Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

For an album, I'd submit My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne. Adventurous, intense and even mesmerizing, beautiful, and full of surprises, this is some of my favorite work by two great talents at the top of their form. It was done about 20 years ago but would still be daring even today.

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

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The Boxer

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DAMNIT. I was excited to listen because I have never heard of this song. However, upon clicking your link I realized I know every note and every word, I just never knew the name of it.

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Yep, Same thing for me.

I want to thank OP for starting this. It has given me an excuse to search out old and loved songs from the past that I hadn't listened to in a long long time. Most of these are old Todd Rundgren tunes like I saw the light and Hello It's Me . You HAVE to see the outfit he wears in this video. Going through a Ziggy Stardust phase. :-)

I was a huge Rundgren fan when I was younger and still am but haven't listened much lately. So here are a few of the gems I found.

The Want of a Nail ** I really like this song

Bang the Drum All Day

Can we still be friends

There are a lot more but I just don't have time to search right now.

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

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One lesser known song that I really like is Sunday Morning Coming Down. There are a lot of songs written by Kris Kristofferson that get very little love.

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That's a beautiful and evocative song indeed. I always thought it was a Johnny Cash song though, but guess he just covered it.

Since both reggae and Paul Simon have been mentioned, how about Mother And Child Reunion from his excellent self-titled debut album? I feel it's one of those songs that most people know they've heard before but they're not necessarily sure who to attribute it to.

Gotta throw in a couple of favorites from one of the greatest punk rock albums ever too. Namely Television's Marquee Moon:

See No Evil
Venus
Marquee Moon

EDIT: For those wanting to contribute songs to this thread, I suggest using the site the guy I'm quoting used. To link a song, simply search for it, click "Options" and then "Embed" and copy the URL (link) from the bottom of the pop-up window. Youtube works too of course. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

early 70s Elton John is awesome...Burn Down the Mission, etc...

And Boz Scaggs was the Man.

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

I'd seen Maynard Ferguson perform when he was past his prime and didn't understand what the big deal was. It wasn't until he died and I saw this performance of Round Midnight that I understood what a talent he had been.

Misty was my grandfather's favorite song. Just a beautiful melody.

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

A couple of old ones:

Pancho and Lefty by Townes Van Zandt

Dylan's "Girl from the North County" as done by:


Dylan

Dylan and Cash

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

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early 70s Elton John is awesome...Burn Down the Mission, etc...

And Boz Scaggs was the Man.

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When he was with The Brown Dirt Cowboy, he was good. Perfectly forgettable afterward.

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

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The whole of Avalon by Roxy Music, not just the gorgeous More Than This, should be included here. I would guess that most posters under the age of 35 have never heard it.

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Good point!

Out of the Blue is my favorite Roxy tune.

Can't find the original album cut, which is a sonic tour-de-force, but found these live cuts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC8of...ed&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVkOV...ed&search=

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

Going with the Paul Simon theme I would be obligated to mention Heart & Bones. It's my favorite by him. Sorry I couldn't find a link.

The other song I would think of is Jackson Browne's The Pretender. It's kinda my dad's anthem.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hlgmO1YQCIQ

Re: Play us an old song for the first time
 

Some great choices so far. My pick is Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Aguas de Marco (Waters of March)". He's the guy who wrote and performed "Girl from Ipanema" and is something of the father of the bossanova sound.

A great litmus test for this standard is whether or not my grade school kids find immediate enjoyment in hearing one of these songs for the first time. If they do, I figure there's a certain timelessness to the song.

Other random picks that my meet the kid/parent visceral appeal standard...

Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man".
Elton John's "Where to now St. Peter"
Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Mr. Bojangles"
Eric Clapton's "Motherless Children"
Split Enz "Six Months in a Leaky Boat"
George Harrison's "Give me Peace"
David Bowie's "Panic in Detroit"
Cat Stevens' "Moon Shadow"
Blood Sweat and Tears "God Bless the Child"
Sarah Vaughan's "Send in the Clowns"

We could make a crazy long list.

My daughter and and I sometimes sit around with the headphones and hunt and peck around (while I play cards on the laptop).