The Past Tunes listening room
A good place
to press play.
Five songs to start with. Five albums to return to. Follow our selections into the stories behind the music.
These are Past Tunes editorial selections from our existing archive, offered as listening routes rather than chart rankings. Open each story for its musical context and available listening links.
Five songs to start with
Different voices. A shared era.Superstition
Begin with the groove: a keyboard riff and a rhythm that make an immediate invitation.
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When Doves Cry
Follow the space in the arrangement and the distinctive sound of Prince’s 1984 hit.
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Time After Time
A quieter turn, built around vulnerability, reassurance and an unmistakable voice.
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Jolene
Hear how a repeating pattern keeps a direct, personal plea in motion.
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What’s Going On
Move from a familiar melody into a wider conversation about the world around it.
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Five albums to revisit
ALL ALBUM STORIES ↗Songs in the Key of Life
A generous route into Wonder’s songwriting, voices and instrumental colours.
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Purple Rain
Explore an album, a film and a defining moment in Prince’s musical world.
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Amazing Grace
Listen for the relationship between the singer, the musicians and the room.
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Can’t Slow Down
A compact collection that moves between close ballads and open, celebratory pop.
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She’s So Unusual
Discover the different moods behind a debut remembered for its vivid personality.
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