With the arrival of summer, it only made sense to compile an Ultimate Summer Playlist. It’s not definitive, of course but these are a collection of songs which scream ‘Summer’ for us here at the Music Box.
[Apologies for two of the songs being crappy karaoke versions/imitations but they’re not available on Spotify – these are Rizzle Kicks – ‘Tell her’ and P!nk’s ‘Feel good time’.]
1) Mark Owen – Stars
Mark Owen’s solo career is massively underrated. All of his four solo albums have been fantastic but have achieved only moderate success. 2013’s ‘The Art of Doing Nothing’ is probably his best and lead single ‘Stars’ is a masterpiece. Unusual chord structure, electronic sounding, fantastic instrumentation, beautiful vocals and thoughtful lyrics. SO good.
2) Mark Owen – Giveaway
The opening track to ‘The Art of Doing Nothing’. Haunting introduction, Mark’s echoing vocals and a fine way to open the album, building into a catchy track.
3) Demi Lovato – World of chances
I discovered John Mayer had co-written this song with Demi for her 2009 album so decided to check it out. It’s a beautiful song and I can hear both artist’s influences stamped all over it. Such a great track.
4) Republic of Loose – Comeback Girl
Catchy as hell with minimalistic instrumentation. Great summer track.
5) Take That – When we were young
Beautiful song that deserved to fare better in the UK singles chart. A song that returned Take That back to their pop-rock style after the whirlwind that was 2010’s ‘Progress’, it’s warm, heartfelt and beautifully performed.
6) Take That – Happy Now
One of my all time favourite Take That songs and one of the best from their career. An amazing backing track from Gary Barlow with paranoid, robotic and dark verses before a disco, Bee-Gee-esque chorus that’s catchy as hell. It’s an incredible piece of electro-pop with well-written lyrics and the blend of the dark verses with the optimistic, catchy chorus works fanatically and makes it stand out amongst other songs of a similar genre.
7) Take That – What do you want from me
Haunting, heartfelt and emotional. Mark Owen puts his heart and soul into this and Stuart Price’s production is incredible. Awesome song.
8) Michael Jackson – Scared of the moon
Out-take from the ‘Bad’ album which appeared on the 2005 box set; ‘The Ultimate Collection’. It’s simple with just Michael’s voice, a piano and strings but it is absolutely stunning. Michael & Quincy Jones were right to leave it off ‘Bad’ as it simply wouldn’t have fit but it’s an incredibly beautiful song nonetheless.
9) John Mayer/Lawson – Gravity
John Mayer’s signature tune, this is absolute perfection. Silky smooth, Blues-infused and with minimal but heartfelt lyrics. It’s a song John tried to write for a long time before finally getting it right. Lawson are one of my favourite bands who also admire John. They have performed a cover of this song a couple of times, both live in concert and on a live-stream. Their cover is absolutely beautiful so I am including it below too.
10) John Mayer – Wheel
Understated, soft closing track to 2003’s ‘Heavier Things’. It’s a beautiful song with fantastically written lyrics and it has the ability to leave you heartbroken. Gorgeous track and the perfect way to end an album.
1) Hot natured – Benediction
Such an awesome club track that I keep hearing on the radio. The bass line is great and the whole song is very 90’s. Absolutely loving this right now.
2) Tom Misch – Memory
Another track I heard on the radio that I am loving. Very chilled with lots of summer vibes through the downtempo beat, gentle strings and steel pan-like sounds. Love its changes in direction too – it changes direction multiple times but keeps its flow. Great guitar solo towards the end.
3) Adam Levine – Lost stars
I saw ‘Begin Again’ at the cinema, hence these next four songs. They’re all written by one of my favourite songwriters, Gregg Alexander, who’s behind some big hits (You get what you give, Life is a rollercoaster, Lovin’ Each Day, Inner Smile). This song is the lead promotional track for the film and it’s a gorgeous song.
4) Adam Levine – A higher place
Another from ‘Begin Again’, in the same vein as writer Gregg Alexander’s previous work for Ronan Keating. So catchy and Adam Levine’s voice is to die for.
5) Keira Knightley – Like a fool
A sweet song also from ‘Begin Again’. It’s simple but it’s beautiful.
6) Keira Knightley – A step you can’t take back
I could have included the whole ‘Begin Again’ soundtrack in this week’s blog but I wanted to keep it diverse plus I have been loving a lot of songs this week. This is played a few times in the film and it’s beautiful. I love the way it develops and builds.
7) 2Pac, Roger Troutman & Dr Dre – California Love
Heard this on the Nixtape last Friday and was reminded of what an absolute tune it is. SO catchy and just an all-round awesome hiphop track.
8) Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton – Big Yellow Taxi
I know this is going to be controversial but I actually prefer this version to Joni Mitchell’s original. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Joni Mitchell and her version is obviously great but I love this interpretation more. It was fantastically adapted for the 21st Century and I love its pop-rock feel. Vanessa Carlton’s little ad libs and backing vocals make it even sweeter. One of the greatest covers of a song ever.
9) Babyface – Shower the people
I’ve always adored Babyface as a writer and equally, I have loved his solo career. His cover of James Taylor’s ‘Fire and rain’ is one of my favourite songs/covers ever. This is another cover of a James Taylor track off the same album on which Babyface covers his favourite songs. This is a song I managed to miss but it’s so beautiful. The original is just as great but Babyface’s harmonies and interpretation is smooth, sophisticated and fantastic. Can’t get enough of this right now.
10) Rizzle Kicks – Tell her
Love these lads – their energy, charisma and their uniqueness. This song is so catchy, something very 1970’s about it. Awesome song.
1) Beady Eye – The morning son
So dreamy and such a beautiful song. Liam Gallagher is awesome.
2) The 1975 – Intro/Set3
Understated opening track to their ‘Sex’ EP. Smooth and jittery, building up to an awesome R&B track. Got a great groove and some sick beats.
3) Take That – Today I’ve lost you
Somehow this beautiful and underrated track managed to escape my iTunes. After coming across it again on Spotify, I have fallen head over heels back in love with it again. It’s so soft, so stunning and Gary Barlow’s vocals are silky smooth. A perfect Barlow-ballad.
4) Pharrell Williams – Fun, fun, fun
Pharrell is just a genius. After watching ‘Despicable Me’ I was reminded of what a truly great, uplifting song this is. The harmonies are amazing and I love the summery, happy feel of the song.
5) S Club Juniors – Automatic High
Massive guilty pleasure – both the pop-group and the song! Reminds me of being very young. Irresistibly catchy.
6) Prince – Better with time
Such a beautiful, romantic little song.
(Not available to share due to Prince being highly irritating and not allowing much of his music to be on YouTube)
7) David Archuleta – Crush
Someone reminded me of this song again recently and how damn good it is! Reminds me of being fourteen and listening to it over and over again. Bit of cheesy pop at its best. Lyrics are easy to relate to. One of the best chorus’ in a pop song ever.
8) Kelly Rowland – Daylight
Really underrated Kelly track. So damn catchy and uplifting.
9) Stardust – Music sounds better with you
Bloody repetitive but SO damn good. Catchy as hell. One of the best dance tracks ever released.
10) MN8 – Dreaming
One of the soppiest, cheesiest but most beautiful romantic songs by a boyband ever. Not many would be familiar with this song but it’s gorgeous.
1) 5SOS – Don’t stop
I do think this band is very overrated. Having said that, this song is irresistibly catchy and I do enjoy hearing it on the radio very much.
2) Usher – Good Kisser (Disclosure Remix)
Those that follow me on Twitter will know how much I love this song through my excessive tweeting about it. I’ve also already included this track in one of my previous editions of Music Monday but this is slightly different as it’s the Disclosure remix. I love the Disclosure boys – their debut album is amazing, their songs are fantastic and their remixes are awesome. Love this.
3) Chris Braide – Last great hope for mankind
You may not have heard of him but Chris Braide is the writer of many well-known and much loved songs. He’s one of my favourite song-writers. Along with his writing, he has also released a handful of his own material on a collection of albums. I love this song and how happy it is.
(Unfortunately there are no videos on YouTube for this – Spotify or iTunes it if you can!)
4) Lady Antebellum – Can’t take my eyes off you
I’ve always loved Lady Antebellum’s single releases but this week I decided to check out their albums. I fell in love with a lot of songs, the harmonies, chord structures and country-feel to each song but I especially loved this one.
5) Jess Glynne – Birthday/I wanna be your lover (Live in the Radio 1 Live Lounge)
Jess Glynne is definitely an artist to watch. She was lead vocalist on Clean Bandit’s awesome song ‘Rather be’ and also on Route 94’s ‘My love’. This was a live version of Katy Perry’s amazing track, ‘Birthday’ which in itself was already great. But then she mixed it up with some of Prince’s ‘I wanna be your lover’ and made it even more crazy. Awesome.
6) Nerina Pallot – Learning to breathe
This is a wonderful song. After re-discovering ‘Sophia’, I decided to check out the album the track was from. I loved all of the songs but I really fell in love with this song. Catchy and emotive chorus.
7) Nerina Pallot – Sophia
This song gives me lots of fond memories. I loved it upon its release back in 2006 and I remember listening to it in the car on my way home from school during my first few weeks of secondary school. It’s an absolutely gorgeous song and I love it very much. Nerina Pallot is amazing.
8) Bipolar Sunshine – Deckchairs on the moon
I keep hearing this on the radio and I love it. I love the piano and how summery/space-y it feels. Very electronic and catchy. One of the best new tracks I’ve heard in a while.
9) Lower than Atlantis – Here we go
This is quite a heavy track for me to like but I’m really loving this!
10) Oasis – Guess God thinks I’m abel
I love the guitar and chord structure on this track. Awesome song
1) The Jacksons – 2300 Jackson Street
A little-known single released by The Jacksons in 1989 when Michael had left the band. This album was pretty underrated in my opinion. It’s a shame it didn’t fare better in the charts. This is a gorgeous song that Michael contributed vocals to and it’s so soulful & smooth.
2) Samantha Ronson – Built this way
Yes, I watched Mean Girls & this played pretty much all the way through so I kinda found myself liking it!
3) Fat Larry’s Band – Zoom
So summery. Love this.
4) Fleetwood Mac – Sara
God, I love Fleetwood Mac! Stevie Nicks’ voice is divine and this is an amazing song.
5) Fleetwood Mac – Family Man
Catchy as hell, this is an awesome song.
6) Robbie Williams – Monsoon
A shamefully honest song that could be written and performed by no-one else other than Mr Robbie Williams. Such a powerful, awesome song.
7) Robbie Williams – Feel
Hauntingly beautiful – that piano introduction and the lyrics are just beautiful. “Come and hold my hand, I wanna contact the living” – what a line. One of the best lyrics ever written.
8) The Vamps – Somebody to you
The more I hear by The Vamps, the more I love them. Love this song.
9) Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
I watched the 1998 movie ‘Stepmom’ with Julia Roberts the other day and this song was played in the opening segment. One of my favourite Queen tracks, with that irresistible bass line (years before it was nicked by Vanilla Ice) and a fantastic duet between two amazing singers – Freddie Mercury & David Bowie.
10) Thomas Newman – Any other name
‘American Beauty’ is one of my favourite films of all time and part of what makes it so appealing for me is Thomas Newman’s hauntingly beautiful score. ‘Any other name’ is a piece of music commonly played in media and it’s just stunning. One of my favourite pieces of music ever produced.
1) Michael Jackson – Cry
One of Michael’s more understated and underrated tracks. Written by R.Kelly, this was the second and final single off what was to become MJ’s final studio album in his lifetime, 2001’s ‘Invincible’. It’s one of my favourite MJ songs and it’s such an uplifting beautiful track. In the same vein as ‘Man in the mirror’ and ‘Heal the world’, it’s an inspiring change-the-world song.
2) Ed Sheeran – Afire love
This is so beautiful it’s unreal. Fell in love with this upon hearing it on the radio the other day. Ed is such an incredibly talented guy.
3) Ed Sheeran – Bloodstream
‘X’ is an amazing album. I really love this track. It’s a little dark but it’s catchy. Interesting that Rudimental was involved in the creation of this track.
4) Mark Morrison –Return of the Mack
An absolute classic. Heard it on the radio and was reminded what an awesome tune this is!
5) Raleigh Ritchie – Stronger than ever
Love this. So powerful and emotive.
6) Michael Jackson- Man in the mirror
Classic Michael Jackson song. I always loved it but the fact on the day of his death, this was being played everywhere, this song now has an even deeper meaning for me. Beautiful lyrics and a beautiful song.
7) United we stand – What more can I give
Between 1999 and 2002, Michael Jackson organised an almost Part 2 of USA for Africa (who achieved major chart success in 1985 with ‘We are the world’.) Michael was inspired to write the song after meeting President Nelson Mandela in the last 90’s and was originally rumoured to perform it live at some of his concerts. The song was pushed aside, however, until the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks. Encouraged by a friend, Michael re-wrote the song and selected a team of A-list artists to contribute to the project. Artists such as Beyonce, Nsync, Celine Dion, Usher, Luther Vandross, Anastasia amongst others contributed vocals towards this incredibly beautiful song. They also performed it live at 2002’s ‘United We Stand’ charity performance. Ultimately, the song was never fully released as a singe. It’s a terrible shame when it’s such an incredible song.
8) Blackstreet – Joy
An idea by Michael Jackson sparked this track off. Teddy Riley (producer of Michael’s Dangerous album) then took this idea and turned it into a full-blown song with his band Blackstreet. I love how smooth and soulful this is.
9) Beady Eye – Kill for a dream
Beautiful little song. Love Beady Eye.
10) Beady Eye – Soon come tomorrow
A haunting, dreamy little song. Great song.
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was and remains one of my musical and artistic idols and I was gutted at his death. These days, my obsession levels with the king of pop have decreased a little but he remains one of my heroes and I am still a huge, die-hard fan.
I thought I would share a playlist as a celebration of Michael’s contribution to music and the entertainment industry. This playlist is a collection of unreleased or little known tracks that I believe are as good as Michael’s released works. The aim is for those who haven’t heard these before to fall in love with at least one of them!
18 Greatest MJ unreleased tracks
1) For all time
An absolutely gorgeous track. This surfaced on the internet many years ago before a remastered version was stuck on the release of Thriller 25. I’m not keen on the remastered version, however. There’s very little different about it but there’s some extra instrumentation that just seems to remove some of the magic from the low quality version that still exists. I’ve embedded my preferred version!
2) Love never felt so good
Technically it’s now released but not in Michael’s lifetime. This is an Off The Wall-era track which is so catchy and fantastic. I’ve embedded Michael’s original demo. Do love the new versions though, including the one with Justin Timberlake!
3) Carousel
An outtake from Thriller. I really love the melody to this. I think it’s right that it wasn’t included on the final version of Thriller as it wouldn’t have fit in with the rest of the tracks but it’s a lovely song all the same.
4) The way you love me
Two versions of this exist. The first appeared on the definitive Michael Jackson box set – 2004’s Ultimate Collection as a demo (which sounded like a finished product). I always loved this. It then appeared on the controversial posthumous album ‘Michael’ back in 2010. I love both versions. Just such a happy, beautifully written song. I’ve embedded the original demo
5) Best of joy
It’s sickly sweet and a little repetitive but this is a gorgeous song that was included on the first posthumous MJ album, ‘Michael’ in 2010.
6) Beautiful Girl
A smooth, soulful track that appeared on The Ultimate Collection back in 2004.
7) Scared of the moon
Another beautiful song that appeared on The Ultimate Collection. Many fans aren’t as keen on this but I think it’s truly beautiful. It’s apparently an outtake from Bad.
8) Trouble
An outtake from Thriller, this was eventually recorded by Musical Youth. SO catchy. It wouldn’t have fit in on Thriller, however.
Michael’s version:
Musical Youth’s version:
9) Elizabeth I love you
Michael wrote this song and performed it for his friend Elizabeth Taylor at her 65th Birthday Gala in 1997. This was the only time we heard the song as a studio version isn’t known to exist. Beautiful, cleverly written song.
10) I am a loser
A demo of this appeared around a year after Michael’s death. You can tell it’s not finished as it has very little instrumentation. Beautiful song, however.
11) Xscape (Original version)
This appeared on the internet back in 2002. The version that appears on the latest posthumous MJ album is far inferior and an awful interpretation. Check out the original version. It’s funky, catchy and an MJ classic.
12) What more can I give
A planned charity single written by Michael Jackson before Sony refused to release and promote it. It therefore never fully saw light of day. Plenty of stars on this – Nsync, Beyonce, Usher, Celine Dion, Michael himself amongst others. A truly beautiful song that should have been released.
13) Joy
Gorgeous song co-written by Michael with his Dangerous album producer Teddy Riley. Michael wrote the melody and backgrounds before deciding he wasn’t happy with it. He gave permission for Teddy Riley to finish the song lyrically and record it with his band BlackStreet for their debut album in 1994.
Here’s the eventual version by Blackstreet:
And a snippet of Michael’s original idea:
14) To Satisfy You
Another fantastic song co-written by Michael with Bryan Loren. Again, Michael wasn’t happy with this so he gave it to his co-writer who released it as a solo effort. Love how soulful this is and the use of the strings. The version on the net is sung by Bryan Loren with Michael singing the chorus.
15) Mind is the magic
Written by Michael and Dangerous era collaborator Bryan Loren. Catchy as hell. It was written in 1989 before being re-written for German illusionists Siegfried and Roy for one of their stage shows.
16) Someone put your hand out
A smooth and beautiful song written by Michael with Dangerous producer Teddy Riley for the Dangerous album. Found its way around thorough its inclusion on rare MJ releases.
17) On the line
Gorgeous ballad which should have been released. Recorded for a Spike Lee movie but wasn’t featured on the soundtrack album. Written by Babyface (Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Beyonce and many more).
18) We’ve had enough
Powerful song which found it’s way onto 2004’s Ultimate Collection. Dramatic and an awesome song.
1) Beady Eye – For anyone
Love the simplicity and the old-school feel to this song. It’s so Beatle-esque and it’s just a fantastic song.
2) Oasis – Cast No Shadow
Beautiful little song.
3) Ellie Goulding – I’ll hold my breath
Really, really love this. ‘Lights’ is an incredible album.
4) Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Stop the clocks
This is almost like a Part 2 to ‘Champagne Supernova’. Great ending track.
5) Phil Collins – You’ll be in my heart
One of my favourite of Phil’s amazing collection of songs. The perfect ending to the ‘Tarzan’ movie and a truly beautiful song. One of the greatest love songs ever written.
6) All Saints – Pure Shores
I watched ‘The Beach’ (the movie in which this song is included) and fell in love with this song all over again. SO summery.
7) Take That – The Garden
One of Take That’s finest songs of their career. It’s a beautiful, inspiring song and it’s lovely to hear all the boys have lead vocals on it.
8) Robbie Williams – Me and my monkey
Robbie’s lyrics have always been some of the best and this song features storytelling as its finest. Very clever lyrically and a fantastic song overall. ‘Escapology’ was an incredible moment in Robbie’s career.
9) Ellie Goulding – This love will be your downfall
Another fantastic, well-produced track from Ellie’s ‘Lights’ album.
10) Ellie Goulding – The Writer
I’ve always loved this song. It’s truly beautiful and it’s one of her most underrated songs in my opinion. Great to play on the piano.
1) Drake & Alicia Keys – Fireworks
Not a massive fan of Drake but I really love this song. Pretty dark but nice and emotive. Love Alicia Keys too, very talented.
2) Snoop Dogg – Different Languages
Found this in a Summer playlist and have been really enjoying it.
3) Passion Pitt – Sleepyhead
So damn catchy.
4) Le Youth – Cool
Heard this at a party once and fell in love. Ridiculously catchy.
5) Oasis – Champagne Supernova
Heard a cover of this by The Pretty Reckless in Radio 1’s live lounge and really enjoyed it. Then checked out the original and haven’t stopped listening to it since. Amazing song. One of the best closing tracks to an album ever.
6) Lana Del Rey –West coast
Love how dreamy this is. Bits of it remind me of ‘Pure Shores’ by All Saints – another amazing summer track.
7) Ella Henderson – Ghost
A pleasant surprise by a former X Factor contestant. Amazing, catchy song co-written by one of my favourite songwriters, OneRepublic front man, Ryan Tedder.
8) Arctic Monkeys – Snap out of it
Love the feel of this track.
9) Example- Stay with me
SO 90’S, SO GOOD.
10) Oasis – Don’t go away
I’d never heard this before but I have fallen head over heels in love with it. SO beautiful.
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