pop – Page 24

Kenny Loggins | Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong

“Co-written by two of the most brilliant pop composers, Richard Page and Kenny Loggins, ‘Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,’ is a masterpiece of West Coast music,” (FozFan.com). “This smooth, jazzy ballad was first recorded in 1979 by the group Pages on their stunning album, Future Street. Loggins, who was a guest on Pages’ take, included it on his 1979 album Keep The Fire with Michael Jackson and Page on backing vocals.” From a Rolling Stone review: “the new sound of Southern California: a sophisticated, diffuse, jazz-inflected pop rock performed by an augmented rock band in which guitar and keyboards share equal prominence” and “churning romantic atmosphere constructed around a matinee idol’s voice.”

Page, perhaps best known as the lead vocalist and bassist for Mr. Mister, lends plenty of supple, melodic bass lines to the track. Michael McDonald played keys and provided backup vocals; Paulinho da Costa was a contributor to the almost constantly varying percussion; Michael Brecker’s signature tenor sax sound was central to the track. But it was Michael Jackson — a few years before the mega-stardom of Thriller and contemporaneously with his breakthrough 1979 solo album Off the Wall — who might have been the track’s most surprising contributor. Loggins sings the verses, but outsources the choruses to Jackson, elevating MJ’s role to something closer to that of a co-lead vocalist.

After a start in G major, 0:44 brings a shift to Bb major; the chorus, starting at 1:12, is in D major. Many other shifts follow, including a big key change at 3:26, where vocals re-enter at the end Brecker’s solo section. The arrangement is so polished in some spots — particularly the instrumental sections (intro, solo, and outro) — that the sound seems somehow reminiscent of the legendary Steely Dan tune “Aja.”

Bee Gees | Saw a New Morning

” … from their transition period in the early 70s … this was a period in the Bee Gees’ career the brothers themselves have described as their commercial and creative nadir,” (Roxborough Report). “It was in between the first wave of orchestra-backed, Beatle-esque success that produced countless hits like ‘To Love Somebody’ and ‘Massachusetts’ and before the even bigger second wave of R&B-infused pop, beginning in 1975 with ‘Jive Talkin’‘.

But those in-between years of 1972-1974 were simultaneously more artistically and commercially fruitful than the Bee Gees may have realized …. during this period they were still having #1 hits in South East Asia and top 20 hits in Australasia, Canada, as well as parts of Europe … The oft-told tale of the stint at the Batley Variety Club in England in 1973 (where Maurice met his second wife Yvonne) is where the brothers said: ‘Right! This is the low-point, we will never be reduced to playing supper clubs again!’ And indeed, they were right … within a couple of years they were back to being one of the biggest bands on the planet and within five years, they probably were the biggest band on the planet.”

“Saw a New Morning,” from 1973’s Life In a Tin Can, features a short and simple melodic idea which wends its way through multiple key changes; the first shift is at the 0:34 mark.

Billy Joel | You’re Only Human (Second Wind)

“(When) Billy Joel attempted suicide back in 1970 (by drinking furniture polish), it failed to kill him and he wrote the song “Tomorrow Is Today” as the suicide note,” (Songfacts). “Later on, he was asked if he could write a song that could help prevent teenage suicide. Joel agreed, but the first recording concerned him because it had a dreary and depressing tone that he thought might give troubled teens the wrong message. So, he created a new version, ‘You’re Only Human (Second Wind),’ with bouncy, joyous beats and lyrics about personal forgiveness and optimism for life.

… Joel noticeably hesitates with one of the verse lines and laughs after it. He decided to keep this mistake … because it seemed to be proof of his personal fallibility, as in the line ‘You probably don’t want to hear advice from someone else, but I wouldn’t be telling you if I hadn’t been there myself.'” The track was released on Joel’s 1985 album Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

Built in Bb overall, the track features a short chorus in Db major (first heard at 0:59 – 1:14), but it seems that the lyrics-packed verses and energetic groove are very much the main drivers here.

Bob Kuban + the In-Men | The Cheater

Bob Kuban and the In-Men were an “eight-piece rock ‘n’ roll band from St. Louis, Missouri … (They) were a classic one-hit-wonder Top 40 group, with ‘The Cheater,’ which reached number 12 in the US pop charts in 1966, (AllMusic). Also in 1966, the group scraped the bottom of the charts with two follow-ups, ‘The Teaser’ (number 70) and a cover of the Beatles’ ‘Drive My Car’ (number 93). ‘The Cheater’ had something of a blue-eyed soul flavor with the vibrant horn arrangements and Scott’s almost black vocal approach.

The In-Men were formed in 1964 and made their first record in 1965 … Kuban continued to perform in St. Louis for weddings and other social affairs with his band, the Bob Kuban Brass.”

After starting in F# major, there’s an half-step upward shift after the bridge (1:23 – 1:38). As the track nears its end (2:17), there’s another half-step modulation for the final verse.

Duane Eddy | Rebel Rouser

“Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as ‘Rebel Rouser’ and ‘Peter Gunn’ helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians,” died last month, (NPR). “With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones.

‘I had a distinctive sound that people could recognize and I stuck pretty much with that. I’m not one of the best technical players by any means; I just sell the best,’ he told The Associated Press in a 1986 interview. ‘A lot of guys are more skillful than I am with the guitar. A lot of it is over my head. But some of it is not what I want to hear out of the guitar.’ He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Eddy was not a vocalist, saying in 1986, ‘One of my biggest contributions to the music business is not singing.'”

“Rebel Rouser” (1958) rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Canadian pop chart, and #8 on the R+B Best Sellers chart. Starting in E major, the tune shifts up a half step at 1:01, 1:19, and 1:37.

Leon Russell | Lady Blue

“Leon Russell became part of an elite group of studio musicians called the Wrecking Crew and played on hundreds of hit records in the 1960s,” (LeonRussell.com). In addition to serving as a session player for dozens of artists, “as a songwriter, Leon’s songs have hit the charts across all genres and have been covered by a diverse range of artists. Ray Charles recorded ‘A Song For You,’ B.B. King had a hit with ‘Hummingbird,’ The Carpenters with ‘Superstar,’ and Joe Cocker with ‘Delta Lady.’ The Carpenter’s cover of “Superstar,” written by Leon and Bonnie Bramlett, went to #2 on the pop music charts. George Benson won the ‘Record of the Year’ Grammy in 1976 for his cover of Leon’s song, ‘This Marquerade,’ and it became the first song in music history to hit #1 on the jazz, pop, and R&B charts.”

Billboard reviewed Leon Russell’s album Will o’ the Wisp in 1975: “… with the vocals moving back toward the drawling, bluesy style most fans prefer but at the same time showing a sophistication he never displayed before. The same may be said for the songs, which are ballads or mid-tempo for the most part, though there is some fine blues rocking. Basically, the material here is what makes the set exceptional, including several cuts that rival the intensity of his brilliant ‘Song For You.’ There’s lots of help from Mary McCreary on backup vocals and some fine Memphis musicians. Key here, however, is that Russell seems to have taken himself seriously … he can write with the best when he tries. This time he’s trying.”

Built in F major overall, the mid-tempo track shifts at 1:38 into a brief bridge. The key shifts up to G major and there’s a subtle shift in the groove as well. At 2:01, the original key returns.

Andrea Bocelli | Mi Mancherai

“Mi Mancherai,” (which translates to “I’ll miss you”) is from the critically acclaimed 1994 Italian movie The Postman. Composer Luis Bacalov won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, and the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

Italian singer Andrea Bocelli included the song on his 2015 album Cinema, which features classic film soundtracks and scores. The track starts in D and modulates briefly to Bb at 1:51 before returning to D at 2:28. After an instrumental interlude, the vocal returns at 2:56 again in Bb. There is a final modulation to Eb at 3:30.

The Association | Along Comes Mary

“With the two smashes ‘Along Comes Mary’ and ‘Cherish,’ The Association became one of the hottest new bands of 1966, the singles charting at #7 and #1 respectively,” (RichieUnterberger.com). “It was no surprise that their debut album, featuring both of those songs, was also a big success, rising to #5 and remaining their highest-charting LP ever, with the exception of their Greatest Hits compilation.

… With its dynamic interplay between (the) lead and the rest of the band’s vocal harmonies, as well as an intriguing lyric that jammed about as many syllables as were possible to fit into individual lines of a pop song in 1966, the song took a few months to catch on nationally.” The single reached the top 10 in both the USA and Canada.

The intro and (very short!) verse are in A minor. The first section of the chorus, heard for the first time at 0:31, shifts to A mixolydian. By 0:52, the end of the chorus has reverted to A minor. Another verse starts at 1:05 and the pattern continues.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | If You Leave

“When you hear the swirling synths and clattering beat that open ‘If You Leave’ by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD, for short), you just might be transported to some long-ago theater, or maybe back to nights at home with the VCR running,” (American Songwriter). “Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll recall the nervous excitement of a high school dance. This ‘80s anthem has a way of evoking nostalgia for that era like few other songs. In fact, the song is such a perfect example of desperate romanticism that you might imagine it to be one that was toiled over for weeks in an effort to make it the perfect fit for what would turn out to be an iconic movie scene. But what if we told you it actually was written and recorded in the span of an evening or so?

… Luckily, one of (OMD’s) U.S. fans was John Hughes, the noted writer and director … He contacted OMD to submit a track for his 1986 film Pretty in Pink … In around 14 hours, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys wrote ‘If You Leave’ and created a rough mix. Once Hughes heard it the next morning, he was blown away, which meant that OMD had to get back to the studio on just a few hours sleep to polish up the track for an official recording … Even though it was rushed and put together without any kind of forethought, ‘If You Leave’ delivered just what OMD wanted. The song went to the Top 5 in the U.S., and it hasn’t ever quite departed from the public consciousness since … they ended up with a stone-cold classic …”

The tune is built around such a simple melodic idea (re-mi-do) carried from the verses into the chorus, paired largely with a cliché chord progression (I-vi-IV-V or I-IV-V-IV), that it’s difficult to imagine how this tune could work without a key change. No need to worry — there are ten! Starting with a shift from F major to D major before the vocal even makes an appearance (0:17), various sections of the tune shift among the keys of F, D, G, and E major.

Billy Grammer | Gotta Travel On

“Billy Grammer, whose 1958 hit ‘Gotta Travel On’ hit the top of the charts and led to a long career on the Grand Ole Opry. A singer and guitarist who also was a Nashville recording session musician, Grammer performed regularly on the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1959.

‘Gotta Travel On,’ adapted from a British folk tune, was a million-seller and the first hit for Nashville’s Monument Records and its famed founder, Fred Foster.” (Billboard).

“Billy Grammer formed his own guitar company after years of playing country music in and around Nashville,” (NAMM.org). ” … Along the way, Billy was seeking to create a guitar that would combine the sounds of his two favorite instruments, Martin and Gibson. By 1964 he teamed with his fishing buddy, Clyde Reid, who operated a music store, and with J. W. Gower to create the Grammer Guitar Company. This country music favorite was produced for several years with the original founders of the company before it was sold to Ampeg in the late 1960s. Ampeg stopped production of the Grammer Guitar in 1971.”

The uptempo track, which was a hit on the pop, country and rhythm & blues charts, moves up a half step at 0:58 and again at 1:38.