If you write a song, or any piece of music the genius folk from any era had the knack of writing a catchy top line, or 'tune'and then putting chords to it that work better than the obvious ones. I've been trying to improve my piano playing, and what struck me was that when people put chords over the music, they're often 'wrong' or too clever. McCartney and others had a tune, but they also frequently had the bass playing it's own bass melody. With guitar chords played on maybe 3 or 4 of the strings these all combine to make new chord sounds - these combining melodies might well be Eb13 from the perspective of what actual notes are sounding, but they're not really - just a chord moving somewhere else. This also works for the rock and rollers who might be using 3 chords tops - add in the other musicians and there are loads of nice flavours. The great songs all do this - a sort of journey that chord names don't quite get. McCartney was very clever at playing notes that run together - like that Blackbird song. When you see him play it, it makes real sense, yet the chords make it look very complicated and clever. I suspect most of the great compositions from baroque time through to today were sounds first, chords written down later. Some great songs, by artists you really don't like are still great songs when you look at them. I don't like Adele - but that song Make you feel my love is one of those where a very common chord progression stands out because of the lowest sort of bass line hidden in the chord progression on the piano. Any bass player hears this and its even predictable until little changes pop up like the "I will never do you wrong" where a chord slaps you in the face.
I don't really have a favourite = just any song that does this kind of thing - Elton John does the same. Maybe Bach and Pachelbel had the same gift for this kind of 'tune writing'?
