It's 2013 and it's hot and sunny and happy. Australia is just wonderful.I did nothing today except live the idyllic lifestyle. The story and thought for the day will continue tomorrow. As it's new years day I thought that I'd let you see my Top 100 songs of all time.along with the reasons why I like them. I absolutely love and adore music.I have done all my life. I need music as much as I need air. I think that good real passionate emotive music is good for the soul. Music is like therapy, it makes me feel good. I can't imagine life without my music. I hope you find this list interesting and even give some of them a listen. A very good way of discovering new music is through recommendation. The best music is rarely heard on the radio. Enjoy!!!


KANGAROG’S TOP 100 SONGS OF ALL TIME.
1 The Last Straw MARILLION This is my favourite song of all time. It is the closing track on the album Clutching At Straws, the last album that Marillion recorded with Fish on vocals. The album came out in 1987 when I was eighteen. It is a concept album about a character called Torch who’s life is in a mess and who seeks comfort through alcohol. It is a dark, intense, brooding, majestic and incredibly powerful album. I love the whole album. As I was eighteen and out in the pub drinking heavily with my mates a lot of the time I could relate to the alcohol theme that ran lyrically through the album. In fact I remember when I bought the album in Manchester I went straight to the pub from the record shop and downed a few pints! The sound Marillion created on this album was different to it’s predecessor Misplaced Childhood. The drum and cymbal sound I particularly liked along with the darker guitar sound. Of all the tracks on the album The Last Straw is my favourite. I love the lyrics and the guitar solo is just staggeringly good. It’s just full of passion and heartfelt beauty and I get completely lost in it every time I hear it. This song has also helped me out on many occasions over the years. It is always the song that I play before I go somewhere or do something that makes me nervous. For instance I have always played this before dreaded job interviews and before going on blind dates. Playing this song and getting lost in the music, particularly the guitar solo, has always helped. This song has been a very good friend to me and that is why it is number one.
2 Blue Monday NEW ORDER I think that this is the greatest piece of electronic music ever. I knew this song was special the moment I heard it, it is awesomely good. It was only released on 12” and I remember buying it in that gloriously amazing black sleeve with colours down one side. It had holes in the middle where you could see the grey inner sleeve. It was like a big computer floppy disk and was a genius piece of cover design. Very iconic now. The music starts with the beat of the drum machine, and then the interesting analogue synths build up until the ’cha cha cha cha’ bit when a darker sound takes over and the vocals begin. The middle section with the thunder sound effects is amazing and then the dark mood builds up again to my favourite bit near the end where this really dark and sinister ’aaaaaaaaaaah’ sound plays over Peter Hook’s bass guitar. It takes me back to summer 1983 and happy memories of playing music loud in my bedroom. I particularly remember hearing it being played on the pirate radio station KFM. I could always escape from any worries I had, usually school ones, by engrossing myself in music and this was a very good song for that. I could get completely lost in the music and move into a kind of lovely parallel dimension. This song is timeless. I have never got bored with it. It sounds just as exciting and fresh to me today as the first time I heard it.
3 This Charming Man THE SMITHS I was completely fascinated by The Smiths when I heard this song in 1983. I was fourteen. They were very different and I liked Morrissey. I could relate to some of his lyrics as I was very shy back then and found some aspects of the world and life a struggle at the time. This is a difficult world to be in if you’re sensitive, especially if you’re surrounded by too many extroverted people. It appears to me that generally extroverts just don’t know how to handle quiet people and say all the wrong things. There have been countless situations in my life where people at work and especially teachers have said something like ’You’re very quiet, Roger?’ This doesn’t help, this just draws attention to the fact that I haven’t said anything and just makes the situation ten times worse. Why don’t teachers realise this??? Why don’t they learn a bit of psychology at teacher training?! There are far better and gentler ways of bringing quiet children into conversations but extroverted teachers and the like just can’t see this!!! School anyhow is just mind control of children and is inherently wrong. It is the teacher sheep controlling the younger sheep. Anyhow I digress, I just love the feel and vibe of this song, the jangly guitar is great . I can picture Morrissey performing this on Top Of The Pops with the daffodils in his back pocket. The lyrics are great, ’punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate, will nature make a man of me yet’. Morrissey sings it with such passion. I bought everything the Smiths did but this stands out way above the rest. 4 Trains PORCUPINE TREE I can listen to this over and over again and never get fed up with hearing it. I actually love it more every time I play it, it just keeps getting better! It is just so exciting and so original, the most original piece of music I’ve ever heard. It is a musical journey through lots of different phases and moods. There are just so many different textures to it. It’s incredibly beautiful and uplifting. The lyrics are mysterious. I’ve never properly worked out what the song is about but this just intrigues me. Porcupine Tree is led by the musical genius that is Steven Wilson. The song starts with acoustic guitar before kicking in with a great driving rhythm and atmosphere. The drumming in particular is great. The atmosphere just builds and flows into some lovely vocal harmonies. The songs then moves into what I call the ’clippity clop’ phase. There is a sound like horses hooves along with acoustic guitar and banjo. It is very dreamlike and relaxing and lulls you into a false sense of security. The ‘clippity clops fade’ as the keyboards build and swirl and then ’DA NA NA NA!!!!, the guitars and drums thrust forward into this powerful emotionaldriving force that brings the song to a close. At the very end I am always a shattered, emotional wreck, and then I’m ready to listen again! This song is staggeringly good. It is one of the three songs that brought Jay and I together.
5 Chop Suey! SYSTEM OF A DOWN I discovered this band and this song on Kerrang TV in 2001. I had never liked metal music as loud or as harsh as this before, but this was different. It just stood out to me and grabbed my attention as it was so very original and so very exciting. The song is very frenetic and changes mood and speed frequently. Some of the vocals are shouted , some are whispered, some are screamed and others are sung gently. They are a very quirky and alternative band. They write about conspiracy theories and everything that’s wrong with the world and the American Government in particular, something I can really relate to. I got into this at a time in my life when I didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted to be. I knew I was different but just didn’t know how to express it then. I remember buying a black System Of A Down hoody and I skulked around in it for ages. System’s music invigorated me back then and lifted my mood which was down beat at times. I used to play this really loud and jump madly around my living room to it playing air guitar and air drums. Although it is loud and somewhat harsh I think that it also exudes a magnificent majestic beauty. It is certainly a very passionate piece of music. I have never got bored of it and I get as excited hearing it now as I did the very first time.
6 Garden Party MARILLION This song takes me back to Cambridge 1983. I was fourteen and staying with my cousin Ian. Whilst there we went into town to the record shop and Ian came back with the album this song is on, Script For A Jester’s Tear. I remember him showing me the gatefold sleeve with the amazing and very original jester art work on it. He then put the record on and I was intrigued by it, very intrigued. It had a kind of medieval sound to me, spoken lyrics and guitar work like I had never heard before. This was very mature music. I didn’t fall instantly in love with this album but I did take notice of it. I think it struck something in me but at more of a subconscious level at this stage. It was two years later when Kayleigh came out and I bought the Misplaced Childhood album that I fell in love with Marillion and their original and very special music. I then revisited Script For A Jester’s Tear and this time the whole album excited me. The atmosphere that they create on this record is magical, like nothing else. I particularly noticed the guitar work and this started my love affair with guitar solos. A good guitar solo aches with beauty. Garden Party is my favourite track on the album. I like the fact that the lyric is centred around Cambridge. I particularly like the line ’Punting on the Cam, is jolly fun they say’. Fish’s lyrics are very good. The video where Marillion are dressed as school boys, taking the ****, and running riot at a toffs garden party is really funny. It’s a very summery song with summery sound effects and the quiet sections in particular just exude hot summer days. If it hadn’t been for Ian and Cambridge 1983 I may never have fallen for this awesome band and life just wouldn’t have been the same.
7 The Night Sky MOSTLY AUTUMN I first heard this song on a free CD that came with Classic Rock Magazine. I remember hearing it for the first time, such a beautiful but powerful piece of music. After hearing it I bought everything that Mostly Autumn had done. I have since seen them live about five or six times and they are awesome, very talented musicians. They are a Gaelic rock band. They fuse a Pink Floyd style sound with flute and violins and tin whistles. Their music has a beautiful, magical and spiritual quality to it. They have written some very moving songs and this one moved me to tears of happiness when I first heard it. It completely took my breath away. The song is about being in the Lake District and having an out of body experience and floating high above the trees and mountains and looking at the stars, all the wondrous stars. The moon is glowing big and beautiful. The song captures how this must feel, the freedom, the joy, your soul light and at ease, the wind in your hair. It’s achingly gorgeous. The song starts slowly with the sound of the wind and a lovely keyboard sound and then the vocals come in with the line ’Weightlessly you leave the ground, hanging gently in the breeze’ The journey has begun. The songs builds with a gorgeous Gaelic feel to it Shut your eyes and you can feel yourself in flight. Then suddenly the violin solo starts, it sounds so uplifting and beautiful and then a very passionate and moving four minute guitar solo brings your journey over the mountains to an end and you glide effortlessly back to the ground to the sound of the wind. Gorgeous absolutely gorgeous.
8 Two Tribes FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD This takes me back to 1994. It was number one for nine weeks. I just loved this and played it over and over and over again and never got fed up with it. I bought every version available, 7” version, 7” picture disc version, 12” picture disc War mix, 12” Carnage Mix and my favourite the nine minute long Annihilation Mix. This is the version that starts with the air raid warning siren. I love the driving beat to it but the stark voice overs about nuclear fallout alarmed me a bit. I absolutely loved their album Welcome To The Pleasuredome and the video with Reagan and the Soviet leader Chernenko is very memorable. This song also brings back memories of sneaking out of school on Tuesday lunchtimes so me and my mates could listen to Andy’s little radio and hear the new Top 40 announced on Radio 1. Happy days.
9 Skellig LOREENA MCKENNITT This is a beautiful, moving and thought provoking piece of folk music. I was introduced to the album, Book Of Secrets, which features this song by my mum and Julia. It is a world music album and features folk music from different parts of the world. I’ve always liked folk music so I gave it a listen and this track massively stood out. It has a lovely Irish feel to it with the flutes and violins in particular creating a breathtakingly beautiful sound. It is about the monks who used to live in the monastery on the remote Skellig Islands off the coast of Western Ireland. If I close my eyes I can see the dramatic rock that is Skellig, I can see the monastery and it is dark and the monks are inside writing by candle light with quill pens. Inside the monastery it is very peaceful but outside the wind is howling and the rain is lashing down. Waves are battering the rocky shore and the seagulls are swirling round. The isolation is intense but it has a dramatic rugged beauty.
10 Underpass JOHN FOXX I remember seeing this performed on Top Of The Pops and I was completely amazed and fascinated by the futuristic synth sounds. There were about eight guys on stage all playing synths and I was just blown away by it. The analogue snyths on this are a bit dark and industrial but the mood and vibe they create is awesome. I went and bought the record and played it over and over again. It still sounds amazing today. One of the greatest electronic songs ever made. This was released in 1979 when I was ten and I remember singing along to it and singing underpants instead of underpass. I listen to it now and can still hear underpants!!!
11 Books From Boxes MAXIMO PARK I just love their indie guitar sound and the quirky nature of the vocals. I discovered this band whilst my house was up for sale and I had the freedom to trawl through Spotify for new music. This song really stood out and I identified with the lyrics. It’s about moving on at the end of a relationship. I had my plans for travelling to Australia and I was getting all my books into boxes ready for my move day. I was so excited about the future and this song just enhanced that feeling. New beginnings.
12 74-75 THE CONNELLS The lyrics of this song to me are about a relationship breakdown. When it was out in 1995 I had recently separated from my wife. I then went out with someone else, most definitely on the rebound. This new relationship helped me take my mind off things but when it finished a few weeks later my whole world came crashing down and everything hit me. This song in a funny sort of way helped me through. I could relate to the lyric. ’I was the one that let you know, I was your sorry ever after, 74/75. This song helped me let go of my pain and move on. My 74/75 was getting my life back on track. This song appears here as despite the memory that goes with it, it is just a damn good song. I just love the feel and vibe to it.
13 Sounds That Can’t Be Made MARILLION This is the stand out and title track from Marillion’s new album. It’s a gorgeous contemporary love song. The vocals are full of passion and emotion and it builds to what I consider to be Steve Rothery’s greatest guitar solo ever. It is simply staggering. The emotion in it completely sends me. It overcomes me and I almost cry with happiness and elation. The guitar just soars and sends m into the stratosphere. This is how I like music, emotionally charged. The best music gets you in the heart.
14 Private Investigations DIRE STRAITS ‘It’s a mystery to me the game commences…..’ This is a very original and creepy piece of music. It’s full of intrigue and tension. The spoken lyrics at the beginning build the scene, it’s like a thriller. I know these words off by heart. The instrumental end section is just so dramatic. The mood the music creates is eerie and sinister. The sounds effects just enhance the mood, with the footsteps, the cat crying, the lock rattling and when the door opens…….DANG!!!!! Edge of your seat stuff.
15 Plans BIRDS OF TOKYO This is a brilliant Australian band from Perth. This song is very closely linked to Jay and I. It is our theme tune. This is one of the three amazing songs that brought us together and was my profile song. I didn’t know it at the time but this choice of song was perfect as the lyrics are very apt. I love his vocals and the timing and feel of the song. Gorgeous, completely gorgeous.
16 Avalon THRESHOLD This song reminds me of my sweet and beautiful Nana Benham. I was playing it soon after she died and part of the lyrics resonated with me. The words are ‘You lived the life, you dreamed the dream, you built the wall that stands between, blocked out the light that gave you hope, withdrew your words before you spoke, you watched the world slip out of your hands. And you laughed and you cried, and that made it all worthwhile, and you hoped and you prayed, that your world would never change’. I cried and cried when I listened to this. I missed her being here so much. She was sweet but cheeky and a bit naughty. I remember her wonderful hot pot, yummy bread and butter, pies with the best crusts I have ever had, her amazing generosity to me, all the trips out we had on the buses with me driving from the top deck. I love her so much and I think of her and all the wonderful things about her when I hear this song.
17 Forever Autumn JEFF WAYNE/JUSTIN HAYWARD This song takes me back to when I first heard Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds album. It scared me and excited me in equal measure. I remember when my dad first played it to me. I was only about nine and had to be reassured that it wasn’t true and that Martians hadn’t invaded Earth and nor were they going to anytime soon. I was fascinated by the whole concept and listened to it spell bound. It totally captivated me. Forever Autumn is my favourite part of the album. I just love the slightly folky feel to it.
18 Telephone Line ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA This song takes me back to 1977 and makes me think of my wonderful Nana Heaton. I was staying at her house in Reddish and I remember us walking down to the shops on the main road and she bought this record for me. I absolutely loved ELO. They were so original and exciting. Their music along with the orchestral swirls and the beautiful harmonies is awesome. I like the way this song starts off with telephone effects leading into Jeff Lynne’s distorted vocal, genius. It builds and builds with the orchestral arrangements just lush. Listening to this song massively brings back so many memories of my Nana Heaton. Her house with the cooker in the big cupboard, the brown fridge with the radio on top always tuned into 261 Piccadilly Radio, her chair with the knitting basket next to it, Jaffa Cakes and the cuddly sausage dog draught excluder at the door amongst others. She genuinely loved modern music and used to happily watch Top Of The Pops with me.
19 The King Of Sunset Town MARILLION This is the opening track from the album, Seasons End, the first album to be recorded with Steve Hogarth. I remember being so excited when this album came out. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and hear how Steve Hogarth sounded with my favourite band. The song is a great introduction to Steve’s powerful and emotional vocals. The excitement builds slowly with shimmering cymbals and percussion and swirling keyboards that build the tension until the band suddenly breaks loose with an emotive guitar solo from Steve Rothery. Then the mood changes down and some beautiful jangly guitar leads into Steve’s vocal. This was the perfect introduction to the new Marillion without Fish. I played this album over and over again, very happy and totally enthralled by it.
20 Blackstairs CLANNAD This is my favourite Clannad song. It is from the 1985 album Macalla and I fell in love with this album and know every track really well. I love the way that Clannad fuse rock and folk music so well on this record. The dark album cover is very mysterious and sets the mood for the dramatic songs that conjure up in my head visions of majestic windswept scenery and rolling savage seas. I was very intrigued by this album with some songs sung in Gaelic. It has a wonderful atmosphere. Blackstairs is sung by one of the guys and is a brooding and beautiful piece of music.
21 Afraid Of Sunlight MARILLION This song reminds me of the very hot summer of 1995 .We had eight weeks of pretty much unbroken sunshine and heat. I remember the temperature display at Cheadle Hulme Station showing 35 degrees and it wasn’t wrong! Afraid Of Sunlight is the stand out track from the album of the same name. The whole album has a summer vibe to it and I used to listen to it over and over again and it fitted perfectly with the weather. The album and this track in particular also has a North American feel to it. It conjures up in my mind a road trip on huge highways through deserts with huge cacti and red and orange beautiful sunsets. It’s a great song for driving to. Steve Hogarth’s vocals are very powerful and full of emotion. ] 22 It’s Different For Girls JOE JACKSON This song is always associated in my mind with the ‘Auntie Irene story’. I had heard this song on the radio and I really liked it. My mum had asked Auntie Irene to get the new song by Joe Jackson for me from the record shop in Bramall on her way round to see us. She went into the shop and said to the assistant ‘Please can I have the new single by Joe Jackson’ to which he replied ‘It’s Different For Girls?’ This threw Auntie Irene somewhat who said ’Oh…… it’s for my nephew’!!!!!!!!! She hadn’t known the song title and maybe thought that there was a different version for girls!! Anyhow I just love this song. It’s a lovely dreamy piece of pop and I particularly like the sound of the cymbals and the guitar.
23 Disco Heat CALVIN HARRIS I had heard of Calvin Harris but just dismissed him as dance music that I wouldn’t like. However when being single again and Spotify collided at pretty much the same time I gave him a listen out of curiosity. I had always been a bit intrigued by the bright yellow CD art work and wanted to know more. I had the time and opportunity now to listen to loads of new music and try out different stuff. Night after night I’d sit and listen to music completely amazed at what I liked and how diverse my musical taste was becoming. The synth sounds are magical and quite 80’s in feel. I used to dance around the living room to this revelling in my new found musical freedom. 24 Big Calm MORCHEEBA I discovered Morcheeba back in 1999 whilst staying with my cousin Ian in Cambridge This is the second excellent band that he has introduced me to. I was looking for something to play and the cover of the CD Big Calm stood out. He put it on and I sat back completely taken in and entranced by the whole album. I loved the fact that they fused rock guitar with so many other styles so well including reggae, rap and trip hop. They were so different and exciting. I loved the vocalist Skyes voice and when I got home I immediately went out and bought the CD. My favourite track on the album though was the title track and closing track that didn’t feature Skye but a rap and some great guitar. I hadn’t really liked rapping before but this blew me away. I particularly like the way that the rap name checks the band.
25 Dreaming Light ANATHEMA This band are from Liverpool and they have produced some incredible albums. This is a beautiful spiritual song. It’s quite fragile and cracks with emotion as it builds and builds. The song lyrics fit perfectly with how life is at the moment. ‘Suddenly life has new meaning……Suddenly feeling is being…….Suddenly I don’t have to be afraid…….Suddenly all falls into place……And you shine inside, And love stills my mind like the sunrise, Dreaming light of the sunrise’.
26 Landing In London 3 DOORS DOWN I love this band and this track, a duet with Bob Segar, really stands out. I love the feel of it and the way that the vocals of Rob Arnold work so well with those of Bob Segar. There is also a great guitar solo. I just love the sound of this band and they were excellent when I saw them live a few years ago. They are not that well known in the UK, as I think Britain generally has **** music taste, but they are huge in America selling out arenas.
27 Evergreen THE WISHING TREE This is from Steve Rothery’s side project with Hannah Stobart on vocals. This song has a lovely folky feel to it, a bit like All About Eve. Hannah’s got such a cute voice, her vocals are really lovely and fit so well with Steve’s guitar sound. This song builds to an incredibly beautiful and emotive guitar solo that just goes on and on. I remember the first time I heard it, it took my breath away.
28 The Great Escape/Fallin’ From The Moon MARILLION This is the stand out track from the concept album Brave. It is a dark and deeply moving album that I found difficult to get into at first but I persevered and was rewarded. I find that the best music is the music that is difficult to get into, complex stuff that you have to take time to get to know. This is a track that really needs to be appreciated as part of the whole album rather than on it’s own. It’s just so full of emotion especially the bit where Steve Hogarth sings ‘you’re holding on’ and his vocals just soar and then float off into Steve Rothery’s emotive guitar. Then the lyrics get really dark. This song is very powerful and quite brutal but so bloody good.

29 Leave In Silence DEPECHE MODE I love the crisp clear production on this song. I love the beat and the sound effects and the general laid back vibe to it. It’s slightly dark but just glorious.
30 Everything Is Wrong NEAL MORSE This is a beautiful piano led song. It’s completely lush. Neal Morse is just genius and this song just really stands out . I just love it, it’s as simple as that.
31 Down From Above MOXY FRUVOUS I found this song whilst on a family holiday in about the mid 90’s in a cottage down in Devon, I think it was. The owners of the cottage were Canadian and they had left a CD in one of the drawers which was from Air Canada. It featured about 10 or so songs from Canadian artists and curious as to what it might be like I put it on. This song really stood out and grabbed my attention. I loved the arrangement, the interesting lyrics and just the general feel and mood of the song. It’s very catchy. When I got back home I bought the album that featured this song as soon as I could.
32 Heartlight NEIL DIAMOND This song is about ET (Extra Terrestrial) . Neil Diamond was so taken with the film that he wrote this song about ET’s glowing heart light. I loved the ET film and watched it over and over and over again. The film was so sad when ET had to go home and little Elliott and the others were crying. This beautiful songs captures the emotion of the film. I love it.
33 The Light SPOCK’S BEARD This is fifteen minutes of the best progressive rock. This track is like nothing else ever. It is quirky and unique, it is enchanting and funny. It is mesmerising and mind boggling. The song takes you on a magical musical journey through loads of different phases and moods. The Spanish/Mexican section is just hilarious as is the catfish man section just after it. Spock’s Beard are fronted by the genius that is Neal Morse.
34 Splintering Heart MARILLION This song reminds me of the first time that I saw Marillion play live at the Manchester Apollo. I was so excited to see them live for the first time and the gig started with this song, the opening track from their then current album, Holidays In Eden. The stage was full of swirling fog and the lights were moving round like searchlights. Splintering Heart then started with it’s juddering synth that fuzzes and builds slowly, getting louder and louder until Steve Hogarths voice comes in. The atmosphere builds and builds until Steve sings ’but not as much as this’ and then the whole band kicks in with Steve Rotherys majestic guitar to the fore. I was so excited to see them in front of me, I was crying with the emotion of it. I still find this song exciting every time I hear it.
35 Tusk FLEETWOOD MAC This song brings back childhood memories. I was ten when this was released in 1979. It really stood out. I love the drumming ,the sound effects, the layered vocals and just the way that they shout TUSK! I haven’t a clue what it’s about but I love it. I vividly remember the striking cover artwork of a nasty dog attacking this persons shoe. .36 Nothing Else Matters METALLICA When this was released in 1991 I wasn’t really into metal but this song stood out. It’s very melodic and I just love the chilled slow building feel to it. The atmosphere of the song is dark and it just builds until that luscious guitar solo near the end. When I went back packing round Australia back in 1992 someone put this on a compilation tape for me to take with me. This was the stand out track. It reminds me of my travels back in 92/93.
37 The Bell In The Sea MARILLION I love the way this song builds and kicks in. It is very atmospheric and conjures up images of ship wrecks and treasure in my mind. The dreamy middle section is great and the dramatic guitar that fades at the end is awesome. This was a ‘B’ side and was one of the first songs that Steve Hogarth recorded with Marillion. It never appeared on an album. This is my favourite ‘B’ side ever.
38 Wuthering Heights KATE BUSH This song takes me back to summer 1978 when I was nine. It was a very hot day and I remember being in the garden near the summer house at my mum and dads. We must have had the radio on because I remember hearing this for the first time. It made me stop and listen and really take it in. I was a bit spellbound by her voice and how unusual and exciting the song was. It was like nothing I had heard before. I didn’t know at the time that the song was about a classic novel and I thought she was singing ’It’s me Kathy on the piano’ because there was a lot of piano in it! The guitar solo at the end is majestic. Kate Bush’s finest song.
39 Buffalo Gals MALCOLM MCLAREN This song is so very original and exciting. There were a lot of break dance and scratching records out at the time but this was different. It stood head and shoulders way out above the rest. It was incredibly fresh and unusual. 40 Dark Matter PORCUPINE TREE This is the closing track and finest moment of the concept album Signify. I heard of Porcupine Tree back in 1996 through a review and on the strength of this I ordered a copy of the Signify album. I was really excited when the CD arrived and listened to it for the first time right the way through in one sitting (as you always should with concept albums) with headphones on. I was completely blown away by it. It was like nothing I had heard before. It was so original and exciting. It is very progressive, fully of eerie and strange analogue synth sounds, psychedelic in places and quite Pink Floyd ish. Dark Matter is a great track on it’s own but really needs to be heard as part of the whole album. Dark Matter is a dark, haunting slow building track with a fantastic guitar solo near the close.
41 New York Minute DON HENLEY I had always liked this song but really got into it after 911 when the songs lyrics took on a new poignancy. I cried when I saw the unofficial new video for the song. The song plays to the video footage of that awful day in 2001 when the American Government slaughtered 3000 of their own people.
42 Mr Blue Sky ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA This is one of the greatest summer songs ever. It is so original and clever. Jeff Lynne is an absolute genius. I love the way that it moves through different phases and the vocal harmonies are wonderful. It makes me feel happy happy happy. It was on the album ’Out Of The Blue’. I remember getting the album as a Christmas present and being completely amazed by it. I was spell bound by it. It was a gatefold sleeve, a double album and had the ELO spaceship on the cover. I love every track on the album but Mr Blue Sky is the best. It’s an excellent track on its own but it’s best heard as part of the four track musical suite Concerto For A Rainy Day featuring the other three tracks Standin’ In The Rain, Big Wheels and Summer & Lightning.
43 My Life BILLY JOEL This song brings back childhood memories. It came out in 1978 when I was nine. I remember my mum and dad taking me to the record shop in Cheadle Hulme on a Saturday morning to buy it. I simply just like the feel of the song and the keyboard sound. I used to mishear the lyric though and I was filled with scary thoughts. I heard him sing ’ Got a call from an old friend we’d used to be real GHOSTS’! I could never play this song when I was alone in my bedroom at night!!
44 Dry Land MARILLION This is a swirling majestic song. It’s dramatic and big. The video which was shot in Iceland amongst spurting geysers and breathtakingly beautiful desolate scenery reflects the mood of the song perfectly. As usual Steve Hogarth’s vocals are emotive and powerful.
45 We All Need Some Light TRANSATLANTIC This is a song of hope, of hope that everything will get better. The world can be a dark place and we all need some light and love. I love the message in the lyrics. Neal Morse sings it beautifully and with passion. It starts acoustically and the song builds up wonderfully. Listen for the bells! 46 Bloodstream STATELESS This to me is the most original and amazing love song ever written. It has a wonderful stuttering production and an almost ethereal feel to it. The vocals crackle with beauty and emotion. It is absolutely gorgeous and seductive. The song reels me in and seduces me completely. The line ’I think I might’ve inhaled you, I can feel you behind my eyes’ is just so romantic. This is one of the three songs that brought Jay and I together.
47 The Gap Is Too Wide MOSTLY AUTUMN This is a big majestic beautiful and emotionally fragile piece of music. I cried and cried when I first heard it as it got my emotions. Both the lyrics and the beautiful nature of the music got me. The song builds slowly with acoustic guitar and violins and Heathers angelic vocal. The song is about losing someone and the lyrics convey this very beautifully and sensitively. The music slowly builds and my emotions heighten when the choir starts. This is very powerful stuff. Then there is the most stunningly amazing four minute guitar solo from Bryan Josh. And just when you think It simply can’t get any better than this it does! A breathtakingly gorgeous uilleann pipe solo then takes over from the guitar. I have tears flooding down my face now. It is totally breathtaking.
48 Visions Of China JAPAN I love this because it is so different and original. The instrumentation is really interesting and David Sylvians’s voice is wonderfully unusual. The drumming on it is just excellent especially the big drum solo mid way through. I always have to do the air drums to this!
49 Blind Curve MARILLION This track features on the concept album Misplaced Childhood, the album that contains Kayleigh. The commerciality of Kayleigh belies how awesome this album is. Blind Curve is the stand out track but really you should listen to the album in its entirety rather than in chunks. I remember buying the album in the summer of 1985. It came in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with the incredibly original jester art work which was the trademark of Marillion at the time. It is a very summery album and the first concept album I had listened to. I listened to it all the way through completely gob smacked at how good it sounded. Marillion’s sound had matured since their last album and Steve Rothery’s jangly guitar sound was gorgeous. I played it over and over and over again. I have never got fed up with this album. It is a classic.
50 When I Meet God MARILLION This is an epic spiritual song written by Steve Hogarth. The feel and dreamy nature of the music is wonderful. The keyboard sounds in particular shimmer and shine and are just beautiful. The talked section in the middle is superb. It’s a very chilled and thought provoking song.
51 Wild Horses PREFAB SPROUT The album Jordan: The Comeback was released in August 1990 and I remember buying it and listening to it one hot afternoon in my mum and dads living room. The whole album is brilliant but to me this is the stand out track from the album I love the vocals, the synths and the general feel and arrangement. This song always makes me think of the fragility of life. It was released around the time when I heard about the death of a local lad who was about a year younger than me. He was in Ibiza with his girlfriend and they had died in a moped accident. The lad in question was part of the dance band Together who had a big hit with Hardcore Uproar. He was the son of a doctor at my GP practice just down the road. Now I didn’t know this lad but because of the fact he was in a well known band and the local connection it really affected me. I felt so sad that his life and his girlfriends life had been cut so short and I felt so sorry for his family. I felt the fragility of life then and dying scared me. It doesn’t anymore by the way as I’m so much more aware now. This song just connects me to that thought.
52 Sympathy MARILLION This is a cover version of a Rare Bird song from the 70’s. I just love the feel of this song and I like the lyric. It’s a song about there not being enough love in the world. Something which I hope is going to change. Steve Hogarth’s vocals are powerful and moving as always. . It starts off slowly and builds to a fantastic climax. The video shot in South America is brilliant and really enhances the feel and message of the song. I remember when I first heard this song. I couldn’t stop playing it and kept losing myself in the heartfelt, entrancing and moving guitar solo
53 The Spirit Carries On DREAM THEATER This is the stand out track from the concept album ‘Metropolis Pt 2 Scenes From A Memory’. I recommend the entire album as really this track should be listened to as part of the album and not on it’s own. The album is essentially one long 70 minute piece of music split into sections. To me it is Dream Theater’s finest work. The album is a story centred around regressive hypnosis. The album tells the story of a man called Nicholas and the discovery of his past life which involves love , murder and infidelity as a girl called Victoria Page. The story has a really good twist to it at the end. The live performance on DVD featuring actors, a choir and a full orchestra is incredible. I saw Dream Theater perform this album in its entirety at Manchester Academy and they blew me away. It’s by far the greatest concept album ever and was indeed voted so in 2012. The lyrics to ‘The Spirit Carries On’ are very spiritual. It’s essentially about dying and not to be afraid as your spirit or essence carries on into the after life or the other side. It’s a beautiful moving lyric and the guitar solo is very uplifting. This song makes me feel good.
54 Dr Mabuse PROPAGANDA This is such a powerful, sinister, dark and brooding piece of music. I just love the industrial sounding synths and the deep pounding drums. The creepy, eerily spoken and sometimes whispered vocals are amazing. It’s like Frankenstein and Dracula rolled into one song. Incredible stuff. I was so impressed with this I bought the album. This has always been my stand out track. 55 Baker Street GERRY RAFFERTY I must have only been 8 when this song was released. I remember thinking how wonderful it was. The whole feel of the song interested me. It sounded so grown up and exciting. It was like nothing else I had ever heard. This was serious music. The saxophone solos in it are beautiful and moving and the guitar solo is pretty damn good too. It blew me away as a child and really properly opened me up to the beauty and emotional power of music.
56 Russia On Ice PORCUPINE TREE This is a 13 minute progressive masterpiece and one hell of an atmospheric song. It starts with spooky analogue synths and moves through many different phases. The vocal harmonies are fantastic and the layered vocals are awesome. The lyrics are mysterious and my mind is filled with thoughts of a dark winter days. The orchestral instrumentation fits perfectly with the mood of the song and in places the flurries of strings sound just like ELO. The middle section is very eerie and builds to a powerful metal work out. A very moving piece of absolute quality music. Steven Wilson is a genius.
57 In A Lifetime CLANNAD & BONO This is the song that really got me into Clannad and folk music. I love the way that they fuse rock with folk. This song is hugely atmospheric and when listening to it I get pictures in my mind of wild, dramatic beautiful scenery, mountains and rain, high exposed cliffs and rough seas pounding onto rocks. It conjures up in my head the wild scenery of Ireland. I still haven’t travelled around Irelend and would love to do this one day. I have a dream to sit on the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland and listen to Clannad on headphones very loud. The perfect music for the majestic scenery.
58 On The Beach CHRIS REA This is the ultimate summer song. The music and production is lush and dreamy and exotic and conjures up in my head visions of white sand and turquoise sea. This song can take me into a dream world where I do indeed escape to the beach. It is perfect for listening to in hot weather and particularly on the beach. It is the title track from an album that just exudes summer from every musical note. I really like Chris Rea’s voice and for me this album is Chris Rea’s finest moment.
59 Dreadlock Holiday 10CC This is another song from my childhood that really stands out. I like the sinister nature of the lyric, a story of being accosted in Jamaica and being confused as to whether you should like cricket and reggae or not. The production, vocals and light reggae feel to it are excellent.
60 Sandstorm DARUDE This to me is one of the greatest pieces of dance music ever written. It’s such happy music and full of energy and passion. I absolutely love the way that the music builds and then comes crashing down only to build again and again and again. The building synth and the banging of the drum is so utterly powerful. The music is hypnotic and can put me into a trance like state. I don’t normally like dancing much but I can move my body like the best of them to this! It’s impossible to be still such is the power of the music. This song makes me feel so happy and joyous. My dream would be to dance to this in a club and just feel the energy of the music pulsating and vibrating from the speakers.
61 Evergreen MOSTLY AUTUMN This is pure powerful folk rock. This song just builds and builds to a fast and extremely emotive guitar solo at the end. Heathers vocals are beautiful and haunting and the guitar work of Bryan Josh is genius. Leaves me completely breathless at the end.
62 The Leader/The Vision/What About Me? CHRIS DE BURGH This trilogy of songs is from 1986 and they are the closing tracks of the Into The Light album. This is the album that featured The Lady In Red. It’s unfortunate that Chris De Burgh is only known by most people for this piece of drivel. Most people don’t realise how much of a good rock singer Chris De Burgh is. I’ve seen him live twice and he was brilliant. As is usual Chris De Burgh is telling a story on these tracks. I particularly like the emotive ending and great guitar solo that fades to the end.
63 Thunder Fly MARILLION This song is pure summer to me. It has such a summery feel and vibe to it, especially the chilled out sections. It conjures up in my mind blue skies, hot temperatures and loving in fields amongst the tall corn. Insects abound but it doesn’t matter as you’re caught up in the emotion. ’She’ll take you where she found you, in sunshine’. Steve Rotherys guitar solo is simply majestic and adds massively to the emotion and mood of Steve Hogarths wonderful lyrics.
64 Hanging By A Moment LIFEHOUSE I bought the album ’No Name Face’ that this appears on blind as I’d read that they were similar to 3 Doors Down. I wasn’t disappointed and this was the stand out track. I love his voice, I love the lyrics and in particular I love the growling noises on it.
65 In Two Minds RIVERSIDE This track appeared on a free CD with Classic Rock Magazine. I loved it instantly as they sounded similar to Porcupine Tree. The guitar solo really sold this Polish band to me. I love his voice and the arrangement. I went out and bought all their CD’s on the strength of this one song.
66 Sonne RAMMSTEIN I discovered this in 2001. This was out at the same time as I discovered System Of A Down and was at that point in life where I knew I was different to most people but didn’t know how to express it. I discovered how good metal was and it was an outlet for my emotions at the time. It was great to get into and lost in such loud and intense metal riffs. I kept watching the video for this on Kerrang TV, a very dark video in which a kind of macabre Snow White story was played out. I love Rammsteins industrial metal riffing. I think that the harshness of the German language works extremely well with their music. This is their stand out track to me.
67 Metropolis Pt 1 The Miracle & The Sleeper - DREAM THEATER This is a 9 minute progressive metal masterpiece. In parts heavy and in other sections light. The music moves through lots of different phases. The instrumental middle section is completely phenomenal, totally mind blowing. It’s just so fresh and original. These guys are so tight as a band, such very very talented musicians.
68 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here PORCUPINE TREE This is 12 minutes of Steven Wilson genius. It is a mysterious track that keeps building the atmosphere until the fantastically intense metal middle section. It has a dark lyric but I love it. ’Never stop your car on a drive in the dark’. Another song that I get lost in.
69 Comfortably Numb PINK FLOYD My first exposure to Pink Floyd was Another Brick In The Wall. Comfortably Numb though is the stand out track for me from The Wall album. Dave Gilmour’s guitar solo takes me places. I love guitar solos so much, they are so powerful and conjure up so many emotions. I first got into this song when I was about 18. A mate had suggested to me that The Wall album sounded better when you were high and you heard things in it that you couldn’t otherwise hear. I never did get to listen to this spiffed out on cannabis. I did though listen to it when I was drunk. That didn’t have the same effect, I just fell asleep.
70 Passengers MOSTLY AUTUMN This is a very spiritual song. It’s a beautiful thought provoking song. Essentially we’re all passengers on planet Earth. We’re on a train that’s dropping off passengers and picking up passengers over and over. We’re all on a ride that one day will be over. So many people lose touch with spirituality and instead of loving and doing what makes them happy they get caught up in just making money and getting on in the evil corporate soul destroying realm. There’s a great guitar solo in it also. A very powerful song.
71 Easter MARILLION I didn’t like this song much when I first heard it as it was very different to anything Marillion had done before. It grew on me though and eventually I saw it’s beauty and spirit. It’s got a lovely folky Irish feel to it and the lengthy Steve Rothery guitar solo in it is incredibly emotive and expressive.
72 Souvenir ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK This I believe is OMD at their very best before they got too commercial sounding. I remember cycling to Bramhall to buy this in the dark in December. It had a lovely purple sleeve. I also bought the Architecture & Morality album that this is from, a very interesting experimental album that completely amazed me. This song is just laid back and chilled with really lovely synth sounds. It kind of sends you into a dream like state.
73 Island In The Sun WEEZER This lot are genius. They are so unique. I got into them through Spotify. I had heard of them before but never heard their music. It was on a Spotify trawl that I gave them a listen. This track stands out to me. It‘s got a lovely summery vibe to it. For some reason they make me think of The Beach Boys and Buddy Holly. I think they have a slight 60’s feeling to their sound. It’s just a great song that made me think ahead with excitement to my travels when I heard it.
74 Sex On Fire KINGS OF LEON I had dismissed and misunderstood Kings Of Leon until this track came out. I just thought that they were bearded old fashioned rockers, then I heard this on the radio. It blew me away. Kings Of Leon weren’t the band I thought they were. I went out and bought the album straight away and played it over and over again. This was just before my Spotify days but at this time there had started a slow shift in my musical taste to more diverse genres. I had gone from liking everything in the 80’s to being very specific in the 90’s and early 00’s to opening up to everything again.
75 Thieves Like Us NEW ORDER After Blue Monday this song was so very different but it was very addictive. I used to listen to it over and over again. It was only released on 12”, I loved the cover art, and I liked the fact that they did something radically different. This was more guitar based but the synth sounds in it were chilled and lovely, less understated than Blue Monday. The song builds beautifully.
76 She Sells Sanctuary THE CULT This absolutely rocks. The opening is awesome when it kicks in. It makes me get up and just throw myself wildly round the room to it. I just used to get lost in it and forget anything that was bothering me. A definite therapy song. It worked particularly well in the Daniel Craig movie, Layer Cake.
77 Games Without Frontiers PETER GABRIEL This one reminds me of my childhood. I love the sound of it. It was very different to anything I had heard before and although I didn’t go anywhere near thinking what it was about I loved the lyrics from a childish point of view especially the line ‘Jane plays with willy, willy is happy again’. I know the lyrics off by heart. It’s just a great song.
78 Pet A PERFECT CIRCLE This is a dark and interesting piece of metal. I haven’t a clue what it’s about but I love it. The lyric is mysterious, something about a bogey man coming to the rhythm of the wardrobe!! That’s what it sounds like to me. It’s about a nightmare I think. I don’t want to know the proper lyric as that would ruin it for me. This song is intense and powerful.
79 Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) SIMPLE MINDS This was released as a single but didn’t chart that high. I think this is Simple Minds finest moment. It’s simply just a great song that I sing along to and bounce around the room to. It’s music that lifts my mood and makes me feel happy.
80 Nature Boy BOBBY DARIN This song reminds me of my childhood. I have always loved music and listening to the radio. My dad gave me all his 7” vinyl from the 60’s and an old record player. I was fascinated by the radio and I used to do my own radio show every morning in my bedroom and play a lot of my dads records. I remember that my dad used to bring me a cup of tea every morning before he left for work. This is the stand out record from my dads vinyl collection. I just love the feel and vibe of the song. I didn’t study or think about the lyrics back then but they seem very apt now.
81 3am MATCHBOX TWENTY This song reminds me of being back in Perth, Australia in 1995. It was played on the radio all the time and I loved it. It was a massive hit in Australia and the USA but did nothing in the UK. It reminds me of happy times and hot weather back in Perth.
82 Light & Space THRESHOLD I had heard about Threshold through a review and they sounded like a band I would like. This is the first track on the album and I remember the first time I played it and being completely blown away by it, especially the powerful guitar solo right at the climax. I also love the way it begins, a little bit mystical before the guitars kick in. It has an urgency and a power that I love. Also it has beautifully melodic moments with wonderful jangling guitars. A song I can get lost in.
83 Bridge Across Forever TRANSATLANTIC This is a beautiful spiritual lyric sung by Neal Morse. It’s a delicate emotional song, beautifully written and very well played. It makes me think of the fragility of life but also that death has nothing to fear. The Bridge Across Forever is the bridge to the other side. We will see all the loved ones we have lost one day on the other side of the bridge. This one makes me cry nearly every time I hear it, such is it’s beauty.
84 I’m Stone In Love With You JOHNNY MATHIS This songs reminds me of my childhood and the lovely relationship I had with my mum and dads next door neighbour, Phyl. She was like my third Nana . She used to look after me one day a week after school before my mum came home from work. She knew that I loved music and the radio. I used to have a pretend radio station in my bedroom and present my own shows. Phyl used to co-present a show with me from the stereo in her living room once a week. We both had microphones and we played all her records. This was one of the songs that we played and it brings back wonderful happy memories. When Phyl died earlier on this year I played this song to myself, thought of her and cried and cried.
85 Peruvian Skies DREAM THEATER It starts slow and I like the way that it lulls you into a false sense of security. It builds and builds to an absolutely epic full on metal ending. I’ve seen Dream Theater live a few times and they are so tight as a band and awesome musicians. Watching John Petrucci play the guitar is breathtaking, he’s that good. Dream Theater play intricate progressive metal and are the first metal band that I truly loved. They play with an incredible power and intensity.
86 Blackfield BLACKFIELD Blackfield is one of the solo projects of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). He collaborates with an Israeli singer Aviv Geffen. Blackfield have a similar feel to Porcupine Tree but are lighter in sound. I just like the arrangement and the way that it carries my thoughts when I listen to it into a dream like state. It has a feel of Tears For Fears to me. The keyboards are particularly good. It is one of the many fine moments of the genius that is Steven Wilson.
87 Pearls Dream BAT FOR LASHES I heard Daniel played on Radio 2 and liked it so much I bought the album, Two Suns. Pearls Dream however is the stand out track. Natasha Khan is a multi instrumentalist and so talented. This songs reminds me of Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill and Fleetwood Mac, Big Love. It has a big and very clear production and I love the layered vocals. It’s such a big powerful track. It’s the song that I use to demo new loud speakers. Can’t wait to play it again on my BIG loud speakers one day.
88 Interior Lulu MARILLION This is a 15 minute masterpiece. I was living on my own when this came out in 1999 and was disillusioned with the world. I was working in insurance and wasn’t massively happy. I loved my flat In Didsbury though as it was my cosy hideaway from the world. I used to come home from work and listen to this over and over again with headphones on. I used to get completely lost in the music and wish myself away from reality. The guitar solo in particular is absolutely immense and in a strange way provided me with therapy. As with most of Marillions long tracks this is an emotional rollercoaster.
89 I Drive The Hearse PORCUPINE TREE This is off ‘The Incident’ album and is the last and finest moment of that album. It fitted my mood perfectly when it came out. I wasn’t all that happy and things weren’t good in my relationship. The lyrics resonated with me as they are about a relationship breakdown ’silence is another way of saying what I want to say, lying is another way of hoping it will go away, you were always my mistake’. I knew deep down that this relationship was a mistake but for some unknown reason just put up with it. You may think it strange then that this song is in my top 100 but I just love the music, the arrangement and the vocal harmonies, oh and the exquisite guitar solo near the end. The song gives me goose bumps and is one of Porcupine Trees finest moments.
90 Animate RUSH I simply just love the feel of this song. It uplifts my mood and makes me feel good. It animates my mood. Rush are a fantastic band and have done loads of good stuff but to me this is their finest moment.
91 A Girl Like You EDWYN COLLINS I first heard this on PMFM in Perth when I returned there in 1995. This is another song that was played on the radio all the time. I remember being so excited and happy to be back in Perth and this song reminds me of that holiday. I love the funny noises in it.
92 Leah NEAL MORSE He is a song writing genius and in a fair world he would have been as popular as Billy Joel who I feel he has a similar sound to. He was the singer in Spock’s Beard and is the singer in Transatlantic. His solo stuff is excellent. This songs tells a sad heart wrenching story and I like the lyrics especially the line ‘leaving me the saddest little girl and a nasty dog’.
93 Aerials SYSTEM OF A DOWN A very original and exciting band. I just love the heavy guitar riff. I play air guitar to this. It’s one of those songs I could escape into and forget the outside world. As System are an alternative band and sung about conspiracy theories and the evils of the corporate world I could easily identify with them.
94 Sleepless FLUME This is one of the most original and amazingly chilled out pieces of dance music that I’ve heard. The vibe is so cool and laid back. I love how the vocals are distorted in places and mixed about with. The way the music ebbs and flows with the gorgeous cuddly synths is divine. Totally delicious.
95 Hope Leaves OPETH This is a dark and brooding song, full of emotion. It fitted my mood at the time. I was disillusioned with life (corporate world and girls being ‘up themselves’ ) and I felt a bit low. This song although very dark gave me hope for the future. The line ‘you’ll never return to this place’ made me feel that the only way was up to somewhere better. I always had hope and knew things would work out if I had enough patience. The song is produced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and I just love the vocal harmonies and layered vocals and brooding lush feel to it.
96 Careless Whisper GEORGE MICHAEL This song brings back loads of memories from my teenage years and the fun I used to have with my mates. In particular it reminds me of a lads holiday in Llandudno during the summer of 1985. About eight of us went including my best mate Andy and we just drank a lot of beer. We kept all the beer cold in the bath and by the end of the week we had built a massive beer can pyramid. This song was pretty much Andy’s theme tune and it reminds me of all the great times we had chasing girls, getting drunk, cruising with the ghetto blaster etc etc etc.
97 Fly By II BLUE I don’t normally like boy bands but this stands out to me. It’s a very summery song, their vocals are great and the overall vibe to it is just so cool.
98 Epidemic BLACKFIELD I love the feel of this song and the vocal harmonies and layered vocals are absolutely lush. The genius of Steven Wilson.
99 Dry County BON JOVI This is the song that showcased to me what a great band Bon Jovi actually are. I had never really got them until the album Keep The Faith came out. Although quite good I saw songs like Livin’ On A Prayer, Bad Medicine, You Give Love A Bad Name etc as being throwaway and not that serious. To me they seemed to grow up and mature into a serious band with this record. Dry County at just under 10 minutes long is stunning, especially the guitar solo.
100 Miss You FEEDER I just love the power and urgency of this song. The almost metal guitar sound is great. It energises me and makes me feel happy. It’s a great song to drive to. And there is a brilliant video to it that makes me laugh.