Carbon Leaf Countdown #14: Comfort

{Feb 13}

Doug2000s 1 Comment



At #14 is one of Carbon Leaf’s best folk sing-a-longs that’d be perfect around a campfire. It’s “Comfort!”

“My life is open wide. The more you live, the less you’ll die. Outside, floating free, I’m finally open to see. Could you be any more comfort to me?” That has to be one of the best written choruses by Carbon Leaf and is just an excellent one to sing & sway along to. Of course, if you really like singing along to it, just wait until the last thirty seconds. You’ll get the layered effect of the chorus and the tag-line to the song sung over and over again. The harmonies in this song at times are incredible and really shine out live too making it just an obvious pick for where it ended up on the countdown. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #15: I Know The Reason

{Feb 13}

Doug2000s No Comments



Another in the long line of songs from Echo Echo hits the countdown next. At #15, it’s “I Know The Reason!”

“I Know The Reason” might be one of the first songs I really, really enjoyed from Carbon Leaf. Echo Echo was the first album I really listened to by the band and this along with a few others were ones I quickly started re-playing over and over again. Fans of the band and fans of the album will definitely know what I’m talking about here. There are a bunch of cool parts in the song, but I think my favorite feeling of the song is that it just sounds like a laid-back jam. Sure, the chorus picks up substantially, but it sounds like something a house band came up with while just fiddling around. And it sounds great. The steady guitar & drum parts, the see-saw bass melody, the guitar fills, and even the piano. It all adds up to a great song you’re just going to want to replay over and over! More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #16: Changeless

{Feb 12}

Doug2000s No Comments



One of Carbon Leaf’s most simple songs and definitely one of the most poignant comes up next. At #16, it’s “Changeless!”

I know there’s an intriciate mandolin (right?) part in here, but overall, the song is so simple. The lyrics are minimal, the bass melody is simple, the drum beat just keeps it chugging along. Carbon Leaf gets it though: less is more. With a song like this, do you need a cool drum part? Do you need a face-melting guitar solo? Do you need new words for the chorus each time they come along? The song keeps it very simple and really lets the lyrics, minimal as they are, take control and really play with your mind a bit. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #17: Another Man’s Woman

{Feb 12}

Doug2000s 4 Comments



The namesake for Nothing Rhymes With Woman shows up in our countdown next. At #17, it’s “Another Man’s Woman!”

If CCR came out during the 2000s, they might write songs like this one. It’s got such a bayou sound to it which of course has to do with that swamp twang of a guitar melody. I can almost smell the gator in the water as that guitar drags in the beginning seconds of the song. This is one of the songs too that just make Carbon Leaf so hard to place in a genre again too. Sure, there are some folk elements in the song, but would you put this up against any of their other folk songs? Sure, it’s got a clear-cut rock sound, but that southern, almost country twang to it is almost unmistakable. Plus, what country band would sing a song like this that well? More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #18: November (makebelieve)

{Feb 10}

Doug1990s 1 Comment



Shadows In The Banquet Hall creeps into the top 20 with easily one of Carbon Leaf’s finest winter songs. At #18, it’s “November (makebelieve).”

A while ago, I talked about how Carbon Leaf can conjure up feelings, times, and memories perfectly with their songs. I also said they really shine in reference to the seasons and winter surely shines most of all from them. Well, outside of their Christmas album for obvious reasons, no Carbon Leaf song is more evocative of winter or even a season than this one. I recall Barry saying he wrote the lyrics to this in his room on a cold winter day all bundled up and looking at the window. Or something along those lines. Either way, the meaning behind the song is clear and it comes out in full force here. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #19: Miss Hollywood

{Feb 10}

Doug2000s 1 Comment



Next up is a highlight from Carbon Leaf’s 2009 album Nothing Rhymes With Woman talking about those elusive dreams. At #19, it’s “Miss Hollywood.”

Come on, who doesn’t really, really like this song? Sure, you might not have included it in your top 25 or are in full love with it, but who really doesn’t enjoy this great song? Don’t get me wrong, there are better songs to me on the album, but it’s really easy to see why the band or label or both picked this song as the lead single off that album. This is going to be that “why aren’t Carbon Leaf bigger” debate again too. You’re fore-warned. Why isn’t Carbon Leaf bigger? Seriously, if I look at the list of songs that hit number one in 2009, is someone really going to tell me that The Black Eyed Peas write better songs than this? Catchier sure, but better in any sense of the word? The answer has to be no! Oh, “My Life Would Suck Without You” was number one that year too. Think about that… More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #20: On Any Given Day

{Feb 10}

Doug2000s 1 Comment



Coming in at #20 is another stylistically odd-ball from 2001′s Echo Echo. Don’t run away or you’ll find it gone, it’s “On Any Given Day!”

There’s three songs I really think stand-out from the others musically on Echo Echo. In my opinion, it’s “Mellow Tone,” “Maybe Today,” and “On Any Given Day.” They just don’t seem to be songs with obvious Irish influences and it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it makes them stick in your head a little longer like an up-tempo guitar song on an album full of mournful piano songs. I think the song is relatively low-key too (for a reason I’ll go into later). Light guitar melody, a cello background, and a chorus that uses the brash electric chords merely as backdrop. It’s a neat little backdrop to in this song as it’s not too overpowering, but definitely something you could see yourself air-miming when overly excited. Trust me, people do it in public. It’s slightly embarrassing. Well, except when I do it. More

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