768. I'm Alive - Electric Light Orchestra (1980)

 

 

Is this really me

 

Xanadu is regarded as one of the worst movies ever but the soundtrack album was much better received with two singles,'Xanadu' and 'Magic',reaching no.1 in the UK and the US respectively. 'I'm Alive' just scraped into the top 20. The morse code at the end of the song spells out ELO.

 

767. Coma - Bourgeois Tagg (1987)

 

 

Hey and what's all this stuff about moderation?

If the spaceship's there I'm gonna fly it

 

Their hit single 'I Don't Mind At All' has already appeared at no.897 in my chart. I liked that song so much at the time,I bought the album and found this track on it which is even better.

 

766. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - The Righteous Brothers (1964)

 

 

You never close your eyes any more

When I kiss your lips

 

This is the oldest song on my countdown,from a time when singers wore bow ties. I love Phil Spector's brilliant wall of sound production. The Righteous Brothers original version ended up in a battle with Cilla Black's cover version to reach no.1 in the UK,a battle that they won after being sent over here to perform the song on different TV programmes.

 

Edited March 1, 20187 yr by King Rollo

765. Some Riot - Elbow (2008)

 

 

A friend of mine grows his very own brambles

They twist all around him till he can't move

 

From 'The Seldom Seen Kid' album which won the Mercury Prize. Like many of their songs,it's about Northern working class people. I like the tinkly piano sound on this one.

 

764. All That Glitters - OMD (1991)

 

 

All your friends are here tonight

Never ones to miss a fight

 

A sumptuous ballad from the 'Sugar Tax' album.

 

763. Zoolook - Jean Michel Jarre (1984)

 

 

From the album of the same name,the first one where he used human voices as well as musical instruments. It sounds like he was using the same samplers as the Art Of Noise.

 

some goodies in the latest batch, It's My Party, O Superman and the fabulous-but-underated (by me) Once In A Lifetime - it only made my top 10 and should have topped my chart. Some serious huge classics too which will feature much higher in my ratings, Sparks, Righteous Brothers, Walker Brothers...

762. Father,Son - Peter Gabriel (2000)

 

 

I could hold back the tide

With my dad by my side

 

Peter Gabriel's song about his father. The lyrics are quite moving and I like the brass band accompaniment as well as the piano. His dad died in 2012 at the age of 100.

 

 

761. The Ice Maiden - Prefab Sprout (1990)

 

 

Arctic winds blow and still you believe

Love makes you one of the chosen

Die in the snow,I'll never grieve

So what if tomorrow you're frozen

 

Another wonderful track from 'Jordan:The Comeback'.

 

 

 

760. For Your Own Good - Pet Shop Boys (1999)

 

 

When you need a lover

And it's so cold outside

I could help you recover

From the pain that you hide

 

From their seventh album 'Nightlife',the trance sound on this track can be explained by it being co-produced by Rollo from Faithless. I think this would have been a good choice for a single.

 

759. Crazy - Icehouse (1987)

 

 

I've got a pocket full of holes

Head in the clouds the king of fools

 

Icehouse are an Australian band who are still going. This softrock song with a storming chorus just crept into the top 40 at number 38.

 

758. Art For Art's Sake - 10cc (1975)

 

 

Keep me in exile the rest of my days

Burn me in hell but as long as it pays

 

A top 5 single from the 'How Dare You' album,written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. The song was inspired by one of Graham's father's sayings,"art for art's sake,money for God's sake".

 

757. Up The Junction - Squeeze (1979)

 

 

We moved into a basement

With thoughts of our engagement

We stayed in by the telly

Although the room was smelly

 

This got to number 2,kept off the top of the chart by 'Are Friends Electric'. The song structure is quite unusual in that there are seven verses but no chorus. It's all about the lyrics. The video was filmed in the kіtchen of John Lennon's old house,the same house used for his 'Imagine' video.

 

ooh 4 gems in a row there and none of them in my rundown sadly, Pet Shop Boys should def have been a single it was better than at least 2 of the actual singles off the album and peaked at 2 in my chart. Icehouse were always under-rated and Crazy was fab, 10CC were one my iconic bands of the 70's didnt put a foot wrong - till they split (boo hiss!). Art For Art's Sake was near the end of their golden period. Squeeze's 2nd finest moment (after Take Me I'm Yours) was Up The Junction, beautifully poignant, still going still fab in concert, always classy - and not in my rundown at all! Doh! 10CC are, with many other tracks.

I would put 'Take Me I'm Yours' just behind 'Up The Junction' so we have the same Squeeze top 2,just in a different order.

756. Lie - Ultravox (2012)

 

 

In God's name you start your holy war

Who's it for?

 

The second song in my chart from Ultravox's comeback album 'Brilliant'. I don't know if it was deliberate,but all twelve tracks on the album have one word titles.

 

Oh and we are just discussing Ultravox in the 'Favourite type of Midge thread', what a coincidence they pop up here now in your countdown. :lol: This one 'Lie' sounds great on first hearing it! I think I like "The Voice" and "Love's Great Adventure" the best from them.

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by The Snow ❄️

I'll have a look at that later. One of those two songs will be further up my chart.

755. Shudder/King Of Snake - Underworld (1999)

 

 

Time for some 90s rave music now. This is from Underworld's fine album 'Beaucoup Fish'. A shorter version was a top 20 single but the full nine minute track is better.

 

Art For Art's Sake by 10CC is also a very good song! I assume 'I'm Not In Love' will be quite a bit higher in your countdown, and perhaps the later Godley and Creme songs 'Under Your Thumb' and 'Cry' are still to come in this countdown?