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Song of the Day #6,303: ‘Poisoned Rose’ – Elvis Costello

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1986…

#3 – King of America – Elvis Costello

Last week I noted that Blood & Chocolate was one of two great albums Elvis Costello released in 1986. The other, King of America, might be the best thing he’s ever done.

Costello has had a prolific and wide-ranging career, dipping his toe in every conceivable genre and teaming up with a laundry list of unlikely collaborators. But I’ll be boring and say the early to mid-80s remains the high point of his impressive catalog. My three favorite Castello albums — Get Happy!!, Imperial Bedroom, and this one — all came out during that span.

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Song of the Day #6,302: ‘I Believe’ – R.E.M.

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1986…

#4 – Lifes Rich Pageant – R.E.M.

Few bands had as a good a run in the 80s as R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant was the band’s fourth album in as many years and every one was a masterpiece.

Following up the murky folk rock of Fables of the Reconstruction, Pageant found the band in full rock mode, putting the muscular sound of their live shows on record for the first time.

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Song of the Day #6,301: ‘That Voice Again’ – Peter Gabriel

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1986…

#5 – So – Peter Gabriel

My top five albums of 1986 are all-timers. Each one would be on the long list of my favorite records. It’s pretty crazy that they all came out the same year.

English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel had modest U.S. success with his first four albums (all self-titled), but his fifth release — given the throwaway title So after the record label asked for something easier to market — was his breakthrough.

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Song of the Day #6,300: ‘Yesterday’ – The Beatles

The #1 song on the Hot 100 the week of October 5, 1965, was a little tune called ‘Yesterday’ by a little band known as The Beatles. The track was not released as a single in the UK because the band felt it was more of a Paul McCartney tune than a proper Beatles release, but in the U.S. it topped the charts for four weeks.

Considering I wrote 40 Beatles Weekend posts back in 2009/10, I was sure I had already featured ‘Yesterday.’ But alas, I made it to Song of the Day #6,300 without posting one of the most beloved, famous, and oft-covered songs of all time.

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Song of the Day #6,299: ‘Moments to Remember’ – The Four Lads

Throwing back to the week of October 4, 1955, we find the usual crowd of repeat offenders atop the chart (I won’t bother listing them… they’ve all been shouted out repeatedly by now).

At the #5 spot that week, on its way to a peak at #2, was ‘Moments to Remember,’ a sleepy pop ballad by Canadian quartet The Four Lads. This song is tied with 1956’s ‘No, Not Much!’ as the foursome’s top-charting single.

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