The Coral “Dreaming of You” (Best of the Decade)
As a part time guitar player, I always am amazed when I find a song that I love that is both great and easy to play. When I see the chords and realize that a song I have been playing on repeat is only three or four chords, it is something that I appreciate even more than any Steve Vai finger tapping guitar solo. And rarely has this been truer over the last decade than with the stunning “Dreaming of You” by the British band the Coral. While I won’t bore anyone with the guitar lingo, the song is well worth drawing attention to. “Dreaming of You,” from the band’s self titled debut album, is a burst of Brit-pop that is the centerpiece to their amazing debut record. The Coral, whose average age was under 20 when the album dropped, showed chops beyond their years with the wildly diverse and supremely fun album. While I am generally skeptical of NME-type “buzz” bands, the Coral were hard to resist with their psychedelic songs and classic, free-wheeling sound. They have become increasingly dense and experimental on their follow up records, which is a shame, since their debut record showed a band using simple, classic pop music to create one of the best songs of the decades.