For various reasons, a certain song has persistently popped up on the radio station in my mind, but I’ve been reluctant to feature it here. It’s a relatively simple tune but executed very well, and I adored it back in the day.
I realized today that much of the joy of the song has been offset by its use in a pharma commercial that I see only occasionally,1 but enough to annoy me. And I’ve decided to reclaim it.
“Magic” was Scottish band Pilot’s only US hit, but what a hit it was. It peaked at number 5 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts; it ranked 31 on Billboard’s 1975 year-end chart. Other songs from Pilot’s debut album, titled From the Album of the Same Name, saw success in the UK, so “Magic” technically isn’t a flash in the pan. But something about the song obviously captured Americans’ attention that summer.
Lead singer-bassist-songwriter David Paton has stated that the song was inspired by his wife observing that she’d never seen a sunrise, which does help explain the lyrics. This is another song where the lyrics and music meld perfectly. Paton’s ringing voice in the chorus and more intimate sound for the verses is a brilliant engineering touch. Ian Bairnson’s guitar work is deft and beautiful, especially the solos. It’s hard to see in the video above, but others confirm that he’s using a sixpence instead of a plectrum, which set me to wondering if he and Brian May arrived at that preference independently. Billy Lyall (keyboards & synths) and Stuart Tosh’s (drums) backing vocals and instruments knit the whole sound together.
The legendary Alan Parsons produced the album, which means I now feel obligated to listen to the entire thing. After Pilot broke up, all four members became part of the Alan Parsons Project, which inexplicably delights me… I guess because I’ve been enjoying more of their music for decades and never knew it. Magical connections have been in play.
I’ve listened to “Magic” several times already and am nowhere close to tired of it. In fact, I still adore it. Morning has been a magical time of day for me from childhood, and for far too long I’d forgotten that. I think the short morning walks I’d been taking helped remind me of it, but it took hearing “Magic” for the clue-by-four to fully connect. It’s an ideal time to restart that habit, before the desert heat sets in.
I don’t begrudge the members of Pilot for cashing in2 with the song. I do object to corporate entities using our3 fondest musical memories to peddle their products, but that’s the way our world has become and I don’t see it changing soon. Instead of expending my energy railing against it, I think I’ll do as I’ve done with “Magic” and rediscover the original music.
I don’t have cable or even basic TV; I do watch a couple of MSNBC programs online, which is where I see the ad
I sure hope they got a nice, fat check for the use of the song
“Our“ being Boomers/Gen Xers, and Millennials/Gen Y via Selena Gomez’ 2009 cover
That hair. And the style of clothes. We're not in Kansas anymore!
Trying to decide if this one aged well.