Spinning Away – Brian Eno, John Cale

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‘Up on a hill, as the day dissolves/With my pencil turning moments into line’

Of the thousands of songs Brian Eno has been part of as a musician or producer, from keyboards for Roxy Music to producer for U2, this one’s a bit of an anomaly. The story is that when Eno got together with John Cale for the album Wrong Way Up, he was in a fabulous mood, watching the 1990 World Cup and celebrating the birth of a daughter with his wife, Anthea Norman-Taylor. The result was about as pop an album as the two have ever done, and Spinning Away is the zenith of joy, with love-of-life lyrics, guitar and keyboards capable of lifting anyone out of a funk. On my list as one of the 10 most beautiful songs ever.