Date: Feb 1, 1975
Weeks: 1
This is the hardest type of song for me to do. It's definitely not my style, but it's not badly made, and it has moments that work. Of the genre of 70s soft pop, I suppose this is one of the least unpleasant examples.
I like the piano as the backbone of this song. It's a good base on which to build the rest of the song. Neil Sedaka's voice is also good. His voice is high, but he's not doing falsetto. He matches the music well and his voice sounds natural and effortless, even as he's exploring the high and low limits of his range. I don't even mind the background vocals here, because they are well-used for emphasis and color and to increase the scope of the chorus. The percussion line is also pleasant. It's subtle and has just enough variety to support this light song.
The strings are a definite negative, though. They over-dramatize and overwhelm what should be a pleasant little song and try to make it more grand, in a way that the song doesn't necessarily support. The saxophone bridge is cheesy. Really, pop music, saxophones need to be applied sparingly. Use them wrong and they can turn a decent song bad really quickly. There's also something just off about the chord progression leading into the chorus that I can't quite explain. It doesn't feel like the chorus follows naturally from the verse for some reason. Possibly it's just the unnecessary strings overwhelming the actual song.
The lyrics are about a couple that is so happy together that when they're caught out in the rain they just laugh. As long as they're together, nothing can spoil their mood. That's a fine sentiment, even if it's a bit cliche. The lyrics, like the rest of the song, are fine. They flow, they make sense, they communicate a feeling and do it well. I was going to nitpick the title lyric, wonder why he "hears" laughter in the rain, when supposedly he and his significant other are the ones doing the laughing. But then I realized that he's kind of talking about how the sound of rain makes him recall this moment, and he remembers the sound of their laughter whenever it rains. The lyrics are all in the present tense, which is why I think I had a hard time working that out at first, but other songs I've reviewed have certainly committed worse crimes against grammar and storytelling.
My verdict: Don't like it. I do respect it, it's a well-made but it doesn't quite click for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment