The perfect pop song?

equalsql

The Name Of The Game by Abba.
This really is the most exquisitely constructed song. Beautiful harmonies over such wonderful chord arrangements.
Back in the 70s I wasn't a fan cos they weren't considered cool by us, then,  long haired rockers, even though I secretly had a lot of respect for them. Looking back I realised just how great Abba were.
This is just about as near perfect a pop song that's ever been written.
Do you have any candidates for this title?

Cryptid

Another example of an Abba song that I didn't care for much, until I had to transcribe and arrange it. Masterful song-writing! 

You could pick a number of Abba songs for the crown; Winner Takes It All is an utter pop masterpiece too, about divorce no less. I think their writing is even more impressive when you consider English was their second language, yet the messages are so concise and universal. 

My missus runs events for people living with dementia and she occasionally gets me along to play and sing a few songs which are requested in advance. A woman that brings her mum asked for I Have A Dream - another song which I'd not paid much attention to. When transcribing it and really paying attention to the lyrics I had no idea how I'd perform it to the group without welling up; the message in that context is heavy indeed.  

ftumch

I read the title and my immediate thought was ABBA.
I'd also add (mostly driven by nostalgie I think)
Heart of glass
Video killed the radio star

roberty

Gerry and the Holograms

DrCornelius

I think In My Life by the Fab Four takes some beating 

Vintage65

I think SOS is the best ABBA song and the template has been copied by many big name producers. 

ICBM

I’m a huge ABBA fan and it’s difficult to pick just one as their best, but I think Dancing Queen must be a contender for the ‘perfect’ song - although not my favourite.

I’ll also add a more modern one…

Shakira - Whenever, Wherever

Like ABBA, English isn’t her first language, but she writes in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and that song in particular is just brilliant. Also the only good time panpipes have ever been played outside the Andes .

barnstorm

equalsql said:

cos they weren't considered cool

ICBM said:

Like ABBA, English isn’t her first language

You might both enjoy this – a monster blog post about people making fun of ABBA and looking at the challenges of writing and singing in a second language:

https://www.acelinguist.com/2021/11/dialect-dissection-abba.html 

Mamma Mia is the only one I never tire of, but it's an outrageous achievement to have pumped out songs for seven straight years (or whatever the exact period was from writing Waterloo to Super Trouper) that pretty much the entire world still knows by heart.

stickyfiddle

Obviously half the Beatles' catalogue goes without saying.

But Whitney's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know, and Boy Meets World's Waiting for a Star To Fall all need a mention. All written by the same couple (the chaps from Boy Meets World) and all utterly perfect. 

barnstorm

stickyfiddle said:

But Whitney's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know, and Boy Meets World's Waiting for a Star To Fall all need a mention. All written by the same couple (the chaps from Boy Meets World) and all utterly perfect. 

Wis anyway, but Dance With Somebody is different class! My favourite 'modern' pop song by miles.

stratman3142

I was just about to mention Waiting For A Star To Fall.

barnstorm

Sometimes I'll go months and months without pulling the record out and then it will come on in a shop or at a wedding and I go all Eddie Hearn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcWlUVEelWY

Nitefly

Going back quite a bit further, I always thought Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman" was one of the best.

Good riff, good lyric, key-change for the middle 8, a great resolution for the final verse, and a proper ending.

We used to do it in a cover band, and it took a LOT of practise to get the timings exactly right.

stickyfiddle

barnstorm said:

stickyfiddle said:

But Whitney's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know, and Boy Meets World's Waiting for a Star To Fall all need a mention. All written by the same couple (the chaps from Boy Meets World) and all utterly perfect. 

Wis anyway, but Dance With Somebody is different class! My favourite 'modern' pop song by miles.

Yep 100%

One of my favourite things that's come out of my latest band is I get to play all these incredible pop songs with zero shame or irony. It's AWESOME.  I don't think it's quite "pop" but we have September on the to-do list and it's SO GOOD. 

barnstorm

stickyfiddle said:
One of my favourite things that's come out of my latest band is I get to play all these incredible pop songs with zero shame or irony. It's AWESOME.  I don't think it's quite "pop" but we have September on the to-do list and it's SO GOOD.

It's a wonder anybody can hold a band playing originals together, because they usually seem to having a miserable time, while everyone playing covers in a function band is having a whale of a time!

lustycourtier

Yes. Mcalmont and Butler 

stickyfiddle

barnstorm said:

stickyfiddle said:
One of my favourite things that's come out of my latest band is I get to play all these incredible pop songs with zero shame or irony. It's AWESOME.  I don't think it's quite "pop" but we have September on the to-do list and it's SO GOOD.

It's a wonder anybody can hold a band playing originals together, because they usually seem to having a miserable time, while everyone playing covers in a function band is having a whale of a time!

I dunno, originals bands rarely have to deal with mother-of-brides. Or punters...! 

Cryptid

stickyfiddle said:

barnstorm said:

stickyfiddle said:

But Whitney's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know, and Boy Meets World's Waiting for a Star To Fall all need a mention. All written by the same couple (the chaps from Boy Meets World) and all utterly perfect. 

Wis anyway, but Dance With Somebody is different class! My favourite 'modern' pop song by miles.

One of my favourite things that's come out of my latest band is I get to play all these incredible pop songs with zero shame or irony. It's AWESOME.  

That's why I've stayed with the pop choir I arrange for and accompany for almost 10 years now. Pop with all the joy and none of the shame, just me on the guitar and 30+ voices  

Dance With Somebody is in the repertoire, of course. 

I always enjoy arranging and playing anything penned by the Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love, Heartbreaker, Emotion etc. Bacharach too.

zedhex

I loathe Abba. Horrible saccharine-sweet garbage.

darthed1981

Perfect pop song?

Pretty much anything off "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles.

Funkfingers

This Woman's Work - Kate Bush