99. Hey Boy Hey Girl - The Chemical Brothers (1999)

 

 

Hey girls

B-boys

Superstar DJs

Here we go!

 

The fourteenth and final song on my chart by the Chemical Brothers and undoubtedly their best song. The vocal is sampled from 'The Roof Is On Fire' by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three.

 

Edited October 21, 20186 yr by KingOfRolloween

'Guilt' is fab, it is quite epic sounding. Definitely one of the musical highlights of this decade I think.

 

'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' is great fun!

Edited October 21, 20186 yr by Blisterpus 👽

98. Left To My Own Devices - Pet Shop Boys (1988)

 

 

I was faced with a choice at a difficult age

Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage?

But in the back of my head I heard distant feet

Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat

 

This is the full eight minute album version from 'Introspective' rather than the shorter edit which was put out as a single and reached the top 5. I like Neil Tennant's poetic lyrics and Trevor Horn's orchestral production.

 

97. Pray - Syntax (2003)

 

 

Don't throw it all away now

Don't get on your knees and pray now

 

The last of the four songs on my chart by Syntax and all of them from the only album they released. It came out the year before as a single and remains their only top 40 hit,reaching number 28. This is the longer eight minute version. It's still synth pop but certainly much closer to a trance music sound than their other songs.

 

99. Hey Boy Hey Girl - The Chemical Brothers (1999)

 

Another fantastic Chemical Brothers track, I'm thinking you must love Surrender rather a lot! Definitely their career peak for me, although they continue to put out the odd excellent single, even today.

Yes,it's one of my favourite albums. :music:

96. Private Investigations - Dire Straits (1982)

 

 

And what have you got at the end of the day?

What have you got to take away?

A bottle of whisky and a new set of lies

Blinds on the windows and a pain behind the eyes

 

This is up there with 'O Superman' by Laurie Anderson from the year before as one of the most unlikely number 2 hits. The single is six minutes long,just missing the extended intro from the album track. There is no chorus,the lyrics are spoken,not sung,and the music is delicate and understated. But in the early 80s,record buyers recognised original music when they heard it and Radio 1 DJs were quite happy to play a long song in full without cutting it off before it finished. The vastly inferior 'Eye Of The Tiger' by Survivor stopped this from reaching number 1.

 

 

 

95. Eastern Bloc - Thomas Dolby (1992)

 

 

Last night I swear I saw her face

As they stormed the gates on satellite TV

Too bad I don't get News At Ten

'Cause the CNN would tell a different story

 

This is Thomas Dolby's sequel to 'Europa And The Pirate Twins' from 1981 (number 725 on my chart). Sadly,the character in the song still doesn't manage to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart. Eddie Van Halen plays guitar on this one. I also like the catchy tambourine rhythm which drives the music,augmenting the drums.

 

94. Old Wild Men - 10cc (1974)

 

 

Where are they now?

They are over the hill and far away

But they are broken men who lie low

Waiting for miracles

 

This is quite simply one of the most beautiful songs ever written and I don't know why they didn't release it as a single. Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley sing the lead vocals. The song also features the Gizmo which was a device which could be attached to a guitar,creating synth like sounds from each string. It was invented by Godley & Creme.

 

93. Promises - Nero (2011)

 

 

You got me so wild

Why should I be so surprised?

You got me so high

Don't you see it in my eyes?

 

This is the best number 1 single from the last 25 years. When it reached number 1,Alana Watson was still working 40 hours a week as an NHS midwife and just singing in the band in her spare time.

 

Nero followed that up with “Crush on You” which pretty much instantly killed their career.

That was such a fantastic number one from NERO, glad it's in your top 100!

92. Confusion - Electric Light Orchestra (1979)

 

 

(Confusion)I don't know what I should dp

(Confusion)I leave it all up to you

 

This was part of a double A side single with 'Last Train To London' (number 814) and the fourth top 10 hit from the 'Discovery' album. Bev Bevan has a busy time on percussion,playing the timpani and rototoms as well as his normal drum kit. I love the melody on the verses as well as the chorus and Jeff Lynne's excellent vocals throughout.

 

91. Judas - Depeche Mode (1993)

 

 

Don't just stand there and shout it

Do something about it

 

Martin Gore sings the lead vocal on this track from 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion'. The song opens with the uilleann pipes and then there's a mixture of synths and strings. The best part is from 3.00 to 3.50 when Dave Gahan joins in and the vocals are overdubbed to make it sound like a choir is singing. It would have been even better if a real choir had been brought in to sing that part and maybe extend it a bit but Depeche Mode normally like to keep things fairly simple.

 

90. Swords And Knives - Tears For Fears (1989)

 

 

When life begins with needles and pins

It ends with swords and knives

 

The Seeds Of Love album reportedly cost over £1 million to produce and you can tell that a lot of that budget went towards this track as it has a huge and intricate production. The centrepiece is the fantastic instrumental section from 2.30 to 4.35.

 

89. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel (1970)

 

 

When you're down and out

When you're on the street

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you

 

I'm quite a late convert to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. I have never bought any records by Simon and Garfunkel and didn't download this song until about twelve years ago. It's only now that I appreciate how good it is. It was written by Paul Simon but after some debate,they agreed it should be sung solo by Art Garfunkel and how right they were because he sings it perfectly. There is just a piano accompanying him for three minutes,then the bass guitar,drums and strings come in for a stirring climax.

 

88. No Danger - The Delgados (2000)

 

 

Leave romantics to their spite

Leave the footballs to their pints

Alternatives we'll find

 

The sixth and final song on my chart by The Delgados. This starts quietly with just piano and strings and finishes with a wall of guitars. In between,it's a great piece of Scottish indie music. The youtube title is misleading. The kids' choir were part of the shorter single version which I don't like as much.

 

87. Salva Mea - Faithless (1996)

 

 

How can I change the world if I can't even change myself?

 

And this is where it ends for Faithless with the last of their thirteen songs. They may be best known for 'Insomnia' but this is my favourite from them. The single reached number 9 but this is the full eleven minute album version. It starts with Dido's vocal,then you have Maxi Jazz's rapping and Sister Bliss' outstanding keyboard parts all produced superbly by Rollo. It has to be played loud to be fully appreciated.

 

86. The Day Before You Came - Abba (1982)

 

 

I'm sure I had my dinner watching something on TV

There's not,I think,a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see

 

If you have a good memory,this is the one song you knew was definitely coming as I already mentioned when I added the Blancmange cover version (number 569) that it's the only song to appear twice on my chart. It was the last song Abba recorded and is very different to their other singles which might explain why it only reached number 32. It seems more appreciated now after being placed in 3rd in ITV's favourite Abba song poll. I like the lyrics about the monotony of an average working day and the haunting vocal by Frida in between the verses. I always thought that the lyrics related to the day before the character met the person she fell in love with but many people seem to think it's the day before she was murdered.

 

85. The March Of The Black Queen - Queen (1974)

 

 

Forget your singalongs and your lullabies

Surrender to the city of the fireflies

 

Taken from 'Queen II' and written by Freddie Mercury,this song has quite a complex arrangement and could be regarded as a precursor to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which followed the year after.