Music – Just Giblets

January 1, 2023January 1, 2023

Remembering Christine McVie

As we all age, I knew we would be losing some of my favorite performers in the coming years. Earlier this summer, it was hard to hear about Olivia Newton John’s death, but the loss of Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie in November hit me hard. She was my keyboard idol since the 70’s. She was a master pop songwriter. She was a superstar who preferred to stand out of the spotlight and just be one of the band. It was a dichotomy that underscored her talent and made her even more special. Christine is right up there with Kate Bush when it comes to my musical pantheon.

I discovered Fleetwood Mac along with many of the folks my age, with the blockbuster self-titled album, commonly referred to as the “white” Fleetwood Mac album. My older siblings loved Fleetwood Mac, and for me, at the age of thirteen, they were the first “adult” rock & roll band to really capture my attention. Like many young, gay boys, Stevie Nicks fascinated me. Her song Rhiannon was steeped in mythology, and her mystical leanings were quite the draw, but the musician in me was really captured by the smooth, sultry voice and blues-rooted keyboard stylings of Ms. Christine McVie.

Her songs on that album were some of her best. Warm Ways, Over My Head, Say You Love Me and Sugar Daddy all made indelible impressions on me. I thrilled to her organ licks, and her rhythmic piano playing. The incredible harmonies that she spun with her bandmates, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were intoxicating. Rumours followed and Fleetwood Mac became one of the biggest bands in the world, selling more copies of an album than anyone before them. I went back and bought all of Fleetwood Mac’s earlier albums that featured Christine, starting with 1971’s Future Games, and through 1972’s Bare Trees, 1973’s Mystery to Me, and Penguin, and 1974’s Heroes are Hard to Find. Then came the rest of the catalog including 1979’s Tusk, 1980’s Live, 1982’s Mirage, 1987’s Tango in the Night, 1990’s Behind the Mask, 1995’s Time, 1997’s The Dance, as well as three solo albums, 1970’s The Legendary Christine Perfect, 1984’s Christine McVie, 2004’s In the Meantime, and an album with her bandmate Lindsey Buckingham in 2017 simply titled Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie. That was to be her last recorded music.

Chris To honor Christine, I have compiled a ranked list of my favorite songs written by her. It was going to be a Top 40, but I couldn’t cut off there and ended up with my Top 46 Christine McVie songs. It’s not a comprehensive lists; there are many songs that didn’t make the cut, but it’s a great representation. Most are from her time with Fleetwood Mac, but her solo work is represented as well. Somewhat surprisingly, the top two songs were during Fleetwood Mac’s more obscure days, just before Lindsey and Stevie joined, helping to propel them into superstardom. In fact, both of the top two songs came from the Heroes Are Hard to Find album. Her first non-Fleetwood Mac song comes in at #15 from her self-titled solo album.

And here they are, my top 46 Christine McVie songs:

#1) Come a Little Bit Closer – Taken from the Heroes Are Hard to Find album, this track has everything you’d want from a Christine McVie song. A gorgeous piano introduction, her sweetly soaring vocals, and a sweeping string part played on her ARP String ensemble.

#2) Heroes Are Hard to Find – The title track from Fleetwood Mac’s 1974 album was a jaunty, upbeat number complete with a horn section! It’s one of Christine’s most playful song, and I would have given anything to hear this one performed live.

#3) Warm Ways – The instrumentation on this gorgeously, swoony lullaby shows off the best of Fleetwood Mac. The gently brilliant interplay between the electric piano and the organ, the subtly intricate guitar riffs, the gentle, rhythmic drumming, and the anchoring bass all serve to create the atmosphere for Christine’s warm, restless vocals to tell their tale.

#4) Think About Me – I’ve gotta give Lindsey Buckingham a little credit here because Tusk was his baby, and while this track is straight-forward, blues-powered Christine McVie, he applies a little punk-attitude with this hyper-distorted guitar and a little distortion on her Fender Rhodes to really pump it up. If Christine ever displayed a harder edge, it’s in this spunky, cutting pop song.

#5) Songbird – For many, this is Christine’s signature song, and there’s no denying the beauty of this concert closer and it’s message of love

#6) Sugar Daddy – This song from 1975’s Fleetwood Mac album doesn’t get a lot of love, but listen to Christine’s keyboard work. While the remastered version of the album track is first, and has a nice build, starting out being piano driven before the organ sweeps in, I’m going to include an early take that pumps up the organ right from the start. And that bass! It’s really a classic.

#7) Say You Love Me – The third single from the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album (following Over My Head and Rhiannon) this blues-fueled country-pop confection became their third top 20 hit from the album, peaking at #11. Nothing tops the three-part harmony of that chours.

#8) Hold Me – The first single from Mirage was a big step into the glossy, 80’s pop world. It’s also the first of several duets with Lindsey that Christine wrote and are featured on this list. From that great piano break to that offbeat chorus, this one is a special one for me.

#9) Just Crazy Love – This track from 1973’s Mystery to Me album is just so much fun. Christine lets her hair down and just let’s this boppy number take her all over the place. the free-wheeling vocals and that hammering guitar just put a smile on my face. She and guitarist Bob Welch worked well together.

#10) Over My Head – The lead single from the Fleetwood Mac album, and the band’s first song to crack the Billboard Top 20 is vintage Christine. It’s unique too because I think it was the first song I ever heard with a fade-in. I also include the live version which had a great little mini-duet with Stevie Nicks in the middle.

https://youtu.be/SXveFeQFyuU

And the rest…

#11 – You Make Loving Fun – A Rumours classic

#12) The Skies the Limit – Best thing from the post-Lindsey era.

#13) Honey Hi – Such a gorgeous song from Tusk

#14) Why – Such a unique song from Christine form Mystery to Me. Live version with Stevie & Lindsey is so cool

#15) Gotta Hold On Me – Christine never really wanted to be a solo artist, but her second solo album spawned this terrific pop hit.

#16) Love in Store – Another hit single and album opener from the Mirage album

#17) Never Forget – Lovely pop gem from the Tusk album

#18) Morning Rain – Amazing, bluesey number from 1971’s Future Games spotlighting her powerful vocals and fantastic piano playing.

#19) Don’t Stop – One of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits, and enduring songs.

#20) Over and Over – This is the exquisite song that opened the Tusk album.

#21) Oh Daddy – Often overlooked track from Rumours. The darker side of Christine McVie. A bit of a musical companion piece to Stevie’s Gold Dust Woman.

#22) Believe Me – Nice blues-rockers from Mystery to Me. This clip from Midnight Special has a great guitar-intro from Bob Weston.

#23) The Way I Feel – Gorgeous, gentle ballad from 1973’s Mystery to Me.

#24) Little Lies – Another huge hit, this one firmly in the 80’s from Tango in the Night.

#25) Spare Me a Little – Here’s the first song from 1972’s Bare Trees to appear here, but this is a live recording from 1975 featuring Stevie & Lindsey.

#26) Red Sun – From the Buckingham/McVie album in 2017. She still has those pop song-writing chops. What a great song.

#27) World Turning – Her first song-writing collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham. When I first heard this I couldn’t tell who was singing what; their voices were in the same range!

#28) Only Over You – Great vocals from Christine on this track from Mirage

#29) Wish You Were Here – And a heartfelt ballad from Mirage. Bonus lovely live version from the Buckingham Mcvie tour just 5-years ago at age 74.

#30) Feel About You – Another track from the Buckingham/McVie album — this is pure pop confection.

#31) Never Make Me Cry – Another absolutely gorgeous ballad, this time from the Tusk album. This demo version I found is exquisite. It’s less produced than the album version, but I think I like it even better!

#32) Remember Me – Here’s a great song from the Penguin album. Great piano, organ, vocal arrangements…

#32) Temporary One – Fleetwood Mac performed this for The Dance concert and it was included on the companion album.

#34) Prove Your Love – Nice mid-tempo number from Heroes Are Hard to Find featuring Christine’s soaring vocals.

#35) Show Me a Smile – This lovely, gentle song from Future Games just reinforces the positivity that Christine infuses in so many of her songs.

#36) As Long As You Follow – The one new song from Fleetwood Mac’s 1988 Greatest Hits album. A cheesy video, but a gorgeous song from Christine, with a killer chorus.

#37) Who’s Dreaming This Dream? – A second cut from Christine’s 1984 solo album, this features a lovely harmony vocal from Lindsey Buckingham.

#38) Dissatisfied – Another great, rollicking, blues-influenced number from the Penguin album.

#39) Everywhere – Her last BillboardTop 20 hit with Fleetwood Mac, although it was #1 Adult Contemporary, this glittering pop confection is from Tango in the Night.

#40) Sweet Revenge – Even Christine likes to say that her 2004 solo album, In the Meantime, wasn’t her best effort, but there are some gems on there. Here’s one of them.

#41) I Do – Here’s a surprise. Fleetwood Mac’s 16th album, released in 1995 was called Time. Stevie and Lindsey had both left the band, and Christine wasn’t going to tour. So they brought in some new members, and Christine contributed 5 new songs, with this one being the sole single — although it only charted in Canada.

#42) Save Me – The only single from their 1990 album, Behind the Mask, and the last Top 40 song from Fleetwood Mac, this Christine McVie penned and sung number hit #33 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s a very solid pop song (although I have no idea why the second single, McVie’s The Skies the Limit – #12 above – wasn’t a massive hit.)

#43) Liar – Another strong song from McVie’s 2004 solo album, In the Meantime.

#44) I’m the One – Another great song from McVie’s second solo album fro 1984.

#45) The Challenge – A jaunty number in the early 80’s McVie style from her 1984 self-titled solo album.

#46) Easy Come, Easy Go – And rounding things out, one more song from her 2004 solo album, with a great hook in the chorus.

Thanks for the music, Christine. It will live on forever and I will treasure it for the rest of my life. I’m glad I found my hero.

January 7, 2022

Michael’s Top Books Read in 2021, #’s 4 & 5

My top five books this year are an interesting mix. With one being published over 40 years ago, one being published 9 years ago, one being published five years ago, and two being brand new. There’s an unexpected memoir showing up, a gorgeous piece of literary fiction, and not so surprisingly three books from the science fiction/fantasy genre.

Kindred #5 Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979) – I finally went back and read Octavia Butler’s first novel< Kindred and found a writer who was already fully formed, to create such an original and seminal work the first time out of the gate. Published in 1979 by a black woman; the first science fiction novel published by a black woman, and one that tackles the challenging and disturbing topic of slavery, and more, the complex, fraught relationship between master and slave, this novel is a revelation.

Dana is 26, living in modern day when she is suddenly, inexplicably wrenched through time to the Antebellum South — drawn there to save Rufus’ as he nearly drowns. Moments later, when faced by the barrel of Lucas’ father’s gun, she vanishes, returning to her home and her perplexed husband who watched her vanish and reappear. So begins this time-hopping, piece of historical fiction that examines a topic most people have trouble exploring in 2021, much less 1979. Butler doesn’t flinch or look away, but forces the reader to confront the barbaric practice that is a part of our history, but more, she digs into the varied inner psyches of those involved, both white and black. It’s singular, it’s passionate, and it’s intense. Truly a must for ever reading-list.

#4 Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star by Tracey Thorn (2013) – I’ve always enjoyed the 80’s pop group Everything but the Girl. My interest in them ebbed and flowed depending on their output, but in many ways I think it followed their trajectory with the public — which makes sense the way lead singer, Tracey Thorn explains it in her first memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen. They started fairly strong, and quickly found a steadily climbing trajectory, before dipping sharply into mediocrity after a handful of albums. Their career could have gone a few ways, most easily dissolution, or inexplicably, a sudden sharp spike in quality and popularity, then, rather surprisingly, semi-retirement. It was during this semi-retirement in the 2000’s that Tracey Thorn turned her songwriting voice into a prose writing voice, to great success.

Thorn is an accomplished writer and a compelling story-teller. She spends a lot of time on the origins of her pop stardom, notably as a teen punk follower who formed a quiet little subversive all-girl band, Marine Girls. When she met her musical and domestic partner, Ben Watt, the two formed Everything But the Girl where she merged her punk attitudes with his more sophisticated musical interests into music that sounded pretty pop with jazz influences, but featured lyrics that were from a decidedly intelligent, post-punk mindset. Thorn’s arc as a musician/pop singer also followed her band’s trajectory, and she insightfully considers that their mid-career dip in popularity aligned with the quality of the music they were creating, or at least the interest she had vested in the music they were creating. After a life-threatening illness that took Ben out of commission for nearly a year, the two found a rebirth of sorts, and they produced their career high album, Amplified Heart, which produced the massive international single, Missing. I had forgotten as well, how Thorn’s collaboration with the trip-hop band, Massive Attack and the song Protection, impacted Thorn and EbtG;s career.

Most of all, I was impressed by the way Thorn is able to weave story that reels the reader in, and keeps you engaged throughout. Besides the fact of her sublimely listenable voice when she performs, her voice when she writes is similarly enchanting. With that wry sense of humor and healthy amount of self-deprecation that comes with her punk background, Thorn has created one of the best rock & roll memoirs I’ve experienced.

January 5, 2022

Michael’s Top Books Read in 2021, #’s 8 & 9

#9 Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album by Ken Caillat and Steven Steifeld (2012) – As we move into the Top 10, we’ve got a pair of musical books making the list. At #9, I continue my journey reading about the excessive hijinks of one of my favorite bands, Fleetwood Mac. Last year, my #3 book of the year was Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac’s Most Anticipated Album. This year I stepped back to their previous album, the mega-successful Rumours and read, by recording engineer and producer, Ken Caillat, who worked on four of Fleetwood Mac’s albums, starting with the massive international hit, Rumours. Perhaps reading the two books out of order did this book a bit of a disservice, because as was revealed in Get Tusked working with the band on the Rumours follow-up was an out and out shitshow of manic, drug-induced, self-obsessed, egomaniacal personalities that made the recording sessions for Rumours seem positively tame by comparison. Yes, it was during the recording of this album that all the band members’ romantic relationships just fell apart, but in fact, according to Caillat’s account, there was actually not all that much drama. Sure, there was excessive drugs and drinking, and the occasional spat. Or the time Lindsey Buckingham tried to choke the life out of the author… but other than that…

What I loved about both of these books is the insane details of how each of the songs on the album were put together. It’s a fascinating account, right down to the timestamp of when you can hear different moments that make the songs so incredibly special to someone like me who listens to music which such effort. It really makes me appreciate the pristine recording of this amazing album when I listen to it now. The only other drawback taking away from that last star in the rating was Caillat’s insistence on commenting on every woman’s appearance, and how hot they were. I understand it was the 70’s, and a very different time, but all these “girls” hanging around the fringes of the industry, and these guys just chasing them around with their tongues hanging out of their mouths gets a little tired after a while. The book is far more interesting when diving into the craft of creating the sound and beauty of each song, or detailing the quirks of each band member, but i was not here to read about Ken’s attempts to find a girlfriend (or two).

#10 The Healing Power of Singing: Raise Your Voice, Change Your Life by Emm Gryner (2021) – I’m not one for self-help books, nor did I think to myself, I need to read a book to help me with my singing voice, but I am an admirer of Emm Gryner the musician, so I thought it might be interesting to read her first book. It was more than interesting, it was entertaining, and illuminating, and has even gotten me singing again. Mainly around the house, but I’m ready for my next performance at the Chlotrudis Awards — an event that finds me singing with some other movie geeks every few years.

What Emm does that is so captivating, is she includes stories about her fascinating musical career, signed to a major label at 19, dropped shortly after her first album came out due to a restructuring with the company, touring worldwide as part of David Bowie’s band in her early to mid-20’s, becoming a successful independent artist, producing the first song sung in orbit around the earth, and so much more, while giving tips about how anyone can sing. She also talks about how she rediscovered her true self to be the best that she can be, and dang it, it’s inspiring.

You might read Emm’s book to get an insider’s look at touring with a rock god… or perhaps you want to learn how to sing? At any rate, hopefully, after you’ve finished, you’ll want to go check out Emm’s music. You won’t be sorry.

July 22, 2021

My Top 40 Happy Rhodes songs, #’s 6 – 10

Sorry for the lengthy since my last post. Back to work in person full-time, pandemic restrictions starting to lift, a recent project where I’m filling the gaps in my movie viewing history have all kept me away from the blog for a while, but I’m back, and hoping to finish off my favorite Happy Rhodes songs soon.

With this entry, we enter my Top 10 favorites. Surprisingly, five different albums are represented, even going all the way back to 1986, and Happy’s third album, Rearmament. We haven’t had a pre-Warpaint song show up since #32’s The Revelation from Rhodes II. The remainder are taken from each of her last four studio albums.

#10 – She Won’t Go – Find Me (2007) That’s three in a row from Happy’s final album to date, and I’m not sure why that should be such a surprise as I think she just keeps getting better. Perhaps it was the lengthy span between when she recorded the songs to when she finally released them, the album sticks in my head as a compilation, when it’s not. This #10 song is the final song from Find Me, however. She Won’t Go is not one of Happy’s pretty songs, in fact it kicks off with some discordant wailing that persists throughout the track, much like the “she” referenced in the title, throwing tantrums in Happy’s mind. It’s another one of those lumbering, chunky songs that Happy does so well, and I find it rather thrilling.

Happy says of She Won’t Go, “… is a very caustic, almost abrasive-sounding song. I’m not sure I personally would want to listen to that song. I don’t even know how it happened. However, it has some of the most difficult vocal accuracy singing on it that I’ve ever had to do.” Her singing is truly on point in the song, and I like to think the “she” is the bitter, angry girl in Happy’s head who may have evolved out of the bullied child in If I Ever See the Girl Again, Musically, I love the flutter of tom’s that come in after the wailing, that then launch into full drums. The verses are delightfully atonal, with s bouncing bass line that all resolves into the grim chorus. The wailing guitars are used to great effect to had highlighting to the verses while Happy’s voice ping pongs from discordant lows to highs. It’s pretty amazing, and pretty impressive, and maybe it’s not a pleasant song, but it’s certainly a compelling one.

#9 – I Have a Heart – Rearmament (1986) Reaching way back to 1986, and Happy’s third album, which was basically part of the back catalog of songs she had written throughout her youth, there is her tender, heart-breaking ballad, I Have a Heart. Gentle finger-picking of an acoustic guitar leads to Happy’s hesitant voice… a lost lonely voice that is wrapped in some lush synth-strings, before being joined by some gorgeous harmonies. It’s a simple, straight-forward song sung by a young girl dealing with suicidal thoughts. “All I can do is beg her to stay…” is the singer’s mournful plea to her heart, which has been broken and beaten and just wants to leave. It’s hard to deny the sad beauty of the song and it’s enough to make Happy’s Top 10 here.

I’m not sure if she re-recorded the song for her Rhodesongs compilations, or just remastered the existing recording, but i suspect the former. The song sounds like it was sung by a slightly more mature Happy whose voice and grown since the initial recording. So that’s the version I’ve included below.

#8 – Pride – Building the Colossus (1994) There’s something about Pride that’s reminiscent of I Have a Heart but tonally they are nearly opposites. There is such a lovely feeling of self-acceptance in Pride, clearly written and performed by a far more mature Happy who has learned many of life’s lessons. I love how the lyrics are so tied to nature, which seems to be where she finds peace and humility. There is such a gentleness to this song, it just touches my heart. And the instrumentation, a simple blend of acoustic guitar, bass, and electric guitar washes, is gorgeous.

Now for the confession. For years… until today, actually, when I read the lyrics, I thought the first line of verse two was, “Walk on out and catch a bee in my hand…” which I loved. The lyrics are actually, “Walk on out and catch a beam in my hair…:” Okay, so it doesn’t resonate quit as much for me as what I thought, but it’s still lovely. Enjoy Pride as taken from Building the Colossus, and then from a live show at the Tin Angel in 2005.

#7 – Proof – Many Worlds Are BornTonight (1998) From the opening drumbeats, the powerful bass, and the wailing guitar licks, Proof captures me instantly. Then Happy’s deep, commanding voice starts making demands, and the chunky rhythm drives us into the song. A standout in the otherwise largely atmospheric Many Worlds Are Born Tonite, Proof seems like it belongs on Building the Colossus. I love the sparse, nearly whispered verses in contrast to the chorus, and then there’s the soaring instrumental bridge that seems like it’s swooping in from a different song.

Lyrically this one’s pretty impenetrable to me. It could be how you have to justify your life more and more as you get older, leaving the carefree days of youth behind. I’m not certain, but as a piece, it’s certainly intriguing, and the closest thing to a follow-up single to Roy that this album produce. I’ve included the original studio version along with a nice live version from 1999.

#6 – Runners – Equipoise (1993) The first track from Equipoise, Runners has the distinction of being the first song by Happy Rhodes I ever heard, and it clearly had quite an impact on me, topping the lower half of the Top 10. Despite its subject matter (which we will get to) Runners is arguably the closest that Happy has ever come to “single” material. I mean, it’s even got a pretty straight forward kick-snare action to drive it forward. Add to that a fairly traditional verse chorus structure, and some nice synths to provide the color and you’ve got alternative single written all over it. I love the gorgeous guitar lines that weave in toward the end while Happy repeats the chorus and adds her ad libs. The whole close out of the song, maybe the last minute and a half, really thrills me. Her voice is strong and commanding, and I love those soaring high notes she wails as the song fades out.

Then there are the lyrics. Runners is about the race to cheat death. There is toxicity everywhere trying to kill us. In what is surely a first for pop music, Happy sings about carcinogens, toxic dumps and malignant lumps. It’s all around us “coming around to take your (sic) heartbeat.” But as the song shift to the halfway points, Happy sings about all the things she is doing to combat the inevitability of death, from diets, to doctors, to wearing a tin hat to protect herself from the ozone. 😉 Only Happy could take such a grim topic, add some black humor, and turn it into a pop song. First I ever heard, and it’s still sticking with me.

April 4, 2021

My Top 40 Happy Rhodes Tunes: #’s 26 – 30

It’s funny. Each time I sit down to write an entry for the next five Happy Rhodes songs on my list, I end up rearranging them a bit. It just goes to show how difficult it is to rank her songs, and it gets harder and harder the higher up we go, especially in the Top 20. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I did get to see Happy perform lived as a solo artist once, and then a few more times in a Peter Gabriel tribute band Security Project. I very much hope to see her perform more of her own material again someday, and hopefully she will record another album of her own soon. Actually, I want the album more than the show. The studio is where Happy really excels!

#30.) The Flight – Equipoise (1993) – Happy’s sixth studio album is notable for me, as it was the first of her work that I was purchased. Because of that, it has possibly impacted me the most of all her work. Eight songs from this album made my Top 40, with The Flight being the first at #30. Interestingly enough, the second and third tracks from Equipoise, The Flight being track three, are about the same characters, a vampire, and his vampire hunter lover., Gabrielle. In The Flight, Happy pairs somber verses with her skittish keyboards and Kevin Bartlett’s bass and percussion to tell a story of an ancient vampire who grows weary of existence and is ready to submit himself to his killer, Gabrielle. I search around to some references to a vampire hunter named Gabrielle, and there is one notable character from a Role-playing game based novel, House of Hell where Gabrielle is a niece of one of the notable Van Helsing family, who were famous vampire hunters in pursuit of Count Dracula. Another Gabrielle of note came from Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, but she is a vampire, not a hunter. For me, it’s the intricate music juxtaposed with the dreamy lyrics that make this song so interesting.

#29.) Murder – Warpaint (1991) – Happy often tackles some of her toughest subjects lyrically while wrapping them in upbeat, poppy melodies. Murder is one of these songs while the singer grapples with the darker side of human nature. She states that she believes in the goodness in humanity but struggles with the impulses that cause people to do harm to others, and in particular, animals. The percussive beat does have a sinister tone, but the verse comes in with a positive major melody. it’s a song about questioning, about trying to grapple with darkness. Those darker sounds come in at the chorus, in her search for the root of this darkness so she can understand it. She sings with passion, especially the lines, “You cannot defy their will, but I would rather die than kill.” It’s not until the last verse when she mentions the apathy of a woman who stands by and watches a cat die that there might be a hint of the song being about mans violence toward lesser creatures, a theme that comes up in some of her other songs. The emphasize her point, the song ends with a distorted lead guitar line that takes us out of the song.

#28.) Glory – Building the Colossus (1994) – The third of nine songs from Building the Colossus to appear in my Top 40, Glory is the closing track, and is another song that tells of her love of animals. It’s a lovely, gentle song, with an odd opening that features conversations in the background and a slow fade in with some lovely bass work, and light percussion. Then a nice acoustic guitar propelling the verses forward. It’s a very simple track the was one of my early favorite songs. It’s got a great outro too, again highlighting the bass playing by Kevin Bartlett, and some great drumming by Jerry Marotta. It’s funny, Happy has said that Building the Colossus is an album that she can’t listen to because she doesn’t like the production. She says she likes some of the songs on it, but she feels that looking back it doesn’t hold up. Ironically, it’s the album that seems to be my favorite, as it has the most songs on this list, and the most songs (4!) in my Top 10! Just goes to show, there’s an audience for all of your work, Happy!

#27.) If I Ever See the Girl Again – Building the Colossus (1994) – I can actually see why Happy might be a little disappointed with the production on this song… it’s a little bit on the nose, sounding like the opening of The Addam’s Family. But the lyrical message is so great and spins out so cleverly, you can forgive any clumsiness in the song structure. When all is said and done, it’s actually damn catchy and fun, and ultimately triumphant. It starts off with Happy criticizing a girl she sees who she thinks is pathetic, and how if she ever sees her again, she will befriend her. It turns out, it’s adult Happy looking back on her younger self, and essentially accepting herself and loving herself. It’s actually pretty close to a pop song, and one that often catches the attention of people who hear it that don’t know Happy.

#26.) Ra is a Busy God – Many Worlds Are Born Tonight (1998) – Textures. Happy does wonders with textures, and nowhere more so than in this song. From the opening wind chimes and the sound of the crashing surf, and a morse code-type signal moving from left to right to the first keyboard washes and Happy’s plea for Ra to take her with him. Keyboards pop, bass riffs swoop, all while Happy celebrates the Egyptian god Ra, who rules over the sun, the sky, the earth, even the underworld. It’s playful, even while it’s atmospheric. The singer is longing for Ra’s attention, and she is envious of his friends, the moon, the rain, the wind. She could be an ancient worshipper in Egypt, or perhaps she is a modern-day human just glorying in a beautiful day. The fun sing-songy bridge adds a playful touch before some gentle electric guitar picking underscores some call and response between the different voices of Ms. Rhodes. I’ve included a live, acoustic, live version of the song because it shows how beautifully Happy’s songs are constructed so that they are beautiful in so many forms. And what a great percussionist!