Pop melodies so beautiful they almost hurt to listen to.

[PeterG]

I think number one on my list would be "Alone Again Or" by Love. First time I heard it I thought "Good God, how can a tune be so evocative, so perfect and so painfully beautiful to listen to"

Another one that totally floored me when I first heard it back in the 80s was Joni's "Edith and the Kingpin"

Also Kate Bush's "Oh England My Lionheart"

Two of the earliest ones that grabbed my ear for a perfect melody, which I first heard in the late 70s, were: S & G's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Kathy's Song"

And even as the huge Cardiacs fan I am, there are only two Cardiacs tunes that make the grade for me in the painfully beautiful stakes: "March" and "All His Geese Are Swans"
But there is a Sea Nymphs track that slays me everytime "Abade" with Sarah singing.


More recently, a couple stand out, The Stranglers "Bless You, Save You, Spare You, Damn You" and Stars in Battledress "Oh Engineer"

There are a few more but not many that have such a powerful effect on me.

[klothos]

Sixpence None The Richer's version of The La's "There She Goes" is still my de facto example of Melodic Near-Perfection

[JJ88]

For me, the Carpenters' 'Yesterday Once More'. I think that's perhaps their best record, it really sums up their basic aesthetic. Richard's melody is really beautiful yet there's also a profound sadness there and in John Bettis' lyric- Karen's vocal gets to the heart of both perfectly. I'm not keen on the remix which has some out-of-period keyboard sounds added, stick to the original single mix (the album version was slightly different again) which is, alas, not so easy to come by.

Burt Bacharach is a master of this sort of thing...one lesser-known gem is 'A House Is Not A Home' in Brook Benton's version. Brilliant arrangement and vocal performance of a wonderful melody. And things like 'Alfie', 'Anyone Who Had A Heart', 'This Guy's In Love With You'...

The Beach Boys also have several, well-known and not so well-known, written by various band-members...'God Only Knows', 'Don't Talk', 'Don't Worry Baby', 'Forever', 'Disney Girls', 'Our Sweet Love'...

And there's also Harry Nilsson's 'Remember (Christmas)'...forget the parentheses as the lyric is not Christmas-related, this sounds gorgeous at any time of year. It's really pared-down, allowing the listener to focus on Nilsson's peerless vocal and his extraordinary range.

[Zeuhlmate]

Its probably good I dont understand Hindi. The arrangement could have been different (I'm waiting for Jeff Beck), but Lata Mangeshkar - Take it away!

[Lopez]

My number one is also "Alone Again Or" by Love. My second is "The Greenfly and the Rose" by Robert Calvert.

[progeezer]

With 3 votes now, "Alone Again Or" by Love is the winner!

"Andmoreagain" from the same album is close.

[Sunlight Caller]

Alone Again Or is sublime, but I was chatting online about a classic albums top 100 the other day (not on PE) and someone had posted, "who on earth are Love, and who has ever heard Forever Changes" I couldn't believe the ignorance!

A favourite of mine is Wichita Lineman, just a beautiful melody and an emotional lyric.

From the proggers, I adore Think Of Me With Kindness, it's a haunting tune with a lovely Kerry Minnear vocal line.

Any You And I has been known to impact me emotionally in the live arena (a few drinks were involved too), and if we are in Yes land there's also To Be Over and Soon

[Zeuhlmate]

Peter G - did you mean melodies or songs (lyrics) ? - you wrote melodies...

Prog:
Gentle Giant: Aspirations.

[trurl]

I'm going to refrain from sarcasm and snark on this thread

Really the only thing that comes to mind is God Only Knows by the BBs. I can't get that worked up by most pop, no matter how nice. Something by George Harrison might qualify. Think Of Me With Kindness is certainly a goodern.

[Scrotum Scissor]

"Alone Again Or" by Love. [...] S & G's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Kathy's Song" [...] Stars in Battledress "Oh Engineer"

These are all very, very good. As for Love (and Forever Changes, my all time fave rock/pop album), I think the most stunning thing they (and just about anyone else) ever did was the mid-section of "The Red Telephone" - although that song as such is more gloomy and pessimistically introspective than 'beautiful'.

Spirit had several such songs; "Darling If" and "Give a Life, Take a Life" come to mind. The Small Faces' "Autumn Stone" is another one, in which the lyric appears to sing of love but eventually turn out to be about the power of song itself - I'm naming my current novel after this tune.

The whimsy 60s were packed with awesome tones of beauty and vision;

The wildly esoteric Music Emporium (and this is the stereo version; the Psycho reissue was infamously mono!)


Tom Rapp/Pearls Before Swine, one of the most sincere exopressions of emotional intensity I heard


And Tim Buckley, here sporting one of the finest love lyrics ever in pop/folk (and yeah, I've posted it before)

[trurl]

Tom Rapp (PBS) was excellent. And Tim Buckley.

[JJ88]

"Give a Life, Take a Life"

Good call.

[progeezer]

I love Tim Buckley (I just "like" Jeff). "Morning Glory" ("my fleeting house"), which was covered by BS & T on their debut album when they were good, is another song with an amazingly evocative and interesting melody.

[walt]

Musically and lyrically sublime.Joni Mitchell-For Free

[rcarlberg]

I know it got uber-popular but this video still strikes me as astonishingly good. I love how the meaning shifts 180 degrees halfway though and the chorus takes on a whole new sinister resonance.

[JJ88]

I love Tim Buckley (I just "like" Jeff). "Morning Glory" ("my fleeting house"), which was covered by BS & T on their debut album when they were good, is another song with an amazingly evocative and interesting melody.

I really like the version of Randy Newman's song 'Just One Smile' on that BST debut as well. But of course, Dusty Springfield owns that particular song for me.

[bob_32_116]

I've raved about this guy before, but i think this is one of his best - sometimes I think it's even better than the well known "Elusive Butterfly":

[rcarlberg]

Here's another one, kind of an acquired taste I suppose but incredibly moving and mature lyrics.

[walt]

John Martyn-Small Hours.

[nycsteve]

Not pop but Yes , Soon gets me.
Gabriel's Mercy Street
THe Who, Behind Blue Eyes
Lou Reed, Perfect Day

[davis]

this easily qualifies for me.

[davis]

I've never quite figured out what this is about, but it kills me every time I hear it. Love it.

[Staun]

"Family Life"--The Blue Nile.

[klothos]

"Family Life"--The Blue Nile.

If there is a "hauntingly beautiful" category, Id throw in The Blue Nile's "Lets Go Out Tonight" and "The Downtown Lights" from Hats into the ring......and R.E.M.s "Letter Never Sent" studio version

[bigbassdrum]

Gotye - "Bronte" or 'Hearts A Mess'
I like David Bowie's version of 'God Only Knows'
Peter Gabriel - 'The Book of Love'