Another crooner's tune to depose 'The Story Of My Life', 'Magic Moments' (also written by Bacharach and David) for me is one song with two strong memories. On the one hand I can remember singing a rather crude set of fresh lyrics to this in the schoolyard while on the other, it's a song that I habitually confuse with 'Memories Are Made Of This'.Thankfully, I've grown out of the former, but the latter still holds sway, largely because the two do share similarities. Both seek comfort in a rose tinted remembrance of things past, but while Martin's song served up a recipe for a good life, Como is more specific in his nostalgia, relating a series of events that give an everyman appreciation of the kind of commonplace happenings that provoke the warmest glows. And for every "I'll never forget the moment we kissed, the night of the hayride" for UK listeners to scratch their heads over, there's a "The telephone call that tied up the line, for hours and hours" bullseye from Hal David that's universal enough to drag a whistful sigh from anyone.
It's feelgood stuff, marshmallow music with no bite with the good humour underlined in crayon by a brass motif laughter track that chuckles everytime Como recounts a memory and (yet another) chirpy 'whistle while you remember' theme to give it a backbone of sorts. It could have been unspeakably smug in its insular cosiness, but there's a wry, kindly uncle smile in Como's voice that makes it hard to take offence.
Sure it's a step backwards from the hole in the wall punched by Elvis and co, but that doesn't make it any less endearing. Or enduring even - I seem to have known this song forever (even before those crude lyrics were added) and it's longetivity is born from both the quality of the writing and 'born to sing this' performance from Como that plays to his strengths instead of pretending he's something he isn't.
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