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Song of the Day #971: ‘Running to Stand Still’ – U2

It just hit me, as I was reading up on today’s selection, that this is the third album in a row on my list of greats that was a massive hit. U2’s The Joshua Tree, released in 1987, has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide to date.

How nice to see quality work rewarded on the charts. As I look over the other titles on my list, a pattern emerges: the older albums fared far better, sales-wise, than the more recent ones. Sure, the music industry in general has taken a major hit in the last decade, but it also seems like the mega-sellers these days are not the best records.

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Song of the Day #970: ‘The Chain’ – Fleetwood Mac

Here’s another of the 70s albums on my list. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours was released in early 1977 to critical acclaim and blockbuster sales. To date it has sold more than 19 million copies and stands as the 10th best selling album in U.S. history.

The album was famously recorded under the most tumultuous circumstances imaginable. The band members were falling in and out of love and in and out of bed with each other at an alarming rate, sometimes not speaking until they entered the studio to record the next song. On top of that, everybody was loaded on drugs and booze.

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Song of the Day #969: ‘Crazy Love, Vol. II’ – Paul Simon

I’m continuing my four-week series on great albums with a selection from perhaps the greatest one on my list, Paul Simon’s Graceland.

If Paul Simon had never recorded Graceland, he’d still go down as one of the finest songwriters and performers in history. His work with Simon & Garfunkel alone could land him in the canon. Throw in solo gems such as ‘Slip Slidin’ Away,’ ‘Still Crazy After All These Years,’ ‘Hearts and Bones,’ the exotic sounds of Rhythm of the Saints and even his less heralded, more recent work. That’s a catalog for the ages.

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Song of the Day #968: ‘She’ – Elvis Costello

I’m breaking the rules today by not featuring a second song from Elvis Costello’s North. I couldn’t find any more of its tracks on YouTube and I’m not about to throw good money after bad and download one.

Instead I’m going back a few years before the release of North to highlight a performance in a similar vein that I find far more effective. Costello recorded this cover of the Charles Aznavour song ‘She’ for the soundtrack to 1999’s Notting Hill. The song played over the opening and end credits of that Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant romantic comedy, adding a nice romantic sheen.

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Song of the Day #967: ‘Still’ – Elvis Costello

It’s common knowledge that falling in love is pretty much the worst thing that can happen to a musician. And on the flip side, a painful breakup is great news. I’m speaking from a fan’s perspective, of course — no doubt the musician sees it differently.

Elvis Costello married jazz singer Diana Krall in 2003 after a brief engagement. That same year, swept up in the fever of that new romance, Costello released North, his only album of original material I’ve ever sold back.

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