Well before Coca-Cola switched to using high-fructose corn syrup, the company enlisted the talents of the sweet-voiced Bee Gees to spruik (that’s Australian for “tout”) their product in a couple of ad spots that ran during 1967. Both ads had 60- and 90-second versions that were followed by an announcer acknowledging the Bee Gees and, of course, mentioning Coke.
The songs were recorded by the Bee Gees’ band, including guitarist Vince Melouney and drummer Colin Petersen, along with an orchestra conducted by Bill Shepherd .
The first song, “Sitting in the Meadow”, features a lively shuffle-beat, and invites the listener to “have a bottle of Coke or two”:
At 0:30, we hear the familiar “Things Go Better With Coke” theme.
The second song, “Another Cold And Windy” day starts as a gloomy ballad, but inevitably segues to the Coke theme at 0:40. Just before announcer’s bit, there’s a modulation up a third at 0:50.
“As recently conjectured by Mark Fisher’s audio-essay On Vanishing Land, the Suffolk (UK) coastline is a haunted landscape, littered with the relics of past conflicts, awash with ghosts and subject to the ever-intensifying erosion of the tides,” (The Quietus). “Electronic music pioneer Thomas Dolby is intimately acquainted with the strange magic of the place, having spent a sizeable portion of his childhood under its spell.”
Thomas Dolby’s extensive 2013 UK tour featured “a live soundtrack to his new film, The Invisible Lighthouse. This highly personal work was inspired by the closing of Orford Ness lighthouse, whose beam has illuminated the shingles since 1792. ‘It’s a love letter to this part of England,’ explains Dolby, who moved from California back to Suffolk in the latter part of the last decade. “It’s not the picture postcard England that we usually export to the rest of the world. It’s a fairly bleak place, and it has this eerie atmosphere. East Anglia is always the frontline when there’s an invasion threatening, so there are lumps of concrete dissolving into sand, bits of barbed wire and tank tracks that act as a constant reminder.’
On his return to East Anglia, Dolby set up studio in a solar and wind-powered 1930s lifeboat christened The Nutmeg Of Consolation. Here, docked on the very edge of England, he recorded his first album of original material for almost 20 years, A Map of the Floating City (2011). ‘The album really absorbed the atmosphere,’ he says. ‘I was immersed in it, surrounded by it, 360 degrees.’
The album’s East Anglian influence is felt most strongly on ‘To the Lifeboats’ … an elegy … for a future England finally engulfed by the waves.” Beginning in a quiet-textured A minor, the tune shifts to the parallel A major at 1:33, announcing a much denser chorus. 2:18 brings an instrumental verse, this time in F# minor, leading back to a vocal verse in the original A minor that seems nonetheless new.
“I Wouldn’t Like You,” from Australian comedian/musician Tim Minchin’s 2025 release Time Machine, “begins as a tender piano ballad, gently unfolding with Minchin’s signature lyrical wit and emotional nuance, before gradually building into a more guitar-driven, alt-rock finish,” (Amnplify). “At its heart, the track is a wry and quietly romantic ode to loving someone exactly as they are, quirks, contradictions and all. With lines like ‘I wouldn’t like you if you weren’t like you,‘ Minchin delivers a love song that’s both offbeat and sincere, playfully rejecting perfection in favour of authenticity. It’s equal parts dry humour and heartfelt truth, wrapped in a deceptively simple melody that swells with feeling as the track evolves.
Tim Minchin said: ‘Of all the tunes on this record that have been reinvented, this one has had the most successful vibe update. I always thought this was a keeper, but now with Evan’s loping groove, and the pure undeniable jank of Jak’s guitar in the chorus… I love it.’ The track adds a new layer to the growing portrait painted by Time Machine, a curated anthology of previously unreleased material. This collection of 11 songs offers a glimpse into the mind of the songwriter Tim was before global acclaim, showcasing a raw, witty, and deeply human side of his artistry.”
The intro verses are built in Bb major; the pre-chorus (0:49) and brief chorus (1:14) shift to the closely-related key of Eb major. At 1:26, the cycle repeats.
UK-based Tears for Fears’ third studio album was The Seeds of Love (1989). “Kicked off with the release of the titular single, Tears For Fears presented a new sound that drew strongly from the influence of The Beatles with a track that was at once deliberately nostalgic and fully present,” (Albumism). “An epic ode to the musical influence and production brilliance of the fab four (five if you include George Martin, and you should) “Sowing the Seeds of Love” plays to the strengths of Tears For Fears’ songwriting, weaving a tapestry of captivating melodies and sing-along lyrics that carry a serious undertone.
With a jubilant energy, it flourishes with kaleidoscopic production that transcends being a grab-all of Beatles production and becomes a joyful exuberance that is all its own. But anyone expecting a TFF meets Sgt. Pepper’s album was pleasantly surprised as The Seeds of Love unfurls. Pushing beyond the Beatles-esque psychedelia, the album embraces tones of soul, jazz, pop, world music and orchestral flourishes.”
Starting in G minor for the verse, the tune transitions to C major for chorus (heard for the first time at 0:40). At 0:57, verse 2 returns to G minor. At 1:48, a sprawling multi-section bridge unfolds: an instrumental interlude shifts into F major, shifting into a bridge with vocals at 2:22. At 3:12, a primarily instrumental chorus turns on the hot-and-cold running “Penny Lane”-era Beatles taps in full, complete with a sprightly trumpet feature in C major. 3:29 brings yet another bridge section to the table, this time in A minor. 3:59 provides a new section, returning to G minor; the harmonic material suggests another verse, but the melody and lyric structure are different from the initial verses, providing what might as well be a central tenet of the band’s trademark focus on self awareness: time to eat all your words / swallow your pride / open your eyes. At 4:49, the C major chorus makes its triumphant return. This track is arguably the most vivid section of The Seeds of Love, perhaps Tears for Fears’ most multi-layered canvas.
Thanks to Steck for submitting this mod. His write-up is below:
Vocalist Trijntje Oosterhuis is a Dutch pop star. Her first fame came with the pop group Total Touch, which included her brother Tjeerd. She was a founding member of the Dutch supergroup Ladies of Soul, originally formed for a memorial concert for Whitney Houston, and which continues to put on an annual concert. In her solo career, she’s recorded several albums of Burt Bacharach compositions, with Bacharach playing on some tracks.
“Joy to the World” is an English Christmas carol dating from 1719. (Editor’s note: Jeremiah the bullfrog is not part of this tune.) This recording is taken from her 2010 release of holiday songs “This Is The Season”.
Starting in B♭, there’s a modulation to B at 1:14. After a finger-picking guitar section by guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, there’s another half-step modulation at 1:58, and the choir takes us out.
Thanks to JB for finding this stunning 12-cello arrangement of Carol of the Bells. His words below:
“I love the way the arrangement uses a key change in the “inner” quotation of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (key change at 2:10; quotation starts at 1:44) to then change the key in the “outer” tune of Carol of the Bells.
It’s also uncanny how this specific combination — (a) pizzicato cellos (b) making a whole-tone upwards mod — so strongly evokes a particular cinematic trope: viz., Jason Bourne, or some other Cold-War-era spy, being chased across a plaza in some European city as the net closes in.”
Written by MotD favorite David Foster with Linda Thompson-Jenner, “Grown-Up Christmas List” is the fourth track on the 2016 holiday album Christmas Is Here! by Pentatonix. The arrangement, which also features Kelly Clarkson on vocals, is based on Amy Grant’s cover.
Starting in Eb, there is a shift to C at 0:51 for the first chorus. It returns to Bb for the second verse and C for the second chorus. There is a modulation up a third to E for a brief interlude at 3:05, and a final key change down to Db at 3:20.
Thanks to MotD contributor Joya for finding this reharm-filled arrangement of Sleigh Ride by multi-instrumentalist Oli Howe, featuring vocals by Tori Kelly. Modulation at 1:41.
R&B singer Mary J. Blige featured English vocalist Jessie J on her cover of “Do You Hear What I Hear,” the ninth track on her first holiday album, A Mary Christmas, released in 2013. The track starts in Ab and subtly shifts up to A at 1:56
Johnny Mathis recorded “Do You Hear What I Hear” for his third holiday record, Give Me Your Love for Christmas, released in 1969. The track starts in C and bumps up a half step at 1:28.
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