Jackson Five (1971) We've Got Blue Skies - LOST70SGEMS

This luminescent tune begins by fading in with a Theremin warmly buzzing away like a bee on sunny day. It forms the main hook of the song and intro dominating proceedings. Panned acoustic arpeggios, a sharp flute fill out the rest along with an old timey pipe organ the kind you would hear at a circus, fanfare or carnival capturing the spirit of a new relationship.

The Theremin is an oddity that makes the song memorable, it's fresh unique sound was different for a soft soul ballad. The pinging fuzz sound of the Theremin paints a picture in my mind of sunlight blazing out of a clear vibrant blue sky, partially obscured by a thin lens flare. Though a quirky sound, it works in creating a powerful sense of atmosphere like Kool and the Gang’s Summer Madness with its Dragnet style police siren hyperextended synth stings blazing a trail of fire into the stratosphere 

The song is sung from the perspective of someone who feels betrayed as his ex's once vivid declaration of love for him which suggested they had a future now plays back in his head.

"We've got blue skies, now can't you see?

There'll never ever be another love for me" 

 The statement above acts as the chorus of the song, a line that turns out to be nothing more than an empty promise that now haunts the singer. Nicely in the final verse the singer can now hear her make the same pledge being made to her new lover; a suspicious sense of deja vu for the protagonist. The fatalism of the lyrics is pretty mature for what on the surface sounds like a Strawberry Fields type of psych pop nursery ditty.

The three act structure is magical as the guy goes from initial doubts in the first verse to the strong suspicion surface in the second verse and then the humiliation, emptiness and resignment.

The duplicity of his ex girlfriend is confirmed in the last verse as she recites the perfect blue skies of commitment to her new lover. Though the clouds will soon appear on the horizon knowing her track record.

Michael's little chuckle at the end of each verse is a slightly cheesy addition, that I can only guess is him pretending to reminiscing with good spirit. However when he continues to chuckle in the coda, it starts to sound incredibly forced and awkward

Doobie Brothers (1975) Flying Cloud - LOST70sGEMS

 An instrumental credited to the band's long serving bassist Tiran Porter, it's dark mystic mood was one of the aspects of the Tom Johnson era of the band where they added a hypnotic jazzy bent to their folk/blues/southern rock sound. Opening with lapping waves and as a crystal clear acoustic progression chimes away; amidst the bucolic arpeggios, a warm heavily saturated synthesizer plays a series of honeyed sustains that sound sunny reggae organs but with smooth distorted polish. Then there is a hyperspatial Pink Floyd sounding slide guitar pinging off and around with a special polyphonic reverberation. This huge echoey slide guitar has the clean tone of Duane Allman but a spacey reverb adding yet another dimension to a track that doesn't even break the two minute barrier.  The Grande echoey guitar remind me of The Eagles' portentous Sci-Fi instrumental Journey of the Sorcerer but without the string section and extended track time, this comes off as a cool studio experiment.

The Dramatics (1977) Ocean Of Thoughts And Dreams - LOST70sGEMS

 A slick soul track from the late 70s that rides on an acoustic guitar lick based around hammer-ons and pull offs that lull you in with its ascending step by step feel. The clear acoustic guitar with tasteful kickdrum throbbing in the background dominates over the traditional sweeping strings, another notable touch is the the bubbling over wah wah watson slide guitar that ends each verse. The acoustic guitar and gospel backing harmonies along the ascending scale of the songs' main hook give the track a golden sunrise gleam while the hushed lead vocals add a soothing seductive vibe. 

The acoustic lick is the anchor that kicks off each line of the verse and runs throughout the song like motif that has more to say than the lyrics. However, the lyrics are pensive and meditative in mood, gliding along and opening up our own personal Ocean of thoughts and dreams.