginary DARE campaign, the early, merely marijuanic phase of his regimen yielded a brief but vivid string of almost absurdly gorgeous pop masterpieces. While a couple of these are permanently stamped into the forebrains of all radio listeners over a certain age ("God Only Knows," "Good Vibrations"), some remain almost unknown. Which brings us to "Wonderful," found on the Beach Boys box set, and remade a few years ago as part of the Don Was hagiography. It is a curious, brief (2 minutes) tune, austere in production (harpsichord and vocal) but staggeringly rich in harmonic interest. The melody evokes pure serenity and has no noticeable roots in any previous American pop style. Van Dyke Park's lyric is typically insane; what little one can make of it seems to dovetail with Wilson's growing religiousity, yet feels entirely physical, even pagan -- a sort of boy-loves-wood sprite nature idyll making the first movement of a really great ballet with set design by Maurice Sendak. Or something.

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.