O.C. Smith | Little Green Apples

“O.C. Smith began as a jazz vocalist and later moved into country and R&B,” reports AllMusic. After singing in Count Basie‘s band in the early ’60s, Smith then moved into into a unique soul/country mix, scoring a hit with “Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp.”

Smith then went deeper into the soul genre. “Little Green Apples,” released in 1968, went to #2 on both the pop and R&B charts. Later in life, he became a pastor of a Los Angeles church while also continuing to perform and record until his passing in 2001.

The unusual modulation, up a minor third, hits at 2:07. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!

Jean Berger | The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee

According to the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, composer Jean Berger was born Arthur Schlossberg in Germany in 1909. After earning a Ph.D. in musicology in 1931, he moved to Paris and changed his name to Jean Berger as the Nazis came to power in Germany. He later moved to the United States, became an American citizen, and enlisted in the US Army in 1942. After the war, he became an arranger for CBS and NBC and toured as a concert accompanist. During the latter part of his career, he taught for decades at several American colleges and universities while continuing to compose.

Choral works were very much the central focus of Berger’s composition. “The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee” (1959), one of Berger’s best known pieces, is based on text from Psalm 145. This performance, taken from a 2012 collection entitled Worthy to Be Praised, is by the Messiah University Choirs’ Chamber Singers.

After starting in E minor, the piece features a mid-section (0:49 – 1:18) which shifts across several keys. The third section partially mirrors the first, with the substantial difference of closing the piece in E major.

Jamie Cullum | Anyway

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Jamie Cullum, makes his MotD debut today with “Anyway,” included on his 2013 album Momentum. Shortly after the album’s release, Cullum elaborated on the inspiration behind it and how he chose its name in an interview with the German magazine Nothing But Hope and Passion:

“Well, it seems like a good title for the album for a lot of reasons. One is that this album was entirely made with a sense of momentum. My life’s changed in a lot of ways since the last few records, you know, I’m a father now, I have multiple responsibilities, far beyond just looking after myself, and so this album was made in pockets of time, rather than the luxury of all the time in the world. So I just kind of hurled myself into it, and the whole thing happened without a great deal of thought, which sounds careless, but I’ve come to realize that thought is the enemy of creativity in a lot of ways.

The other thing, the album is really about that crossover period where you’re really still a young man, but also you’ve got one foot in this incredibly grown-up, adult world where you’re the leader of your pack, and the album really is about that kind of balance of your childish fantasies with these grand and quite epic responsibilities. I think it’s momentum that carries you through that, really, so that’s how I came up with the title.

The tune is primarily in Eb minor, briefly modulating to G major at 2:59 before returning to Eb minor at 3:16.

We See The Light (from “Something Rotten”)

Nominated for 10 Tony Awards, the 2015 Broadway production Something Rotten is one of few wholly original musical comedies to hit the Great White Way in recent years. Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick collaborated in writing their first Broadway score for the show, receiving Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for their work, as well as a Grammy Nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. Key change at 3:14.

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul | A World of Our Own

AllMusic calls Little Steven Van Zandt a “renaissance man and champion of the rock & roll underdog … one of rock’s most colorful figures.” In addition to his multiple lengthy stints in Bruce Springsteen’s bands going all the way back to the late 1960s, Van Zandt has worked with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; written for Gary “U.S.” Bonds; formed Artists United Against Apartheid, which produced the all-star Top 40 1985 single “Sun City”; intermittently fronted his own band, The Disciples of Soul; and was a featured actor on the groundbreaking TV drama The Sopranos.

With a sound that stands somewhere between that of his longtime employer Springsteen and one of the several pop phases of rock chameleon Elvis Costello, Van Zandt’s “A World of Our Own” (2019) starts big — and stays there. Rather than relying on burgeoning dynamics or lyrical arc to build interest, Van Zandt uses modulations to propel the listener through a wall of sound.

Starting in A major, the tune shifts to C major at 1:35, then to G major at 2:02. At 2:35, we’ve arrived back to A major, but by then, it feels like a new chapter rather than a return.

Many thanks to perpetual mod submitter JB for this contribution!

Robbie Williams | Something Beautiful

“Something Beautiful” was released as the third single from English singer Robbie Williams‘ fifth studio album, Escapology (2002). The tune, written by Williams and Guy Chambers, reached number 3 on the UK Singles chart, and peaked within the top 10 in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Romania as well. Key change at 3:21.

Julian Lennon | Valotte

Julian Lennon released his debut, Valotte, in 1984, not even a full four years after his father John‘s assassination,” reports Allmusic. “The wounds were still fresh and there were millions of listeners ready to embrace the son of a Beatle, particularly when he sounded remarkably like his father on the stately piano-led ballad ‘Valotte,’ the first single from the album.” At its best, the album “demonstrated a keen ear for Beatlesque pop songwriting, drawing equally from Lennon and McCartney…by any measure the debut of a gifted pop melodicist.”

The staid, calm sound of the album’s lead single differentiated it from the often frenetic pop scene of its release year. A Rolling Stone review called the album simultaneously “exciting and irritating,” given its uncanny similarities to the work of John Lennon. The review noted “a middle-aged sensibility” in the 21-year-old Julian’s work, “reinforced by Phil Ramone’s elegant but often stodgy production, applied to unashamedly youthful themes.” Further demonstrating the multi-generational appeal of the track was its top-ten single status on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts in both the US and Canada: not exactly a typical trajectory for a new pop artist.

While the tune’s intro and verses are in C major, the choruses progress through several keys of the moment and end on a prominent A major chord (heard for the first time at 0:51 – 1:20). The tune also ends on a sustained A major chord.

Dirty Loops | Old Armando Had a Farm

Swedish funk/pop phenoms Dirty Loops have been doing their best to stay sane and keep their skills sharp during the gig-less period known as COVID-19 with their Songs for Lovers series. With “Old Armando Had a Farm,” Henrik Linder (bass) and Aron Mellergard (drums) cook up a country/funk/bluegrass concoction without their frontman, vocalist and keyboardist Jonah Nilsson.

In the spirit of the band’s typical humor, the supporting cast (from steel guitar to hand claps to hair colorist!) are all mentioned in the end credits. The tune modulates multiple times, starting at 0:43.

Ariana Grande | Tattooed Heart

“Tattooed Heart” is the fourth track from Ariana Grande’s 2013 debut album, Yours Truly. It was the first song recorded for the album, and Grande claims her inspiration for writing it was a tattoo she got on her right foot. Other notable performances include a 2013 presentation on The Today Show to promote the album, and a feature in the “Women of Soul” concert at the White House in 2014. Key change at 2:16.

Elton John | This Song Has No Title

“This Song Has No Title” is an album track from Elton John’s smash hit 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. According to the BBC Review, the album sold 30 million copies worldwide; the RIAA ranked it as an 8x platinum seller. In 2003, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Rolling Stone ranked the album #91 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list: “Elton John compared this double album to the Beatles‘ White Album, and why not? By this point he was the most consistent hitmaker since the Fab Four, and soon enough he would be recording with John Lennon. Everything about Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is supersonically huge…” From AllMusic’s review: “It was designed to be a blockbuster — and it was…a statement of purpose spilling over two LPs, which was all the better to showcase every element of John‘s spangled personality.”

The tune starts simply enough: A D minor verse featuring an acoustic sound with a straightforward lead vocal, piano accompaniment, and a gentle synth overlay. At 0:48, the chorus blooms abruptly, featuring a mix of keys, an electronics-inflected wall of sound, and Elton’s familiar layered vocal textures.

Many thanks to MotD regular JB for this submission!