Share a song that feels like a prayer.
That isn’t by Madonna? Hmmm (I mean like a prayer sure does feel uplifting, right? What a song!)
In that case I’ll take a specific version of a song that always makes me feel uplifted and joyous —I don’t pray, is that what it feels like for believers?
The original version of this lives on a classic album, a top 20 of all time candidate, even if the band have fallen into a bit of pastiche of themselves.
The Joshua Tree remains a stunningly good album, the song writing alone is clear, evocative, and I’ll happily play it end to end from time to time. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For is one of the stand out tracks, anthemic, and hinting back to great soul love songs (River Deep, Mountain High anyone?), it could probably be seen as prayer like, prayer adjacent?
But during a set at Madison Square Garden they brought on a New York gospel choir, The New Voices of Freedom, who took that song and elevated into something that still gives me goosebumps. The soaring choir, the melodies, the underlying sense of elevated joy took a good song and elevated to a higher plane.
A celebration of music, a prayer to the power of bringing people in the shared experience of live music, a melding of genres that works so well it feels a little like U2 stole this song from a hymn book somewhere.
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Live)” by U2
Listen to Gordon McLean's Apple Music playlist
View original post on Crucial Tracks
What are your thoughts?