Is Mid Air by Paul Buchanan from his first and only solo album released in 2012. I come back to it frequently especially if feeling particularly reflective, wistful or mournful (or combinations thereof) and it always floors me. Only 2m 30s and so simple in structure that even I can almost play it on the piano (you really only need the white keys). Then the hand in glove marriage of the lyric to the melody and that heartbreaking Em to Am chord change on the end of the chorus.
Of course its helped by ‘That Voice’ but its a perfect thing in its own right and I’d sell my soul to the devil to have written it.
Very nice. this one wins for me, I confess I haven’t heard all songs released in the 21st century though.
IK can’t disagree on the merits of Mid Air or the Paul Buchanan solo album – which I also return to often.
However, I would say “Family Life” from the Blue Nile’s “Peace At Last” has the edge – both incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time……
Agreed, although released in the previous century.
Somewhere I have a bootleg of a late Blue Nile gig with a new song which should have taken over the world, if only they’d recorded/released it. Bugger!
Please dig it out and post it!
In the spirit of the OP, I offer Melody Gardot’s Once I Was Loved:
Again, my candidate – close-run thing between this and Smoke Signals – particularly reflective, wistful or mournful you say.
I’ll throw this one into the pot.
“Murmurations” by Ella Clayton.
Well, this one takes some beating.
And the winner is…
Ben Folds has form. See also Landed and Gracie
Or Christine from the 7th Grade
It’s either this:
Brilliant idea for a thread, Feedback!
This is going to take some thinking. But in the meantime, I’d like to nominate, I am the Vomit by Aussie Hitmakers Battlesnake.
I was delighted to read the review of their show by @retropath2.
OK! I’m changíng my vote and going for Stormzy’s Blinded by Your Grace.
The video is brilliantly filmed. But I’ve seem him sing it live too and it’s a showstopper.
Or this:
I do hope this thread lasts all weekend! It’s even more exciting than Eurovision!
Nice one KFD – will wallow in mournfulness later
Many many contenders, but I’ll offer this one
Yep!
I’m going to go with Laura Cantrell’s version of Two Seconds:
Great choice, @Lando Cakes! To my great delight, Laura played Stockholm, once, quite a few years back, and before she played Two Seconds she asked if anyone knew who had first recorded it.
J hadn’t a scooby but some of the audience did! Written by Robert McCreedy and recorded by the band he used to be in: The Volebeats.
A big thumbs up too @Blue Boy, for Oil Rigs at Night. One of the favourite bands. That combination of Willy Vlautin’s song-writing and Amy Boone’s magnificent voice (plus an excellent band) is unbeatable.
Willy’s currently on tour promoting his new novel The Horse. He’s a very fine writer.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/21/the-horse-by-willy-vlautin-review-man-and-beast-in-harmony
One of my ambitions is to see Laura Cantrell live. I’ve been frustratingly close. She was on Belle & Sebastian’s Boat Weekender cruise – just as a punter – and did an unannounced late-night duet with Tracy-anne from Camera Obscura. Something which I only found out about when I got home…
I would have been gutted to hear afterwards that I’d missed that duet @Lando Cakes. Mercifully, this guy filmed it.
It’s a lovely song so I’m adding it to our playlist.
Yay! Thanks!
Went to see Willy V on the book tour on its first night in Brighton. He was every bit as charming, self deprecating and interesting as I’d hoped. Had a little chat with him after the event and he said that the greatest thing, for him, about putting the Delines together was to be able to write songs then stand back and hear Amy singing them ( although apparently her sister was asked to join first. )
Can we have a moment’s silence for Feedback, please? Banished forever by the heartless Mods for posting a video in the OP….
😱. I’m going to use Paula Vennels defence team to fight my case.
Ok I’ll get me coat ….
This does it for me.
Another candidate. …
Calling England Home by Anthony Joseph
As it’s my thread I think Afterword rule 14b says I can post another
This. Michael Stipe:
Been rediscovering some old. This is lovely. I really like the unadorned, artless production and simple instrumentation. Not at all what the OP wanted of course.
I can’t believe we’ve got this far without someone nominating a song by marvelous storyteller, Gretchen Peters.
Five minutes for example.
A song which lasts…5 minutes.
Agreed – that was one of the ones that occurred to me. An absolutely brilliant song that contains a whole world in those five minutes.
Just perfect. This one too. Dusty in here…
here’s a beautiful song with stunning lyrics
That’s a real find, @exilepj. I Googled. It’s from an album by Portuguese songwriter Rodrigo Leão,
As is this track featuring Stuart Staples from Tindersticks.
And from Leao’s album, Cinema, here is Beth Gibbons.
Rodrigo was the driving force behind the brilliant Portuguese band, Madredeus.
https://www.rodrigoleao.pt/en/
You may well be fully aware of this @exilepj but I take it that the Cathy who inspired this charming song is Neil’s other half, Cathy Davey a successful singer songwriter in her own right. She was one of the founders of an animal rescue cente called My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue. My 7 year old visited it just the other day as she and her friends raised €100 or so for the centre at a school fair last weekend. She loved it and came home smelling very “rural”.
and a simple song from a great musical
On an Irish slant also, this little beauty from Villagers fits very well with the playlist which is proving to be perfect wind down music. Another playlist to keep…
Loving the playlist although I do find the I Am The Vomit track stands out just a tad as being a little bit different in mood.
I am sad to announce @Feedback_File, that I’ve had to remove those loveable but rather highspirited Aussies, Battlesnake, from our playlist. I did warn them to tone down their antics but they chundered all over me in response.
I am sure they will be back soon on another rowdier thread.
Someone who does know how to behave is Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields.
I’m sure @DuCo01 or another fan can suggest one of this gorgeous ballads.
But, having seen them play, two days ago, it is one of their more pastoral offerings …
As one of our most dedicated festival goers @retropath2, you must, (during tour tenty travels) have heard several beautiful tunes that have not reached the wider audience they deserve.
Now is your chance to put that right! Do you have a nomination or two?
I was at a gig last night by Lisas and Lisa Rydberg’s beautiful violin playing reminded of Duncan Chisholm, who I discovered during on your expeditions into the Musical Mudlands on our behalf.
It’s tune rather than a song but I’m adding to the playlist anyway.
And here’s another from Duncan:
“The translation of ‘Rubha nam Marbh’ is ‘The Headland of the Dead’ and can be found on the Monach Isles in the Outer Hebrides.
This beautiful air was written by my friend Éamon Doorley, an outstanding Irish musician and producer. The tune originally appeared in a multi-media commission piece produced by Julie Fowlis entitled ‘Heisgeir’. “
Hmmm, not much room for pastoral in the mud this year, oddly. Pragmatic boogie and jiggery pokery tended to be more the requirement of the massed road warriors from thunderdome. Sad to see you removed the delicate whimsy of Battlesnake.
So let’s go back to Peter Gabriel covering Lou Reed.
Worry not, @retropath2. The “delicate whimsy” of the ‘Snake will soon be back. With a vengeance!
That Peter Gabriel cover is an absolute cracker.
I was very amused to read about the massed road warriors of Bearded Theory. It reminded me of walking through the Roskilde campsite on a rather wet year.
Noisy, muddy, chaotic, anarchic, apocalyptic.. Thousands of muddy, young hippies and hipsters out of their gourds on booze, jazz tobacco and much else besides. That was what the end of the world will look like.
I’ve really tried hard many times to persuade @DuCo01 to come to Roskilde. For some inexplicable reason he is reluctant.
Final (cough) entry from me. This is the last great song from the pen of Brian Wilson in 2012 with a gorgeous lead vocal from Al Jardine. It’s a sad wistful look back at a failing relationship but feels like it could be about the band and meant as a beautiful goodbye from them (although it wasn’t)
Canada is conspicuous by its absence on this thread. Low-key, melodic melancholy is something those Canadians do very well.
So I’ve added four beautiful tunes which are big personal favourites to our playlist.
Ron Sexsmith – Gold in them hills
Basia Bulat – Heart of my Own
Men I trust – Show me how
Stars – Your ex-lover is dead
I’m glad you mentioned Gold in Them Hills @kaisfatdad . On another day that would have been my first choice. I’m not aiming for controversy but, against my better judgement, I prefer the version with Chris Martin’s lovely harmonies to the original.
Strange you should say that @Bamber. I’ve known the song for quite a while and thought of it as yet another good song from Ron who is a reliably excellent songwriter.
And then (probably due to the AI DJ on Spotify or YouTube), I heard the Chris Martin version and the song went right up in my estimation. from very good to excellent.
So that’s now the version on our playlist.
Incidentally, have you any more gems from Irish songwriters you’d like to mention?
Feedback’s going to be so busy talking to his defence lawyers, that I’m sure we can smuggle in a few more treasures.
I must mention that the story about your daughter’s visit to Neil and Cathy’s Rescue Centre had me chuckling.
Not a fan of Chris Martin’s voice myself. For Ron I would go with this one. A perfect, heartbreaking tale in just over 2 minutes
Here’s one more Irish singer songwriter for your collection @kaisfatdad I’m sure there’s not an infinite supply of them but there surely isn’t a shortage. This is a personal favourite and my wife and I are looking forward to the 20 year anniversary shows for the album it comes from…
Thanks a lot @Bamber. A completely new name for me.
He’s a fine storyteller, and I’ll be giving that album, Since Kyabram, a listen later on Spotify.
I am very sure that Ireland does not have a shortage of singer songwriters. To say the least! But it’s always interesting to hear about the ones who don’t have a big budget for an international launch. Or perhaps are just happy at being a local hero.
Declan O’Rourke has had the stamp of approval from Paul Weller who produced his last album and had him as support it the UK. Paul has been particularly vocal about his song Galileo from the Since Kyabram album. I’ve always preferred the one above.
Paul Weller is a great fan to have! Hats off to him for supporting Declan.
They clearly get on well together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zmwBA5RraQ
Oh man I love this song – another one I come back to regularly. Mysterious and evocative. He doesn’t seem to have managed to sustain the level he achieved in this album (IMHO)
Rather fond of this, thanks to the feline from Cheshire.
Great choice, @hubert rawlinson. Even better after I’d read the Rheingans’ explanation in the YT Notes. I really enjoyed seeing them live a while back thanks to your suggestion.
@thecheshirecat! Now there’s a chap who knows a good sing when he sings it!
And I’m busy singin’ em all at Chester Folk Festival this weekend! Rubbish signal on the campsite I’m afraid.
Hope you had a great weekend at the festival, @thecheshirecat.
Oddly enough, I thought of you on Saturday evening at a concert by LISAS. They mentioned meeting accordionist, Andy Cutting and played one of his tunes.
You would love them.
Ah. Andy Cutting. My proudest moment was supporting him. Much of that setlist is incorporated into that which I am about to perform.
Oh, I would indeed. That was right up my vag
Neil Hannon, Gretchen Peters, Laura Cantrell and Ron Sexsmith are proving to be highly respected songwriters.
I suddenly remembered this exquisite tale of love one wrong from Phosphorescent: The Mermaid Parade
Warning! NSFW!
This song contains topless New York mermaids,
Lau: “Ghosts”
“I’m not an incomer
My parents were ghosts
Sir I was born here
So where would I go?”
Kris Drever’s second appearance on this thread! That is a quite exquisite song @DuCo01.
I googled and discovered it was about the cockle pickers who were drowned in Morecambe Bay. As you point out, the lyrics are stupendous.
Judging by the number of YouTube views, mine is rather a niche choice.
To hell with the TY stats! Stick to your guns @actf. This track is absolutely exquisite. I’d never heard of them but I was hooked from the first few seconds.
Raissa has a gorgeous voice and those imaginative. lush orchestrations are superb.
This thread is a slow-burner but that’s all to the good. The gems that are coming to light are dazzling!
i will agree with @Kaisfatdad @atcf this is a beautiful track amongst many beautiful tracks by them …. saw them first on Jools Holland and was entranced. Such a sad reason why they haven’t recorded anything since this but I hope it isn’t the end
I was also entranced by the Later… appearance below, and rushed out and bought everything, including promo singles and Raissa solo albums. Like Bjork had joined My Life Story.
This thread still has legs. God help us if some wag starts an equivalent one for the previous century – we could be in for a long session.
@kaisfatdad On a technicality can I request that Family Life by the Blue Nile is pulled as it came out in 1996 and if @Chrisf agrees is replaced by this one from their last album High?
Still has legs? This thread has such fine legs, it’s going to be entered for the Olympics!
I’ve added Toledo and will pull Family Life when chrisf gives the thumbs up.
I’m going to be very cheeky and add this beauty to the playlist.
One of those songs that just knocked me for six. The Carpenters on acid?
I saw Weyes Blood at Roskilde last summer and they did not disappoint.
@Kaisfatdad … not an artist I had heard before but will be searching out more, lured in by the phrase Carpenters on acid … thanks
No problem with me – I didn’t read the OP properly.
It might not sound like it but Jessica Pratt – World On A String is bang up to date
That’s certainly been one of my favourite songs of late – loved all her albums so far
we have chosen a lot of songs with beautiful lyrics …. here’s one just for the beauty of the music by the very talented Hannah Peel
I find this two-part album opener by The Dawn Chorus rather moving. Kyle’s voice is an acquired taste, perhaps, but Paul’s trumpet and Nelly’s soaring solo make it a cut above yer average Indie band. They were fantastic live, I do miss ’em.
Unless I missed it, there has been a surprising lack of Blue Rose Code in this thread. I gave my partner the handwritten lyrics to Love a Little for Christmas (handwritten by BRC, not me — I’m not that much of a cheapskate):
I’ve done the sound for him/them three or four times over the years. Top showbiz secret: Ross makes a lovely cup of tea.
Somehow that makes me love him even more.
Lovely, lovely song
Not sure of it is THE most beautiful song ever but it is, for me, the most recent entry into that canon.
Went to see Roberto Fonseca this weekend. Fabulous band, exquisite musicianship throughout, but this was the standout piece. A song written for his mother ( Mercedes ). You could have hear a pin drop ( well, apart from the braying of the annoying git next to me loudly commenting throughout the song on how beautiful it was…ffs.)
Well @muffler. That annoying git did have a point. It is gorgeous.
To my shame. I wasn’t quite sure which country Roberto came from.
Cuba is the answer and Wiki revealed that he has played with a lot of great names such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portoundo and Orlando “Cachaito” López . Not to mention Carlinhos Brown from Brazil and Kepa Junkera from the Basque Country.
Impressive!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Fonseca
It struck me that there was nothing in the OP that suggested that the beautiful songs we suggested had to be in English. So I was ferreting around for a song in Swedish. Any suggestions @Locust??
Instead I suddenly remembered this exquisite gem sung in English by two Norwegians and a Canadian.
Love is a lonely thing. ( Yes, I have mentioned it before here)
*”Love is a lonely thing.” is the last sentence in the book «The song of the red ruby» by the Norwegian writer Agnar Mykle, written around 1955. Still a beautiful book about a young man and artist falling endlessly in love with his wife to be.”
YT comments are invaluable. Thanks to Kjetil Jåsund:
PS
We don’t often revisit AW threads but this one by @Mikethep was a blinder.
So pleased The KOC have featured – definitely one of my favourite bands of this century.
I’ve seen KOC live three times @Feedback_File and every time they create magic .
Amazing the atmosphere that two guys with their guitar, voices and some fine songs can achieve
One great pleasure of this thread has been discovering new songs and artists I’d never heard of before. Another has been discovering that several other contributors are also keen about my favourites such as the KOC, the Delines, Ron Sexsmith, etc
But we’ve not had one single song in either Scottish or Irish Gaelic yet! Time to put that right.
I first encountered Julie Fowlis on one of these Word covermount CDs and I was spellbound. I bought her album at once and she’s remained a great favourite ever since.
Across the Irish Sea for The Gloaming who are equally stunning.
Slightly off piste, one of my favourite movies of recent years was the Irish film ,The Quiet Girl, where most of the dialogue is in Gaelic. I presented it when we screened it at Bio Reflexen and (not expecting any response) I asked if there were any Irish speakers in the audience. To my delight there was one Irish bloke who’d studied it at school.
I saw the KoC at the Barbican some 10 yrs or so ago and it was one of the most joyous gigs I’ve ever been to. People of all ages singing along and nationalities dancing in the aisles.
How could this thread not get this far without Roddy Frame? I could have chosen a number of tracks from Surf but decided instead to pick this beauty from the album of the same name. This live version is particularly good with his voice and guitar sounding absolutely gorgeous.
Roddie Frame! Great choice, @Bamber. That clip made me realise that I really ought to listen to some of his solo albums.
I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking of songs and artists we really can’t leave out.
Paddy McAloon is one of them. Crimson/Red in 2013 provided proof that he hasn’t lost his ability to write a fine song.
And the wonderful Anaïs Mítchell is another. Here she is with Young Man in America (preceded by Wilderland).
Mention of Love & Money on another thread reminded me of James Grant’s My Thrawn Glory, and album my pal described as “heart-breakingly beautiful”.
Does It All Add Up To Nothing?
Nice one @fentonsteve. What a splendid voice he has! A completely new name for me.
Now another Scot: King Creosote. The wonderfully hypnotic You just want.
James Grant was lead singer with Love and Money, KFD, and has for years been MD for Karen Matheson’s solo work out of Capercaillie.
L&M, like Friends Again before them, were a band with too much talent. The number of splinter bands and solo careers is huge. I don’t think any of them are driving taxis.
Here’s a track, Winter, from my (and Foxy’s) fave L&M album, Dogs In The Traffic.
That’s a beautiful song @fentonsteve. Thanks a lot of for giving me some background information and some further band names to explore.
I am in my element on this thread!
As we’re in Glasgow, I’m going to mention one of my favourite songs of recent years by a combo called Lola in Slacks.
The Lola In Slacks album was mastered by Love & Money’s keyboard player, Paul McGeechan, and released by label/shop Last Night From Glasgow… who also issued a remastered and expanded edition of L&M’s Dogs In The Traffic.
The best chance of explaining the influence of L&M would require a Pete Frame family tree…
What a wonderful coincidence @fentonsteve! Without even trying, I proved your point about.Love & Money.
Talking of Karen Matheson, I don’t know how we’ve failed to mention her here.
Here she is singing a beautiful Irish song.
“Crucán na bPáiste, ‘burial place of the children’ – lies on a hilltop in Maamtrasna, Co.Mayo, overlooking Lough Nafooey, and Lough Mask in Ireland. The song was written by Brendan Graham for one of the characters in his new novel “The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night” published by Harper Collins.”
Trocchi’s Canal – great song from an interesting band.
See also…
Very pleased to hear a new song by Lola in Slacks, @Fitterstoke.
Trochi’s was a real earworm for me.
Same here – I blame el hombro – I’m sure I spotted them for the first time in one of Tom’s end of year lists, I might be mis-remembering…
Here’s another! When did art-rock with moody black and white videos fall out of favour? More of it, please!
The YT clips documenting the making of their album are good fun too!
“When did art-rock with moody black and white videos fall out of favour? ” What a strange question @Fitterstoke!
Never!!
To my surprise I found this list of b & w videos
Black & White Music Videos (Collection)
Akademija Premium
Here’s Agnes Obel
And Bob Hund with another real gem!
Come on Fitter! B & W videos! From ancient to modern. Now there’s a wonderful idea for a thread!.
The NRK Archives in Norway have some wonderful ly well filmed 1960s black and white clips.
Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll! How groovy can we get?
Here’s a nice one from my tall chum.
Mapping the Human Heart:
I am feeling frustrated. We’ve had several beautiful songs from Scotland and Ireland.
But not a sausage from the land of Tom Jones, Band Pres Llaregybb, Charlotte Church, 9Bach, Bryn Terfel, Shirley Bassey and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.
I’ve been racking my brain to no avail.
Suggestions please!
In the meantime here’s a fine tune from Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita.
If you enjoyed that, you will love this… The dynamic duo at the Eisteddfodd Gudd.
Can we have a thread about beautiful songs without mentioning Iceland? Of course not!
Here’s a gem from Asgeir’s first album.
Since that album he’s become rather successful and sings more and more in English.
Shame! I like the sound of the Icelandic lyrics. Sometimes I can really enjoy the sound of a language even though I don’t understand a word.
(Now there’s a dilemma that many opera houses have had to confront. Translate the libretto for the sake of understanding or keep it unchanged for the beautty of the original language?)
I was listening to the Delines’ magnificent Oilrigs at Night this morning, @Blue Boy, and it struck me how much the pedal steel playing added to the song.
I googled to discover that it is played by Tucker Jackson who plays on several of their albums but is no longer a full-time member of the band..
Just so I can kick this thread into yet another week here’s a real beauty of a song from Justin Currie of Del Amitri fame. This is the one that made me realise what a wondrous songwriter he is – aside from the beautiful melody the lyrics are just fantabulous
and one more. I don’t think Nick Lowe has featured so far ?? This is such a heartbreaker
Justin Currie and Nick Lowe! Two excellent songs there from masters of their craft.
The harp on What is love for? was superb. Googled and discovered it was Catriona McKay.
Let’s have a tune from her too!
I’ve realised that among all the Irish content in this wonderful thread there hasn’t been any Lisa Hannigan, formerly Damien Rice’s accompanist but an artist well capable of creating beautiful music in her own right. Our much maligned national broadcaster RTE does some things very well including regular top quality musical output. Lisa seems to be a fixture in pretty much all of them. Here’s a duet between her and the also talented Loah. Their voices work so well together. I’m particularly fond of their version of Oh Holy Night. There’s lots of this stuff on YouTube including Lisa’s collaborations with the brilliant Gemma Hayes and Paul Noonan of Bell X1. There’s a whole rabbit hole for you to dive into @kaisfatdad
Loved that – great combination of voices.
Speaking of the very talented but very troubled Damien Rice here he is.
Thanks a lot @Bamber! You really are spoiling us.
A gorgeous Emerald Rabbit Hole! That’s a perfect start to the week.
I’ve been listening to a full concert by Lisa H from Calgary and I look forward to digging deeper in those RTE Archives..