Tag: 1970s

The Ramones | I Wanna Be Sedated

Bob Boilen wrote an NPR review of “I Wanna Be Sedated,” the 1978 punk single-turned-classic, to accompany the song’s inclusion in the NPR 100. “I love The Ramones. I think The Ramones took rock ‘n’ roll back to its soul. In the mid-’70s, rock had grown into something big, fat, bloated. Bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes and Kansas were touring huge arenas. Large truck convoys followed them, filled with light towers and smoke machines and other things that had little to do with music … Along came Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee, four guys from Queens with a passion for short, loud and fast songs with great hooks … The Ramones’ music was a call to brandish guitars, shift music back to the clubs and sing from the heart and the gut. And don’t forget: This is supposed to be fun … The Ramones’ vision never changed: Make fast, loud, fun music. No solos. Keep it short. Play to your audience, not to each other.”

Time Magazine recognized the tune as part of its All-Time Best 100. “The Ramones’ buzz-saw bubblegum was a spitball of opposition to nearly everything else happening in pop in the mid-’70s … (it’s) hilarious where it could have been self-indulgent, mostly because nobody had ever sung so earnestly about longing for tranquilizers. And they were famously averse to rock-‘n’-roll frippery like guitar solos, so Johnny Ramone’s ultra-minimalist solo here is both an upraised middle finger and a brilliant show of compositional chutzpah.”

The band’s trademark three-chord harmonic vocabulary instantaneously doubled when a whole-step modulation hits at 1:11. The tune has become a persistent pop culture ingredient, including the 1980 movie Times Square; TV’s My So-Called Life, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Beavis + Butthead; the video games Guitar Hero, Jam Sessions, and Rock Band 3; and many others. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission.

The Cars | Got a Lot On My Head

Pitchfork describes the eponymous debut album by The Cars: “It’s a tale as old as time. A band arrives on the scene with an album so fully formed, it seems impossible that they could improve upon it, let alone escape its gravitational pull. The Cars would seem to define this trope. The 1978 debut contains so many classic rock staples, a modern listener could mistake it for a greatest hits collection. But the band is the exception that proves the rule: They managed to move forward from The Cars with a pair of albums that both refined and expanded their tightly wound new wave.”

1979’s Candy-O was an album of equal ambition. AllMusic reports that “the group were a little unhappy with how slick their debut sounded, so they asked (producer) Roy Thomas Baker to dial back the stacked vocals and make sure there was a little dirt in the machine … Candy-O is the rare follow-up to a classic debut that almost reaches the same rarified air … it may be one of the best second albums ever made, full of great songs, inspired performances, and sporting a still-perfect sound …”

Serving as something of a fulcrum for the American branch of New Wave, The Cars were known for “classic-rock riffs and melodies, synthy new-wave cool, wry, often deadpan vocals … a sound unlike any other in 1978,” according to Guitar World. But perhaps the most consistently memorable ingredient which the Boston-based quintet brought to the table was its massive hooks, which were frequently performed by keyboardist Greg Hawkes. In the case of Candy-O’s “Got a Lot on My Head,” lead guitarist Elliot Easton serves up the hook, bursting brashly out of the gates at the very top of the tune over a four-measure A major –> C major loop. The chorus (0:13) oddly appears before the verse, featuring a ii-bVII-I progression in C; 0:31 brings a verse in A major.

Helen Reddy | Delta Dawn

“Every social movement has its definitive song,” The Guardian reports, “and feminism got its anthem in 1972, when the Australian singer Helen Reddy released the single ‘I Am Woman.’ In three elegant minutes, it hewed a portal through which schoolgirls and their mothers saw an empowered future. Reaching No 1 in the US and selling one million copies there, it also established Reddy, who has died aged 78, as one of the top-selling female vocalists of the decade.” News of Reddy’s passing spread today.

The Guardian continues: “Accepting the 1973 Grammy award in the best female pop vocal category, Reddy rubbed salt into the wound by saying: ‘I would like to thank God, because she makes everything possible.’”

While “I Am Woman” was certainly Reddy’s most prominent release, 1973’s “Delta Dawn” was a clear crossover hit, reaching #72 on the Billboard Hot 100 but climbing all the way to #6 on the Hot Country Songs chart, following another top 10 Country hit rendition of the song by Tanya Tucker just a year earlier.

There’s a whole-step modulation at 1:14. But an additional modulation (2:27) is only a half-step. The combination of these two key changes in one tune is quite unusual! Many thanks to our regular Rob Penttinen for this submission.

Elvis Costello | Oliver’s Army

Rolling Stone‘s capsule review of Armed Forces, the 1979 album by UK post-punk rocker Elvis Costello, proclaimed that the single “Oliver’s Army” was “…the pièce de résistance … on an album that’s a killer in several senses of the word. The tune sounds bright and bouncy, with a jangly keyboard riff along the lines of ‘Here Comes Santa Claus,’ and it’s enough to make you want to rock around the room.”

AllMusic elaborates: “‘Oliver’s Army’ was a 45 that radio could hardly refuse — that is, until programmers listened closely to the words and discovered it was a bitter screed about how impressionable youth were being used as cannon fodder by Tory leaders whose political agendas had little to do with the concerns of the man on the street.”

According to American Songwriter, keyboardist Steve Nieve’s “buoyant” piano part was stylistically inspired by ABBA’s 1976 hit single “Dancing Queen” — confirmed by Nieve himself. Starting in A major, the F# major bridge arrives at 1:35; Costello’s own backing vocals go out of phase here, echoing the lead or disappearing entirely, rather than the wide-ranging two-part harmonies which adamantly speak together elsewhere. Another jaunty verse kicks in at 1:53, this time in B major, carrying us to the end of the tune. Many thanks to prolific mod submitter JB for this classic!

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!

Terry Jacks | Seasons In the Sun

Q: What do Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, mid-20th century American folk singers The Kingston Trio, pop music masterminds Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and 1990s grunge rock pioneers Nirvana all have in common?

A: They are all connected, directly or obliquely, to the maudlin 1974 #1 hit “Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks. It’s a tale far too complex to summarize here, but please read the whole story as presented by Stereogum!

According to AllMusic, “It’s been a long time since ‘Seasons in the Sun’ became a monster hit for Canadian Terry Jacks, but the syrupy 1974 single is still top dog among all best-sellers issued by Canadian acts. The release spent more than three months on the U.S. charts and more than four months on the charts in Jacks‘ native country. Its accumulated sales topped more than 11 million copies. Jacks, who moved on to producing for artists such as the Beach Boys, Nana Mouskouri, DOA, and Chilliwack, reaped the good life from the monster hit’s royalties.”

Regular contributor JB is responsible for this submission. He sent it in with a note detailing the love/hate relationship with the song which many people seem to share: “The key changes are like a dump truck grinding through its gears as it climbs a hill: no warbles, no ambiguity … just slam the song into a new key.” We won’t time slate the modulations for this one; if you don’t detect them, please check your pulse.

The Delfonics | Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time

“The sound that producer Thom Bell created for the Delfonics was the antithesis of the soul sound that came from Stax in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in Alabama,” according to AllMusic. “He sandpapered away the grit, lightened up on the backbeat, brought in string sections, and created a smooth, airy sound…a different kind of groove where subtlety and nuance reigned.”

“All of the individual elements that helped create the distinctive ‘smooth grooves’ sound synonymous with the Delfonics coalesce with undeniable intensity” on the Delfonics’ fourth LP, 1970’s The Delfonics, AllMusic continues. “Indeed, the material has arguably never been stronger … ideally scored, incorporating string and brass sections without overpowering the vocal blend or seeming pretentious … several sides on this disc are among the group’s best-known works, as well as definitive entries into the distinct Philly-brand soul music scene. The leadoff track, ‘Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),’ would not only become a staple of Top 40 and R&B radio in 1970, but nearly two decades later inspired the 20-volume soul music compilation Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn’t It Blow Your Mind.“

After an intro in F major, the verses are in A major (for the first time at 0:19); the choruses are in F major, prominently announced by a series of Bb/C kicks (IV/Vs) pushing the door open into the new key (for the first time at 1:01). The opening moments of the intro, 2:29, and a few other spots present prominent features for french horn — not exactly a typical part of most soul horn sections.

Grateful Dead | Sugar Magnolia

Grateful Dead makes their MotD debut today, with one of their most loved and well-known tunes, “Sugar Magnolia.” Originally released on the group’s fifth studio album, American Beauty, in 1970, it was subsequently included on many live albums, including Europe ’72, where it peaked at #91 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1973. The majority of the tune is in A major, but it abruptly modulates up a step to B at 2:30, where it remains for the duration.

Milton Nascimento | O Que Será? (À Flor da Pele)

An eons-overdue MotD debut today for Milton Nascimento, about whom AllMusic.com writes: “(A) Brazilian singer/songwriter whose soaring voice and plaintive songs have inspired and influenced musicians of all kinds. Nascimento may have his roots in Brazil, but his songs have touched audiences all over the world…he caught a break when the pop singer Elis Regina recorded one of his songs, ‘Canção do Sal,’ in 1966. Regina got him a showcase on a popular Brazilian TV program; after performing at Brazil’s International Song Festival the following year, his career was launched … His 1999 album Crooner won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Pop Album at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2000.

Whatever he writes and sings about, be it the planet, ways of living, and loving and dying, his music has always carried an eternally optimistic spirit. Elis Regina has said of Nascimento: ‘If God sang, he would do it with Milton’s voice.’”

In 1976’s “O que Sera (a Flor de Pele),” a vocal duet with fellow Brazilian musician Chico Buarque, we float above the complex, fast-moving harmonies so often found in Brazilian music. We encounter modulations at 1:52, 2:49 (for the duration of an instrumental interlude), and 3:18.

Chicago | Make Me Smile

“(‘Make Me Smile’) was written by James Pankow, a founding member of Chicago, whose primary instrument is the trombone,” reports Songfacts. “What made him smile was the thought of a beautiful relationship: ‘Relationships, if they’re good, put a big smile on our faces. Love songs have always been a powerful ingredient in the song’s process – the songwriting process has often taken writers to that place.’

(The 1970 single) is the first section from the 13-minute musical suite ‘Ballet for a Girl from Buchannon’ on the group’s second album (‘Colour My World‘ is also part of this suite). Without the band’s knowledge, their record company excerpted the ‘Make Me Smile’ section and pushed it to AM radio stations, which had thus far ignored the band. The band had mixed emotions upon hearing their musical masterpiece chopped down for radio play, but were thrilled when the song became their first hit. The first Pankow heard this song on the radio was when he flipped on the mighty Los Angeles radio station KHJ-AM in his car and the song came on. He had no idea the record company had packaged it as a single.”

This album version includes an extended intro not found on the single version (0:00 – 0:38), as well as an extended outro (3:44 – 4:10) before the single version’s ending picks back up at 4:11. Both the intro and the outro are unsettled, giving the horn section free rein over meters that shift on a dime; a settled 4/4 is reached as the first verse starts at 0:42, before the most noticeable key change hits as the bridge starts at 2:14. The band’s trademark horn-saturated kicks and ambitious multi-layered backing vocals were well on their way to icon status with this hit track.

Many thanks to our diligent stringer JB for contributing this tune!