Tom: Everyone’s already heard this, so why discuss it? Well, aside from the fact it’s now formally being released as a single – and that really is a formality these days – I want to talk about sax.
Tim: A noble intent, but first it must be said – this is BRILLIANT.
Tim: BRILLIANT.
Tom: Well, agreed. But when did we last get a sax solo like that in a pop song? Not since the 80s, I reckon. Suddenly, not only does Gaga have the (now sadly deceased) Clarence Clemons playing in her big album-ending track, but Katy Perry’s getting Kenny G to cameo in her terrible video.
Tim: And let’s not forget Moldova’s somewhat under-appreciated entry in last year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Tom: Now, the sax solo got killed off because it’s over-the-top. There’s even a web site that categorises the solo’s downfall: from the textbook, understated solo in OMD’s ‘If You Leave’ all the way through to the stunningly overblown and possibly-synthesised droning in Eric Carmen’s ‘Hungry Eyes’.
Tim: When it come to Hungry Eyes, Eric Carmen has NOTHING on Eyeopener. (And ain’t that just a video and a half?)
Tom: That was actually James Cameron’s original pitch for Avatar. True story. Also, every time I hear that song, I can’t help but hear the lyrics as “I feel the magic between your thighs”.
Anyway, here’s the question, Tim: is it a good thing that the sax solo is back?
Tim: Erm, yeah, why not. Official Approval.
Tom: I say yes: provided it gets used in moderation. The last thing we need is a dubstep brass section.
Tim: I don’t know about the ‘in moderation’. Some people would argue, the more the better.