1 – Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree – Tony Orlando And Dawn – This masterful folklore (think John Wayne’s “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” for one) reached its apotheosis with this catchy pop soft rock and I for one remember seeing Neil Young’s MSG gig in the middle of Operation Desert Storm with the stage strewn with Yellow Ribbons. It isn’t as good as “Candida” – A
2 – Bad Bad Leroy Brown – Jim Croce – How good is this? It is so good I always assumed it was a cover of some great American folk classic. It made Croce, who died too young, immortal – A
3 – Killing Me Softly – Roberta Flack – An iffy folk song but a huge pop soul number – B+
4 – Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye – It is to sex what “What’s Going On” is to politics – A+
5 – My Love – Paul McCartney And Wings – I really think people who hate on Macca in 2015 should listen to McCartney in the mid 70s – D
6 – Why Me – Kris Kristofferson – Hard to remember how big Kris was, especially when you hear songs like this – C
7 – Crocodile Rock – Elton John – This didn’t make him a star, not even a popstar, but it cemented his position as one of the great pop song writers right in the heart of his legend – A+
8 – Will It Go Round In Circles – Billy Preston – The fifth Beatle was black, gay and a pounder on everything – B
9 – You’re So Vain – Carly Simon – The Agatha Christie novel of pop, and who is she dissing? Either Jagger or Beatty is my bet – A
10 – Touch Me In The Morning – Diana Ross – More pop than soul, still, the Beyonce of her generation was in the middle of a long and wide ride and, ps, Destiny Children is to the Supremes what Beyonce is to Diana Ross – B+
