FIRST HOUR
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (James Taylor) (1975) ... cover version of a Junior Walker and The All Stars song from the previous decade
A Groovy Kind of Love (The Mindbenders)
(1965-66) ... seven years before 10cc, Eric Stewart in a former life, taking over lead vocals with The Mindbenders following the departure of Wayne Fontana
Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper) ... teaser track for the first of today's featured years ~ often features in lists of the best love songs of all time
Two minute masterpieces by Lennon & McCartney:
In My Life (The Beatles) (1965) ... from the Rubber Soul album
For No-One (The Beatles) (1966) ... from the following year's LP Revolver
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Lovin' You (Minnie Riperton)
(1975) ... a lovely, mellow chill-out tune ~ close your eyes and you can imagine her in a garden, on a summer's day, singing to a backdrop of birds whistling merrily in the trees.
Goin' Back (Dusty Springfield)
(1966) .... Gerry Goffin - Carole King song, beautifully sung by Dusty, about 'the loss of innocence that comes with adulthood and attempts to recapture that youthful innocence.' Many other versions have followed, by the likes of Elkie Brooks, Phil Collins and Carole King herself [Source: Wikipedia]
Newsround Tameside: 37 years ago ~ 1984
Closest Thing To Heaven (The Kane Gang) ... soulful ballad from a glorious summer when it was one of the coolest songs on the radio
One Love / People Get Ready (Bob Marley & The Wailers) ... gentle medley recorded in '77 became a posthumous success
Stuck On You (Lionel Richie) ... ... # 12 on the UK chart, just a few weeks before Trevor Walters reggae cover did even better with a # 9
You're The Best Thing (Style Council) ... now available as part of the recent 'definitive' collection Long Hot Summers -The Story of The Style Council, co-compiled by the man himself, Paul Weller. A TV documentary of the same name, featuring interviews with Weller and other long term band members Mick Talbot, Steve White and Dee C Lee aired last year on Sky Arts
Each And Everyone (Everything But The Girl) ... jazzy duo Ben Watt & Tracey Thorn with a cool, laid back sound hailed by some music critics as 'sophisti-pop' (!), a description which could be applied to several other artists around at the time including Carmel, Sade, Matt Bianco and Swing Out Sister
On The Wings of Love (Jeffrey Osborne) .... successful follow up to Stay With Me Tonight which entered the '20' earlier in the year
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Boom Bap Respite (Howard Jones) (1985)... just the man himself playing piano, the instrumental B side of Life In One Day ~ a hidden gem well worth a listen and a complete contrast from his regular output at the time
SECOND HOUR
God Only Knows (The Beach Boys) (1966) .... Top 10 single from the classic album Pet Sounds
Everybody's Talking (The Beautiful South) (1994) ... the late '60s hit for Nilsson was a perfect fit for 'The Southj' ~ vocals by Jacqui Abbott. Nilsson's biggest hit is on the playlist later...
Where Is The Love (Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway)
... teaser track for our next featured year, revived in a later decade by Mica Paris and Will Downing
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
Cast Your Fate To The Wind (Sounds Orchestral) (1965) ... the man behind Sounds Orchestral, Johnny Pearson went on to conduct the house orchestra on Top of the Pops and write some classic TV themes ~ this was one of them....
Sleepy Shores (Johnny Pearson Orchestra) (1971) .... piano led theme of a twice weekly medical 'soap' Owen MD
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Days (Kirsty MacColl)
(1989) ... Kirsty sings The Kinks ~ with such conviction it sounds like one of her own.
Reflections: 49 years ago ~ 1972
Rocket Man (Elton John) .... a year after Your Song, Elton and his lyricist Bernie Taupin came up with another solid gold classic. Nearly 50 years and many, many successful albums and singles later, both songs mentioned have truly stood the test of time and are still regarded as two of the very best
Morning Has Broken (Cat Stevens) ... ... for many of us, it's impossible to hear this and not be transported back to the ritual of school assembly. Cat Stevens' gentle vocal and the sparkling piano playing of Rick Wakeman, prolific session musician in the early '70s took the much-loved hymn to new heights of popularity
Alone Again (Naturally) (Gilbert O Sullivan) .... Gilbert's finest hour the other side of the Atlantic ~ # 1 on the Billboard chart after peaking at # 3 in the UK. Lyrically and musically, an exceptional song
Vincent (Don McLean) ... or Starry, Starry Night as it is perhaps best known. Chart-topping follow up to the equally memorable American Pie
Without You (Nilsson) ... five weeks at # 1, one of the year's biggest selling singles and one of the stand-out songs of the '70s, written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans ~ their band Badfinger recorded it in 1970 as an album track. Many other versions followed with Mariah Carey matching Nilsson's chart-topping success in 1994
Baby I'm A Want You (Bread) ... ... second of five Top 40 hits ~ if you were asked to name a 'soft rock' band, Bread would probably be near the top of the list
Let's Stay Together (Al Green) ... title song of the album which consolidated a growing reputation as one of the finest soul singers of his generation
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SHOW THEME:
Rhapsody In Blue (Rick Wakeman)
written by George Gershwin, arranged by Tony Visconti
from the album Rhapsodies (A&M Records, 1979
Please bear in mind: it's a live show and so, occasionally I might need to change the running order, leave a song out, or
play an unplanned extra song which will not be shown in this weekly music blog.
- MW
