Friday's Playlist: Complex Pop Songs

This Friday's Playlist features some great pop songs which are infinitely more complex than they appear on the surface: odd time signatures, unusual chord changes, labyrinthian melodies, cryptic arrangements, mind-bending harmonies... all wrapped up in perfectly hummable, catchy little ditties full of hooks and commercial appeal.

We could have included all of Steely Dan's discography, or even most of David Bowie's, but as usual our rule is to try and avoid being repetitive so they are only featured here once. Listen and marvel at these sonic cathedrals of pristine melodies with just enough twists to pique the interest of even the most snobbish prog rock fan.

Whether it's in the instrumental performance as on the King Crimson number we've included, or the chord progression as in the Zombies' Care of Cell 44, these numbers are deceptively simple: they will satisfy your taste for catchy, immediate songs as well as quench your thirst for musical ambition. These songs are the ultimate paradox: they reconcile the simple and the convoluted. You can listen to them and enjoy the instant pay-off, but you can also scratch the surface and lose yourself in the overwhelming grandiose craft of it all, where style and substance become one. Now, that was one pretentious paragraph!

Enjoy, comment and share!