The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich

Country Classic On Repeat

I won't give much of a history lesson for this song, but just know that this song hit #1 in the U.S. music chats and was in the top 15 for at least 10 other countries, that is pretty amazing. Let's jump right in this song and why it is so good.

Country/folk/easy listening music has its place in the world, and if every song was done more like "The Most Beautiful Girl," I would listen to a lot more songs in this genre. The songs comes in with smooth strumming and accompanying piano and bass effortlessly and powerfully and the first "hey." The piano is sporadic, but each time it comes in it adds a great emphasis to Charlie Rich's voice. The constant acoustic guitar, well moving bass and background vocals support Rich perfectly, bringing out every syllable of his singing. Also, the added strings in the background is a nice touch, they don't make it into many of his live versions but the song sounds just as good without them.

The main spotlight is really on Charlie Rich and his voice, obviously. He has wonderful control and sounds just as good live 20 years later as he did in his original recording. He is strong, solemn, and spot on every note of the song. He may not be boasting his voice around in this song, but that is the point, it is a heartfelt song that is filled with regret, remorse and the slightest bit of hope of finding his love again.

This is fantastic song and if you don't like country music, listen to this one and it'll find a place in your heart. A great song and sound that needs to be studied and used for future country music.

Originality: 8

Instruments: 8

Vocals: 8

Longevity: 9

Red Score: 8.3

Ocean’s Kingdom - Paul McCartney

Jump In, The Water Is Great

This piece is being shown to you because it is totally different than basically anything you’ve heard from Paul. I am no expert in classical music, but I do love it and listen to it and a lot of suites, Planets by Holst and the Firebird Suite are some of my favorites. Paul does a great job throwing the audience into a deep and strong piece that culminates various instruments and uses their specific strength for certain parts. The strings are the foundation, they draw the listener deeper and deeper into the song, being eerie and yet almost soothing instantaneously. The flutes bring a strong amount of personality to breath more life into each moment. The brass sections and percussion are booming and epic, they give the song that punch in the middle. This is the first song of the entire movement, and I’d recommend going on and listening to the other pieces, even if it purely because of the novelty of Paul making a suite and nothing else. This isn’t his first, and probably won’t be his last. It is beautiful, but not groundbreaking or revolutionary. If you’re not into classical music, then you need to be, at least for a couple songs and just give it a go and try to find what you do like. It is called classical for a reason, because this style is the inception of modern created music. Hope you liked Paul week! Let me know what other artists I should review in the future!

Originality: 7.5

Instruments: 8.6

Vocals: ---

Longevity: 6.7

Red Score: 7.6