Music can date quite badly. Thinking of those songs that I loved when I was a teenager and a lot of them seem terribly twee nowadays. Dance music, especially, dates very quickly as it evolves and revolves but there's always a few tunes that stand the test of time not only as classics but also with a freshness about them as if they still sound contemporary. I think "Blue Monday" sounds dated however "Cars" by Gary Numan still sounds quite modern. Both are classics and I'm not for one minute trying to downplay the influence of the New Order classic. Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug" is another that I've heard played quite often in DJ sets and it's gone down a storm - not for ironic hip value but because it's a brilliantly contemporary sound.
There is however, one song more than any other that just blows me away at how timeless it really is. "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas was recorded in 1972. Thomas was a session musician from Indiana who worked alongside the great Donald Byrd before heading south to Memphis to work predominantly for the Goldwax label - a fairly minor soul label churning out cheesy Sam Cooke-lite records although occasionally the odd wonder-hit would shine through. "That's How Strong My Love Is" was another such song.
I guess I'm attracted to the song for a lot of reasons but what really impresses me that in a time of Wall Of Sound production here was a song that was so stripped back it was proto-minimal. It features a Hammond organ anda very early drum machine - it's almost like a metronome at times and is the backbone for the keyboard interjections that build and fade, shout and whisper throughout the whole song. It's got a very long intro too, I guess on first hearing you could be mistaken for thinking it was an instrumental. When Timmy Thomas finally gets going on the song it really is manna from heaven. Sadly, Timmy never replicated the success of this and although still active in the 70s and 80s will always be remembered for this hit. It's featured quite often on DJ compilations and I think the Back to Mine album by Carl Cox includes this with a background newsreel soundtrack. It's nearly 40 years old and still fresh as a daisy.
As a postscript to this - I must mention the wonderful cover of this by Sade recorded in the 80s. It's just my opinion but her version does sound dated. I can't exactly tell you why but it's just something about the production that is so...80s. Weird or what?
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