mostly david ephgrave

I went to see Finding Dory at the cinema tonight, and found myself at the edge of tears when a crucial scene was underscored by Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World.  The people at Pixar are experts at the art of tugging your heartstrings, of course, but that wasn't the point. I have a soft spot for the song that means it always touches me; there's something in the tone of Armstrong's performance that sounds like a genuine smile in his voice, which makes it all the more affecting; it's the perfect marriage of vocal and emotional intent. There are certain songs that always have a powerful effect on me. Two that spring to mind are Don McLean's achingly beautiful Vincent and Paul McCartney's spellbinding Golden Slumbers. Both make me sit up and take note, and marvel at the perfection of their vocal performance; when I listen to Vincent, time stops, and Macca's delivery of the word 'home' in Golden Slumbers is like an audio home to me, that nev...