Up Against Some Pretty Titanic Odds

Lyricist Bernie Taupin’s pick of Shawn Colvin’s “Sunny” as the longshot winner in the best song category last year was so impressive that Calendar invited Elton John’s longtime writing partner back for a second round of Grammy song evaluation. This time, he agreed to give Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn his views on the rock and country song nominees as well as the song of the year finalists.

Song of the Year

The nominees: “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Diane Warren; “Iris,” John Rzeznik; “Lean on Me,” Kirk Franklin; “My Heart Will Go On,” James Horner and Will Jennings; “You’re Still the One,” Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain

Taupin thinks predicting the winner in this category is a snap: “My Heart Will Go On,” the ballad from “Titanic.” The hard thing, he feels, is finding a tune that deserves to be called song of the year.

Though a fan of Aerosmith, the band that recorded it, Taupin finds the Diane Warren song dated. “Like something that would have been done in the ‘80s by, say, Whitesnake or Journey,” he says. “I’m not sure it’s all the song’s fault, but the record sounds very synthetic.”

Taupin considers Celine Dion’s vocal on “My Heart Will Go On” even more anemic. “I like the [Irish] pipes at the beginning of the record because it reminds me of the Chieftains, but the song doesn’t go anywhere. There’s nothing exciting or moving about it.”

Franklin’s pop-gospel ballad strikes him as “an ensemble piece . . . a song that sounds like it was put together in bits rather than woven together as a song.”

About “You’re Still the One,” he declares co-writer and producer Lange a recording marvel. “Mutt is redefining country music with Shania Twain the same way he redefined metal with Def Leppard. It’s the same production basically. . . . Very meticulous and defined.” Still, Taupin brands the song’s sentiment as saccharine.

That leaves the Goo Goo Dolls’ wistful “Iris” as the winner by default. “It’s the only song with even a trace of subtlety,” he says. “The others are just so overblown, which is why it is such a weak field this year.”

Taupin’s unenthusiastic choice: “Iris”

Rock Song

The nominees: “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” Richard Ashcroft, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; “Celebrity Skin,” Billy Corgan, Eric Erlandson and Courtney Love; “Closing Time,” Dan Wilson; “Have a Little Faith in Me,” John Hiatt; “Uninvited,” Alanis Morissette

Taupin starts off by throwing out Semisonic’s “Closing Time.” His verdict: “There’s nothing unique about it, . . . nothing that stops you and makes you wish you had written it.”

Everything else gets praised. The Verve’s “Symphony” is a “great record, but the record’s strengths to me are as much in Ashcroft’s vocal and the production work as in the song itself.”

Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” also gets a thumbs up, but Taupin feels much of its impact, too, is tied to Love’s vocal and the arrangement. “Unlike the Celine Dion song, I believe what Courtney is singing. The song also has some great [chord] changes in it. It would be good enough to win some years.”

“Uninvited” also impresses Taupin. “There’s an intensity and an individuality that you don’t hear a lot in records these days.”

But “Have a Little Faith in Me” is the winner for Taupin, who is a huge fan of Hiatt. “He’s a great melody writer and a great lyricist. On this record, it’s just him and his piano, but he puts so much raw emotion into the song and the vocal that you can’t help but be moved.”

Taupin’s choice: “Have a Little Faith in Me”

Country Song

The nominees: “Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” Billy Kirsch and Steve Wariner; “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind,” Vince Gill and Troy Seals; “This Kiss,” Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff; “To Make You Feel My Love,” Bob Dylan; “You’re Still the One,” Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain

Wariner is a solid country songwriter, Taupin feels, but “Holes” isn’t his best work: “The story line is just a little too sweet for me.”

Taupin, who has already commented on the Lange-Twain song, acknowledges there are some clever lines in the Faith Hill hit “This Kiss,” but not enough to woo his endorsement away from the two strongest nominees.

“I like the Dylan song a lot, and I think Garth [Brooks] did a great job on it [on the “Hope Floats” soundtrack]. . . . His vocal is so convincing that I forgot for a moment that it was Dylan’s song.”

But Taupin was most taken by “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind,” a heartbreak song from Gill’s excellent “The Key” album. “He’s an extraordinary singer, and this song felt like a classic the moment I heard it. When you hear ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ you think, ‘So what?’ But then you hear a song like this, and you feel every note of it, every ache. To me, that’s true songwriting.”

Taupin’s choice: “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind.”