I guess that with the Alt rock era being so huge in the early nineties, it's rather easy to overlook the fact that there also were plenty of beautiful songs coming from other musical area's. Let's name the songs from the nineties that made you go "Gosh, that was a beautiful piece of music."
Nils Lofgren (and the Boss on backing vocal) "Valentine"
Such a beautiful song, a tender ballad.
Poco - "Call it love"
Okay, okay, I know this one isn't from the nineties, it's from 1989 but it does capture the emerging sound of nineties Americana. AND it introduced me to the legends which are POCO!
The Rembrandts - Just The Way It Is, Baby
When I first heard this song in junior high I did a double take and went "Who are that band, I NEED to know."
The Beatles - "Free as a bird"
It's funny but I guess the reason why this song and "Real love" were released is mostly BECAUSE of alt rock bands like Oasis, Kula Shaker and Nirvana cited them as influences. The Beatles were in the spotlight again thanks to that praise they got. The Jeff Lynn production also gives the Fab four a more contemporary sound (which wasn't to everybody's liking.) But imagine how many kids in the nineties discovered the Beatles thanks to this song.
And I'll close off with an oddball in this list.
Pulp - "Something changed"
Pulp was one of those "Can't-pin-them-down" bands that emerged, during that time. Were they Indie? Were they Britpop? Were they alt rock? There was no answer except for the fact that they were Pulp. And this swooning song about the uncertanties of life will always be one of my favorites of theirs.
