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I think it's fair to say that I have fairly eclectic tastes in music. The reasons that we love music must be very complex... a mix of brain chemistry, memory association and our chronological age, for example. I tend to be a fan of specific songs, rather than particular artists. Anyway...I'm always SAYING "that's one of my all-time favorites"...but it made sense to actually post my iPod playlist... since that is objective evidence of music I care about enough to have ripped it from my CD collection or bought the track downloads. Initially, I am posting this without comments, but over time, I intend to write a bit about why I love each of these pieces so much. And, of course, I continue to add tunes occasionally...but probably less than you think. I am not on a great hunt to discover new music...although I do love to stumble across something new that really turns me on from time to time. |
SONG TITLE |
ARTIST |
COMMENTS |
| Cabin on the Lake |
John Tesh |
His 'piano with orchestra' stuff is truly amazing. And he's married to Connie Selleca. Does life get any better? LOL... |
| Call Me (Come Back Home) |
Al Green |
Wow. Al Green. Do I need to say more? The voice. The soul. The passion. Song after song...there is no one else like him! |
| Call of the Wild |
Susan Ashton |
|
| Can't Stop Runnin' |
Roby Duke |
Blue-eyed soul-jazz-pop. Great voice. Terrific songs. This was a great album. |
| Can I Be With You |
Kenny Pore |
I lost track of this album for many years, but stumbled across it again on my shelf recently. Great sax-driven urban jazz from the Eighties. A real treasure. |
| Cant Keep A Bad Man Up |
Jan Akkermann |
Bluesy and smokin' hot. |
| Cares Chorus |
Kelly Willard |
|
| Carolina In My Mind |
James Taylor |
The first of many on here from the ultimate singer/songwriter. |
| Carousel |
Fred Haring |
Yes, I co-wrote it. But it's a great song anyway! Hear it here for free. |
| Carpenter |
Roby Duke |
This is a terrific song. In fact, the only thing about this whole album that didn't work was the front cover. I love this stuff. |
| Carpenter Gone Bad |
Bob Bennett |
One of Bob's very best tunes. Strong acoustic guitar. Beautifully written. |
| Casting Your Cares |
Ira White |
|
| Change My Way |
Lindy Freeland |
This beautiful young lady has written two songs that completely slay me. This is one. You'll find the other a bit further down. |
| Change the World |
Eric Clapton |
|
| Child of the Father |
Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart |
This was probably my first "favorite song" by Mylon. There is something so genuine and disarming about his music. |
| Chorino |
Lyle Mays |
Beautiful little electric piano groove from this friend of Pat Metheny. |
| Clay |
Lamb |
Gorgeous Messianic piece from Joel Chernoff and Levi Coghill back in the Seventies. |
| Cold As Ice |
Foreigner |
Lou Gramm is one of my all-time favorite vocalists...and Foreigner recorded a bunch of hooky rock many moons ago. |
| Come and See |
Bob Bennett |
Another great tune from Bob. His voice is terrific, and like his musical hero, Bruce Cockburn, his lyrics are always beautifully crafted. |
| Comfort Ye My People |
Lamb |
So beautiful, with that stark piano setting the mood. Joel Chernoff practically whispers his way thru this piece. |
| Conquistador |
Procol Harum |
|
| Could It Be I'm Falling |
Spnners |
Music just doesn't get much better than the Spinners. I loved just about every hit they ever had. |
| Could It Be Magic |
Barry Manilow |
It's fashionable to beat up on Barry. I don't listen to a lot of his music. But despite the somewhat cheesy background vocals, this is a beautiful adaptation of a Chopin melody. |
| Country Road |
James Taylor |
The ultimate singer-songwriter? If not, I don't know who's better. James is timeless. Exquisite guitar and production. |
| County Down |
Phil Keaggy |
This is very possibly one of the 10 best instrumental pieces I've ever heard. It's adventurous, melodic, it has a groove, great dynamics, energy. Honestly, I could sit and listen to this a hundred times in a row without tiring of it. I can't say that about many songs. |
| Courts of the Lord |
Alison Kitchen |
A really good worship song written by a friend, and featuring background vocals by other friends, and produced by one of my best friends. A good song from a great album. |
| Crack The Sky |
Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart |
Yes, the production is dated. But the song is strong. An energetic plea for the Lord's return. |
| Crazy On You |
Heart |
Early Heart was some wonderful music. Nancy is beautiful and can really play the guitar. Ann has an amazing voice. They were a great indie-style band back in the Seventies just as I was coming of age. This is a really strong song with great jumps back and forth between acoustic and electric accompaniment. Really fun. It just sizzles. |
| Crazy Times |
Jars of Clay |
Interestingly, I don't have their Flood song on my iPod, although I like it. But I love this one. Something about it. Melody...sort of a retro feel to it. Amazing energy. It hit #38 on the Modern Rock charts a number of years back. |
| Cry Of The Heart |
Tom Howard Ensemble |
I don't have anything specific to say about this. Just listen to the whole album if you can find it. Simply amazing. Tom Howard is SCARY good. |
| Curves Ahead (Live) |
Rippingtons |
My all-time favorite Ripps album....and the last great thing I heard from them (sadly). Simply beyond description. |
| Dance With You |
Annie Herring |
|
| Dancin' Fool |
The Guess Who |
Haha! I saw these guys live back in 1975 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. I had NO IDEA who the band was. Just liked one radio hit at the time. I heard song after song that I loved. This was truly a band built on great songwriting. |
| Dancing Out of Bounds |
Tom Howard |
A little more comtemporary than the Hidden Passage album. This one is drum and piano driven with some fun violin lead (or maybe it would better be described as a fiddle, with the style of play). Jazzy groove. |
| Dark Matter |
Chuck Brown |
This is a very simple little piece one which I've gotten a lot of feedback. People love it. It's very somber, but made really beautiful by Steve Bashaw's orchestral arrangement. |
| Day After Day |
Badfinger |
|
| Deacon Blues |
Steely Dan |
Another song I never tire of. I have never cared for Donald Fagen's vocals, and I think I was slow to warm to the band because of it. But when they're good, they are AMAZING. |
| Defying The Odds |
Kenny Pore |
Sweet little sax-driven jazz groove from the Eighties. Sax is not one of my favorite lead instruments, but this guy is quite good, and the composition throughout the album is excellent. |
| Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? |
Chicago |
I must credit my high school band director, Jim Swearingen, for turning me on to Chicago and BS&T when I was in 8th or 9th grade. He didn't hang around our school that long, but he really loved music (especially jazz rock), and some of it leaked out on me. I love Chicago, and this is just one of their many classics. |
| Don't Fear The Reaper |
Blue Oyster Cult |
|
| Don't Know Why |
Norah Jones |
To me, this is one of those incredible, timeless songs that standards singers will still be doing in lounges in a hundred years. Just perfect. |
| Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonite |
James Taylor |
Gorgeous. |
| Don't Take Me Alive |
Steely Dan |
Larry Carlton totally makes this song. Scintillating guitar breaks. I saw him in concert one when he did a medley of some of his famous guitar solos. Incredible. And then he went and married Michele Pillar, who is stunning. What a guy! LOL... |
| Down to the Well |
Terry Talbot |
|
| Dream Of The Sirens |
Rippingtons |
I guess this is, in my mind, the SIGNATURE Rippingtons song. It's the first one that really made them stand out in my mind...and drove me to buy that first album of theirs I ever owned. Words fail me. |
| Drift Away |
Dobie Gray |
Even though Uncle Cracker came along years later and mangled it, this is still a great song. Really cool guitar work, too. |
| Drinkin Me Lonely |
Chris Young |
I watched Nashville Star the year he won. And was listening the first time he performed this. Blew me away. Terrific song. Great voice. |
| Driving Through the Rain |
Tom Howard |
More Tom Howard magic. |
| Drops of Jupiter |
Train |
|
| Eleanor Rigby |
The Beatles |
I should have more Beatles music on here. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. They aren't on the download services as of this writing. |
| Eternal Flame |
The Bangles |
Beautiful melody. |
| Every Season |
Nichole Nordeman |
First shared with me by Allison Kitchen. Blew me away. Great song. Great voice. Beautiful orchestration. |
| Fare Thee Well |
Phil Keaggy |
Sweet acoustic guitar. Builds wonderfully, and features some flutes or other woodwinds. |
| Father Figure |
Ace Young |
Great arrangement. Similar to, but better than, the George Michael version. |
| Feels So Good |
Chuck Mangione |
|
| Fire And Rain |
James Taylor |
|
| First Prayer |
Randy Stonehill |
|
| Focus III |
Thijs Van Leer |
|
| For My Growing |
Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart |
|
| Free Man |
Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart |
|
| Freedom Run |
Tom Howard Ensemble |
|
| From this Old Steeple |
Tom Howard |
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| ON TO THE NEXT PAGE |