Word: balladeer
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WILLIE NELSON had better hope country radio treats old guys better than chicks. When Dixie Chicks front woman Natalie Maines maligned President Bush at a London concert last year, stations boycotted the trio and told fans to trash its CDs. Now country's beloved braided grandpappy has penned a ballad criticizing the war in Iraq, called What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth. With lyrics like "How much oil is one human life worth?" and "How much is a liar's word worth?," the tune is only Nelson's second protest song--the first was about Vietnam. Asked...
...Head is the album's signature triumph. It's not just that Isley invents powerful high notes where previously there was just empty space, but that he instinctively knows which lyrics matter, repeating "On my head, on my head" during the chorus until the song feels like a gospel ballad. Never mind that Bacharach - who conducted the orchestra - inserts one of his signature flugelhorn solos into the bridge; Raindrops is Isley's song now. Cyndi Lauper doesn't have Isley's voice - or anybody's voice - and the thought of her attacking the Etta James classic At Last...
Midway through, the Pudding’s professional musical director Allen Feinstein tells him to “forget for the moment that it’s a ballad and just belt...
...Keys' 2001 debut, Songs in A Minor, wasn't actually a complete record. A Minor won five Grammys and sold 6 million copies, but it was a much better media event than an album. Most of the excitement was over one song, Fallin', a little miracle of a soul ballad that merged the grooves of Mary J. Blige with the grieving of Carole King. Fallin' is one of the best love songs of the past decade. To dislike it is to dislike pop music. But the strength of Fallin', combined with the compelling and oft repeated details of Keys...
...between the rousing power-pop of “Coma Girl” and “All in a Day” lilts the touching ballad “Long Shadow.” Though written for Johnny Cash, the lyrics easily fit Strummer’s own life when he concludes, “somewhere in my soul / there’s always rock and roll.” Like Cash, Strummer will live on forever in his rightful place as a rock and roll icon...