Another top ten (Top 10 Singles)

Name: Wezzo

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Product:	Top 10 Singles
Date:	23.07.07 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Um.. I like them all!

Disadvantages: ..You might not

10. The Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Wonderfully wistful and beautifully produced, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is surely the Beach Boys' best song. "Good Vibrations" and "Surfin' USA" seem to get all the recognition but for me, nothing beats the upbeat nostalgia of this one.

9. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "The Waiting"
Tom Petty has never been hugely popular in the UK, which is a crying shame in my book. "The Waiting" is the most powerful of his songs, with the simple refrain of "The waiting is the hardest part" proving really effective. Nice and catchy too.

8. They Might Be Giants - "Birdhouse In Your Soul"
The Giants at their witty, urbane best, this was their only real hit in the UK until 2001's "Boss of Me". Sung from the point of view of a nighlight, the imagery is excellent, the lyrics are sharp and it has a great catchy sing-a-long melody too.

7. The Pogues ft Kirsty MacColl - "A Fairytale of New York"
Surely the best Christmas song ever written. MacColl and MacGowan's voices juxtapose brilliantly; the lyrics are remarkably down-to-earth and moving; and the background music is really quite beautiful - especially in that minute-long outro.

6. Billy Joel - "Piano Man"
Melancholy yet uplifting, like so many of the best songs, with one of the finest sing-along choruses ever written. Billy Joel is the master of defining characters in just a few words, and he proves it here; we know the entire bar when the five-minute track draws to that lovely close. Wonderful.

5. Sha-Na-Na - "Those Magic Changes"
Concentrated audio nostalgia. Sha-Na-Na's is the definitive version (though I'm not sure if it was a single.. it's on the Grease soundtrack, though). The lyrics really sum up what it's like to hear a wonderful song - and in doing so, make this, in turn, a wonderful song. Beautiful (an adjective I've overused here I'm sure, but it really does apply!)

4. R.E.M. - "At My Most Beautiful"
R.E.M. at their most beautiful. And no, I didn't pick this one just so I could use that tabloid soundbite - it's true! Combining their traditional sound with Beach Boys-style melody and harmony, and adding a violin solo too, they managed to create on of the finest songs of all-time. The lyrics are simplistic but moving - "I count your eyelashes secretly / with every one whisper I love you".

3. Queen - "Don't Stop Me Now"
Pure bombastic fun. Ridiculously catchy, and Freddie Mercury's vocals are always infectious. The slow intro and outro add to the impact of those exalting choruses.

2. Elvis Costello - "Oliver's Army"
The finest example of juxtaposing a cheerful melody with depressing subject matter, Costello pulls off this Abba-esque slice of pop perfection brilliantly. The lyrics are sharp, biting and incisive; the music a joy to listen to.

1. Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"

"In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream"

Not just the definitive Springsteen song - the definitive rock song. Bruce's passion has never been captured so cogently; Spector's production never more dense. Powerful, haunting, catchy, exalting. Perfect.

Summary: Hopefully a nice range there