“This is a man’s world” James Brown has sung. Maybe in his time this declaration was even stronger, but even today we can see it come true in many cases. And singing is definitely a sector in which men make their presence more than obvious.1. It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World – James Brown
(James Brown-Betty Jean Newsome)
A 1966 single and one of the most classic songs of the repertoire by the soul godfather. Brown was accused of chauvinism due to the lyrics, although they have been written by a lady, Betty Jean Newsome. This fact of course did not prevent the song from climbing to Billboard #1.
2. Charmless Man – Blur (Damon Albarn-Graham Coxon-Alex James-Dave Rowntree)
A song from The Great Escape (1995) , the tile of which refers to This Charming Man by The Smiths. It has been the fourth and last single from that album and reached #5 in British charts. According to Albarn, for the Blur this song meant the end of Britpop...
3. The Man – Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson
(Paul McCartney-Michael Jackson)
A duet of Macca with Michael Jackson who at the time was his friend and later on his opponent. It can be found in the album Pipes Of Peace (1983), one of the least interesting moments of the discography by the ex Beatle.
4. Nothing Man – Bruce Springsteen
(Bruce Springsteen)
The album The Rising (2002), from which comes this exceptional mid-tempo song, was the first by the Boss with E Street Band after 18 years and received triumphant acclaim. Most songs were inspired by September 11th 2001. But not this one, which had been written much earlier, in 1994.
5. Lucky Man – The Verve
(Richard Ashcroft)
The third single from the sweeping Urban Hymns in 1997 is an epic guitar ballad, of the ones crazy Ashcroft knows very well how to make. It reached #7 in the charts, although those statistics don't mean much when speaking about great songs like this one.
6. What A Wonderful Man - My Morning Jacket(Jim James)
Although this exceptional song from Z (2005), the fourth album of the Americans, has intense rhythm and happy attitude, it has actually been written in memory of a friend and ex member of the band who committed suicide. Whatever the case, listen to it loud!
7. I’m Waiting For The Man – The Velvet Underground
(Lou Reed)
The man whom the narrator of this song from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) waits for is a drug dealer. One of the most popular songs by the Americans is also one of their many songs with similar topics .
8. The Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana
(David Bowie)
An exceptional and classic cover of the Bowie's song by the Nirvana. It was recorded live for the MTV and was released after the death of the band frontman, Kurt Cobain, as part of the album MTV Unplugged In New York (1994).
9. Man In The Long Black Coat – Bob Dylan
(Bob Dylan)
Here, Dylan narrates a mysterious story about the vanish of a woman who left with the 'man in the long black coat'. The production and atmosphere are outstanding and the lyrics are magical: “But people don’t live or die, people just float…” From Oh Mercy in 1989.
10. Nowhere Man – The Beatles (John Lennon-Paul McCartney)
We close with a trip in the country of pop magic. The Beatles in a song from the great Rubber Soul in 1966. It is one of the first songs by the band which are not about love and it designates a turn in Lennon's writing, as he is its main creator. Its recording required a small 'rebellion' on the Beatles behalf, in order to persuade the Abbey Road Studios sound engineers to break the orders they had and make the guitar high frequencies turn 'red'...
* Photos from www.wikipedia.org
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