I have a special interest in songs and lyrics, so my list for 2017 consists of songs which I especially enjoyed last year, though the songs chosen don’t necessarily ‘belong’ to 2017.
It’s a highly personal selection, with only 3 jazz songs out of 7, but a good song is a good song of whatever genre, so I make no apology for including the likes of Adele.
In no particular order:
Crazy Rhythm: I’ve written about this one before, it gives a picture of American life and the ‘new’ jazz music.
One Day Like This: by Elbow. A wonderful optimistic song, beautifully arranged.
Creep by Radiohead. I first heard this song of teenage angst when it was sung well by a young lad at a local buskers night. Everyone else had heard it before. Amusing, and a bit sad at the same time.
Someone Like You by Adele. A love song that many people can identify with, sung with real feeling. Adele wept in her dressing room after singing this, as it’s autobiographical. I’ve been known to stand stock still in clothes shops when this is played.
The Galway Farmer by Show of Hands. A happy folk song, written by the band, about an Irish farmer who had good luck at the races. You can hear it on YouTube. We did this in a band with Folkworks, and I got to portray a horse race rhythm on the bodhran, which was great fun!
I Can’t Get Started Dave Weisser did this well at a recent jam at the Globe, and it was good to hear a Gasbook song sung by an American. The song provoked quite a discussion with a friend about the lyrics. It’s another of those jazz songs which are not only about love, but about life in the USA.
You Don’t Know What Love Is I’d heard this sung with feeling many times by Fiona Finden, then it came up during a course at the Globe, so I appreciated the lyrics even more.
Ann Alex.
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