Love ballads

Re: Earl Goudie’s post 101524 of 2/2/20

One of the greatest songs ever written!  Cat lovers:  You’ll feel quite closer to this song when you learn how she was able to pour such great emotion into the performance.

Notice how intricate the rhythm is:  she never begins a lyric phrase on the beat.  She tends to begin the phrase with a quick double sixteenth note, which is not even on the upbeat!  For example, listen to when she says, “And the first time.”  See how many times you can detect when she uses syncopation throughout the song.  You can’t notate that stuff!  That’s Roberta doing Roberta!

Layering:  what seems to begin with minimal orchestration–bass, guitar, light piano–is soon layered with other timbres, such as, cello (or double bass) melodic line in the second verse, just after she says, “like the trembling heart…”.  It’s a short descending melodic line, but, just right to mimic the lyric.  During the third verse, violin section make their appearance when she says “I felt your heart.”  Subtle, yet effective in bringing home the message of the final verse.

To think that this song is actually British and written roughly 15 years before Flack recorded it!

/sb

The earlier version (of “The First Time…”) by Peter, Paul and Mary is also quite good.  They did ok with it as album material but Flack had the hit; I’m not sure PPM even released it as a single.

In no particular order, I think some good songs about declarations of love would be

Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell

Fais Moi Un Place – Francoise Hardy

Starting Here, Starting Now – Barbra Streisand

I Only Have Eyes For You – Art Garfunkel’s version

I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You – Elvis Presley

… and as to that last one, there’s also:

I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You – “story” version on YouTube by Arlo Guthrie

(His political limitations are present but not overpowering in this performance.  It described an earlier concert on the occasion of the fall of the Berlin Wall.)

*sb

Re: Pete Jamison’s post 128689 of 2/4/20

Wonderful Tonight–Eric Clapton

You Got The Silver–Keith Richards

Moondance–Van Morrison

Sunshine Of Your Love–Cream

/sb

I had to look up “You Got The Silver”; I’d missed that one since my LP stock has no Rolling Stones (although Muddy Waters and the Last Waltz concert are represented — that last had Ron Wood joining in for a few finale songs…)

There are a few 45’s from the Stones but on the Stones/Beatles question I gravitated to the latter a bit.  “Silver” is a clever song in the same way “Wonderful Tonight” is: I read it as an unpretentious admission that the object of affection is not only a romantic focus, but that they’re good people.  That’s rare.  As well, this song uses the slide in, not the usual 12-bar construct but with a folk progression.  That achieves the sort of relaxation I normally associate with the Grateful Dead, but Richards here does it better.

The unifying factor in your list is “soul” (authenticity).  Cream and Van The Man were/are capable of that as well.  And although I originally heard “Have I Told You Lately (That I Love You)” from Rod Stewart’s version, I now find that that’s a Van Morrison composition, appropriate for this thread.

/sb

I have many favorites but will just mention a few.

Eva Cassidy’s version of Sting’s “Fields of Gold.”  Sting said hers was the best version of that song.

Two versions of older songs by Kristin Chenoweth: “Let’s Fall in Love” (Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler) and “I Get Along Without You Very Well” (Hoagy Carmichael).

Two by John Denver: “Annie’s Song” (written while they were dating) and “Perhaps Love” (when she kicked him out).  I like both but “Perhaps Love” is the best.

While I’m at it, I’ll mention a singer I stumbled on a few months ago by the name of Carrie Newcomer.  No love songs to speak of but the only singer I’ve ever known who doesn’t have a song I don’t like.  My favorite is one called “Geodes.”

/sb