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Song of the Day #5,820: ‘Country House’ – Blur

The early 90s were the heyday for Britpop, with Oasis and Blur leading the charge. I already covered Oasis’ classic What’s the Story (Morning Glory)? so now it’s time to highlight the album with which it competed for the Britpop title in 1995.

In August of ’95, Blur and Oasis went head-to-head, releasing singles on the same day. Today’s SOTD, ‘Country House,’ wound up outselling Oasis’ ‘Roll With It,’ and gave the band their first #1 hit in the UK. Oasis, of course, went on to win the larger battle, as their album became one of the best-selling records in the world.

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Song of the Day #5,819: ‘Where Will I Be’ – Emmylou Harris

Getting back to the albums of 1995, here’s the first one that struck me as something I wish I’d had in my life over the last 30 years.

Wrecking Ball is Emmylou Harris’ 18th studio album and the only one I’ve heard all the way through. I’m more familiar with the country legend through her guest appearances in the work of other artists (she is a particularly welcome presence on Elvis Costello’s The Delivery Man album).

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Song of the Day #5,818: ‘Let’s Hear It for the Boy’ – Deniece Williams

The week of June 9, 1984, saw Cyndi Lauper atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Time After Time,’ a song I have already featured on the blog.

Falling to #2 after owning the top spot the week before was Deniece Williams’ ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy’ from the Footloose soundtrack. This was the fourth single from that soundtrack and the second to reach #1, following Kenny Loggins’ title track.

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Song of the Day #5,817: ‘Band on the Run’ – Paul McCartney & Wings

Throwing back to the week of June 8, 1974, we find Paul McCartney atop the Billboard Hot 100 just as he was a decade earlier. Of course, this time it’s with Wings rather than The Beatles.

‘Band on the Run’ is the title track from Wings’ third studio album, and it’s certainly one of the best songs the band ever released. It finds McCartney imagining a band breaking out of jail, an image he says was inspired by increasing police crackdowns on musicians’ marijuana possession.

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Song of the Day #5,816: ‘No More “I Love You’s”‘ – Annie Lennox

Today’s 1995 album isn’t exactly new to me — it found a home in my CD collection when I married my wife 27 years ago. But I haven’t spent enough time with it over the years to consider it a favorite.

Annie Lennox’s Medusa was her second solo album after taking a break from Eurythmics in 1990. Her first release, Diva, was a very successful collection of original pop soul songs. This one had a similar sound but focused entirely on covers of other artists’ material.

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