Big Big World is the title track of Swedish singer Emilia’s eponymous debut studio album, released in 1998. “Big, Big World…is gentle and arranged as a pseudo-procession tune,” wrote AllMusic editor Roxanne Branford in her review. “As if Emilia is taking her first cautious steps toward independence and adulthood.” The track was a #1 across Europe but wasn’t as successful in the United States. Emilia has gone on to record three subsequent albums.
The tune starts in C and modulates up to D at 2:29.
Here’s a first: a submission which not only includes an exacting level of theory detail, but is a live performance by the contributor, leading a quartet! Cole Fortier is an undergrad at the SUNY’s Crane School of Music. Thank you for such a detailed description of this genius tune’s structure, Cole!
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From Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello’s masterwork album, Painted from Memory (1998), comes the track “Such Unlikely Lovers.” It’s a truly unique and incredible song for many reasons.
First, it seems to be the one lyric on the album where everything goes right for the main character! While this album is an epic and stunning meditation on heartbreak, the upbeat and colorful narrative of this song brings the variation of levity and charm to the ordeal. Costello said that he heard the music that Bacharach presented to him for this track and immediately envisioned a lyric based around a chance romantic encounter on the street. The sense of spontaneity, optimism, and energy in the lyric is reflected so excitingly in the music. This song grooves so hard — more than almost any other song on the album. The constantly shifting tonality and subtle meter changes (a Bacharach trademark) truly embody the spontaneous spirit that drives the song.
As the song begins, it’s difficult to discern the key; the riff essentially vamps between a Gsus chord and an Fsus chord (Eb/F to be specific). The vocal then enters on a C minor chord, which contextualizes the previous Eb/F chord as being a part of the key signature of C minor. More specifically, this section of the song can be interpreted as C Dorian with the raised sixth scale degree of the A natural. The most intriguing harmonic shift happens very quickly though as an F#min7 chord occurs on the word “gray” (0:24) and subsequently resolves to a Bmin9 chord. This modulation from C minor to B minor is masterfully handled through carrying over the common tone of the A natural from the C Dorian mode to the F#min7 chord. The entire modulatory sequence repeats again at the lyrics “when you look how you feel” (0:30) — but this time, the song continues on in a tonality much more closely associated with B minor than C minor (starting at “Listen now”, 0:40). After the chorus, the opening riff returns at 1:17. Weirdly enough though, the opening riff is played 2.5 steps down and is never played in its original tonality again.
The smooth and nuanced modulation patterns in “Such Unlikely Lovers” through the use of common tones really show the genius of Bacharach’s writing while also supporting the energized and spontaneous lyric that Costello wrote.
“World-class composer, pianist, and arranger Richard Smallwood has clearly and solidly changed the face of gospel music,” (KennedyCenter.org). “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 … Richard began his recording career in the late seventies with an album simply titled The Richard Smallwood Singers. The debut project spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel chart … His song “I Love The Lord” crossed onto the big screen when Whitney Houston sang it in the film The Preacher’s Wife.”
“I Will Sing Praises” (1996) was both written and arranged by Smallwood. Starting at 3:05, multiple half-step modulations arrive, with the intensity only further magnified by the choir’s brief jump to a cappella at 4:47.
Featured in the classic 1994 Disney film The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Top 100. According to a survey conducted in 2020, nearly 80% of couples who chose the tune as the first dance song at their wedding ended up staying together.
The track begins in F and modulates up a step to G at 1:51.
Thanks to first-time contributor Joya Migliaccio for this submission!
Written and released at the height of the AIDS epidemic, “One Sweet Day” is about the sadness of losing loved ones, regret about taking them for granted, and faith that we can be reunited in heaven. “When you lose people that are close to you,” Carey said discussing the message of the song, “it changes your life and changes our perspective.”
Co-written by Boyz II Men and Carey, the song originally appeared on Carey’s 1995 album Daydream. Widely praised by critics, it was the most successful single ever on the Billboard chart up to that point, sitting at the number 1 spot for a record 16 weeks. “On ‘One Sweet Day,'” wrote New York Times music critic Stephen Holden, “the singer joins forces with Boyz II Men, those masters of pleading post-doo-wop vocal harmonies for a tender eulogy that suggests that the singers have been personally touched by the AIDS crisis.” In a readers poll conduct by Rolling Stone, the track was heralded as the Best Collaboration of All Time.
The song begins in Ab and modulates to B for the final chorus at 3:23.
Daryl Hall released BeforeAfter, a retrospective double album, this year. From Goldmine‘s coverage: “As Jeremy Holiday writes in the accompanying liner notes, ‘How paradoxical that Daryl Hall is most associated in the public imagination with a long-term musical partner. Because few artists are as individualistic, and individually complete … Yet Daryl Hall is also a brilliant collaborator, and, perhaps ironically, that quality is equally if not more apparent within his solo work. More than a chance to work alone, Hall’s individual pursuits have granted him license to be more eclectic in his choice of collaborators and to push further outside the expected bounds.’”
Hall’s 1993 solo outing Soul Alone paid homage to the singer’s early roots in Philly soul, including the Top 100 hit “I’m In a Philly Mood” and an adaptation of Marvin Gaye’s classic track “When Did you Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You.”
“Wildfire” is one of many polished, harmonically rich tracks from the album, which leaves Hall and Oates’ 1980s pop sensibilities in the rearview mirror. This live version finds the quality of Hall’s vocals typically indistinguishable from the studio version. The track shifts up a whole step at 3:54.
“Any Man of Mine” was country singer Shania Twain’s first number one hit, selling over 500,000 copies and topping the country charts. Co-written with Twain’s then-husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange, the track was originally featured on the 1995 album The Woman In Me, and was nominated for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. “Another Canadian singer breaking national borders and stylistic barriers,” said the British magazine Music Week of the song. “This debut single from the new album features hubby Mutt Lange’s crunching but considered rock production (and vocals) plus enough country to catch the ear.”
Starting in Ab, the tune modulates up to Bb at 2:48.
Guitarist and composer Maurice Cahen was born in Saint Germain en Laye, France. He began studying classical guitar while playing jazz in the Paris area. He traveled back and forth to Spain, where he discovered his love for traditional and contemporary Spanish music. In 1982, Maurice moved to the United States to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, followed by studies with Charlie Banacos and Dimitri Goryachev. Since then, he’s collaborated with various Boston and New York based musicians and has published original chamber music for flute and guitar, including the Impromptu #1.
Cahen has toured Israel with The Little Big Band and later toured Brazil with his own quartet and duo. Since then, Maurice has created numerous ensembles: Reflection, Brazilian Serenade, and various duos and trios featuring his original work, improvisation, etc. and exploring many styles, instrumentations, and genres (Classical, Latin, etc.) Maurice is currently studying North Indian Classical music and sitar technique with Jawwad Noor.
Impromptu #1 for flute and guitar, featuring Cahen on guitar and MotD co-curator Elise MacDonald on flute, begins in an overarching B minor and D major, but shifts to B major at 1:03. After touching on several other keys of the moment, we return to B minor and D major at 1:44.
Their cover of the traditional folk song “Shenandoah” appears on Say You Love Me, released in 1999. It moves through many tonal areas, beginning in Gb and ultimately landing in Bb at the end.
“The Waters of March” (Águas de Março), written in 1972 by acclaimed Brazilian composer and father of bossa nova Antonio Carlos Jobim, was named the best Brazilian song ever composed in a poll of over 200 journalists from the country in 2001. The swirling, downward motion of the melody reflects the falling rain common in Brazil in March.
American jazz vocalist Susannah McCorkle covered the tune for her 1993 album From Bessie to Brazil, which peaked at #20 on the Billboard jazz chart. Starting in G, the track modulates up a half step to Ab at 2:43.
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