By Ravi
As can be expected gentleness in songs ranged from rain and the moon to lullabies and love songs. So while I gather my thoughts enjoy the beauty of what Santana called “pure feeling” in his Samba Pa Ti.
A plea for kindness from Frank Turner follows: In a world that has decided/ That it's going to lose its mind/ Be More Kind, my friends, try to be more kind. Inspired, says Turner, by a poem by Clive James. Plenty of pleas and dreams this week, some rendered improbable in these times but this is an achievable goal on a very personal level.
A couple of songs on love next – a beautiful cover of Gentle On My Mind by Madeleine Peyroux and Bob Lind’s classic Elusive Butterfly, a beaut about the magic of quest. (Warning: There will be a few superlatives sprinkled throughout).
And from a butterfly to a breeze, a Summer Breeze to be exact. Seals & Crofts penning an ode to the simpler aspects of life. More on nature then, from ‘Nature Boy’ eden ahbez in Full Moon and from the Aaron Copland composition of Emily Dickinson’s poem, Nature, the Gentlest Mother. Wondrous stuff by Sanford Sylvan and David Breitman.
A little bounce, just a little, to the list from Shonen Knife in their musings of gentle memories of just Another Day spent with friends. And so we near the end with a man who could thrill me by just reading telephone numbers, Leonard Cohen whose Lullaby could stand for the very essence of Gentleness.
To close the list I’ve picked the simply superb Turiya and Ramakrishna, the latter who to this day is revered for the gentle soul he was and whose life and teachings have lit up the lives of millions of people around the world. Mesmerising music by Alice Coltrane and co.
Amenable & Affectionate A-List Playlist:
Samba Pa Ti – Santana
Be More Kind– Frank Turner
Gentle On My Mind – Madeleine Peyroux
Elusive Butterfly – Bob Lind
Summer Breeze – Seals & Crofts
Full Moon – Eden Ahbez
Nature, the Gentlest Mother – Sanford Sylvan and David Breitman
Another Day – Shonen Knife
Lullaby – Leonard Cohen
Turiya and Ramakrishna – Alice Coltrane
The Benignly Beautiful B-List Playlist:
Gentle Moon – Sun Kil Moon
Hello In There – John Prine
Sensitive Kind – JJ Cale (I so wanted to A-list him)
Spirit of The North – Cano (my A-list closer knocked out by Alice Coltrane)
Tenderly – Chet Baker
Lullaby in Ragtime – Harry Nilsson
Dogsong2 – The Be Good Tanyas
Gentle Thoughts – Herbie Hancock (funkadelicious)
Gentle Rain – Astrud Gilberto
Nightingale – Laura Veirs
New German Lullabye – The Taxpayers (spoilt the 10/10 symmetry of my lists).
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
Big Rock Candy Mountain – Burl Ives
A gentle song about a vividly dreamy place.
Ahir Bhairav – Sameer Rao and Hariprasad Chaurasia
Known as a morning raga (Hindustani classical) this is wondrous stuff on the Bansuri or long flute. I have included two performances, the first, at four minutes, to give a taste and, if you do like it, the second by one of India's renowned musicians - for 30 minutes.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Gently does it: songs about gentleness. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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