“Paid My Dues” is featured on American singer Anastacia’s 2001 album Freak of Nature. Reviewing the album for Slant magazine, critic Sal Cinquemani wrote “her tenacious attitude on songs like “Paid My Dues” and the funky title track carve a unique niche for the singer.”
The track reached the #1 spot on the charts in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. It begins in C# minor and modulates up to D minor for the last two times through the chorus at 2:38.
“Never Again” is the final track on Justified, Justin Timberlake’s 2002 debut solo studio album. The track, co-written and produced by Brian McKnight, expresses regret about a relationship that didn’t work out. It begins in Db and modulates up a half step to E for the bridge at 2:45 before returning to Db at 3:10 for a brief instrumental interlude leading into the chorus.
“Caruso,” written by Italian singer/songwriter Lucio Dalla, is featured on the 2006 album Siempre by the classical crossover group Il Divo. “Their phrasing on…Caruso is excellent, drawn out to pull as much emotion as possible,” AllMusic said in their review of the record. The album sold over a million copies in the United States, and was the #2 classical crossover album on the Billboard charts for the year.
The track begins in C minor, modulates up a half step to C# minor for the second verse at 1:26, and then dramatically rises up another half step to D minor for the final chorus at 2:44.
“Oceano” is the lead track on Josh Groban’s 2003 album Closer, the top-selling album of the 2000s in the US.
Produced by David Foster, the song begins by fluidly passing between F major and F minor. In the instrumental interlude between verses, the harmony turns very chromatic, passing through Eb major and E minor before winding back to the tonal center of F at 2:06. There is a definitive modulation to Db at 3:05, which then segues into a subdued outro in D minor.
“Beautiful,” written by pianist Jim Brickman, is included on his fourteenth studio album, The Disney Songbook, released in 2005. The track features vocalist Wayne Brady; it begins in Bb and modulates up to C at 2:34.
The TV movie High School Musical premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006 and was the most-watched premiere in the network’s history; there have since been two spin-offs. “Start of Something New,” written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Neil, is the first track on the film’s soundtrack, which was the best-selling album of 2006.
The song begins in C, modulates to D after 8 bars at 0:28, and shifts up to E for the last chorus at 2:26.
O-Town is an American boy band that formed in 2000 as a result of the reality television series Making A Band. After releasing two albums, the group disbanded in 2003. “Baby I Would” is the last track on their eponymous debut record, written by MotD stalwart Diane Warren.
The song alternates between Bb for the verses and C for the choruses; coming out of the bridge, it subverts expectations by appearing as if it will modulate as usual up to C, but after a false start shifts up another whole step to D at 2:48.
*This is the third installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*
Michael Bible covered “You Don’t Know Me” for his 2005 album It’s Time, featuring arrangements by David Foster. The track begins in C and modulates up to Db at 3:08.
*This is the first installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*
Written by Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker in 1956, “You Don’t Know Me” has been covered by dozens of artists. The song tells the story of a man and his encounter with a woman he secretly loves; fearing rejection, he lets her walk away without ever expressing his feelings.
The most successful recording of the song was released by Ray Charles on his 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music. The cover we are featuring here is a duet from Charles’s last studio album, Genius Loves Company, which consists of R&B, blues, country, jazz and pop standards with a variety of high-profile guest artists. The record won eight Grammy Awards, including Album and Record of the Year.
The track begins in Eb and modulates up a half step to E at 2:49.
The Ben E. King-era Drifters scored a Billboard #1 in 1960 with their version of “Save The Last Dance For Me,” written by Doc Pomus and Mort Schuman. In that recording, the most prominent instruments are the steady guitar, bass, and light percussion, with a brief string interlude. There’s no modulation on offer.
In 2005, singer Michael Bublé released his version of the song in his album It’s Time. Later that year, he offered several remixes by different producers, for a single release, including the music video below. The tempo is slower than in the Drifters’ version, but with a spicier, syncopated arrangement of prominent Latin-style percussion (claves and timbales!), piano, and horns.
For dramatic purposes in the video, the music comes to a halt at 1:41. The music resumes at 1:44 a half-step up.
modulationoftheday.home.blog 