Music

Somebody To Love
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Somebody To Love

I saw a bit of Happy Feet Two this evening and it reminded me that I’d never played Queen’s Somebody To Love which was one of the main songs in the original Happy Feet movie. Somebody To Love dates from 1976 and ever since has been one of the all-time Queen classic songs. After Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, George Michael sang this song at the tribute concert at Wembley and his performance was considered to be so good that serious consideration was given to have him continue Freddie Mercury’s role and perform with the remaining members of Queen.

I’ve probably ended up playing this a bit too fast, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. There are more of my Queen performances here and if it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here or see all of my November songs.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/somebody-to-love

Never Gonna Give You Up
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Never Gonna Give You Up

Or should I say Never Gonna Give You Up, ever so slightly mashed up with Here Comes The Hotstepper! This one is for Julie who celebrates her birthday today. Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up was recorded in 1987, though I’m not sure if this helps my claim that 1987 was the best musical year of the 80s! It topped the charts in no fewer than 25 countries, but more recently has been the subject of the Rickrolling internet meme. The idea is that internet users are baited into clicking on a link which has nothing to do with the Rick Astley classic, but on clicking on the link they end up seeing the video for Never Gonna Give You Up. Unfortunately Rick Astley hasn’t benefitted from this meme, earning only $12. It has, however, succeeded in ensuring that this wonderful Barack Obama Rickroll video was seen by over 7 million YouTube viewers:

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my version of Never Gonna Give You Up. Happy birthday, Julie! If it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here or see all of my November songs.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/never-gonna-give-you-up

Recuerdos de la Alhambra
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Recuerdos de la Alhambra

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This time last year I was in Spain investigating locations to film High Five Spanish. This trip took me to Málaga, Ronda, Nerja, Almuñécar, Granada and Alicante. We decided to film the series in Nerja and Frigiliana and, five trips later, the Spanish footage is complete. There’s still a big edit job to do before launching next spring. During my recce trip, exactly one year ago this morning, I was discovering the Alhambra for the first time on a perfect autumn morning.

It seemed appropriate therefore today to play Recuerdos de la Alhambra, the beautiful piece for guitar by Francisco Tárrega. It’s not really meant for piano, so I’ve tried to come up with an orchestration that works. I hope you enjoy this today!

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/recuerdos-de-la-alhambra

The Trip To Bountiful (When The Rain Comes)
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The Trip To Bountiful (When The Rain Comes)

I don’t know a lot about this song. The Trip To Bountiful (When The Rain Comes) is an album track from The Adventures’ 1988 debut album The Sea Of Love and since I first heard it I’ve loved it, and it has one of the best modulations in any song I know, going from the dominant E major chord of a steady A major down into the dominant C# major, resolving into F# major for the rest of the song.

As far as the meaning of the song goes I’m not quite sure. There was a 1985 film of the same name, but as far as I can tell there isn’t necessarily a link between the two. Please let me know if you know any more about this song or film!

If it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here or see all of my November songs.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-trip-to-bountiful-when-the

The Wind Knows My Name
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The Wind Knows My Name

Today’s song is the beautiful Fairground Attraction song The Wind Knows My Name. It was an album track from their 1988 debut album The First Of A Million Kisses. Here’s a live performance if you’re interested in hearing the original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT8mQ6gxslc

And here’s mine! If it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here or see all of my November songs.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-wind-knows-my-name

I Can’t Get Started
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I Can’t Get Started

Today’s song is the 1936 Ira Gershwin / Vernon Duke song I Can’t Get Started (With You). It was first heard in the theatrical production Ziegfeld Follies where it was performed by Bob Hope.

The song tells the tale of a man who is successful in every aspect of his life other than his ability to get the attention of the woman he loves. One of the interesting things about this song is the fact that the Gershwin lyrics broke the mould for ballads at the time, using very topical references: “I’ve flown around the world in a plane … Settled revolutions in Spain … Been consulted by Franklin D … Greta Garbo has asked me to tea”. Frank Sinatra tried to update the lyrics with “designed the latest IBM brain”, but it tends to be the original which is performed by most artists as a result of its charm.

I hope you enjoy today’s song. For more songs from the 1930s, click here, and to find out why I’m playing a tune a day click here. You can see all of my November songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/i-cant-get-started

Everybody Hurts
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Everybody Hurts

I wasn’t quite sure what to play today – I had recorded something the other day but it didn’t quite seem appropriate. Following the events in Paris yesterday and the huge support on social media for everyone affected by the attacks, there were also many comments about the fact that there have been other tragic events elsewhere this week and, sadly, every week in life. One of the many quotes I saw was a poem by Somali-born poet Warsan Shire:

later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?

it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.

And that’s what made me decide to play R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurts today. If it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here or see all of my November songs.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/everybody-hurts

I Love Paris
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I Love Paris

It’s with great sadness that I recorded this song today following the horrendous attacks last night. I Love Paris was written by Cole Porter in 1953. Paris, nous t’aimons plus fort que jamais…

I’ve combined today’s recording with some video footage I filmed in Paris last summer as a tribute to my favourite city.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my November songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/i-love-paris

Lord Lovat’s Lament
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Lord Lovat’s Lament

I was asked to play Lord Lovat’s Lament by a friend. It’s traditionally a pipe tune which was written by Lord Lovat’s piper on his demise. It seems that Lord Lovat was beheaded for treason and at his execution the gallows collapsed, killing some of the spectators, much to his delight. Not the cheeriest of stories, but nonetheless a beautiful tune!

If Scottish music is your thing, have a look at my album of Scottish tunes. This one hasn’t made it into that collection yet, but it may do in the future if it goes down well! If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my November songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/lord-lovats-lament

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