excellent mood. simple music that slowly builds up as the lyrics become more intense.
"this is my favorite sad story,
forget me not or i'll forget myself
i've got quite a few things that i'm afraid of
sometimes i just won't face myself"

a very atmospheric song. a quiet intro that slowly builds up. the vocals are frail and mysterious, they feel frail and light. the whole song seems to fade at the end, one keeps expecting it to stop, but it goes on for over six minutes.
it's no "swamp thing" (the obligatory comparison) but a very nice tune nonetheless.

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.

Great slow screamo song about, well... Look at the title, you can probably guess.

The sweet soft voice of joanne Robertson makes a really cool contrast with the graspy and kinda dark voice of Dean Blunt plus the classical guitar playing chords that sounds like the end of a movie or a sunset. IDK it just sounds pretty cool, one of my favorites songs of my life.

I saw Global Communication play live in a church and they were, err, heavenly. This song probably showcases their celestial sound best. Weighing in at a mighty 14-plus minutes, it certainly takes time to get going. But that's the beauty. Like current darlings of the ambient music scene Boards of Canada and geniuses of the past such as Bowie and Eno, the wonder of the sound is in its slow-building intensity. Orchestral-like chords and heavy bass make this song an ambient must-have. But the whole album is a winner. Sell the fridge and let your food rot to own this one.

This song is an intriguing one for me, I can never get enough of it! It's one of the easy listening classics from the early 70's and is one of the most perfect examples of the "Now Sound" genre, recorded by a Hawaiian bar band led by lead singer Liz Damon. Interestingly, it is a cover of a song written by Chicago soul songwriter Johnny Cameron and it was originally recorded by Betty Everett on the Uni label. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Betty's original version, but unfortunately her version has never been put on CD.

This song has a delightfully slow tempo and dreamy, romantic lyrics that somehow seem timeless. To me, the song always seemed to be in an older style than its early 70's release date would suggest. The bridge features great horn playing and a wonderful descending bass run.

The original 45 on White Whale Records had a song called "You're Falling in Love" on the flip side, and that song too is a classic, in my opinion.

slow, soft, nice tune, soft rock

This is Shane MacGowan who wrote and sung 'A Fairy Tale of New York' with Kirst MacColl (and in the near future, Kate Moss, according to the papers). As far as I know this is his only other Christmas song.

Its a good song, although not as good as 'Fairy Tale'. Its slower and its late period Shane, so his voice isnt quite as strong as it once was, but its got bags of atmosphere, and his song writing is always great

It came out on an EP I've not seen very often.

Awesome band, can't get enough of them. Some pretty clever lyrics, and they've been featured in a lot of teen soaps, because their music tends to be the type you'd want to slow dance to or have a romantic movie scene with it as background music. Others good songs on this album: Pills, Nothing Like You & I, Trouble Sleeping and Weekends.

Great song. Starts off slow then gets gets a little heavier. The song seems to be telling a story (like most of the better songs on this particular album). Although this band is not to popular here (in the states) this particular album (Dear You) is worth checking out.

A slow number from Gainsbourg�s classic concept album, �Ah melody� opens with that picked acoustic guitar sound which the group Air have now imitated and made one of their trademark sounds. The arrangement is very bare, with the guitar accompanied by just a vocal, bass, and a spikey, funky drum beat. Later in this short track, strings and Bacharach-style horns slip in and out of the mix, before everything stops abruptly. It�s a great track from what I find otherwise to be a slightly disappointing album.

Proving once and for all that she could carry herself as a solo artist and sing a dramatic love song, Ms. Ross slowed down the tempo and sank her emotions into this wonderful tale of unending love and devotion. The original full-length version clocks in at 6:16 but was brutally chopped down to around 3:30 for radio airplay and some of the song's most intimate words are removed. Sadly, the shorter version was featured on her box set a few years back. (what were they thinking???!!!) Get your hands on the 6 minute version and enjoy a true classic american song by a great american artist!

Hell, I could have picked almost anything from the back catalogue of this band. Albatross is the stand-out track of an outstanding 4 track EP (entitled Holding our Breath) from early ’90s shoegazers Slowdive. Bemoaned, decried and hated by Britain’s Britpop-loving press, Slowdive’s beautiful multi-layered sound has latterly found a kindred spirit in much lauded post-rockers Sigur Ros. So maybe they were right after all…

Back to Reading – and there is no stronger example of the Thames Valley sound than Albatross. Layer upon layer of minor chords – almost symphonic in their beauty – Albatross swells to a powerful crescendo of highly processed guitars. Non-believers should check out double A-sides Catch the Breeze and Shine. The fourth track on the rather grand EP is a cover of Syd Barrett's (former lead singer of Pink Floyd) Golden Hair. Utterly remarkable.

A slow modal jazz blues from the record that defined modal jazz.
Miles - Trumpet
Julian "Cannonball" Adderly - Alto Sax
John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
Bill Evans - Piano
Paul Chambers - Bass
Jimmy Cobb - Drums
Like allways with Miles all musicians are outstanding. The modal form - in short very few chords and more based on notes in scales - whas new and fresh so the musicians had to be very creative and innovative. And They Succeded in making some of the best music ever created.

The song is actually a show tune - originally from 'Gypsy'. The only place I know this version exists is off Harry Connick's laser disc - featuring a live performance from '91. Anyway, if you listen to Mel Torme belt out this showtune, it sounds, well, like a showtune. I'm not a big fan. It's kind of dimply cheeked-cheesy. Harry sings it like it's an absolute standard. Slows it down, gets a little soulsy and smooths it out... perfect crooner jazz. Unfortunately there is a good deal of talking and tap dancing breaking up the song.

I really love Slowdive. I guess it's fair to say they're the most under-rated band of all time (yeah, I know you all have your own opinions but you're wrong and I'm right - okay? ).

So imagine my surprise when electronica masters Morr Music decided to compile a Slowdive tribute record last year, featuring luminraies such as Icelandic beauties Mum.

The album is a sheer joy - and highlights the quality of Halstead's original song-writing (before the layers of reverb and delay were added).
The stand-out track is Altogether, taken from Slowdive's second Creation release 'Souvlaki'. An astonishingly pretty but achingly mournful track is turned, by Morr's Styrofoam, into a trippy work of blissed-out happiness. Cool.

It's beautifully orchestrated. The first few notes set the tone of the song automatically. The introduction has guitar, and drums kick in slowly, making a punch to the ears. It makes me want to drive slowly through a desert (which I am from Arizona) while the full moon is out, windows rolled down and the warm summer air drifting through them. Amazing song. Really does hit home for me.

The song is a slow melancholy song with a hint of vengeance building up in the beginning. The song then switches to a breakdown, including screaming "baby" by Robert Plant the singer, gives you goosebumps.

This chap Mick Thomas is extremely sentimental, and if you want to get into him, you have to expect to have your heart strings tugged pretty regular. However, if your make up is unashamedly sentimental as mine is, you can really get into this very plain, open and beautiful style of singing.

This one is one of Mick's best - I haven't quite worked out the genders on it (some people think he is singing as a woman in this one) but he certainly takes the place of a rather downtrodden, unconfident person. The chorus is very delicately judged:
I'd have baked a cake
if I knew you were coming
but now that you're here
it's time we did some talking
who'm I trying to kid?
I knew you'd be coming around

The backing is slow, but expressive hawaiian guitars subordinated to the lyrics. Mick's voice itself is incredibly expressive - he's a big old chap, and his voice has a lot of power but also it seems to have the sound of experience behind it. He also has a brilliant range -I've tried to sing this many a time and it's very hard.

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

An even funkier hit single than "Sledgehammer" ? which had an epic groove but was too slow to actually dance to ? "Big Time" is a sardonic response to yuppie materialism with the funniest lyrics of Peter Gabriel's entire career. (The ending of the song, stopping just before the obvious punch line to all this discussion of how preternaturally huge everything in Gabriel's charmed life is, is a small moment of brilliance.) But the brilliance of the song is in the way it ties all that Gabriel had been learning about African percussion and Middle Eastern melodies ever since the days of his third solo album and ties them all into the service of a walloping great groove, making plain the connections between North Africa and Stax-Volt once and for all. The combination of talking drum and wah-wah guitar owes as much to Booker T and the MGs as it does to King Sunny Ade, which is both the key to "Big Time" and a clue as to why Gabriel's later, more explicitly world music focused albums just aren't as much fun.
(AMG)

This song is mostly carried by Leonard Cohen's voice, which meshes really well with his "longing/loving/musing on a wasted life" style lyrics. It moves really slowly, but that makes it nice.

For someone like me, the strangest thing about getting really into Roxy Music is the overt rockiness of a lot of their material. Even on this track, which is one more of their slower, more mournful numbers, there are a lot of very heavy rocky moments. They work pretty well though, and I'm certainly not complaining.

The atmospheric opening is breathtaking, and Bryan Ferry's vocal as he sings 'I've opened up my heart' is incredibly beautiful. The words and music seem to meld together in a very pretty way, but then before long the track mutates into a stomping, carnival like passage that clearly influenced Nick Cave to a considerable extent. Throughout the song there's this interchange between delicate, melodic verses and the rowdy, discordant section. Like another favorite Roxy track, 'Just like you', this song finishes with a clever chord change.

I'm sure many people would find 'Bitter-Sweet' much too dramatic and serious - perhaps some days I would too - but it does have an incredible elegance and style that makes me keep on listening.

Regular visitors to this site will know I'm partial to this song and to the era of this recording. But nothing could have prepared me for the mind-blowing grooviness this Petula Clark version from 1968. It has a 'slightly too slow to dance to' funkiness, kind of like the tastiest version of 'Watermelon man' you ever heard. The arrangement has piano, bouncy drums, peppy brass, flutes, and to top it all, some beautiful strings adding some complexity to what is basically a simple bluesy composition.

Isn't it great when you come across a track and just think 'this is the best thing ever'?

The entire CD is great - 28 of Petula's grooviest tracks. I recommend it!

Come on! how come nobody's recommended this yet?
great repetitive, driving string backing, fantastic hiccup-monkey-like vocal hooks, faboulous performance.
essential.
(stereolab has an absolutely fantastic slow twangy version of this on the album spacey double spiral. very, very highly recommended.)

An amazing, slow, funky cover of William Bell's classic electric blues. The whole thing serves as a great reminder of how instrumental the rhythm section of Al Jackson, Jr. & Duck Dunn was to "the Memphis Sound".

Seriously, who doesn't like Bruce. This has got to be his most beautiful song. If not please inform me of one that is better. If slower that the original version and it's performed with his wife. Just do me a favor and listen to the song.

This is a christian singer telling a story about Britney Spears, but it's about everyone who gets lost in the lights of fame and fortune. It's kinda an apology song, slow and sweet but it flows nicely. This song will make you feel a bit sorry for the girl we love to hate.

A different version than the one that appears on "Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space", this one features a slightly slower tempo, a full gospel choir and some lushly arranged strings and horns. Absolutely beautiful...a longer instrumental version also appears on the EP.

This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Opeth's music is powerfully passionate and it shows strongly in this song. Sounds like the kind of song that would be at the ending credits of a sad movie.

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin played on 3 tracks of Joe Cocker's 1st album. This is an old song which has been slowed down and Page's guitar work is really decent on this track. Cocker's voice (he was touted as the best blues singer in UK at that time by Eric Clapton)is pristine. Also check out "Sandpaper Cadillac" and "Do I Still Figure in Your Life" as well!

This is the title track from Stephen McCarthy's debut album. It features Piano, Bass, Drums and Sax with Stephen providing the vocals.

It shows the upbeat version of Stephen McCarthy's voice ... he also does some really slow mournful tracks on this album as well.

One of the reasons I like it so much is because Stephen made the album independently of any label.

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 spun this once on a friend's college radio show, and he said he had never heard a song with the bass mixed so heavily...honestly, the needle was so deep in the red we thought the Eisenhower-era console was going to explode. Once you get past that, you find yourself listening to an absolutely storming early reggae instrumental, with a beautiful slow, loping groove and a horn chart very reminiscent of a Stax session from around the same time. I met Lester Sterling in 1995 and talked to him about this song, he told me that he'd been trying to remember how it went for twenty years! Making me even prouder, the next time that the Skatalites came through town, they played it. The original Byron Lee LP that it appeared on has terrific naked lady cover art, to boot!

Well it bugs me beyond words that I can never find out which album this song came from but I love it nonetheless. It's the first C&C song I heard and one I loved the first time I heard it.

It's probably one of the most atmospheric songs I've heard that conjures up images of an autumn landscape, of someone wandering in a wood, feeling lost and staring at the sky. I don't know why the music makes me think of these things but it just does. The song is quite slow and calm to begin with, then picks up and crescendoes at the chorus/bridge and the guitar playing goes through some changes. It's a really unusual song and definitely recommended!

As well as being a lovely slow, dreamy romantic song it is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful tunes I've ever heard.

Instrumental song, that wakes you up and takes you for a fantastic trip, surrounded by glorious sounds of slow and genuine timing.
Excellent for listening as hi as you can, or after a good old fashion session of Tantric sex.
Its by far the most comforting song I have ever heard.

This is one of the best songs from Bedtime For Democracy. It's slower and more complex than other songs on BFD but it's very dark and very dark.
It's a great song.

Songs that are this good make life worth living. I’m listening to this now and I can’t believe quite how magnificent this song is.

It’s all the best bits of Slowdive, Stereolab and Seefel mixed into a gorgeous, cello-fused rhapsody. Oh, bring it on!

Pink Floyd are heard at their best with this piece of film music, keeping it simple and atmospheric. I find so much of their output over-ambitious, but here I think they got it right - a short melodic vocal section followed by a very simple organ chord sequence repeated to a very slow fade. This manages to sound gently, atmospherically organic and hypnotic where so often Floyd sound ludicrously overblown.

FROM THE 1966 'LP-FOR CERTAIN BECAUSE'-A HYBRID OF RUBBER SOUL AND THE BYRDS-COMPLETE BLURRED POP PERFECTION IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO MAKE A CUP OF TEA-SAD AND BEAUTIFUL AND A MILLION MILES AWAY FROM THE USUAL BEAT OF THE HOLLIES,IT SHIMMERS IN A SLOW MOTION 12 STRING DAYDREAM AND MAKES ME REALISE WHY I LOVE MUSIC AND WHY I AM STILL AWAKE WHEN I AM AT WORK IN 4 HOURS TIME-SEARCH FOR THIS AND WALLOW IN IT'S SPLENDOUR...........

Born in Broooklyn , NYC, the Puerto Rican blooded percussionist, has jammed and recorded with most of the jazz and latin legends, Charlie Parker, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Dizzy Gillespie and also sessioned with names such as The Stones, Average White Band, Bee Gees etc.
Cocinando Suave is an outstanding "descarga" , a jam session described by Ray himself as "... a slow burner" Listen and enjoy

slow, beautiful love song..... her voice is like butter... it almost makes you feel loved

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.

At the time a unique fusion of cold synthetic and a warmer organic fragility,following two consecitive number ones "Are Friends Electric"and "Cars" this track revealed the enormous potential of Numan,s futuristic vision.A slow piano led "ballad" with aching cello and violin parts ,sad and beautiful and if i must say utterly pleasant.

This song is a classic of the psychedelic era, by a group that later became known as the Peanut Butter Conspiracy. I first discovered it years ago on a 1967 compilation album called "West Coast Love-In" which featured about four of the Ashes' songs. It was "Dark on You Now" that really wigged me out-it is an awesome, slow-paced, moody number that features the spine-tingling vocals of Sandi Robison and the prominent 12-string guitar of John Merrill. The song is incredibly atmospheric and reminds me of a combination of the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane when both of those groups were in their prime. It is also at four minutes plus quite long for the era. I listed this as being recorded in 1967 but it may have been waxed in 1966...at any rate it is surely one of the great songs of the early psychedelic era.

I have the first Peanut Butter Conspiracy album which contains a re-recorded version of this song, harder rocking and not nearly as good. The original Ashes version was recorded as a 45 for the Vault label (which also issued "West Coast Love-In").

OMG, a song that actually has a beautiful sound and beautiful lyrics....you're kidding me? Ryan Adams has a soothing voice and beautiful lyrics to go with it. "All this waiting for the power, for some answer to this fire, sinking slowly the water's higher...Desire"

Steve McQueen is an almost faultless pop album. The first five or so tracks are quite awesome. Desire As comes in later down the album play list and it's got a lovely laid back groove. It builds slowly and Paddy McAloon's vocals are sweet. It's a nice track, make no mistake.

From the same album which spawned the mindblowing 'Im 80 Stockwerk' comes this superb track. It opens slowly, with a moody guitar/vocal introduction. Soon the heavy Burt Bacharach influence of 'Stockwerk' returns, as the strings come in and the song develops. The beat is funky in a gentle late-sixties pop kind of way. I have no idea what Hildegard is singing, but it sounds rather positive and uplifting, and I’m a big fan of her smoky voice.

Quite possibly the most beautiful soul ballad of the late 60s.... despite being a slow song it is incredibly uplifting.... it speaks of holding out for someone you truly love when temptation surrounds you, which fits perfectly with my mindset. "Just remember that lovers have sorrow.... just remember we'll make up tomorrow". Immensely touching, beautiful and timeless.

A great instrumental by Pete Moore, which is laid back yet gently funky at the same time with nice brass and a cool wah-wah guitar sound. The production and arrangement is typical of his other work - clean sounding with a slow introduction and a superb rhythm section. Check out what is probably his best known track - Catwalk, which was featured on the Inflight Entertainment CD.

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.

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 ...

No one talks about this band much. Not in my experience, anyway. It's all instrumental, so I guess they're not for people who are lost without vocals and lyrics. But have a listen - to me they really seem utterly superb. I would love to see them live.

I only have a couple of albums, but they're great. This one was released in 1996 (shit - that was 9 years ago!), but recorded in 1990. Really beautiful twangy surf-pop that fits in perfectly with the whole David Lynch mood that I find so appealing. The album is an intoxicating mix of energetic surf tracks and slower, more atmospheric ones like this. Their recent 'Local Warming' album is great too. Can anyone recommend me any more of their tracks?

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.

This is my favorite song of all time. I think it epitomizes Dream Theater's amazing style and musical prowess. If you listen to this song and it doesn't move you, then you may want to check your pulse because you might be dead.

Rude in every way. Throbbing with self confidence, the gossamer soft voice of Leroy Sibbles builds with the music to a prolonged orgasm of strings [ORGASM: a collective term for stringed instruments when used in the Reggae style]. This is slow all night loving, crying out for a ten minute dub version to be looped ad infinitum, the which, alas, does not exist.

'Fault Lines' is a beautiful, slow melodic number from Radiogram's debut album 'Unbetween'.

After listening to 'Fault Lines' and 'Unbetween' it came as no great surprise to discover that this band has enjoyed great success in roots music circles in Canada and the UK.

Strangely, the 'ethereal' sound achieved by the producer [Chon] reminds me of Jane Siberry's 'When I Was a Boy'.

I'm not usually too big on this kind of indie pop, but this is just gorgeus. Melancholy lyrics, slow picked guitar, piano, church hall ambience...This could have been just about a zillion bands, yet it manages to have a voice of its own.
Just a great song for me right now.

Sounds eerily similar to Magnet, though.

Some of the albums I like are good - a select few are really fabulous. This track comes from a fabulous album. Mirroring Slowdive's early 1990s soundscapes, Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros blend marimba, orchestra and effect-laiden guitar to create amazing tunes. Flugufrelsarinn is the pick - with a glorious multi-layered sound and an epic chorus. You must own this.

At first appearance, its not the most appealing of combinations, that deep flat voice accompanied by the unforgiving Harmonium alone. And it is quite stark, but at the same time strangely warm and hypnotic.
The song itself has a strong chorus and there are well played hooks. Slow, dark, magnificent. And it strangely is a pop song where the rest of the EP isn't.

Discreet Music is quite a lengthy CD. The actual piece Discreet Music is over half an hour long and evokes Eno's wonderful Music for Airports.

Also included are three related pieces and this, Fullness of Wind, is the first of three variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel. It's the best of the three - and well worth a bang.

Eno fragments, overlays and slows different parts of the original score to create a beautiful ambient work. Kinda Steve Reich meets Godspeed you Black Emperor (without the guitars).

Another track from pre-Dare Human League. This is the League's version of Ennio Morricone's Funeral March from Sergio Leone's 1969 western, Once Upon A Time In The West. Like the League's interpretation of You've Lost That Loving Feeling, the track a is slow-paced, electronic beauty.

It was originally recorded in the late 1970s and received its first public airing on the recently released The Golden Hour Of The Future.

This album, actually credited to The Future and The Human League, compiles recordings made between 1977 and the moment The Human League signed to Virgin Records in 1979. The Future is The Human League's first name.

Ooh, get me away from here, I'm dying,
play me a song to set me free..

Alternative folkish. The lyrics are kind of random, which I like. I like the general feeling of this song.

He's a psychobilly from the woods. His bearded figure foraged out to tell you what he saw, and he's pared his story down to the bare essentials so that his story is your story. "Over the hill, like always you know/ where Billy and Frankie and Henry and Joe/ they beat and broke me hard and slow/ to prove that I was nobody." His wound is your wound, and you follow the lyrics through as he wonders what gave him his redemption. And though you never thought of yourself as having found redemption per se, it seems like you must have. Essentially, Bonnie Prince Billy makes boys cry.

scissorfight are probably the heaviest band i've ever seen... their songs are incredibly intense, with deep, grinding bass lines, slow, thundering drums and aggressive vocals. granite state destroyer could be their theme song - it embodies both their musical aesthetic and their lyrical philosophy...

"weed, guns and axes / we don't pay our taxes / 'cause we don't exist / on any government list / ... / our battle cry / live free or die"

this is the song that hooked me on the band, and every time i hear the heavy yet pared-down opening riffs my tailbone starts shakin' and i can't stop.

After two years of insatiable and irresistable clowning around Madness slowed down.Grey Day is an ode to urban drudgery and the terrors of city living distilled into three minutes of downbeat melancholy but with all the Madness trademarks ,melody,humour and acute social observation .Such was their appeal at this time that the public simply moved with them into their new maturity and made this a top 5 hit in 1981

It has piano and bass and drums
It sounds amazing
I love it because it is slow and easy listening

The alt/rock cover band I front in my dreams plays this song at the end of every gig. Why? It's the perfect last-gig song; It's slow, it's soulful, and it pretends to the sophistication every college-age hipster does. The whole album Saturation has that feel to it, this song is just the perfect denouement.

An instrumental of monumental brilliance. Mixing religious moods with tight beats and strings really seems to work for me. The track opens quietly with piano chords and a bass guitar. A slow, funky drum beat comes in, and after this the track goes on all kinds of journeys, building up and down with doomy strings and psychedelic guitars. A really incredible way to set a mood...

One of the stranger tracks on R.E.M.'s strangest album -- it borrows the melody from Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and sets it in a slowly building landscape of buzzing guitars and electronic beeps (it's a lot prettier than it sounds, believe me). "You want to go out Friday and you want to go forever" -- does he mean go out for a good time, or go out permanently? Stipe ain't saying...

This is a perfect cover in every way, arranged by Daniel Janin. The heavy, driving bass, long whine of the horns, and thick drumming make a monster instrumental. Nothing like the Bacharach version. Nancy Holloway does an outstanding rendition of the lyrics, delicate in some places, husky in others, bleeding and pleading the whole way through. The slow, pained delivery of the lyrics almost seem to be off pace with the tempo of the beat, but the horn melodies punctuate and hold this song together. There are qualities about this song that I find impossible to describe. All that's left to say is that this song is so cool and mesmerizing that it's hard not to close your eyes, and let yourself slip into the textures of this song. I never get tired of it.

This song is recommended for anyone who likes Weezer's Undone (The Sweater Song), and doesn't know its true roots. This track happens to be the exact same song, with different lyrics, recorded many a year before Weezer came along. With a slow and steady tempo and half-sung, half-spoken lyrics, this chill classic is a must for any playlist.

Quite simply one of the greatest live albums ever, and this is the pick of the bunch. A slow, beautiful melody explodes into a slide guitar driven landscape. Thrilling.

Sad song a slow rythm

i love this song. it repeats itself without ever really repeating itself, and the melody is wonderful. it evokes images of being on a boat that is slowly leaving the harbour, gathering pace while your face is soothed by a warm breeze.

You may remember Annie from her/their housey dancefloor number of a year or two back "The Greatest Hit".

Well, they've come back with this, a sublime downbeat track with a lush-yet-delicate female vocal. Instrumentally, it reminds me of a slower, swinging P-funk number, quite minimal beats but funky as all hell (in a chill kinda way).

Absolutely beautiful -hard to find but worth looking.

Originally a limited-release 7" on Norwegian label Telle, and quickly licensed by UK house label Loaded -it appears on a sampler they released late 2002.

This 1965 cover of a then new songwriter Randy Newman was a moderate hit for Cilla in the UK reaching No.17. It is superbly sung and arranged, indeed Randy Newman has said on numerous occasions that Cilla's version of this is his favourite version of all his songs. Dusty also recorded this in 1965, taking it slightly slower than Cilla, but an excellent version nonetheless.

My favourite Canadian rock single of all time. It's a slow one, which starts with solo piano, picks up the acoustic guitar, then gets a heavy fuzzy guitar in the chorus that complements the melody perfectly. Then repeat! With an organ and full band. Followed by a nice guitar solo at the end! Add in some interestingly-placed key changes (which are necessary to keep it level) and you've got a masterpiece, says I. Needless to say, I'm the only person on the planet outside the artists themselves who remembers it ...

first of all: great soundtrack!
this track begins slowly with some percussions. and then the almighty horn section starts. i love them loud and dramatic. the way they are here. the rest of the track is also nice but looping 0:58 to 1:36 the whole day would do it for me...

Slow-burn, easy-listening intrumental. (Harder to find are the later UK versions by Alan Haven and 'The Now Sound of Vic Templar & His Mood Orchestra'.)

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be,
And I don't want to go home right now..

This song always leaves me feeling emotionally shaken, but in a good way. The lyrics are really powerful.

The sound is amazing; the guitar sounds great.
One of the other instruments used is a mandolin.

Definately one of my favourite songs.

You can hear this one over the closing credits of Francois Truffaut's "Une Belle Fille Comme Moi". My French is not good enough to understand the story behind who or what she is waiting for but it is heartbreaking nevertheless. CD song listings describes it as "Slow-fox-chante".

This is one of the funniest songs I have ever heard. I play it when I have people over listening to music and they get the glazed-over "too much information" look, and I need something to confound expectations. Always with the warning that they need to listen to the whole lyric before breaking down in laughter or confusion. I don't know how closely this english version follows the original Jacques Brel french, but each lyric is more ridiculous than the last! But I thought the Albert/morphine episode of Little House on the Prairie episode was one of the funniest things ever, so maybe I am just warped. This is my favorite Scott Walker album, with the other great Brel tunes "next" and "the girls and the dogs", great originals like "plastic palace people", and the haunting slow version of the Bacharach/David "windows of the world".

This song is living proof that whatever you try to do, if you execute it well, the rest can take care of itself. Serge didn't even bother writing a song (this is just an arrangement of Chopin's prelude in E minor). But the song is excellent, and stands up to (at least several hundred) repeated listens. There's a slow, jerky beat, and a heavy bassline. Birkin's delicate vocal works well with this backing, and the whole thing has a very hip feel.

This lost Jorge Ben stormer has a rawer sound and harder rock edge to it than usual during this, his greatest period. Relegated to an obscure soundtrack LP, it stomps all over the place at a slower, heavier and more menacing tempo than anything on "Ben" or "A Tabua De Esmeralda." The beat is anchored by that famous acoustic guitar sound, heavy bass and a loud cowbell, as Jorge yells out improvised nonsense in a hilarious mix of Spanish and English! "Rock Steady-O!!" Must be heard to be believed.

This one really has everything, to me. I'm not a connoisseur of the Beatles's 'White album', but I'm completely crazy about Ramsey Lewis's superb LP in tribute to it. The entire album has a delicious balance of crisp beats, electric piano, strings, and subtle touches of moog, played by the album's producer, Charles Stepney. I've chosen 'Julia' to recommend because I enjoy the way it changes mood - opening mournful and slow, and then getting very funky. But the entire album is really packed with winners; other highlights are a wacky and extremely funky 'back in the USSR', a superb 'Dear Prudence', and a great 'cry baby cry'.

"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)

This song is stone-cold, ultra-serious, odd, and mesmerizing. It's James Brown recounting a strange, anecdotal poem about a dream, in which he experiences the personification of heroin delivering a sermon. He rhymes accompanied by a subdued and melancholy backing band, playing lingering horn drags, and slow, lazy bass and drums. This is not your typical James Brown material, but it has an powerfully surreal and painful effect.

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.

starts off rather slowly, but picks up and is quite interesting. You have to be in the mood to hear it, otherwise it may be annoying.

From an excellent early hi-fi album, this is a hilarious slow blues number in which Alvino makes his steel guitar talk. In fact, he has a conversation with it. In spite of what you might think, this actually stands up to repeated listening, unlike the 'Talking Guitar' records made later in the sixties by Pete Drake, which I find harder to handle. Incidentally, I've never heard an Alvino Rey record I wasn't astounded by.

ooh, this is the kind of song that makes me want to simultaneously cry and break stuff... in a good way, if at all possible. starting off pretty and introspective, this song slowly evolves into a stirring anthem for every kid that ever found solace in music.

"you're spinning / your new 45s / all the misfits / and the losers / yeah you know you're rock'n'rollers / spinning to / your rock'n'roll"

this version is off the original cast recording, however the film version is equally excellent, and i would highly recommend the film to everyone. i gotta say, though, i was privileged to have seen the original off-broadway staging and... well, it was a pivotal night for me. hearing this song brings it all back, including [sappy moment ahead, brace yourself] the incredible rush of emotions that came over me when the play ended.

A.R. Knae is a one of a kind outfit. Part trippy alternative band, but with great pop sensibilities. First two albums were on 4AD and a had a slowcore / shoegaze kind of feel. This is but one of many standout tracks.

A very lengthy, dark instrumental by the undisputed gods of post-rock.
It's extremely moody, building up slowly as with their other work, into a wall of distorted guitars and violins.
You'd need a fairly long attention span to fully appreciate it though.

The Mr Wilson in question is Beach Boy Brian, a rather obvious lyrical homage,musically speaking its a whole differnt ball game ,a sutle pop song with a great chorus which improves with repeated listens ,its sound is closer to the prog pop of Genesis or Supertramp and of course Brian Eno who aided and assisted on this fine track from a fine album Slow Dazzle.

And now we're grown up orphans,
That never knew their names,
We don't belong to no one,
That's a shame

Said to be about the singer's past. His parents died when he was young.

Superb slow blues. Nice arrangement blending a rather distant-sounding orchestra with the very precise, restrained (yet very expressive) vocal and guitar. Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green were really quite something.

It's very 70's with a slow start but picks up and is really fun by the end. Diana DeGarmo sang it on American Idol, season 3.

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

No one's recommended this? This song is unreal in so many ways. First, it sounds like relaxing lounge jazz, then all of a sudden it changes into music for a Scooby-Doo episode, then the strange wailing comes in and you're floating through the deep void of space in an alternate reality without worrying about oxygen or the laws of physics. That is all within the first minute of the song. And then, and then, let's not forget the way the Brother kills on the organ, my friends. Then there's the sample appeal, most obviously this was slowed down for A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario", and recently reworked by Jay Dee, in that trademark handclap hitting, hypnotic head-nodding Dilla fashion.

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

Anytime there's touching lyric and piano involved, it's a recommendation - at least in my biasy --- The most as you'll ever go Is back where you used to know If grown-ups could laugh this slow Where as you watch the hour snow Years may go by

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.

It is hard to imagine a more musically wistful verse than that of this song. The swelling chorus augments it perfectly and very dramatically. This B side from the "Duke" era is surely one of Mike Rutherford's best songs, and one of the highlights of the post-Gabriel Genesis for those who appreciate the band's slower numbers.

Slow beaty groove, deep, dramatic, emotive. This obscure French library tune was recorded in early 70s for an avant-guard French version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', and originally released on a very limited "Musique pour l'Image" 7-inch.

'Passenger Seat' is slow, beautiful and envokes many emotions. It's definitely my favourite song by Death Cab For Cutie, it is the kind of track that you can listen to whether you're sad and need to cry, or hyper and need to calm down :)

It's slow but upbeat all at the same time! :D Genre is rock.

This is my favorite piece of classical music, so beautiful it often brings me to tears. You are strictly forbidden to go to your grave without having heard this song.

An otherworldly beautiful track. Will Gregory provides an excellent arrangement here: smooth, stylish, elegant, lush orchestration with Barry-esque cinematic soundsacapes, evoking images of a slow-motion nightflight. While there is a strong 60s influence, Gregory throws in some subtle, futuristic sounding digital artefacts giving it a slight neo-noir feel.

Martin Briley is the same guy who did that catchy 80's song "The Salt in My Tears," which is the only one of his songs that got much airplay. It's a shame because Briley is such a talented artist.

"Put Your Hands On The Screen" begins with a solo bass drum beat that immediately gets your attention, followed by Briley's moody guitar riffs (the style reminds me of The Eagles "Those Shoes"). As a whole, the song is melodic with a slow, strong beat. It's also timeless. You can't tell whether it was a song from the 80's or a song from 2004.

It's all about TV evangelists and I love the lyrics:

...The choir is singing
And everybody's feeling good
The phones are ringing
From Bethlehem to Hollywood
So move in closer
Let your faces feel the glow
There's a holy presence
Right here in the studio...

The album is now considered rare, but you can google and find a copy.

a very beautiful cover of the radiohead song done by norwegian-swedish jazz quintet atomic.
bittersweet.

An elegantly surreal trip through a dream world. Although this song has only eight lines (repeated twice), it manages to say an amazing amount within that short frame. Thom Yorke's wavering vocals and the slow and simple piano instrumentation strip the song down to its fundamental elements, allowing Radiohead's talent to shine through. From "I jumped in the river, what did I see" to "There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt," this is an amazing song. Every time I listen to it, it gives me a deeper sense of peace.

One of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, This new age/ambient track begins with an evolving synth pad that sings like angels' longing. Gradually, a slow sequence takes over, evoking the stillness and peace of the grave. This song might be described as going to the light - and arriving there.

An obvious selection for a favorite track but nonetheless truly deserved. I nearly wet my pants when I heard this track and immediately went up to the dj to ask what it was. I ran out to the record shops in town looking for it and finally found a copy a week later. That was exactly one year ago, this month, March 2001. Its repetitive cymbal/drum shimmy, combined with the samples of "I want you to get together" and "put your hands together one time" begins this journey of jazzy dancefloor heaven. Then the real electricity of the tune begins and yes its otherworldly. Slowly, the house beat teases its way into the song, until it can't take it anymore and the shit hits the fan!! If you don't know it, listen to it and see if you agree.

Al Cooper is a great overlooked songwriter.His album,Easy Does It,is a double length tour de force.He wrote more than half the tunes for this double LP,and played a myriad of instruments as well!This one is my favorite right now, mainly because it mixes well with my miserable winter. Instumentally, it has a sort of"Indo-blues"quality, with sitar(played by Mr. Cooper himself) and tablas against a lilting string ensemble.It's a song of lost love and it's dreaded illumination:"...As the sun it slowly rises, there is judgement in it's glare/And it seems too much to ask, to light a face that isn't there..." A real treat of a tune, and a must for any fans of american songwriter stuff with a touch of sad humor.Also check out his sprawling version of the Big Joe Williams tune "Baby Please Don't Go" and another original,"She Gets Me Where I Live".

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.

Citizen Cope has such a great voice, very soulfull. Salvation is a slow, stark, haunting song.

"But I just kept playing like I had nothing to lose, he turned the third on himself because the bastard knew...salvation..."

Very passionate, very beautiful violin

sweet and slow

David Axelrod leads ol' Lou through a pent-up take on the Donovan classic. Starts out slow, building momentum as it draws to a fantastic close.

From its folk song intro to the tweeting bird conclusion this is a master class in pastoral pop,unmistakably English and undeniably brilliant .
This is XTC,s finest moment and their biggest hit ,that tranquil introduction explodes into a football terrace style chorus becoming more euphoric at each turn slowly winding down to its resting place somewhere in a quiet church yard

This is my first recommendation, so I will go easy on all of you. The following description is from my website. (it is the only way to do the song justice):

This can only be compared to something like "Retro-60's Upside-down Elevator Muzak".
(although it certainly draws from 20's/ 30's Big Band escapism)
The thing is, if this actually were playing in an elevator, the people there would certainly perform an odd ritual of alternately:
a. Merrily tapping their foot, and then
b. Looking up at the speaker, frowning and befuddled.
This is a song, which back in my partying days, we would use as a soundtrack for the following activity:
We would put our tiny baby Alligator Lizard, Festus
(who was an inch long, head to tail, and smaller around than a pencil)
...we would put him on this cheap little multi-colored fiber-optic "fountain" and put the clear cube back over it.
We would then watch as this "fountain" would very slowly spin around, Festus aboard, with this completely absurd (but oddly beautiful) music playing.
This produced near-catastrophic laughter because he would be looking up at you with this little tiny frown, as if to say;
"what the hell is wrong with you people?"
To this day, I cannot properly answer that question.
R.I.P., Festus.

Additional info:
The sax is not my favorite instrument, but it is perfectly utilized here. It wavers between slightly obnoxious and smooth as silk.
What really make the track sweet, however are the unique guitar stylings of Snakefinger.

It's a cover of the Small Faces classic that's about as far removed from the original as it is possible to be. Instead of replicating the mod-beat pounder, producer Mark Wirtz slows the pace down, blends in all kinds of weird percussion instruments and gooes for broke with a kitchen sink finale. Some Small Faces rate this as bordering on blasphemy, I think it's an easy listening classic

My favourite House Of Love song, it's a mid-paced typically guitar-drenched track with an insistent percussive backing and that low ostinato guitar riff with the little flourish in it. It has lots of minor chords which give it a rather gloomy feel (like many of my favourite songs). Actually their later song "Feel", which was one of the '90s best, could be "Shake And Crawl" slowed almost to a literal crawl ...

from the marriage of figaro good version slower

I've been really connecting with this lately. It's mellow and easy to listen to, melancholy.

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

More of a trance song that goes from slow to upbeat. Great transitions. Listening to this song puts me into a better mood and makes me feel more energetic.

Just a great slow blues. Ellington - what a pianist! 1966 - what a great year!

Unreal.
First of all, there's Jill Scott. With as much respect I have for her songwriting and singing abilities, I've never thought of her as a musical genius. Her music was, and stays, consistently the best soul music being released. And I'm sure that in twenty years I'll still have great fondness listening to her tunes. Yet, I don't hesitate to state that she is not a genius.

"Slowly Surely" is a great track off Jill Scott's "Who is Jill Scott: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1" album. The track, itself, is a departure from the rest of the album in composition. It is lyrically and melodically experimental, and deosn't perform as a very commercially radio friendly tune. Having said that, this is probably my favorite track on this sublime album.

Theo Parrish is a genius, however. There are no two ways about it. His music is difficult to understand. His path to fame and stardom seems as intentional as Donald Trump's efforts at staying unnoticed. He has a tendency to compose electronic dance music with beats so slow, they'd make Big Daddy Kane half step. This isn't a salmon swimming upstream. This fish is out of the water wondering why he can't fly.

The remix, in the commercial music industry, has been tainted ever since the digital age. Starting off as a tool for DJs in night clubs, a track would have been remixed to have extended beats in the beginning and the end of the track. Thus, early remixes were plainly titled, "Extended Version". However, remixes on commercial radio are merely an effort to milk the popularity of whatever is popular at the moment. These remixes usually include a guest vocalist singing, or rapping, along the original track. Another version of the remix is the time filler. When albums were made with consideration to program times for opposing sides (as well as cassette tapes), remixes were often added when material was scarce. This practice would eventually wipe out the addition of the "Reprise" track. These remix tracks were usually the chosen radio friendly track with extra production on top of the original track.

The remix for "Slowly Surely" is none of the above. It is very unique as it's own being. It pulsates to it's own heartbeat. It moves on it's own, in no predictable direction, as if Theo Parrish had little control over his artistic output. That's his genius. That's his art.

I've been in love with this tune since I heard the superb instrumental version of it on 1990's 'Wild at Heart' soundtrack. I'm a big fan of Les Paul and Mary Ford's records - the combination of immaculate multitracked guitars and spooky, clear vocals is a real winner for me. I only found out about this recording quite recently. It really is stunning. It's slow, plodding along while Les's intricate but very cool guitar lines twinkle around over the top. This song makes me feel very nostalgic, although I'm not sure exactly what for. The lyrics really add something to the atmosphere - 'tell me where do they go/those smoke rings that blow each night'. Anyway, please ignore my inadequate description and listen to this exquisite, perfect recording.

Weird song. Great Song. Taylor Hollingsworth sings this one and its the perfect closure to the great album that is Outer South. It's sad and slow and yet it is able to make you smile and sing along.

An absolutely amazing song that spans many many many genres including ambient, metal, rock, and all out wackiness. Truly gives a great idea of the depth and breadth of Devin Townsend's genius.

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.

Different interpretation of the Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra classic, notable particularly for the Slowdive 'sound'. The song starts with a faded chorus of fazed guitars - and it's a fairly glorious mix of chiming guitars from them on.

Songsmith Neil Halstead had some difficulty adapting the tune to Slowdive's intricate multi-layered sound. As such, the final part of the tune, where the song switches between ‘daffodils’ and ‘some some velvet morning’ has been cut.

I think this is likely to be one of those songs you might accidentally come across on the radio or in a movie soundtrack, you don't know who performs it and you don't care because it just takes you in when you listen to it. You can't use words like "amazing" or "breathtaking" to describe it. It's just simple and beautiful and you'll love it if you like slow-paced songs with a acoustic guitar melody that sound really dreamy and wonderful.

This plays during a very creepy/hot sex scene, go figure, from David Lynch's "Lost Highway". The song isn't on the soundtrack and I had to hunt it down seperately.

The mixture of the female singer's flowing voice with the slow guitar, following a step behind, is soothing and gorgeous.

It is a love song but one of sitting lost and alone "at the breakers" waiting for either love to return or to "lie with death, my bride"

After nearly three and a half years of speculation, I finally bought this album in the fall of 2003. Wow. As soon as I popped it in, I knew that it was Monster Magnet, but I knew I had a new band to add to my favorite list. These guys rock, period, they're in the lower upper class of hard rock (with upper upper being reserved for such acts as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Dream Theater), hell I don't even want to categorize them, as this would place a restriction on their potential (in much the same way the Jewish cannot write the word "God," and Muslims cannot draw Him, according to friends I have of those faiths). The song starts off like a fireside story, we've got a low bass beat, a great little intro compliments of Ed Mundell. Wyndorf's space, money, power, sex and religion influenced lyrics become prevalent as soon as the song begins, and we are launched into a maracca, tambourine, and 70's/80's hard line influenced metal trip. Ned Raggett's characterization of an 'acid folk' edge to the beginning of the song gives it good justice, and Space Lord slowly cranks up the volume, settling down once, and then cranking it up again, ready to conquer worlds with the hard rock edge that has kept Monster Magnet in the limelight, but away from the new age/pathetic sounds. Upon listening to this song, we think "classic rock," not because of it's refusal to metamorphose (or rather, transmogrify) into today's rock, but because of it's influence from the aforementioned 60's - 80's hard core, unfiltered, instrumentally diverse sound (including alternate percussive effects from tambourines and maraccas, as well as keyboard infiltration that would make The Doors jealous), which is uniquely self-complimenting, orchestrated, and coherent. Space Lord deals with becoming (unconsciously) corrupt with power, wealth, and ultimately desire (Now give me the strenth to split the world into, yeah/I've ate all the rest, and now I've gotta eat you), which may delineate the stereotypical American 'powertrip,' hence the album's appropriate name. If you are looking for unrelenting excellent rock, which isn't too harsh to listen to, but most certainly isn't along the lines of Phish or Weezer (in any respect at all), I recommend this song, album and any others one could get one's hands on. 5 out of 5 stars for its genre.

A refreshing twist to this familiar Ben E. King hit. The song marches on to a simple bass line, military style drums and light percussion, slowly progressing with the addition of violin and tambourine. It may be more simplistic, but I prefer this version over the original.

Slow and haunting music, accompanied by lyrics that really hit the heart. I like it so much because of what I see when I hear it, I can just see the song in picture format in my head. That sort of thing doesn�t happen often. And who doesn�t connect to unrequited love?

originally written for marianne faithfull, but i prefer tom waits`s own rendition of this song.
a slow tango-esque piece with a sublime lounge band backing(if you can call a something featuring a banjo player a lounge band)and half-whispered, half sung vocals. i really appreciate the sound of the "big time"-album.
the backing music in the chorus of this song never fails to conjure up images of the tango band from "a nightmare before christmas" in my head, due to the similarity of the sound. did danny elfman fall in love with this song during the composition of the soundtrack, or does he and waits share a common, different source of inspiration? if so, i`d love to hear that song..

waits revisited the musical ideas of this song for "it`s over" (an outstanding song in it`s own right)from the "liberty heights" soundtrack, by the way. it`s always interesting to hear him experiment with and explore his own compositions, but then again i`m a sucker for variatons on musical themes..

It's fantastic that this track has come to light. I believe its story is this: Nico auditioned for the film 'Strip-Tease' in 1962, and recorded this song, but eventually Juliette Greco was chosen instead, and so this recording was lost. To me it's a remarkable document - although I knew Nico had made a brief appearance in 'La Dolce Vita', I never knew she had recorded with Gainsbourg. The track itself is a delicate slow number with prominent latin percussion and bongo sounds, similar Serge's other early 60s film work, such as 'L'eau a la bouche'. Nico's voice is just as distinctive as it is on her famous records with Velvet Underground, but in this context it sounds different. I like it when things like this come to light, bringing together two people I admire - like Astrud Gilberto singing Morricone, Scott Walker singing Schifrin, or Julie London singing Margo Guryan.

I loved this song the moment I heard it. The melody is really nice, and Leonard Cohen does his standby trick of singing slowly and hauntingly about mysterious women wearing "rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters." Very romantic in a seventies way. if you like Bob Dylan's voice, you'll probably like Leonard Cohen, although the content is different.

its slow yet has alot of rhythm

Slow but haunting and bluesy tune about a gal dying from lung disease

'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.

Considering the number of songs P5 recorded, they have made very few ballads. It's a shame, because Maki's voice is so beautiful in slow, dramatic songs. 'The Awakening' is the first song on 'Romantique '96' (after a short opening-collage) and it still amazes me because it's such a strange way to start an album. I think it's the most beautiful melody Konishi has ever written.

This is the last tune on the disc "Make REady" by Scott. It is a gorgeous slow love song with a killer refrain and title; "The Hardest Part of Hurting Is The Hope". It features Scott's voice as well lap steel and acoustic guitar. They fit together so well--it is like they are a single performer. It is a great finish to this wonderful disc. It makes me want to start the song all over again [I think I will--grin!].

Ramatam, who walked the earth in the early '70s, were an annoying '50s-influenced hard rock band who nevertheless managed to kick off their second LP with the mostly acoustic two-parter listed here. The first half is slow, slightly off-kilter and full of sharp harmonies, while the second part is the most wistfully resigned paean to lost love this side of the late John Phillips. The whole thing is string-drenched and utterly lovely.

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

This song is one of the best songs I have ever heard...actually the whole album is great! Its Ben and his keys and a background orchestra in this song. Anyways, I believe the song is about how he knows he is the luckiest because he knows how perfect him and his wife belong together.

Beautiful slow jazz funk. Funky bass, floating flutes, trombone, rhodes piano. This entire album is a classic. You've probably heard some of it somewhere before, it's been sampled by lots of people from DJ Vadim to Buck 65. Originally recorded as library music and then used in the British TV series the Hanged Man, this record is one of my favorites.

Of the thriller/cop/detective/crime soundtracks, this is maybe my tops. Slow, plodding, and sparse, with beautiful and short dalliances of sound.

one of my favorite sonic youth songs. it slow and beautiful and reminds me of rainy days.

Doo-Wop one hit wonder that charted in '67. Perfect for slow-dancing.

I was never a Pulp fan, and I'm still not exactly a huge one. I never quite got why songs like 'Do you remember the first time' and 'Common People' were so great. I don't mind those songs now, but they never hit me in the way that 'This is Hardcore' did.

It's hard to explain why the dramatic, slightly ridiculous tone of the song appeals to me so much. The song is built around a sample from 'Bolero on the moon rocks' by Peter Thomas, the German film composer, and I think it's used very well - the sample adds texture and atmosphere, but doesn't dictate the song. I enjoy the way things develop at a slow pace, with new musical sections still being introduced late in the song. I'm very fond of all of these, but the slow, dreamy section that comes in at around 4:15 is particularly appealing, with its lush and strangely 80s sounding backgrounds.

Utter, utter genius!

so anyway, this makes me think of being sixteen, and walking slowly through a cemetery at dusk...uh, what it really reminds me of is pacing my room, wishing i had the energy to trek to the cemetery. classic early cure. on the first cd i ever bought.

I'm into blonde women, always have been. Perhaps I share a kindship with the late great Jeff Buckley. I can just imagine where he's coming from, standing on stage, electric guitar amped to rock, all that power in his hands, peering out through the crowd into a yard of blonde girls. How wonderfully empowering! Just think of it? A young man in his prime slashing power chords in front of a legion of women, and leaving this song to remind us of what it's like to live this mythical life. I sing along, dreaming of what it would have been like as a rock star, what kind of pleasure could I derive from the world?

Jeff has certainly proven and disproven his own stylings from the seminal album, Grace, to the somewhat obscure and fragile My Sweetheart the Drunk. What could have been still reverberates through my mind when listening to this song in particular. Its compelling simplicity and catchy chorus, "very sexy, very sexy, okay, okay" beckons my blonde girlfriend to break out into song. The slow thrust of crunching guitars, standard rock 4/4 time, heavy drums sitting on every beat - it's almost glam, almost British invasion, almost cock-rock, but Buckley style. And yes, very sexy, very sexy. Trust me guys, girls will love this song!

More grist to my mill that there are lots of really good things going unsigned in the easy listening-folk- pop world - the fella that wrote this sits very close to me where I work. A really nicely-put together, low key pop song with a beautiful vocal melody. Available for FREE dammit at http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Random_Bruce/. 'Sometimes anything' and 'had to be there' are also well worth a listen.

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.

Nancy Sinatra joined the Attack Records family with the 2004 self-titled release, "Nancy Sinatra". She contacted artists that she and her daughters admire such as Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker, and Thurston Moore among others and found that these artists were also fans of hers and were eager to collaborate with her on the new album.

This song is U2's contribution to the album. Bono and The Edge wrote the song and Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen provided bass and drums on the recording.

The song is a beautiful slow jazzy ballad in which the lyrics compare the good things in life as shots of "happy" and the harsh moments as shots of "sad".

This entire album is beautiful and fascinating. I seem to be a sucker for rather melancholic, afflicted, and intoxicating sounds, so here I go again. The first half of this song is slow and haunting, I don't understand Portuguese, but the tone sounds like a filmic remembrance of tragically lost love, with yearning lyrics paired to beautiful piano-led orchestration . In the middle of the song there is a break of dark, doomy strings, followed by the second half, which is a quicker tempoed revisit of the first half, taking the form of a psychic climax.

The timing and the rhythms on this song always blow my mind. Julian Casablanca's slurred, lazy voice drips of heartache and underneath him are these incredible layers of guitar and drums. Dense and slow and sloppy, but somehow still precise. This song is very urban. It is grime, and hopelessness and laziness, all at once. The best track on an amazing album, and proof that they deserved all the hype.

Probably the slowest music I have I guess, from an album called The Blue Moods of Spain . Its dream-pop for evenings full of hope, or comforting music for days when all falls apart.The vocalist is not the worlds best , but because hes so natural it just adds to the mood I find. Its hard to pinpoint exactly what I like the most about it ,its just one of those songs u fall in love with and never grow away from.

Villians is another one of those songs that sticks in your mind and has you bobbing your head without even realizing it. The hard crunching guitars sink to the bottom of your soul, and just as you feel yourself grooving the crazy vocals come together with the unbelievable drum beat and form a rythm that just screams MOSH!!! Although the song is amazing the mixing is what brings out its strength. At each second you feel yourself connected to the song then it changes up and goes slow, and in a few seconds builds up to a beat that gets you so pumped you feel like fliping tables. If you ever need a song to get out some aggresiion I definitely recommend this one.

This track is so beautiful. I love songs that combine male and female voices, and this song is just so moody, and slow and perfect.

One of my favourite tracks off Coldplay's second LP, this song is definitely not "Clocks", but that's a good thing. This is a slow track, one that's good for listening to on a rainy afternoon when you're feeling lethargic, or in the dark when you're feeling pensive. The guitars and percussion on this one are plaintive and comforting at the same time; the lyrics are plain and simple, yet full of meaning; and anyone who has heard Chris Martin sing and has run out and bought a Coldplay album won't be turning this track off.

Anytime I see old records that were initially rejected by the record company, I know something cool must be going on. This song is no exception. Highlighted by a slow, sultry, minor key bridge (that was later sped up in the commercial version), this is probably my favorite recording of the 20th century.

San Diego's Ryland Bouchard could be one of the most gifted musical persons to have ever lived. Bouchard's creativity is astonishing. With only three albums, Bouchard (The Robot Ate Me) has created a universe that tells stories of various images.
His first release, They Ate Themselves, was released in 2002. It is a story strange sounds ranging from different musicians. Ranging from Radiohead to Neutral Milk Hotel and maybe even The Microphones. Among the 17 tracks there is great variety and creativity; this makes it hard for one to pick a favorite track. After owning the album for a while now I think I've come to a conclusion. Entitled "We Ate Eachother," this song displays peaceful picking while Bouchard sings quietly and very saddened. It describes the basic concept of the whole album. The lyrics are also both descriptive and secretive.

Anyone who likes Radiohead, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Microphones and anything on K Records, I strongly suggest listening to The Robot Ate Me.

I get the impression that even a lot of Pavement fans don't know this one very well, presumably because it's on a pretty duff album (wowee zowee). However, it's one of my absolute favourite pavement songs. Musically it is very quiet - it's essentially just an acoustic guitar, though the funny noises the band make are quite entertaining. However, I really love the structure: there's nothing that can be called a verse or a chorus there - he just rambles on until he is finished. It has the full extent of Pavement's lyrics - completely ridiculous, funny, and sometimes very moving. Plus, as ever, malkmus' weirdy voice is a joy to listen to. So, if you like the pavement style - slow, quirky, funny, and often amazingly beautiful musically, and you don't know this one, you should really look into it. There's a brilliant solo version of it you can get off Napster (legally - Pavement distribute this stuff) - search for "we dance acoustic" - means you don't have to cough up for the album too.

Proved to be the most relaxing song ever. Its beautiful and the beat is slightly slower than a resting heartbeat.

beautiful.

By one of those beautiful quirks that only occours when you befriend the staff of secondhand shops (and therefore get to hang around, sampling anything that sounds potentially interesting), I discovered this Danish Band yesterday. Well, actually I bought their 1994 album "Flying" yesterday, and discovered it today.

Inhabiting an area that to me is Beach Boys meets Big Dish with flavours of Crowded House blended with a little general indie, the album is remarkably enjoyable after one play. Kind of like a superior version of the Rembrandts. And one of the tracks that struck a particular chord was this one, a slowish number, but only one of several outstanding tracks. I really liked another slowish number "You are" a lot too.

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

From 'Some Lessons', this song is slower than I usually like, but is really good and almost hypnotic.

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.

A sensuously haunting track, from the equally haunting soundtrack of a notoriously haunting film. Sparse, but slowly layered and building with anticipation. Don't know much about the late Paul Giovanni, but he surely hit a home run with this entire soundtack.