bennyboy
Group: Members
Posts: 177
Joined: July 2000 |
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Posted: Nov. 14 2000, 10:02 |
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Funny, I actually think that "Man In The Rain" is the best of the three Moonlight-Shadowy-type songs (the other two being "Crime Of Passion" and "Moonlight Shadow"). I think the guitar solo on "Man In The Rain" is the best of the three, and the lyrics are much more personal to my mind, reflecting Mikes turbulent Ibiza period ("Living in a world that you can never be a part of, and nows the time to walk away, you can't stay no you can't stay...") and towards the end swelling with hope for the future ("Theres a new day dawning as the cold rain falls, and nows the time to walk alone..." "You're no loser theres still time to ride that train"). Its a great song for anyone who has been through the break up of a relationship, and it just struck a nerve with me the way Moonlight Shadow never could. (If you want to know more about what this song means to me check out the topic "Convertions" in the "Experiences" forum).
I think that given the right kind of inspiration, Mike can be a fantastic songwriter. I think the songs on "Islands" - Mikes greatest song based album, and one of his greatest albums period - atest to this. The title track is joyful and romantic and has some great use of imagery and metaphors ("When the nights on fire will you keep the candlelight burning?" "When you see one bird into the wind another ones turning and the two can fly much higher")and "When The Night's On Fire" is a tender, more restrained, and somewhat more articulate restatement ("When you see one bird, theres another one watching over, and the two can fly much higher"). "North Point" is eerie and mysterious and the admitedly abstract lyrics create this strange sense of foreboding. The lyrics to "Flying Start" reflect perfectly the price of success and the importance of reaching for your dreams. That said I found Magic Touch less impressive.
Other songs I think show his ability as a good lyricist/songwriter are "Holy", "Far Country", "See The Light", "To France", "Poison Arrows", "Talk About Your Life" "Bridge To Paradise", "Blue Night", "Heaven's Open". Also the rarer songs "Pictures In The Dark" and "Shine" show that Mike can be a great lyricist when he puts his mind to it.
Songs of his that work in spite of their lyrics are most of the stuff on "Discovery" (Crystal Gazing, Tricks Of The Light, Discovery, Saved By A Bell) namely because of the way they are sung and Mikeys guitar solos. Some of the lyrics on those songs seem rather simplistic to me. "Five Miles Out", the first time I listened to that song I couldn't understand what the hell Mike was going on about because of all the electronic distortion and I wished he hadn't used a vocoder at all, but I kept coming back to it and gradually figured out the words.
For examples of poor songwriting check out "Foreign Affair" one of the most irritating songs mike has ever concocted, it is so bloody repetitive. "Moonlight Shadow" is certainly overrated, for me it just sounds too cheerful for a song about death ("Crime Of Passion", even if it was such a blatant retread, sounded much more melancholy). "Family Man" would have been good were it not for the use of echo and water dripping sound effects.
And finally to conclude an already absurdly long post, here are some lyrics that set my teeth on edge:
"Good brother show me how to get home, I've been walking in the backyard of Satan"
from Runaway Son
"Speak to me like the very first speak"
from Innocent
"Sing to me like the very first sing"
from Innocent
"I'm half a crazy man, waiting for confirmation, signs keep changing and I need some more information"
from Tricks Of The Light
"Whos keeping secrets, I've got my spies, does anybody think we live in paradise"
from Discovery
"Saved By A Bell, suffer in hell, but you made it through so well"
from Saved by A Bell
(the bits about the stars and stuff was so beautiful and then THIS comes in and ruins the whole song)
"Wheres your mummy, wheres she gone"
"You dance Mummy! Don't think so!"
"Whos that Mummy, I don't know"
from Altered State
(the original version I found genuinely disturbing and it sent shivers down my spine, the one on TBII has me in hysterics, though maybe that was the point...)
"Love is a gift, and to take you so much"
from Magic Touch
"Mona Lisa you can stop searching, don't you know were not Virgin"
from Make Make
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! I think it's one of Mike's best songs (I think I put it in my Top 10 in another topic). I love the tranquility and the simpleness of the piece, and the vocals are good too.
It would have dragged on a bit if he just wrote "Four in the morning." would be like singing: "Fourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr in the morning."
