24 of 1001 Songs: Elbow's One Day Like This

 Elbow's One Day Like This is a very inspiring sounding song that is well composed to hit a spot with the listener regardless of whether the music feels like it is your style. The vocalist voicing is very somber, and the instrumentals never over whelm, and it brings in a unique type of alternative rock for the listener to enjoy. The positive vibe of the song though is welcome, but I kept trying to pin point quite what I was looking for to hit me the entire time of listening.

History: Elbow's song sounds like a lot like "Hey Jude" in some ways, and the band admits it was an inspiration for the tune. The song would be the second single from Elbow's fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid. For the British band this would mark a hit on the U.K. charts with it placing in the top 40.


Vocals: Guy Garvey is the lead singer of the band, and he has a really good voice. It's strong, but also doesn't show off much. He also captures the emotion. I think he sounds like a real singer. There isn't some over dramatic style added to it that over does the emotion, but instead lets the singer sing it as if he he is really singing it from the heart. I also like how the elements of the song work to go with the vocals. The instrumentals sound good, but it doesn't over power the lead singer.

Instrumentals: Garvey also plays guitar, Richard Jupp is on drums, Craig Potter on keyboards, Mark Potter is on guitar and vocals, and there is Pete Turner who also does backing vocals and bass guitar. There are a lot of pieces of instruments to the music, and it all comes together very well to make a strongly composed song. The instrumentals go a bit rock, but honestly the rock vibe isn't prominent, and the song does aim for this mainstream sound. I like the way the instrumentals advance throughout the tune to become more momentous. I do feel there was a point, especially near the end where the instruments sound like they are repeating the same beat, and it by the end it's lacking a bit of creativity to keep it inspiring.

Lyrics: I have to say the lyrics are very beautiful, and I love that someone is just rejoicing in the feeling of love in this song. It isn't so direct that someone would listen and have to feel necessarily romantic love either. It's one of the rare occasions where  vague lyrics work to create something that many people can apply positively to their life. Near the end the lyrics go much like the beat of the song though, and provide the same chorus till the end.

Elbow creates an innocent vibe with this song that is welcome in a world where music likes to push it's boundaries. There is a lot of talent from the musicians and the vocalist to make a song that sounds cohesive in a lot of ways. It does repeat itself in beat and writing a bit by the end, but that doesn't subtract from the good beginning it had.

Rating 7.5 of 10.