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Verbwhores' Top 1000 Singles

Started by Ciarán2, August 16, 2006, 12:45:43 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Toad in the Hole

One typical one from me, and one not so typical.

985.



Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye

Released: 1995
Written by: J. Buckley
Produced by: Andy Wallace
Highest UK Chart Position: 54 [thanks Ciarán]

This, I think, was the only "proper" UK single from Grace.  And I'm pretty sure it didn't sell that well, as I remember picking up a copy from our local record store's bargain bin.

It starts with a wave of shimmering guitarness, before Matt Grondahl's drums kick in to start the song proper.  A tale of love lost, but nowhere near approaching biggest tear-jerker in the Buckley canon (for me that honour goes to the beautiful Lover, You Should've Come Over), the tune itself in the verses is relatively upbeat; it's the mid-section which provides the moodiness.

Fantastic, soaring lyrics sung in Buckley's awesome multi-octave voice are the crowning glory of this song: 'Kiss me, please kiss me / Kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation'... 'Was there a voice unkind / In the back of your mind / That said 'maybe... you didn't know him at all'"

Hardly an unknown one or a controversial one, I don't think.  And if you don't own a copy of Grace, then get down the record shops tomorrow.

984.



Jamelia - Superstar

Released: 15 September 2003
Written by: Remee, Hansen, Belmaati
Produced by: Cutfather & Joe
Highest UK Chart Position: 3

Just a great pop single.  The deep bassline driving the song, below the flicks of trebly Nile Rodgers style guitar, provides a catchy minor key melody to this tale of envy (of another woman?).  Silky harmonies behind Jamelia's main vocal finish off this song - possibly the best pure pop single of 2003 - and it hung around well into 2004.

Cack Hen

983.



[DROP NINETEENS] - Winona

Released: 1992
Label: Caroline/Hut Records
Format: 12"

-{Download}-

Take my word for it, this is the best song named after Winona Ryder that you will ever hear. I think.

I love this song so much. It seems to pull together the best of Pixies and My Bloody Valentine and yet sound so utterly fresh and special. The songwriting here is pretty fantastic, it takes several brilliant twists and turns and takes you on a very subtle trip to the climactic chorus. Yes, it's so good, it actually has two choruses back to back. The first one is almost like a dummy chorus, to lure you in and then the second strikes with that screeching, emotional guitar. As soon as Greg sings "it's why I've got to know the truth" the song is effectively over, and the final minute and half just plays out to its conclusion, like a band leaving the stage while deafening feedback echoes around the room. It would be an insult to the hard work and emotion put into the first half of the song if they took it anywhere else but a safe middle ground where upon you can reflect on what a fantastic piece of music you have just heard.

Edit- I forgot to add, listen to this loudly.

Quote from: "afrayn"Jamelia - Superstar

Released: 15 September 2003
Written by: Remee, Hansen, Belmaati
Produced by: Cutfather & Joe
Highest UK Chart Position: 3

Great pop song. Won an Ivor Novello award, IIRC.

Toad in the Hole

I've also done an acoustic version of it before in a drop D tuning to accommodate the bassline.  Tasty.

Custard

The idea of adding a download link after each selection is great.

I'm guessing most people have heard it plenty of times, but here's my selection from earlier, Beyonce - Crazy In Love: http://www.sendspace.com/file/pxt5zj

Ciarán2

Always welcome to hear it again! I'll download any one you post which I don't have - thereby having a terrific new Playlist on iTunes called Verbwhores' Top 1000 Singles. So we can archive the list and at the end have a data disc which can do the rounds like in the CD Tree. Or would that be totally illegal, immoral and a risk to the site? Seems like a nifty and democratic idea to me.

Custard

Excellent idea. Deffo doing a playlist for my Itunes too.

Ciarán2

982.



Madonna "Live To Tell"

Written by: Madonna and Patrick Leonard
Produced by: Madonna and Patrick Leonard
Released: March 1986
Highest UK Chart Position: 2

There used to be a scurrilous opinion put about that Madonna was, you know, a bit thick. I'm not sure how that one came about, but I'm pretty sure that this single went some way to scotching it. This was Madonna "going adult". I'm sure it was one of the first Madonna singles which was accepted by parents and their kids alike. And for once, I don't think this is because the record is some bland-o-rama tick-all-the-right-boxes marketing trick-gone-right. It's just an undeniably brilliant pop song. And it's quite touching really. I suppose it is what-you-may-call a "power ballad". It's got chugging guitars on. It has a kind of false ending too, which still takes me by surprise really. And when the song comes back in it's different. It gets lovelier. It sounds like the saddest thing ever recorded. A real weepie. "A man can tell a thousand lies/ I've learned by lesson well..." Yes, I suppose it is music for girls. But it's pithy, deals in general truths (the crapness of relationships, the crapness of boys if you happen to be a teenage girl with a broken heart). A really lovely, atmospheric ballad. Something Madonna does better than anyone else.

981.



Annie "Heartbeat"

Written by: Annie, Svein Berge, Torbjorn Brundtland
Produced by: Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland
Released: March 2005
Highest UK Chart Position: 50

This blew me away last year. Honestly, singles as great as "Heartbeat" don't come along often. When it came to compiling my CD Tree effort, I was going to invent a genre and call it "atmospop". I was going to do an "atmospop" compilation. "Heartbeat" is atmospop. It's a pop song, for sure. But it's very atmospheric. Almost ambient. (Other examples of "atmospop" I had lined up: "Someone Somewhere In Summertime" by Simple Minds, "Transient Truth" by One Dove and "Heat" by Soft Cell). It's a very 1982 record, is Annie's "Anniemal" LP. It's forward-thinking and futuristic in the way pop records were in the early 80s. There's a disco thing going on in "Heartbeat" certainly. It also captures a night on the dancefloor superbly. "Don't know your name, making me ashamed to feel the way that I do..." and "I won't forget greatest times I had when I was dancing with you..." - beautiful, talking about my teenage years there. The drums just pound and pummel throughout, like on Doves' records. There's the slightest amount of chick-a-chick disco guitar, a bassline to kill for and a terrific vocal performance from Annie.

It all builds up from a very sparse intro. When the backing vocals kick in the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Whoever thought of putting them in the mix is a genius. (The word "genius" will be bandied about like wildfire throughout this thread!) The arrangement seems to shift and change throughout the track, never keeping still, demanding your attention. It just pumps and swoons and dazzles until - whooph! - at 2'45" the drums vanish and we're left with just the vocals, the bass and the synths. It's as good an ending to a record as I can think of. So I play this over and over and over...

Hans Resist

980

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence [Hands & Feet 12"]




Released 5th February 1990
UK Chart position: #6
Written By Martin Gore
Produced by Depeche Mode & Flood
Remix by François Kevorkian
Original album: "Violator" (Mute)

Being specific about the mix here (which I think is permissible here since it's the official 12" version and the main track on the vinyl release), and you need to find the blue 3" CDS to get it. The song is obviously an all-time great if you have any interest in electronic pop, but the single is indispensible for François K's impeccable expansion. He has re-levelled the original components to preserve interest over the 7mins20 so that teeth don't rot and loads aren't prematurely shot. A good example is the quieter introduction of that heavy-duty "neooowwwww" envelope synth in the later choruses.

A cold bastard of a record yes, but a total evergreen from a band who instead of embracing an emerging political form in 1990 might as easily have become obselete. Ultimately, though, it's just a cracking tune innit. Anyone listening to this at deafening volume on a personal music player who doesn't suppress the urge to yell out loud at the suspensions around 5.44 is an alien.

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Quote from: "Shameless"
Like Ciarán's reaction to Girls Aloud's "Biology", I remember my first hearing of Beyonce's debut-single clearly and I recall thinking "What the fuck is THIS?". It completely blew me away and kept me pinned to the seat for it's full duration.

I don't get that at all. I remember someone raving about it at the time, so I downloaded it to see what the fuss was about...and thought 'Oh yeah, that one'. I'd been hearing it via osmosis for weeks c/o shops, TV, etc.

I can't imagine a track like that every stopping me in my tracks - I'd just switch off, think 'Generic 00s', and lump it in with all the James Blunts. Somethimes I think my pop palette is fucked.

Cack Hen

(eep- I feel like I've been doing too many, but this is my last, I swear (for today anyway))

979.



[SUEDE] - Stay Together

Released February 14, 1994
Format CD, Vinyl record (7", 12")
Recorded 1993
Label Nude Records
Chart Placing: #3

-{Download}-

Apparently, Brett Anderson thinks this is worst song Suede ever did. Was he in a coma when they did She's In Fashion? I often wonder if this song (the unedited version) came out of a jamming session, because it sounds like a labour of love and it sounds like a band hitting their peak. Of course, the horns heavily suggest this didn't come out of a jam, but they could have been put in afterwards. Even if it wasn't a spontaneous thing, it's still a lovely 8 minutes+ of swirling guitars and tempo crashing build ups. Incidentally, I think this song and Animal Nitrate is the only time Bernard Butler has sounded anything more than extremely competent. He is an overrated guitarist, and certainly doesn't deserve the crown of succesor to Johnny Marr but like on Animal Nitrate, he plays with great passion here and it works as a perfect ending for his time in Suede (this was his final song with them).

Maybe I'm cheating a little bit here because I am talking about the unedited version, rather than the radio edit, but I think a fair portion of what I say about it here applies to both. Having said that, the unedited version that I have uploaded really is superior. Not least because of the spoken section by Brett, which adds an element of intrigue and mystery to the song (remember at this stage they probably knew Bernard was on his way), something that elevates this song from most of the Suede catalgue (they're hardly subtle, are they?). And no, nobody knows what Brett actually says, he was asked in an interview but says there's no point in anyone knowing. I agree.

The melody is very stirring and broody, which is something they certainly had a knack for in the early days. It might be a bit reverb-heavy, but it's no faux-drama, this is the real thing. Like many great musical partnerships, Brett and Bernard could only exist as a seriously good musical force together, because apart they haven't really come to anything of much note. Maybe it's more to do with timing, because The Tears were hardly a return to form.

Hans Resist

978

Pop Will Eat Itself - X, Y & Zee [Intergalactic Mix]



Released 1st January 1991
UK Chart Position: #11
Written By Vestan Pance
Produced By Flood
Remixed By John Waddell
Original Album "The Pop Will Eat Itself Cure For Sanity" (RCA)


No pop, no style!

It's not their biggest single, it's not their most envelope-pushing work and many Poppies fans will argue that the raw album version is better. But to me, this is their finest hour. Some days, anyway. A single remix that is so far ahead of its time it just beggars belief: for a 1990 production, the cut-ups and beats are a minor mastering job away from timelessness.

Vocally, Clint Mansell is on top of his game. For what is essentially a silly, sci-fi party rap in a Midlands accent about ecology, his delivery is fearless and sincere. Simultanously clap happy and funereal, there's an edge of sadness and anger in X, Y & Zee that's quite unique: it's a resigned knees-up at the end of the world, and it's too late for hectoring.

There weren't many other groups who could bring out something so Kylie and fill a floor full of ecstatic metallers, ravers and indie kids. All this, and provide the devoted with some of the greatest T-shirts in pop music ever. It's inconceivable now. Why these guys struggled to such a disappointing conclusion (and had more success apart with weaker material), and how they've come to be remembered as embarrassing relics of a fashion disaster is a mystery and a shame.

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2yg5mh

THE SLITS
'Typical Girls'

Written by The Slits
Produced by Denis Bovell
Released as a single, September 1979


Reasons why it's great:

1. The angsty, jittery piano at the start, which becoms a swirling, swaggering piano by the end.

2. Ari Up generally doing weird things with her voice, never once cracking a note.  One of the most underrated vocalists ever - easily as talented as Bjork.

3. The way the backing vocals sarcastically respond to the main lyrics, not unlike Lennon and McCartney on Getting Better.

4. The general air of sarcasm and cynicism, contrasted with an exhilarating, girls-having-a-laugh-in-a-Ladbroke-Grove-squat-with-a-Harder-They-Come-poster-on-the-wall love of life that screams 1979. A world Lily Allen will never understand.

5. It's white dub/ska, but it isn't remotely embarrassing.

6. It's a political song, almost a manifesto, but it's not afraid to be catchy as hell.

Ciarán2

976.



Young Marble Giants "Final Day"b/w
"Radio Silents"

A double a-side, laydeez and gentlemen!

Written by: Stuart Moxham
Produced and arranged by: Young Marble Giants and Dave Anderson
Released: May 1980
Highest UK Chart Position: did not chart!

Funny what insomnia does to you. I ended up listening to a couple of dead-at-night records to spook myself to sleep. Young Marble Giants sound great at 4am. No signs of dawn showing yet. This is dark music, deep in the woods music. Apocalyptic, some say. Oddly uplifting though. I was going to post their "Testcard" EP, but worried it would be too much too soon. I will get around to that later.

It took me a couple of years to track these songs down. I'd read about Young Marble Giants, alright. But I finally got to hear them for myself in 1997. I stumbled across this 7" single in a (then great, but now sadly rubbish) second hand record shop in Dublin. "Cor!", I enthused to the owner and supervisor of the shop, "I've been looking for this for ages! This and 'La Varieté" by Weekend..." (Weekend are the band Alison Statton formed post-YMG). The owner of the shop gave me a quizzative look. "Hmmmn...that might be in the new arrivals section..." And it was! For £3! It was the best finding-a-diamond-in-the-rough record shopping moment of my life.

I got these records home and they were beyond my wildest imaginings. Really, Young Marble Giants made stately, elegant and moving music. But only for two years. One album, a single (this), and an EP. But they're all tremendous. This is quiet punk, I suppose. "Final Day" is this nuclear fallout thing. "Radio Silents"? Well I couldn't tell you what that's about. I like its simple lyric though ("Be polite, tonight/ Just for one time..."). They make it all sound so easy, which is probably a sign of greatness.

975.



The Shangri-las "I Can Never Go Home Anymore"

Written by: Shadow Morton
Produced by: Shadow Morton
Released: 1965
Highest UK Chart Position: did not chart (US: 6)

This is a story song. And because it's a Shadow Morton written story, it has a high body count. Well, The Shangri-las oeuvre is a catalogue of death. This is particularly bleak though. I'm going to spoil the story for you. Girl meets boy. Girl is forbidden to see boy by mother. Decides to run away. Girl misses her mother terribly and forgets about love interest. Mother dies of loneliness. Girl ends up homeless. Not a barrel of laughs, then. Maybe it's a propagandist piece working on behalf of middle-America, a drive to persuade the kids to listen to their parents. I don't know. But it is stirring stuff.

It starts off perky, "I'm gonna hide if she don't leave me alone, I'm gonna run awaaaay..." And then the public information film starts. "DON'T! Cause you can never go home anymore." Maybe it's a bit of big-sisterly advice. But it's very dramatic. Mournful guitar and piano, ghostly backing vocals. And a stark and disturbing evocation of teenage loneliness ("Your life is so lonely, like a child without a toy/ Then a miracle - a boy..."). And the strings gradually swell. It's all done on the cheap too, by the sound of it. The bleakest part of all is after the phantom memory of the mother's lullaby ("Hush little baby, don't you cry/ Mama won't go away..."/ "Mama!!!!!"). You're bound to blub at the end of this one...

So, to cheer you up, here are some "song facts"! ("If making a mix tape with this song, insist on following this song immediately with "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown. Watch hilarity ensue...")

This thread has been terrific so far. It has far exceeded my expectations! Let's keep it going. "Enjoy The Silence" was a particularly stonking track, Hans Resist. As was the long version of "Stay Together", Cack Hen. Brilliant stuff.

sproggy

974



The Stranglers "Let me introduce you to the family" 1981, just skimmed the to 50 of the charts.

I heard this late one night on the John Peel show and it blew me away and had 75p burning a hole in my pocket, I've still got tucked away somewhere, but sadly no working turntable upon which to play it.

Probably the last single I ever bought as I view them as something of a rip-off unless it's plucked from a bargain bin or a charity shop.

Ray Le Otter

973



DURAN DURAN "The Reflex"

EMI DURAN 2 (UK)

Chart Position #1
Released: 16/04/1984

Apologies for this - yes it is a way too obvious choice, and the muso snob in me says I should have chosen "Skin Trade" or "Ordinary World" but no, "The Reflex" it is.

Context: The "Seven & The Ragged Tiger" album, which had come out the previous year, was a glossy yet empty affair, sounding mostly like a year of touring and being a tax exile had taken it's toll on the creative minds in the group. The first two singles off the album had done okay but not spectacularily in the UK, and it seemed as if their popularity here, if not exactly waning, was not what it was the year before.

Duran were in the middle of a 50+date tour of the USA, and needed a  third single from the album to keep up the momentum around the rest of the world. For me, "The Reflex" was a very catchy tune on the album, but lacking that certain something (I prefered "The Seventh Stranger"), and the band obviously agreed. John Taylor had always said that he wanted the group to be a mixture of The Sex Pistols & Chic, and now they had the clout to approach the producer of Chic, Nile Rodgers, and ask him to have a bash at remixing "The Reflex" for single release.

Rodgers well and truly gave the track a kick up the arse, latching onto the stuttering sampling technique of the time and messing around with Le Bon's vocals: "Reflex-fle-fle-fle-fle-flex". This can be heard to great effect on the 12" Dance mix where Rodgers deconstructs the track completely after the first verse - go seek it out!  He also made the guitars a bit bit more beefy and funky, and the whole thing was a lot more punchy and really a little bit more of what we expected of the band after the disappointing "Tiger" release.

I remember first reading about the release in "Smash Hits" and then hearing the track on Peter Powell's radio show, thinking "this is brilliant - so much better than the album version". I ran down to the record shop on the Monday of release, to be rewarded by being able to obtain the single in a poster cover. Yes! Result. Plus, Russell Mulcahy was back on video duties, with a truly memorable classic "live" performance video. Set video to record from "Saturday Superstore" (ahh, those were the days).

The rest is history... number one single, Duran back at the top of the tree, and then a summer of great number one singles following (Frankie, Wham!, George Michael). Great times. This was where I changed from just liking Duran Duran to being a fan.

The next single they released was "The Wild Boys"... but that's another story altogether....

the midnight watch baboon

972

Someone write a review of  BOYS DON'T CRY by THE CURE please... No-one? Ok I'll do it.. it's easily the bestest song on this list so far, comprising a heady mix of several bullet-point factors regarding youth, tuneSmithery and a lead guitar line to melt all but the coldest of hearts. Not enough blood-pumpers were teased into sending it any higher than 22 in the charts, but since when did chart positions realllly matter.  The first 3 chords set the tone, the tune soars and Robert Smith's yelp touches more young boys then Jonathan King could ever dream of. I would say I'm sorry about the King gag if I thought that it would change your minds about other singles being better, but instead I'll just end this rambling word-fest with a kiss. Xxx. (Or three).

Cack Hen

I always thought Just Like Heaven was a better song. I mean, obviously, there's not much in it because they're amazing songs, but it's always had more replay value despite sounding a bit too 80s.

Ciarán2

Here you go...

Duran Duran "The Reflex (Dance Mix)"

I don't have The Stranglers' one so can't post that one up. You find out the gaps in your collection on a thread like this, eh?

I'm surprised (and pleased) that so many singles are remembered as 12"s.

the midnight watch baboon

Quote from: "Cack Hen"I always thought Just Like Heaven was a better song. I mean, obviously, there's not much in it because they're amazing songs, but it's always had more replay value despite sounding a bit too 80s.


Yep both great tunes, I just always found BsDC more 'singley', whatever that may mean.

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Cor, I never knew the Chic elements on The Reflex were for the single only. What version do you get if you buy the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album now?

The bit when the guitars crash in after 'fe-flex' is magical.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Cor, I never knew the Chic elements on The Reflex were for the single only. What version do you get if you buy the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album now?

The bit when the guitars crash in after 'fe-flex' is magical.

Agreed.

There's a lot more synth on the album version - the Chic like choppy guitar is there (presumably why they got Nile in for the remix) but the production by the late Alex Sadkin & Ian Little pushes it into the background. The best way I can describe it is "polite". The Rodgers mix is much more ballsy.

All together now: "ta na na na, ta na na na, the Reflex..."

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Dos anyone know what The Reflex is about by the way? It's easy to read out the chorus in a sarcastic voice, but I genuinely wonder. Is it just a bunch of cliches strung together, or is it supposed to be mysterious like Nik Kershaw's The Riddle?

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Dos anyone know what The Reflex is about by the way? It's easy to read out the chorus in a sarcastic voice, but I genuinely wonder. Is it just a bunch of cliches strung together, or is it supposed to be mysterious like Nik Kershaw's The Riddle?

Hard to say - easy to mock and say that much of it sounds like sixth form poetry but most of Le Bon's lyrics were a bit odd. Funny how many of these so called "Teeny" bands had really challenging (in a good way) lyrics - you wouldn't get this with McFly.

sproggy

The 'Riddle' was a load of made up bollocks wasn't it?

I'm sure Nik Kershaw 'fessed up to that some time ago.

A Passing Turk Slipper

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"A world Lily Allen will never understand.
I thought you really liked Lily Allen?
I'll do one of these in a bit. It's a good thread this, it could have gone bad but the reviews definitely make it worthwhile and a great read.

Derek Trucks

Thought I'd get into the swing of things with a 'countdown within a countdown'.

971
Highest UK Chart Position: 20



Genetic Engineering by OMD

Entered chart February 1983
Written by OMD
Produced by Rhett Davies & OMD

So much going on in this record: Wedding Present-esque guitars, a Speak and Spell machine and a dense layering of melodies, the overall effect is something akin to 5 Kraftwerks playing at once.  It suffered quite severe drop in chart fortunes following the success of the Architecture and Morality singles (unbelievably the more commercial Telegraph that followed this didn't make the 40 at all).  Always a shame they retreated to a softer, less individual sound post-Dazzle Ships (a great but ultimately confounding record).


970
Highest UK Chart Position: 19



You're All I Need to Get By by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Entered chart October 1968
Written & Produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson

You could probably fill most of the 1000 with Motown singles, but this little gem often gets overlooked – definitely my favourite of their duets; the production (particularly at the very start of the record) is typically magnificent and the performance quite moving.  Of course Tammi's death would form a significant influence on Gaye's magnificent, introspective work of the 1970s – but his duets with Diana Ross seem somewhat lifeless in comparison to a record like this.


969
Highest UK Chart Position: 18



Something 4 The Weekend by Super Furry Animals

Entered chart July 1996
Written by Super Furry Animals
Produced by Gorwel Owen & Super Furry Animals

I live in hope that somewhere there's a parallel universe where SFA were the biggest group of the last 10 years – they've certainly been the most consistently brilliant.  Again there's a hell of a lot going on here (multiple melodies will be something of a thing with my choices), and it manages to keep their early off-the-wall style whilst simultaneously being an extremely catchy record (of which they would go on to do a lot more).

Back with 17 onwards in a bit......

niat

Quote from: "sproglette"The 'Riddle' was a load of made up bollocks wasn't it?

I'm sure Nik Kershaw 'fessed up to that some time ago.

Has anyone got a definitive answer on this, as it's been burning a hole in my brain since the 80s? Ta.

Why I Hate Tables

The Boo Radleys-Wake Up Boo!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9hjgux

The most uplifting song I know. Apart from The Fall's Bill Is Dead,and I don't know if that's a single. If it is, I don't own it.

THis song though has pretty much everything.
It has backing vocals and horns.It's a very happy song, any time of day. But especially early in the morning. A great song by a very underrated band.

It's great for the following reasons:
1)It's got happy lyrics that mention death
2)It has horns on,and backing vocals
3)There's the sound of an alarm clock
4)Just listen to it. It is. Although 90% of all people have heard it,very likely.

The great thing is, it's summery but sounds equally ace at any time of year. Especially in winter.

Ray Le Otter

967



THE GRID "Floatation"

Catalog#: East West YZ475CD  

In the history of Pop, The Grid will probably never merit more than a footnote at the bottom of a Soft Cell article. Which is a shame because they were worth more than that, and should be remembered for more than being what the Marc Almond's mate did next or "doing that record with the Banjo on it".
 
Yes, Dave Ball & Richard Norris may have had bigger hits with "Swamp Thing", "Crystal Clear" & "Texas Cowboys", but the first Grid single "Floatation" is the one that does it for me.

"Floatation" is just blissful. Released slap bang in the middle of the baggy boom of 1990, this slow trippy track fitted in very well. It's really early chill-out music. The song is based around a direct lift of part of the melody from Art Garfunkel's  "Bright Eyes" but don't let that put you off. Sacha Soutar's breathy  vocal "Floating in the air, floating in the sea, take me hand & come with me" is almost hypnotic.

There's a great mix on the CD single as well, incorporating a sample from the Stone Roses classic "Waterfall", by Andrew Weatherall before he went obscure with Sabres Of Paradise.

It should have been massive, I don't think it reached the Top 40 but it's some consolation that it's since been rediscovered on many a "Chill Out" compilation.

(Beware - the version on their debut album "Electric Head" is not the one you're looking for.. but it's great all the same).