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search results for “reminiscent”
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You searched for ‘reminiscent’, which matched 39 songs.
click - person recommending, year, performer, songtitle - to see more recommendations.
(Uh-Oh) Get Out of the Car  performed by The Treniers  1954
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Very strongly reminiscent of Etta James' "Rock With Me, Henry", this deals with a subject dear to all of us menfolk, that of having to turn a mistreatin' woman out and makin' her walk home!

from the single (Uh-Oh) Get Out of the Car (Okeh 7050)
available on CD - They Rock! They Roll! They Swing! (Legacy/Columbia)



All My Friends Who Play Guitar  performed by Starflyer 59
Recommended by Kilbey1 [profile]

Melancholy jangle tune with sweet, haunting melody; discussed the trials and tribulations of those little bands that slip under our musical radar, however worthy. Reminiscent of garage band struggles, all who picked up a guitar in school in hopes of making it big. For those who make it big, hundreds - no, thousands - of bands are still waiting to be heard.

"And never thought it'd go this far / We never thought that / We'd ever go far / Like all my friends who play guitar / Know who we are? / We never go far / Like all my friends who play guitar"

(btw, I had no idea these guys were Christian; never sounded like any Christian music I heard!)

from Leave Here a Stranger


Baoba  performed by Claudia  1971
Recommended by gregcaz [profile]

Great track. Entirely scat-sung, steady midtempo funky groove, with that distinctive Odeon Studios sound, and the bridge breaks into a waltz-time section, with Claudia's high-pitched vocal effects strongly reminiscent of something off the Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack album. Claudia's a big collector's favorite among Brazilian femme singers, since her stuff's consistently strong, she's got this great strong expressive voice, cool material choices including a number of exclusive Marcos Valle songs, and NONE of her early 70s Odeon sides have been issued on CD.

from Jesus Cristo (Odeon MOFB 3668)




  delicado: Yes! I picked up a Claudia compilation LP recently in Brazil. It was all great stuff, but this was really the standout track.
Beside Me  performed by Mojo Men  1969
Recommended by Swinging London [profile]

This is a very beautiful track.

Very 'West Coast' late-60's sound. Quite reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane.

Very sweet, very melodic/melancholic.

Strings. Strong female lead vocal.

I originally heard it many years ago on a vinyl album by a group called 'Mojo' which is what The Mojo Men were apparently calling themselves in 1969.

I searched for the song for years, confused by the change of name & eventually found it on their CD compilation.

It's another one of those songs that should have been very succesful, but was just stuck in the middle of a flop album

from Sit Down It's The Mojo Men (Sundazed)
available on CD - yes (Sundazed)



Cash Box  performed by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires  1970
Recommended by tinks [profile]

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!

from Tighten Up! (Dynamic)
available on CD - Reggae Hot Shots, Volume 1 (Jamaica Gold)


clair  performed by Singers Unlimited  1975
Recommended by klatu [profile]

A nice a capella version of my favorite Gilbert O'Sullivan song, in a very full arrangement reminiscent of the Swingle Singers, with whom they share a member. Lyrically, the song is an antidote to the sleazy feeling I get from Rod Stewart's "tonight's the night". I used to think they shared a theme of pedophilia until I listened closer. I got this on a Japanese collection put together by Toru Hashimoto, probably the greatest compiler ever. He puts together all the Cafe Apres Midi (perfect!) and Free Soul (quite nice) collections. They can be had for $25 a pop from the Dusty Groove site, which seems high for a single disc, but they are all close to eighty minutes and packed with great songs which have lead me to several thousands of dollars worth of related purchases in the last few years. Gilbert O'Sullivan's stuff is worth looking into if you have an ear for it, and there is a nice cheap two disc collection on JVC Japan.

from A Capella II (MPS)
available on CD - MPS for Apres-midi Grand Cru (MPS/Jasrac (Japan))


Claudie's Stockings  performed by Jerry Goldsmith  1971
Recommended by bobbyspacetroup [profile]

Goldsmith's score to this (supposedly forgettable) action film is mainly in a Lalo Schifrin/John Barry bag. This track even recalls Les Baxter's best work of the era. It begins with the main theme reminiscent of Barry's "Ipcress File." I think they even use the same instrument, the cymbalum. The main them then breaks out into this beautiful, lush orchestration topped with electric organ, a funky electric bass, and a very nice backbeat. It totally sounds like "Que Mango"-era Baxter. Anyway, this track and really the entire score are very cool in their own right.

from The Last Run
available on CD - The Last Run/The Wild Rover (Chapter III)



Davy Jones's Locker  performed by Flaming Stars  1995
Recommended by delicado [profile]

A superb instrumental, featuring a nice organ sound and the sublime twangy guitar of Johnny Johnson. I believe Johnny has now left the Flaming Stars (who are led by Max Decharne, once of Gallon Drunk), which is a shame - he is a masterful guitarist. This is a rather dramatic, moody track, opening gently and building up nicely with fast strummed guitars. While I doubt this is deliberate, the overall effect is reminiscent of some of the tracks on Morrissey's guitar-heavy 1992 album 'Your Arsenal'. Anyway, like much of the band's other material, this is a nice hybrid of 50s and 90s styles.

from Hospital, Heaven or Hell EP, available on CD (Vinyl Japan)



Doop-Doo-De-Doop (A Doodlin' Song)  performed by Blossom Dearie  1958
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Blossom Dearie is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated jazz vocalists of all time. Dearie's phrasing and piano playing within the small group arrangements on this album of standards are very, very reminiscent of Mose Allison (who just so happens to be another of my all-time favorites). On this track in particular, she delivers a very charming performance, combining the innocent ingenue with the blase urbanite.

from Once Upon a Summertime, available on CD (Verve)




  delicado: I love Blossom's stuff as well. Haven't yet heard a bad record by her. She did an unusual record in 1970 called 'that's just the way I want to be' on Fontana. It's available (coupled with 'give him the ooh la la) on a japanese CD, 'whisper for you'.
  tempted: Oh, and "London in the Rain". What a fabulous singer!
  egbdf: I have been hearing about a Japan CD which would be a reissue of Blossom Dearie's 1976 American double LP entitled 'My New Celebrity Is You'. No one however can locate it. If you can help please E me. Best Regards, egbdf.
  klatu: Definitely a favorite! I also love to 70 album "that's just the way i want to be" and think the version of "both sides now" blows away the Judy Collins. Also a huge fan of the schoolhouse rocks stuff "unpack your adjectives" and especially "figure eight".
  singjohn: A Doodlin' Song (not to be confused with "Doodlin'") apparently had an effect in it's time. Peggy Lee recorded it. It was even featured in an episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show where Mary Tyler Moore and Dick did a little dance number to it in their living room for their party guests! This song is perfect for the Blossom Touch! Cute simple lyrics and melody make the tune perfect for Blossom's child-like voice and bouncy delivery. She was the voice of several of the old Schoolhouse Rock shorts that used to play in Saturday mornings in the '70's. She is also an accomplished pianist and played on many of her own recordings. Another fave Blossom tune: "Rhode Island Is Famous For You"
  tinks: jesus, any version of "both sides now" that isn't by judy collins blows away the judy collins version. give me dick hyman any day!
  norfy: check out-'both sides now'by the veteran golfer tony jacklyn-from his excrutiating late 60's album-swings into...'-a superb psych-crooning version up [or down there]with william shatner and tony bennett's 'eleanor rigby' and richard harris!! judy collins entire existence is a crime.
  mpanzera: Thank you, Tinks! I *love* Blossom Dearie, but hadn't heard that track yet. I recently bought the eponymous CD (with a great picture of her in glasses at the microphone...), and must have played "Tout Doucement" about a thousand times.
  splurben: can anyone identify the male voice singing behind blossom on this track?
  andy: I believe the male voice is Cy Coleman, the song's composer. I have only another website comment's word for that, but it does sound like him.
Ears  performed by Cinerama  1998
Recommended by tinks [profile]

The first line says it all: "I've gone as far/as I can go with this crap". A classically lush pop tale of infidelity. This bitter duet featuring Emma Pollock of the Delgados has a brooding feel reminiscent of great orchestral pop of the past, especially that of Barry and Bacharach.

from Va Va Voom, available on CD (SpinART)




  delicado: I was a huge 'Wedding Present' fan, so I really should check this out, thanks.
  tinks: absolutely, cinerama's first album is excellent. quite a bit different from the wedding present, but very good in it's own way.
Eleanor Rigby  performed by Tony Bennett  1968
Recommended by tinks [profile]

What can be said about this? Long before Tony was on MTV Unplugged, he tried this misguided attempt to 'get hip with the kids'. Funny thing is, I love it. He doesn't sing this so much as emote it. It's reminiscent of some of Shatner's finer moments. I should also note that the album is worth seeking out for the uber-psychedelic cover art alone.

from Tony Bennett Sings the Great Hits of Today (Columbia)



Eque  performed by Duke Ellington  1968
Recommended by delicado [profile]

Taken from his exquisite Latin American Suite, this is an unusual sounding track to me. Mid-tempo, with an unrelenting bossa nova style beat, the action is shared between the piano and various horns and saxophones. I guess it's the strange discordant tones that take this track higher for me. They remind me of some chords I've heard in the more adventurous Brazilian pop music of the late 1960s - basically taking what is fundamentally a sweet sounding, warm chord, and overlaying notes that provide a darker, more forboding feel.

Adding to this, the punctuating horns and reeds give the whole thing a gently groovy feel that's reminiscent of quirky 60s soundtrack music. Really cool stuff, and I recommend the whole album.

from Latin American Suite, available on CD


Falling Free  performed by Bert Kaempfert  1971
Recommended by delicado [profile]

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.

from Now! (Polydor)
available on CD - Easy Loungin' (Polydor Germany)



For a Few Dollars More  performed by Al Caiola  1967
Recommended by delicado [profile]

A wickedly funky and twangy take on this classic Morricone theme. The beat is very cool - funky and surprisingly insistent, reminiscent of some of the best tracks on Howard Roberts's albums of the time on capitol. This track is from the interesting LP 'King Guitar', which also yields a Vinnie Bell-esque 'watery guitar' take on 'Sleepwalk' and a version of 'Tiny Bubbles' done in Latin boogaloo style.

from King Guitar (United Artists UAS 6586)



Hobart Paving  performed by St Etienne  1993
Recommended by geezer [profile]

A lesson in how to make despair sound appealing and seductive. An under played female vocal relays the vision of an unhappy soul to surreal lyrics and lush orchestration and all distilled and inspired into the name of a building firm seen on the side of a van "Hobart Paving" ,a real building firm still in existence .
Reminiscent of Brian Wilson and The Zombies at their most reflective and a french horn solo that will give you a lump in the throat .

from the single Hobart Paving
available on CD - Smash The System



  delicado: Alright geezer? Yes - a really lovely track. It took me several years to be converted to the band but I'm hooked now.
  psansom: Hi - I have been seeking the Hobart Paving track, specifically as you mention, the one with the lovely french horn solo. I bought the St Etienne \"So Tough\" CD but the version of Hobart Paving on that has a different solo, a really wishy washy harmonica type event. Are you able to let me know please on what specific St Etienne CD is that best version of Hobart Paving with that french horn solo? Many thanks - Peter (email: [email protected])
I've Seen To Dream  performed by Harmony Grass  1968
Recommended by tempted [profile]

This is a mesmerizing pop-psych number from maybe the greatest British vocal group of the sixties. The composition is adventurous and reminiscent of SF-based sunshine pop but with that distinctive, eloquent British touch.
Harmony Grass was the group Tony Rivers fronted after his success with The Castaways.
He's been an important influence on Mike Alway's legendary �l label.


available on CD - Tony Rivers Series vol. 2 (RPM/Cherry Red)



  musicmars: Yea tempted, we agree once more. I love that song. Another of the best 60's pop-psych songs. I can't think of one that's better. How is the rest of the cd? I only have the song on an el compilation.
  delicado: Winning track!
  eftimihn: Just wanted to recommend this to see it's already here. Fantastic track for sure, the whole album is uneven but "I think of you" is another winner on there...
  Major Minor: Excellent track... I would also put up "What a groovy day" at least as good as this one. If anyone wanted to further check into Tony Rivers of this era the "Harmony Grass" compilation is recommended...
Kelly's Heroes  performed by Lalo Schifrin & the MGM Orchestra  1970
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Superb Mike Curb production of a Schifrin theme to an absolutely terrible WW2 action-comedy. Militaristic drumming and a very cool whistling chorus (reminiscent of Quincy Jones' theme to "The Italian Job", which came out the previous year) make this a piece of extremely groovy soundtrack work. The same album also yields a horribly sappy Hank Williams, Jr. song and the much-sampled "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation.

from Kelly's Heroes (MGM)
available on CD - Kelly's Heroes/The Cincinnatti Kid (Chapter III)



Little Time Bomb  performed by Kind of Like Spitting
Recommended by hannahyourheart [profile]

Very Elliott Smith infused.. almost reminiscent of old protest music at times.. love this group..





  delicado: Hi. is this a cover of the Billy Bragg song, or an original?
Lynn�s Baby  performed by Mark Eric  1969
Recommended by artlongjr [profile]

It's hard to recommend a single track from this album, the whole thing is a classic of California pop. I'm glad it's finally been reissued on CD.

Mark Eric Malmborg created a genuine masterpiece with this recording, which has a bittersweet mood throughout that reminds me of "Pet Sounds". I originally came across this LP in 1989 when I found a copy at a thrift store (it had once been in the collection of the local public library!)and just looking at the cover I figured it would be great, and it was!

"Lynn's Baby" is the last track on the original LP and is a beautiful song about a girl who has been seduced and left with an out of wedlock baby by an older, manipulative guy who's left her after the usual empty promises...rather an unusual theme for a pop song! The combination of Mark Eric's voice (somewhat reminiscent of Brian Wilson) and the gorgeous string arrangement are enough to really bring out the goose bumps.

This CD is one that I absolutely can't recommend enough to fans of the beautiful 1960's pop music.

from A Midsummer's Day Dream, available on CD


Minha Gente  performed by Erasmo Carlos  1972
Recommended by gregcaz [profile]

Virtually every song on the utterly incredible parent LP is worthy of a separate entry, but I'll just go with this folksy-cum-spaced-out rumination on the way he identifies with the people he surrounds himself with, musically reminiscent of Pink Floyd in the best possible way. Great playing by various Azymuth and Som Imaginario members.
The dateline in the album's title, by the way, is a reference to the time period Erasmo had experienced from birth up to the album's release, he's fortunately still with us!

from Sonhos e Memorias 1941-1972 (Polydor)


Monday Morning  performed by Melanie Fiona
Recommended by Nori [profile]

Reminiscent of eighties pop, with a good beat and strong vocals. Well paced.




Ode to Billy Joe  performed by Buddy Merrill  1968
Recommended by delicado [profile]

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!

from Land of a Thousand Guitars (Accent ACS 5026)
available on CD - 25 All time hits (Accent)



On Saturday Afternoons in 1963  performed by Rickie Lee Jones
Recommended by fitzpatrick [profile]

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

from Rickie Lee Jones (Reprise 3296)



  Swinging London: I love this record. Especially, I think, because I was born on a Saturday afternoon in 1963. Nothing else of her's has ever done anything for me.
Open Your Eyes  performed by The Lords Of The New Church  1982
Recommended by dsalmones [profile]

Opening with a brat beating bass and melody that is scarily reminiscent of some late 70s euro disco pathos, it�s only when Brian James� raunchy guitar kicks in that you know you�re well away from the lights of that dance floor and in the grips of a very different master. A hedonistic web of Bators� beloved conspiracy theorizing, the logical successor to the Wanderers� paranoia-packed repertoire, �Open Your Eyes� previewed a closet of horrors that embraced organized religion, the impending World Tour of Pope John Paul II, Bolshevik plots and Ronald Reagan�s apparent rush towards nuclear Armageddon. With session man Matt Black�s synthesizers giving the whole thing a classic rock feel that merged edgily with the band�s own punkish sensibilities, it was, as always, Bators� viperous lyrics that brought the whole thing into the twilight zone of pre-Internet intrigue. The 80s politicking of Margaret Thatcher�s Britain and Reagan�s cold war America pretty much ensured that both sides were far happier not having to open their eyes. A gleeful Bators was there, though, to make sure they did.
(AMG)

from The Lords of the New Church, available on CD


P’ra Que Chorar  performed by G/9 Group  1968
Recommended by sodapop650 [profile]

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

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

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

from G/9 Group


Question Mark  performed by Billy Nicholls  1968
Recommended by tinks [profile]

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

from Would You Believe?, available on CD



Samba no p�  performed by Blue Rondo  1984
Recommended by whoops [profile]

First of all the whole album is a mess, this track alone stands as a diamond on a pile of crap. Reminiscent of what Pigbag played earlier in the eighties, this samba oriented track is a pretty good one. Joao Bosco is credited playing pandero and agogo.

from Bees knees &chickens elbows (Virgin)


Sleep  performed by Godspeed You! Black Emperor  2000
Recommended by mardikas [profile]

A long track (23 min) with orchestral sound. About the album: "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is unusual in being structurally and conceptually closer to a symphony than a conventional pop or rock album. The four tracks are composed of internal movements, with different sub-titles, that fade into each other. The whole album is instrumental, except for sampled voice inserts, and starts with an almost orchestral crescendo somewhat reminiscent of Ravel's Bolero." (http://en.wikipedia.org/) <- basically the same goes for the track.

I like it because of the dark and powerful feeling it conveys.

from Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven


Sosta Vietata  performed by Ennio Morricone  1975
Recommended by delicado [profile]

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

from Il Poliziotto Della Brigata Criminale
available on CD - Belmondo Morricone Verneuil (Playtime)




  eftimihn: After listening to a fairly large amount of Morricone music over the years this still stands out as one of his very best tracks for me. Oddly enough, this one never got compiled for one of the countless compilations that cover his "lounge" sound of the late 60s to the mid 70s. This should have been on "Molte Mondo Morricone", one of only a few essential tracks that were overlooked on this otherwise excellent trilogy.
  nighteye: I agree with you, this is a incredible track! The slow lush strings are perfect. I can't say I have heard much of Morricone's music, but if the rest is anything like this - he is going right in my list of favorite composers.
  eftimihn: Nighteye, you should definitely give the Mondo-Trilogy a spin. Can't really praise these comps enough, they actually got me into Morricone and are by far the best ones when it comes to sum up the maestros non-spaghetti late 60s to mid 70s work.
  nighteye: Yeah, thanks eftimihn I think I have to look at those compilations.
Sublimation Hour  performed by Destroyer  2001
Recommended by mitchiavelli [profile]

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

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

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

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

from Streethawk: A Seduction, available on CD



  umbrellasfollowrain: I'm a big Destroyer fan. He's an amazing vocalis. I don't know what you're talking about. The new album wasn't all everyone had hoped for, but has a couple of good songs in particular "Students Carve Hearts out of Coal".
Take Me With You  performed by Lyn Christopher  1973
Recommended by mr_klenster [profile]

Sinister and spacy, slightly discordant, gospel-inflected soul groove, with a murderous, high-powered bassline. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss apparently sing background vocals on this artist self-titled album, and strangely enough it's their backing that makes this sound sort of reminiscent of a gospel session, but in space maybe. Begging lyrics and tripped out reverb enhance the strange, infectious hold of this song. This is a very heavy, mournful, and unique sound experience. Recommended.





The Key of C  performed by Jim Noir  2006
Recommended by geezer [profile]

The psychedelic sound of modern day Manchester , a nursery rhyme slice of beatlesque fun with the humour of a Happy Monday,reminiscent of the Lightening Seeds ,a great tune with a great summer feel .




Ticket To The Moon  performed by Electric Light Orchestra  1981
Recommended by Goldtransam [profile]

The song is somewhat reminiscent of their earlier output, featuring grand piano and more strings than their past few singles. Beautiful song by a brilliant band.

"I've got a ticket to the moon, but i'd rather see the sunshine in your eyes"

from Time (Jet Records & Columbia Records)



  Mike: Nice to see this recommendation! Simple song with a pretty post-Beatles melody. I've just dug out my LP of Time and have been playing side 1. It really sparkles!
  Mike: My favourite song on the album is "21st Century Man" on side 2, which I thing rates highly among their overall output and is maybe the last great song they produced. The weakest song on the album has to be the single "Hold on Tight" which sounds as though they were trying to compete with Shakin' Stevens!
Tim McGraw  performed by Taylor Swift
Recommended by mklinsao [profile]

A song that Taylor Swift wrote as a freshman in high school about her senior boyfriend. She knew that when he left for college, they would have to break up, so the song talks about all the memories she wants him to keep.

from Taylor Swift


Travolti Da Un Insolito Destino Nell�Azzurro Mare D�Agosto  performed by Piero Piccioni  1975
Recommended by eftimihn [profile]

Mixing light bossa nova guitar, gentle strings, flutes, subdued piano and muted trumpet (or trombone, not sure) this is a very elegant, romantic sounding track by Piero Piccioni, evoking, as the title suggests, images of the blue sea glittering in the summer sun. Moodwise it's quite reminiscent of Jobim's "Tide" and "Triste".

from Travolti Da Un Insolito Destino Nell'Azzurro Mare D'Agosto (CBS)
available on CD - Swept Away (King)



Understanding in a Car Crash  performed by Thursday  2001
Recommended by cryofthecelt [profile]

"Understanding in a Car Crash" is the song that brought me to love Thursday, a hardcore emo rock band from the New Jersey area. Emo (for "emo"-tional) is a genre that encompasses deep and tenderly obscure lyrics with raw, impassioned screams and hard rock riffs. Thursday is probably the best emo band out there. This is a great song about wasted time and wanted love, so listen to it! You might discover an emo-punker inside of you that you never knew existed!

from Full Collapse, available on CD


Waltzing Matilda  performed by Tom Waits
Recommended by eve [profile]

Tom Waits is so cool. All of his songs do a really good job of making you feel like you remember a time and place you've never seen... his world is one of boxcars, whiskey, and five o'clock shadow. This song is much less bizarre than some of his others; it's more mournful. But it's just... nice to hear. He is a sad old man.





  Jackamaku: Great tune, although the name of this song is actually "Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)"
Wendy McDonald  performed by Spookey Ruben  1996
Recommended by DecemberGuy [profile]

Predating "Fast Food Nation" by a number of years, Wendy McDonald is a two and a half minute pop song critiquing our need to have things fast and easy..like fast food. I love this song because not only does it make you think, but it also has this hip-hop folk beat to it, that's reminiscent of artists like Beck, Bran Van 3000, or Self. If you're a fan of these artists,..you'd love this.

from Modes of Transportation Vol. 1 (TVT)


who needs forever  performed by astrud gilberto  1966
Recommended by coffman [profile]

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

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

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

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

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

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

from A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness, available on CD



  rio: you must pick-up the quincy jones soundtrack (released with the score to "the pawnbroker") with astrud singing "who needs forever". The lush quincy jones score is hauntingly beautiful, and astrud never sounded better. This version is the real deal for me..
  rferus: Amazing guitar on this piece.

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