What a song. No time for breathing - because we're straight into three phases of soaring harmonies and choppy Wurlitzer piano chords. As your spine tingles get prepared for the cyclical refrain that brings the song to its climax. We're talking beauty defined.

Possibly one of the greatest pop songs I've heard. A minimal arrangement of synth bells and piano over a distorted & looped drum beat.

A perfect piece of contemporary pop music: uplifting and sunshiny, yet with the right dose of melancholia. The production is excellent, as well as the instrumentation with a very driving rhythm section, warm electric piano, guitars and horns. What makes this really stand out is the terrific string arrangement by Richard Hewson (A protegee of George Martin and quite busy arranging during the 70s) which is very floating, sweeping and lush.

it's really amazing!
there's piano, drums, guitar andgreat Rouse's voice

Delicate instrumental by Dave Grusin, that grows with each listen and has all the charachteristics of late 60s arrangements i love so much. The instrumentation is diverse, rich, yet subtle with piano, organ, horns, flutes and wonderfully arrangened, smooth strings and some harp embellishments thrown in. The mood is mellow, romantic with a dose of melancholia. Another great instrumental from the soundtrack, "California Montage", has recently appeared on "The Get Easy! Sunshine Pop Collection", while this one unfortunately is only available on vinyl.

The album is a huge disapointment (12 years for making an album that sounds like rejected b-sidesmaterial to hounds of love) but this lovely, moving piano ballad about her mothers death shows why there really is no one else like Kate Bush.

I was looking up and down the list and wondered "why wasnt there any Todd Rundgren"? This is one of my all-time favorites from him at his creative peak. Although sometimes his ego and additudes about the music business (and fans) gets in the way of me enjoying his music, on this track he keeps his ego in check and uses his melodic (and commercial) smarts to make this one of this greatest ballads.

This is just an wonderful track, along with a amazing Stevie Wonder meets Brian Wilson all synth production. Also check the solo piano version on his "Back to The Bars" 2-CD set.

Killer New Orleans r&b with a great piano line supplied by none other than Mac Rebbenack (Dr. John).

Ray Charles makes any song that he sings his own. This song is certainly no exception. I've heard several versions over the years but none of them can compare to Mr. Charles'. Sitting at the piano and backed by an orchestra, Ray sings this song with an intimate feeling that nobody can match! The boxset that Rhino put out in 1997 is a great compilation that features tracks from several labels that Ray Charles has recorded for over the years and is worth every penny!!!

Ad Gloriam is a beautiful, light, joyous psychedelic pop song. It's built on looping melodic layers of sound by the standard guitar/bass/drum combo as well as piano and background vocals. I challenge anyone not to smile when they hear this track.

A perfect song. I love every note. The mood is desolate, yet warm and reassuring as well. The bassline and guitar playing recall some of the great early-period New Order tracks. The track fades in beautifully with bass, drums, and guitar. The drums and bass are steady, while the effects-laden guitar shimmers over the top. Liz Fraser's vocal is at first understated, until the chorus begins. Her voice soars as a simple piano sound joins the mix. The chords are simple, almost inevitable, but the instrumentation and execution are quite stunning.

Happily, you can hear this song and see the original video at the Cocteau Twins official site: http://www.cocteautwins.com/html/media/video.html.

nice slice of 50's piano-based novelty rock n' roll. at first this sounded pretty average to me, but when the second verse kicked in, and he started singing like a girl as he'd mentioned earlier in the lyrics, i knew it was a keeper. if you hang in there for the third verse, you'll hear where the man got his nickname, too:). i'm heavily into fifties and early sixties "semi-novelty" records, so this was pretty much like hitting the jackpot.
it's the only song of his i've heard that's done anything for me, though.

Love the piano sound - great lyrics

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

heavy guitar, a "liberace-esque" piano break, un-heavy lyrics. the guitar MAKES this song. jason can play...

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.

astonishingly beautiful, early 70s brazilian masterpiece. a classical piece disguised as a pop song, with a simple piano playing a wistful melody punctuated by an amazing unexpected ascending chord hook. gismonti sings the original version, with a string section and morricone-like wordless vocal backing him. for the final minute the key changes and the vocals and accompaniment stop, and the solo piano veers off into satie territory, before resolving back into the refrain. gismonti re-recorded this a few times, after finding success in europe as an avant/classical composer. this song also inspired the guitar and mandolin trio agua e vinho, who cover it on their self-titled album along with a few other gismonti compositions.

Ed Harcourt has now committed this song to tape three times in three years. Firstly on the excellent debut mini-LP "Maplewood" in 2000. It was fleshed out and re-recorded for his full-length debut LP, "Here Be Monsters", in 2001, and now surfaces again in 2002 as the a-side of his most recent single. This time it's even better still, and comes accompanied with a great video. This is classic, piano led pop which could have been recorded at any time in the last 30 years. Comparisons to Randy Newman, Nick Drake andTom Waits have been forthcoming, and not unjustified. A great song which just gets better with each trip to the studio.

Like most of the boatman's call album, this one is very sparse - it's essentially the piano and Nick's voice. The lyrics are Nicks best ever effort though I reckon - it's him trying to decide if someone really is the love of his life: "well we would know, won't we?/ stars would explode in the sky/ But they don't, do they?/ Stars have their moment, and then they die."
 
It really does repay listening to about a hundred times - very moving.

This song has a very tender vocal, which I believe is by either Carl or Dennis, a super-cool reverb-laden piano and sweet handclaps that cue up organ and trumpets. As fully-realized a piece as anything on "Pet Sounds".

If You have a good hi fi system seriously set up with good speaker cable and good interconects and your taste is smooth jazz. this lady is wonderful. Just piano double bass and drums hear. The detail in this CD recording is brilliant. every light touch the drummer makes you can pick it out. the track i have picked is the title its soft haunting and rather special have a listen.

http://www.jazzweek.com/feature/article/7_000432.html

Best known for their organ-drenched debut 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", Procol Harum continued for quite a long while and in fact have re-formed in recent years. A lot of their 1970s songs seem to have an odd jerkiness about them, but "As Strong As Samson" is the one in which they put it all together properly, 'cause it's smooth, heavy, and it swings! With organ, piano, and pedal steel guitar all pitching in, surely this is high up somewhere in the 1970s top ten songs.

Produced by Chris Thomas, who later did "Back On The Chain Gang" for the Pretenders and the "Different Class" LP for Pulp, so that's quite a line of quality there.

The beginning of "As We Fall" starts with piano and later some synths and drums. I love the lyrics and how well Groundbreaking creates the atmosphere for the song.

A trippy sounding track from the One-man-with-variou-people-helping-out band "Netherfriends. A Korg making weird sounds in the background, piano, a nice drum beat, and some pretty good vocals too.

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."

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!

What a great song! Burt's a heavy hitter on these pages, as you can tell I'm sure. There is something magical when he sings, maybe it's because he seems to humble the incredible songs he writes, or that he works with the best singers to walk the earth. Here is Burt at his best, in a spare setting with a strolling rhythm and paced piano chords, almost like he's singing to you across a smoky piano bar. The song conveys a simple truth, and almost makes it seem like a gospel, that nature continues unabated despite human trials and tribulations... How true.

A hard LP to get your hands on it seems. But worth the wait!

This track is only available on the japanese reissue of "Garra" as a bonus track. I can only assume it's from the same session, if so it's completely beyond me why this gem has been left out, maybe it didn't fit in the context of the album since it's incredibly mellow with great flutes, horns, piano, oboe and silky strings and possibly didn't properly mix with the rest of the songs on the record.

This is a very lively track that was produced by Bob Crewe, of Four Seasons fame (and who just might be my favourite producer of all time). It utilizes piano triplets, horns, clattering drums, and great lead and backing vocals to make a typically tight '60s track where not a moment is wasted. And it's in 6/8 time, which means it can sound straightforward but with a bit of "swing" to it, meanwhile some of the drum fills can hit on every second beat rather than every third one. There really hasn't been a better song out of Canada in these past 40 years ...

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!

Just a perfect, perfect pop song. Makes you wanna dance and groove along, but at the same time it's soo unbelievably sweet and a just a liitle melancholy. It starts with a drum beat, and then there's this bass-and-drums groove for a few seconds. Then a little sweet electric piano line enters, just before the voice begins singing the melody: "I'm drinking stars up in the sky, you know where you are / I'm driving cars around your house, it seems so fun". When it's time for the chorus ("So listen to my bubble go pop / I'm coming in, I'm coming over the top"), the main voice sings over a backing vocal doing an "ooh" harmony, and then there's absolute genius backing vocal, where the word "pop" becomes "papapapa". After that, a little guitar riff/solo, along with a very cool electric piano line. Then it just repeats everything all over again one more time, for infinite happiness. The time for a middle break has arrived. A new funky bass groove with lots of different "papapa"s harmonizing together. Now, go back to the first bass-and-drums groove, with a jazzy, relaxed guitar solo, and then it's just grooves and grooves and heavenly harmonies, "Blowin' bubbles".

Kind of like a drole walk through rainy streets in Europe somewhere. Light, jangley echoy guitar reminds me of Ocean Blue, The Smiths and more but in a more mello mood. No one seems to know who Brandi Ifrgray is... he sang for Shadowplay before releasing two very cool CD's "Le Mutant" and "Stargazer".

a couple of great spy jazz tracks from the movie "si j'etais un espion" by my favourite old pervert..funky guitar/strings combination followed by a morricone-like piano part. (this entire soundtrack seems to be quite inspired by some of morricone�s work...) there's a really nice repetetive bass line that pops up a couple of times during the track.

What a beautiful song from one of the most influential duos of the 1960's. Paul Simon has written some of the best songs of this past century and this is among his finest. The moving orchestration featuring piano, violins, and the booming kettle drums convey the emotions of this song in a way that transcends time. It is still as moving as it was 32 years ago at the time it was released!

Just a great song from a great artist. With a piano base, from the CD Stanley Road.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this one of Sergio Mendes' hipper tracks from his Brasil '66 or '77 period. It has that old sound to it and is really warm. It starts off breezy and builds with energy whilst Roman Andren, a young Swedish musician, composer and DJ, plays some beautiful electric piano over the top. Although it starts off with vocals over a sparse bass and electric piano combo, the vocals don't come in again until a while into the track. By the end of the track, the energy is at its most, yet still breezy, with brass, vocals and hand-claps providing a sense of a party. It's the perfect song for a summer's day or, close your eyes on a dreary winter's day and be transported.

The idea of a funky jazz harp rendition of this classic Jim Webb song is probably cheesy to some people, but trust me, this one works brilliantly. The opening shimmers delightfully with fender rhodes piano, strings, and a huge breakbeat. Dorothy's harp then takes over, and we move into a nice pop/funk/jazz take on the song. The relentless beat is pretty funny when you compare this version to others (e.g. the Glen Campbell hit version, also Nick Cave's classic stripped down version from 'Kicking against the pricks'), but it is really very charming, happy stuff. A similar funk/pop hybrid occurs on her version of 'Windmills of your mind' - highly recommended.

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

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

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

Melancholy but hopeful. This is a gentle song, with acoustic and electric guitars, electric piano, bass, drums, and voice. Excellent lyrics, terrific mood.

There's a little story here, punctuated by flashes of images and moments.

The song is written by Henning Ohlenbusch who has worked with Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne), Mark Mulcahy, and Lloyd Cole. If those names mean anything to you, then chances are you will enjoy this warm track.

Guitar, piano, violins, drums, backing chorus and Ornella Vanoni singing in this gorgeous San Remo hit from 1968. This is one of the type of 'slow burn' italian 60's pop hits that I can't get enough of, sort of mid-tempo with a rich detailed backing arrangement and vocals with a certain weight but which by the end will soar.

Two years before he became the musician responsible for the great music featured in the classic 'Peanuts'animated TV specials, Vince Guaraldi and his trio hit the charts with this great little instrumental that is the epitome of San Fransisco-style jazz. Vince Guaraldi was a master at Jazz piano and the artists who performed with him created truly great performances that any lover of jazz will be glad to have in their collection.

PS: Released as the B-Side of a single to radio stations, disc jockeys preferred it over the A-Side.

This is a jazzy, haunting track from an LP I bought in Brazil last year. I've tried hard to find information about Jean Kelson, but the only mention I've found (other than those I've made myself) is in one of Ed Motta's excellent archived radio shows at his official site (http://www2.uol.com.br/edmotta/sala.htm). Ed plays a different track from this album, Munganga.

Catolé sounds musically like a variation of Baden Powell's classic 'Berimbau', and opens with an incredibly catchy refrain featuring piano, percussion and trumpet. Gentle male voices then come in and flesh out the melody. The entire album is great. I wonder what the chances are of it coming out on CD...

A great thumping house-groove! Robert Miles flawlessly blends amazing piano work with great techno and produced a great album of very danceable tracks, especially this one. This is perfect for listening to while driving!

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.

Bluesy guitar and piano

I first heard this song sampled on 'The Truth' by Handsome Boy Modelling school, essentially the bones of the instrumental coffee cold, with new lyrics from Roisin Murphy (much better than Fergus MacRoy's on a alternate version of the original).

The song itself is piano based, and has amazing drumming. I am a musical goon and cannot explain it much more than that, but the song has a really nice dusty feel to it. The fact that this was sampled in a modern hiphop record and the drums remained unenhaced says a lot.

This is a great song and well worth tracking down for any fans of funk, jazz or hip hop.

Although this track is not my favorite from Berlin's Jazzanova, I think it best represents the best bits of of their own work and their remixes for others. This track is a few years old but has been newly remixed by Japan's Fukutomi. Jazzanova are at the forefront of the nu jazz scene in the dance world. Beginning with a soulful piano introduction, the tune breaks into a heavy bass driven uptempo beat, sprinkled with a bit of a jazz scat, and a sample of a very haunting and seductive flute solo that sounds as if it has been lifted from an old soundtrack. The song however is not as simple as this review and must be listened to carefully to appreciate all that it offers.

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

This is by no means a new release, but I've recently gotten back in to it. Most people have a misconception about The Misfits. Yes they have recorded some very 'crap' songs, and the newly re-vised band and almost everything Danzig has done lately is complete garbage in my eyes, however the original Misfits early recordings, circa 1975-77 are simply amazing. 'Cough/ Cool' is a Hammond/ Fender Rhodes driven, atmospheric masterpiece. Danzig croons like Jim Morrison in this emotionally charged ballad(?). Granted, the lyrics are kind of dark, "scent of blood when you cough, cool, cool, cool, cough, cool ", and most of the other words are relatively indeciphrable, yet shockingly 'pretty'...at least in their tonal quality. The song is very scaled-down and under produced (organ, electric piano, bass and drums), but this is a good thing, it's part of its charm. The amount of reverb and slap-back echo on Glenn's voice is brilliant. So, I urge anyone who has never listened to The Misfits due to the forementioned reasons to get off their collective 'high horses' and give it a listen, they have some really great songs. Other good tracks from the same era include; "Return of The Fly", "She", "Hybrid Moments", "Come Back", "American Nightmare", etc...

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.

it's a very beautiful song!! The piano in the background is sooo soulful!
I think, beyoncé sings in this song about her true experiences and feelings.

Dave Gedge, main man in long-time British alternative band The Wedding Present, decided to do something a bit different in the latter part of the 1990s, so he enlisted girlfriend Sally Murrell and a number of musical friends and put out some really good material under the name Cinerama. The purpose was to do some less noisy, more classic-pop oriented tunes, and it worked like a charm! This track, their second single, is a sprightly '60s-influenced number, which means it's mega-tightly produced and has the rhythm guitars at the back of the mix where they belong. It also has a nifty string and piano arrangement. Lyrically it's a fantasy about a girl he wants very badly (not in real life presumably). The song is on my '90s top ten list for sure!

I fell in love with this song this evening. At this point it's hard to find many words to describe it; I'm just dazzled by how wonderful it is. It's a mournful and spooky-sounding soul song, opening with some percussion, and then some harmonized background vocals, drums, brass and piano. I guess the kicker for me are the shimmering strings in the arrangement, which come in with the main vocal. The vocals are fraught with emotion, and there is a very interesting use of vocal sounds as the song fades out.

Being a Five Stairsteps novice, I'd like to know if they recorded many other tracks like this. I gather that the record was produced by Curtis Mayfield, but I've never heard anything by him with quite such a delectable arrangement. Any advice would be appreciated!

This is one of the great chase songs that I know. From the insistent piano-based beat you can imagine Apollo getting it on for Daphne, and putting her in the sky or something, which seems to have been de rigueur for Greek gods. Kayak played guitar-and-piano-based progressive pop/rock (without anything overly long) but didn't really come together until "Phantom of the Night" in 1979 (ignore the UBL ratings, they're way off the mark). "Ruthless Queen" and the title track are very pretty and overall the whole album is excellent.

Upon first listen to this tune, I was sold! Available so far only on 12", the track starts off in a traditional congas ala samba vibe with dashes of upright bass. Then the simple but colorful piano melody kicks in and your booty is ready to move. Although this is a modern dancefloor stormer you cannot help but hear its nod to a bygone era in Latin music. If it wasn't for the quick tempo I would think this fine example of a dancefloor delight was created in the late 60s, early 70s.

Gorgeous, sensitive piano-driven ballad with Valle and Nascimento trading lines. This reminds me of how rare it is to find a duet with two men (makes me wish I knew Portuguese to understand the lyrics!). Beautifully sung and arranged, the tune is pretty much an ideal melding of Valle's and Nascimento's sounds.

This is pure fun, a track with that 'easy cheesy' sound which many people love to hate. But wait, this is brilliant! Although rather clunky and an extremely 'square' take on 'hip', this is quite magnificent, honestly. Backed by a relentless beat, Ronnie plays the tune on 2 pianos, while for the bridge section the superb harmonies in the Beach Boys original are played out beautifully by the London Festival Orchestra. Although it's something of a guilty pleasure, I have to recommend this track very highly. Listening to it now on headphones, I notice that it even has that stereo effect having each piano come out of a different channel, an effect used to great effect on his version of 'soulful strut'.

A nice funky instrumental with simple blues chords. Ramsey plays electric piano, and the beat is sweet, like a lot of Cadet label stuff from the late 60s. Groovy stuff, and quite easy to come by on the reissue 2 LP - 'Inside Ramsey Lewis'.

WOW! We all know how much the brazillians love Burt, well, this is a fine example of how well he was interpreted by the south.



They keep the original arrangement but spice it up a bit with snappy side-stick beat and pumped-up organ stabs ala' Wanderley.The singers are (I believe) Gracinha Leporace & Pery Ribeiro,and they harmonize beautifully as Manfredo Fest rythmically taps his organ paired with piano in a sumptuous unison.They carry the song along in gradually ascending stages of bliss,until they drop away only to build "Do-you -know-the-ways"in an rounded refrain to finsh it off...Absolutely gorgeous! Produced by Sergio Mendes in his imitable style!!!Also check out their version of "Up, Up, And Away", from the same LP.

A very cheerful song, with some great piano. The lyrics are funny, if you're into that kind of thing. (I am.)

I know very little about Hal - I just picked up this LP for a dollar on a hunch that it might be good. It's pretty great. There are two or three very strong 'mod' tracks, and then this, an example of my favorite kind of easy listening cut. It's very pretty and reasonably slow, with nice strings, good piano and solid percussion. There are some vocals, but their involvement is minimal. If I have a complaint, it's that the piano becomes slightly overbearing. But it's a cool track all the same.

Starts out quietly, acoustic guitar playing the theme, joined quickly by discreet electric piano and stand-up bass, then Martyn's low, growly-yet-soulful voice starts repeating the chorus ("I don't wanna know about evil/Only want to know about love") like a mantra. Halfway through, the rhythm section kicks in, and you find yourself singing along to said mantra. Highly effective and very memorable.

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 1974, she had gone to the piano more by then

The Brand New Heavies were one of the significant groups of the then popular "Acid Jazz" sound in the early 90s. "Dream On Dreamer" still strikes me with it's precisely executed funk rhythm and lush production: Tight rhythm section with funky drums, guitar and bass combined with jazzy piano chords, swirling strings and a crisp brass section. On top of that some flutes, fluegelhorn, percussion and organ with a very pleasant vocal performance by N'Dea Davenport.

"Dressed in black, he walks alone, a shadow in the night." The Shangri-Las death trip reached a powerful climax in this eerie song of loss and lingering. Funereal piano chords balanced by surging choruses and a closing spoken section that leaves you as weak as the sadly wounded narrator. If this one doesn't get to you, you ain't got a heart.

Another stunner from an album full of them, "Eden Rock" finds common ground between folk-rock and quiet storm, sounding very ahead of its time. Piano, congas, bass, Spanish guitar and a smoooove lead vocal over jazzy changes mark this as a lost classic. It anticipates many of the paths that 70s pop, rock and R&B would follow. Two minutes and twenty-five seconds of joy.

vocals and piano
lyrics and just the sound
D:D

Eleanor Rigby does not immediately seem like the kind of song which would sound good as a cover version, but this fantastic version by Oscar Peterson proves otherwise. It opens with a simply heavenly string sequence from Claus Ogerman. Then Peterson’s gentle and percussive piano comes in backed with an driving bossa nova guitar and a huge, rich string arrangement. The tempo then switches over to a more jazzy style with a walking bass.

One of Elton's best piano ballads. This one deals with homosexuality in a sympathetic light.

Classic period Traffic ,soulful vocals ,jazzy electric piano and funky flute .Never soaring but gently uplifting on a sunny morning.

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.

Most of the soundtrack to this comedy-caper flick is pretty standard '60s soundtrack material. This track, however, is moody, top-notch crime jazz... The arrangement is chaotic but stirring with some really heavy bass-piano, wailing brass, and organ (used more as an atmospheric sound effect than to deliver any melody). Special thanks to Darrell Brogdon for playing this on his Retro Cocktail Hour.

Ben is one swingin' cat. Mocoto rock his Composition. Infectious piano & tamborine!

Very Perfect LP. Outstanding performing, nicely recorded, nicely paced. And a fine list of composers. Tim Maia, Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, Erasmo Carlos/Roberto Carlos & Jorge Ben.

The magical Mr Foxx begins to allow some warmth into his sound after the detached ,sometimes clinical feel of his early Ultravox records and alienated classic "Metamatic".The voice is still remote and the lyrics open to a vaugue interpretation but this sublime piece of post punk pop benefits from Spanish guitar and an almost Abba-esque piano motif .This new found warmth adds a feel of hope and optimism to a previously bleak musical landscape .

This is such a fun song.. the lyrics outline this crazy relationship "I was happy this mornin/ you finally got yourself dressed/ eating raw bacon/ it's okay I was still impressed" It's got a happy beat w/ piano in the background. Love it.

Almost a clasical piano piece but with amazing vocals

This is a slow, sultry, intimate piano-led song that makes a remarkable contrast to the frosty "Isadora" (q.v.) off the same LP, despite both songs having basically the same acoustic guitar / bass / drums / piano / vocals lineup. The difference between this kind of soft-rock and, say, the Carpenters, is that the latter were schmaltzy beyond endurance while Illusion provided the genuine article ...

"Face Of Yesterday" was recorded earlier by Renaissance on their "Illusion" LP, which gave its name to this group, which was actually mostly the same Renaissance lineup (with Jane Relf and Jim McCarty) before the Camp / Dunford / Thatcher group took over Renaissance. I know, I know, you can't follow the players without a scorecard in this case ...

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

With Saint Etienne being one of my favourite groups of the last decades (and possibly the best british pop group today) it's really hard to pick a track, it wouldn't be hard to recommend dozens of amazing tracks they did the last 15 years. That said, "Fascination" is the only new song they produced since Finisterre (2002) and it was included on their first compilation released in the US. It doesn't really matter if they embrace a more late 60s style a la Good Humor or a more electronic or dance approach to their music, due to Sarah Cracknells distinctive voice and Stanleys and Wiggs' ear for strong melodies it always sounds essentially Saint Etienne. This one is a heartfelt, bittersweet song, with an almost Hip Hop-ish basic beat, lush synths, floating harp-like electronica and a great piano melody.

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

Sounds eerily similar to Magnet, though.

The song has a soft piano/banjo/orchestra backround. The music flows through the heart with a soft melancholic note. Her voice reminds me of a sad cashier and a movie star combined. She isn't like any other singer i've ever heard. The lyrics related to me extremely well and made me truly smile. It truly is a beautiful song

Erasure is always guarenteed to get your feet moving and this song is certainly no exception. A surreal dancy story of alien abduction set to a great housy beat with prominent piano work that brings Robert Miles' "Dreamland" album to mind every time I listen to it. A great bassbeat mix of 'In My Arms' also appears among the nine tracks on this single.

An incredibly perfect easy listening piece, this opens with an other-worldly, John-Barry-ish synth sound, and then leads into a groovy, lightly funky piano riff, with shimmering strings. Francis Lai's signature organ sound carries the tune as the song builds into a dramatic orchestral pop masterpiece. A standout track, with superb wistful, lazy, summer day feel, rather like some of the best tracks on the 'Sound Gallery' compilation of a few years ago.

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.

This must be the epitome of French progressive rock, a (mostly) languid song made by piano and organ on top of the usual rock instrumentation. There is a short fast/noisy bit just before the middle that jars a bit, but basically you want to just lie back and relax while listening to this track, it's so mellow and lovely. Also recommended: "St. John's Avenue" and "The Gulf Of Knowledge" from their second LP "Windows".

Simple but powerful song. One of the best portuguese songs ever. The only instrument is a piano.

The amount of 80s talent was really incredible on Electronic's debut single: Bernard Sumner (New Order) doing vocals and synths, Johnny Marr (Ex-The Smiths) on guitar (pulling off a wonderful solo in the middle of the song), Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) providing background vocals and Anne Dudley (Art Of Noise, arranger on ABC's legendary "Lexicon Of Love") orchestrated a wonderfully lush string arrangement. The outcome is a fluffy, elegant, slightly melancholic and almost timeless piece of british pop music (except for that dated, rather bland sounding electric piano).

A wonderful version of “Going out of my head”, which was originally sung by Little Anthony and the Imperials. It's a great song anyway, with really nice words (well, nice for a Smiths fan like me, anyway: 'there's no reason why...my being shy...should keep us apart...'), but Sergio Mendes also adds an extra musical edge to the chorus, and this really adds a new dimension to the song. The instrumentation is classic Brasil 66: Percussive jazz piano, group vocals, and a driving bossa nova beat.

Brian Eno on guitar, percussion, organs and piano and John Cale on viola. When you put geniuses like these two together, something brilliant is bound to happen. In this case, it's this song. This one gets me every time.

I've come to really like this band, but when I first heard them, I wasn't so keen. Like many great bands, Hefner feature a highly distinctive singer, who can take some time to grow on you. This simple 3 and a half minute pop song has an engaging arrangement, in which the piano, drums and guitar are superbly complemented in the chorus by synth, brass, and some great backing vocals. The chorus is quite glorious, with a chord sequence that somehow reminds me of the group Mercury Rev's very best songs. The words go very well with the emotional music as well: 'Lost feelings of love come flooding back/Every time you cry/ you give me little heart attacks/Love seems strongest when it's new/but that's something I can't prove/I can't prove that I love you...'

The only other reference point that occurs to me is Pulp - as the song builds, lead singer Darren Hayman's delivery becomes ever more exhuberant, like that of Jarvis Cocker in the best Pulp songs. Looking at the CD, I notice that the excellent backing vocals are by Amelia Fletcher, who if I remember correctly did some Wedding Present backing vocals, and was the singer in the Sarah records band 'Heavenly'. Anyway, this is a really infectious track, highly recommended.

Terrifyingly fantastic track.

Piano noodling, oboes, crisp 1972 drums.

What lies in the future is a mystery to us all. There may come a time when I will see that I've been wrong. But for now this is my song. And it's "Goodbye to love".

Waves of vocals raining down.

A guitar solo that refuses to die.

One of the best groups immersed in the second wave of Italian progressive bands. They were able to fluidly combine classical and avant-garde elements in an involving manner with electric and acoustic instruments complemented by light, soft vocals. Arturo Stalteri piano, organ, spinet, cembalo, synth, glockenspiel, acoustic guitar, recorder, tambourine, violin Gaio Chiocchio electric & acoustic guitar, mandoline, harpsicord, synth, shaj baja, zither tirolese, sitar, bell Jacqueline Darby voice This group was formed by piano virtuoso Arturo STALTERI , it reminds me of Schoenberg+Ennio Morricone goes to the prog church with a crisp broadcast-like vocalist (experimental). Sometimes it makes people want to skin cats.

A beautiful piano-led instrumental, mainly gentle in mood, and an affecting vehicle for the distinctive harmononies and layered textures that characterise Steve's work.

Perfect combination between a piano and Tom Chaplin's voice. Very simple song, but still wonderful.

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

Seven minutes of soul bliss. Loverboys the Players are. Amazing vocals. Great piano work.

Sweet guitar riffing. Nice Flutelines. The title doesn't lie.

Simon Warner sings beautifully orchestrated and heartfelt songs with a mixture of 60s (e.g. Scott Walker) and modern pop (e.g. Julian Cope) sensibilities. Most people ignored his album when it came out in 1997. Apparently he recorded a second that even his record company ignored. I was lucky enough to see the great man a few times live in 1997. He's an incredible performer, with a slightly rough but very tuneful voice. The compositions, all his own, are also first-rate. This is my favorite track from the album, a melancholy pop tune with piano, guitar and bass, and later a full orchestra.

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

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.

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.

It's an interesting and refreshing track from their latest album; very upbeat and powerful with its array of instrumentation, (piano, oboe, especially)
The lyrics are those of one professing their undying love for another. The band manages to keep up their tradition with providing something new to the table by adding a verse from a popular French opera as well as an oboe solo instead of the usual generic guitar.
It's a great listen :)

This is a cover of a song by Sting. I haven't heard Sting's version but I am not a fan of what I have heard. Anyway, Cash's version is stripped down to the bare essentials, acoustic guitar and piano with a little bit of keyboard in the background to add some depth, but the music is secondary to the great mans voice. He's in his seventies, and all the age an experience in his voice just makes the youth and experience of the lyrics all the more poignant. His voice reminds me of my grandfather (May he rest in peace). The whole Album (American Recordings IV - The Man Comes Around) is incredible and this song is a stand out track among many, both original and covered.

hot, swinging jazz at its best. Diana Krall with an incredible talented ensemble, John Clayton - Acoustic bass, Jeff Hamilton - Drums and Anthony Wilson on guitar. On this recording Krall shows her full potential, amazing technical skills on the piano combined with an exceptional vocal interpretation.
She also made a studio recording of this song which is good, but nothing compared to this version. However, if you are interested in buying this song I strongly recommend buying the DVD, then you get 2hrs+ of top quality entertainment.

A girl-group classic! It has a very interesting rhythm, which guitars, bass, piano, drum fills, and backing vocals all help to construct ... and then it changes completely within the bridge! The sound is lush, the lead vocal great and soulful. Even in its own genre this is a standout, so why it didn't become a hit is beyond me.

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!

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.

A really beautiful acoustic song that I just can't get out of my head. The rhythm track consists of handclaps/taps or comething similar, it has a lovely, light guitar line and some beautiful piano. The gasp at the beginning is great too!

Blossom manages to play the piano while filing her fingernails into sharp claws on this track. She assures her departing Romeo that he is going to get his come-uppance in the love department and justice will provide her with a "front row seat" to enjoy watching him squirm!
This wonderful album was originally recorded for the Hires Root Beer Company (!) while she was singing on their commercials, and was available for 50 cents and two bottle caps. Now, a copy can cost you around $150-$200. Luckily, the fine people at Disk Union in Japan have gotten a hold of a mint copy of the original LP and released it to Cd.

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

if you love trio jazz ie bass, drums, and piano you will love this version of a great standard. along with chuck israels on bass and larry bunker on drums. i never get tired of this song also check out the 2nd cut elsa a very dreamy song

A truly heartbreaking/hair-raising reading of the Timi Yuro classic.
Just Diamanda's spacey/ghostly piano and that apocalyptic voice, recorded live.
The lady sounds like a lovelorn Banshee, wandering some abandoned, seaside amusement pier...in the rain...in the middle of January...at 2 a.m.
Astonishing....

Really nice piano and bass ballad with Nicks best ever vocal.

This track kicks off the first album by the Jane Relf - Jim McCarty - John Hawken group which arose from the ashes of Renaissance when the latter was taken over by the Camp / Dunford / Thatcher cabal after a couple of LPs (that's not a knock at Renaissance by the way!). "Isadora" is interesting because although it's almost seven minutes long and doesn't have a great deal of lyrical content, it does have a wonderfully frosty mood to it (all those minor chords will do that) and I love some of the piano riffs that fall in behind the lines of singing. And its frostiness makes a remarkable contrast to the sultry "Face Of Yesterday" (q.v.) from the same album!

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

I believe this song was written in the late 60's by Bob Dylan, however it was performed by Nico, whose original band was The Velvet Underground before she went solo. This track has a lovely up-beat combination of piano and violin to acompany Nico's deep, melodic voice. I love it because of it's artistic without being depressing or too complex.

This song starts with lush orchestration and a pretty melody, followed by Ben Folds' sweet and wonderful voice, and then the bouncy piano line kicks in and the whole effect is sublime. I really like this song, and I'm not usually much of a Ben Folds fan, even.

The mother of all 'Jet Society' themed songs. Play this at your penthouse-apartment cocktail party and you'll most likely score a free layover with one of the air stewardesses. The choice of a lone laidback trumpet over piano chords is excellent. Mix in a soft percussion beat and you're all set. Come to think of it, phone up your friends and invite them over for cocktails in the grotto.

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

Beautiful and intense song, musically and lyrically. The breathy and sometimes nasal vocal sound won't suit everyone, but the melody itself is of undoubted beauty, and the arpeggiated piano backing (shades of Bach and Chopin at times) contains a good dose of this writer's usual harmonic subtlety.

Blossom bounces her way thru this happy song about perfect love that has arrived just at the moment the end of the rope had been reached. She sings with a sense of joy and relief and you can't help but feel that things are going to be better going forward. Blossom's years of cabaret performing have given her a perfect piano playing style that accompanies her voice to a perfect fit. Kudos to Verve for dusting off this great recording, shining it up and putting out in a deluxe CD package!!

A perfect segue into a perfect album, King of the Carrot Flowers is a masterpiece. This is the way songs should be written, performed, and produced. Jeff Mangum strums the catchiest 3 chords on his acoustic guitar while his piercing vocals spill lyrics of psychedelic sophistication. I can still remember the first time I heard him sing the lyric - 'and your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking, and dad would dream of all the different ways to die, each one a little more than he would dare to try' - in a rising climax. The energy and power is then sustained into a C drone from an organ, followed by an amped acoustic guitar being plucked clumsily. And like a street preacher we again hear Jeff, he belts 'I love you Jesus Christ' while the rest of the band hit fuzzed-out power chords F and C until a storm swells with cymbals, horn, bass, guitar, Jeff's voice and another rising movement to yet another climax. Propelled by an electric frequency that chops like a helicopter blade inches over-head we are lead into Part 3, often referred to as 'Up and Over'. This last part explodes into fuzz rock in all it's garage-roots glory with lyrics like - 'I will shout until they know what I mean, I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing, in a synthetic flying machine'. As the fuzz is sustained heavily the song ends with 1 last climax; the one-note piano brings us to a close.

King of the Carrot Flowers Part 1 introduces the theme of 'loss of innocence'. The narrator, addressing his lover nostalgically, compares the emotional deterioration of the older parents with the emotional and sexual discovery of their youth - 'your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder, and dad would throw the garbage all across the floor, as we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for.' This motive returns later in the album, as does his 'Jesus Christ' theme. Jeff Mangum alerts the listener in his lyric sheet that he believes what he sings, and that this 'Christ' theme is but the spiritual light he finds within everything. The album further treats themes like the Holocaust, death of loved ones, visions of ghosts, and all the horrors of man with this light. It is a beautiful and terrifying experience unlike any rock record to date. Personally, my favorite song of all time.

A gorgeous ,lively instrumental set to a gentle piano driven house beat.Uplifting and glad retaining the joy of disco music

vocals, guitar, different, drums, bass, piano

"Sun, the moon, the sky ... and you and I," - I wish I knew where the samples used in this track are from - from the opening piano melody to the refrain (it's possible that the vocals were recorded specifically for this tune). If someone can help out, thank you. I am pleased to hear Jazzanova offer such decent track. After being disappointed by the less than stellar remixes 1997-2000, I was thrilled to hear a very good original creation off of their forthcoming debut full length. Soulful, mellow and ez.

Starts with a piano tinkling up and down the scale, and then the whole Latin Orchestra starts, ultimately Edmundo's raspy voice bellows out of the speakers sounding for all the world like Shaggy's drunken grandfather. Kind of Rhumba, very very danceable, surprisingly modern sounding with a terrific breakdown to the piano in the middle. Beware Edmundo ros has done another version of La Bamba which is terrible.

This is an absolutely impossible rarity, as it has never been released out of the original master-tape (until 1 year ago)! Part of the soundtrack of a 1973 Greek psychedelic underground film with the international title 'She Knew No Other Way' (local title: Children of the Flowers). However, this is not a mad freak-beat groovy tune (which is the case for most of the rest of the tunes in the soundtrack score); instead, it's a warm, classy, mid-tempo, funky jam with wah-wah guitar & sax solos and a very discreet piano backing. As a Greek, I was astounded by the discovery of this 70s funky gem from a totally unknown composer (Mike Rozakis). A true obscurity masterpiece, seek the proper vinyl release from Greek label 'Potfleur'.

This great song made its first appearance in the hit game "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne" (released October 2003) and instantly became a hit - people were asking for this song everywhere they could, they were sending emails, trying to buy it. It has an indescribable atmosphere. The song was released in June 2004 as a single and then on the first Poets of the Fall's debut album that hit the road 19th January 2005.

'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.

'Lazy Afternoon' is sung here as never before.
Her sensuous and pure intrepretation will transport you, it simply must be heard!

This is a song about a tragic break-up. Keane seem to be masters at the tear-jerker that rocks. It starts with piano, bass, & drums, and guitar comes in for the climax. But my favorite thing about it is the singing. Keane's singer at times has an improbaby high voice, yet you know it's a guy. They're like Queen in the vocals, but they sort of out-Queen Queen with the highness. That's part of their appeal for me. Anyway the song goes from annoyance to anger to grief in a rocking climax.

You can't go wrong with NIN, and you certainly can't go wrong with NIN and a piano.

The soft piano element and Trent Reznor's voice make for a beautiful combination, underscoring a melancholy contemplation of self. The song, like much of the album, is a very reflective examination of Reznor in his older years. I think it's powerful stuff, especially when the song trails off into the rhythmless void of "Corona Radiata."

This song is the most recognised theme from any of the numerous Peanuts television specials. While I am a huge fan of Charles Schulz and his beloved comic strip characters, this song and the album it is pulled from could easily stand on it's own. Mr. Guaraldi is a master at jazz-oriented piano and his trio plays together like a well-oiled machine. The absence of any vocals makes his music the perfect background for dinner parties and gatherings where conversation is to be encouraged.

The definition of a groovy, instrumental easy listening disco tune. Makes me wanna jump on the first plane to somewhere warm and swinging. Great piano and acoustic guitar accompaniment from this Spanish lizard with a hairy face. And that girl backing choir.. there are two single versions of this that are slightly different and a full length version which is the best.

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.

This is one of those songs that really sounds nothing like any of the artists' other songs. This is off Lani's first solo album "Sundown Lady" and was produced by her husband and label executive Herb Alpert. The song is the first song on the album and sets the tone with a nice easy bass line accented by the tinkling of an electric piano. The real money is the combination of Lani's impassioned vocals with whoever (maybe Herb?) singing a simple male vocal complement during the chorus. The song is effortlessly funky, understated and oh-so-deep. I haven't played this song for someone who hasn't loved it.

A great track that comes in two parts. The first is a sweet repetitive pop tune with electronic piano, synthesized strings, pleasant guitar chords, and wordless 'ba ba' vocals. Just before the three minute mark, it begins to mutate gradually, until it turns into a glorious early New Order-style sound, with a piercing, punky guitar sound and a loud bassline. The vocal elements from early in the track then come back in. A great fusion of different styles.

Acoustic recording from bobby ray, a highly talented muscian. accomplished on both piano and guitar. this song uses his guitar and singing skills. However he is equally adept at rapping and producing

And I am not just including this because it is from Rosemary's Baby, my very favourite film of all time. Well, maybe I am a little - the opening credits where Polanski guides us over the rooftops of the Bramford while Mia murmurs her "la la la"s sets up perfectly the movie heaven that is to come.

Actors usually make a hash of singing (and, of course, vice versa - Bjork is great in Dancer In The Dark but that's all I can come up with), although I've heard that Cybil Shepherd makes a decent stab. But Mia can't fail to impress with her innocent singing voice, keeping in the character of Rosemary even though she doesn't speak a word in this song. Komeda maintains his usual atmospheric wonder, with the sort of piano based joy that gave such a fruitful relationship with Polanski's films.

Lots of others have had a pop at this, usually with some degree of success as the melody is so strong (discounting a dodgy metal version of it by some chancers whose name escapes me). My favourites are Hugo Montenegro's (on Good Vibrations) and Claudine Longet's lyric-added version, Sleep Safe And Warm.

"Mad World" was written and originally performed by the popular 80's band Tears for Fears. A more mellow, piano-based cover of the song was featured in the cult movie "Donnie Darko" (Jake Gylenhaal, Patrick Swayze) as performed by folk artist Gary Jules. His version of "Mad World" reached the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK in 2003, despite that it was 3 years old and performed by an unknown artist.
This song is quite possibly my favorite song of all time, at least in my Top Ten, because I feel that it describes life very accurately. The chorus of the song is:
"I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had."
To me, this song is saying "Hang in there...I know life sucks on this earth, but you will go to a far better place after your death."
Depressing? No. This song helps me to carry on.

An exotic, atmospheric and unique masterpiece, this is taken from the portion of surfer flick 'Follow Me' in which the surfers visit India. The tune drifts along with some sitar and spooky vocals before exploding into life with a furiously catchy and groovy segment with piano and plucked strings.

Always loved this song by Burt Bacharach and this version sounds just heavenly. From the credits, it's easy to spot why: Claus Ogerman. He's in top form here, transforming the song into a gentle bossa nova with all the Ogerman magic of that time, very similar in sound and texture to his work on Antonio Carlos Jobim's "The Composer Of Desafinado Plays": Gentle basic rhythm section, subdued piano, airy flutes and trumpets and of course those impeccably arranged strings swirling in and out during the song.

Fun lyrics, especially for one with Latino/Italian heritage. Great singing, good piano.

I saw a video of this a couple times on MTV and never forgot it. I finally caught up with the album "Meet Danny Wilson" years later, in a used bin. None of the three members are named Danny Wilson; it's named after a Frank Sinatra movie. They dress like Sinatra fans as well, and the music's influenced by that era, but it's pure new-wavy piano pop. Reminds me of Joe Jackson, but softer, more romantic. "Lorraine Parade", "Nothing Ever Goes To Plan", and "Steamtrains To The Milky Way" are also album highlights.

another of Andrew McMahon's(Something Corporate)bands. Like SoCo they are a piano band

Excellent gentle mambo arrangement, courtesy of Claus Ogerman, of this spy theme featuring Tjader's vibes and George Castro's flute in nice counterpoint with Palmeiro's piano and some very lively percussion.

pascals are a japanese band that started out as a pascal comelade cover band. but have since ventured off into covering other people as well as writing their own material. this is a mancini cover incorporating what i think is a toy piano among other isntruments. some of the lyrics are sung in japanese as well. by far one of my favourite versions of this song.

A really really great pop song by dint of the fact it just refuses any categorisation other than 'Ace'. But I'd better give it a go. 'Mother' is a very nineties mix of genres; Gospel-ey piano, driving pop beat, terrible vocals, and great pop lyrics that soars, taking in scat, madchester, falsetto and more before exhausting itself - I can't think of any other song that could conceivably have worked as a blueprint for 90's pop - if we'd worked from this instead of 'Baby one more time' things could have been much different. Re. the song - two things then - 1. it's a fantastically catchy 'choon' with guts and attitude, 2. it's a bit revolutionary, as all good pop should be.

Great cut with angular piano and brushed drums. Bongos provide an excellent percussive counterpoint on the breakdowns. A very well-crafted version of the Sid Ramin lounge classic.

Has a mellow sound, involves mellotron, piano. I like it because of its dreamy mood and the lyrics.

exceptional song about love and life in smalltown northern england. A fabulousopening line 'I know she has a boyfriend and I guess we both take turns,he gets hot meals his washing done,I get carpet burns' All the things you loved about the Smiths, a quiet piano led intro bashed into submission by noisy guitars and drums and then back to the quiet bit. Wonderful, buy it.

Rediscovered this as I was uploading an audio clip for Belle Epoque (this is next alphabetically in my 45's).

I can't work out whether this is joyous or heartbreaking. It eats into the very soul of you when you hear it. My, that sounds dramatic - different from my usual carping. Tinkles on the piano break up the dense atmosphere herein and get you into the claustrophobic world of singer Drita.

Stands alone in 1984. Nothing else sounded anything like it.

Instruments are piano and strings (I think). The music is hypnotic; it overwhelms me with a profound sadness yet simultaneously instills a sense of complete joy and satisfaction. The track is entirely too short, which justifies the execution of Moby for such an act of cruelty.

An unusal Jobim track, which was recorded in Brazil and is much rougher around the edges than most of his better known work. This track explodes into action half way through with some killer jazz piano.

The big news that I just found out is that this isn't really a Jobim track at all! Apparently, this is really just the work of Deodato and Gaya, even though Jobim's name was put on the cover for the US audience.

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!

It took me a while to get a copy of this album as even the out-of-print re-issue on Crippled Dick Hot Wax (that's the name of the label, folks. Promise!) sells for a bit these days. I'm glad I got it as it's a fantastic album - the only LP released by the 5 Filipino/American sister vocal group, although I think they released at least one 45". Discovered by George Duke, he wrote the arrangements and his trio of the time provides backing. The album was recorded in Germany (released by MPS) and is a little bit poppy, a little bit jazzy, a little bit funky. There are a number of songs which could be recommended (a number of them jazz standards, such as 'Maiden Voyage' and 'Cantaloupe Island'), but the one I've chosen is 'Niki'. I hadn't come across this track before getting the album, unlike a few of the other tracks which have turned up on compilations over the years.

'Niki' is a song that builds. It starts off fairly casually and builds up to a swinging chorus, accented by some very hip playing by George Duke, still on an acoustic piano during this stage of his career.

Another commendable and notable track on the album, and which I discovered through a compilation created by 'mine host' of Musical Taste, Senhor Delicado, is "Waves Lament". Absolutely fantastic.

Sounds like:
a mix between Coldplay, U2 and Embrace.

I like it because:
it has piano in it and the vocal line during the chorus is beautiful.

For admirers of classic pop song construction, production, and performance, Noah's Dove is jaw-dropping in its perfection. The subtle piano hook, deep and dark chord changes, and the warm, dry-eyed, heartbreakingly acute singing grab your ears, while the lyrics (an unhurried, unsparing epitaph to a relationship with a cheating scumbag) clench your heart. The best part may be that it introduces Our Time In Eden, a collection of finely-crafted folk-pop songs that served as a worthy finale for the Maniacs.

The sound is just perfect. The piano part has been stuck in my head for years. Its another one of those rainy day songs that kind of make you stop everything you're doing and just sit there and listen.

Another song I heard John Peel play a long time ago, possibly THE BEST ROCKABILLY SONG EVER. And now I finally have it on single.
It starts with a clicky little riff for one bar, then the piano trill, then the ascending twang "bum-bum-bum-bum" And the full Rockabilly thing kicks in. Ringing twanging guitars, it stops and starts, stutters and hiccups, a great vocal of teen angst.
"Ain't nothing shaking but the leaves on the trees"

A beautiful song by a rare artist. I would never have heard this gorgeous song if it weren't for filmmaker John Waters. It is about a man who is completely devoted to his faithless love. He will sit and wait for eternity in the hope that the woman he loves will return. The vocal was recorded inside a small closet and the acoustics provide a haunting sound in Mr. McCall's voice. He is accompanied by piano, a soulful organ, and percussion. This song alone is worth the purchase price of the Hairspray soundtrack!! Pick it up today!

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.

This short track opens the classic 1995 easy listening compilation The Sound Gallery. I'm sure it's well known to anyone with a remote interest in the whole revival scene. It's a really beautiful track, with funky drums, organ, a gentle, whispery vocal chorus, and some great jazz piano. Evocative and glamorous, this evokes a swinging party attended by people wearing sparkly dresses. For me, this is perhaps the ultimate stylish/glamorous 60s recording.

Borderline,Big City, Piano led MOL orchestral with that extra little something that lifts it out of the bland. Girl backing singers ' wooo -ooo" and Sing the title.

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

Introduction to post-war Chicago Piano Blues, by its master Otis Spann. The piano-work on this track in particular is extremely impressive and follows a wonderfully flowing blues / r&b pattern.

A rock ballad played by band and piano.

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.

Another hidden gem ,unreleased and gathering dust untill the age of "Deluxe Editions".A well known song from Tears for Fears covered by the then "hot"Paul Young within a matter of weeks of the original release.Stripped down to acoustic guitar and demo piano and some blokey backing vocals ,Youngs powerful voice cuts through the originals somewhat fey vocal style and reveals the songs muscle and sinew and another example of a song from a supposed synthetic era being as good as their organic rivals.

This stunning instrumental is a reasonably straight version of a classical piece by Maurice Ravel, originally written in 1899. Eumir plays piano over a dense string background, adding a tiny bit of jazz phrasing. The texture of the layered strings and piano is remarkably intense and beautiful, and the piece is quite exquisite. I expect this recording would offend classical purists, but I must admit that having heard this version first, I still like it the best. Perhaps this is down to the sheer richness of the string recording, which may be endowed by studio wizardry rarely used in classical recordings. Either way, it's really quite incredible, and I urge you to check it out.

This is a track from Stephen McCarthy's debut album. Originally recorded by The Beatles as a traditional pop song, Stephen's version is a jazz swing with Piano, Bass and Drums.

A perfectly distilled instrumental which seems to capture everything poignant and affecting about Badalamenti's soundtrack work. 'Perdita' opens with a faint piano, being played seemingly with one finger, which gets louder and is joined gradually by a rich string section. Rather like some of Ennio Morricone's best themes, this is very simple, but so beautiful that it doesn't end up sounding obvious or clich�d. On the other hand, perhaps I'm just being nostalgic about being 16 again.

Glassjaw to me is by far the best emo band I have ever heard. Forget about live performances, just album music, they are phenomenal. I'll be honest with you emo is basically a required taste, not all people like it, let alone all metal heads but if you can dig Piano then you wil dig the rest of the album. Piano is by far the most melodic song on the album but don't let it fool you, it can still rock. It may take a few times for Glassjaw music to sink in but once it does it never leaves.

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.

The B-side of the 12" single "Airport", this seems to be the Motors' forgotten song, although Virgin is about the most clueless of record companies when it comes to re-releases and best-ofs. This 8:15 track is a rollicking piano-driven stomper which gets into the groove right away and holds it throughout. The three parts do have the same tempo but it works a treat.

Cubismo Grafico -- aka Gakuji Matsuda -- has quickly become my favorite J-Pop act, and this here is one of my favorite tracks. My impression of J-Pop has been that it is either too overtly dancy or sickeningly cute for my tastes. (To be fair, my bias is based on a relatively small cross-section of music.) Anyway, this track is neither. This is an extremely well-constructed selection that strikes me as both very modern and very "easy" in a way that sounds good to my ears. On this track, Gakuki Matsuda is credited with guitar, steel pan, rhodes piano, mc-303, turntable, and voice. So, yeah, he seems like a talented guy. The music is structured around a child's narration of an amusement park attraction (found on the fascinating "Sounds For Little Ones" compilation of a few years back). The sample lends a fun, playful atmosphere. Delicado thinks he has spotted two of the musical samples used here (or at least the compositions used), and I'm pretty sure he is right. They're both very well known, and, much to the credit of this song, I'm amazed I didn't spot them myself. I'll give you a hint: one of them is one of Burt Bacharach's biggest hits.

This is the first track from the album Aluciunolandia van Zito Righi e Seu Conjunto, a very rare record. Original copies are sold for $ 350,-. I am very happy with the reissue. This song is like a early Brazilian rap (1969). All in Portuguese of course. It starts with a funky piano and spoken words by singer Sonia Santos. When she has finished her introduction, there is some cheering by the musicians and after the whistle has blown a very rhythmical samba starts. Sonia Santos starts rapping and rhyming. The words from title poema ritmico are well chosen. It sure is a very rhythmic poem! I havent been able yet to understand what it is all about, but this rap is about um malandro, a rascal.

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.