Favorite Song(s)?

[Oksana]

I can't believe there's no thread for favourite songs on Odyssey yet? (Or maybe I missed it, sorry!) So far, nearly all of the songs on this album have been my favourite at some point or other. They keep channging, but here are my current faves:

1. May It Be
2. Never Saw Blue
3. I Say Grace

What are yours?

[Joe]

Hi Someone,

Yeah, my favs seem to change as well! As of a few days ago, here's my top three,

1. My Heart Belongs To You
2. May It Be
3. I Say Grace

PS, I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas. Thanks for all you've done here on the forum!

[roger]

Hello Someone,

Mmm, it looks as though you are right about not having asked this question before. Oops!

Such a simple question; such a difficult one to answer. To be honest, although I love the sound of the album as a whole, there are not really any tracks that really stand out as a favourite (like there were on Pure). If pushed for an answer, it would vary not only from day to day but also depending on which version I was listening to. Okay, I will go with 'May It Be' (but I prefer the DVD version), closely followed by 'My Heart Belongs To You', and 'Never Saw Blue'.

Roger

[blue1]

For me it's Never Saw Blue (I think Hayley's accent really makes that one), Both Sides Now, and Prayer.

I must say, though, I'm a bit surprised a few people don't seem to like Odyssey as much as they like Pure. To my ears it's much better. Hayley's voice has matured, her expression has developed, and the way the music has been recorded is much more dynamic and alive than on Pure.

It might be interesting to see how this discussion develops from both sides of the Atlantic, as the USA (and presumably Canadian from `Someone's' post) and British versions of Odyssey have so many different songs.

[meagan]

blue1 said:

I must say, though, I'm a bit surprised a few people don't seem to like Odyssey as much as they like Pure. To my ears it's much better. Hayley's voice has matured, her expression has developed, and the way the music has been recorded is much more dynamic and alive than on Pure.

I've thought that same thing, because I defanitely like Odyssey better than Pure.

My favorite songs are:

What You Never Know
Dido's Lament
The Mists of Islay
Never Saw Blue
You Are Water

(it was too hard to choose three!) i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[blue1]

Meagan, are you the same Meagan who asked about buying When Dreams Have Wings on Holly Holyoake's site? If you are, I posted a link there to somewhere you can order it from. (And BTW I spelt your name wrong on Holly's site. Sorry for that.)

[Oksana]

Joe: I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas. Thanks for all you've done here on the forum!

Thank you for your kind words and Merry Christmas to you too! But being Ukrainian, I celebrate Christmas on January 6th, so it's still a few weeks off for me!

Someone

[alien]

Hi Someone,

Like Roger said, it's hard to find songs that really stand out from rest of the album. If I have to pick two songs, they would be:

1. Dell' Amore Non Si Sa (the duet with Andrea Bocelli)
2. My Heart Belongs to You (Int'l version)

Rest of the album would tie for #3

Allen

[Dave]

Thank you someone, for starting this thread - at last! Thank you especially, because at last, I have found a few of you who, like me, prefer Odyssey to Pure! I said this a couple of months ago (although I Iove Pure, too) - and I thought I was alone!

I view Odyssey as a kind of concept album, especially the UK 16 track version. There are a few odd ones out in the tracklisting but they are certainly nowhere near being "filler" - they are much better than that. I very much enjoy the whole experience - when I am in the mood! For mood music is what Odyssey is about, I think. Others will, I know, disagree!

Anyway, my favourite tracks are:

1. Prayer
1. Never Saw Blue
1. Ave Maria
1. Quanta Qualia
1. May It Be
1. Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 Aria
1. Bridal Ballad
1. The Mists of Islay
1. O Mio Babbino Caro
1. Laudate Dominum
1. Wiegenlied
1. She Moves Through The Fair
1. Dido's Lament

14. What You Never Know (Won't Hurt You)
14. Both Sides Now
14. Dell' Amore Non Si Sa (with Andrea Bocelli)

I also like I Say Grace and My Heart Belongs To You on the International version but of course, they wouldn't fit easily on the UK version as part of the "concept".

So, we have thirteen joint number ones! Basically, I love it all and I think it sets Hayley apart from the "populism" that pervades so much pop and classical crossover music these days (thankfully, with some notable exceptions!). There are no "hooks", no stand-out tracks, none of it is 'spectacular'. But - after three months - I still absolutely love it to bits!

Incidentally, the thirteen tracks I have placed at number 1) would have qualified for the UK classical charts on their own and, I believe, the album would have flowed - in the exact order listed - even better than the full 16 track version. That would have been my *perfect* Hayley album - heavily slanted towards the classical.

Does anyone want to put together a tracklisting for a "pop" version of Odyssey, taken from the various versions? I know quite a few people prefer Hayley's "pop" to her classical!

Cheers, Dave

[Emma]

My favourite song at the moment is 'Both Sides Now'. It is one of my all time favourite songs and I think Hayley does a lovely version of it. I studied this song at Uni and interestingly, there have been over 400 covers of it since it was written in the 1960s.

I think all the songs on Odyssey are of a good standard and definitely show how much Hayley's voice and ability to express emotion in her performance has matured since Pure.

My other two favourites are 'May it be' and 'Never Saw Blue'.

[1littlegirl]

Hmm... I like...

Prayer, Both Sides Now, and Aria. I like the others too though. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

And I'll probably have some more favourites when the UK version comes. (It's my Christmas present, except it hasn't come in yet.)

[Joe]

Hi Cathleen,

Glad you are getting the UK release! I plan to do so as well. I've never heard 'Laudate Dominum' and 'Dido's Lament' in their entirety and may soon be my new favourites!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Joe

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

I like all the tracks on both the International and UK versions of "Odyssey". There are a few tracks that I tend to listen to more than the rest, and these can all be found on the UK version. I can't really choose between them so I'll list them in the running order.

Prayer
Never Saw Blue
Ave Maria (Caccini)
Quanta Qualia
May It Be
The Mists Of Islay
O Mio Babbino Caro
Laudate Dominum
Wiegenlied

Oh well, that's over half the album! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I like all the songs because of Hayley's voice, but there are also some exquisite orchestral arrangements, and I like the choir on "Quanta Qualia".

Happy New Year!

Richard

[terri]

Okay ,I can't make up my mind - such a simple question and I CAN'T some up with a better answer than.......I enjoy the entire album, it's one I don't have to skip tracks on to enjoy it, I can play it straight through, there aren't may other artists albums I'd do that with : )

[Oksana]

Hello again! Just to keep everybody up-to-date with my ever-changing musical tastes, my new favourite songs are

1. Dido's Lament
2. Never Saw Blue
3. You are Water

On Hayley's official forum, SteveM said that "'Dido's Lament' ... is the most stunning song she's done since 'Pokarekare Ana,'" and I wholeheartedly agree.

Oksana