As i continue whittling down 30-odd years of buying singles for my Top 45 45's there have inevitably been casualties. Songs that would definitely grace any other "favourite songs" lists i've made have not made the cut, due to their not being released on 7". Although i initially considered any vinyl release as eligible, i soon realised that complicated things, so i added two more rules: the initial release must have been available on vinyl, and as a UK release. Adding imports, re-releases, Record Store Day specials and the like just added more songs to an ever-growing list, making an already difficult project even more so. Some songs naturally excused themselves from inclusion, such as "Karma Police" by Radiohead, which would normally rate high on my list. In fact, barely any of their singles were released as a 7", so that's an otherwise favourite band absent. There's another snag too: do i still include songs that, if i'm completely honest with myself, i prefer in versions other than the 7" ? The Specials "Ghost Town", an undoubtedly classic song that has historical context yet sounds utterly timeless, a song that i have loved for years, that still makes my neck hairs stand up, my skin goose pimple - but it's really the 12" version that gets me: the haunting dub of the middle section, the instrumental passage with Rico's sombre trombone solo, where all but the bass and drums drop out. It adds weight to the themes of the song - urban decay, hopelessness , towns closing down, empty neighbourhoods - but with the ominous dread of violence and riots on the horizon. So that hasn't made the cut. Neither has a song that created not only a recognisable sound for the band but also for a genre: A Forest by The Cure. With its flanged guitars, ominous synthesizers and motorik rhythms, it gave the band a sonic identity. Their first singles chart entry - making no.31 back in April 1980 - it also put them on the map. The claustrophobic, dark sound was typical of A Forest's parent album Seventeen Seconds and the two that followed, essentially creating the Goth Rock sound that would influence a whole subculture. A Forest has been one of my favourite songs since i first saw it on a TOTP repeat in the early nineties. But the version i love is the album or extended version. Even the edit on Standing On A Beach (the bands' first singles compilation) is different to the 7", being basically the album version with the intro a lopped off. The full version of the song begins with the murky synth sound, before the introductory guitar riff and a wandering bassline rise up out of the fog. After they end the clipped drums begin and the guitar part is repeated again, albeit at a quicker pace. As the song nears its end the instruments drop out one by one: first the synth, then the drums and then the careering guitar solo, leaving just the bass to run through its four note part for another few seconds. The 7" version fades out during Robert Smiths' guitar solo, which in my humble opinion takes something away from the atmosphere of the song. Still one of my favourite songs but not in its single form. Dammit.
