Sam + Dave | Soul Man

“Sam + Dave electrified audiences with livewire performances, blending gospel-rooted vocal interplay and exhilarating stage presence,” (Stax Records). Their music pulsed with energy, driven by the call-and-response firepower of Sam Moore and Dave Prater. However, their voices alone weren’t enough to define their legacy — it took the songwriting brilliance of Stax’s Isaac Hayes and David Porter to tailor anthems that matched the duo’s intensity as performers.

… in 1967, ” … the United States was facing heightened racial tensions, culminating in the Detroit riots in July. As Isaac Hayes watched television coverage of the destruction, he noticed something: Black-owned businesses, marked with the word soul, were left untouched by looters. In a moment of strife, the word, to Black Detroiters in the know, was a covert symbol of solidarity, encouraging protection for Black businesses in the community. Hayes and Porter knew they had a pervasive concept to work with, shaping ‘Soul Man,’ deriving a personified embodiment of the phenomenon in Detroit. Porter built the lyrics around this idea, creating a protagonist who had endured hardship but emerged stronger through his connection to community and allegiance to soulfulness as a north star.

After recording the song, Sam + Dave released “Soul Man” in August 1967. The song quickly rose the charts. By October, it sat in the #1 seat on the R&B chart, remaining for seven weeks. On the pop charts, it soared to #2. Beyond its commercial success, “Soul Man” was an anthem—one that resonated deeply with audiences at a time when Black identity and empowerment were at the forefront of national conversations. In early 1968, ‘Soul Man’ won Sam + Dave a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, beating out competition from Otis Redding and Carla Thomas.

Built primarily in an alternating G major, “Soul Man” reaches a bridge at the 2:00 mark, providing a late transition to Ab major at 2:10. (“Late” is quite the relative term here, as the track’s entire runtime is only 2:38!).

Todd Rundgren | The Last Ride

“Todd Rundgren is, apparently by design, a bundle of contradictions,” (Trouser Press). “A facile composer of memorable hook-filled pop melodies, he has often chosen to make willfully difficult music. A one-man studio wiz proficient on any number of instruments … possessor of a highly original sound … (and) a tireless innovator at the boundaries of music technology, he has often performed with a lone acoustic guitar and piano. Rundgren’s gifts as a lyricist are impressive, yet he has also recorded a fair number of instrumentals. To some, he’s better known as a producer than an artist, although his commercial achievements in both realms are not inconsiderable. In short, the kid from Upper Darby, PA has fashioned a fascinating life out of following his muse wherever it goes.”

A few albums into his solo career and still in his 20s, Rundgren released Todd in 1974. The reviews were all over the map. “Todd sags under the weight of such indulgences as ‘In and Out the Chakras We Go (formerly ‘Shaft in Outer Space’),’ yet still contains ‘A Dream Goes on Forever,’ one of the most beautiful piano ballads ever recorded. ‘The Last Ride’ melds Todd’s pop sensibility with his Philly soul enthusiasm; ‘Izzat Love?’ could have been the album’s pop single, and the album ends with two triumphs. ‘Don’t You Ever Learn?’ runs over six minutes but wastes not a second with its washes of electric piano and strong melody, while the anthemic ‘Sons of 1984’ comes complete with backing vocals by concert-goers on two coasts. (Rundgren was one of the first rockers to truly understand and make creative use of the connections between artist and fans).”

The easy 6/8 groove of “The Last Ride” belies the tune’s rich harmonic textures and intense emotionality. Rundgren’s ballads frequently feature star-crossed relationships, lost horizons, and missed opportunities — and “The Last Ride” is no exception. I thought I knew just everything / I had it made and I could coast / But I turned away love when I needed it most. For this 2011 live version, the setting is Rundgren’s home in Hawaii, but the production credit (and the stellar band!) belong to fellow Philadelphia-area native Daryl Hall and his groundbreaking web series Live from Daryl’s House. Built primarily in G minor, the tune shifts to F minor at 2:36; the two keys alternate from there.

Ace Spectrum | Do You Remember Yesterday?

“New York R&B vocal group Ace Spectrum had a brief moment in the sun, but they remain favorites for their core fans more than four decades after they split,” (Soultracks). ” … the act began in the late 60s, releasing songs locally with some success. Ace Spectrum had a hit on both the pop and soul charts with the Ashford & Simpson-penned ‘Don’t Send Nobody Else,’ and also landed the dance hit ‘Live and Learn’ in 1976. They had more success on the album charts, hitting the top 40 with both Inner Spectrum and Low Rent Rendezvous.

The group achieved some unusual notoriety in 1975 for releasing a cover of ‘Third Rate Romance’ following its release by the similarly named Amazing Rhythm Aces, creating some confusion among music fans (though we actually liked Ace Spectrum’s cover better). By the end of the decade, Ace Spectrum members announced publicly that they were breaking up … “

Starting in a slightly uptuned intro in a mixed Eb major and minor, “Do You Remember Yesterday?” (1976) shifts into a verse in Eb major at 0:34. At 0:50, the pre-chorus returns to Eb minor, continuing through the chorus (1:06 – 1:38). At 1:39, the pattern continues, growing in intensity and complexity of arrangement (the string section is working hard!).

Alanis Morissette | Head Over Feet

“During a live performance, Morissette told fans the story behind ‘Head Over Feet’ (1995), which finds the rage-fueled ‘You Oughta Know’ singer in the unfamiliar territory of a healthy relationship, (Songfacts). ‘ … When I wrote (the song) about this particular person, it was the first time that I actually had a glimpse of what it would be like to be in love and have it be something that was inducing heart palpitations, yet at the same time I could spend a couple minutes and actually not think about that person. It was very new to me.’

Creating the album was only part of the battle: Alanis didn’t have a record deal, so they were shopping it while they were recording it. They got lots of rejections before landing it with Maverick Records, Madonna’s label … ‘It’s very conversational and doesn’t adhere to any structure. I had been attempting to write without consideration for rhyming for quite a long time, and a lot of people would just stop writing with me – they would physically leave the room … ‘” Glen Ballard, a writer matched with Morissette via the record company, told Rolling Stone: “I just connected with her as a person, and, almost parenthetically, it was like ‘Wow, you’re 19?’ She was so intelligent and ready to take a chance on doing something that might have no commercial application. Although there was some question about what she wanted to do musically, she knew what she didn’t want to do, which was anything that wasn’t authentic and from her heart.”[

Forgoing an intro and jumping right into the verse in C major, Jagged Little Pill‘s fifth single shifts up to D major for the chorus at 0:38. Verse 2 returns to the original key; the pattern continues from there. The broader-ranging harmonic structures of the chorus, including an unusual chromatic bass motion, contrast with the cliché chord progression and more repetitive melodic phrases of the verse.

for Amy

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | El Niño

“The nine players strong big band with the name that couldn’t possibly be more programmatic,” (Delrohsen) … “Even though their music has never been stuck in 60s/70s nostalgia and incorporates younger ideas like Hip Hop grooves or modern styles of guitar shredding, the overall vibe – no matter if the tune is smooth and soulful or a little more dirty and edgy – is one that makes you expect to see the ghosts of Charles Bradley and James Brown come down to join into the jam while Freddie Hubbard blows his horn at any given moment … ”

The band “continues the journey of broadening (its) sound with new influences and ideas, while maintaining their addictive easy accessibility. This is music for the soul, for good times – and to turn bad times around.”

Starting in D minor, “El Niño” (2019) at times covers its metric tracks a bit when it comes to “finding one,” including the moment the horn section makes its first entrance. But other sections have a groove that’s completely straightforward. At 1:52, an unprepared key change lifts us up to Eb minor in time for a tenor sax feature. After a percussion break clears the air, we return to D minor to close out the tune.

David Bowie | Across the Universe

“Bowie’s cover of John Lennon’s ‘Across the Universe’ was a blatant, and successful, attempt to lure Lennon into the studio,” (Pushing Ahead of the Dame / BowieSongs). “Bowie and Lennon had first met in late 1974 at a small party in Bowie’s New York hotel suite. The two didn’t converse for hours until, cocaine and Cognac fueled, they began sketching caricatures of each other on notepads. Tony Visconti … recalled that the party ended with everyone in the room getting into ‘a dismally dark conversation about what does it all mean, it being life, which left us all staring dejectedly at the floor.’

About a week into New Year ’75, Bowie called up Lennon and said he was in Electric Lady Studios doing a cover of ‘Across the Universe’ (the whole thing seems like a set-up, as there was no need for another track on Young Americans; Visconti, oblivious to these developments, was in London doing string arrangements for a record he thought was completed). So Lennon went down, played acoustic guitar on ‘Universe,’ then stuck around to jam on another attempted take of ‘Foot Stompin” and wound up co-writing a #1 hit, ‘Fame.’ … It was likely a matter of Bowie being star-struck: how could he deny the temptation to include his very own Beatle collaboration? … Bowie’s interpretation seems to be a bungled attempt to mine the song’s thin vein of defiance. Calling the Beatles original ‘watery’ (no foul there), he decided instead to ‘hammer the hell out of it.‘” The reviewer doesn’t hold back: “Bowie finishes the track off with an extended tantrum … One of Bowie’s low points of the decade, just excruciatingly bad.”

After a start in D major, there’s a whole-step shift upward to E major at 1:58. Going beyond a garden-variety unprepared key change, this shift involves a metric hiccup via a stumble across a truncated measure as well.

Lords of the New Church | Live For Today

“Formed in 1981, the Lords of the New Church had a formidable intercontinental punk rock pedigree. Singer Stiv Bators and guitarist Brian James were founding members of Cleveland’s Dead Boys and London’s The Damned, respectively, both successful and influential punk pioneers (Qobuz) … But while the Lords’ music had elements of punk, it was more melodic, better-produced, and played with a higher degree of professionalism. This alienated some of the hardcore punk audience, but brought the Lords a much wider and more diverse fan base.”

LOTNC’s 1983 cover of The Grass Roots’ 1967 hit single “Live for Today” features several key changes absent from the original. Built primarily in B minor, the track shifts briefly downward to A minor for an instrumental verse at 1:47; at 2:12, the tonality climbs up two whole steps to C# minor for the balance of the tune.

The Tymes | You Little Trustmaker

“The Tymes began as the Latineers in 1956,” (Philadelphia Music Alliance). In 1963, they released their hit record “So Much In Love” … “the song hit number one on the Billboard charts. The classic was also the first record to replace the Beatles in the number one slot on the British charts. ‘So Much In Love’ is currently number 38 on Billboard’s all time record list. Their other most requested chart toppers include ‘Wonderful, Wonderful,’ ‘Somewhere’ and ‘You Little Trustmaker.’ … The Tymes, now known as The Original Tymes, were the 2005 inductees of The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Foundation in Youngstown, Ohio. They were also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award and Retro Artist award in 2017 by The American Music Guild.” The group joined the Philly Music Walk of Fame in 2023.

RCA Records signed the group in late 1973. Soul Express: “Those days, RCA paid serious attention to developing their soul roster and they were awarded with some hits by the Hues Corporation (‘Rock the Boat’), Wilson Pickett (‘Mr. Magic Man’), the New Birth (‘I Can Understand It’), the Main Ingredient (‘Everybody Plays the Fool,’ ‘Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely’) and the Friends of Distinction (‘Grazing In the Grass,’ ‘Going In Circles,’ ‘Love Or Let Me Be Lonely’). In the summer of 1974, RCA released their first Tymes single … ‘You Little Trustmaker.’ Written by Christopher Mack Jackson, the single stayed on the Billboard charts for fourteen weeks and reached #12 (pop), #20 (soul) and #18 (UK pop).”

Starting with its intro featuring a distinctive wordless vocal, “You Little Trustmaker” is initially in F major. 1:53 shifts up to F# major, bringing an instrumental verse featuring a full compliment of strings and brass, augmented with another wordless moment. Stick around for the track’s genre-defying unresolved ending!

The Fretless | Jenny Bear

“There was a time when the fiddle was a complete ‘band’ unto itself. Barn dances, church gatherings, parties on the back porch, weddings, funerals (The Bluegrass Situation) … the musical cornerstone of these occasions, from Appalachia to Ireland and far beyond, was oftentimes a lone fiddle, standing apart, unencumbered. The ability of a fiddle to cut through the white noise and to wail at un-ignorable frequencies perfectly suited it to this role. There’s an immediacy to the droning sustain or slippery slurs, the humming double-stops or bouncing triplets of the instrument that, even solo, won’t leave your ears wanting more.

Canadian string ensemble the Fretless take this immediacy and multiply it by four. They translate the visceral, primal sounds that led fiddle to evolve into these one-instrument-band scenarios and weave them together so artfully that, all at once, they sound homogenous, as one cohesive unit, while the constituent parts remain perfectly distinct — as if they were each leading their own raucous living room step dance … you can feel the live audience leaning forward, reflecting the lilting energy of the modern-flavored percussive chopping and the timeless jig and reel drive back to the Fretless, who give it directly back to their audience. It’s almost as if they know they’re transporting each listener to a back porch, dance hall, or barn party with every bow stroke.”

Since forming in 2011, The Fretless “has toured extensively across Canada and worldwide, including Australia, South and North America, and seven European tours—playing historic small halls to prestigious stages such as the Cologne Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra Hall, Shetland Folk Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, and two sold-out shows at Celtic Connections (artist site). “At home, they’ve captivated audiences at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Small Halls, Hillside Festival, and Mariposa Folk Festival. They also had the honour of sharing the bill with legendary Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster for Canada Scene at the National Arts Centre.”

After a start in D minor and a shift to D major at 0:38, “Jenny Bear” (2018) alternates a bit more between these two key areas. The harmonic shifts and compelling groove would seem to provide plenty to keep the audience happy. But at 2:13 the tune shifts suddenly to E — and the jumps between major and minor accelerate to an even faster cadence.

Toto | Rosanna

“Each member of Toto played a part in bringing ‘Rosanna’ to fruition. Vocalist Bobby Kimball and guitarist Steve Lukather transposed the musical key so the verse and chorus could be traded between them as a duet,” (LouderSound). “(Keyboardists) Steve Porcaro and David Paich ironed out the keyboard solo at five o’clock in the morning. Late drummer Jeff Porcaro laid down a masterful shuffle inspired by John Bonham.

‘Jeff was really into Led Zeppelin,’ Lukather told Classic Rock, ‘and for ‘Rosanna’ he morphed ‘Fool In the Rain’ [from Zep’s 1979 album In Through The Out Door] with a Bernard Purdie drum groove [a renowned session drummer, Purdie invented the Purdie Shuffle]. And we took it from there.’ As former session musicians to a man, it was little surprise that Toto bottled ‘Rosanna’ fast in the studio. ‘In one afternoon we did the basic rhythm track,’ Lukather said. ‘And that first guitar solo was made up on the spot the first time we played it.'”

All the hard work certainly paid off: upon its release in the summer of 1982, the track reached US #2 and UK #12. Starting in G major, the key shifts down to F major for the second half of the verse. But the downward motion in key is muted by a rising melodic range (up a minor seventh) as the lead vocal shifts from Lukather to Kimball at 0:36.