Most achingly-beautiful music

Hcfolm: Unfortunately in Carmen's case, it's just the opposite of what it seems. Carmen was a child prodigy, Julliard trained as a concert pianist before he hit the pop stage w/ the Rasberries and demonstrated his affinity for the Beatles. So he had been inundated w/ old Sergei way before that first solo release. He lifted the melody from the Rach 2 (Piano Concerto, not symph) verbatim, and while he may have cited the source in an interview here and there, did NOT in the published sheet music at the time (early 70's, right?). Caused quite a stir in the keyboard community...as many saw it as blatant musical plagarism, much as 2nd movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata has been lifted, and other throughout pop history.

I was referring to Carmen's "All By Myself" (on the first side of that release), which lifts from what pianists commonly refer to as Rach 2 (the Piano concerto). You're referring, I think, to "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", the other hit (on the second side of that release...at least on vinyl...ha ha ha). As Spinal Tap said so eloquently, "there's a fine line between clever and stupid"...citing the master from which you lift a wonderful melody is called "homage"...lifting the melody without citation is called "plagarism". I say him on the old TV show "Midnight Special" with a band that (if memory serves) had two drummers (both around 300 lbs), two guitarists and two bass players! The two drummers played everything in complete unison...completely redundant unless he was going for "separation and soundstage imaging".

Please forgive the length of this post: I second (or third) the Barber Adagio, Albinoni's as well. Would also add Rachmaninoff 2nd & 3rd Piano Concerti, Keith Jarrett's "Hourglass" from "Staircase/Hourglass/Sundial/Sand" & "My Song" from same release, both on ECM, Lyle Mays' "Close to Home" from his first solo release, Pat Metheny's "Always & Forever" from "Secret Story", Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, 4th movement of Beethoven's Ninth, J.S. Bach's Fugue from the Toccata & Fugue in D min, King Crimson's "Starless" from "Red", Miles' "Blue in Green", Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", Louis Armstrong's "Solitude", Metheney & May's "Sept. 15th" from "As Falls Wichita". Bill Bruford's Earthworks' "It Needn't End in Tears" from their 1st album. King Crimson's "Two Hands" from "Beat". Chopin's Etude 10 in E flat, his "Revolutionary" Etude, and Liszt's Liebestraum. Okay, there's my three.