From live theatre critic Michael J. Curtiss comes this knockout crowd-sourced 2019 cover of “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen. Boys’ choruses from Welsh towns and cities large and small were brought together through Only Boys Aloud, the boys’ division of The Aloud Charity. Aloud’s mission is “to engage young people across Wales with the power of choral singing.”
The modulation is at 2:29 after a gorgeous transition passage starting at 2:18.
According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “‘Jackie Blue’ has a certain structure that happens to sound good on a car radio.” The tune was the first of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils‘ singles to feature drummer Larry Lee on lead vocal. The Montreal Gazette, assuming that the track was sung by a woman, scolded the band for producing a track that sounded like “an outrageous knockoff of Fleetwood Mac’s sound, down to the female lead.” The track hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1975.
The verses are in Eb minor, transitioning to G majvor for the choruses (0:28) and back to Eb for the next verse (0:46), etc.
Duke Ellington’s ballad “In a Sentimental Mood” (1935) was recorded several times by its composer, including this version with saxophonist John Coltrane from 1963. The tune starts in Bb minor and ends in Db major, with a middle eight in A major (1:10 – 1:35). The tune saw prominent covers by Art Tatum, Sonny Rollins, and McCoy Tyner, among others.
Of the recording session, Coltrane said: “(Duke) has set standards I haven’t caught up with yet. I would have liked to have worked over all those numbers again, but then I guess the performances wouldn’t have had the same spontaneity. And they mightn’t have been any better!”
From MotD fan Jonathan Jharms Harms comes a beautifully detailed breakdown of an all-time best pop modulation we featured in 2017.
“If you’re like me, you’ve found yourself on a night on the town with friends, singing along to the The Doobie Brothers‘ 1979 classic ‘What a Fool Believes’ – but when the chorus comes, no one can find the right note. Is it the alcohol? Is it your memory? Nope – it’s modulation! Modulation written so smoothly you never noticed.
Songwriter Michael McDonald, after emphasizing the IV chord in every phrase of the song, makes the most soulful (and innocuous) of changes in the chorus – beginning the chorus a minor iv instead of a major IV. But wait – no – that was a pivot to a new key! Before you know it, we transition from C# major to E major – a strange jump to a very unrelated key, but without you ever noticing. Only the most observant will notice the A naturals turning into A sharps as the chorus fades into Verse 3, back to C# major.
Unlike other modulations that are all about calling attention to themselves or ‘raising the stakes,’ this one simply takes you on a ride. Maybe that’s why we’re still singing (or failing to sing) this amazing song, 40 years later.”
From Kent P., a MotD fan who’s contributed before, comes the show-stopping production number “Show Off” from The Drowsy Chaperone, which was produced on Broadway in 2006.
Kent reports: “A hilarious number that makes fun of every old musical cliché by doing them. And of course, one such cliché is the key change! Here’s a video (with good audio quality but less good video quality) from the Tony Awards, with Sutton Foster performing the song. There’s a long intro to the actual song, which doesn’t start until 1:35; after many other key changes, the main modulation is around 4:35. It is probably the most self-referential modulation ever!”
Elvis Costello‘s 1980’s atmospheric “Clubland,” produced by Nick Lowe, is another contribution from prolific mod correspondent JB. The track features “quasi-latin” piano by Steve Nieve, according to American Songwriter, that’s “all over the place, propelling the song in different directions, without ever getting in the way of the tune.”
Starting in B minor, there’s a switch to B major for the chorus at 0:35, then back to minor for verse 2 at 0:51. At 1:37, the bridge begins, combining alternating B major and B minor within the vocal line from 1:52 – 2:07. Many thanks to blue-ribbon mod contributor JB for this tune!
Some hard funk/electronica from KNOWER: The band has recently opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and has featured prestigious guest artists such as percussionist/vocalist Nate Wood of Kneebody and keyboardist/vocalist Jonah Nilsson of Dirty Loops.
The frenetic pace of “Overtime” (2017) finds the entire band in an almost impossible flow state, led by drummer/keyboardist/composer Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi, vocalist. After the tune starts in F# minor, the main groove hits at 0:33. A modulation to G# minor (0:50) is introduced by a 2-bar break, sparely punctuated by a few huge syncopated kicks. At 1:18, the tune reverts to F# minor and the cycle repeats.
Ever pushing the envelope, composer/pianist Burt Bacharach wasn’t content to throw a routine modulation into the 1964 ballad “A House Is Not a Home.” Instead, the tune’s bridge starts in the original key at 2:40, waits to change key until after the bridge has started at 2:53, and then reverts to the original key at 3:21.
While it was only a modest hit (#71) on its initial release, the song has spawned dozens of covers over the years, from Cher to Aretha Franklin to Sonny Rollins. The late Luther Vandross, a legendary 8-time Grammy winning vocalist, clearly made the tune his own. But the song’s original vocalist was frequent Bacharach muse Dionne Warwick.
Here is another rendition of “Moon River” by Henry Mancini, originally from the Breakfast At Tiffanys soundtrack (1961). This performance by Voctave features modulations at 1:36 and 2:23.
Singer/songwriter Jacques Brel produced music which AllMusic calls “literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that brought him a large, devoted following in France. His audience eventually extended internationally, making him a major influence on English-speaking writers and performers including Leonard Cohen and David Bowie.” After releasing many albums, often built around a contemporary chanson style, Brel produced a musical revue, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, off-Broadway at NYC’s Village Gate in 1968. The show has since enjoyed dozens of well-received revivals.
The show’s 26 story songs included a restless, ever-building waltz, “Marieke” — as much an ode to his Belgian homeland as to his beloved. Modulation at 2:23.
Lyric translation here.
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