new wave – Page 5

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.

The Police | So Lonely

“So Lonely” was the third and final single from The Police‘s debut studio album, Outlandos d’ Amour (1978). Bassist and frontman Sting has this to say about the band’s unique sound:

“People thrashing out three chords didn’t really interest us musically. Reggae was accepted in punk circles and musically more sophisticated, and we could play it, so we veered off in that direction. I mean let’s be honest here, ‘So Lonely’ was unabashedly culled from ‘No Woman No Cry’ by Bob Marley & The Wailers. Same chorus. What we invented was this thing of going back and forth between thrash punk and reggae. That was the little niche we created for ourselves.”

AllMusic adds: “Although Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were all superb instrumentalists with jazz backgrounds, it was much easier to get a record contract in late-’70s England if you were a punk/new wave artist, so the band decided to mask their instrumental prowess with a set of strong, adrenaline-charged rock, albeit with a reggae tinge.”

The video features the not-yet-famous UK trio strolling through Hong Kong and riding around on the Tokyo subway. A whole-step modulation hits at 2:04.

Elvis Costello | Clubland

Elvis Costello‘s 1980’s atmospheric “Clubland,” produced by Nick Lowe, is another contribution from prolific mod correspondent JB. The track features “quasi-latin” piano by Steve Nieve, according to American Songwriter, that’s “all over the place, propelling the song in different directions, without ever getting in the way of the tune.”

Starting in B minor, there’s a switch to B major for the chorus at 0:35, then back to minor for verse 2 at 0:51. At 1:37, the bridge begins, combining alternating B major and B minor within the vocal line from 1:52 – 2:07. Many thanks to blue-ribbon mod contributor JB for this tune!

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”

Scritti Politti | First Boy In This Town (Lovesick)

From prolific MotD scout JB comes this submission from New Wave UK band Scritti Politti, fronted by Welsh vocalist/songwriter Green Gartside. The band’s name, Italian for “political graffiti,” definitely fit with its early politics-heavy releases. But by the mid-80s, the band’s sound had shifted to highly polished, synth-driven pop, with a consistently broad harmonic vocabulary — perhaps best demonstrated by the 1985 single “Perfect Way,” a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

“First Boy in This Town (Lovesick)” (1988) starts in Ab major, modulates to Bb major at the first chorus (1:00), then reverts to Ab for verse 2 at 1:27. That pattern holds throughout, except for the instrumental bridge (2:22 – 2:48), which centers around Eb major.

Culture Club | Victims

Boy George & Culture Club released the ballad “Victims” in 1983. The track was a Top 10 hit throughout Europe, but wasn’t released as a single in the US, despite the fact that the band was enjoying the height of its sudden fame at that time. The associated album, Colour by Numbers, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and appeared on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Best Albums of the 1980s” list.

The intro, in Bb minor, shifts to a verse in Ab major at 0:31, then a brief chorus at 0:45 reverts to Bb minor. A long bridge (1:24 – 2:20) in Bb major then shifts to Bb minor from 2:20 to 2:39. Etc.!

Nik Kershaw | Life Goes On

Songwriter Nik Kershaw is perhaps best known for his 1984 hit “Wouldn’t It Be Good.” His tunes spent 62 weeks on the singles charts throughout 1984 and 1985 in his native UK — more than the work of any other artist. Kershaw’s 1986 release, “Life Goes On,” features a huge harmonic vocabulary right out of the gate: starting in C# minor, there’s a shift to A minor at 0:08…the first of many.

Johnny Hates Jazz | Shattered Dreams

UK pop group Johnny Hates Jazz scored a worldwide hit in 1987 and 1988, when “Shattered Dreams” was released in the UK and then in the US. The tune modulates up a half-step at 2:00 as the bridge begins. A review on AllMusic calls the tune “…the peak of sophisti-pop before Alternative began to take over the charts. The arrangement is like the audio equivalent of watching a mechanical watch movement.”

English Beat | Sugar and Stress

1982 saw the release of the album Special Beat Service by The English Beat (known back then in their native UK as The Beat). The band was one of the most dynamic Ska Music groups of the late 70s and early 80s. “Sugar and Stress,” a track from the album, is an up-tempo dance rave-up that modulates up a whole step at 1:57.

Elvis Costello | Accidents Will Happen

Elvis Costello‘s 1979 release, “Accidents Will Happen,” modulates back and forth between D major on the verses and D minor on the choruses; the first of these shifts hits at 0:19. Starting at 2:10, the outro of this compact tune accelerates the pattern by shifting between the two keys every two measures!