And Guess What I Found...

  There was a little more disagreement with last week's list, but nothing major, and the comments were one or two people suggesting a specific song should be higher rather than en masse disapproval of the placing of any one track in particular.  As I mentioned, I think that every song from last week onwards is a very good one, so I don't see any of the ones below as being 'low', despite the fact that this selection takes us to just past half way. A reminder that there's a link to the main page at the bottom, where you can check out any posts that you might have missed and see the entire rank order so far. 50 I'm From Further North Than You / Edinburgh (John Peel Sessions: Season 3, 2007) Known as 'Edinburgh' to begin with, Cinerama played the song at a slightly pacier tempo than the Take Fountain version . Tidy enough, but being slowed down a little suited it better. 49 Get Smart (Torino, 2002) The second half of Torino contains a run of very decent ...

  60 Pacific (Single, 1999) A dreamy, almost abstract concoction, the spoken vocal parts giving it the sense of being some kind of blurred hallucination or flashback. It does feel a little fragmentary, and it might have been nice to let it have a bit more space to spread and develop, but it's still a haunting and intriguing piece. 59 Christmas Song (Unreleased) Recorded live at Peel Acres on 21 December 2000, 'Christmas Song' is a touchingly fragile and melancholy little thing. David's vocal is a little wobbly in places (it would have been nice to hear a 'proper' studio version) but that just adds to the charm.  58 Barefoot in the Park (Va Va Voom, 1998) An archetypal Cinerama song: understated strings, a tasteful blend of delicate wah-wah and classical guitar, breathy backing vocals, jazzy Hammond organ, a hint of trilling flute and of course a dreamy melody.  It's lovely, if perhaps a little overly polite. The lyric veers between sweetly romantic (...

  Very little disagreement last week again, although I suspect there'll be more later on... Anyway, let's plough on! 70 Au Pair (B-side of Kerry Kerry, 1998) The Cinerama years might have seen David broaden his musical approach, but the lyrics continued to plough a familiar furrow relating to jealousy and infidelity. 'Au Pair' is a predictably sordid little tale of a middle-aged man's dalliance with the home help, replete with some of his trademark dodgy rhymes: 'silky' and 'guilty' and - ironically - 'corny' and 'horny'.  It's a breezy little tune, featuring some nifty guitar arpeggios, nicely melodic piano and trumpet parts and a deft spot of wah-wah, but overall it's a rather slight concoction. 69 London (B-side of Manhattan, 2000) A cover of a Smiths b-side (of 'Shoplifters of the World Unite') that slows the frantic original down to an almost soporific pace. It's rescued from being a dirge by the sweetnes...

  Apart from a couple of dissenting voices, most people who responded to last week's post agreed with my take on the Cinerama Valentina , i.e. that David should be credited for branching out and experimenting with new forms but that ultimately, much of the album doesn't really work terribly well. Valentina isn't entirely a disaster though, and although there's one more track from the album in this week's list, there are a couple that feature a bit higher in my ranking. I should also point out that - as was the case with my review of TWP's back catalogue - there are not really very many Cinerama songs that I actually dislike. Just as was the case with Suddenly It's Tuesday , by the time we get to the second post we're already onto songs that I would describe as flawed but at least OK. Anyway, let's get to the music, shall we? 78 Larry's  (John Peel Sessions: Season 3, 2007) The third collection of Cinerama Peel session tracks catches DLG and ...