The Wayfarer's Lyric

Although I’m raised on good old rock – blues, hard, metal, industrial, grunge, garage, alternative etc., I do listen to everything I can – anything… except hip hop, rap and boy bands (although some of them do have some great covers like We Will Rock You one…). Also, I’m a man who has a whole spectrum of moods. Even though its mostly under check, I do go through the whole range once in a while. The calming factor has always been music. Whether its the mp3 player or the CD player or the car stereo – its on 24/7 (er… subtract the hours I sleep which would be around 2-5 per day).

I’m going to first define Easy Listening in relation to my thought process. Its got to be mellow, the words have to be beautiful, the music has to have a degree of subtlety and finally it should linger in your minds. And to me – easy listening is something that doesnt make my body churn out adrenaline (most songs do that)

Easy listening is a bit of a mixed bag as far as I’m concerned because on a given day, easy listening to me can be ENYA and on another day – NINE INCH NAILS! For this review, I’m going to pick 10 of the most mellow songs one can listen to (atleast from the sonic archives of my mind)

Tea in the Sahara – The Police (album: Synchronicity)
The Police is one of my favourite bands of all time. The band was made up of three of the most talented musicians ever – Stewart Copeland (percussions and drums), Andy Summers (Guitars) and Gordon Sumner (aka Sting – on Bass and vocals). The band sold over 75 million records and became on of the greatest acts of all time. For some reason, they broke up at the heights of their careers after their awesome record – Synchronicity.

Tea in the Sahara is a mellow ballad about two desert girls and a man who deceived them with promises of love… the lines ’’as their eyes searched the land… with their cups still full of sand’’ portrays destroyed feelings coupled by a hope that never dies. Sting at his soulful best.

Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd (album- The Wall)
This could probably be the most haunting song you might ever hear. It blends melancholia with deep rooted emotion and a sonic structure that is hard to emulate and even harder to surpass. The David Gilmour solo is probably the most beautiful one he’s ever played – every note conveying pure unadulterated emotion. The song is part of the epic album The Wall.

Wish you were here – Pink Floyd (album- Wish you were here)
Hark! Another Pink Floyd song. And why does it feature here? Because its BEAUTIFUL! ’’How I wish… how i wish you were here… we’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl… year after year… running down on the same ol ground… what have we found… same ol fears… wish you were here’’

Fearless – Pink Floyd (album- Meddle)
A PINK FLOYD HAT TRICK!!!!! Now go listen to this one and you’ll know why I picked it. Another beautiful song from a legendary band.

NOTE: PINK FLOYD HAS OODLES OF SONGS THAT QUALIFIES AS EASY LISTENING

ok… I got emotional there… on with the review…

A Different Corner – Wham/George Michael (album- Edge Of Heaven)
I was going to pick Careless Whisper but then I remembered this gem. Its mellow and its great. George Michael is great.

Cherry – J J Cale(album- Troubadour)
J J Cale is a legendary bluesman. His guitar licks and his laid back vocal style is incredible. This little nugget from the Troubadour record is the perfect love song with simple straightforward lyrics and instruments set to SEDUCE!

Drive – Cars (album- Heartbreak City)
Heh, this list is harder to compile than I thought. I picked this song because I wanted ti pick one of those synth pop songs from the 80s and this is the one that came to mind. ’’Who’s gonna drive you home… tonight’’

Day-O (Banana Boat Song) – Harry Belafonte (album- Calypso)
Here’s a little fact: Calypso was the first record to sell over 1 million copies. Harry Belafonte is an icon, a true legend. He had a perfect sense of rhythm like all West Indians do and a very versatile set of vocal chords. His songs were spontaneous and the lyrics were often laced with dry humour. E.g. ’’Mama look a bubu, they shout… their mother tell them shut up your mouth… that is your daddy… oh no… my daddy cant be ugly so… shut your mouth… go away’’ heh heh

The Banana Boat song is a beautiful song. ’’Day-O, Day-O, Daylight come and me wanna go home’’

If you haven’t heard Harry Belafonte songs before, here’s some songs to download: Jump in the line, Matilda, Lion Sleeps Tonight, Come back Liza, Brown Skin Girl, Mama look a bubu and so on…

Shilo – N. Diamond (album- Velvet Gloves and Spit)
N. Diamond has churned out a lot of mushy songs but they do have a songwriting quality thats downright cool. Shilo is a pretty song.

I love you always forever – Donna Lewis (album- Now In A Minute)
The last one in this list. I put this here because this is the ideal song to send to your girlfriend or boyfriend on Valentines Day. Its easy on the ears, extremely hummable and pretty bubble-gummish.

I’m ending this list… I have some NINE INCH NAILS to listen to… This review has drained me heh heh…

PS: Dear friend… thanks for the patience. I know the songs listed here might not feature in your top ten lists but I tell you this… listen to them if you havent. They will definitely make a top ten list after that.

now… wheres the NIN CD