Not often does an artist succesfully travel from an accomplished band into the world of solo recordings. Colin Hay is an exception to the rule. The one-time lead-vocalist of the men down under, Men at Work, has released several solo albums since the late 80’s and his status as incredible singer/songwriter goes unquestioned. His Scottish/Australian vocal flavor, tremendous range, and passionate lyric and guitar work makes Hay an acoustic force and he releases great content time and time again.
Many may know Hay from the TV series “Scrubs,” where he contributed music to a series of episodes and made on-camera performances. If you are a “Scrubs” fan you will certainly recognize this song:
My favorite song by Hay is “Beautiful World.” I love it because of its sincere simplicity and imperturable message. The song also provides some apt lyrics that are timeless. He describes how there are great negatives in the world, but one must learn to appreciate the niceties of life because, hey, “perhaps this is as good as it gets.” He also uses lapsang souchong in his lyric, and anyone who uses this popular tea leaf in a song succesfully deserves some credit. The song’s melody is soft and Hay gives it just enough of a taste of smokiness. That actually sounds like lapsang souchong tea. So, listen to this song while enjoying some tea.
Another recording I’d like to share with you from Hay is a cover of “Norwegian Wood” he recently recorded at a session with Rolling Stone magazine. It’s so beautifully stripped down and it’s bare acoustic style is inviting. I could listen to Hay sing and play guitar for hours. It is that relaxing. Enjoy and have a beautiful day in the beautiful world.
Hay’s new album Gathering Mercury was released earlier this year and it definitely deserves a listen. Check out more from Hay at his website
The Music Court 
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