Love Love Love
We’re here to help you woo!
Featured below is a list of ‘Best Love Songs of All Time’ for Valentine’s Day. So, what are your favorites? Cheesy, poignant, silly, achingly beautiful…whatever you’ve got, bring it on (give us your faves by leaving a comment)!
Take care, folks, and happy Valentine’s Day!
LOVE,
Everyone at Sounds Familyre
Lowell Brams:
‘Andmoreagain‘ from “Forever Changes,” by Love (1967). It’s the prime example of the Love enigma; how could an erratic, drugged- to-the-gills wildman like Arthur Lee write and sing such heartfelt, sensitive love songs, and turn them into classic recordings? I don’t know, but there it is, the song that expressed a love that’s remained with me for forty years- the love, not the person. We tried, but didn’t make it, and neither did the band, which broke up after recording Forever Changes, but the brutal aftermath doesn’t diminish the song’s beauty and the emotions it stirs.”
Ben + Vesper:
“Vesper grooves to ‘Hallelujah‘ by Jeff Buckley, but Ben loves ‘Someday We’ll Be Together‘ by Diana Ross and the Supremes, and ‘Mad About You‘ by Belinda Carlisle. Yes, he’s a softie. He gets all melty when he hears those. Ben also loves ‘Bonnie and Clyde‘ as sung by Bridget Bardot. We remembered that because as we were browsing Belinda Carlisle’s ouevre, we saw that she came out with a version of that song on an _all French_ CD last year!”
John Ringhofer:
“Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks: ‘Whenever I Call You “Friend“‘
I don’t know if this 1978 duet is actually a love song or not, but it’s sassy enough to be one. It begins with some false starts, gets soulfully acapella, cycles through some deliciously strange melody twists, displays a vaguely Country chorus (accented by cascading strings), and ends with the obligatory key change. Unless I’m mistaken, I’m pretty sure it’s got Michael McDonald’s falsetto singing “Ever and ever!” right when the tempo jumps a couple notches to the third movement. His suspected involvement at least qualifies it for greatness. The lyrics are kind of hard to decipher, with the possibility of innuendo: “I know forever we’ll be doing it…right.” Oh yeah, and there’s a sax solo. Whatever it is, it’s classic!”
Joshua Stamper:
“Without a doubt, one of the most romantic pieces of music ever written is ‘Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major-2nd Movement‘. The piece begins with solo piano, and the central theme is so beautiful it hurts (typically Ravel). About 45 seconds after the the orchestra enters, a sweet chromaticism begins to pervade the piano part, such that harmonies that were straightforward now seem just a bit troubled. The piece continues to unfold with a staggering balance of tension and release, until the end where it resolves sweetly, easily, and gently - how do those guys do that? The result is, to use a hackneyed phrase, breathtaking (hey, it’s Valentine’s Day - I can say ‘breathtaking’). Truly bittersweet. Oh, and it’s in 3/4. Who can resist 3/4?”
Dan Zimmerman:
Doris Day - ‘Secret Love‘
Beatles - ‘And I Love Her‘
Dylan - ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit‘
Everly Bros. - ‘Let It Be Me‘
J.S. Bach - ‘Sheep May Safely Graze‘
Ken Fabianovicz:
Troggs - ‘Love Is All Around‘
Tom Rapp (of Pearls Before Swine) - ‘Love/Sex‘
Velvet Underground - ‘I Found A Reason‘
Bob Dylan - ‘If Not For You‘
Beach Boys - ‘God Only Knows‘
Delfonics - ‘La La Means I Love You‘
Bread - ‘Baby I’m a Want You‘
Ronettes - ‘Be My Baby ‘
Flamingos - ‘I Only Have Eyes for You‘
Daniel Johnston - ‘True Love Will Find You In The End‘
Glen Campbell - ‘Less of Me‘
Christiaan Pallidino:
Dylan - ‘Love Minus Zero/No Limit‘
Irma Thomas - ‘It’s Raining‘
Nina Simone - ‘Love Me Or Leave Me‘
Biz Markie - ‘Just A Friend‘
Benni Hemm Hemm - ‘I Can Love You In A Wheelchair Baby‘
Ted Velykis:
“My favorite love song has to be ‘When You Need a Laugh‘ by Hank Cochran and made famous by Patsy Cline. I don’t know if it’s just the way Patsy sings it or if the lyrics just touch me somehow - but every single time I hear it I get choked up. Do sad songs count?”
February 14th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Don’t forget the Lost Dogs “No Ship Coming In” as the best ever love song
Dave
February 14th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
i quite like ‘God If I Saw Her Now’, by Anthony Phillips!
February 14th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I think Prince’s “Adore” just might be my all-time favorite love song; you can’t help but want to forgive him for being an egomaniac for those 6 minutes.
A few others would be Sufjan’s “The Predatory Wasp…,” Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow,” and Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
February 14th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
“You’re The One” by Blood Sweat & Tears (from their 1976 album More Than Ever).
February 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
as lame as they are, Shivers by Coldplay is one that always gets me.
And Strange Powers by Magnetic Fields, even though the second verse is about las vegas.
February 15th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Oh man, one of my favorites is “Fields Of Gold” by Sting and the Police. Soooo good. Also, “Eli, The Barrow Boy” by the Decemberists always gets me a little teary-eyed. What’s more heart-breaking than a story about the ghost of a barrow boy pining after the also-dead object of his affections?!
February 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
“Suzanne” - Leonard Cohen and “A Girl Like You” by The Troggs…they are just really good songs.
February 15th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Oft overlooked but incredible even today is the Robert Burns’ “Oh My Love’s Like A Red Red Rose”. Yes, there’s eighteen million melodies written to these words, but I’ve yet to hear one that doesn’t make me wish the song was being sung to me. “’til a’ the seas gang dry, my love, ’til a’ the seas gang dry.”
What more could you ask of a man, than he love you ’til then?
February 18th, 2008 at 4:36 am
nice choice by Lowell Brams!
Andmoreagain… great song from a great band and classic album.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
i knew my list would be too long, so i blogged it on my own blog, thanks for the inspiration!
www.bestpony.blogspot.com
May 19th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
The Pixies - Hey
Daniel Johnston - True Love will find you in The end
Smog - All your women Things