Our current episode is about ‘And I Love Her‘. I suspect that this is a song that will divide a great many people. It will appear twee and slight to some. A soppy ballad. There was a time when I would have viewed it in the same way. However, now I am won over by it’s complex simplicity. It sets a template for, and towers over, many of the ballads-yet-to-come.

The complex simplicity allows a focus on the quality of the singing which is a key reason why it outshines Lennon’s ‘If I Fell‘. Lennon’s song dances around a bit too much for his voice. McCartney’s allows him to hit every note with a much greater sharpness.

It’s sometimes easy to forget how important and yet difficult melody is in pop. Performance, persona, rhythm and virtuosity are keenly valued. Melody can sometimes seem a little, well, light. For reasons I can’t remember but are probably related to the dreaded algorithm, I’ve been listening to quite a lot of Aztec Camera songs recently. Back in the day, they were just one of many interesting bands but not one I found any deep affinity for. I think, in my younger and more vulnerable years, I mistook melody for lightness and therefore Aztec Camera were deemed unworthy of further investigation. I was, of course, absolutely wrong.

The evidence is obvious. Case number 1, Oblivious, a song released when Roddy Frame was nineteen. This version features Graham Gouldman of 10cc and Neil Finn. Watch it to the end and you’ll hear Finn remark that “There’s a lot of chords in that song” and he’s absolutely right. But that’s not the only thing that makes it a delight. It’s the maturity of song’s construction (Middle eight – a delight. Guitar solo – a direct descendant of George in ‘And I Love Her’? It’s far too orangey for crows and that’s probably fair as it would have seemed a bit twee when I was younger) and the power of the original performance that takes that melody and amplifies up to something bordering on genius. If only he’d had another songwriter to take the burden off him…

Case number 2 is Good Morning Britain. It’s less melodic than Oblivious but still have a killer chorus. The difference is really in the performance. It’s sung with Mick Jones taking alternate lines. Although he wasn’t the main singer with The Clash, he did take lead vocals with reasonable frequency, including on Should I Stay Or Should I Go, a Levi’s No.1 smash hit, irony fans. But here he is almost embarrassingly out sung by Frame.

Aztec Camera’s back catalogue is worth investigating as there’s plenty of variety and yet the strong through line is Roddy Frame. He worked with some excellent people in his rotating cast of band mates and producers but the heart of Aztec Camera is his own. In 2013 he played the debut album in order at an anniversary show. Even though the footage comes from fans in the crowd, you can see the delight he takes in playing these songs to an admiring audience, keen to revel in moments from days gone by. It’s almost Macca-esque.