"Cigarettes and chocolate milk
These are just a couple of my cravings
Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger
A little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me"

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

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

A beautiful piece of soft pop. Ok, it's corny - the chord sequence is kind of soppy and the lyrics are kind of obvious, but the arrangement and singing are so lovely that I can listen to this song again and again. Opening with a catchy picked acoustic guitar riff, the arrangement soon thickens with with a full orchestra. The singing is deadly serious and amusingly precious throughout the song, and the orchestral arrangement, heavy on oboes and flutes as well as strings, is anything but hip. Still, the song’s simplicity and innocence are really quite charming. I never really got into any of Chad and Jeremy's other songs nearly so much as this one, so any recommendations for similar songs would be welcome. Do me a favor and listen to this and tell me if I’m crazy to love it so much.

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

Somewhere between tacky and slick. The instrumentation on this track is extremely dense, and played at a frenetic pace. There are moments packed so thick with sound, and played at such speed, that it's hard to distinguish all the elements going on. The loungy and somewhat artificial projection of soul in her voice sort of gets to me after a while, but on the whole I think this track storms.

This track opens with a twinkling sound, and a thick chord carried by harmonized vocals. It quickly builds into a ‘Mission Impossible’–like jazzy groover, with piano and bongos. Although this seems to owe a great debt to Lalo Schifrin, the overall sound is somehow very different and refreshing.

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.

A great track with that supreme thick kind of arrangement that reminds me of Scott Walker's late 60s solo work.

Julie's vocal delivery is interesting. She's hipper sounding than Jackie Trent; more like a slightly looser Dusty Springfield. But she also has a weird kind of Annie Lennox way of sounding over the top.

The song is pretty simple, but the production and arrangement are so vibrant and colourful that it works very well.

What a strange and beautiful song! Cool-toned organ melodies played against a thick, warm, bass vein running through the entire song, complex drum backing, and the oddly distant, yet personally reflective lyrics of Karin Krog, combine to create a dream-like sound.

Tamba Trio were a Brazilian jazz group more commonly praised for their jazz instrumentals than for their vocals. Their vocals on this track are nice and simple, but it is the instrumentation and arrangement which really make the song. What does it sound like? I do honestly like other types of music, but here goes: jazzy piano, bossa beat, thick strings, group vocals. Really great track, and from what I've heard of other versions, they really transformed this song, which normally sounds very different.

Demoted to a 12inch b-side when the muse was thick and fast .A poetic vision of renewal and springtime set to simple melody picked out on a steely sounding acoustic guitar and some well behaved keyboards.Lost amidst Wellers considerable legend and back catologue .Have a listen to a writer pushing the boundaries of his own ability

instrumentally, it's extremely simple. it seems to have nothing more than simple percussion and a haunting, eerie piano. and then comes the voice that makes this song just so thick. it's my favorite version of the song. the version i have is live and actually sounds pretty lo-fi. look for that one. i got it off the internet and have no information for it.

Ahh, how much I love Eternity's Children's sounds...
A week ago, I bought their CD where 25 songs in, as my bootleg's mix was terrible and no main vocal on Lifetime Day! Anyway, now I enjoy its perfect tracks, especially Lifetime Day, Your World and this song Sunshine Among Us. I do love Sunshine..'s catchy melody, beautifully thick effected harmonies and groovy backing rythm section including keyboards.
By the way, the liner notes says " However, each year, on the day before Thanksgiving, Bruce Blackman leads members of various Eternity's Children lineups at a benefit in Greenville, Mississippi featuring reunions of the area's best-loved acts" wow...this year also?!?!...I really wanna join the event!!

Although a thick line has long been drawn connecting disco to the '90s techno scene, few have bothered to connect the dots between the more modern genre and synth pop. The Human League didn't need to fret about such things, though; they intuitively understood those relationships, having explored virtually all the influences over their career � industrial, funk, R&B, synth pop, new wave, and disco itself. And when the wheel turned again, the band was back on top with a sound that hadn't really changed, but just refined. With a few minor alterations, 1995's "Tell Me When" could have come from 1983, slotting nicely between "Fascination" and "Mirror Man." Of course, the drum programming would need to be changed (there were no jungle rhythms back then!), but the funky bassline can stay, along with the bubbly synths. In fact, the real difference is found in the vignette-esque lyrics and the more complex vocals. And these slight changes make all the difference, turning synth dreams into techno club success. A taster for the group's forthcoming Octopus album, "Tell Me When" hit on both sides of the Atlantic, landing just outside the Top 6 and Top 30 in the U.K. and U.S., respectively.
(AMG)

Lyrics:

Please remedy my confusion
And thrust me back to the day
The silence of your seclusion
Brings night into all you say

Pull me down again
And guide me into pain

I'm counting nocturnal hours
Drowned visions in haunted sleep
Faint flickering of your power
Leaks out to show what you keep

Pull me down again
And guide me into...

There is failure inside
This test I can't persist
Kept back by the enigma
No criteria demanded here

Deadly patterns made my wreath
Prosperous in your ways
Pale ghost in the corner
Pouring a caress on your shoulder

Puzzled by shrewd innocence
Runs a thick tide beneath
Ushered into inner graves
Nails bleeding from the struggle

It is the end for the weak at heart always the same
A lullaby for the ones who've lost all reeling inside
My gleaming eye in your necklace reflects stare of primal regrets
You turn your back and you walk away never again

Spiraling to the ground below
Like Autumn leaves left in the wake to fade away
Waking up to your sound again
And lapse into the ways of misery.

This song is the embodiment of Opeth's sound, and one of the most powerful to me from an emotional perspective in the entire catalog.

gorgeous four part harmonies, slow tempo, fantastic guitar sounds and solo, the lyrics are simple, and easy to hear, listen to, learn, sing along with at shows, and relate to. kelly scullin (formerly of second story man) had a knack for writing songs in a "simple" fashion, lending themselves to further embellishment and tasteful flourish as a sort of "icing on the cake" ideal. she is one of my favorite songwriters out right now. as stated before, the songs are simple, yet their textures were always thick and lush- just imagine a big, cushy purple velvet victorian-style couch.