Just lookin’ at the top 10 is enough to make me pass on this particular compiler.
“I Just called to say i love you” is perhaps the most insipid thing Stevie Wonder ever wrote, not to mention the closest thing to a Casio keyboard accompaniment ever put on a “serious” record. Yuck. That is not a love song. It makes me cringe when I hear it. No 4??? This list is more Boomer nonsense and I should know, being one..
“Kiss me once and kiss me twice and kiss me once again, it’s been a long, long time.”
Now THAT’s a love song. Juxtapose it with the returning WW2 vets, and you’d have to have a heart of stone to not shed a tear at what it represented. It’s by Louie Armstrong and didn’t make the cut.
Also, and I don’t think I’ve discussed this on the forums before, I can’t stand “The Long and Winding Road.” Mind you, the Beatles couldn’t have been more imperative to my formative years thus far if they were close relatives, and I have very nearly every one of their songs memorized (including this one), but I just can’t stand it. That big orchestra wind-up at the end makes me angry just thinking about it. I think “Why don’t we do it in the road?” is a better love song:
Most of those choices look like they were chosen from a hat, and some of them don’t even qualify as love songs, if you ask me. But there you have it.
Somehow I had the impression that ‘Wonderful Tonight’ was written in about 15 minutes on the back of a used envelope, and placed on the album due to needing some filler material. “It’s late in the eEEEEvninggggg… and I’ve got an aching head…” Yeah, me too, Eric - but I can always turn off the radio!
And if we’re going to add “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”, then we HAVE to bring Joe Cocker back to the list with “You Can Leave Your Hat On”.
A fun little song about Desmond and how much he likes Molly’s face. He bought her a twenty-karat golden ring; that’s romantic, right? Extra credit: The end of the song goes, “And if you want some fun, take Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da,” turning the whole thing on its nose to make the song about drugs! Yay!
4. “Martha My Dear”
Simple, touching in a childish sort of way. “You have always been my inspiration,” and such. The speaker even does a great deal of apologizing for ignoring Martha, and praises her and whatnot. Extra credit: Turns out Paul wrote this song about his dog, Martha? Dogs are sort of like women, I guess.
3. “Run For Your Life”
“I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man.” Oh, how sweet.
2. “Getting Better”
“I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loves.” Okay, rough start, but wait: “Man that was mean, but I’m changing my scene, and I’m doing the best that I can.” I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally won over. Extra credit: I love the part in the chorus where it goes “It’s getting better all the time,” and in the back you hear John go “It can’t get much worse!” I laugh every time.
1. “Long, Long, Long”
Okay, seriously guys, this song is really great. It’s prettyful, and the lyrics are sweet if a little clunky. Here’s the lyrics:
Extra credit: If I’m not mistaken, George Harrison wrote this song about his conversion to Christianity. He apparently tried LSD for the first time, and his life suddenly lined up, and he realized that there is a God. And then he wrote this song. Puts a new perspective on it, I think.
Purposefully not included:
The Long and Winding Road
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Yesterday
Something
And I Love Her
I own All Things Must Pass. I can muster a hearty “Meh” for it, I guess. There are a couple of songs that caught me off-guard, but I think Harrison was more hit-and-miss than anything.
Not that the others never did anything bad. I also own “Back In the U.S.A” (Paul’s terrible live recording) and it doesn’t even get a “Meh.” And John went steadily down the drain after the Beatles. Paul did make McCartney, which was tolerable, and John made Imagine and Plastic Ono Band, both of which had good moments.
I do like “Something” a lot, I was being silly putting it under not included.
