I recognize that Mark Almond tune “The City” but I didn’t know whose song it was. Reminds me of Sade. Being totally unsophisticated, I like it.
For a brief time (thank God) there was a sophisticated station in LA dedicated to “world music”, which must have been distantly related to this style but managed to be consistently horrible. Aimless sound in search of a tune. My neighbors across the way loved it and would serenade the ‘hood with their outdoor speakers. Maybe it kept the rats and coyotes at bay, I dunno. It kept me at bay.
No, you’re not unsophisticated at all for liking The City! It’s got some chops.
1971 version:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7xkoiODV1ZE
1978 version (after Steely Dan influence):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFb-JahDNA
Jazz fusion sometimes incorporates influences of World Music, and when it incorporates a lot, it’s called World Fusion. I’m not much into it myself, so I understand your reaction to your neighbors 😁
My neighbor had a leaf b!ower obsession. He could not stand for there to be a single leaf on his patio so he’d get out his leaf blower *every single day* in the late afternoon just when I finally got a few moments for a little screen porch time. Ugh. So I retaliated with this CD I made I labelled “Stupid French Music” (lots of Charles Trenet, a little JJ Goldman, stuff like that).
I still crack up at the “mermaid chorus” in Trenet’s La Mer (although I actually think it a beautiful song and confess amid many blushes that I actually like Charles Trenet and find it fun to sing along with him — him so well, me so badly):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rveEkv4ZM8k
If you’re not familiar with JJ Goldman, he was a pop fave in France back in the late 80s/early 90s:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zuNmzTLwjcc
As you can see in the above video, he could have been the inspiration for the song “I’m Too Sexy for My Shirt” lol.