Knower | Overtime

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.

Luther Vandross | A House Is Not a Home

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.

Jacques Brel | Marieke

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.

Ian Dury + the Blockheads | Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

After multiple requests from *two* regular contributors, JB and Rob Penttinen, here is “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” (1978) by Ian Dury. Stricken by polio in his native UK at age 7, Dury didn’t allow anything to slow him down. His band, Ian Dury (and the Blockheads), mixed funk textures, gonzo punk sensibilities, and cutting lyrics.

The track features F minor verses and F major choruses, with a few quick nods to F minor even during the choruses. It reached #1 in the UK, #2 in Australia, and Top 10 across much of Europe.

Sergio Mendes | Lua Soberana

The winner of the 1993 Recording Academy / GRAMMYs for Best World Music Album, Sergio Mendes‘ Brasilieiro featured 14 tracks, including “Lua Soberana” (Sovereign Moon). The album featured American contemporary jazz musicians such as pianist Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets and rock drummer Jeff Porcaro of Toto as well as a huge slate of Brazilian musicians.

The tune doesn’t feature one lone modulation, but rather an ever-shifting harmonic continuum.

0:00 unaccompanied verse
0:35 A major verse
1:08 multi-key chorus
1:38 A major verse
1:54 multi-key chorus
2:24 transition
2:32 B major verse
2:49 instrumental bridge
3:23 B major verse

Aimee Mann | I Should’ve Known

Busy mod scout JB has submitted “I Should’ve Known” by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, formerly the frontwoman of the 80s band ‘Til Tuesday. The track was from her first solo album, Whatever (1993.) AllMusic‘s review gushes that Mann’s “blend of wit, smarts, cynicism, and downright hum-ability make for a wonderfully pleasing collection of catchy songs…Lyrically, it is often hard to know whether Mann is spilling her guts out over a love or a deal gone bad. In fact, it is often a combination.”

The tune modulates as the bridge starts at 2:25.

The Four Freshmen | Shangrila

The Four Freshmen, formed in 1948, released “Shangrila” in 1962. Known as a vocal band because all of the group’s members self-accompanied the quartet’s vocals with their own instrumental playing, the Freshmen featured jazz-infused open harmonies. According to his biographer, a young Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys found the 1950s output of the Freshmen to be an inspiration: “It brings a feeling of love inside me…that feeling of harmony.” The modulation is at 1:39.