REFLECTIONS OF LOVE [2-CD Set]

37 Replies

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought Reflections of Love might be an appropriate 2-CD set to listen to. I preferred CD2 to CD1.

CD2 includes classics like Willie Nelson’s “You Were Always on My Mind,” “You Got It,” by Roy Orbison, “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles, and “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers.

Do you remember these love songs? Any favorites? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

CD1:

  1. Longer – Dan Fogelberg
  2. Hold on to the Nights – Richard Marx
  3. It Might Be You – Stephen Bishop
  4. I’ll Never Get Over You, Getting Over Me – Expose
  5. Because I Love You – Stevie B.
  6. Tonight I Celebrate My Love – Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack
  7. You Are My Lady – Freddie Jackson
  8. Love is Forever – Billy Ocean
  9. I’ll Be Over You – Toto
  10. All My Life – Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
  11. (I Just) Died in Your Arms – Cutting Crew
  12. Angel Eyes – Jeff Healey
  13. Key Largo – Bertie Higgins
  14. Emotion – Samantha Sang
  15. Even the Nights Are Better – Air Supply
  16. Never Knew Love Like This Before – Stephanie Mills
  17. Yes I’m Ready – Teri DeSario & K.C.
  18. Always – Atlantic Starr

CD2:

  1. To be With You – Mr. Big
  2. Alone – Heart
  3. Make it Real – Jets
  4. I Miss You – Klymaxx
  5. Emotion in Motion – Ric Ocasek
  6. You’re Only Lonely – J.D. Souther
  7. Hopelessly (Falling in Love With You) – Rick Astley
  8. You & I – Eddie Rabbitt/Crystal Gayle
  9. Always on My Mind – Willie Nelson
  10. You Got it – Roy Orbison
  11. Black Velvet – Alannah Myles
  12. The Next Time I Fall in Love – Peter Cetera With Amy Grant
  13. Make Me Lose Control – Eric Carmen
  14. Falling – LeBlanc & Carr
  15. We’re All Alone – Rita Coolidge
  16. How ‘Bout Us – Champaign
  17. Kiss & Say Goodbye – Manhattans
  18. Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers

37 thoughts on “REFLECTIONS OF LOVE [2-CD Set]”

  1. Steve Oerkfitz

    Four or five decent songs on CD2 and that is about it. The first is just godawful full of hacks like Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Bishop, and Air Supply. Listening to it would be aural torture. And as much as I like Willie Nelson if I never hear Always On My Mind never again it will be too soon. A big F all around hear. Now I’ll go and listen to The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog. The greatest love song ever written.

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    1. george Post author

      Steve, you’re right about CD1. A lot of run-of-the-mill songs. I fear “Always On My Mind” was a victim of overplay on the radio and TV.

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  3. Deb

    Some of these songs seem more like breakup songs (“Kiss and Say Goodbye,” for example) and a lot of them are syrupy and sentimental (“Longer”—ugh). Of the songs here, my favorite is “You’re Only Lonely”—and even that has a melancholy air. To me, a good love song has to address some of the complexities of love—like “Two Fine People” by Cat Stevens or “I Guess This Must Be the Place” by The Talking Heads. In honor of my 33rd wedding anniversary tomorrow, I’d also choose the song we played for our first dance: “True Love Ways” by Buddy Holly.

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, congratulations a day early on your 33rd Wedding Anniversary! “A good love song has to address some of the complexities of love…” I totally agree!

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    1. george Post author

      Patti, I’m taking Diane to her favorite restaurant for a Valentine’s Day dinner on Monday. A harpist plays on Special Occasions like this one!

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      3. Jeff Meyerson

        My favorite “uncalled-for music in a restaurant” story was from one of the Baltimore Bouchercons. A group of us went to Little Italy for dinner and Andy Jaysnovitch was complaining about restaurants where violinists come up behind you and play so you can’t hear yourself think or talk. Sure enough, five minutes later a violinist started playing…directly behind Andy!

      5. Todd Mason

        Steve, you get to be the King Grump of the music posts (I’ll certainly particularly second you about Air Supply)! Though even if I didn’t like harp music (I do), I did have a mild crush on a colleague in a library where we both worked part-time, and her vocation was as a concert harpist.

  5. Jeff Meyerson

    Yes, Happy Anniversary, Deb and John. Any big plans?

    Another loser collection, George. As much as I like Willie Nelson, I always disliked “You Were Always on My Mind.” Yes, I treated you like crap, cheated on you, whatever, but… you were always on my mind? Not! I must admit I don’t know a bunch of these ’80s and ’90s (?) songs. If I had to pick a couple it would be the Bee Gees’ “Emotion” (Samantha Sang) or “We’re All Alone” (Rita Coolidge) , plus “Kiss & Say Goodbye” and “Unchained Melody.” We have a much better 2 CD “love” collection but it’s at home so can’t access it. But ours was ’50s through ’70s.

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    1. george Post author

      Jeff, you’re right about this 2-CD set bordering on mediocre. I’ll do better next year. My search for Love Song CDs was short-circuited by a school shooting in Buffalo yesterday. Diane and I were watching the coverage and I just grabbed the first Love Songs CD that I found.

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  6. Michael Padgett

    A new low. I don’t know whether it’s my memory or my taste but I’m not familiar with a single song on CD1 and only three (Nelson, Orbison, and Righteous Brothers) on the second. There are so many great albums. This fascination/obsession with compilations is the great mystery of this blog.

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  7. Beth Fedyn

    Not much I recognized/care about here with CD 2 leading in remembered song.
    I am particularly fond of Black Velvet and You’re Only Lonely.

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  8. Rick Robinson

    I’m noticing a trend here, whatever George posts on music, everyone jumps in to say how lousy it is. The Everest-like erudition of musical knowledge and insight is staggering. Regular dumb fucks like me, however like several of these, including Air Supply and Fogelberg.

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    1. george Post author

      Rick, this just shows how diverse musical tastes can be. When I listen to one of these compilation CDs, I have no idea what the reception will be when I post about it. Sometimes enthusiastic likes…sometimes enthusiastic dislikes!

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  9. Kent Morgan

    Nothing here for me. If I want to hear songs for Valentine’s Day, which I won’t, Sinatra is all I need. Enjoyed catching Till Then by the Hilltoppers the other day on my car radio. We have a nostalgia station her in Winnipeg staffed by volunteers and one older announcer played lots of good old romantic stuff the other day.

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    1. george Post author

      Kent, you’re lucky you have live DJs. Many of our local radio stations seem to be programmed music that just repeats itself after a few hours.

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    2. Jeff Meyerson

      Kent, our favorite pizza restaurant in Brooklyn always has The Sinatra Channel on when we go for lunch. Frank recorded an amazing number of songs in his career.

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  10. Cap'n Bob Napier

    Most of this is unfamiliar to me! I stopped listening to new music once disco invaded the airwaves! Hey, is Steve trying to supplant me as the resident curmudgeon? The nerve!

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  11. Todd Mason

    I will give the second disc some points for a song by Klymaxx (though I don’t remember it, shall Go Listen). Likewise for songs by the Jets, Rita Coolidge, Eric Carmen and Heart. The ones I remember on both discs are not terribly good, no…another example of musicians not at their best is the Flack and Bryson cut, where they almost overcome the syrup.

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