I never tire of hearing 'Year of the Cat' by Al Stewart.
When the band kicks in after the intro it gets me everytime.
And the song evokes so many pictures in my mind....lounging in my white linen suit sipping a dry martini as I contemplate my next move amongst the dusty crowded streets.

I'll quickly add 'Wichita Lineman' sung by Glen Campbell.
Will never get bored of hearing that one either.

Tom Waits...grows with me every year this performance

Chris Rea
the line "You can spend a whole lifetime trying to be what people expect of you but you'll never be free" grows with significance as I get older......

'something' that you appreciate or even if it happens everytime you hear the song.
There might be something literally on the song that hits you on each listen...a line, a drum fill, a harmony...whatever.
Or it's the changing feelings and emotions the song evokes on each listen.

You weren't specific about why 'Ghost Town' does it for you.
I understand it's the sound but what was the last thing that surprised you?
And I'm not having a go, I'm interested.

"Ghost Town" is seconded - it's still as fresh as a daisy.
I would add "Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys. While most punk/hardcore songs consist of one idea hammered repeatedly into the ground, this song bubbles with imagination to create a swirling malevolence that still thrills with every listen. It's perfect from start to finish:

It also sounds great on a pub piano...

Ghost Town’s on Radio 2 a lot at the moment, a trail for a documentary this weekend about 2Tone (Saturday at 7, I think - probably worth a listen) and sounds even more wonderful than it did “back in the day”.
As the board’s resident sap, can I suggest that this is sounding better than ever:

....but it's my aquired taste, getting better with each earful..... It is my favourite song. By one of my favourite artists. From Fife, Single Father, by Jackie Leven.

I can only find the lyrics, there only currently being a relatively poor italian live TV snippet, unrepresentative, on You-tube (there used to be more, I seem to recall). But I have MySpaced him too.

"If we should meet in Glasgow,
By chance on a rainy day,
Let's sit and drink in a damn good bar,
Till evening comes out to play.

And there are things I don't want to talk about,
Things I don't want to say,
Twisted spires and lonely byres,
And fishing boats in winter spray
Winter spray.

I was a single father,
Those were real harsh times,
I remember losing my baby every time I hear the church bell chime.
I was a single father,
But I just can't complain.
Got a heart full of headstones as I step down
As I step down
From the train
From the train

We walked down a leafy ravine,
To a cloud of dragonflies,
You pointed your finger in water,
At the colours in the sky.

You sat in your chair on the beach,
I waved to you from the sea,
You saw the wave and smile,
You were already lost to me
Lost to me.

I was a single father,
Those were real harsh times,
I remember losing my baby every time I hear a church bell chime.
I was a single father,
But I just can't complain.
Got a heart full of headstones as I step down
As I step down
From the train
From the train.

Now my son's in the English army,
He plays the guitar well,
I almost never see him,
I walk alone on a distant fell.

Now half the world is working,
Half is watching TV,
Some take smack and fall right back,
It's all the same to me,
Same to me.

I was a single father,
Those were real harsh times,
I remember losing my baby every time I hear a church bell chime.
I was a single father,
But I just can't complain.
Got a heart full of headstones as I step down
As I step down
As I step down
From the train
From the train"

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendI...

Sounds as amazing now as it did when released.
I don't recall ever hearing a 'remix' of this song.
It already sounds like it's been remixed.
Something new on every listen.
Stone cold classic.

(And, it's true, an enormous body) 12 or so LPs on Cooking Vinyl since about 94, but he has been around for years ahead of that, as leading light of Doll by Doll in the late 70s/80s, whose back catalogue has just been re-released. Also an LP as John St Clair in 71, the odd track of which that I have heard has strayed little fromhis celtic tinged romanticism. However, whilst his style of songwriting has never really changed, I have to say I find the production values of the 70s have somewhat masked the underlying strength of material, particularly the Doll by Doll, with its thunderous drums and echoed/thinned down vocals. I would probably suggest that the best introduction, entry level, so to speak, would be the Argyll Cycle, Vol 1, which is the least, um, "interfered with" of his LPs. He has a tendency, somewhere between irritating and endearing, of cluttering up his records with spoken word interlude and snippets of additional sounds, which may pall on first hearing. I actually began with his exemplary version of "Say a little prayer", a single that flopped, but that I first heard played by Janice Long on Glastonbury radio in 93 or so. I was intrigued by the richness of his voice and investigated.....
Most of his recorded material is with full backing, electric guitars etc, and often male voice choirs, but live he is one world weary and battered man, with world weary and battered accoustic guitar. And a compelling line of usually libellous and filthy anecdotage.
Go for it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

You can feel them almost bursting out of the song itself, there's not really a typical song structure to it, no verse chorus verse chorus. It's like they are struggling with the desire to break out of the punk rock sound and it seems to sign post the eventual change to their experimentation with London Calling.

When it breaks down to the "I Don't Trust You..." I still get goosebumps. There's an excellent live version in the movie Rude Boy that makes sitting through the film very worthwhile.

No not that song. For me i have a few,Great post Patrick by the way, At the moment the one that every time i listen i find something new is " Nobody's fault but mine" From Plant's wailing to JPJ's Killer bass line to a Seriously funky groove.It comes at me from a different angle every time.
Also in this catergory I'm going with
Indoor Fireworks-Elvis Costello,Get's more Haunting with every listen,
Loneliness finds her own way-Clem Snide
http://www.7digital.com/stores/productDetail.aspx?shop=34&pid=16516&more...
for 79p you won't regret it.

Backstreets by Brooooooce gets miles better every time I listen to it.

And, also, Stay Free by The Clash. Always find something new in that song

The last two tracks on "The Nightfly" - "The Good-bye Look" with it's hints at nefarious activities, segueing into "Walk Between The Raindrops" balance each other perfectly and just sound better every time.

And one of the best things about "Walk Between The Raindrops" is hearing the last few notes of the outro which mean I can turn the record over and start all over again.

a couple of oldies that do it for me are -

5 years - david bowie
i just love the defeatest sound of this song which actually opens the album - it just feels like he's already subjected himslef to his fate. Each time i hear it i keep imagining more scenes and stories to associate with its playful, mock sci fi/end of the world theme.

and

blue moon - big star

it had the potential to be one of the most heart breaking love songs of the era, with it's chamber pop baroque instrumentation - but just feels so lazy and half baked - but it amazingly enough benefits from its sloppy approach. the tune is alomost Pachebal's famous 'canon'.

in fact most of the 3rd album by Big star is growing on me with repeated listens - at first it seemed so patchy i stuck to only a few songs, but even the harrowing 'holocaust' is starting to reveal hidden depths every time i (can bring myself) listen to it.

what is it about the older 70's songs that everyone keeps going back to?

no one has mentioned anything post 1985 ish yet? have they?

Sometimes posts on here get to the real heart of the matter as to why we listen and why we post on this site!!

songs that improve or even change with every listen

Well someone above posted "Stay Free" by the Clash. There is something here in this song that is much more than being purely nostalgic, even when you first hear it, with Mick Jones's shakey cockney voice singing "And if you're in the Crown tonight have a drink on me, Stay Young, Stay Free" fantasmo chiming punk guitar and great drumming too!!

others that do it in the same fashion for me and I cant explain why,(well I could but I'd be here all day) are:

"Saturday Night"-Blue Nile
"Ballerina"-Van Morrison
"Down To Zero"-Joan Armatrading
"Maryan"-Robert Wyatt
"Old Europe"-Robert Wyatt
"Whistle Down The Wind"- Nick Heyward
"Be Thankful For what You Got"-William Devaughan
"Autumn Leaves"-Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis
and "My Favourite Things" John Coltrane (magical music that changes shape constantly before your very lug holes)

"I'm Ready"-Muddy Waters (when Little Walter hits that harmonica solo, you know the exact moment when its coming but even now after hundreds of listens, it still sounds different and raw and exciting and suprising everytime--aahh the greatness of music)

and a new one that is starting to work its magic on me is the marvellous "Summerfield Avenue" by Chris Wood from the terrific "Trespasser "

happy listening etc

"Time"-Pink Floyd. Seems to improve and mature year after year. "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time"

A master class in the creative use of samples. Every component part of Papua New Guniea is a hook. Everything works in harmony: – the blocky tribal beat; the muffled baseline that pads back and forth in the background; the echoing, choral chanting; the wailed chorus; the spacey keyboards, spitting out notes; the sheered-off metallic sound that appears halfway through the track and then recurs at the end of each phrase, almost like a full stop; the crystal clear, four note refrain that lingers long after everything else has died away.

Papua New Guinea is so perfectly conceived that it’s difficult to imagine what could be done to improve it. Although it has spawned numerous remixes the original 12 inch remains the definitive version.

http://www.last.fm/music/Momus/Timelord/Platinum

Possibly the best lyric ever, too:

If I told the truth I'd like to live my life again
Walk around my youth in somebody else's skin
One life's not enough for all that we contain
Nothing's going to save us now

Let's go back in time and see what bridges we can burn
Kick over our tracks on the eternal return
Throw away the facts and figures - we never learn
Nothing's going to save us now

Take me to the place where my decisions are relived
Give me answers to the question 'What would have happened if ..... '
Beyond the third dimension, beyond the fourth and fifth
In a parallel universe

Hey DJ you've got it all wrong
No more golden greats, no more platinum songs
Put these frozen moments in the fridge where they belong
Nothing's going to save us now

I don't say that life's not sad and death is not the end
Looks like you got typecast by a double-crossing friend
Looks like we were here before and we'll be back again
In a parallel universe

No regrets at least not yet is all that we can say
Stand-ins for ourselves in life's identity parade
Gone the crimes that you committed, gone the things you made
To a parallel universe

Hey DJ you've got it all wrong
No more golden greats, no more platinum songs
Put these master tapes back in the safe where they belong
We've got to live the hallelujah now

So let's go

Walk the city streets with me and cross a thousand lives
Count the possibilities that shine in people's eyes
Ask how many dreams we kill to keep our dreams alive
We've got to live the hallelujah now

Thank you for the memory, the curse you laid on me
Like a shooting star I burst into obscurity
Live this second first because the rest is history
Nothing's going to save us now

Hey DJ you've got it all wrong
No more greatest hits, no more platinum songs
Put these little shits back in the ground where they belong
Nothing's going to save us now

If I told the truth I'd like to live my life again
Walk around my youth in somebody else's skin
One life's not enough for all that we contain
We've got to live the halellujah now

So let's go

(From "Timelord", CRECD 151 - November 1993)

Most 80's production sounds awful, but this slice of genius has aged marvellously. Don't know why though.

'Sound and Vision' has always been one of my favourite Bowie tunes and remains fresh, and sounds better now than ever and I never tire of hearing it neither. 'Tis a classic I say.

Gram Parsons - "Ohh Las Vegas"
it never gets boring

"first time i lose i drink whiskey
second time i lose i drink gin
third time i lose i drink everything
cause i think i m gonna win"

you can never go wrong with that...

Have to agree with the Jackie Leven posts....I heard that song an a compilation album a few years back, wonderful then, wonderful now.

Here's a random list of songs I never tire of hearing:

1. Moondance - Van Morrison
2. A Long December - Counting Crows
3. Downtown Train - Tom Waits
4. This Is Not America - Bowie & Pat Metheny
5. Fall At Your Feet - Crowded House
6. Racing In The Street - Bruce Springsteen
7. Alison - Elvis Costello
8. Common People - Pulp
9. Fire and Rain - James Taylor
10. Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton

I could go on, but I really should do some work now...