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This is the ultimate piano based singer songwriter song which started me off on my songwriting journey. Love its self-indulgent epic length and its soaring arrangement.
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| PEOPLES PARTIES |
Joni Mitchell |
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Taken from her album COURT AND SPARK which to me was her crossover success. Great hook-y melody with a jazzy feel and sexy chords. This song is about the outsider in all of us.
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| TRAVELING BOY |
Art Garfunkel |
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This Jimmy Webb-penned song opens Garfunkel's first solo album ANGEL CLARE and from the first harsichord chord broke my heart. Its message of leaving resonates achingly as much as Glen Campbell's BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX |
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| YOU MAKE LOVING FUN |
Fleetwood Mac |
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RUMOURS is my all-time favourite album and its so hard to pick my favourite track from it, but this one has a happy vibe and great chord structure.
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Bacharach and David are my songwriting idols and this may seem an offbeat choice from their extensive oeuvre, but his soundtrack from the movie BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID icontains many poignant melodies. (My other fave from the soundtrack is COME TOUCH THE SUN but its an instrumental track and maybe doesn't qualify for this list). I also adore BJ Thomas's unique voice.
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| I WON'T LAST A DAY WITHOUT YOU |
Sergio Mendes & Brazil 77 |
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Many artistes have recorded this classic Paul Williams song but I've chosen this version because of the bittersweet way it sounds. There are also 2 different versions of the bridge (different chords) and the Carpenters one is the best, but for interprestation Sergio Mendes wins hands down. |
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| THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN |
Patti Austin |
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Once upon a time, Patti Austin was a singer-songwriter and an excellent one at that. Her lyrics are very light, but I think it's hard to achieve the right balance of light and deep at ths ame time. Although another song of hers WHAT'S AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW carries deeper meaning, the song I prefer has a wonderful escapist mood whcih I always try to convey in my
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| YOU'RE AS RIGHT AS RAIN |
Bob James |
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This is the instrumental version of the song (taken from his first solo album) which was the track I turned to whenever my broken heart needed soothing. It's not at all a sad song, but has this untouchable bittersweet quality I just love. It's a kind of pleasant longing. When I met Bob James in Shanghai recently, I told him how seminal the track was to me, and was totally disillusioned when he told me that he recorded the song in a play-by-numbers mode to rush out a jazz-lite album to meet demand. |
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| LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY |
James Taylor |
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Sad as sad can be this is a perfect example of sweet melancholy. |
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| YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND |
Carole King |
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The other piano-based singer-songwriter number which inspired me no end and still turns out to be the one I turn to when I need to get "in the mood" for writing.
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