The first song on Heart’s debut 1975 LP, Dreamboat Annie, is the epic, “Crazy On You,” (American Songwriter). “The song, which begins with an acoustic riff that sounds like it’s being plucked by five or six hands (not just by one of guitarist Nancy Wilson’s) leads into one of the most stalwart guitar licks of all time. Borne out of fits of passion amidst troubled political times (see: War, Vietnam), the track describes the desire to forget everything happening outside one’s windows and succumb to passion. With this song as the band’s introduction to new fans, it’s no wonder that Heart would later make the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
… Guitarist Nancy Wilson spoke about her sister’s songwriting process: “When Ann was writing the lyrics, I know that she was – the times were very troubled, kind of like today. Very much like today. And, you know, it was kind of a call to your partner to be like, ‘I know the world is just insanely crazy here right now. But I just want us to go crazy together. To let it all just fall away so it’s only just you and me here!’ So, I think that’s a really cool thing that she did in those words for sure.”
Built in A minor overall, the tune features a bridge in A major (2:25 – 2:52). In addition to the new tonality, the shape of the melody also shifts in comparison with the balance of the song. Between 4:00 and 4:20, an instrumental section echoes the earlier vocal bridge.
Category: Elise
Frank Zappa | Night School
“Released in November 1986, the fully instrumental Jazz From Hell was technically the last studio album that Frank Zappa released in his lifetime, despite having finished two others,” (UDiscoverMusic) … “Fittingly, Jazz From Hell was every bit as uncompromising and groundbreaking as the composer’s best work, giving a tantalizing glimpse of how Zappa might’ve continued to harness cutting-edge technology were it not for his untimely death.
Zappa had been an early adopter of the Synclavier Digital Music System – one of the first digital samplers and synthesizers – using it throughout the mid-’80s” on several albums. “The equipment opened up a world of possibilities for Zappa, allowing him to push the boundaries of his music beyond the capabilities of human players, as he told Keyboardist magazine in 1987: ‘The moment you get your hands on a piece of equipment like this, where you can modify known instruments in ways that human beings just never do, such as add notes to the top and bottom of the range, or allow a piano to perform pitch-bends or vibrato, even basic things like that will cause you to rethink the existing musical universe. The other thing you get to do is invent sounds from scratch. Of course, that opens up a wide range.’
Jazz From Hell arrived at a time when Frank Zappa’s profile had rarely been higher, thanks to his ongoing battle against censorship in music and the Parents’ Music Resource Centre (PMRC) in particular. Hilariously, his efforts in advocating for free speech meant that Jazz From Hell – an instrumental album, lest we forget – was given a Parental Advisory – Explicit Content sticker on release.”
“Night School,” the album’s opening track, starts in C lydian, departing from and returning to it multiple times throughout (the first example: a shift to C# minor from 0:55 – 1:07). The multi-layered electronic groove is so dense and relentless that when it finally disappears during the outro (4:37), we’re left with a feeling of relative restfulness — even though the melody is a lone sustained siren of a #11 note, leaning hard into C lydian.
David Sanborn | A Change of Heart
“A Change of Heart” is the title track of David Sanborn’s 1987 album, which “reached #74 on the Billboard 200, #43 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart and #3 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.” (SessionDays).
“By the mid 1980s, saxophonist Sanborn’s sound was dominated by the synthetic tinge of keyboards and synthesizers, falling in line with the slick, crossover jazz style of the era,” (JazzAtelier). “Change of Heart is emblematic of Sanborn’s direction at the time, and its eight tracks alternate between funky, danceable numbers and smooth ballads, all with a highly polished commercial veneer.” Crossover was something of a code word for the more frequently used term smooth jazz, a genre which peaked in the 80s and could easily be found on the FM dial in most major North American cities at that time. AllMusic describes the genre as “an outgrowth of fusion, one that emphasizes its polished side.”
The track begins with a melodically acrobatic intro led by a panpipe-like patch on a wind-controlled (“EWI”) synthesizer, a new development in synthesis. The EWI player was one of the instrument’s foremost players and boosters, tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, who also used the instrument on some of his own material. The tune begins in earnest as a slow funk groove kicks in at the 0:50 mark, alternating between A minor and its relative C major. At 1:14 – 1:38, there’s a shift into Eb lydian mode and then a return to the original A minor/C major. A quick revisit to the intro’s territory from 2:25 – 2:50 brings a dialogue between Brecker’s birdsong-like EWI lines and Sanborn’s trademark jump-to-lightspeed sonic intensity. At 4:02, a late kitchen-sink bridge kicks in, led by Marcus Miller’s driven stepwise descending bass lines and a saturation of every possible square inch with multiple synth textures and compound harmonies. But at 4:24, the groove falls away and the intensity dissipates for the outro as Brecker’s darting EWI sound is once again the focus.
Antonin Dvořák | String Quartet in F Major (Op. 96, B. 179, “American”), movement I: Allegro ma non troppo (Dover Quartet)
“In 1892, the American philanthropist Jeanette Thurber persuaded Czech composer Antonin Dvořák to head her newly formed National Conservatory of Music in New York City for three years, (MusicProgramNotes.com) … “Within a year, Dvořák had composed his Symphony in E-Minor ‘from the New World,’ … Directly after composing the ‘New World’ Symphony, Dvořák took a long summer holiday in 1893 in Spillville, Iowa … Amidst nature and his countrymen, Dvořák overflowed with musical ideas. Within three days he sketched out his entire String Quartet No. 12, later nicknamed the ‘American‘ … There is no movement without a gorgeous melody, and equally enticing are their delightful accompaniments … The American is unreservedly a masterpiece and crowd pleaser.”
The Guardian, placing Dvořák in his overall historic context: “As well as raising American consciousness of its Native American and African American traditions – a stance seen by some as vindicated by the emergence of jazz – Dvořák influenced a new generation of Czech composers, whose work was even more implicitly nationalistic. He befriended the young Janáček, who would eventually develop his music differently, but his mentor’s example was crucial. Dvořák also influenced his violinist and composer son-in-law, Josef Suk, who in turn briefly taught Bohuslav Martinů. Martinů’s assessment of Dvořák said it best: ‘If anyone expressed a healthy and happy relationship with life, it was he.’”
The quartet’s first movement begins in F major and features many side-steps into other keys, but an A major section starting at 1:38 is particularly striking.
Rhetta Hughes | Best Thing You Ever Had
” … soul vocalist Rhetta Hughes seemed about ready to move into the spotlight in 1969, when her remake of the Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’ made the R&B Top 40,” (AllMusic). “But she never sustained any momentum, with the next song ‘Angel Man’ flopping for Aria, and Hughes was soon back on the supper club circuit, opening for such comedians as Bill Cosby.”
AllMusic didn’t quite catch all of Hughes’ resumé, which included substantial musical theatre. She was featured in Dreamgirls, Amen Corner, Paris Lights, and other productions on Broadway, national tours, and off-Broadway. She was also nominated for a 1984 Tony award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in Amen Corner, according to Broadway World.
“Best Thing You Ever Had” (1968) features multiple textbook half-step modulations, starting at 0:35. Others follow at 1:07 and 1:39.
The Bangles | In Your Room
“Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs wrote ‘In Your Room’ (1988) with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who have written many hit songs, including ‘Like a Virgin,’ ‘True Colors’ and ‘I Touch Myself,'” (Songfacts). Steinberg: “‘Right from the get-go, the Bangles were a retro ’60s kind of band. They loved ’60s music … They liked everything from Petula Clark to The Beatles, so when we got together to write with Susanna, it was right up our alley, because Tom and I grew up with ’60s music and that was what we loved also.’ The tune was written in the same batch of songs that produced ‘Eternal Flame,’ which was a #1 hit for the Bangles.” The tune was a #5 pop hit in the US and reached #35 in the UK.
The band’s distinctive mix of ’80s pop and playful ’60s psychedelic filigree is in full force here (to say nothing of the video’s visual references). An unprepared half-step modulation hits at 1:43.
The Brothers Johnson | The Real Thing
“Guitarist/vocalist George Johnson and bassist/vocalist Louis Johnson formed the band Johnson Three Plus One with older brother Tommy and their cousin Alex Weir while attending school in Los Angeles,” (AllMusic). “When they became professionals, the band backed such touring R&B acts as Bobby Womack and the Supremes. George and Louis Johnson later joined Billy Preston’s band, and wrote “Music in My Life” and “The Kids and Me” for him before leaving his group in 1973.”
After scoring hits with “I’ll Be Good to You,” “Stomp,” and “Strawberry Letter 23,” The group released the single “The Real Thing” in 1981, reaching #11 on the R&B charts.
“The Real Thing” starts in A minor, but prominently shifts to C# minor at 0:50 and again to E minor at 1:20 before returning to A minor at 1:35. More changes follow from there.
Counting Crows | Chelsea (live)
“Leave it to the Counting Crows to follow its first two studio albums with a double live release,” (MusicBox Online). “Many have questioned the need for Across a Wire (1998), but one listen to the music contained on this set reveals the ingenious creativity of this multi-faceted group. The recordings were taken from the band’s appearances on VH-1’s Storytellers and MTV’s Live at the 10 Spot. One of the Counting Crows’ goals of performing on Storytellers was to present reworked versions of its songs. Therefore, although several of the tunes are repeated between the two discs, they are given remarkably different treatments …
Throughout Across a Wire, Adam Duritz’s voice has never sounded better. He masterfully channels the deep-seated emotion behind his lyrics as the band bathes his vocals in both swirling angst and subtle nuance. There’s never a dull moment at a concert by Counting Crows, and this set certainly captures the group at its best.”
Originating in F major, “Chelsea” shifts to a chorus in the closely related key of Bb major (first heard between 1:00 – 1:24). The change is played up yet further by the contrast between the hypnotic I-IV repetition of the the verse and the broader harmonic vocabulary of the chorus.
for Kelli
Bush | The Chemicals Between Us
“English rock band Bush emerged during the grunge boom of the early ’90s, becoming the first British band post-Nirvana to hit it big in America. Following the release of their breakthrough debut, 1994’s Sixteen Stone, they carried that international, multi-platinum success to greater heights with their chart-topping follow-up, Razorblade Suitcase,” (AllMusic). “A hit on radio and MTV, the band — fronted by guitarist/vocalist Gavin Rossdale — rounded out their peak period of popularity with 1999’s experimental The Science of Things.” In 2001, the band broke up for a decade, returning in 2010 to renewed popularity.
Representative of the band’s edgy and lyrics-forward sound, “The Chemicals Between Us” is a track from The Science of Things, an album probably best known for its slow, hypnotic, modulation-free track “Letting the Cables Sleep.” Starting in a heavily de-tuned C minor shot through with E-naturals not only in the guitars but in the bass line as well, 0:54 brings a chorus built around Bb minor. At 1:14, C minor returns in advance of the next verse.
Sting | When We Dance
As quoted on his own website, Sting describes “When We Dance” (1994): “‘I wanted to bookend the Greatest Hits album with two new songs. It’s presumptuous, because you don’t know if a song’s going to be a hit, but ‘When We Dance’ seems to be going in the right direction. I’d never tried to write a hit before, a song designed to be played on the radio. This is basically a generic ballad, but it took me a year to write. I had no main idea for the song, so I came up with this love triangle. I love you and you love him. It has a flattened fifth at the end of the first line. It’s an unusual, uncomfortable sound, which suits the situation in the lyrics.’
A classic Sting ballad with a twist, the song was released as a (UK) single in October 1994 where it performed extremely well spending seven weeks on the chart and peaking at the #9 spot. It was less popular in the US, where its one week chart residency was at the #38 position.” The song became his only solo top 10 hit in the UK.
E major provides the setting for the tune’s first portion: a placid background for the twist of the knife that is the “flatted fifth” (which many would instead call a #11). 2:30 brings a side-step into a key change to F# major at 2:32.
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