Was there ever a definitive ranking of these songs? Easier to say the worst song than the best i guess…
But yeah 20 years old, this weekend!
2 Likes
Wooooooah, was just listening to this yesterday, such a beautiful album. Such an accomplishment to vary everything from the instrumentation, vocal style and genres to create something that should by rights have been written off as a vanity piece but instead is such a fucking amazing album.
3 Likes
- Sweet-Lovin’ Man
…then all the rest
1 Like
Bought this for a fiver - biggest musical bargain ever
6 Likes
decent, but less (The House of Tomorrow 
) is more (69 Love Songs)
1 Like
Heavens what an album. It’s like he set out to write a new Great American Songbook on his own, and succeeded. Astonishing. There’s only about three bad songs on it. (Even weirder, he’s only written about three good songs in the 20 years since)
Busby Berkeley Dreams for me Clive if I had to pick a favourite
2 Likes
Ok, I was being flippant, there are more than three bad songs.
Really don’t like 50 song memoir though, literally only one song I like on it (Have you seen it in the snow)
2 Likes
Phenomenal album(s). One of those that will always stay with you.
1 Like
Bought this in Fopp in 2009 for an absolute bargain on CD for £5.
Incredible record. Rinsed it to death and at some point each of the three volumes has become my favourite.
Read “Love is Like a Bottle of Gin” aloud for my best friend’s wedding.
Every time I listen to it (and I must’ve played it 100 times) I am astonished how ambitious it is and how it is so brilliantly executed. A triple album! Such a rich experience. Definitely and wonderfully soundtracked so many romantic experiences and heartbreak over the past 10 years.
3 Likes
Yeah. That album has been a “friend of mine” for a two decades now.
2 Likes
Bloody lovely album. One of those that almost created its own subgenre and the likes of the National owe a huge debt to this record.
2 Likes
I prefer California Girls to any of the 69 songs on this album.
2 Likes
Fixed this for you
1 Like
Fantastic song! I can’t listen to it with headphones, however, because of the mixing… I always wonder if that was deliberate.
2 Likes
I don’t think I’ve ever been as disappointed by an album as I was by 50 Song Memoir. I was looking forward to it so much and can still remember the dawning realisation that it only had two or three decent songs on it.
It’s pretty much the exact inverse of 69 Love Songs which will always be one of my favourite albums of all time.
2 Likes
Really good 10 track album in there, most of it on the first CD
4 Likes
I didn’t like 50 Song Memoir at first but had bought tickets for both their Barbican shows where they’d do it in full before the album was released.
50 Song Memoir seemed dull at first and I gave up listening half way through. I had to give it repeated listens as I’d put up a lot of money and a committed a weekend to the concerts. The album did break for me and became one of my favourites of the years. Songs like:
Have You Seen It In The Snow
I Wish I Had Pictures
You Can Never Go Back To New York and
How I Failed Ethics (which is lyrically brilliant) are all strong as any on 69 Love Songs.
It took a lot of repeated listens but it’s worth persevering with the album.
3 Likes
Vol.1 > Vol.3 >>>> Vol.2
Tend to think most of the lesser stuff’s on Vol.2. But then again Papa Was A Rodeo’s on that one so…
It’s just a marvelous piece of work isn’t it. Favourite track changes all the time.
1 Like
Is the Strange Powers film any good? Just looking it up and seems it’s almost 10 years old now.
In the end I concluded that there were six good songs on it. There’s a lot of work to do working through 50 songs to find 6 good ones. I sold my (ridiculously expensive) copy.
The only one that I think is up to 69 Love Songs standard is The Snow White Cottages (Have You Seen it in the Snow and Cold Blooded Man are the others that are close).
The whole thing just smacks of hubris to me - it could have been a strong single album instead of the conceptual bore that it is.
I’ll always love 69 Love Songs though.