Tag: ballad

McCoy Tyner | When Sunny Gets Blue

First recorded in 1956 by vocalist Johnny Mathis and bandleader Roy Conniff, “When Sunny Gets Blue” quickly became a jazz standard. This version was performed by piano legend McCoy Tyner and his trio in 1962, after his stint as sideman for John Coltrane. Tyner, a 4-time Grammy winner, was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2002; after 80 albums, he still continues to record.

The 32-bar form modulates at the start of the middle 8 (heard for the first time at 1:04), modulates halfway through the middle 8 at 1:20, then back to the original key at 1:36. The form starts again at 2:07, as we hear a solo from Tyner.

Level 42 | Lying Still

BBC World Service​ says of UK band Level 42​: “For one brief, shining moment…they were outsiders.” By the mid-80s, the band had seen huge success, becoming one of the best-selling UK groups of the decade, best known for their uptempo funk-driven tunes like “Something About You.” But the band also produced some gorgeous melancholy-drenched ballads, including 1985’s “Lying Still.”

Starting in G minor, the tune transitions to B minor for the chorus at 0:44. At 2:50, the bridge starts as an instrumental (roughly in B minor), then transitions back to vocals for a lushly layered, multi-key-of-the-moment, meter-shifting section at 3:11. At 3:29, an extended outro, built around G minor, rolls out and tapers to the end.

Howard Jones | Don’t Always Look at the Rain

From our Twitter follower Christopher G. (@cedgray) comes Howard Jones‘ ballad “Don’t Always Look at the Rain.” Jones released 1984’s Human’s Lib, his debut album, to a wonderful reception, reaching #1 on his native UK’s Album Charts in its first week and remaining on that chart for just over a year. The album went gold across the US and much of Europe and made a big splash in Japan.

Christopher points out the “unusual minor-third modulation at 1:39 (and elsewhere),” amid plenty of hybrid harmonies.

Pretenders | I Hurt You

Pretenders‘ breakthrough third album Learning to Crawl (1984) spawned six singles, but also the devastating non-single track “I Hurt You.” For the album’s re-issue in 2004, Rolling Stone‘s Kurt Loder wrote of the band’s founder and frontwoman Chrissie Hynde: “To say that Learning to Crawl reconfirms Hynde as the most forceful female presence in rock already demeans her achievement: The matter of gender aside, she is the most unaffectedly personal of contemporary singer/songwriters, and surely the most astringently intimate lyricist working within a real rock & roll context.”

Starting in D minor, a series of unconventional modulations starts at 1:53 with a switch to Bb minor. Later, the mournful tune returns to D minor at 2:28 and ends in Bb minor with a spare, jagged guitar solo outro at 3:37.

Kool + the Gang | September Love

Funk/pop superstars Kool and the Gang, best known for 1980’s uptempo mega-hit “Celebrate,” took a decidedly mellower turn in the early 80s. According to AllMusic, the band “left the fast lanes of funk for the smoother ride of the adult-oriented R&B expressway.” The 1983 album In the Heart produced a lead single, “Joanna,” which hit #2 (pop) in the US, #2 (pop) in the UK, and #1 on the US R&B chart.

No stranger to a broad harmonic vocabulary, the band outdid itself on the mod scale with the ballad “September Love,” a non-single track. Modulations begin with an almost jarring early shift as the first verse starts at 0:21, followed by more key changes at 1:15, 1:49, 2:43, 3:18, and 3:59.

Lizzo | Lingerie

NSFW: Lizzo‘s 2019 track “Lingerie” (from the Cuz I Love You album) debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200. The track simmers at an almost impossibly slow, insistent tempo but still somehow manages a behind-the-beat delivery. From AllMusic‘s review: “she continues to embrace her gospel roots and the full power of her voice. It’s a journey she began on (previous albums), which feel like dress rehearsals for what she unleashes…”

Half-step modulations at 1:25 and 2:26.

Kenny Loggins | Return to Pooh Corner

Here’s another modulation from frequent contributor JB: the live version of Kenny Loggins‘ “Return to Pooh Corner” from Outside: From the Redwoods, recorded in 1993 in Santa Cruz Shakespeare‘s Festival Glen.

“The track has a nifty modulation into the bridge at 2:09, and then another rather haunting mod at 3:10. The backing vox on this song are pretty sweet for a live performance, especially since they’re done by instrumentalists, and not dedicated singers.”

Duke Ellington | In a Sentimental Mood

Duke Ellington’s ballad “In a Sentimental Mood” (1935) was recorded several times by its composer, including this version with saxophonist John Coltrane from 1963. The tune starts in Bb minor and ends in Db major, with a middle eight in A major (1:10 – 1:35). The tune saw prominent covers by Art Tatum, Sonny Rollins, and McCoy Tyner, among others.

Of the recording session, Coltrane said: “(Duke) has set standards I haven’t caught up with yet. I would have liked to have worked over all those numbers again, but then I guess the performances wouldn’t have had the same spontaneity. And they mightn’t have been any better!”

Luther Vandross | A House Is Not a Home

Ever pushing the envelope, composer/pianist Burt Bacharach wasn’t content to throw a routine modulation into the 1964 ballad “A House Is Not a Home.” Instead, the tune’s bridge starts in the original key at 2:40, waits to change key until after the bridge has started at 2:53, and then reverts to the original key at 3:21.

While it was only a modest hit (#71) on its initial release, the song has spawned dozens of covers over the years, from Cher to Aretha Franklin to Sonny Rollins. The late Luther Vandross, a legendary 8-time Grammy winning vocalist, clearly made the tune his own. But the song’s original vocalist was frequent Bacharach muse Dionne Warwick.