Category: Elise

Emmylou Harris | Making Believe

Born in 1947 into a military family stationed in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in North Carolina and Virginia, Emmylou Harris was valedictorian of her high school class. Though she won a drama scholarship to the University of North Carolina, she gravitated more and more towards music.

“Blessed with a crystalline voice, a remarkable gift for phrasing, and a restless creative spirit, few artists had as profound an impact on contemporary music as Emmylou Harris,” notes AllMusic. “She traveled a singular artistic path, proudly carrying the torch of ‘cosmic American music’ passed down by her mentor, Gram Parsons, which made a profound mark on both country and rock. Beginning as a folk singer in New York City, Harris released her first album in 1970.” Later in her career, she is “consistently iconoclastic, eclectic, or daring … Harris’ latter-day music remained as heartfelt, visionary, and vital as her earliest recordings.”

“Making Believe,” written by Jimmy Work, was first recorded by Kitty Wells in 1955. The song is on many lists of all-time top country music songs and has been covered by a varied list of artists, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and Merle Haggard — but also soul great Ray Charles, punk band Social Distortion, and Danish metal band Volbeat. Harris’ 1977 version hit #8 on the US Country charts and #1 in Canada. In 1978, the tune was honored by BMI as one of the 101 most award-winning Country songs. According to The Tennessean, songwriter Jimmy Work later lived a quiet blue collar life: he went to work for Goodyear Tire, then retired as a millwright. He passed away in 2018 at age 94.

A classic whole-step key change hits at the 1:53 mark.

Utopia | Monument

“Perennially underrated” are the first words of the headline on AllMusic’s Utopia page. The band was a sustained 1970s/1980s side project for songwriter/producer/performer Todd Rundgren, rock’s consummate hyphenate. Starting as a prog rock outfit in the early 70s, Utopia “evolved into a shiny mainstream rock quartet … Rundgren retreated into the background as each of his bandmates contributed songs and lead vocals to the albums. By the early ’80s, Utopia had developed into a hit-making entity in their own right.” 1980’s “Set Me Free,” a tune written by Utopia bassist Kasim Sulton, led the band’s singles by reaching #27 on the US pop charts.

According to the Rundgren-centric TRConnection, Rundgren remembers that “… at a certain point in time, Utopia was performing live as well as any quartet in the world.” But the band’s fanbase was miles deep, without nearly enough breadth to match. Drummer Willie Wilcox added, “The fan/band relationship was still fine. But when you’re still playing the same halls after ten years, getting the same guarantees, and expenses are going up, there start to be repercussions.” In addition to the band’s fervent but oddly finite following, Utopia went through a series of record label woes resulting from corporate consolidations, internecine squabbling, and pure bad luck. By the mid-80s, Utopia finally decided to call it a day, though they never officially disbanded.

Given Utopia’s often cerebral focus, 1986’s “Monument” certainly might have been written in the abstract. But for plenty of the band’s fans, the tune measures the distance between the quartet’s democratic ideals and the cold realities of making ends meet. At their collective best, each member wrote songs, sang lead vocals, and covered notoriously complex backup vocal harmonies in addition to top-drawer instrumental playing. But as one of the band’s final releases, “Monument” strongly evokes the tone of elegiac anthem not for a person, but for a time and place: “you can’t go home again.”

I got the message in my mailbox / Nobody goes to church no more
They’re closing down your little altar / They’ve locked the sanctuary door
Don’t fight it / Who can say that you didn’t try
Don’t fight it / Old soldiers never die …

Starting in G minor, the intro then jumps to a verse in Ab minor (0:36) as Sulton’s expressive tenor outlines a stark endgame, despite all efforts. At 0:58, the pre-chorus shifts to F minor; 1:10 brings a return to another verse and pre-chorus. The F major chorus (1:44 – 2:06) seemingly provides a reflection on the band’s unique vision, meticulous craft, and overarching legacy:

And if we don’t meet again
I know somewhere a monument
Stands in the name of our love …

Postscript:

Once the aftermath of its effective dissolution subsided, the band eventually reunited in Japan in the early 90s and a presented a full North American tour in 2018. Rundgren and Sulton continue to collaborate regularly. Demonstrating that the band was anything but a studio creation despite Rundgren’s famed production abilities, here’s a live 2018 version: the only change in the lineup is keyboardist/vocalist GLASYS in original keys player Roger Powell’s stead.

Buckshot Lefonque | Phoenix

Saxophonist, composer, and former Tonight Show with Jay Leno bandleader Branford Marsalis has long been a proponent of musical egalitarianism. Born into one of the most prominent families of jazz artists in the US, he’s kept a foot in that style while also performing R&B, classical, rock, and more. From Marsalis’ website: ” … there will be those who insist on sorting even the most adventurous music into neat and compact categories. Fortunately, Branford Marsalis will always be around to shove his square pegs into their round little pigeonholes.” Marsalis has collaborated with Sting, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, his brothers Wynton and Delfeayo and his father Ellis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bela Fleck, and dozens of others; won a Grammy in 1993 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for his album I Heard You Twice the First Time; and released a trio album, Bloomington (1993), which was hailed as a landmark in contemporary jazz.

Using a name which served as a pseudonym for jazz saxophone great Cannonball Adderly when he was moonlighting on pop and R&B records in the 50s, Buckshot LeFonque “blends rock, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, and African elements. In summing up his thoughts on what has been one of the most musically diverse projects he has yet undertaken, Marsalis says, ‘We took some interesting left turns… which is what I expected.’ The members come from widely diverging backgrounds yet find common ground … ‘You might get on the tour bus one day and hear Italian opera; the next day you’re hearing hip-hop.’ Singer Frank McComb agrees. ‘Everybody gets to stretch out in his own way. Everybody is an artist in this band and not just a backer. We’re all loose, free and easy.'”

McComb, a solo artist in his own right, covers the vocals on “Phoenix,” a slow ballad from the band’s second album, Music Evolution (1997). The track ramps up its energy gradually — at first. With a seemingly devastating breakup in the rear view mirror, the protagonist unflinchingly revisits the pain, then gathers strength to move on. The transition in point of view is matched by a brightening of the tonality: starting in F# minor, a huge shift to to F# major declares itself at 4:46, leading to an ending on an unresolved yet hopeful IV/V.

Sabaton | To Hell and Back

Sabaton is a Swedish band comprised of “heavy metal military historians,” according to The Guardian, which describes a recent pre-COVID gig: “A vast crowd of people are singing raucously, raising large beer tankards skyward and grinning like they have just won the lottery. In this small and sweaty venue, a Swedish heavy metal band are opening their set with a song about the exploits of Field Marshall Rommel’s infamous 7th Panzer Division in the second world war. They follow it with a number about the horrors of Passchendaele in the first world war.

By the end of the night, we will have had exuberant hymns to Lawrence of Arabia, an all-female Soviet bomber squadron and the military genius King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Everyone in the room, the vast majority of whom are wearing Sabaton shirts, sings along with absolutely everything. Meanwhile, the venue gently rocks from side to side, because we are on a ship in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Welcome to the 10th annual Sabaton Cruise: The Battleship, where passions for military history and Olympic-standard drinking collide.”

“To Hell and Back,” released in 2014, focuses on the Battle of Anzio (referenced in the chorus), part of the Italian Campaign of World War II fought in January 1944. Starting in D minor, the guitar solo (2:30 – 2:47) rises up into E minor before a reprise of the hook. At 3:06, the outro climbs up to F minor. Many thanks to first-time contributor Erik Lofgren for this submission!

Herb Alpert + The Tijuana Brass | Theme from “Casino Royale”

AllMusic reports on the theme from Casino Royale: “Burt Bacharach appropriately comes up with a rambunctious soundtrack for the 1967 James Bond spoof, Casino Royale. Things get underway with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass‘ performance of the fast-paced main title, which features the usual Bacharach mix of pop phrasing and complex arrangements.”

Jazz.FM adds more detail about the impact of Bacharach’s iconic sound. Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love” was also a cornerstone of the soundtrack: “The story goes something like this: Driving home from ice hockey practice, (comedian) Mike Myers flipped on the radio and heard ‘The Look of Love’ … When it was finished, the comedian said to himself, ‘Where have all the swingers gone?’ He also must have realized that the movie it was from, Casino Royale, was a jape of the James Bond series. Then and there he conceived the Austin Powers character. Enamored by the song’s composer, Myers cast Bacharach in each of his three Austin Powers films — not as a character, but as a performer playing his own music to set the scene.”

A boisterous half-step modulation announces itself at 1:14. Many thanks to the late Chris Larkosh, a faithful supporter of MotD over the years, for this submission!

Franz Schubert | Piano Trio 2 in E-flat Major, movement 4

Though probably best known for his lieder, Austrian composer Franz Schubert also wrote symphonies, wonderfully intricate miniatures for solo piano, two masses, and more. Classic FM details Schubert’s popularity: “…musical soirees known as Schubertiads became all the rage, during which Schubert might sing some of his own songs while accompanying himself at the piano.”

However, his public’s fondness for the music translated into neither rapidly growing fame nor consistent financial compensation during the composer’s lifetime. Schubert heard only some of his later works in performance, reports Classic FM: “With little money and nothing much more than his ‘groupies’ to support him, Schubert began to produce a seemingly endless stream of masterpieces that for the most part were left to prosperity to discover, including the two great song cycles, the Eighth (‘Unfinished’) and Ninth (‘Great’) Symphonies, the Octet for Wind, the last three string quartets, the two piano trios, the String Quintet, the ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy and the last six sonatas for solo piano.” The exact cause of death is not known, but many historians have suggested mercury poisoning. Duncan, Edmondstoune’s Schubert (1905) suggests that the last musical work Schubert requested to hear was Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131. Violinist Karl Holz, Beethoven’s secretary, commented: “The King of Harmony has sent the King of Song a friendly bidding to the crossing.”

The Piano Trio 2 in E-flat Major was written in 1827, when Schubert was only 30. It was to be the last year of his life. The Trio begins with a more positive mood, but its fourth movement is far more complex, perhaps following the trajectory of its creator’s health. Starting in Eb major, there’s a shift at 1:15 to C minor, then a passage through a Bb major section. 2:46 starts with a bang and continues through a tour of myriad keys. 4:00 brings a profound jump to B minor, an extraordinary step indeed in comparison with the home key; from there, the piece continues onward through similarly varied and unpredictable territory.

Lisa Stansfield | Set Your Loving Free

“The most convincing white R&B singer since Teena Marie,” declares AllMusic, “Lisa Stansfield reached the mainstream after nearly a full decade in the music industry … (1989’s) solo single ‘All Around the World‘ gave Stansfield a tremendous boost by reaching number one in several countries, including the U.K. From that point, throughout her distinguished if sporadic recording career, she was known for sophisticated, soul-inspired releases that appealed to a broad audience.”

Stansfield’s sleek yet evocative stage presence made her a natural for music video and for her live shows. The UK native’s distinctive, open expression (so celebrated in the iconic video for “All Around the World”) might have made her a silent film star had she been born 60 years earlier.

In addition to the custom-written dance tracks she’s best known for, she has reverently covered a wide range of classics by artists ranging from Billie Holiday to The Four Tops, from Barry White to Marvin Gaye. “Set Your Loving Free” is a single from Stansfield’s second album, Real Love (1991), written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney, and Andy Morris. This expansive 1994 live performance provides all of the lush instrumentation of the studio version, if not more. The verse starts in B minor at 0:28. At 1:04, the pre-chorus in C# minor quickly sets the stage for the chorus in E minor (1:22).

The Academic | Sarah

“Sarah” was a single first released by Dublin Ireland’s Thin Lizzy in 1979; it reached #24 on the British pop charts and #26 in Ireland.

The Academic, a band from just west of Dublin, met while attending the same secondary school during the 2010s. AllMusic reports that the group ” … rode a series of punchy, melodic singles to national success when their 2018 debut album topped the Irish charts. They soon netted a deal and followed up with a couple of dreamy singles … “

“Sarah” was apparently a live one-off for the band; the track wasn’t included on either of its studio releases. This performance was live on Today FM, an Irish radio station. After starting in A major, 1:48 brings an instrumental bridge, followed by a shift to Bb major at 2:08.

Boys Like Girls | Love Drunk

“A shimmering, textured guitar line gives way immediately to huge gang vocals,” reports the Alternative Press in its review of Boys Like Girls‘ 2009 release Love Drunk. The Boston-based band’s ” … slick production values, airtight harmonies, charging disco-rock beats and crowd sing-along prompts (a trick they resort to throughout) prove the band are capable of condensing the recognizable signifiers of recent modern-rock history into sugary pop adrenaline … if (the) overall enthusiasm and high-energy pop doesn’t win over even the snarkiest of reviewers after a few listens, then they probably don’t have a heart. Everyone else will love it anyway. Pop-rock like this is popular for a reason.”

Unfolding like a CliffsNotes version of a contemporary pop songwriting textbook, the tune delivers a whole-step modulation at 2:38.