Tag: folk

The Roches | Hammond Song

“The Roches were a magical musical act, influenced by barber-shop style tight harmonies, Irish melodies, bee-pop and the Brill Building writers,” (HotPress.com). “They wrote – either solo or in various combinations – songs about: their lives together and apart; sweaty train journeys; cheating husbands; dogs; waitressing; family secrets; trips to Ireland; and, sometimes, even an impossible and improbable relationship.

They didn’t fit in, but by not fitting in they presented the perfect template for all the rest of us who felt we didn’t fit in either. They eventually found a way to fit in by creating – stealing might even be a better word – a space for themselves in a music business distracted and preoccupied by rock, disco, and punk …they were not scared to show their horizons lay way beyond the perceived limits of folk, or any other contemporary music, for that matter.”

A track from the trio’s debut self-titled album (1979), “Hammond Song,” gives voice to the inevitable forks in life’s road and the consequences which follow. The Roche sisters’ keening vocal delivery is immediately recognizable after only a few notes. Their nearly vibrato-free vocal style would be quite unforgiving of any intonation issues, but the Roches’ excellent ears and unfettered originality turned into their force-of-nature delivery into their indelible signature. After a start in Eb major, 2:37 brings a shift to Bb major, and then there’s a reversion to the original key at 3:28. Both modulations slip by during relative lulls in the volume and texture of this otherwise rich vocal tapestry.

The Kinks | The Village Green Preservation Society

“A very reflective and nostalgic song written by lead singer Ray Davies, this is about the innocent times in small English towns, where the village green was the community center,” (Songfacts). “The entire album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) was based on this theme.”

From Pitchfork‘s review of the album: “The problem facing The Kinks when they released (the album) wasn’t merely the competition– Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, Led Zeppelin’s debut, and the Rolling Stones’ Beggars’ Banquet offered plenty– but that this subtle, funny, surreal, and at times almost tender record could have been recorded on another planet. During the summer of 1968, stateside fans were hooked on a high-intensity diet that had them jonesing for aggressive, overstated fare like “Street Fighting Man” and “You Shook Me” and “Communication Breakdown.” The disconnect between The Kinks and the rock world’s rapidly narrowing palette could hardly have been more pronounced. Compare the Stones’ bombastic, urban “Sympathy for the Devil” with understated work like “Village Green”, bouncing along like a horse and buggy as Ray Davies paints the landscape: “Out in the country, far from all the soot and noise of the city … Though widely disregarded at the time of its release, The Kinks’ 1968 apex, The Village Green Preservation Society, has had a profound impact on the present state of indie rock.”

A whole-step modulation hits at 1:12.

Lauren Kennedy | And I Will Follow

“And I Will Follow” is a stand-alone song by musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown. It is the lead track on singer Lauren Kennedy’s 2003 album The Songs of Jason Robert Brown (JRB subtly lends his voice as back-up as well.) The song, which fuses musical theatre, folk and country characteristics, begins in D and modulates up a whole step to E coming out of the bridge at 3:30.

Lorde | The Man with the Axe

“Well, I thought I was going to make this big acid record but I don’t think it was an acid album,” New Zealand singer/songwriter Lorde said upon the release of her 2021 album Solar Power. “I had one bad acid experience in this album and was like meh, it’s a weed album. It’s one of my great weed albums.” The record, which represents a departure from Lorde’s typical synth-dominated style in favor of more acoustic, folk-oriented arrangements, reached #1 in Australia and New Zealand, and charted in the top 10 in thirteen other countries.

“The Man With The Axe” is autobiographical, a love song about a person who affects the singer in a way no one else can. “I wrote this track almost as a poem,” Lorde said. “I was very hungover and I think that fragile, vulnerable quality made it in here. It’s funny because it’s kind of melancholy, but I also think of it as very cozy.

“I’m expressing a huge amount of love and affection for someone. To me, it sounds very private — I sort of don’t even like thinking about people listening to it because it’s just for me…I really didn’t change the poem, apart from maybe taking one line out. That was one of the biggest accomplishments of the album.”

The song modulates from E to F# at 3:14.

Eva Cassidy | Time Is a Healer

“Time Is A Healer” was featured on American singer Eva Cassidy’s first studio album, Eva By Heart, released one year after Cassidy’s death from melanoma at age 33. The track, with music by Diane Scanlon and Greg Smith and lyrics by Cassidy, is characteristic of Cassidy’s style — a full-throated soprano infused with bluesy soul and passion. Her work has been met with posthumous success, charting in the top 10 across Europe.

The tune starts in E major and modulates up to F# for the final chorus at 3:22.

Toussaint McCall | If I Had a Hammer

Toussaint McCall, born in 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana, is an American R&B singer and organist. “At times a stirring soul balladeer, organist, and vocalist, Toussaint McCall doesn’t have a lengthy string of hits,” AllMusic reports. “But his 1967 version of ‘Nothing Takes the Place of You’ was among that year’s finest performances. It gave McCall his lone R&B hit, reaching number five … He continued performing and recording for Southern independent labels, and made a cameo in the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray.”

The seminal folk song “If I Had a Hammer” was written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. According to the site Hymn Wiki, the tune “was written in 1949 in support of the progressive movement, and was first recorded by The Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, and then by Peter, Paul and Mary.”

McCall’s cover of the tune (date unknown, likely the 1960s) adds an mid-tempo R&B feel to the classic, featuring what is likely his B3 organ playing as well. Half-step modulations hit at 0:44, 1:14, and 1:45. Thanks to our champion guest poster JB for this find!

TinWhistler | Down By The Sally Gardens

“Down By The Sally Gardens” is a traditional Irish folk song based on a poem by W.B Yeats, performed here by the duo TinWhistler. “We’re PJ and JJ, two brothers from the Mediterranean island of Mallorca,” they say in the description of their group on YouTube. “We mostly play traditional Irish music but also other kinds of “Celtic music”: Scottish, Breton, Galician, Asturian… Mostly on Irish tin whistles/low whistles (PJ) and guitar (JJ).” You can learn more and order their album on their Bandcamp page. Key change at 2:12.

The Subdudes | Next to Me

“Next to Me” is featured on the 2006 album Behind the Levee by American roots/rock group The Subdudes (and produced by Grammy-winning blues artist Keb’Mo’). Based in New Orleans, the group synthesizes folk, cajun, blues, and country influences, and substitutes a tambourine player for a drummer.

The tune subtly modulates from A to B at 3:00. Thanks to Carol Cashion for this submission!

Cat Stevens | Morning Has Broken

A Christian hymn first published in 1931, “Morning Has Broken” was made popular by Cat Stevens, who recorded the song for his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. It has since been performed by an array of artists, from Neil Diamond to Judy Collins to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and is frequently programed at wedding and funeral services.

Stevens’ arrangement fluctuates between C major and D major throughout: the first, second, and fourth verses are in C, with the introduction, third verse, and outro in D.

Fourth Moon feat. Ainsley Hamill | The Vale

According to its website, Fourth Moon “were born in 2014 from the meeting between two French musicians (Jean-Christophe Morel, violin; Jean Damei on guitar), an Austrian (Geza Frank, bagpipes and flutes) and a Scot (Mohsen Amini, concertina) … In 2016 the line up changed, introducing David Lombardi from Italy on violin and more recently Andrew Waite from Scotland on accordion.”

The Edinburgh TradFest noted: “The result feels fresh and often exhilarating … showing how traditional musicianship and instruments can be used to produce a truly original sound, Fourth Moon take a mixture of tunes, many of them self penned, and put together sets that play around with styles and tempos and deliver the unexpected.” 

The Herald of Scotland reviewed the Glasgow-based band as giving “thought to texture, tone and tempo that can call to mind a chamber music group in terms of sound quality and tonal range.” The ensemble’s seamless handling of tempo changes is clear on 2018’s “The Vale,” where the band is joined by vocalist Ainsley Hamill, a Scottish singer and songwriter who performs in English, Scots, and Gaelic. There are key changes at 0:54, 1:12, 1:30, 1:49, and 3:17.

Many thanks to our regular contributor JB for this tune!