Tag: pop

Little River Band | Happy Anniversary

“If you were listening to Top 40 around 1977-78, you know all about ‘Happy Anniversary,’ which narrowly missed the Top 10 at that time,” (Something Else Reviews). “For those of you who weren’t around, ‘Happy Anniversary’ was one of those snappy, mildly country-ish pop tunes laden with rich harmonies that sounded like soft California rock at its finest –except that these blokes were from Down Under. The deal-sealer is that funky undercurrent; the popping bassline not only works with the Nashville elements of the song, it makes the song downright irresistible.

The upbeat tone … belies that fact that it’s about a busted relationship, but hey, it’s got that funky bassline, so everything’s good. In fact, the album from which this ditty came, … Diamantina Cocktail, is arguably the best CSN album that Crosby, Stills and Nash never made.”

After the tune starts in E minor, there’s a shift at 1:15 – 1:36 for the early bridge, which features a lighter feel, agile ornamentation from a (likely real) string section, and a D major tonality. After the bridge, the return to E minor also brings a rock feel driven by an energetic funk-inspired bassline. There are several ingredients here that might suggest yacht rock. Yacht or Nyacht lists several LRB tunes, but they score low on YON’s scale. “Happy Anniversary” doesn’t make the list at all; despite checking a few boxes, it was released a little too early, and was a bit too short on breezy escapism, to have made the cut.

Michael Bolton | When a Man Loves a Woman

Written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, “When a Man Loves a Woman” was originally recorded by singer R&B singer Percy Sledge in 1966 and became his biggest hit. Michael Bolton included a cover of the tune on his 1991 album Time, Love & Tenderness, winning a Grammy for the track and making it the seventh tune reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 as recorded by multiple artists.

The song begins in Db and directly modulates up a half step to D at 2:04.

Taylor Swift | Mr. Perfectly Fine

“Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream,” (AllMusic). “Others have performed similar moves — notably, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work — but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse.”

Originally released in 2008 on the album Fearless, “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is just one of the many tunes which Swift has re-recorded recently. After her original masters were sold in a way she deeply disagreed with, she decided to re-record and re-release her earlier material: “If she couldn’t own the rights to the recordings that made her one of the most successful musical artists of all time, at least she could undercut their value and present her loyal fan base with a way to enjoy that music without benefitting her nemeses,” (Stereogum). Billboard‘s ranking of the 50 best songs of 2021 included the tune as #46: “vintage Taylor Swift that still feels fresh in 2021.”

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” features a short instrumental interlude at 2:43; a bridge follows at 2:56 which tapers off to the point where the groove drops out altogether. The full texture returns with a bang at 3:45, along with a full-step modulation. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for sending in this song!

Caro Emerald | Coming Back As a Man

“Coming Back As a Man” is featured on Dutch singer Caro Emerald’s 2013 album The Shocking Miss Emerald. “Caro is certainly the sort of performer who you could imagine giving a knowing wink in between a cheeky lyric or two and the voice has a twirl that makes you smile,” said critic Stephen Unwin in his review of the album for The Daily Express. The record debuted at #1 in the Dutch and United Kingdom album charts, selling over 600,000 copies.

The track begins in G# minor and modulates up a half step to A minor at 2:43.

Adele | Don’t You Remember

“Don’t You Remember” is the fourth track on Adele’s 2011 album 21, which traces her grief after a break-up. This track marks a shift from anger and defensiveness to reflection and heartbreak. “”You know when you forget why you loved someone?” Adele said in an interview with The Sun discussing the song’s meaning. “I was just thinking about how my entire body would just shiver if my ex touched me to say hello. It’s sad when you can’t remember why you loved someone.” The album was the best-selling record of the 2010s decade.

The track begins in Eb and briefly shifts up to F near the end at 3:16.

Redwood | Time to Get Alone

Although also recorded by the Beach Boys, the band Redwood (later to become Three Dog Night) recorded Brian Wilson’s tune “Time to Get Alone” in 1967. Danny Hutton, one of Three Dog Night’s vocalists, recalls the recording session in the book Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece:

“‘ … there’s something that sounds like this big, distorted, smooth guitar sound, and it’s just a little piano played through a blown speaker that I had at my house. Then I remember Brian calling in the string section. [Brian’s sister-in-law] Diane Rovell called them in at the last minute, and some of them still had their tuxedos on. Brian was thoroughly in control of those guys … he was sitting there, talking to me, while they were doing a take, and he stops and says, Hold it, Danny. Hey, viola! The second chair … you’re flat on that C. He not only heard a bad note; he knew which guy did it.’”

Redwood’s version and the Beach Boys’ subsequent 1968 version have some similarities and some differences, but anyone who’s heard Three Dog Night will recognize the overall textures of that band immediately. Wilson’s compositional sense, however, is so strong that it remains paramount throughout. At 1:31, there’s a shift from D major to C major.

More detail about the collaboration between Wilson and Redwood/Three Dog Night, directly from Hutton’s recollections:

The Sylvers | Boogie Fever

“Among the more popular family acts on the ’70s R&B circuit, Memphis’ Sylvers (featured) no less than nine of the ten brothers and sisters in the family … the group was viewed as a Southern version of the Jackson 5,” (AllMusic). “Bassist James Jamerson came up with the ‘Boogie Fever’ bassline, and he clearly based it on the riff from the Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper,'” (StereoGum). “If it was anyone else biting ‘Day Tripper,’ the various ex-Beatles might’ve had some reason to get annoyed. But all through the ’60s, Jamerson was the bassist for the Funk Brothers, the legendary Motown session band. For years, Jamerson did fascinating, inventive things with his instrument. And Paul McCartney paid close attention; McCartney’s bass work on the Beatles’ mid-’60s music carries a clear and pronounced Jamerson influence. So if James Jamerson wanted to use the ‘Day Tripper’ riff for a bubblegum disco jam about a boogieing pandemic, nobody was going to stop him.

And ‘Boogie Fever’ (1976) really is top-shelf bubblegum disco. (Songwriter and producer Freddie) Perren manages to capture a whole lot of the magic he had with the early Jackson 5 … But Perren also updates that sound, adding in a relentless disco pulse that fits it nicely … but the real joy is in hearing all those different siblings layering up intricate, joyous harmony lines all over that beat. Because there are so many of them, they become a whole massed choir, breaking into little subgroups and then coming back together to yelp out the song’s title … “

This performance from 1970s/1980s late-night TV staple The Midnight Special seems to feature energy-to-burn live vocals (not lip synching) as well as a live band(?) After a start in F major, a bridge shifts up to G major at 1:32 – 1:46 and again from 2:26 – 2:39.

Aaron Carter | I’m All About You

“I’m All About You” is featured on American singer Aaron Carter’s third studio album, Oh Aaron, released in 2001. The track was the third and final single released for the record, which reached the #7 spot on the Billboard 20o and was certified Platinum. Carter, who was a contestant on Dancing With The Stars and appeared on Broadway in Seussical, passed away last week at age 34.

The track begins in C major and modulates up to D following the bridge at 2:37.

Petula Clark | Geh in die Stadt (Downtown)

“Downtown,” Petula Clark’s signature song, reached the #1 slot on the Billboard charts in January 1965. In that era, it was common for singers to create cover versions of their own English-language songs in other European languages, often using the same backing track.

Famously, the Beatles recorded German-language versions of “She Loves You” (“Sie Liebt Dich”) and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (“Komm gib mir deine Hand“).  Other German covers of that time include the Honeycombs’ “Have I The Right” (“Hab Ich das Recht“) and Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By” (“Geh’ vorbe“). This German-cover thing, it was a thing.

Besides the version heard here, Clark (a UK native) also recorded French (“Dans le temp”) and Italian (“Ciao ciao”) versions of “Downtown”. She also recorded songs in French, Italian, German, and Spanish that were not covers of her own hits, though some were covers of hits for other artists.

The familiar half-step upward modulation appears at 1:53.

Bunny Sigler | Follow Your Heart

“A veteran singer and composer during the classic period of Philly soul, Bunny Sigler was always capable of making striking, memorable soul/R&B material,”(AllMusic). “Debuting in the ’50s with his own group and as a solo performer, he reached the higher end of the R&B charts several times … Sigler actually earned much more acclaim for his work as a staff writer and producer. One of the major creative forces behind Philadelphia International’s dominance of ’70s soul, Sigler produced and wrote for dozens of major acts, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, the Whispers, Stephanie Mills, Billy Paul, Curtis Mayfield, and Carl Carlton.”

“Follow Your Heart” (1967) starts in G major, but with almost no emphasis on chord color — instead, a distinctive I major / flat-II major (sub V) vamp rings out beneath the verse’s melody. At 0:39, the chorus shifts to Bb major; the less exotic chord progression in this section brings the sound closer to a textbook 1960s pop/soul hit. The pattern continues from there.