Tag: 1980s

Lisa Stansfield | All Around the World

UK pop/soul chanteuse Lisa Stansfield‘s career breakthrough was the smash 1989 hit “All Around the World.” The short intro ends by winding into the song’s sole modulation: a string-heavy compound chord which rings out in a crescendo from 0:14 – 0:18 leading into the first verse. The tune is driven by compound chords throughout and plenty of melodic tensions during the chorus.

Natalie Cole | I Miss You Like Crazy

Usually, modulations tend to happen closer to a tune’s end than the beginning, but seven-time Grammy winner Natalie Cole’s “Miss You Like Crazy” (1989) breaks that trend. The track became a huge hit in the US, Canada, and Europe.

“‘So many things have happened in my life,'” Cole reflected on her father Nat King Cole’s death when she was only 15. “‘But the death of my father remains the most painful.'” (Billboard). “‘I adored him in a way that only a teenager girl can adore her dad. When he died, I fell apart. For years, I ran from his memory. I even ran from his music. When I inadvertently stumbled into a career, I was thrilled to learn that I could sing rhythm and blues. I loved singing soul. But it wasn’t until I found the courage to sing the music associated with my father that I found my deepest peace and greatest satisfaction. The fact that even in Dad’s death we have grown closer brings me a beautiful comfort. It makes me think we ascribe too much severity to death. Spirit doesn’t die. Music doesn’t die. And the love that links spirit to music knows nothing about death. That spirit, that music, that love is eternal.’”

This power ballad modulates multiple times starting nearly right out of the gate (0:42) and continues with other shifts. At 2:18, the key locks in at the bridge and remains the same for the duration.

Phil Collins | Two Hearts

Phil Collins‘ career only grew after leaving Genesis, the pioneering UK-based prog-rock band. Producing other artists’ albums, writing for movie soundtracks, and cranking out multiple solo albums were all on the menu for Collins.

“Two Hearts,” a 1988 pop confection based on a relentless fast shuffle, starts off simply enough (the music starts at the 0:40 mark) in G major. But the bridge suddenly takes flight at 2:44, featuring syncopated kicks and multiple modulations before settling into Ab minor, then transitioning back into a chorus (in the original key, although it feels entirely new) at 3:12.

I Know Him So Well (from “Chess”)

“I Know Him So Well” was originally released on a 1984 concept album, and subsequent musical, Chess. The original recording remains in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest selling UK chart ever for a female duo. Here it is performed by a male duo, John Barrowman MBE and Daniel Boys, with an epic key change, up a minor third, at 3:14.

Tina Turner | What’s Love Got to Do With It

Soul/R&B powerhouse Tina Turner‘s solo breakthrough hit “What’s Love Got to Do With It” marked the high point of the pop-tinged second chapter of her post-Ike Turner career, scoring her only #1 solo hit in the US and her eleventh Grammy award.

Featuring compound chords throughout, the tune starts in Ab minor through the first verses and choruses, then lands in Bb minor after an instrumental break at 2:03 and a bridge (2:22 – 2:41) which features a few interesting side-steps.

Yes | Leave It

Prog-rock royalty Yes released their blockbuster album 90125 in 1982, featuring a far more radio-ready sound than most of the band’s other output. “Leave It,” the album’s second single, reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video, directed by Godley & Creme, utilized cutting-edge digital effects for that era.

The intro (through 0:21) is in D major, as is the bridge from 2:46-3:17. The remainder of the tune is in G minor. Happy weekend to all!

Nik Kershaw | The Riddle

A submission from Vladimir Dragovic, one of MotD’s newest fans:

“Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is arguably most popular for the song ‘The Riddle’ from the 1984 album of the same name. Kershaw called the tune’s lyrics ‘nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar.’

The key change is rather interesting: the ever-shifting bridge (2:16 – 2:36) modulates from the original key of F# minor to G Major, then into G minor”

My Brother Lived in San Francisco (from “Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens”)

From MotD fan Kent P., a first-time contributor:

“My Brother Lived in San Francisco” is the most heartbreaking song about AIDS I know (and I make a point to seek them out). It’s from the off-Broadway show (song cycle) Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (1989), based on the NAMES Project Quilt.

It begins in C for two verses about specific people (real or composites?), then modulates up to C# for the third verse, into a more upbeat feel, to address the general sociological phenomenon of San Francisco as a gay mecca in the 1970s/80s, symbolizing the hope and happiness the City represented. Lastly, the tune unexpectedly makes a devastating full-tone drop to B for the unadorned reprise of the refrain, hitting us with the gut-wretching reminder of what the song is really about. Modulating down is rare enough, never mind a full step, but the emotional journey of this song hits so much harder because of it.”

They Might Be Giants | Birdhouse In Your Soul

“Birdhouse In Your Soul,” a 1989 single from the always-quirky They Might Be Giants, reached #3 on the US Modern Rock Tracks Chart, performed well on college radio, and has been the alternative rock band’s best-performing release to date. The tune bounces back and forth between C major and Eb major throughout (starting at 0:27), with the exception of an early instrumental bridge from 1:24 – 1:43, which plays by its own rulebook.

Also stranger than fiction: the tune was later covered by Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene for the TV series Pushing Daisies (see second video below).