My reaction to different types of music quite often surprises me. An example is the ‘country and western’ stuff put together by the late John Denver. For reasons I still don;t understand it really gets to me. My favourite quip is that his music makes me homesick for places I’ve never been… yet it’s actually remarkably true.
This morning again I was reminded again how much simple tunes can make my emotions go haywire when I put on an old Leo Sayer CD.
I’ve always liked Leo Sayer, his music was always upbeat and attractive… even quirky on occasions with songs like Moonlighting, One Man Band and Long Tall Glasses. Yet the one song that affects me the most out of his catalogue is Orchard Road.
Explaining why a song ‘gets to you’ is never easy but on this occasion I think I have it. To begin with Leo’s voice is at its plaintive best, and whilst the backing is deceptively simple… ocasionally reduced to a slow drum beat with a ‘tickle’ on the cymbal, the main instrumentation is provided by an organ… witha tone that seems to hit me right in the emotive zone.
The voice, added to the instruments and arrangement would be enough to catch me by themselves, but when the lyrics are added in it sort of seals the deal.
Having said that Iit *still* catches me whenever I hear it… maybe I’m just getting old… but it’s nice to have my emotions stirred up now and then… if only to remind me I’m alive! 🙂
Thanks Leo.
The Eclectic Interweb 