Dentist! (from “Little Shop of Horrors”)

“… Even if you aren’t a fan of musicals, please don’t instantly dismiss Little Shop. There’s so much more to it than people describing the minutia of their lives through song,” (The Guardian). “With nods to sci-fi and B-movies, as well as its effective self-mockery, it’s an easy way to get acquainted with the musical comedy genre. Directed by Frank Oz, the 1986 film is based on the 1982 off-Broadway stage show of the same name, which in turn is based on a 1960 Roger Corman film, which it largely honours in terms of story.

… Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are to be thanked for the lyrics and music respectively, with Ashman also writing the screenplay – though their names are probably more associated with late 80s and early 90s Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin … (the show) draws on 60s rock’n’roll, doo-wop and swing, and I think there might even be a bit of calypso in there. Little Shop is a love story. It’s also a story about conquering your demons and discovering the best you can be – even if it takes a blood-guzzling talking plant to get you there.”

The uptempo tune “Dentist!” is immortalized in the film version of the musical by comedian Steve Martin, whose strong musicality has never gotten enough notice — perhaps because his comedic skills are even better. A textbook whole-step key change hits exactly where you’re hoping to hear it — about 60% of the way through the tune (1:34).

The Cars | Panorama

“Fans were expecting more upbeat new-wave hits on The Cars’ 1980 LP Panorama. What they got was something far darker and more exciting,” (Goldmine). “After achieving commercial success with their first two albums, The Cars (1978) and Candy-O (1979), American new wave/pop combo The Cars decided to take a left turn when it came time to begin work on their third album, 1980’s Panorama … while the music still had its inherent pop-iness, it was much darker in sound and lyrical matter … the band won the ears of both fans and critics alike with their first two albums … but fans and critics were left scratching their heads, particularly with the more avant-garde sounds on Panorama that were unlike anything heard on the band’s previous outings.

… Around the same time as the band began working on the album … synth pop was in its infancy and would soon come to dominate the early 1980s climate, with bands such as Ultravox, Devo, and Gary Numan all leading the charge in experimenting with the new sounds of synthesizers. The Cars were tapping into the zeitgeist; Panorama would see Easton’s previously upfront guitar take a back seat to the keyboard and synthesizer sounds of The Cars’ Greg Hawkes … Panorama was released August 15, 1980 … and reached #5 on the Billboard chart in September of that year … it was systematically panned by critics … (But as guitarist) Elliot Easton affirmed, ‘I look at it as our third album. Honestly, we just made this stuff up as we went along. There was no grand plan beyond making the best music we could.'”

Right out of the gate, the title track’s harmonies teeter between Bb major (with an emphasis on the flatted seventh degree of the chord, Ab, in the guitar line) and a colorless G chord during the intro — with no clues as to which chord should predominate. The verse then falls down into F# minor at 0:27. The brief chorus arrives at 1:11 in B mixolydian, followed by the next verse (1:22) in F# minor. The pattern continues from there. A long outro starts at 3:24 with a few shifts back and forth between B major and Bb major. The track ends by dropping off a cliff with a colorless E chord at 5:39. But these key changes, low in traditional harmonic progressions, speed by without much impact. Instead, the relentless groove, angular melody, and uniquely American slice of New Wave’s sonic palette and visual style were clearly the stars of this show.

Aldous Harding | The Barrel

“In October (2019), Aldous Harding’s song ‘The Barrel’ claimed the 2019 APRA Silver Scroll Award. It’s a groovy little folk number, containing whimsical imagery through its lyrics and video, each of which are ambiguous enough to support multiple interpretations.

In a recent NPR interview, Bob Boilen quizzes Harding on the meaning of both the video and music. Boilen reminds us that Harding is not known for talking about the meaning of her songs, but states that in this case, the video (described by Boilen as having Amish/futuristic/sci-fi tendencies), is not intended to be any visual representation of the content of the song – it is intended to keep it loose. Furthermore, Harding then rejected the notion of expectation and purpose with regards to songwriting in general. (Boilen, 2019).”

“The Barrel” starts with a verse in B major, while the chorus (1:10 – 1:26) is in C# mixolydian. Adding to the feeling of running-on-fumes life force from this New Zealand-based artist are Harding’s clipped syllables, her relaxed enunciation, and the nicely performed but barely-there bassline played with EQ levels better suited to a soprano guitar. Finally showing a faint proof of life at at the 5:00 mark, the band executes a tiny but precise ritardando as the tune ends.

If you thought the live video was interesting, check out the “studio” version, also posted below. But please do not operate any heavy machinery for at least two hours after viewing.

Bo Cooper (Ron Dante) | Don’t Call It Love

Ron Dante, a native of NYC’s Staten Island, isn’t quite a household name — but you’ve almost certainly heard his work at some point. “Ron Dante has had a long and distinguished career in the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and producer,” (Medium.com). “In 1969, his vocals helped catapult The Archies’ hit, ‘Sugar, Sugar,’ to the top of the charts where it became the #1 single of the year. In addition to writing songs for a variety of artists, Dante came to prominence as a record producer, most notably with Barry Manilow.”

Along the way, Dante sang the “You Deserve a Break Today” McDonald’s jingle; provided backup vocals for Barry Manilow’s first hit, “Mandy” (and other Manilow tunes); worked with John Denver, Cher, Dionne Warwick, and Ray Charles; and more recently toured with The Turtles, filling in for an ailing Howard Kaylan.

Using the assumed name Bo Cooper, Dante released “Don’t Call It Love” in 1975. Very little information is available about this track, but it could have been a hit! Mixing elements of pop and R&B, Dante’s bubblegum “Archies” vocal timbre is barely detectable on this track. Built in a slightly up-tuned Ab major initially, the tune shifts to A major at 2:42.

Many thanks to our longtime Brazilian contributor Julianna A. for sending in this find!

The Blackbyrds | Walking In Rhythm

“In the early ’70s, the legendary jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd was teaching at Howard University in Washington,” (Popdose). “In 1974 he decided to assemble a group made up of top student players from the university’s music program. With Byrd as their inspiration, and a deal with Fantasy Records, the Blackbyrds would record and tour for nearly ten years, finding a good deal of success along the way. Although the group would record eight albums for Fantasy, there is no doubt that the high point of their career was the release of the single “Walking In Rhythm” in 1975. The song, written by guitarist Barney Perry … was produced by Donald Byrd, who gave it a smooth, jazz-inflected sound with plenty of soul in the mix.

“Walking In Rhythm” was recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles in September, 1974; by March of the following year, it was on the charts. There it would eventually make it all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling a million copies, and winning a gold disc award. The record was also nominated for a Grammy that year, and the track was on the band’s second album, Flying Start, which was released in 1975. There would be other hits in the years to come. Most of them would climb the R&B chart, but a few crossed over to the Pop chart as well. The most successful Blackbyrds singles included “Flyin’ High” (1975), “Happy Music” (1976), and “Rock Creek Park” (1976). The latter song, which appeared on the City Life album, has been sampled numerous times by hip-hop artists like De La Soul, NWA, Eric B. & Rakim, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five.”

The tune’s structure is a bit unusual, starting with its short chorus in Bb major. The group must have really loved that chorus, because it’s repeated until 1:15, when the first verse (in G minor) begins; at 1:50, the verse ends with a false upward half-step key change but falls back into the G minor at 1:53. An instrumental chorus hits at 1:54. This section arguably includes one of the best flute features in all of 1970s pop or R&B — an era which featured plenty of flutists who sound like they first picked up the instrument a few weeks prior. 2:28 brings another vocal verse, which ends at 3:02 with a half-step shift upward to B major — but this time the key change sticks.

Sting | All This Time

“On the singer/songwriter side (to use the term in a strictly idiomatic sense), The Soul Cages (1991) marks the first time Sting fully divorced himself from his Police-era approach to writing,” (RockAndRollGlobe). “Sure, there were plenty of arty, harmonically sophisticated pieces on his first two solo records, but there were also songs with more groove-based settings that you could imagine as part of the Police continuum. There are none of those holdovers from Sting’s previous life here. Opinions will vary as to whether that’s a good or bad thing, but Sting stands or falls here as a man owing nothing to his past. And even his artiest applications of craft oThe Soul Cages feel more organic than they did his previous couple of times at bat. 

Stylistically, Sting’s M.O. seems closer to the contemporaneous output of Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell or even Leonard Cohen than anything else. The free-flowing phrasing and poetic language spilling out over a solid rhythmic base on the album’s biggest single, “All This Time,” sure seems to suggest some quality time spent assimilating Simon’s Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints … A strong case can also be made for The Soul Cages as a sneaky sashay into prog territory. First of all, it’s a freakin’ concept album. Something about Sting’s late father always wanting to be a sailor — don’t worry about it, he probably made more sense of the maritime themes when he wrote his musical, The Last Ship, a couple of decades later. It makes more sense than Jethro Tull did on Thick as a Brick, and that’s a masterpiece, so there you go.”

All this time / The river flowed / Endlessly to the sea …
If I had my way / I’d take a boat from the river …

The cheerful feel and relentlessly major-key tonality of “All This Time” belie the tune’s existential weightiness. At 3:15, there’s an unprepared whole-step upward shift in key.

Aztec Camera | Good Morning Britain

“‘When I was 13 years old, I was a real Mick Jones, Joe Strummer freak. I used to go and see them in the Glasgow Apollo and stand in the front row,’ pipes Aztec Camera singer, songwriter, and all around chief Roddy Frame,” (KillermontStreet). The Scottish songwriter reported “‘Recently I got to meet Mick because we played the same kind of festivals together and we got to hang out. He was just such a positive guy, I called him guru Mick and we talked a lot about the state of the nation,’ he continues. ‘I was quite negative about the things in Britain and he was saying yeah, but there’s more to life than that.

So I went home and wrote this song for him in about 45 minutes. I said, Mick, this sounds so much like the Clash that you’re either gonna sue me or you’re going to wanna sing on it, and he wanted to sing, so it was fantastic.'” Aztec Camera’s 1990 release Stray features the resulting single, “Good Morning Britain.”

The pop/rock track, which certainly sounds like The Clash (or its younger cousin, Big Audio Dynamite) shifts up a full step at 2:25.

Little Steven + The Disciples of Soul | Gravity

“The vintage Born To Run wall of sound towers like the Empire State Building over Steve Van Zandt’s first album of original material since 1999,” (2019’s Summer of Sorcery), with New York City’s beleaguered multi-racial spirit crackling under its foundations,” (LouderSound).

“Of course, Van Zandt’s been busy these past 20 years – as Bruce’s E Street Band lieutenant, Tony Soprano’s consigliere, and star of Lilyhammer, in between activities as DJ, producer and larger-than-life rock’n’roll activist. Back in the saddle as bandleader, his tangible labour of love defiantly captures old-school New York’s cross-pollinating melting pot … “

The sixth track of the album’s collection of twelve, “Gravity” begins in C major. The tune is full of short sidesteps into other keys (first heard at 1:03 and 1:12), but C major’s gravitational pull always seems to win out (first heard at 1:21).

Brent Jones | Praise in the Choir Stand

“Recorded live at Friendship Baptist in Yorba Linda, California, Brent Jones and the Best Life Choir’s rafter-raising ‘Praise in the Choir Stand’ (2025) offers Sunday morning gospel chock full of R&B influences,” (Journal of Gospel Music). “There’s a swaggering confidence in Jones’s voice, a gospel impresario on the best of terms with the musicians, singers, and the congregation. The full-throated Best Life Choir—which is so good, it should have received co-billing on the album cover—thunders its support like an ‘80s mass choir, especially on the title track … Like Jones’ previous release Live Your Best Life, Praise in the Choir Stand offers the spiritual and physical thrill of a live gospel program.”

After a start in Bb minor, there’s a shift to C# minor at 1:28 which persists to the end — through a grand pause and a huge sonic buildup by the ensemble.

Olivia Newton-John | A Little More Love

“In a recording career that spanned over five decades, Olivia Newton-John, the singer, actress, environmentalist, and animal rights activist, won four Grammy Awards, had five #1 hit singles, and several platinum-selling singles and albums.” After her initial singles in the mid-70s, Newton-John’s 1978 star turn in Grease also produced three Top 5 hits: “You’re the One That I Want” (with John Travolta), “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and “Summer Nights.” Newton-John followed Grease with Xanadu, “whose soundtrack went double platinum. With Totally Hot, released in November 1978, Newton-John had … a top-ten album and a #4 hit, ‘A Little More Love.’

‘A Little More Love’ is a song recorded and released as a single in October 1978 … (it) became a worldwide top-ten hit single in 1979,” (JohnPWalshBlog). “Both the new album and single were another wildly successful collaboration for Olivia Newton-John and John Farrar, her record producer and songwriter in the 1970s and 1980s.” The track ranked #17 in 1979’s year-end singles rankings.

The tune starts in G minor, cycles through some uneven harmonic ground during its pre-chorus (heard for the first time at 0:32), and arrives at its chorus in Ab major. At 1:20, the return of the verse brings a drop back into G minor. The pattern continues from there. Two years before the advent of MTV and a million miles away from any chill New Wave energy, the band mugs shamelessly for the camera. Newton-John seems to happily be in on the joke, too — or perhaps she was simply happy to leave both her early country/pop ballad tracks and her famous 1950s movie persona in the rear view.