Rajaton | Laulamahan

Rajaton “is a six member a cappella group founded in Helsinki, Finland, that comprises two sopranos, two baritones, and an alto and tenor each,” (DCTheaterArts). “Rajaton is a pop sensation in its native Finland, where it is renowned for its genre-crossing repertoire of classical to Europop and where it has a double platinum, three platinum, and a collection of gold records, amongst over awards under its belt. The group … continues to spread the joy of their music through touring in over twenty-five countries. … The name Rajaton is the Finnish word for ‘boundless’ and (is a) metaphor for the wide breadth of their repertoire.”

From AllMusic’s profile of the group: “The group released its first album, Nova, in 2000, and over the course of the next decade managed another eight releases, including albums and DVD offerings. Their October 2007 album, Maa, was another strong seller for the band, as it cracked the Top Ten on the Finland album charts.”

The joyful track “Laulamahan,” released in 2022, shifts in texture throughout while the overall tempo remains unchanged. There are several modulations, the first of which is a shift two whole steps downward at 0:43. 

The Jacksons | This Place Hotel (a.k.a. Heartbreak Hotel)

The Jacksons’ 1980 release Triumph kept Michael Jackson in the forefront among his brothers. In retrospect, the track “Heartbreak Hotel” (later changed to “This Place Hotel” to avoid confusion with Elvis Presley’s hit song) was a clear precursor to the pop/r&b/funk/horror blend so clearly on display with Thriller, Michael’s subsequent smash hit solo album.

“… ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ … plods along nicely, loaded with strings and lead guitars,” (PopRescue). “There’s an odd repeated noise that made me pause the record to see if it was a problem with my house pipes… but no, it’s there in the chorus for some reason. When released as the album’s second single, this track stumbled at #44 … Overall, this album is a slick production, showing the Jacksons as well-versed musicians and vocalists.”

Bass lines aren’t always the first choice to host a hook, but the Jacksons make it happen here. Amplified by syncopated piano kicks, the rangy bass line takes center stage from the first moment, when it’s first stated as a rubato cello line, followed by an extended intro that takes us up to the 0:50 mark. E minor is the overall key, although an interlude from 3:28 – 3:42 takes us on a diversionary path through a series of cascading keys of the moment. From 4:42 – 4:56, the diversion returns, but this time we emerge out of the rapids into a peaceful string-sweetened rubato piano feature that wraps up the tune in B major.

Darren Criss | Not Alone

Originally written for A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, “Not Alone” is the final track on the debut EP by American singer/songwriter/actor Darren Criss. Criss, who co-wrote the score for the musical, also produced the EP and plays guitar for the song.

The tune begins in Bb and shifts up to C at 2:55.

Seals and Crofts | Dust On My Saddle

Seals and Crofts, the 70s duo synonymous with the soft rock genre, were best known for lushly arranged, wide-ranging musical journeys which somehow also hit the pop charts. But the group also had some country and bluegrass playing in its collective history, demonstrated by the uptempo track “Dust On My Saddle.” The tune shifts throughout between A major on the chorus and F# major on the verses — with unmissable chromatic transitions in the bass.

Stereo Review provided an overview of the track’s hit 1973 album, Diamond Girl: “Radio listening can create the impression that Seals and Crofts have a narrow, restricted style, the core of it being a kind of low-keyed preachiness couched in high-noted harmonies. In fact, their work is eclectic, or extraordinarily varied, and this album is especially so …

You’re almost certain to like some of it, almost certain not to like all of it, but likely to admire, in any case, the way Seals and Crofts manage to sound like Seals and Crofts through all these changes. Myself, I like the guitar-mandolin arrangements, the lyricism, and the taste — and I grow a little weary of being talked down to, which seems necessarily a part of the religious instruction and/or moralizing they periodically lay upon us. I also find this particular album so carefully produced that it is almost sterile in some places. It seems, however, that there are several levels on which I can listen to it, paying varying degrees of attention — and I find some sort of reward at any plateau. Can’t explain that. But people who are more heavily into Eastern Thought than I am are continually doing things that affect me in ways I can’t explain.”

Gospel Church | Anthem of Praise

” … composer, pianist, and arranger Richard Smallwood has clearly and solidly changed the face of gospel music,” (Kennedy Center). “He can impeccably blend classical movements with traditional gospel, and arrive at a mix that is invariably Smallwood’s alone. A diverse and innovative artist, Richard Smallwood has achieved many honors; Dove Awards and a Grammy also attest to his talents … Smallwood has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution as a ‘gospel innovator and songwriter,’ and his hometown, Washington, D.C. heralded two separate occasions as ‘Richard Smallwood Day,’ also, distinguishing him with the Mayoral Art Award for ‘precision and excellence in artistic discipline.'”

… His debut album, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel chart. “The next project, Psalms, received a Grammy nomination. Two years later, another nomination for Textures, the album that contained the classic ‘The Center of My Joy,’ penned by Richard Smallwood along with Bill and Gloria Gaither.” His career has only grown from there.

Gospel Church, a prominent French gospel ensemble, produced this video performance of Smallwood’s “Anthem of Praise” in late 2023. After a cinematic instrumental intro establishes the piece in Bb minor, the choir enters at 1:03. At 3:33, the arrangement transitions to Bb major; from there, there are half-step upward modulations with each successive vocal soloist, eventually landing in Db major. The final few seconds bring an emphasis on the original Bb, now clearly the implied relative minor even in the absence of any chord color.

Seal | The Beginning

“… on his debut album (1991), Seal is an ambiguous, mercurial entity—not so much a singer as a pure source of heat and light,” (Pitchfork) “For all the marvels of his voice, the music surrounding him is just as opulent; his singing is just one thread in a vast tapestry of crushed velvet, raw silk, and spun gold. (To paraphrase Project Runway host Heidi Klum, who was married to Seal from 2005 until 2012, it sounds expensive.)

… Though Seal had already written some of the album’s songs on guitar, in (producer Trevor) Horn’s hands, the material became far more ornate. (On) ‘The Beginning,’ the album’s most straightforward club-centric cut … Horn manages a more multidimensional sense of space; light-years stretch between the string pads, funk guitars, and layered percussion … From the first moment we hear Seal arcing upward across the stereo field, it’s clear that Horn knew exactly how precious this particular instrument was … Seal may have idolized literary writers like Dylan and Mitchell, but you don’t come to Seal for poetry; you come for that voice and the way it navigates Horn’s productions, like a bird surfing springtime’s swirling air currents.”

The lush percussion layers of “The Beginning,” repeated nearly to the point of trance, suddenly disappear as an unexpected downward modulation kicks in between 3:30 and 3:46, returning as the tonality returns to the original key.

I See Stars (from “Mean Girls”)

The 2004 teen comedy film Mean Girls was adapted into a musical in 2018, featuring a score by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin and a book by Tina Fey (who also wrote the original screenplay.) “I See Stars” is the finale of the show. A film adaptation of the musical will be released tomorrow.

The song begins in A and modulates up to Bb at 2:55.

38 Special | Second Chance

“38 Special guitarist Jeff Carlisi wrote “Second Chance” with the Los Angeles songwriter Cal Curtis … It was the biggest chart hit for 38 Special; while it didn’t have the Classic Rock staying power of their songs like “Caught Up In You” and “Hold On Loosely,” it was the biggest Adult Contemporary hit of 1989,” (Songfacts). “… When Billboard published their list of the top AC songs of all time in 2011, this came in at #24.”

The song was the highest-charting Hot 100 single the band ever produced, peaking at #6 and spending 21 weeks on the chart. The song hit #5 on the Singles Sales chart, #9 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and became the band’s first No.1 single on the Adult Contemporary chart. It later became Billboard magazine’s Adult Contemporary Song of the Year for 1989 (Billboard).

The midtempo tune starts in Bb major and shifts up a half-step with a very late modulation at 4:05, well after the bridge.

Kate Yeager | Keep My Distance

American singer/songwriter Kate Yeager has performed at Radio City and Lincoln Center, and will be out on tour next month. “Furthering the lineage of artists like Carol King, Tracey Chapman, and Janis Joplin,” Yeager’s YouTube bio reads, “25-year old Kate Yeager’s lyrics and soul-infused vocals transcend stats, trends and ages.”

Her single “Keep My Distance” was released in 2019. It begins in F, modulates up half step to Gb at 2:28, and then another half step up to G at 3:00.