As the ‘off-season’ stretches out over the summer months, it’s time for the ESC Insight team to return to our long-running project ‘Every Eurovision Song’.
The goal was simple – to listen and review every single song that has taken to the competitive stage at the Eurovision Song Contest before the 2015 Song Contest. Well, a few things got in the way (not least covering the 2015 Song Contest) so we’re going to tweak the wording and say that we’re hoping to listen to every song before Eurovision’s sixtieth birthday, as opposed to the sixtieth broadcast.
So it’s time to return to the archives, to listen once more to the classics of the Contest, to remember the lost gems, and to be traumatised by the songs that time has attempted to buried. You can follow along every day at EveryEurovisionSong.com, but we’ll bring you some of the highlights here on ESC Insight.
To start with, some of the highlights from the songs that have already caught our eyes and ears.
Every Eurovision Song, week 52 gallery
Ireland 1968: Chance of a Lifetime, by Pat McGeegan
Sitting squarely on the ‘older crooner’ genre of the late sixties – think Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Roger Whittaker, but really this is ’Gonna Be Strong’ by Gene Pitney.
‘Chance of a Lifetime’ is impeccably sung, oozes class, and McGeegan and the Orchestra are working in perfect harmony. He varies the volume and impact of the lyrics. It’s delicate work to keep this restrained but still on show, and McGeegan nails it. It does outstay its welcome a little bit, and a bit of a twist for the last minute would lift this from ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’. I’ve said it before, and this convinces me a little bit more… the 1968 Contest really was one of the best early Eurovision Song Contests.
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Sweden 1973: You’re Summer, by Nova
“Your breasts are like swallows a-nestling.”
Is there a finer line in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest? Actually there is. The combination of the above line, and the preceeding line.
“I am blue and I long for your caress,
Oh… your breasts are like swallows a-nestling.”
It doesn’t matter about the rest of the song, because once you have that earworm in you head, I can argue about the rest of the song until I am blue… gah!!!
Thankfully I have the Swedish language version tucked away in my Melodifestivalen collection, so it’s possible to listen to the composition without thinking of ’Carry On Up The Song Contest’. This is actually a very nice song, which reminds me of ’The Age Of Aquarius’ in terms of construction, vocals, and structure. Actually… strike that Charlie, reverse, back up one, it feels closer to ’New York Mining Disaster 1941’ from The Bee Gees.
These echoes must have meant the song was a touch dated when it was performed, but not by a huge amount. That said it would still feel fresh at the ’73 Contest, and it has some really big moments as the vocals swell.
I just can’t find it in me to ignore the swallowing…
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Finland 1984: Hengaillaan, by Kirka
Let’s start with the fashion. It’s a disaster. The eighties might have presented us with some visual horror, but it’s going to be difficult to beat this. A wedding cake topper, Camilla-Parker-Bowles, a male backing singer with hips that shake more than an Icelandic volcano… and guyliner. It’s as if Slytherin House decided to do ’Little Shop Of Horrors’.
Somehow in all this, the live harmonica solo is not out of place.
Behind the visual jam, there’s quite a nice tune. It’s not a spectacular song that screams winner, but it ’s certainly not a slouch in in terms of entertainment. It harnesses a little bit of cabaret, with a nice swing beat, enthusiasm, and
And while it is in Finnish, it does try to hand you a nice hook in the chorus. The clue is in the audio punctuation from the trumpet and triangle.
An above average attempt by Finland, that’s memorable for all the wrong reasons.
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Italy 1992: Rhapsodia, by Mia Martini
It’s the big Italian ballad. And it’s big. I mean, you might think ’Molitva’ was big, but that’s nothing compared to Mia Martini. She is going to go out on that stage, belt out ’Rhapsody’ and do her best to put that 13th place from 1977 behind her.
Which she does with a bundle of passion, style, and lung-power.
I get the feeling this song was catnip for the juries. Lots of technical moments in the composition, a singer showing off her style and range, with lots of moody lighting and swish camera moves (for the nineties). It just misses out on the podium, and with hindsight I think that’s fair, because this isn’t the most accessible song for the viewers at home.
Throw a 50/50 vote into the mix with the public voting, and I don’t think Martini would have scored so highly. But the rules those days was 100% jury, Italy played to the rulebook, and came away with a great result, if not the most memorable of songs.
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Hungary 2007: Unsubstantial Blues, by Magdi Rúzsa
You know when people say that Eurovision is all about the dancers, the pyrotechnics, fixed political voting, and why should anyone bother?
This is why they should bother.
Hungary is not the sort of country that can gather cultural diaspora votes. If they can rock up to the stage with an incredible song, a powerful singer that can fill the entire stadium, and score an easy qualification and a Top Ten on the Saturday night; then nobody else has an excuse.
And I use the phrase ‘rock up’ very carefully. Here’s one of the rare Eurovision songs where the studio version is competent, but the live performance is a huge improvement on the submission for the Eurovision CD. The studio version biases towards the bluesy side of Rúzsa’s nature. It’s nice, but not an immediate ear-worm that can survive the three minute crucible of the Contest.
Congratulations to Rúzsa for reaching into herself, pulling out her love for Janis Joplin, and just letting rip on stage in the faded jeans and white tank top of “I don’t care about fashion, I’m just here to sing a little song.”
This is how to do Eurovision. With conviction, passion, belief, and just a little piece of your heart on show.
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Iceland 2013: Ég á líf, by Eythor Ingi
The first song in icelandic since 1997, and it carries a huge amount of emotional punch because of that. Eyfor is a commanding presence on stage, and the appearance of the backing singers enhances the story being told here.
The official video is actually quite sad, but this is a song that demands to be heard live.
And in no way is it an Icelandic version of ‘I am Cow’ by the Arrogant Worms (YouTube link). That’s not the reason there is no English language version, okay?
(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr).
Some Thoughts As Every Eurovision Song Continues…
As I started Every Eurovision Song last year (because this is one of Ewan’s solo mad projects – Sharleen) I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a bad fan, I had never sat down and really listened to the history of the Contest. Sure I had a big playlist of all the songs, but the project allowed me to do a structured program. That includes the reviews you find on the website, my own notes, and even ranking all the songs (although I’m not publishing those scores just yet).
What I found were songs that I had a vague memory of, songs that ear-wormed into my head, and a better understanding of each period of the Song Contest’s history. While there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ Eurovision song it’s easier to spot the elements that make up a good song if you take time to listen, think, and critique.
Did the typical ‘Post Eurovision Depression’ hit me this year? No. Partly because the second I returned from Vienna I had to get ready to move house, but mostly because I know that I had the entire history of the Eurovision Song Contest waiting for me.
It’s good to be back.
Now, once more, join me as I listen to Every Eurovision Song!
— Ewan
Great to have this back up and running, Ewan…
Reckon you’ll finish before Sweden 2016? 😉
I’m going to say that finished before Sweden 2016 is the plan… ::wink::
I like the project, I’m sure you know it by now.
Since you restarted the project you have only posted about songs from 2004 onward(and I understand that’s due to the amount of songs you have from that year onward) but it will be nice if you also go back in time and review also some old stuff(as you have done last year)
And please leave the 2015 contest on the side. It’s still fresh and you will need to take some time before you start reviewing the 2015 contest’s songs
Shai, the first few days balanced out the numbers, there’s now the same number of songs left in each ‘decade/day’ split, so expect 50/60s to pop up soon. The 2015 songs need done, and I;d rather not bulk them up at the end. So expect one a week on those
Who said bulking the 2015 to the end?
My idea is that you wait at least a month(or maybe 2) before you review songs from the 2015.
You know why?because it will give you a chance to look at this year’s contest with fresh eyes.Maybe see and hear things you didn’t see or hear in the first place. After all you have been busy with this year’s contest very recently and you have already formed an opinion about the songs already, hence not giving yourself a chance to rediscover things, as the project meant to do.
But it is your site and project. I, as reader/visitor, can only say what I think, but at the end it’s all up to you.
Welcome back, EES. We missed you!!! Don’t stress if you don’t make it by Sverige 2016. It’s a mammoth undertaking.
If I can just make one small plea, though, Ewan: Watch your Britto-celt-centrism. E.g. just because a country (e.g. Norway in Alvedansen) happens to use a fiddle of two, it doesn’t mean they’re trying to be or sound Irish. Many countries have their own very rich history of fiddle music: Rybak’s Fairytale draws expressly on that, with the Norwegian hat-pole folkdancers as his background.
Anyway, as I say, very much looking forward to the “second half” after your well-earned intermission.
Eyfor would have done a lot better had he cut his hair and tied his tie properly
Ali, thanks for the comments. I’ll do my best not to stress. Noted on the Celt-cent stuff, that takes quite a bit of discipline when reviewing all the songs to find something different in the time I have. Just take them all as a single opinion, not the definitive answer!