come on come on love me for the money

As I sit here listening to some of Billboard’s Top 100 from 1972, I’m amazed at how great some of these songs are and how much they move me (emotionally, friends, not physically). Take for example “Layla”, by Derek and the Dominoes. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this song; it’s highly regarded as an incredible piece of musicianship on the part of Eric Clapton. He wrote the song after falling in love with George Harrison’s wife, Patty. It is essentially two songs in the one; the blistering first half and the more gentle reflective second part. I could only get through the first half tonight actually. Sometimes you just want to hear that passion for love unfulfilled rather than the “filled” love part. Let’s also talk about the track I’ve got on now, Bread’s “Everything I Own”. My mother actually has the vinyl version of Bread’s greatest hits, so I feel as though I’m honouring a tradition of listening to sappy music by playing it now. Bread is perhaps best known for the song “If”, which is usually played at weddings (which gives you an indication of how sappy it is). But “Everything I Own” is a much more superior song. To be honest, this song always gets me choked up. He’s singing about a relationship after the fact, and his message is essentially “I’d give it all up you have you once again”. Pretty powerful stuff, and the music that goes with it is gorgeous. Let’s see. I’ve got on now Harry Nilsson covering Badfinger’s “Without You”. You might have heard one of the various other covers of this song, with the refrain “Can’t live if living is without you”. You might have heard that line at least. Anyways, those covers all suck. Nilsson’s is the definitive one, and you take a listen and you’ll see. Sure the song is overblown to begin with, but frankly I don’t mind. Somehow I always identify with this song, as sad and depressing as that is. It’s a very pessimistic, sad, and fatalistic look at relationships. Ok I’ve moved onto one of the most beautiful songs that has ever graced my ears: Roberta Flack singing “The First time ever I saw your face”. Roberta has a very commanding voice, but she exhibits a control over it which impresses me very much. It is a pretty and gentle song, and Roberta knows how to keep her emotions in check, which makes it all the more powerful. Clint Eastwood was a particular fan of this song. He put it in his movie Play Misty for Me, which is a nice little thriller about an obsessed woman. The movie actually popularized this song, and for good reason. I love Roberta. Anyways, that’s just a sampling of some very moving music from 1972.