FOREWORD
How often have you listened to your favourite records when all manner of thoughts and images in your mind have been constructed by the music that you hear? Well, after all these years, I've finally put my own impressions down on paper. This project has been a real labour of love for me, as I have recalled many of the tracks which have been both influential and enjoyable not only to me, but to many other of you music lovers out there.
This volume however is not intended as a compilation of what I might consider to be the 366 greatest songs of all time, though many of them would be worthy candidates in such a list. Instead, I have assembled recordings covering a variety of genres such as britpop, motown, pop, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, and ska, which have collectively contributed to the rich tapestry of what is loosely referred to as popular music. Incidentally, this publication has confined itself to twentieth century material and is not designed as a slight against recent 'stuff'. Artists such as Coldplay, Keane, Maroon 5,the Scissor Sisters, and Stereophonics have all created tunes which stand favourable comparison with anything that has preceded them. However, as my own expertise (such as it is) is limited to the songs that I grew up with, I have focused on the last few decades of the twentieth century as well as inserting the memorable output that poured forth from the 'fifties and the 'sixties.
My book is a peculiar assortment of more than eighty UK Number One smashes, other huge-selling singles, a few live recordings, and album tracks, some of which have garnered enormous respect. However, I have frequently chosen to depart from conventional wisdom (which is hugely over-rated anyway) and opted for various obscure songs which deserve greater recognition than they were afforded and also for avoiding the cliched route of merely selecting the biggest hits of each artist. Singles charts can be a misleading indicator of quality, unless you truly believe in the merits of 'Brand New Combine Harvester' or 'Mr Blobby'. I have also deliberately overlooked such 'greats' as Boyzone, Take That, Westlife, and American trash such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns 'n Roses, and Van Halen, seven good reasons for reading this book further. On the other hand, this work of art is not necessarily a complete representation of my favourite songs as I have painfully failed to find room for the KLF, 'Mississippi' by Pussycat, 'The Theme From Shaft' by Isaac Hayes, and 'Gimme Some Lovin' by the Spencer Davis Group.
The idea behind this publication was based on the thought for the day and in Christian circles, 'The Word For Today'. I had originally conceived of the notion to record lyrics for the day, in which each day of the year would have an extract from a song, and I would then wax lyrical (if you can excuse the pun) about the significance of the lyrics. However, I shelved this plan in favour of the less demanding task of writing about the impact that various tracks have had on me and others.
Meanwhile, I have also lovingly inserted for each day, a news item from the last five decades of the 20th century. Critics could not unnaturally criticise this exercise as having nothing to do with the 'song for today', but hey, give me a break, I'm just trying to give the readers their money's worth.
I have mercifully avoided unleashing a plethora of technical jargon about the intricacies of each recording, preferring instead to focus on the story behind the songs, their subject matter, and/or their 'place in history'. It nevertheless goes without saying (although I will say it anyhow) that many readers will question several inclusions and express bafflement at the omission of their own favourites.