Love Lockdown: The Almighty Styler Edition

Well here is my humble selection of 'love jams', better late than never and a good deal harder to compile than one first thought, due to my being rather partial to the songs of lovelorn, heartbroken troubadours and down 'n' out bluesmen while I console myself with a good single malt.

Anyway, it must be said that I can still appreciate a nice happy song about happy people in love with each other and having a really swell old time of it, revelling in their new found love etc....the swines!

So without further ado here are my five :


"Turn On Some Music"---Marvin Gaye (LimeLinx)
"Turn On Some Music"---Marvin Gaye (YSI)

A love jam list isn't really complete without the sexy soulfulness of a far too good looking gent who goes by the name of Marvin Gaye. I'm quite sure I will not be the only one to include this legend and as such I will hopefully pick a less obvious joint from the vaults of Marvin's Room. The temptation to post the classic "Let's Get It On" or "I Want You" was always going to be there, so I have opted for a track from his final album, 1982's Midnight Love ....no not "Sexual Healing", rather "Turn On Some Music" which has Marvin boasting about his sexual prowess and stamina....

"The time has passed, An hour and a half, I love you baby, I'm strong enough to last" etc. etc.......Get your Tantric help guide out guys, we've got a lot to live up to.


"I Wanna Be Where You Are"---Michael Jackson (LimeLinx)
"I Wanna Be Where You Are"---Michael Jackson (YSI)

This is a great wee number, which was also recorded by the aforementioned Mr Gaye on his I Want You album, however the version here is by the artist it was written for, the still young and barley pubescent dark-skinned kid with a groovy 'fro, who along with his brothers was the toast of Motown. I am of course talking about Michael ''What the fuck happened there?'' Jackson

"I Wanna Be Where You Are" was written by Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (you might know his big sister Diana) for young Jacko's first solo album, Got To Be There (1972). The duo also wrote the Marvin Gaye hit "I Want You" amongst others.

"Caruso"---Andrea Bocelli (LimeLinx)
"Caruso"---Andrea Bocelli (YSI)

This is a beautiful and popular Italian love song written by Lucio Dalla in 1986 and dedicated to the great and iconic Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. The lyrics are open to interpretation as to whom the man is singing to, is it his beloved or his daughter? As my Italian is not at all good, I cannot give you and answer, however with a stirring chorus starting "Te voglio bene assaie Ma tanto, tanto bene sai..." ("I love you very much So much, so much you know..." ) It matters not.

This version is by far my favourite and was included on Andrea Bocelli's first international album release 1997's Romanza (his fourth studio album). It is a much more stripped down take on the oft-covered song, with Bocelli's beautiful voice and piano conveying all the emotion of Dalla's music.


"As Long As I Have You"---Garnet Mimms (LimeLinx)
"As Long As I Have You"---Garnet Mimms (YSI)

Any song that was good enough for the mighty Led Zeppelin to cover (in fact Robert Plant had been rockin' it pre Zep) and play on some of their early kick ass shows, you know has to be a good one. And this little baby is just that, a sure-fire hit if ever there was one, the only problem being it was never released as a single and that is probably why Garnet Mimms, a really great soul singer, is relatively unknown by the masses. He cut the hit "Cry Baby" in 1963 with The Enchanters, a song which was later popularised by Janis Joplin. After a couple of well-received singles, he split with The Enchanters in 1964 and released a number of solo records with United Artists, including the album As Long As I Have You in 1965. However, he was soon not seen as a priority to United Artists, being moved to their subsidiary label Veep in 1967, and as such was never promoted as much as he should have been.

Anyway, after hearing this track you'll want to put it back on again and be singing along with it, wishing you were still with your baby as you dance the night away....at least that's what I do when the whisky's a-flowin'.

"So Much In Love With You"---John Martyn (LimeLinx)
"So Much In Love With You"---John Martyn (YSI)

My last choice is by one of the greatest songwriters my country has ever known and a true folk hero. Mr John Martyn, who sadly passed away on Jan 29th, was an all time favourite of mine and many others for his heartfelt and soulful music and guitar playing that put him head and shoulders above many contemporaries. As I mentioned in my last post for Souled On, if you have not heard enough of him, then do yourself a favour...the big man's a fuckin' legend and an absolute joy to listen to.

He wrote many a fine love songs and it was a hard task to try and narrow one down, so as I had posted a video for quite possibly one of the best love songs written, "Couldn't Love You More" in my last blog, I will have to choose another and go with the final track from his 1973 album Inside Out. RIP and much love from one Glasgow Walker to the other.

Many thanks and peace to you and yours people.

Fundamental Supplementals:

This video is a live take of "Great Expectations" from Elbow's third studio album Leaders Of The Free World (2005), and is nothing short of perfection. The song may be about the heartbreaking memory of ones first full blown love affair, which is now just that. Or indeed remembering when you first made a connection with the one that still holds your heart as you do theirs. There is a story that lead singer Guy Garvey, whilst on a bus, spotted an old couple, who appeared to have very little, but their love for one another was beautifully evident and he was inspired to compose yet another wonderful song:



A Note From Scholar: If you wanna hear more from my man Styler (and you'd be crazy not to), you need look no further than the pages of Souled On, where he's begun to amass his own cult-like following.

Word From Your Moms:

In celebration of Robert Burns' 250th birthday, which was on January 25th, and in keeping with the theme of the day, I have included one of The Bard's love poems for your reading pleasure.

Jean

Of a' the airts the wind can blaw,
I dearly like the west,
For there the bonie lassie lives,
The lassie I lo've best:
There's wild woods grow, and rivers row,
And mony a hill between;
But day and night my fancy's flight
Is ever wi' my Jean.
I see her in the dewy flowers,
I see her sweet and fair:
I hear her in the tunefu' birds,
I hear her charm the air:
There's not a bonie flower that springs
By fountain, shaw, or green,
There's not a bonie bird that sings,
But minds me o' my Jean.

(airts = direction / points of the compass)