Saturday, May 07, 2011

Sheena Easton's For Your Eyes Only

The passions that collide in me
The wild abandoned side of me
Only for you
For your eyes only
What a beautifully written song. E.g., lyrically, notice the reverse from me to you between the couplets, and the order reverse/palindrome within the second couplet. And consider the ambiguities within 'abandoned'. Nice job there by Michael Leeson (a screenwiter who wrote episodes of Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Partridge Family, etc., as well as good movies such as The War of the Roses and atrocious movies such as IQ).

Put that not-Ira-Gershwin-but-pretty-jolly-good level of lyrical craft together with a true, powerhouse performance from Easton and inventive music and arrangements by Bill Conti and you get a track that's a complete knockout. Moral: Leave Bond to soundtrack and big band industry pros, and keep the rockers away (unless perhaps they're freakishly talented magpies like McCartney).

No comments: