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Universally Accepted Brilliant Songs

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There are a few songs that I consider to be, without sane exception, brilliant. Those songs that no one, in their right mind, could dislike. I’m intrigued as to how many there are out there, And, whether the AW Massive is an appropriate laboratory to prove or disprove these songs as being universal.

If you have a song you consider universally accepted as brilliant, post it and get it checked out.

My couple in the comments.

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Comments

  16. Hard to distinguish between great records and great songs sometimes. A great performance can make an average song sound better than it is.

    Picking at random, “Starman” is a great performance and a great song. So is “Life on Mars”.

  17. I think MOJO declared Good Vibrations the best song/single ever, many years ago but universally liked is quite different and very difficult. There are a couple here I really dislike and one very popular one that I don’t understand the appeal of. I don’t have one to mind so I’d go with Teenage Kicks.

  20. Well there isn’t one is there? If the great unwashed were voting we would tend to get Angels by Robbie Williams or something.

    This should be universally loved, but I don’t think it is

  24. I’m generally a live and let live kind of guy. I can appreciate we all have different tastes, and that it would be a dull old world if we all thought the same way.

    With all of that said, there follows a list of songs I do not consider it acceptable for people to dislike. As in: if you don’t like literally all of these then there is something actively wrong with you, and you have earned my lifelong enmity and contempt. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that I’ll actively urinate on your grave, but I would definitely unrepentantly sneeze in its general direction.

    Obviously, the world being as it is, there will be some repugnant miscreants who dislike, or even simply fail to actively like, some or all of these songs, and I’m sure those people will shortly make themselves known below.

    And to those people I can say only this: fuck you. Fuck your so-called taste in music, fuck your stupid tin ear and fuck your inability to recognise genius when it’s right in front of your stupid fucking face. Honestly, what is wrong with you?

    Who knows where the time goes – Fairport Convention
    Late for the Sky – Jackson Browne
    Plainsong – The Cure
    Just For You – Sam Cooke
    Fool For You – The Impressions
    Hot Love – T.Rex
    Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher – Jackie Wilson
    My Girl – The Temptations
    Ain’t no mountain high enough – Marvin & Tammi
    Fooled Around & Fell In Love – Elvin Bishop
    Young Hearts Fun Free – Candi Staton
    How Will I Know – Whitney
    Purple Rain – Prince
    Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum
    Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
    Right Down The Line – Gerry Rafferty
    Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
    The Power of Love – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
    Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
    Stand By Me – Ben E King
    The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson
    I’ve been loving you too long – Otis Redding
    No one knows me like the piano – Sampha
    Get By – Talib Kweli
    Run Away With Me – Carly Rae Jepsen
    Common People – Pulp
    The Only Living Boy In New York – Simon & Garfunkel
    Try Again – Aaliyah
    Enjoy The Silence – Depeche Mode
    Kill For Your Love – Labrinth
    I.G.Y – Donald Fagen
    Show Me Love – Robin S
    1 Thing – Amerie
    The Night We Met – Lord Huron
    1980s Horror Film – Wallows
    Hearts and Bones – Paul Simon
    Mo Money Mo Problems – Biggie
    Se A Vida E – The Pet Shop Boys
    Running The World – Jarvis

  27. A few suggestions humbly submitted for your consideration:

    Hotel California – The Eagles
    Boys of Summer – Don Henley
    Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell
    Wicked Game – Chris Isaak
    The Man With the Child in His Eyes – Kate Bush

    These are all inarguably perfect. So there.

  28. If the entire pop and rock canon was suddenly swiped away by a massive tsunami and only Penny Lane was saved then, somehow, things wouldn’t seem so bad.

  33. Well, in my little corner of the universe these are accepted (by me) brilliant songs :

    The Pretender – Jackson Browne
    Northern Sky – Nick Drake
    La Cienega Just Smiled – Ryan Adams
    The Boxer – Paul Simon
    Across The Borderline – Ry Cooder

  34. SOS
    Dancing Queen
    The Winner Takes It All

    Virginia Plain
    More Than This

    Manic Monday
    Kiss
    Sign O’ The Times

    …and I might be mistaken, but I haven’t seen mention of what is, of course, The Greatest Single Ever Made™,
    I Feel Love.

  35. Lana Del Rey – Summertime Sadness, more than 2 billion Spotify streams and it’s bloody brilliant
    Harry Styles – As It Was, over 4 billion
    Sweet Child Of Mine
    Moloko – The Time Is Now
    Groove Is In The Heart

  36. Rumours has been in the UK album charts for a gazillion weeks, testament to the enduring popularity of the Mac. Whatever you think of the Buck/Nicks version of the band, this song is one of their finest moments, even if Lindsey Buckingham now looks like Jedward’s granny.

    • Let’s add “You wear it well”, another great song. Excellent lyrics. “Madame Onassis got nothing on you”. Or “you knew it didn’t cost the earth but for what it’s worth you made me feel a millionaire”.

    • Yes but when people talk about songs they often mean singles, album tracks, records and they aren’t really distinct entities. The idea of songs is quite old fashioned in a way when the composer didn’t necessarily compose it.

      • Yes but when people talk about songs they often mean singles, album tracks, records and they aren’t really distinct entities. The idea of songs is quite old fashioned in a way when the composer didn’t necessarily perform it.

        I tried to change the post but missed the window. Sorry.

    • I agree. I think one of the marks of a great song is where two completely different versions can enthral or delight different groups of people. For some reason the first one that came to mind was “What a Wonderful World” I can’t think that anyone would be punching the air when they listen to the classic Louis Armstrong version but I always do (mainly metaphorically of course!) when I listen to this magnificent version by Joey Ramone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IoO5nkxT_4. I’ve never seen this video before!

    • You are absolutely right there @Twang.

      A lot of my favourite songs are favourites because of the original version.

      Cover versions could well be abysmal. Or they could be an improvement.

      I saw the Sutherland Bros and Quiver perform this fine song at the ROUNDHOUSE.

      Then along came Rod Stewart….

      here’s no denying it was a very effective make-over,

    • Yes.
      With a really great song, it doesn’t matter who’s singing it (as long as they are capable of doing it justice).
      River Man has been done really well by a few others besides Nick Drake.
      Here, There And Everywhere by the Beatles (Lennon and McCartney, mostly McCartney I assume).
      From the Great American Songbook catalogue there are Night And Day, Over The Rainbow etc.

  43. Well done to Leedsboy for creating and curating such an entertaining thread. It takes a skilled conductor to get the best music out of so many different players.

  44. Personal Favourites rather than “universally accepted”, great songs whistled by the man in the street. I genuinely think these are great songs that, in the right hands, would still be great songs…

    Lovely Day by Bill Withers
    That Summer Feeling (original version) by Jonathan Richman
    You Got my Number by the Undertones (superior to Teenage Kicks)

  50. A Change Is Gonna Come is the correct answer here.

    The single greatest song recorded by anyone. Short and sweet. Great vocal, great lyrics, great tune, great production. Tragic back story and culturally resonant. Pretty much flawless all round.

    There’s probably someone out there who doesn’t accept its brilliance, in much the same way there are people who won’t accept that the Earth is round.

    Such people are wrong. Wrong and regrettable. They should be kept on registers, their whereabouts tracked at all times and strict measures put in place to minimise their chances of transmitting their obvious deficiencies to the public at large.

  52. What a wonderfully enjoyable thread. Great work @Leedsboy

    To my mind, a great song has to describe feelings that many people can relate to.

    Be honest.

    Which of us hasn’t had their heart cruelly broken into a thousand pieces?

    And then stumbled away to find refuge in a dimly lit bar, crowded with honky tonk women, lumberjacks, divorcees from New York city and truck-driving men not to mention a jukebox playing Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, George Jones and Dolly Parton.

    This song is 90 seconds long and it’s the story of my life……

    https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=ballboy+laura+cantrell+coutry+music&cvid=2db70deb2d694e70a88aa3cef60d4f76&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQ6wcYQNIBCTIyODM4ajBqMagCALACAA&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=ACTS&ntref=1

    In a similar vein, I’d like to nominate…

    One for my baby – Frank Sinatra
    The piano has been drinking – Tom Waits
    A case of you – Joni Mitchell
    One bourbon, one scotch, one beer – George Thorogood
    Tubthumping – Chumbawumba

    What a great sing along tune that is.

    If you aren’t convinced by THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS……..

  54. Just to rock the boat a little, I’d like to suggest a few wonderful songs that are sung in other languages than English…

    A few of my favourites.

    Francoise Hardy – French

    Mando Diao – Swedish

    Pino Daniele – Neapolitan – with some really rather gorgeous guitar from that Clapton chap

    Julie Fowlis – Gaelic

    Cesaria Evora . Portuguese

    Orquestra Baobab – Wolof and pidgin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCeCAuXCmHU&list=RDWCeCAuXCmHU&start_radio=1Y

    Yousou N’dour and Neneh Cherry . Wolof and English

    Rosalia – Spanish

    Asgeir – Icelandic

    Tom Jobim and Elis Regina – Brazilian Portuguese

    Arooj Aftab – Urdu

    Mari Boine -Sami

    Finally, a song in Arabic by Eiman Yousif from the Sudanese film, GOODBYE JULIA, A fine movie and a very beautiful, song.

  56. Well, I hadn’t read every single post in this enormous list, as it’s a pretty packed pile-in from many contributors. But later on, as the crowd thinned out, I was just about to do the same… the only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keeping on, like a bird that flew,

  57. This is a song written by Hoagy Carmichael as an instrumental in 1927, the lyrics were added by Mitchell Parish in 1929. It’s one of the most recorded songs ever. Great songs endure and are open to many different interpretations by many artists over many years that’s what differentiates a great song from a great record. There are many great records listed above but I wonder how many of them in actuality pass the test of being truly great songs.

    • That may be true but how many of those who refer to ‘great songs’ are thinking of them in that way or do they just mean album tracks and singles or records? Quite a lot I think. And also, what is the equivalent of Stardust for our times, I mean 60s and after? There are older examples but less later ones it would seem. Fewer great songs nowadays or music just changed?

      • No it’s absolutely true that a great record is not always made from a great song. The title of the thread is misleading it should read Universally accepted brilliant records. I’m not in a position to state with any certainty what contemporary songs will stand the test of time as only the passage of time can determine that. If I had to pluck one song from the top of my head from say the 60s that could be considered a modern standard to rank alongside many of the songs from previous decades it would be Yesterday covered 446 times as of 1st November 2024.

        • I suppose some would say Hallelujah. I think John Cale nailed it, as did Len himself. Every man and his dog has had a go at it such that it palls, gets spoiled. But if done right the magic is there. I guess it is tried and tested at least. Yesterday though I can’t stomach. Nobody seems to want to speak up for it here either.

          • Yeah Hallelujah is a good shout. It’s not a song I’m overly fond of but it certainly demonstrates the power of cinema and television as an instigator of public interest in obscure, largely ignored or forgotten music in exactly the same way that Stranger Things ignited an interest in Running Up that Hill. We are in agreement over Yesterday I too really don’t need to hear it ever again but I feel that way about The Beatles in general. I know for some that will be considered sacrilegious but I grew up listening to them and they have been wrung dry for me.

  58. Apologiesin advance. I readily acknowledge that this is a bit left field and stretches the op criteria to breaking point! The reason I post it is that it is the song that had the most immediate impact on me in the last 10 years. I heard it completely by chance and loved its combination of menace then rising to a euphoric crescendo. Bearing in mind my normal listening is in the John Grant, New order, Talk Talk end of the musical spectrum this it’s impact on me makes little sense but that is the joy of music. There is always something amazing out there just waiting to be discovered
    I have posted the live version because the original sound track video on you tube contains some video that could offend. It is however the better version so if you like the live version give it a try

  59. Mulling over my dislike of Michael Jackson and Queen, wondering when someone might post them, I realised that I want You Back is a) fabulous b) the only thing Michael Jackson recorded that I can think of that I like.

  61. I would suggest
    Werewolves Of London-Warren Zevon
    Midnight Train To Georgia-Gladys Knight & The Pips
    Rock And Roll Doctor-Little Feat
    Everybody’s Talkin’-Nilsson
    Superstition-Stevie Wonder
    Troubled Times-Fountains Of Wayne

  64. It Must Be Love, both the Madness and the original Labi Siffre versions.

    I’ve never met anyone over a certain age who doesn’t like Making Plans For Nigel or Senses Working Overtime by XTC

  65. Another ridiculous but irresistible clickbait thread. Ignoring those already mentioned including of course the greatest song of all time (do I really need to say it’s Wichita Lineman?) here’s a few more

    Inner City Blues
    I Say a Little Prayer
    America
    Who Knows Where The Time Goes
    The Weight
    Yours Is No Disgrace
    Surfs Up
    and this one (for me anyway)

    • Sly & The Family Stone – Dance To The Music
      James Brown – Sex Machine
      Funkadelic – One Nation Under A Groove
      Bjork – Venus As A Boy
      The Rolling Stones – She’s A Rainbow
      Daft Punk – Get Lucky
      EWF – September
      Joan Armatrading – Love And Affection

  68. I’ll chip in (a bit late I guess)

    Aside from No Regrets:

    Kylie Minogue – Better The Devil You Know
    Mel and Kim – Respectable
    S Club 7 – Don’t Stop Movin’
    Dobie Gray – Out On the Floor
    Renaissance – Northern Lights
    New Order – Regret
    Pet Shop Boys – Left to My Own Devices

    I would put something by Squeeze but it’s fairly hard to choose!

    There are more, but I think loads have been mentioned above already

  70. This turned into an excellent playlist which would brighten up any party.

    This playlist is a work in progress which I hope to keep adding to.

    There are a few major omissions.
    WOT? No Dylan? I’d better put that right before Trump nabs that Nobel Prize for this trophy collection.

    No Ella Fitzgerald. No Grateful Dead. No Cole Porter, No Michael Marra. No Pentangle. No Steely Dan. No Bellowhead. No Magnetic Fields. No Khaled, No Waterboys. No Robyn. No Lyle Lovett. No Einsturzende Neubaten. No Arctic Monkeys. No Gregory Isaacs. No Beautiful South,No Talking Heads. No Clash, No Burning Spear. No Lonnie Donegan.

    This one will run and run…..

    • I’ll take the bait (debate) I could only pick a Dylan song that was brought to life by another artist…

      My Back Pages by the Byrds

      Have the Waterboys ever written a truly great song? I love them. I don’t think “the hit”, is a great song. Perhaps This is the Sea is the nearest they’ve got.

      For Talking Heads, obviously Once in a Lifetime and This Must be the Place are great records but I’d nominate Life During Wartime as the best song they’ve ever written.

      Lyle Lovett is a tricky prospect because he’s written lots of songs that are easy to like but are any of them great? I’d argue that God Will should be regarded as a classic country song but it’s probably too short to be considered great. None of his songs are well known enough to be universally loved and that may be the Universe’s loss.

      • Excellent reply, @Bamber

        The BYRDS did a superb job on covering Bob and greatly boosted his popularity. But the Dylan cover I chose was HENDRIX playing All along the Watchtower which is sublime.

        Your comment about the Waterboys could be applied very appropriately to so many of our favourite artists..

        I love them but have the Waterboys ever written a truly great song?

        My answer would be a resounding yes.

        Fisherman’s Blues. Church not made of hands. This man is in love. Whole of the moon.

        But I think my reaction is a very personal one and many of us have a personal relationship to an artist based based on where and how we first heard them.

        I was working as tour guide in the late 80s taking some US students around the UK and Ireland. I always tried to find good music to play in the bus so I went to a record shop in Dublin and asked for recommendations.

        I must have bought some other things but Fisherman’s Blues was a keeper for me..

        It was our soundtrack as we drove across to Galway, did the Cliffs of Moher and some of the Yeats. sites. We even managed a boat trip out to the Arran Isles.

        I’m deeply partisan but I definitely think Mike Scott has written some great songs.

        Talking Heads, eh. Where do we start?

        With Angelique Kidjo perhaps?

        Lyle tours very intensively in the US. I suspect his many fans would describe some of his songs as great.

        I would…like this one,

        This one is a Guy Clark cover but it is definitely brilliant.

        • I was a big Waterboys fan from the first time I heard December on the radio. I played the first three albums to death. In 1986 I was over in Galway for the Arts Festival at a Hothouse Flowers gig in the Warwick when who should walk by but Mike Scott, Steve Wickham and Trevor Hutchinson. At this stage I had no idea why one of my favourite “Scottish”, bands would be in Ireland. Next time they walked past I collared Mike Scott and the three lads spent 20 minutes chatting enthusiastically about the stuff they were working on. Mike even told me the chords to some of my favourite Waterboys songs as I was learning to play the guitar. They were lovely. The icing on the cake was that they gave us the heads up that they were doing a surprise open air gig in a few days. Oddly enough, I’ve never been as enthusiastic about Fishermans Blues as the world and especially Ireland have.

          • A mate and myself used to go see Light A Big Fire* regualarly in the Baggot Inn @Bamber. Remember them? Great potential sadly not realised for some reason. Anyway, one night they finished their set and asked if anyone wanted to stick around there was a band coming on to play a few new songs live so as to judge the reaction. It was The Waterboys fresh from recording in Spiddle. We had no idea they would be there and it remains one of the great live gigs. I do like Fisherman’s Blues, though.

            *LABF get a mention in the thanks /acknowlegments of the Fisherman’s Box collection.

            • I remember LABF alright. I saw them quite a few times. I never warmed to them. They always seemed to be trying too hard and made U2 look lighthearted. Thom always seemed to try to be the voice of disaffected youth while radiating supply teacher energy. At least they continued the 80s trend of Dublin bands having a bass player who looked like a Garda.

              I miss the Baggot much more than LABF. Great venue.

      • I don’t disagree with you, @Tiggerlion.

        But when we are talkig about the best of music, films, novels. painting, architecture, poetry, cooking whatever, THE MARMITE DiSQUALIFIER removes an awful lot of stuff that is dearly loved by many.

        POOR THINGS is a classic example

        so is ONE BATTLE…..

        No marmite. I’m sticking to marmalade….

    • The Clash – many songs of note, but none I suggest are universally acknowledged
      (maybe Should I Stay Or Should I Go (which is not their greatest song to be honest), or I Fought The Law (which is a cover).

      The Beautiful South – to paraphrase Steve Marriott – they are like All-Bran, you wake up in the morning and they’re there.
      Many fine songs have fallen out of Paul Heaton’s pen, but universally acknowledged as brilliant? maybe not
      (see also The Housemartins)

    • Robyn’s Dancing On My Own has been covered in various styles. When she played Madison Square Garden, an after party went on on the Metro with everyone singing that tune. I think that it is a contender and a better choice than many others put forward.

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