The third of the three wonderful tracks from BJH. This one has the same feel to it as Mockingbird and Galadriel and has a wonderfully tuneful middle section played on a recorder. Elsewhere it again ebbs and flows. Tremendous stuff.

26 Alone Again Or - Love

Another wonderfully tuneful piece with some tremendous guitar breaks. Love it to bits.

27 Better Place to Be - Harry Chapin

Harry sings about loneliness but this song has a happy ending. It teaches us that we don't all have to be superstars to find the right person. A swirling story song, it is one of his fans favourites.

28 Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

This one needs little explanation. Clapton wrote some wonderfully sng lives. "The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing dim, but his blood runs through my instrument and his heart is in my soul." What better tribute could a son give his father. If my sons think half as much of me as Fogelberg does of his father I would be a happy man. "My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man, I am a living legacy to the leader of the band." What more needs to be said?

11 Father and Son - Cat Stevens

Stevens wrote this song many moons ago and if I remember rightly it was the B side of Moonshadow. Over the years it has certainly overshadowed the A side and became a hit in the 90s for boy pop band Boy Zone who I'm sure didn't understand what they were singing about.

An interplay between father and son this song quivers with angst, broken relationships and problems and is extremely deep. Again its melody carries it through for those not interested in lyrics. For those that are give it a close listen.

12 Galadriel by Barclay James Harvest

The second of three wonderful songs from the Once Again album, Galadriel is full of Tolkein imagery and a very very pretty song. Again it is mood music "She comes up with the morning sun and tells me life has just begun, oh what it is to be young." "And in the early evening night she gives me flowers for the night" - wonderful stuff indeed.

BJH have a habit of revisiting old songs and this one is featured in the excellent John Lees song "The Night I Played John Lennon's Guitar" of many years later.

This song transcends the years, it never dates and again for maximum pleasure needs to be played late at night with the lights out.

13 Meant For You - The Beach Boys

This unbelievably romantic little gem was on the Friends album and lasts for around 30 seconds. In that time it manages to convey more than most songs do in five minutes. I often wonder what it would have sounded like if it had been developed, but then feel it probably would have had its strength diluted. It re-appeared a few years ago on a Brian Wilson retrospective look at Beach Boys songs.

The lyrics are sparsely beautiful: "As I sit and close my eyes, there's peace in my mind and I'm hoping that you'll find it too."

14 The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies

Written by Albert Hammond, this is another show-stopping ballad. Phil Everly also recorded a very good version on an album entitled Star Spangled Springer.

15 Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart

To me the strongest ever single was Stewart's double A side of "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe." This Tim Hardin song has always got less plays than Maggie but it is a truly emotional song and has that wonderful rock/jazzy feel that Stewart brought to many of his recordings in the early 70s.

16 The Weaver's Answer - Family

A slightly unusual choice. I played this to a group of people a few weeks ago and they thought it was awful. I have always loved Leicester band "Family" and Roger Chapman's strangulated vocals were never better than on this rollicking song with its mystical lyrics.

17 Man of the World - Fleetwood Mac

Peter Green was a genius and Mac were a sublime group until they sold out, and went onto mega stardom. Songs like "Oh Well" and "Albatross" are wonderful crash backs to the late 60s and early 70s. I think this was Green at his bluesy best, beginning to turn his back on fame and fortune. The lyrics show Green searching for something elusive. I don't think he ever found it and this is his finest heart-rending moment.

18 Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

I had a wonderful music teacher at school who listened happily to our records and then tried to get us to undertake critiques of them. He is probably responsible for me doing this kind of thing. Sadly he died years ago. On hearing this he wanted to know "why the singer was putting on a false American accent." I had never thought of it in those terms. I loved Procol Harum - still do for that matter and this has had a great effect on so many people. It is a unique song.

19 Distant Summers - Chris Rea

Another monumentally short piece of music that oozes thoughts of hazy summer days despite being well under one minute in length. I wish this one had been developed.

20 What the World Needs Now - Tom Clay

This is probably the most unusual piece in my top 30. Tom Clay was an American DJ who put together this piece which fuses the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Interwoven are newsreel clips, interviews and songs such as Abraham, Martin and John and What the World Needs Now is Love." It's a hotch potch but also extremely poignant. I first heard it on the pirate Radio Caroline when they played it around midnight every night for a time. Strangely it was released on the Tamla Motown label. The B side had Clay reading out the names and ages of American soldiers killed in combat. All very strange.

21 Disney Girls - The Beach Boys

Another wonderful soothing ballad. I also love the Art Garfunkel version. It is all so American and so full of those exquisite Beach Boys harmony.

22 In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry

Another rollicking good time song. Mungo Jerry were described as a Britisentimental songs and this is the best.

29 If You Saw Through My Eyes - Ian Matthews

Another low key, short but emotionally charged gem. This one can reduce me to tears as well.

30 The Greatest Love of All - George Benson

I find the lyrics to this song so inspirational from the opening line "I believe that children are our future" to "Give them a sense of pride" and "Let the children's laughter fill the air." And "Everybody's searching for a hero."

31 Coldest Days of My Life - Chi-Lites

A strange choice in many ways. I went through a stage of enjoying sentimental slushy soul such as the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics, but this piece has stayed with me. It's a moody piece full of evocative lyrics and reminds me of times gone by.

32 Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart

The third track from the magnificent Every Picture Tells A Story albym to feature in my top tracks. This was taken from the days when Rod knew how to rock and also knew how to put over powerful ballads. Lovely mandolin sections and a wonderful feel to it.

33 Raincoat and a Rose - Chris Rea

The only time I have seen Chris Rea live was as support to Lindisfarne in Derby around 1977 or 78. Very often support acts are diabolical but here was a new face and new voice that grabbed the attention. I still believe his early stuff was his best and this is a wonderfully romantic piece with Rea's guitar work to the fore.

34 All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople

When David Bowie gave Mott the Hoople a song to resurrect their career he certainly came up with a gem. A teen hymn for a generation and it still sounds as fresh as ever. A timeless classic.

23 Maggie May - Rod Stewart

The other side of "Reason to Believe" but a great song in its own right. Another great anthem to teenage years and schooldays and Stewart's paper thin voice is ideally suited to it.

24 Armstrong - John Stewart

This song comes under the banner of extremely original lyrics. John Stewart is an excellent singer-songwriter whose most famous song is "Daydream Believer." I bet those football fans haven't a clue about that when they sing it at matches. The Armstrong in the title is first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. I wouldn't want to spoil it for anybody by explaining the clever twist at the end.

25 She Said - Barclay James Harvest

The third of the three wonderful tracks from BJH. This one has the same feel to it as Mockingbird and Galadriel and has a wonderfully tuneful middle section played on a recorder. Elsewhere it again ebbs and flows. Tremendous stuff.

26 Alone Again Or - Love

Another wonderfully tuneful piece with some tremendous guitar breaks. Love it to bits.

27 Better Place to Be - Harry Chapin

Harry sings about loneliness but this song has a happy ending. It teaches us that we don't all have to be superstars to find the right person. A swirling story song, it is one of his fans favourites.
Antiqua, Times New Roman, Times">35 Say It Isn't True - Jackson Brown

For me this is by far and away the best Jackson Brown song. All about war, its sentiments may be rather dated now but it brought to my attention the politically charged lyrics of this American songwriter and the music isn't bad either.

36 Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon is one of the great poets of rock music. I love so many S and G songs that picking out one or two is difficult, but for the sheer power of the lyrics this is one of my favourites. I am awed by the clarity and perception of Simon's words. It's one of the great all time lyrics right from the word go "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."

37 Same Old Langs Syne - Dan Fogelberg

Dan Fogelberg's album The Innocent Age is one of my great favourites for its depth and wisdom. This is a simple tune but a heart-warming story and again a great evocative feel.

38 Albatross - Fleetwood Mac

There is nothing more moody or finer than an evening in listening to early Mac classics and this wonderful instrumental is an absolute classic that summons up the feeling of lazy summer days.

39 Hide In Your Shell - Supertramp

I love the hazy sax jazz feel to Supertramp's early music and this came from the excellent Crime of the Century album. It reminds me for some reason of a period of my life living in Cromer on the North Norfolk coast and it has a wonderful full chorus. The message is also deep.

40 The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics

I'm an absolute succer for sloppy sentimental father/son lyrics and this is one of the nest without ever getting corny. Wonderful words of regret from the son - I wish I'd told him what I thought in the living years. Let your dad know before it's too late - wonderful.

41 Martha - Tom Waits

Waits is capable of producing the most sublime music and this comes from the Closing Time album which is full of beautiful melodies. I love this for both its feel and it's lyrics about lost love and reconsilliation and it has one of the catchiest choruses of all time. Beautiful moody and magnificent.

42 My Father's Shoes - Level 42

I can't say that I enjoy Level 42 all that much, but here they came up with an absolute gem of swirling guitars and again a father/son relationship. Beats anything else they have ever done by a mile. Was issued in the United Kingdom as a single and absolutely stiffed.

43 Parisienne Walkways

I absolutely adore the wonderful guitar work and the way this one almost slides into the consciousness. It is a rampant and powerful piece of music that makes my top 50 simply because of its brilliance.

44 Speak to Me of Mendicino - Linda Ronstadt

Ronstadt does a wonderful job on this Kate and Anna McGarrigle song about longing for the Californian seaside town. It impressed me so much that a few years ago I visited Mendicino to see if it lived up to the song. It didn't!

45 Waking Up Alone - Paul Williams<

28 Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

This one needs little explanation. Clapton wrote some wonderfully sentimental songs and this is the best.

29 If You Saw Through My Eyes - Ian Matthews

Another low key, short but emotionally charged gem. This one can reduce me to tears as well.

30 The Greatest Love of All - George Benson

I find the lyrics to this song so inspirational from the opening line "I believe that children are our future" to "Give them a sense of pride" and "Let the children's laughter fill the air." And "Everybody's searching for a hero."

31 Coldest Days of My Life - Chi-Lites

A strange choice in many ways. I went through a stage of enjoying sentimental slushy soul such as the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics, but this piece has stayed with me. It's a moody piece full of evocative lyrics and reminds me of times gone by.

32 Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart

The third track from the magnificent Every Picture Tells A Story albym to feature in my top tracks. This was taken from the days when Rod knew how to rock and also knew how to put over powerful ballads. Lovely mandolin sections and a wonderful feel to it.

33 Raincoat and a Rose - Chris Rea

The only time I have seen Chris Rea live was as support to Lindisfarne in Derby around 1977 or 78. Very often support acts are diabolical but here was a new face and new voice that grabbed the attention. I still believe his early stuff was his best and this is a wonderfully romantic piece with Rea's guitar work to the fore.

34 All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople

When David Bowie gave Mott the Hoople a song to resurrect their career he certainly came up with a gem. A teen hymn for a generation and it still sounds as fresh as ever. A timeless classic.

35 Say It Isn't True - Jackson Brown

For me this is by far and away the best Jackson Brown song. All about war, its sentiments may be rather dated now but it brought to my attention the politically charged lyrics of this American songwriter and the music isn't bad either.

36 Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon is one of the great poets of rock music. I love so many S and G songs that picking out one or two is difficult, but for the sheer power of the lyrics this is one of my favourites. I am awed by the clarity and perception of Simon's words. It's one of the great all time lyrics right from the word go "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."

37 Same Old Langs Syne - Dan Fogelberg

Dan Fogelberg's album The Innocent Age is one of my great favourites for its depth and wisdom. This is a simple tune but a heart-warming story and again a great evocative feel.

38 Albatross - Fleetwood Mac

There is nothing more moody or finer than an evening in listening to early Mac classics and this wonderful instrumental is an absolute classic that summons up the feeling of lazy summer days.

39 Hide In Your Shell - Supertramp

I love the hazy sax jazz feel to Supertramp's early music and this came from the excellent Crime of the Century album. It reminds me for some reason of a period of my life living in Cromer on the North Norfolk coast and it has a wonderful full chorus. The message is also deep.

40 The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics

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I love Paul Williams as a singer as well as a writer of hits for many artists and in particular the Carpenters. This is an ultra slow ballad and a song I find myself singing often. It's a sad tale again, slushy and romantic.