#133) "Sail On" by The Commodores - Among the greatest break-up songs of all time, Sail On's beautifully spartan arrangement and simple but smart harmonies make for a strangely subtle but still evocative ride on the emotional roller coaster that reliably comes when the end of a relationship is at hand - despair, bitterness, resignation, hope, proclamation, affirmation, it's all in there...emulsified by saltiness.
Yeah, Lionel Richie has saltiness on lock here...not bad for the guy who is best known for writing wet weepers like Endless Love, Lady, Truly, and Hello.
"Sail on down the line bout a half a mile or so / and I don't really wanna know where you're goin'..."
#134) "Whatever You Say" by Martina McBride - Aided by what is arguably the best vocal ability in all of country music (and in certain musically climactic moments, perhaps all of the known universe), much of McBride's work in the 1990s had an element of cinematic drama to it, and Whatever You Say is no exception. I love the feeling of precipitous urgency this song creates, which is truly set aloft by McBride's resonant pipes.
It's one of those songs that captures a moment in time that is happening simultaneously, in apartments, homes, restaurants and bars in countless little towns and big cities on any given night: an increasingly flustered woman trying to get through to her dismissive boyfriend or husband, who it would seem just wants to be left alone, and for his (lack of) effort, might soon be.
Of course, going by what I've seen of other people's relationships over time, too often the woman doesn't ever actually leave. She complains - rightfully so mind you - but sticks around in the end, no matter what the man says, bound by a sense of duty to all the things women are expected to care about more than men, still, 40-plus after women's lib: the stability of home, family and appearances. While the man can continue to be an uncommunicative douche, childish and disrespectful, if not outright abusive, it's the woman who feels obligated to guard love at all costs. Groundskeeper to the estate of their life together, she deludes herself that if she loves him hard enough, well enough, if she's a strong woman (and all that that implies), he'll change, he'll grow and evolve...and so the scenario revealed in Whatever You Say rewinds and plays again, over and over like an animated GIF, as days congeal into months, months gel into years, and years get trapped inside the hard amber of decades.
On a lighter note, the song also evokes vivid, and pleasant, memories of the country radio station I used to work at. In my mind, it still seems strange that so much of this mid and late 90s music is now found on the 'classic country' stations: Martina McBride, Shania Twain and Tracy Lawrence have taken their place in the hard amber, alongside Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn and George Jones.
"I know you can hear me, but I'm not sure you're listening..."
Happy Holidays
And best wishes to all in 2015!
