Relaxed and melancholic song... E's beautiful lyrics and the tasteful use of effects make this a song that stays with you the rest of the day.

Bossa nova jazz. Excellent loungy-type tune with beautiful accompanying saxophone.

Everyone knows this song from "Breakfast At Tiffany's" but this is the most gorgeous version I've ever heard. "Karen Peris is blessed with the most hauntingly beautiful voice". It's a b-side from their Birds Of My Neighborhood" cd.

no one can resist the poppy sounds of the beautiful Ben Kweller.

This song opens with the great line: "I don't stand a chance in this fucked up world..."

This song is such a happy one, without being overly pop oriented. Just Michael Stipe's voice, a piano, simple percussion and the kindest words.

"I read bad poetry
Into your machine.
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name,
Like I wouldn't know it's you,
At your most beautiful."

mellow, beautiful, haunting song...good for summer night listening

Sad, beautiful, tender song. If you like it, check out more Okkervil River.

"Red is my favorite color...red like your mother's eyes after a while of crying about how you don't love her..."

Originally performed by Leonard Cohen, Famous Blue Raincoat is dark and poignant with beautiful lyrics. Tori Amos performs it wonderfully.

"One more thin gypsy thief..."

Jimmy Buffet...need I say more? But I will. Jimmy Buffet is hilarious...and listening to his music always makes me feel like I'm laying on some tropical island drinking pina coladas. This song is no exception.

"The beer is too cold, the daquiri's too fruitiful..."

Possibly the greatest song of all time...or at least my favorite. If someone were to take the season of summer and magically turn it into a song, this would be it. Free, happy, beautiful...embodies the fresh feeling of summer. A must have.

"Head's all empty and I don't care..."

I love this song, the lyrics are really beautifull and the sounds are very unique. very nice song

Music and lyrics go together so well...Perfectly captures that "holy," awakened, alive feeling of its being early, early morning and you're just driving away from a beautiful few days with a friend or lover.......

a beautiful, haunting, disturbing song. maynard's voice just does something that twists up my heart every time i hear the song. this is one of the songs i can put on repeat and just completely let swallow me whole. it's perfect for a dark mood.

Just plain flawless and beautiful.

Sam Cooke had one of the most beautiful voices human ears could ever hear.

Sweet fuck, what pure morning joy. I get a maximalist bliss-out every time I play this. But then, wait, what's that weird jazzy comeback at the end of the song? It's like an army of ghosts of all the happinesses I've ever had coming back to haunt me. It's too much. Holy cow, it's a beautiful day.

Beautiful and heart breaking.

Dark,some what disturbing and beautiful.

A musical willow tree,It makes me want to curl up into a ball and drift off into a beautiful dream.

A beautiful,wistful and classic ballad sung by one of the greatest voices of all time.

Not too keen on his songs about DIY but this is a beautiful, light, summers day kind of song.

The balance of beautiful, introspective lyrics (which are mostly spoken rather than sung), and lonely instrumentation combine to create a top-notch stunner. As a whole the album Dinner Music is a very eclectic and interesting assortment of songs. I wish "the lights wouldn't turn low and it wouldn't be time to go", but the way this song captures the feeling of yearning and melancholy is absolutely perfect.

Bobbi, Bobbi, Bobbi, you play the flute like a surreal fantasy. Every note is an escape to a distant land and journey into emotion. There are so many beautiful songs by Bobbi Humphrey that you can't just choose one, but I've selected this song because it seems to be an exploration of the human experience. Many of Bobbi Humphrey's songs seem to interpret the experience of a specific temporal and geographic locale, eg Harlem River Drive, San Francisco Lights, Spanish Harlem, Jasper Country Man (which are all wonderful), but this is a song that all can relate to and relish in.

Another haunting song, Soul Meets Body is beautiful. "You're the only song I want to hear, a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere . . ." I like where this genre of modern rock is evolving, it's rather unique, definitely going to buy this album and see what else it has on it.

A beautifully lilting modern waltz. Bittersweet fingerpicked guitar in the background and a wonderful haunting voice, I'm assuming Inara George herself. I'd love to learn more about the artist. A beautiful song of the bitter side of love, "fools in love they think they're heroes, because they get to feel no pain, i say fools are lovers' heroes, i should know, i should know because this fool's in love again." I just love songs like this. I first heard it watching Grey's Anatomy. So I looked on Amazon at the playlist for the soundtrack and found it. Definitely a great song in my book.
She has a website: www.inarageorge.com and unfortunately she just finished a tour.

Quite unlike most of Nina Simone�s work the beautifully smooth jazz of �please don�t let me be misunderstood� and sometimes slightly sleazy orchestral numbers �feeling good�, �I put a spell on you�.

For me, Sinnerman� is out on its own, a 10+ minute opus, based around a rolling piano and double bass and often frantic cymbal accompanying Nina�s rueful voice tinged with desperation as she recounts the tale. Searching for somewhere to hide, from what is not explained, a man first runs to the rocks, the river, and the Lord, who all refuse him, the music booming louder and with more urgency following each rejection. The Lord even tells him to go to the waiting Devil, and the situation looks bleak, until the rhythm running alongside him suddenly clatters into a tree, and the sinner throws himself before the Lord once more, �Don�t you see me prayin�?� he cries, �Not nearly enough� replies the Lord, until the chasing evil presumably sniffs him out, the drums and bass pick themselves up and we�re off and running again, into the sunset together.

beautiful
-yes-
beautiful acoustic cover of the campy iron maiden song. nice driving beat. great melancholy vibe going on, it manages to give the �berstupid lyrics some sense of metaphorical meaning.. I first heard it on the soundtrack to the film "spun" by jonas �kerlund, where it plays during the opening credits. however, i don't think there's an official soundtrack out there, but it's pretty easy to find on various file-sharing networks.

beautiful bossa nova-tinged version of the lennon/mccartney song.

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

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

Beautiful cover of the song from Disney's "Dumbo". It makes me cry nearly every time.

eerie & beautiful.

this song is so creepy but beautiful.

so powerful & inspiring & beautiful.

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

this song is so powerful, it hits you like a ton of bricks. its so frenzied and beautiful. i listened to it like, 5000x in one day.

This songs starts out so beautifuly mellow then turns into a screaming symphony. So powerful.

This song is so haunting and beautiful.

There's something unbearably beautiful about this song. Like most of my favourites it's got a desperate streak to it, and I consider it one of the best first tracks ever. Joan Osbourne is a woman who really knows how to use her voice; she raises it to the heavens and really communicates on an emotional level with her music. Listening to her is always a draining experience, but this song makes me eager to be drained.

I generally think of this as my favourite Tori song, but that impression only lasts until I listen to pretty much anything else she's done; then I realize that I really can't pick just one. This song is definitely up there, though. There's something beautiful and desperate about it. I also adored the way she blended it with "Muhammed, My Friend," (another of my favourite Tori songs), on "Welcome To Sunny Florida." It was brilliant.

From the 1968 film of Romeo and Juliet. One of the most beautiful movie themes I've ever heard.

It's all there. The composition, the sweeping orchestra, the violins. Everything. So wonderful.

I love how human this song is. He admits his faults and thats a beautiful thing.

The version I heard was actually just done acoustic, I've always liked acoustic guitar when I'm in an easy listening mood (good mood?) it was the words that attracted me to it Chorus:Mr.Jones and me/tell eachother fairy tales/stare at the beautiful women/she's looking at you/oh no no she's looking at me. The song is fun, okay? that's why I liked it.

This whole album is really spectacular. My other favorites are "Today It's You" and "Rene De Marie". All capture this beautiful blend of psychy-pop, bossa rhythm, and folky soul. Great blends of patterns, instrumentation, and vocals, I really love this stuff.

It's so unbelievably beautiful and pure.As well as being the last song on joe strummer's last album.

Sweet,imperfect and acoustic. All of his lyrics have this nerdy common man feel to them. His music is beautiful but very tangible.

soft, pop-rock. Itis simply beautiful. As good art should be, it is uplifting

Beautiful sad country from the late great Townes. You can hear his depression filtering through his golden voice.

Witty, melancholic, catchy, beautiful... you won't find many bands as good as this.

George Brassens wrote this one and his version of it is equally good... But he performs it alone with his acoustic guitar... Hardy is helped by a violin and an accordion which make her version extremely enjoyable and so so so beautiful...

So nostalgic and beautiful. It completely captures the feeling of returning to home when it's not quite home anymore. Try it you'll love it I promise.

"On a cold afternoon you can float room to room like a ghost."

i'm not sure if this is a cover, (most of the songs off her album 'medusa" are) but it is the most amazingly beautiful song... it's smooth, sultry, and you can definately get your business going on to it...

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

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

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"

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 has to be one of my top bagillion faviorate songs, and I know a Bagillion is a lot but I love a lot of songs. The song is a little kiddy because it's about a crush, but we've all experienced crushes and the song has a beautiful harmony at the end.
"Because I like you, I know that you don't know it, I like you so much I talk to everyone but you, and I wonder what you'd think of this little number, yeah I wonder what you'd say if you knew."

Hard Times comes from the Elizabethtown soundtrack, which is a great cd by the way. This song is beautiful, everyone in the world should hear. I'm not exagerating. "Let us pause in lifes pleasures and count it's many tears."

Beautiful orchestration. Easy italian lyrics . Sandie's voice at her its best

It's different. I like this song because it is beautiful and... I don't know. I just like it. :)

Very, very, very beautiful piano.

Very passionate, very beautiful violin

A beautiful love song complete with angels and god's love... for people who normally don't go for that kind of shit.

Just a great song. Musically it builds beautifully to the finale. A little depressing, but still, real life.

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

First of all let me say that I have been violently blindsided by this group! ...they very quickly entered my favorite 60's pop group stratosphere and have not budged from my rotation for months now. I first got "From you unto us", the singles collection which is good for what it is, but I think the best introduction to the band is the albums themselves, original ordering of songs in this case is vital to the listening experience.
I liked the singles collection OK, but my first impression was muted and okish until I noticed a couple songs later on sticking in my head for hours... picked up the first album on CD (Wondering the whole time if I should be doing this as I have most of the tracks on the comp, CD right? I like the original ordering BEST! Glad I did, no regrets at all...) and have played little else for some time...

I just got Timeless and I'm choosing one off their second album because the first album is one of the few immaculate pop albums of all time IMO and choices there are easy favorites... the second album seems to be less popular, but there are some serious gems here too and It's also a stone cold favorite...

I am choosing Look Away because I think the most distinctive sonic quality of Eternity's Children are these wonderful uplifting bouncy organ driven songs... ET have several tracks that deliver a great song, beautiful and original atmospheric production, great performances in a deeply satisfying way that is rare... This song is pure pop bliss from the opening notes to the end. I honestly can't think of a better compliment than that this song makes me glad to be alive.

For those of you who played in the band and stumble across this:
From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

Johnny Cash makes Nine Inch Nails' song Hurt his own. This song is one of my all time greatest. It's just so powerful, beautiful and sad.

"if i could start again
a million miles away
i would keep myself
i would find a way"

I know this is incredibly cliched, but words cannot describe how beautiful this song is. So sad and sweet. Especially the lyrics. It's love the way the guy doesn't lay any blame, even though he's heartbroken.

This song didn't really stick out to me at first, but I read the lyrics and listened to it a bit more. Now, I totally love it!

If you've listened to this song but don't particularly like it, you should definitely give it another shot!

This is such a beautiful song. Imogen Heap has an angelic voice, especially when she hits high notes.

Beautifully arranged Icelandic music.

This unique song, unique to the whole body of work by the obscure Asylum Party, unique in every sense... If anybody ever wanted to create the sound of pure nostalgia in itself, this is the closest anyone ever got. I wonder what other people feel when listening to this song. I get utterly and hopelessly nostalgic, even though I don't know what for. It's not that I'm particularly old and know many times and eras, it's not that I have to dig particularly deep into my memory to get to that one dark part that's so irrevocably gone it makes one's heart ache and break. I don't know what it reminds me of, if of anything at all. It seems to be simply the soundtrack of some good times, times much better than the one you're stuck in right now, the soundtrack of reverie and the painful awareness that nothing will be the same again. I sometimes think it reminds me of beautiful summers I've known, the heat and sun that burnt my eyes, but then it seems just as fitting for a summer night at an open fire or an autumn window blurred with falling rain. The initial beats sound as if they could lead to anything, they even sound deceptively cheerful until the first melancholic screech of a guitar... "Feeling that hole that is just my soul..." Yeah, that must be it!

The music is so beautiful, as well as the lyrics. This song is true and very meaningful to me.

It's just such a beautiful song! A link for it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXd5ZD8yKBs

This song has a very interesting sound using steal drums among other things to create a steady and bright beat. The artist's voice is beautiful and light, combinig perfectly with the song's meaning and the instrumental parts.

If you like Explosions in the Sky this band is for you. Beautiful, atmospheric, powerful--a whole journey of emotion.

Very Soulful, the lyrics ring beautifully in the song.

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.

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.

Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink's voices blend in perfectly, in an almost ethereal way. This song lulls you to a hazy state of mind, almost like their voices cast a spell on you. It's beautiful.

Beautiful and relaxing- everything you would want from I&W.

I'm already a huge fan of Regina, but for me this is her absolute BEST. Good luck finding it because I'm pretty positive it's not on any of her cd's, but it's a very beautiful song that you can hear her sing live on youtube. It's so weary but very beautiful all at the same time. However I feel like it's the simple, yet honest lyrics that blow me away. "Don't say goodbye like you're burrying him. Cause the world is round and he might return."

You will either love this one or hate it. Joanna's voice is something I've never heard before, but I immediately fell in love. She also uses a very large instument which I believe to be a harp. She has some other beautiful songs, but none as facsinating as peach, plum, pear.

beautiful and vivid. compelling with swells and drops in volume.

Great song, long. Its bob and his guitar just jamming about how beautiful life is.

Mourning the death of the show more than the doublecrossing character's body being taken to his family, this song was beautiful, no other words. Another great song was also at a funeral scene (for a much more admirable character), a unique and memorable version of 'Amazing Grace'. Other notable music from Firefly is 'Inside The Tam House' and 'Early Takes Serenity'.

This is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The guitar riff is peaceful and hypnotizing, and the lyrics are amazing. Also it's in Shrek.

A powerful and emotive piece from minimalist composer Michael Nyman. Simply put together, the music drives along developing the same 8-bar phrase until its climax. Really beautiful.
From the film 'A zed & two noughts', but this is almost the kind of track I can imagine suiting any scene of any film!

Such beautiful poetry; heartache intertwined with the hope we all feel. Delivered with the voice of a man who knows. Tom Waits. yes.

Soft folk rock song. Beautiful, heartwarming, she has such a gentle voice.

Beautiful piano-led song that can make you smile. I discovered this PSB's b-side after listening to Tom Chaplin's home-made cover.

Beautiful song. It starts with a piano. "I'm forever yours, faithfully..."

Beautiful Ballad. The combination of Noel and Liam's voices is amazing. By the way, this songs has truly great lyrics (as usual in Oasis' songs anyway).

A simply beautiful song. Such a wonderful voice...

A beautiful wall of sound

this is literally like my favorite song ever. i could listen to it a million times and it would never get old. and the lyrics are soooo incredibly sweet :)

So emotional and beautiful piano line with incredible voice and chords and lyrics and the way the whole band fits together. Absolutely perfect and inspiring. PLEASE LISTEN TO IT!

Mellow and sexy. Beautiful vocal harmonies. Insane keyboard solo's by the brilliant Rod Argent.

A beautiful piece of Piazzolla, sentimental lyrics and nice vocals. The whole song is a work of art.

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

Beautiful renaissance music played on the piano by one of the best performers ever.

soundtrack for "Spirited Away", a beautiful Japanese animated film for all ages.
I love this song as a piano piece as well as in full orchestra form.
Joe Hisaishi is my hero.

Love his voice, beautiful lyrics.

I love this song because it is so romantic, sweet, and perfect. There is Isaac Slade on vocals, along with back vocalist Joe King (<3). There's a piano, cello, and drumset. It's a beautiful song, happy and passionate, perfect to sing along to, Isaac has a great voice, and lyrics are beautiful.

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

Written by Stephen Foster, it is given a wonderful treatment by Roy. If I was asked what song I would like to have played at my funeral this version of this song would be it. Not to be morbid, but this song is as beautiful (and peaceful)as its title and
was overlooked when a recent Stephen Foster tribute album was made a few years ago.

This song embodies life. It starts out awkward and confused and then slips into a beautiful chorus. The lyrics are funny, yet they encapsulate the beauty of life adding a bit of philosophy.

An amazing and atmospheric track by this famous German vocal group. There are no words, and the music is produced largely accapella - from what I can hear, there's just piano accompaniment, with some incredible vocal effects that range from beautiful to plain bizarre. The trills and glissando effects are other-worldly, but what really steals the limelight is the tradeoff between a bizarre kitten-like voice and a deep foghorn at 2:12 (featured in the clip)!

None of this will make sense until you hear it, so let me just add that the whole thing has a really pleasant, lazy mood that strongly reminds me of that amazing scene in 'Wild at Heart' when Laura Dern is sat on the car at the gas station and Glen Gray and the Casa Loma band's 'Smoke Rings' is playing.

A beautiful performance featuring Willie's voice and guitar alone.

'Laura' has long been my favorite standard. The tune is elegant and haunting, and completely devoid of some of the schmaltzy feel that plagues many popular standards.

Written as an instrumental for the 1944 film of the same name, this was composed as a piano-based number, and so Julie's version is perhaps not the most orthodox recording. However, it's incredibly powerful and atmospheric, and I *think* it's my favorite version.

The entire track lasts just 1 minute and 40 seconds. The first verse is sung as a solo voice without any accompaniment other than the spooky reverberation effect. When the music does come in, it's provided by a small jazz trio led by Barney Kessel. Kessel's delicate jazz chords and picking complement Julie's voice beautifully.

I haven't heard any other versions of this song, although I can't imagine anyone else making it their own to extent Ms Simone does. With just a piano and her voice, it's such a beautiful yet majestic song.

A very ethereal song that is perfect for the lilting girlish voice of Blossom Dearie. She is also an accomplished pianist and plays on every song she sings. She is backed by a standard jazz trio on this track and they play in a wonderfully subdued manor that allows her voice and the words to be the focal point of this song. Originally written by a french songwriter, Blossom Dearie heard the song while living and performing in France in the mid-1950's. Upon her return to the United States, she asked her friend, songwriter Johnny Mercer, to write english lyrics to the wonderful melody. The words he wrote tell a beautiful story of love lost, but fondly remembered thru a familiar smell or sound. A standout track from the marvelous LP of the same name. Give it a listen the next time you go to your local music store.

This brilliant song was a number 1 hit in the United States in 1958. It was sold over 1 million times between the release date in oktober and Christmas. It was written by Phil Spector, who was the songwriter, guitarist and composer of The Teddy Bears. (The band`s name is based on the number 1 hit "Teddy Bear" by Elvis Presley)The inspiration for the songtext was the inscription of the grave of Phil Spector`s father, who commited suicide.

The arrangement of "To know him is to love him" is very light an pure, so that the sad and loving words come to the fore. The angle-like vocals sung by Annette Kleinbard create a heavenly ambience. To me "To know him is to love him" is one of the most affectionate and beautiful songs I`ve ever heard. Although the song is performed by many bands and singers(for example "The Chordettes") the version of The Teddy Bears is according to my taste the best of them all.

Early Serge Gainsbourg masterpiece with an "exotica" feel. The backing track is a far-east melody while the lyrics are simply beautiful. Gainsbourg used the characteristics of the anthracite to describe his feelings about a girl. It's a kind of first step into what was to be the apex of his first period, the "Gainsbourg percussions" LP of 1964.

A really beautiful arrangement of this classic film number which I just found out was written in 1944, not the 1950s as I had always thought. Superb orchestral parts move in and out of the texture, through which a lot of harmonic interest not present in other versions is heard. Shearing's divine pianistic touch is shown at several key moments. I don't always like Shearing's recordings, but this one is special.

A superb version. A very purely beautiful, very expressively controlled vocal. A perfectly stylish trio backing. The rest of the album also holds to a very high standard indeed - a real pleasure. I've never enjoyed vocal jazz more!

Wonderful arrangement with lush string backing, great tune and sentiment, beautifully delivered, even a beautiful recording...just the blues exactly the way I like to hear it.

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I lap this kinda stuff up these days. I can't get enough of ol' style R&B, jump blues or a song like this: swingin', heartbreaking and outstandingly sung by a woman who is undeservedly just a footnote in musical history.

Ernestine (who sometimes recorded under the name Annisteen) works her smooth chords to a blues vocal with light jazzy backing. Almost Peggy Lee like in places, but with the benefit of King Curtis' sax and an amazing rhythm section that Ernestine obviously connects with.

The lyrics are beautiful, too: "You cry so hard, you cry like you never cried before; you moan and you groan so sad, you give the blues to your neighbour next door."

Beautiful samba, with great mellow sax playing from one of the masters of the Coleman Hawkins-influenced tenor on his final album. The counterpoint of Kenny Burrell's guitar and Garvin Masseaux's gentle percussion with Quebec's long warm tones really make this track.

I've tried quite a lot to get into African music and have only got into bits and bobs so far. However, what I have very successfully got into is a white frenchman, with an all french choir, based in Paris, singing songs in an african style. Any amount of race-focussed amateur psychoanalysis can be done on the above I know, but I also know that this song is absolutely fantastic. As far as I can tell, Serge's african work seems to be inspired by a genuine love of african music and singing, but it also has a very pop edge - maybe it is this crossover aspect that makes it so accessible. Anyway, in this one the lyrics are pretty seedy ("ce soir la nuit sera blanche"), but the singing and drumming are just so beautiful - it's a brilliant song.

I knew that this song was depressing even before I knew what it was about. Poor Fran�oise just can't find a boy! I've seen the Scopitone for this, and I really doubt that she was having trouble finding dates, but �est-la-vie, right? Anyhow, it's an absolutely beautiful ballad.

A beautiful Mancini piece from one of his best-known soundtracks that I had somehow managed to neglect completely. The Pink Panther was never at the top of my wish-list, but after picking up the CD last week for a mere 50p, I was very impressed. The score utilizes the accordian slightly more than I would have liked, but has some fantastic textured tracks, such as this one.

The track opens with a 'Blues in the night' style riff on the piano. The lead is then taken by a blistering muted trumpet sound. I've always thought of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks work as being heavily Mancini-influenced, but that link has never been more clear to me than on this track, which has a similar moody tone to some of the best tracks on the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me soundtrack. The classic Mancini string sound is also in evidence, as well as a gentle wordless chorus. About half-way through, legendary tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson takes up the melody. The dreaded accordian gets a brief look-in before the track concludes with some more riffing on the trumpet. Fantastic stuff; Mancini really was an inspirational arranger.

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

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

Another of my favorite Beach Boys tracks, 'warmth of the sun' is a haunting ballad, sung astoundingly beautifully (Carl Wilson does the lead vocals) over a twangy picked electric guitar. From the astounding album 'Shut down vol. 2' which also gave us 'Don't Worry Baby'! 6 years ago I thought that the Beach Boys were pretty much 'Surfin' USA and other surfer hits'. I'm glad I was able to get beyond this - there's so much to discover!

Beautiful summery easy-bossa arrangement of this Villa-Lobos orchestral piece. The tempo floats along at a lazy pace, augmented by gorgeous piano and flute solos, then comes to an abrupt end with a very cool bass riff. Apparently, Schifrin recorded another version of this song in 1996 on the "Gillespiana" album, and that features Karlheinz Stockhausen's son Markus playing trumpet!

This magnificent track is from the oft-ignored years Aretha spent at Columbia Records. Most of her material for the label consisted of religious songs and jazz standards and she truly shines here. She sings with a sense of urgency and a slight cry in her voice as she pleads with her love not to abandon her. As much as I love her Atlantic catalogue, this song and the album it comes from are at the top of my Aretha Franklin list.

The most beautiful, sensual song I have ever heard in my life. It feels like a warm, tucked-in, comfortable sigh from a lover nestling in on your shoulder, holding you ever tighter while whispering words of love in your ear. Try to top that.

The Divine One pours herself into this number completely. Her serene confidence breathes a kind of hyper-life into the lyrics. But the way she caresses the melody and strokes it so adeptly with her brilliant vocals sends me right over the top every time.

If I ever fall in love again, the woman of my affections will, in my wildest, most fantastic dreams, melt with me on this.

Please excuse the sap...

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.

I'll assume the english spelling.

Not the most obvious song by the late Athur Lyman for a favourite, but I was given the LP 'Blowing in the wind' when I'd never heard of Exotic music, let alone Denny or Lyman. This track was the one taht got me hooked, its a song I can remember from my childhood (god knows who by), and Lyman performs it beautifully, I can't remember if theres any accompaniment, but I doubt it (there isn't I checked). all I can remember is the vibes.

Theres a great dynamic spectrum on this track from still to speaker crackling and back to still again.
And all at about 2 minutes long.

To me, songs like this best express the genius of Brian Wilson. Listen to the tender lyrics and vocal on this...this is the happiest he has ever sounded. (Given the time that this was recorded, it's almost depressing...this was probably also the last time in his life that he was truly happy. What the more poetic call bittersweet?) Yet, this is so mellow and unassuming. It's blissful, joyous - and above all else, madly in love, as evidenced by the spoken "I love you." at the end. The writing credits lists Wilson-Love, but all I can hear is Brian here. Mike Love was never this genuine.

As for the arrangement, it hints at what was to come with "Pet Sounds". Fender bass! Tambourines! Harpsichords! It's a beautiful thing, and Sonny Bono built his career off of it. Sleep well, sweet Congressman.

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.

To me, this track is a perfect distillation of all that is wonderful about bossa nova and the various hybrids which it inspired. Bossa nova was taken up all over the world after its rise in the late 50s and early 60s, but Italian musicians seem to have done an especially good job of absorbing its charms.

A simple instrumental, this opens with a plucked guitar and simply builds up and down, adding piano and strings and then taking them out so beautifully that it makes you shiver. Alas, the rest of the compilation this is taken from suffers from poor sound quality. If anyone comes across the original Giancarlo Gazzani album, I'd be very keen to hear it, although I fear this track may be an isolated gem.

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.

An absolutely brilliant fuzzy, snarly, angst-ridden, stomping teen garage cut from this legendary Texas band. Sounds almost like it was recorded in somebody's bathroom. Beautiful stuff.

Ms. Simone sings almost with a sense of agony knowing that the object of her affection is untamed and unavailable even as she begs for his love. This track is heartbreakingly beautiful and is great listening in the late hours with the lights dimmed.

This beautiful cover of the Beatles song was buried on a b-side in the UK in 1966,it deserved to have been a big hit for Cilla. Cilla's treatment and George Martin's arrangement make this essential listening.

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 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...........

A song whose verse is achingly beautiful for its harmony, melody and arrangement - so much that it stopped me in my tracks when I heard it playing in a record shop recently. Interestingly it took me many years of familiarity to really appreciate this track, which is in stark contrast to "God Only Knows", which I have loved since the first time I heard it.

Possibly the most beautiful and complex pop song ever written. This is the apex of Brians foray into modular music. Loved by Bernstein and McCartney. This song will take you years to sink in. Perfect. I have heard some amazing versions he has done of this equally as powerful.

A beautiful take on this tune, which sounds as if it were made for the group. The sound is typical of Sergio Mendes’s work - a strong driving bossa nova beat, a beautifully clean piano arrangement, and tasteful vocals.

A superb, achingly beautiful song which, to my knowledge, never appeared on a Beach Boys album, and was merely a studio outtake. The track opens with an incredible dense wall of harmonized vocals, and emotive lyrics ("I miss you darlin, I miss you so hard"). Later, the rhythm changes, and it becomes (to my taste) slightly cheesily rocky, but not so much as to ruin the song, which still rates as one of the Beach Boys' finest.

After years of thinking (quite selfishly) how tragic it was that Jeff Buckley only gave us two beautiful albums plus a few bits and pieces, I started to think that even though his old man died young as well, he released 9 albums and that there was almost certainly an untapped resource just asking for the tapping. I've only got a couple so far (Goodbye and Hello, and Greetings from LA) but the similarities with Jeff are amazing. They both have this sort of (and I'm sure I'm not the first to use this term in reference to the Buckleys) 'sad beauty' about the melody and changes which just never fails to give me a lift. This song is a prime example of that.

Any North American readers may already be familiar with this haunting folk-rock number, as I believe it's a bit of an FM staple over there. For UK-based music fans such as myself, however, it's a bolt from the blue. Imagine a combination of The Mamas & The Papas and Jefferson Airplane at their spookiest, with shedloads of virtuoso violin and flanged percussion all the way through.

One more note: the self-titled album from which this song comes has an absolutely gorgeous cover (see http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000000DPF.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg), but the re-release is just white type on black - shame on Columbia.

So surprised that the composer, Mr. Bruce Blackman wrote a comment on Mrs. Bluebird's recommendation of this site! And this song "Rumor" ,their first single, was also written by him and Keith Olsen. Beautifully pop melody, intertwined harmony and good sense of guitar arrangement...It's like a comfortable summer breeze. Though I do love "The Other Side of Me", "I Wanna Be With You" and "Mrs. Bluebird" as well, this is the best track in me.

Dusty's intimate reading of this song is pin point perfect (no surprise!). Starting out in low quiet tones, the song crescendos as she promises anything to make her love stay with her for just a few minutes more. Heartbreakingly beautiful!!

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

This one has really been haunting me. I recently heard this rare and sought after album, and was entranced by the opening track, a devastating vocal. Although Lani Groves sings in English, in a style very similar to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, I knew that this was a Brazilian track that I had heard before.

Researching a song with as generic a title as 'I want your kiss' is hard though, and with no knowledge of who the composer was, most of the search engine results were soft porn stories. After a while I threw on Elis Regina's first album, Samba - eu canto assim, and happily found the information I was looking for. The original Portuguese song is called 'Sou sem paz', and was written by Adylson Godoy, who may or may not be the same person as Amilton Godoy, who was the pianist in the Zimbo Trio.

After all my research, I was disappointed to learn that this song has hardly ever been recorded; the only versions I know of are this and those by the Zimbo Trio and Elis Regina.

Trivia aside, this is a nice fusion of several of my musical passions. The chord sequence is unusual, delicate and surprising, and the vocal is passionate. I think it would be fair to say that Lani Groves doesn't have quite Elis's passionate delivery, but for me this is offset by the beautiful backing arrangement, featuring some great organ playing.

One beautifully-constructed, jazz-flavoured number.
Its jazzy chords and conga rhythm are complemented by a set of psychedelic lyrics about Tracy who "had a hard day Sunday" for "she had to be herself and no one else". Real ear-candy for me. One of the best (mildly) psychedelic tracks out there, ever.

Simply beautiful music. Fontaine and Higelin take turns singing verses, accompanied by a jazz band that delivers spare, but beautifully affecting melodic touches. The chemistry of the two voices is great, and everytime I hear this song, I can't wait to hear the next reply in the flow of their odd, sad conversation about influenza, love, and death. "Ma grippe vous va tr�s bien... La mort vous ira tr�s bien." (My flu suits you very well... death will suit you very well.)

Opposed to the dramatic Morricone interpretation of "Se telefonando", recommended elsewhere on Musicaltaste, Mina is in a beautifully light bossa mood here on "Conversazione". And the arrangement adequately reflects this with joyful flutes, gentle electric guitar and rather muted strings.

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.

Just discovered this cover of the Neil Diamond song on Youtube, along with several other videos by the Music Machine, and it really stunned me. It's a beautiful soft pop version of "Cherry Cherry" complete with flute solo-nothing like the other songs I've heard from the band. Nothing garagey about it at all, more in the easy listening vein...and I mean that in a good way!

Another great cover version that the Music Machine do is "Hey Joe"-their's is my favorite version of that oft-recorded chestnut.

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.

A beautiful, lush masterpiece with a bossa nova beat (hmm, is there a pattern to the songs I'm submitting?), 'how to open...' is one of my top tracks ever. It opens quietly with a slightly cheesy flute sound over a gentle guitar. A great wordless vocal then comes in coupled with strings. Superb. If you never listen to music like this, what I'm saying probably doesn't exactly make it sound cool. But it really is cool, very very cool indeed.

A beautifully gentle and textured version of this song, led by some great group harmony vocals. These are backed by a gentle bossa nova beat, electric harpsichord, and strings which sweep in and out. Gentle and addictive listening.

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

Both shocking and extremely cool, this has to be heard to be believed - a 'rock' adapation of Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor which really does rock. Cy Coleman lays a huge funky breakbeat and a heavy bassline on top of the beautifully dark, doomy theme. A jazzy guitar comes in and out as the track builds. I've never heard anything quite like it (I mean that in a good way). I am now unable to hear the original piece without Cy Coleman's breakbeat!

A great example of a classical-pop arrangement where a pop song gets a pseudo-classical treatment. Here, this Bacharach classic is rendered with harpsichord and wordless scat vocals, and the result is kitschy but also stunningly beautiful.

If romantic, dramatic, emotionally fragile and beautifully orchestrated baroque pop with woodwinds moves you then you're blessed... by me.

In my opinion, the best S&G song, from their '68 masterpiece "Bookends". Lyrically beautiful, with a haunting melody and beautiful vocals care of Artie and Paul. A beautiful, soothing song for a turbulant time.

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

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

The soundtrack to Bedazzled is remarkably good, one of a few much-hyped records floating around in my head that has actually lived up to my expectations. This instrumental is notable for its haunting mood and astonishingly beautiful chord sequence. The flute melody, lush strings and gentle latin percussion combine beautifully. Musically, it's one of those pieces that's so good you want to cry.

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!!

The lady may have left the stage, but her spirit lives on in her recordings, and this is among her finest!! Sadly unreleased in the US for 28 years, this gloriously somber song was included in the 1995 anthology box set. Dusty sings with a sadness in her voice as she vocally paints a picture of a dreary day. While the overcast sky fails to crush her spirit, it does provide an opportunity for introspection and reflection. She is accompanied only by piano and orchestral strings which give this song a beautifully sad sound that make it perfect for playing on a rainy day.

Ms. Franklin tears into yet another great song and delivers a performance that is second to none! Poor Dionne Warwick's version doesn't stand a chance against the queen of soul!! Aretha sits at the piano and turns out a beautiful and emotional hymn to love. Hallelujah, sister soul!

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

Genius late 60s pop with vocal harmonies. This was composed by Roger Nichols, and has some beautiful chord changes and Bacharach-meets-Brian-Wilson interludes.

The verse is sombre and in a minor key, but when they sing 'close to me' to usher in the chorus, the sun comes out! There's some scat singing in the interludes. I had previously only really known the Vogues for '5 o'clock world', but this is superb - an unusual and memorable track.

This track is pure, unadulterated soft rock/sunshine pop heaven. This could easily be mistaken for a lost Association gem with beautifully arranged vocal harmonies by Hi-Los'Clark Burroughs, who, in fact, also produced "Never My Love" and "Windy" (and the rest of the "Insight Out" album for The Association). Combined with a slightly baroque sounding harpsicord, organ, xylophone embellishments and highly idealistic lyrics it makes a lovely piece of sunhsine pop.

Beautifully recorded, totally emo rendition of this gorgeous tune penned by Bacharach and David...sweet!!!

paper cup is about sinking to the lowest rung of society, having been abandoned by a faithless woman. you know when depressed people sometimes have a flash of an idea that they desperately believe will give them a reason to exist? paper cup's like that - the narrator won't have to worry about the things you need for a normal life "cos i don't really want 'em anymore". combine this notion with the 5th dimensions' upbeat, beautiful harmonies and you have a masterwork of melancholic tension.

Since I've been recommending on this site for a while, I came up with a new idea in January. A lot of my all time favourites are on here now, so what I thought I would do now is to recommend a track every week that has had most resonance for me over the past seven days.

A bit of background: I've been having an unhappy time at work lately. I sometimes work shifts and don't get in until 11pm. As I have been so stressed with my daily grind, I've been finding it very difficult to wind down at the end of the day.

This song, this week, is suddenly making sense to me. It's calmed the jumble in my head every night by understanding that the world isn't an ordered place. I've been coaxed out of my rigid state by these 17 minutes. It's not my favourite Velvet Underground song - that would be The Murder Mystery - but after years of always thinking Sister Ray was a self-indulgent filler, I think I finally grasp what its purpose is. Or, at least, I now know there are only certain, bloody awful, weeks in which I can find the beautiful oyster inside this track.

I will return to normal service next week with my usual gay disco or girl group love.

A rather beautiful, melancholic song. Very West Coast 1968 sound, at it's emotional, sensitive, melodic best.



This song and artist should be and should have been far more well known.

This is an absolutely tremendous track.

Very much of its era and an absolute flop, saleswise.

This was, I believe, the only single released by the group,The Owl.
The 'B' side, 'Shades Of Blue & Green Waterfly' is equally as majestic.

Tremendous full orchestra. Very, very powerful vocals by J. Vincent Edwards. Strong melody.

I personally think it's right up there with' Whiter Shade Of Pale' as a classic late '60's, British single, in terms of power and performance.

Beautifully produced and arranged.

Edwards has the kind of voice that was very popular in Britain circa 1968, (sounds just like the lead singer from Plastic Penny).

This should have been massive.

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!

Quirky but beautiful nonsense with an infectious Brazilian beach party beat. The song "So Nice (Summer Samba)" from the same CD shows the range and class of the performer.

There's already an entry for this album, but I felt like I had to note it with an mp3. Ditto to everything that m_thom said, this song is what pushed me over the edge, that perfect heroine high that no other piece of music has given in me since, but it created in me a desire for beautiful music, and that's what brings me here today. If anybody has a copy of the film, I'd pretty much do anything for it.

An attempt to bring a former soul legend up to date at least in 1968,a beautiful soulful ballad composed by Apple man Jackie Lomax and put out by brit psych label Deram .as it happened it sank without trace audible only to collectors of rare soul and sixties pop compilations which is a shame because this is a fine song tinged with a sense of audible regret and sadness that proliferated many a late sixties chart hit of inferior quality

From a recent cd re-issue of a for once real lost classic from the enigmatic but well connected Mr Lincoln. This sort of mines the same seam as Syd Barrett but this is psyche pop firmly rooted in English folk/folkloreand the joining of a collage of three different song parts,what some would refer to as an opus or epic.Haunting nursery rhyme intro makes way for weird fairground interlude and lysergic distraction before concluding with the painfully beautiful intro section,before finishing way too early for its own good.They dont make them like this anymore and couldnt if they tried this is from a different time and place.

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

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

A truly incredible vocal/jazz pop track which really has everything. Os Tres Morais were (are?) a mysterious Brazilian vocal trio. Here they tackle a great Marcos Valle song, and do such a storming job of it that this may be one my very favorite tracks EVER in the whole world ever! Honestly. Until I put a sound sample up, please accept these measly words of explanation:
1. It's bouncy and smooth and has warm strings
2. It's actually quite funky as well
3. The vocal harmonies are fantastic. I don't think there are any actual words - it's all just beautiful interwoven sound
4. Someone starts playing a scratchy electric guitar rebelliously at end of the song, completely out of context with the rest of it. It sounds cool.

A lovely, dark, haunting song with an intricate string arrangement; this really got me hooked on Gainsbourg as soon as I heard it. Musically, the song dazzles me - the arrangement flows beautifully and sounds very original (to me, anyway; if I'm wrong, please help steer me in the direction of more recordings like this!). Serge is a great vocalist here as well. At times he whispers, but some lines he really spits out - 'a quel point je HAIS......ce que tu es...' The guy was a genius.

A charming little song which clocks in at around 35 seconds, opening the superb 'Friends' album. In a way which complements the superb Beach Boys track 'our prayer', 'meant for you' has a slight hint of a religious, hymn-like tone, with a prominent organ sound and uplifting words. The overall effect is a very warm, beautiful track which you keep wanting to hear again.