top ten "miles" songs

Hi All

Sorry I missed last week, but these things happen, and as I predicted, I would probably struggle to keep the weekly posts up, but not to worry.

Anyway, these weeks theme is the top songs with "miles" in the title. Normally I have a good little anecdote to tell you why I have chosen the theme, but this week, I don't have any such story. I think one of the songs came up on my ipod when I had it on shuffle mode, and then that got me thinking.

So here they are, the top 10 songs. As per usual, any comments, suggestions, alternative lists etc are most welcome:

10 - 100 Miles from Memphis – Sheryl Crow
Those of you that know me will know that I am a big Sheryl Crow fan, and I have all of her albums. However, I will be honest, this song is really just making up the numbers on this list. The title track from Sheryl’s most recent album, I found this album to be a little disappointing. The album sees Sheryl moving into a Motown inspired sound. There is nothing wrong with that per se, it sounds good, but to me, it sounds a bit like it could be anyone singing.

9 - Extra Mile – Paul Kelly
From Kelly’s album “Deeper Water”, this is a good song that rolls along in a laid back yet still catchy kind of way.

8 - 40 Miles – Troy Cassar-Daley
From Troy’s “Long Way Home” album, this Australian country music artist gives us a beautiful little country ballad. Troy has an underappreciated voice in my opinion.

7 - Five Miles Closer to the Sun – James Reyne
From Reyne’s second solo album “Hard Reyne”, this is a nice little song, and one of the better tracks of this, Reyne’s weakest album in my opinion.

6 - Forty Miles to Saturday Night – Paul Kelly
Another appearance by the brilliant Paul Kelly. This song is great, a rocker, inspired by a painting, that tells the story of having to travel forty miles to the pub, to start a big night out. Great stuff.

5 - Miles to Go – Nick Barker
Nick Barker is an Aussie singer songwriter, and in “Miles to Go”, which he co-wrote with Paul Kelly (who is doing quite well on this list!) he gives us a simple yet great track. The version I have is from his excellent album “C-Sides”, which was recorded as part of the Liberation Blue acoustic series, where artists are asked to rework some of their work, and then throw in some covers for good measure.

4 - I Can See for Miles – The Who
Its hard to provide a description of a song like this one, as it virtually has an epic feel to it. The tempo changes throughout the track, building up the tension, and in parts it almost has a psychedelic feel to it. A great rock song.

3 - Miles from Nowhere – Cat Stevens
I only recently picked up Cat Steven’s album “Tea for the Tillerman”, and I can honestly say that in my opinion this is one of the greatest albums of all time. I already knew songs like “Wild World” and the brilliant “Father and Son”, but I was unfamiliar with “Miles From Nowhere”, although I loved it right from the first listen. It starts off with a slow acoustic feel before getting more intense, and then it flicks back to the slow feel again. Lovely stuff.

2 - I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
Not out of place on a list of the nerdiest looking pop stars, the Proclaimers made some great late eighties pop, and this song would still be a favourite of cover bands around the world. Its catchy, you can dance to it, and yeah, maybe it is a bit daggy, but what a great song.

1- 1000 Miles Away – Hoodoo Gurus
The top position goes to the great Aussie rock group Hoodoo Gurus, with their, to quote allmusic.com “..surprisingly effective life on the road ballad”. I remember seeing them life, and when Dave starts off singing the first bit of this song, it really sends shivers down your spine. Then that killer guitar riff and the full band come on in, and the song starts to rock. The lyrics are powerful, as they sing about the loneliness of business travel.