Top Twenty Six Songs

At this point in my life these are my top twenty-six songs that I can press play and enjoy anytime, anywhere. You know, those songs that the within the first few beats and notes you are hooked. These are the songs that I will immediately stop when scanning on the radio dial.

(I did notice after I reviewed this list that most of the songs I picked include a lot of horns and lead keyboard parts, which is probably not a surprise to anyone who knows me. Shout out to all you former trombone and keyboard players!)

I also can't help thinking about how many of these songs unlock nostalgic events in my past. (For instance: "Saturday In The Park" reminds me of playing this song in our band in High School marching down the streets of Gatlinburg, TN.)

One song that didn't make the cut but always invokes a strong memory is "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. (Always reminds me of driving the coast of California during the late 70's) The Jackson Five song, "I Want You Back" was off of the first cassette tape I received from a favorite uncle for Christmas. Elton John's song, "Your Song" was a favorite song to play during my high school years. And so on . . . enjoy!

Favorite Christmas Songs

In honor of Christmas trees being displayed in October, here are my Top 10 favorite Christmas songs. Some of these I have loved since childhood, "Christmas Dragnet" for instance, but most of them have found their way into my heart over the last few years. These are the songs that stop me in my tracks and demand my full attention.

1) Amy Grant - Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) - This song is simply breathtaking in it's ability to transport me back in history.

2) Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear? - Many different arrangements but this is my favorite of this haunting song.

3) Carpenters - Christmas Song - Has there ever been a purer voice than Karen Carpenter?

4) Emerson, Lake and Palmer - I Believe in Father Christmas - I understand the lyrics and intent of this song, which has been made very clear by its writer, Greg Lake. Greg was so moved by the lack of authenticity in our world, especially during Christmas that he wrote this emotional response to this world's apathy and untruth. Jesus was pretty clear that He would rather we be "hot" or "cold" but He really despised it when we resided in the apathy of the middle ground. That is where we lose our true hope, that is where we have lost our ability to be awed, to be joyful, or moved to anger. When we still have passion, I believe He can still change our hearts.

My Top 10 Greatest Albums of All Time

Without a great deal of commentary, here are my Top 10 favorite albums (as of today . . . )

But first some honorable mentions: 

• Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973)
• Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
• Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968)
• Three Dog Night - Around The World (1973)
• Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)
• Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me' (1973)

Now onto my Top 10 Albums!

10) Boston (1976) Debut album - technological and musical marvel. Groundbreaking. 

9) Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966) The Beach Boys eleventh album and by all accounts their greatest masterpiece. Vocal harmonies that sound like they were created in the realms of the heavenlies. 

8) Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974) Her sixth studio album and her first combining her folk style with jazz elements. Simply stupendous. 

7) John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963) This breakthrough album combined two of the giants of jazz and big band vocals. It was rumoured that all of the tracks of this record were recorded in the first take except for the first song when the drummer dropped his drumsticks during the recording. Amazing. 

ABC

Many years before my introduction to the Columbia Record Club, (8 Records for a penny!) I received for Christmas the Jackson 5 "ABC" recording on cassette. My Uncle Ricky and Aunt Theresa who gave me this wonderful gift probably couldn't have dreamed the journey this little tape would take me. 

First a little context, I was around 10 when I received this wonderful gift and I had already been experimenting with my cassette recorder which was a gift given to me the previous Christmas. I would put my recorder next to my Dad's huge (or so it seemed at the time) Fisher speakers in our living room and record the Top 40 with Casey Kasem. The quality was not all that great, with the variables of the FM radio reception and my inexpensive microphone but I was starting to expand my musical environment and that was the key. I had been taking piano lessons for around 4 years and due to my gift of almost perfect pitch I could pick out songs from my recordings and dissect their composition. It seems so foreign to look back now but at that time there was no MTV, no Walkmans or iPods, stereo equipment was beyond my allowance and odd job capabilities, no VHS tapes, Live concerts were out of the question (too expensive combined with dubious influences) and I didn't know anyone who played a musical instrument other than the piano. But all that changed when I could listen to the pristine arrangement of the song ABC coming from the 3" speaker in my tape recorder. Unlike the radio, I could stop the song, rewind it to listen in greater detail, and this allowed me to start picking up the parts of the song that I had never been aware of before. 

Reaction Video to John Denver's "Annie's Song"

I don't know if you are a fan of these reaction videos that are all over YouTube, but this is one of my favorites. This is one of my Top 10 songs of all-time, a nearly perfect marriage of lyrics, vocals, instrumentation, and arrangement. I've lost track of how many times I've heard this song, but it never failed to move me to tears. Part of that may be the stunning delivery, his purity of voice, and a realization of the history behind this song. But whatever the reason, this may be the greatest love song I've ever heard. 

NOTE: In retrospect, perhaps, a tie between this song and Gordon Lightfoot's song, "If I Could Read Your Mind" for the title greatest love song. 

Either way, both songs always pierce the core of my heart each time I listen to them. Let me know if either of these songs have that effect on you or maybe list your favorite love song in the comments below. 

Until next time . . . 

My 5 Favorite Movies

Top 5 Favorite Movies. Note: The benchmark I used to determine this list is the re-watchable factor. All of these movies I can watch over and over and over. So without further ado . . .

1) Patton - Best war movie of the most interesting American general (In my opinion) in history. George C. Scott was awesome in the role of Patton and the music was awe inspiring. The shots placed you right in the middle of WWII and didn't shy away from the brutality of war. If you have 3 hours, well, 2 hours and 52 minutes, this is the movie I'd pick.

2) Sneakers - Widely panned during its release over 25 years ago its surprising how well this movie has held up over time. But its really the cast that elevates this movie. Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Akroyd, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix and Ben Kingsley highlight this team of security intrusion experts. The writers (who wrote the movie "War Games" a decade earlier) do a great job with the MacGuffin, the magic codebreaking "Setec Astronomy" box. Highly recommended.