There’s a LOT of “I Can’t” songs. A lot. You’ve already had ten, some good, some great and two brilliant ones, so here’s ten more, some good, some great, and two of which are simply brilliant, or toptastic if you prefer.
First, Elvis with his “we’ve all been there” song
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I can't stand up for falling down
If you want slick 70s (or was it 80s?) pop you’ve come to the wrong place. Well, today you have. So no Hall & Oates, a perfectly decent and well-made pop song, but it’s not Top Ten material. Or Top Twenty, as I’m doing two of these. Nope, instead, you’re getting what is undoubtedly going to be the best song you hear all day, because this is beyond brilliant...
Bill Withers - I can't write left-handed
One of those powerful songs that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and just listen. (Not one to play in the car, then). Every time I hear it I can’t do anything but put my listening ears on. From an album you absolutely must have in your collection, Live at Carnegie Hall.
A different genre now, suggested by Walter...
Teenage Fanclub - I can't find my way home
That’s Walter, our pigeon, rescued at the bottom of the farm. He has a wounded wing that will never heal properly; instead of releasing him to be eaten by Billy, we are keeping him. A coop is currently under construction for him. Walter, not Billy. And Walter the pigeon is actually a dove.
That song is not to be confused with the Steve Winwood song, the latter is not an “I can’t” song but a “Can’t” so The Swans will not be in this list. But Otis is!
Otis Redding - I can't turn you loose
Another Walter song, that one. "I can’t turn you loose……. because either Shaggy or Billy, or both, will kill you and eat you” as Otis never sang, but it does scan.
A Top Ten without a country song? Is that possible? Of course not.
George Jones - I can't get there from here
It’s the way he twists those words, George Jones’ voice is so apt for the cheesiest of country lyrics.
And from when they were good:
……..to one of her more humdrum albums, but it does have a couple of gems on it (the other one is also an I Can’t song)
Aimee Mann - I can't get my head around it
It would of course be perverse not to include that Ray Charles song, but it is what I am doing, I’ve never liked it or indeed the vast majority of anything I’ve heard by him. And it would certainly be thrawn in the extreme not to include maybe the best known I Can’t song, the one with that uses brackets...
Tritons - (I can't get no) Satisfaction
They’re Italian. Unlike Yvonne Elliman. We (Jo and I, not Yvonne and I) were watching something on tv and “Everything’s alright” was featured. I knew most of the lyrics, knew when Judas’ part was coming, knew when Ted Neeley sang. So I’m going to shoehorn this in...
Yvonne Elliman - If I can't have you
OK, a slick(ish) 70s pop song for you, one that I’m not really sure why I like, maybe it’s those swooping horns..
I’m not saving the best for last, because that would mean Bill Withers again, but this too is a fantastic song:
Ann Peebles - I can't stand the rain
It’s the way the music gets going at 20 seconds in, that signature WIllie Mitchell “Hii Rhythm Section” sound and arrangement, that slow-almost-lethargic music, it’s a perfect soul song.
And please note that Stink, via The Police, is excluded on taste and because it’s “Can’t Stand Losing”. Bad Company, though, are ineligible only because, again, it’s not an “I can’t” song. You could of course argue that Yvonne Elliman should also be excluded, to which I say “Do your own Top Ten”.
Thank you, again, to Rol, for posting this piece. I hope I don’t lose you too many readers.
Excellent list George. And, I loved your Walter Pigeon story.
ReplyDeleteYvonne’s song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Etched in my memory from the summer of ‘78 when disco ruled.
Alyson