VIRTUAL MIX TAPE: "13 Wonderful Will Songs, Vol. 15"

Yes, that’s right, it’s time for another installment of songs—the 13th, in fact!—that I love and that I hope you’ll love, too. And if you don’t, well, it ain’t like this thing is behind the paywall, so what’d you pay for it, anyway?

In conclusion, listen or don’t, but if you do, I hope you dig it…and if you really dig it, consider upgrading to a paid subscription!

1. Leonard Cohen, “First We Take Manhattan” (1988 - I’m Your Man)

I always feel a little bit chagrined when my first significant exposure to an artist comes not through their own catalog but, in fact, through a tribute album to their work. I feel like I’ve failed myself as a music fan. Still, even though the truth hurts, I didn’t really become a Leonard Cohen fan until the release of the 1991 album I’m Your Fan, featuring Cohen covers by—among others—R.E.M., James, the Lilac Time, Ian McCulloch, Lloyd Cole, That Petrol Emotion, and the Pixies. The following year, Cohen released a new album of his own, The Future, which I used as in-store play at Tracks whenever possible, making a point of spinning “Closing Time” at about five minutes before locking the door. But after digging into his back catalog, this was the first track I really fell for.

2. The Waterboys, “The Return of Pan” (1993 - Dream Harder)

I became a Waterboys fan in backwards fashion: I bought World Party’s Private Revolution on cassette and discovered that the band’s frontman, Karl Wallinger, had been a member of the Waterboys, which led me to discover This Is the Sea, and after listening to “The Whole of the Moon,” that was all she wrote: I was a Waterboys fan. I was working at the record store when Dream Harder came out, and while I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite of the band’s LPs, I listened to it enough that I developed a soft spot for it.

3. Randy Newman, “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear” (1972 - Sail Away)

Like many folks, my first introduction to this Randy Newman song wasn’t through Randy Newman but via its performance on an episode of The Muppet Show, where the “Amazing Dancing Bear” in question was, in fact, Fozzie Bear. (As a dancer, he’s a pretty good comedian.) After discovering the origins of the song, I became a fan of the original version, too.

4. The Pogues, “Tuesday Morning” (1993 - Waiting for Herb)

When it was announced that Shane MacGowan was going to be departing the Pogues for a solo career… Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t actually remember if he jumped or was pushed, but it doesn’t matter for the purposes of the point I was about to make, which is that the idea of the Pogues without MacGowan fronting the band initially seemed like a band that shouldn’t exist. Then, however, I heard this amazing song, and I decided that maybe I should give ‘em a shot after all.

5. Dolly Parton, “Here You Come Again” (1977 - Here You Come Again)

There’s no question that Dolly Parton is a country music icon, but there was a period of time when she was able to rule the pop charts just as easily as she ruled the country charts. This was absolutely one of the most perfect pop songs she released during that period, and it’s such a great tune by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that I find myself putting it on whenever I’m in desperate need of a smile. It never fails to deliver.

6. Kenny Rogers, “Love Will Turn You Around” (1982 - Love Will Turn You Around)

I know, it’s predictable to follow a Dolly Parton song with a Kenny Rogers song, but it’s such a perfect flow that I couldn’t not do it. Kids who grew up in the ‘80s probably know this track for its appearance on the soundtrack to Kenny’s only real cinematic vehicle as a leading man, Six Pack. I’ve got a soft spot for the film and, in turn, I’ve got a soft spot for the song. So sue me.

7. The Cult, “Nico” (2001 - Beyond Good and Evil)

C’mon, where else are you gonna have a Kenny Rogers song followed by The Cult? This is from the band’s underrated 2001 album Beyond Good and Evil, which felt like a spiritual sequel to Sonic Temple yet didn’t sell nearly as many copies as it should’ve. If you loved songs like “Sun King” and “Fire Woman,” then you should definitely check it out. It also doesn’t hurt if you liked “Edie (Ciao Baby),” since this song always reminded me a bit of that one.

8. Johnny Mathis, “I Love My Lady” (1981 / 2017 - I Love My Lady)

I’ve been fascinated by this album ever since I first stumbled upon its existence. Recorded in 1981, it was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, submitted to Mathis’s label…AND THEY FUCKING SHELVED IT! Even typing those words now, I still can’t comprehend the decision. Nor can I comprehend why it continued to sit on the shelf for more than 35 years before it finally emerged as part of the massive 2017 Mathis box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection. Thankfully, it received a standalone release on vinyl in 2018 for Record Store Day, and the following year it emerged on CD and digital formats. You should absolutely go and listen to the whole thing, if only so you can be as stunned as I am that it spent so long in the vault.

9. ABC, “High and Dry” (2015 - ‘80s: ReCovered)

Obligatory cover song! In 2015, someone had the bright idea of asking artists who found their first flurry of fame in the ‘80s to cover songs by more contemporary artists, and the results were…mixed, let’s say. Of the bunch, though, ABC’s take on this Radiohead track is arguably the most successful. You wouldn’t necessarily think that a Thom Yorke composition would work so well as a New Romantic ditty, but darned if it doesn’t.

10. Delays, “Long Time Coming” (2004 - Faded Seaside Glamour)

I’ve long been a sucker for a good British pop group, and that’s absolutely what the Delays were. They got at least a little bit of exposure over here in the States with this song, thanks to its use in some ads and on the season two premiere of Veronica Mars, but it wasn’t enough to gain them the kind of commercial foothold that results in getting your sophomore LP released here. The Delays released three additional albums after Faded Seaside Glamour, but there’ll be no more: lead singer Greg Gilbert died of cancer in 2021. Fuck cancer, man.

11. Melanie C, “Suddenly Monday” (1999 - Northern Star)

I’m not going to pretend that everyone goes through a Spice Girls phase, but I don’t mind admitting that I did. Like, to the point where I actually went out of my way to pick up their solo albums. The one I liked best, however, was Melanie C’s Northern Star, and it makes me happy that she’s the one who’s managed to forge the longest-lasting solo career out of any of the Girls. This is a short, catchy little ditty that’ll get your toes tapping almost immediately.

12. All, “She’s My Ex” (1989 - Allroy’s Revenge)

This is another one of those bands that I discovered without realizing that they’d actually originated from an earlier, more popular band. I didn’t know the first thing about the Descendents when I heard “She’s My Ex” played on FM 92 - WOFM, our local independent alternative rock station. All I knew is that this was a fantastically catchy punk-pop song, and it remains so.

13. George Harrison, “That’s What It Takes” (1987 - Cloud Nine)

Of the Beatles, George’s solo career was the last that I delved into, but it wasn’t by design, it just happened that way. I discovered Paul’s stuff first through the soundtrack to Give My Regards to Broad Street, then I stumbled into John’s by finding a copy of Rock and Roll on cassette, after which I saw Ringo host Saturday Night Live and started exploring his stuff, starting with Stop and Smell the Roses. At some point not too long before this album came out, I ended up scoring a cut-out copy of George’s Gone Troppo album. You may have noticed a theme here: absolutely none of my gateway drugs into the Beatles’ solo careers should’ve done anything but send me running to the hills to escape. Instead, I enjoyed all of them, only to love their other solo works far more than the ones that introduced me to their solo careers in the first place. I know not everyone loves Jeff Lynne’s glossy production, but I loved it, and I think it works particularly well on this romantic track.