Songs From A Quarantine

Suzanne Vega - Marlene on the Wall

Let's start at the beginning. Suzanne Vega was my first adult concert and the first cassette (yes, cassette!) I bought after starting work. An enticing mixture of a elegant female voice, acoustic guitar and 1980s pristine production, even before CDs were firmly established.

Spearheaded by Joni Mitchell, the early 1970s saw the rise of the female singer/songwriter, but by 1984,they were very much out of fashion. Vega was a trailblazer for the 1980s revival, with her obvious influences of Dylan, Mitchell, Leonard Cohen but also Philip Glass and Lou Reed. She emerged from the same Greenwich Village coffee shops as Dylan had, over two decades earlier.

Marlene on the Wall, the first single from her debut album, was her calling card and remains her most popular song. I don’t know what it all means (this is likely to be a recurring theme), but then unravelling her lyrics are part of its attraction.

The concept originates from a poster of 1920s film star Marlene Dietrich hung on the wall in her New York apartment, and Vega likes to imagine the screen legend's reactions and advice to the uncertainties of her life.

There are definitely dark themes, possibly an abusive relationship (blood, danger zone), the loss of virginity (don’t give away the goods too soon), loneliness and promiscuity (every soldier passing ). Scornful Marlene has seen it all before.

The simple structure has two verses repeated, a frequent appealing chorus and an extended guitar break. As often, the oppressive lyrics are obscured by the upbeat pop music backing. A trick Vega pulled off again with Luka, and why people play Every Breath You Take at weddings .

Vega's coolness finally breaks with the emphasised changing changing changing my destiny. She is taking control now and will control her own future.

It took a rerelease but Marlene on the Wall made the UK top 30, succeeded in promoting the excellent Suzanne Vega album, and heralding a lengthy career.

So Marlene on the Wall still sounds as intriguing and attractive as it did all those years ago. What better place to start my reviews?

Hear Next - Luka, Left of Centre, Small Blue Thing, Tom's Diner

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet

After punk, there came post-punk or new wave, retaining the brevity, speed and simplicity of punk, but adding increased musicality and lyrical complexity. As I was about twelve at the time, I discovered most of this era when I was older, and am particularly indebted to the Sounds of the Suburbs compilation CD. Some had long careers (Elvis Costello, Talking Heads), while others disappeared quickly (The Vapors). The Only Ones' career may have been brief, but they left behind one truly astounding single.

Another Girl, Another Planet indisputably has one of the greatest introductions to any record. A single hypnotically repetitive guitar riff opens. Another guitar joins in, followed by a sound effect, then drums, increasing the speed as the main melody commences. A frenetic and electrifying pace that does not let up for the whole song.

Finally, after forty five seconds, comes the first vocal, the tantalising opening line I like to flirt with death, from a male voice (Pete Perrett), but high pitched and plaintive.

There are two short verses, before the spirited chorus, I'm on another planet with you, followed by another immense soaring guitar solo (easy to see why this regularly features on lists of best guitar songs).

Returning with another curious line, Space travel's in my blood, a quick chorus, a final another planet salute and it is over in barely three minutes.

There are inevitable suggestions that the lyrics relate to the writer Perrett's growing heroin addiction. However, he denies this, professing his infatuation with a girl from Yugoslavia. We can give him the benefit of the doubt, but the lyrics work for both, and maybe that was his intention? Hugh Cornwell did something similar with Golden Brown.

Surprisingly, it was never a hit single, but its reputation has grown steadily over the years, due to regular radio play and a Vodaphone TV advert (Use Vodaphone to call your drug dealer?).

Another Girl, Another Planet must have sounded thrilling and extraordinary in 1978, and today still sounds fresh, different, and (cliché alert) out of this world.

Hear Next - Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins, Reward by The Teardrop Explodes, Sound of the Suburbs by The Members, I Melt With You by Modern English.

The Beatles - Long Long Long

As a teenager, I was pretty obsessed by The Beatles, and still am today. I always thought George Harrison was underrated; understandable, as he was in a group with two of the greatest songwriters of the 20th Century. However, towards the end of the 1960s, as he blossomed, his writing was comparable to anyone's.

Choosing a single Harrison song is difficult. I was tempted by the delicate acoustic version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps from Anthology, obviously Something is a classic love song, Here Comes the Sun a perennial favourite, Taxman has a catchy riff (we noticed, Mr Weller), and even the Indian songs grow on you.The Inner Light is a superb Beatles B side.

As it was The Beatles (white) double album that allowed more of his songs and displayed his burgeoning talent, I have plumped for Long Long Long. I love the eerie and haunting sound, maybe similar to Bon Iver or ambient music today. In many ways - world music, vegetarianism, ecology - Harrison was ahead of his times.

Long Long Long was written in Rishikesh during their 1968 Indian meditation retreat. Harrison confessed he used the same chords as Bob Dylan's Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, but it also has echoes of The Band. It was recorded back at Abbey Road in a tortuous night session of sixty-seven takes before the backing track was secure. But it was worth it.

A slow mournful fade in, from Harrison playing acoustic guitar and McCartney on a Hammond organ. His first vocals are understated and unsure. The lyrics are simple, no more than two syllables, with short phrases. On the surface, a reconciliation with his true love (How could I have ever lost you), but as with many of Harrison's songs of this period, a hymn of devotion to his God (Now I'm so happy I found you). It works perfectly for both.

His voice rises, stronger, more confident, as drums enter. A mighty fill and cymbal crash that dispels the Ringo wasn't even the best drummer in The Beatles rubbish.

The end is more chaotic, the organ whirls, Harrison wails and the drums roar. There is also the sound of a bottle of Blue Nun wine vibrating on a speaker cabinet. A happy accident they enjoyed when Paul hit the high notes on the organ.

Long Long Long may seem a slight ethereal track that is easily overlooked amongst The Beatles riches, but repays further replays. Underrated like its writer.

Hear Next - Something, Only a Northern Song, Taxman. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Aimee Mann - 4th of July

I have Elvis Costello to thank for introducing me to the exceptional American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann (sadly not literally - although I did shake his hand after the 2001 Europa Cup final in Dortmund, but that's another story). He loved her first solo album, Whatever, in 1992, and raved about it in several interviews.

Coming into this album, Mann had been in a turmoil, as her previous group, the unappreciated 'Til Tuesday, were dissolving, and her romantic relationship with co-lead singer Jules Shear had already ended. She decided to move away from the group's 1980s new wave layered pop to a more personal, confessional and acoustic guitar-led sound.

I first heard 4th of July on a Q magazine sampler CD, instantly hooked from the strummed acoustic guitar. The bleak intonation of the opening line, Today's the 4th of July, foreboding the tale of sadness and regret.

She cannot share the happiness of the crowd on this most American of holidays (And when they light up our town I just think / What a waste of gunpowder and sky). Her life is full of sorrow at past events, probably the dissolution of a relationship or marriage (I can't quell my past).

The chorus is even a little more bitter, hoping that her ex-lover realises he made a big mistake, but she knows it is too late. Her life is now boring and monotonous (Another chapter in a book where the chapters are endless / And they're always the same). Time is passing her by, painfully slowly. Mann is a such a razor sharp and talented writer, so the attraction for Costello is obvious, as not many pop stars include words like quell or pathos in their lyrics.

Mann's acoustic guitar provides a purity and simplicity that is irresistible, complemented by a low-key Mellotron, vibraphone and drums.

Heartbreak and sadness is a common theme throughout her solo career (even entitling an album Mental Illness), but it is never depressing, as Aimee has a nice line in self-depreciation, in concert or like her guest spot on Portlandia.

Aimee Mann has never sold a large quantity of albums, but has a fiercely loyal band of high profile followers, like Costello, director PT Anderson (the film Magnolia was based around her songs), the Coen Brothers (she lost a toe in The Big Lebowski), and Nick Hornby.

Hear Next - Save Me, I Should've Known, Wise Up, Susan

Robert Forster - It Ain't Easy

During my 2010 - 2012 travels, the album I played most was The Evangelist by Robert Forster. I don't know why, but these ten songs enthralled me in Phnom Penh, Kathmandu or Botswana. I had first became aware of the album, as it appeared in many critics’ top 10s in 2008, and I loved the sample tracks that I downloaded.

Robert Forster was a co-founder of the 1980s Australian group The Go-Betweens. I am not sure how I missed them at that time, but it was easy to do. They were commercially unsuccessful, with no hit singles, as they bounced between record labels.

Forster shared song-writing and lead vocals with Grant McLennan, a kindred spirit and competitor. The group split in 1989 but reconstituted in the 2000s for three further critically praised but, again, low-selling albums. Sadly, McLennan died of a heart attack in 2006, as they were writing songs for a new album. In grief, Robert Forster managed to utilise three of these songs on what became a solo album.

He added words to his favourite McLennan melody to produce It Ain't Easy, his elegy and tribute to his colleague and best friend (I write these words to his tune / That he wrote on a full moon).

A heartfelt homage, he dissects their relationship and Grant's encouragement (It was a head trip, it was a friendship / He picked me up when I might have slipped and not done a thing). The line, the movie was in his head, acknowledges his visual song-writing style, but also their shared passion for cinema (The Go Betweens’ first single was a love letter to Lee Remick ). He reaches the final stage of his grief with the weary acceptance (We will not see his kind again anymore).

The concept of mixing his lament with the McLennan's jaunty upbeat music appealed, as he knew that is what Grant would have wanted. He croons, it was melody he loved most of all, with the female backing chorus adding a traditional flourish. A tribute to a beloved colleague comparable to Here Today by Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

Despite such a sad subject matter, Forster achieves his aim of a touching farewell with a dazzling pop song.

Hear Next - Did She Overtake You, Streets of Your Town, Cattle and Cane, Was There Anything I Could Do?

U2 - Beautiful Day

U2 have been a constant throughout my adult life, from my teenage years of War to my 50s. Maybe they are not as essential today (forcing everyone to have Songs of Innocence on iTunes backfired badly), but they have a rich back catalogue of incomparable highlights.

After the electronic dance music of Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop (U2 albums can always be grouped in threes), and the post-modern ironic shows, U2 reconvened in 2000 with a desire to return to the original classic U2 sound. The first single from their next album, the irresistible Beautiful Day, ticked all the boxes .

Starting quietly with Brian Eno's piano, the restrained vocals from Bono are almost spoken. The message is set from the opening (The heart is a bloom / Shoots up through the stony ground ) that the human spirit can survive anything.

It gradually grows louder before the big sing-along chorus hits, accentuated by the pounding drums and Edge's trademark guitar mixture of delay