Tag: 1970s

The Police | So Lonely

“So Lonely” was the third and final single from The Police‘s debut studio album, Outlandos d’ Amour (1978). Bassist and frontman Sting has this to say about the band’s unique sound:

“People thrashing out three chords didn’t really interest us musically. Reggae was accepted in punk circles and musically more sophisticated, and we could play it, so we veered off in that direction. I mean let’s be honest here, ‘So Lonely’ was unabashedly culled from ‘No Woman No Cry’ by Bob Marley & The Wailers. Same chorus. What we invented was this thing of going back and forth between thrash punk and reggae. That was the little niche we created for ourselves.”

AllMusic adds: “Although Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were all superb instrumentalists with jazz backgrounds, it was much easier to get a record contract in late-’70s England if you were a punk/new wave artist, so the band decided to mask their instrumental prowess with a set of strong, adrenaline-charged rock, albeit with a reggae tinge.”

The video features the not-yet-famous UK trio strolling through Hong Kong and riding around on the Tokyo subway. A whole-step modulation hits at 2:04.

Aretha Franklin | The Dark End of the Street

Q: What do Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Eels, and Cat Power all have in common with Aretha Franklin?

A: They’ve all covered “The Dark End of the Street,” originally recorded by the unfairly overlooked soul singer James Carr in 1967.

Our Twitter follower @bradfarberman submitted Aretha’s 1970 version, which modulates at 2:28; it clearly illustrates why the Queen of Soul won the #1 slot on Rolling Stone‘s “Best Singers of All Time” list.

Kate Bush | Wuthering Heights

A guest post from our Twitter follower @AndrewOrlowski:

“One of my ten year old girls has become completely besotted by Kate Bush after watching a BBC TV documentary on her, and finds her completely inspiring. As a result, I was listening to ‘Wuthering Heights’ (1978) thinking ‘this has to be my favourite key change/chord change moment in music.'” (2:14)

Bush’s unique bio is nicely summarized by AllMusic: “One of the most successful and popular solo female performers to come out of England during the second half of the 20th century, Kate Bush was also one of the most unusual, with her keening vocals and unusually literate and complex body of songs. Bush‘s music is an ambitious and idiosyncratic melange of folk rock, art rock, prog, and pop, often performed with the bold brio of a West End stage production; her lyrics are artful meditations full of drama, fantasy, danger, and a sense of wonder at the human and natural worlds.”

Quick key-of-the-moment (KotM) shifts are a hallmark of this tune, a flagship within Bush’s catalog and the first single of her career. Starting in A major (more or less!), plenty of KotMs flash by as the fast harmonic rhythm hits us relentlessly (a good example being the repeating 4-chord passage from 0:08 to 0:15, which presents a contradictory jumble harmonically). As the chorus begins at 0:47, we transition to C# major. At 1:12, we’re back to A major (ish), etc. At 2:14 – 2:39, the brief bridge could be heard as a shift to A# major — or merely a huge passing emphasis on the iii chord of F# major. Unusual harmonic progressions and ambiguity of tonality are often part of the fun when it comes to Bush’s catalog.

Herbie Hancock | Palm Grease

From Dave Mandl, who follows us via Twitter: “Palm Grease,” from Herbie Hancock‘s Thrust (1974).

After the tonality wanders around a bit in the first few minutes of the tune, a stronger key change happens at 3:00, where Dave explains that “the piece moves from a bridge in F minor back to the tonic, A minor. I’ve always loved the way the bassist (Paul Jackson) slinks back to A minor. That main bass riff is a classic — the drum beat, even moreso. The piece is in 4/4, but drummer Mike Clark kind of splits it up as 9/8 + 7/8. It’s got to be one of the greatest funk grooves of all time — and that key change is one of my favorites.”

Elton John | (Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket

“(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket” is a track from Elton John‘s 1975 album Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

Contributor JB writes that the tune is “from the golden days when Elton John was still an unabashed rocker. If he’d never done anything beyond playing rock piano, he still would have been inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame. There are outright mods at the beginning and end of each chorus. But the most interesting part of the song is all the keys-of-the-moment, especially the fleeting shifts from D minor to D major (and back) during the chorus.”

In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Elton said “I’ve always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it wasn’t commercial in any way. (It) was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure—or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story.”

Three Dog Night | Celebrate

A bonus weekend mod from our frequent contributor Paul Steckler:

“‘Celebrate’ was a hit for Three Dog Night, reaching #15 on the Billboard chart in 1970. The studio version had no modulations. But this live 1975 version features an endless series of modulations beginning at 2:36, eventually posing health risks to performers and audience alike.”

Chaka Khan | I’m Every Woman

“I’m Every Woman” was Chaka Khan‘s debut solo single in 1978 after many releases with Rufus and Chaka Khan. Produced by Arif Mardin and written by married songwriting team and recording artists Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the single went straight to #1 on the R&B charts. The slow tempo of the tune only accentuates how it somehow successfully straddles the line between a disco feel and a heavier funk groove: a full string orchestra duels it out to a draw with an ornate slap bass line.

In 1989, a lighter, poppier version of the song saw a resurrection as a duo featuring Chaka and Whitney Houston; the track reached top 10 in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

At 2:51, Chaka alternates up and down by a minor third every four bars, over and over, all the way to the fade out.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils | Jackie Blue

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “‘Jackie Blue’ has a certain structure that happens to sound good on a car radio.” The tune was the first of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils‘ singles to feature drummer Larry Lee on lead vocal. The Montreal Gazette, assuming that the track was sung by a woman, scolded the band for producing a track that sounded like “an outrageous knockoff of Fleetwood Mac’s sound, down to the female lead.” The track hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1975.

The verses are in Eb minor, transitioning to G majvor for the choruses (0:28) and back to Eb for the next verse (0:46), etc.

Doobie Brothers | What a Fool Believes

From MotD fan Jonathan Jharms Harms comes a beautifully detailed breakdown of an all-time best pop modulation we featured in 2017.

“If you’re like me, you’ve found yourself on a night on the town with friends, singing along to the The Doobie Brothers‘ 1979 classic ‘What a Fool Believes’ – but when the chorus comes, no one can find the right note. Is it the alcohol? Is it your memory? Nope – it’s modulation! Modulation written so smoothly you never noticed.

Songwriter Michael McDonald, after emphasizing the IV chord in every phrase of the song, makes the most soulful (and innocuous) of changes in the chorus – beginning the chorus a minor iv instead of a major IV. But wait – no – that was a pivot to a new key! Before you know it, we transition from C# major to E major – a strange jump to a very unrelated key, but without you ever noticing. Only the most observant will notice the A naturals turning into A sharps as the chorus fades into Verse 3, back to C# major.

Unlike other modulations that are all about calling attention to themselves or ‘raising the stakes,’ this one simply takes you on a ride. Maybe that’s why we’re still singing (or failing to sing) this amazing song, 40 years later.”

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.