I'm in the mood for love... May 13 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line Bust out the red roses, champagne (or hankies); here's my (long) list of my favorite love songs! Like many people, I am single and still waiting for Mr. Right. But while I wait, I still love romantic songs, ballads, and even equate some of them to heartbreak. In no particular order, here goes: "Even The Nights Are Better" by Air Supply and "Cherish" by Kool & The Gang, "Out of the Blue" by Debbie Gibson I always think of David whenever I hear these songs. I met David in 1996. I was 16, almost 17. David was 28. And married. So even though my crush was completely one-sided, I cried and swooned to these songs. I fell at first sight, and that's why I equate Debbie Gibson's song to our first meeting. Air Supply's song was what I imagined us somehow, someway celebrating getting together. "Cherish" would be the song we'd dance to after being together for good, at last. But none of it ever happened, at least not outside of my imagination. David and his wife moved away shortly thereafter, and that was that. "You're The Inspiration" and "Hard Habit To Break" by Chicago A few years later, I met Todd. Todd, of the long blond hair, big blue eyes, ripped jeans, leather jacket, and an old Army hat. We had a complicated friendship, and I fell hard for him. I was cleaning the kitchen, in dirty old clothes, I was sweaty and my hair was a mess. Of course, he drove up unexpectedly, to drop off a CD I'd loaned him. "You're The Inspiration" was playing on my stereo, and forever after I will think of Todd when I hear it. He didn't share my feelings, and then dated a girl friend of mine, to my devastation. "Hard Habit To Break" describes perfectly how I felt trying to get over him. "More Than Everything": A little known cut recorded as a duet by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson for her album Live and More. A slow ballad which makes me melt with these lyrics: You mean so much to me More than everything I'd ever want and more And more I'd give the world to you if I could Put it on a string for you Yes I would This is what I felt before You are everything and more "She's Got A Way" by Billy Joel: Billy actually recorded this song twice. While it sounds nice on his 1971 album, Cold Spring Harbor, the ballad really comes to life on the live Songs In The Attic album. If I ever get married, it's definitely playing at the wedding! "The Next Time I Fall" by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant: This dark, keyboard-driven ballad was a #1 hit in November 1986. The song talks about being broken-hearted in terms of romance, and being ready for love once again. The protagonists are sadder, but wiser in matters of the heart. It's about the yearning to be with a love who understands you. As the lyrics go: Darling, I put my heart upon the shelf Till it was right, I told myself Next time I fall in love I'll know better what to do Next time I fall in love It will be with you "I'll Be Your Everything" and "A Shoulder To Cry On" by Tommy Page: Tommy Page had these two hits back in the early 1990's and then vanished into obscurity. I have both these songs on a little tape my grandma fished out of a Pop Tarts box! Tommy put a lot of passion into lyrics like this: I'll be your lover And I'll be your best friend I'll be there when you need me I'll be your everything...your everything "Without You" by Nilsson: This gentle ballad begins with a simple piano and Harry's soft voice. Then as the song builds, the instruments come in and Harry's voice builds. How weak and powerless we feel when the one we love leaves, or even the very thought of it? I can't live if living is without you I can't live, I can't give anymore Mariah Carey re-did this song years later. While her version is good, no one can top Nilsson. "Here And Now" by Luther Vandross: This well known love ballad is Luther's signature song. I've always loved it, but it has a special different meaning to me. I danced to this song with my cousin Doug at his wedding reception. I smile whenever I hear it now. "Sign Your Name": Other than this and "Wishing Well", I don't know much about Terence Trent D'Arby. This slow, sensual ballad has a Spanish feel. I would use this song to get in the mood. "Right Here Waiting": One of the most popular love ballads of the last 10 or 12 years, which Richard Marx wrote for his wife. The familiar piano medley, which is only accompanied by strings, provides a perfect backdrop to Richard's gentle yet heartfelt voice and lyrics. When I was a little girl, my dad would take me and my siblings on long car rides. I remember clearly sitting in the backseat of our old Opel, eating a Dairy Queen Starkist and listening to this song for the first time. Ahh, memories. "I Will Be Here": Another song written for a musician to his wife, this one being Steven Curtis Chapman. Available on both his Greatest Hits and More To This Life CD, this ballad is lush, with SCC on vocals and lead guitar, and strings backing him up. I had the great priviledge to see him in concert in 1999 and was so happy that he included this song in the show. Honorable mention: Anything by Sarah Brightman, and "Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce. The latter is my parents' song. They were engaged when the song went to #1 in late 1973, got married the next year and are still going strong.

Write the first comment on this review!

Write an essay on this topic.