Acoustic Songs For A Rainy Day

Cat Stevens (Yusef Islam) is “back.” After 20 some odd years of not playing any music, this 60’s and 70’s icon is back. But it’s well worthwhile to go back and check out his old material. The Wind is my favorite Cat song. Short. Sweet. Perfect

If you haven’t heard of the movie Once, I highly recommend checking it out. It stars the lead singer from the Irish band The Frames and is a music video – movie that is amazing. The costars wrote all of the music for the movie. This track is featured prominently throughout the movie, and for a good reason. Get the soundtrack and see the movie!

Any song that mentions Philly in the first line automatically wins me over (yo Philly!). Off of Nebraska, Atlantic City is Springsteen at his most sparse. It’s a powerful song all about those good old blue collar Jeresey people we all love so dearly.

Smith wrote some of the most moving music in the last few years. This track, off of XO, is a great example of his acoustic playing. It’s a shame we lost him so early. Although it’s not acoustic, you have to listen to Waltz 2 from the same album.

After the Beatles broke up, Harrison released All Things Must Pass. The two discs are chock full of amazing songs. Apple Scruffs displays Harrison’s raw acoustic guitar playing a fun, catchy, and melodic tune. Great harmonica parts, too!

Clocking in at over 15 minutes, I Dream A Highway is the bookend to Welch’s amazing CD “Time (The Revelator)”. I saw her play a few times, but for some reason she always skips this song. Wonder why. At over 15 minutes, the song progresses like a slow river.

Sparklehorse is one of my favorite bands. This track, off of their debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (yep, that’s the title) is the best acoustic song on the record. Most of the other stuff uses lots of synths, guitars, and voice effects. When this song pops up, it’s a breath of fresh air.