Most Beautiful Songs - 1960 - 1979

[mhardy6647]

Speaking of Randy Newman... I love both Manfred Mann's and Harry Nilsson's cover of his (So Hard) Living Without You.
Two very different takes on a great, deceptively simple song.

Here's Nilsson's:

Not to be confused with Nilsson's big hit version of Badfinger's Without You (another gorgeous song, come to think of it!).

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I was put off by her vibrato till I heard this one.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Relatively early Merle Haggard:

 

[JustJones]

Speaking of Randy Newman... I love both Manfred Mann's and Harry Nilsson's cover of his (So Hard) Living Without You.
Two very different takes on a great, deceptively simple song.

Here's Nilsson's:

Not to be confused with Nilsson's big hit version of Badfinger's Without You (another gorgeous song, come to think of it!).

Last surviving member(Badfinger) Joey Molland died a few days ago.

 

[JustJones]

 

[mhardy6647]

so many... so many...
unfortunately for all y'all, you're getting a look inside how my mind works, at least with respect to song association. Not a pretty sight.

I could go four different ways at the moment (ahem -- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Sometimes Young... Four Way Street).
Let's stay with CSN&Y -- or more to the point, Y.

Neil Young turned out a few truly beautiful songs (at least from my perspective). I am gonna offer up four of them, and I am gonna cheat -- with covers (some quite modern, at least compared to the copyright dates of the original songs).

From Neil Young's Buffalo Springfield days, Helpless kd lang's covers thereof are heart-rending.

Prelude's cover of After the Gold Rush. This song has always made me think of Arthur C. Clarke's first novel, Childhood's End.
This cover dates to the mid-70s, so I am not actually cheating with this one.

Cowboy Junkies' cover of Don't Let It Bring You Down. We saw them play this live as an encore the first time I saw them, at The Flying Monkey in Plymouth, NH and it was positively incandescent.

The Wailin Jennys' cover of Old Man. I love this song so much -- and the Jennys, too -- but that's a different topic altogether.

 

[JustJones]

 

[mhardy6647]

Last surviving member(Badfinger) Joey Molland died a few days ago.

As did Dolly Parton's long time spouse.

Badfinger's is such a sad story.
There were a few truly beautiful songs from them, though.
My favorite thereof:

 

[analogonly]

Return To Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins
Landslide by Stevie Nick's
Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Long May You Run by Neil Young and Stephen Stills
Storybook Love by Mark Knopfler and Willy Deville

 

[Robin L]

Return To Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins
Landslide by Stevie Nick's
Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Long May You Run by Neil Young and Stephen Stills
Storybook Love by Mark Knopfler and Willy Deville

Just remember the time zone is 1960 to 1979. "Storybook Love" came out in 1987.

 

[whereisbrian]

Peter Hammill, from Nadir's Big Chance album, Been Alone So Long, 1975

 

[mhardy6647]

Warren Zevon. Warren Zevon?!?! I hear you ask, incredulously.
Yup. Some of his ballads are gorgeous, sometimes heartbreakingly so.

My own favorites:

Carmelita

The French Inhaler

which contains some of my favorite lyrics in all of pop/rock music:

When the lights came up at two
I caught a glimpse of you
And your face looked like something
Death brought with him in his suitcase
Your pretty face
It looked so wasted
Another pretty face
Devastated

Accidentally Like a Martyr

... and then there's the almost indescribably sad (given that it was released at the very end of his battle with cancer) Keep Me in Your Heart

or the Jennys' version...

 

[Robin L]

Just a reminder - this is a thread about music written and performed between the years 1960 - 1979. Not covers from later, not songs from a 60s/70s artist that appeared after this time period. Thank You.

 

[Robin L]

"Aon-Aon" by Tabu Ley (also known as Rochereau) was one of the first songs from Africa I heard about 50 years ago. Judging from the cover of the "Danse Afrique" LP that I bought, this was going to sound like the Burundi Drums sampled by Joni Mitchell on "The Jungle Line":

Instead, it's smooth and lyrical:

My guess is that "Aon-Aon" is from the early 1970s, though online info is sketchy. That first LP from the "Danse Afrique" series led to a deep dig into what is known as Soukous, pop/dance music of the Congo/Zaire. Very big in the 60's and 70's throughout Africa, also in French Discothèques.

 

[Ibofobi]

"Aon-Aon" by Tabu Ley (also known as Rochereau) was one of the first songs from Africa I heard about 50 years ago. Judging from the cover of the "Danse Afrique" LP that I bought, this was going to sound like the Burundi Drums sampled by Joni Mitchell on "The Jungle Line":

View attachment 433839

Instead, it's smooth and lyrical:

My guess is that "Aon-Aon" is from the early 1970s, though online info is sketchy. That first LP from the "Danse Afrique" series led to a deep dig into what is known as Soukous, pop/dance music of the Congo/Zaire. Very big in the 60's and 70's throughout Africa, also in French Discothèques.

Nice. This is probably my favorite song with Tabu Ley: Karibou Ya Bintou, from 1974:ish.

 

[bluefuzz]

From Steeleye Span's first album Hark The Village Wait – still my favourite – the three best tracks were sung by Gaye Woods and hubby Terry Woods later of the Pogues (!). Here The Dark Eyed Sailor:

 

[bluefuzz]

Gene Clark - No Other:

 

[bluefuzz]

Gene Clark - With Tomorrow:

 

[bluefuzz]

Shirley Collins And The Albion Country Band ‎– Poor Murdered Woman. From the best 'Folk Rock' album ever: No Roses.

 

[bluefuzz]

(Hat's off to) Roy Harper - When An Old Cricketer leaves The Crease: