pop – Page 44

Dane Vannatter | The Best Part of Me

Cleveland-based cabaret vocalist Dane Vannatter “is the recipient of two BackStage Bistro Awards, for Outstanding Vocalist and for his second CD Flight,” (The Music Settlement). “The Boston Globe acclaims Dane for ‘ … a style that blends facets of cabaret and jazz with intelligence and care, and a distinctive style that leaves an imprint on whatever music he sings.’

In Boston, Dane sang “God Bless America” for Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary before a record crowd of 40,000. Dane is a nominee for four MAC awards and is a Nightlife Award finalist … (he) performs regularly in venues in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Boston, and Cape Cod. Dane’s fourth CD Give Me Something Real was released in 2016 to much critical acclaim. Dane is currently working on a holiday CD It’s December with legendary guitarist Joe Negri.”

Released in 2020, “The Best Part of Me” gives Vannatter an opportunity to work with a pop ballad sound — one with a rich harmonic vocabulary. With music written by Alex Rybeck and lyrics by Bob Levy, the track features Daniel May on piano. After two verses in F major, 1:22 brings a bridge featuring a fluid key change to D major; at 1:54, the tune reverts to its original key.

for Todd

Lene Lovich | Blue Hotel

Lene Lovich, born Lili-Marlene Premilovich, “is an American singer, songwriter, and musician of Serbian and English descent based in England,” (Sputnik Music). “Back in the autumn of 1978, when Stiff Records mounted its second major assault on the British music biz, Lovich stood out … with her outlandish dress, colourful coiffure and mannered, theatrical delivery, using her voice no differently than the sax she occasionally tooted,” (StevePafford.com) … (She was a) one time sculpture student at London’s Central School of Art … Lene’s leftfield output was at the perfect foundational example of the burgeoning New Wave. An amalgam of baroque and Euro-cabaret, her slightly pixilated pop arrangements laced with splashes of synthesizer and organ …

… What at the time seemed a bit outre, even gauche was, by the early Eighties, adopted whole or in part by rafts of aspiring bands. Where once Lovich was likened to Patti Smith for lack of even vaguely comparable new wave female singers, she now had her own ‘school’ of followers – although many people have no idea she was there first.”

Following on a cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” (1978), “Lucky Number”
(1978), and the Thomas Dolby-penned “New Toy” (1981), “Blue Hotel” was released in 1983 on Lovich’s album No Man’s Land. The video for the track was certainly not among those with the highest production values, but joins “New Toy” as a high point of the New Wave while capturing much of early-80s music video’s visual aesthetic. After a brief intro (and a hearty greeting to all) in A major, the tune shifts into A minor for the first verse; an A major interlude echoing the intro follows from 2:03 – 2:16); and a triumphant whole-step modulation up to B major hits at 2:40. At 3:30, the outro finds Lovich yodeling adroitly and proudly, as one does. No need to file a flight plan; Lene was there first, and knows the way.

for Maureen

Stacie Orrico | (There’s Gotta Be) More to Life

Contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist Stacie Orrico released “her 2000 debut album, Genuine, is a combination of Christian pop with an urban flare and has been compared stylistically to both Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill.” (AllMusic) She has worked with noted CCM artist Michael W. Smith as a producer and served as an opening act for Destiny’s Child. After the pace of the music business led her to take a break and get a restaurant job, she returned in 2007 to release another album.

Orrico’s 2003 single “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life” is “an inspirational mid-tempo number with the chorus ‘There’s gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me,’ (MTV). ‘I think so many times we feel like we’re lacking something in our lives and we try to fill it with the wrong things,’ she explained. ‘Sometimes it’s drugs, sometimes it’s a relationship you shouldn’t be in.'”

Orrico clearly demonstrates the same pop sensibilities of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who are her contemporaries. After a start in F minor, the tune shifts up a half-step at 2:03. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Crowded House | Weather With You

An Australian/New Zealand band perhaps best known for its 1986 international smash hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” Crowded House released “Weather With You” in 1991. The track did well in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe, but didn’t chart in the US.

AllMusic reports that “as the primary songwriter for the band, Neil Finn has always set the tone for the band’s sound … (and) has consistently proven his knack for crafting high-quality songs that combine irresistible melodies with meticulous lyrical detail.” Songfacts adds more details from Finn’s songwriting process: “‘We were trying to imagine a time and a place, and the line Walking ’round the room singing Stormy Weather helped us get into some atmosphere of somebody troubled who is always on their own in a room. We were trying to find lines that described the scene, like the small boat made of china, and that feeling of ennui or languishing that permeates the song. Ultimately, the theme of the song is, of course, that you are creating your own weather, you are making your own environment, always.'”

After an intro and verse in E minor, a pre-chorus (0:42 – 1:04) drops to D minor, then revisits the E minor intro until 1:14, when the D major chorus finally hits, including some unexpected chord inversions. A mix of these elements continues from there, including another return to the intro.

Girls Aloud | The Promise

“The Promise” was featured on the 2008 album Out of Control, recorded by the British girl group Girls Aloud. The track was praised by critics, debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and won Best British Single at the 2009 Brit Awards.

The track has a laid back groove and sounds like it could be from Dirty Dancing or Saturday Night Fever. It begins in A and modulates up to Bb for the final chorus at 3:33.

Boz Scaggs | Lido Shuffle

“Whoever you are, wherever you are, as you read this sentence, a used vinyl copy of Silk Degrees is sitting in the closest record store to you,” (Pitchfork). “It is not in great condition, and it is not expensive, and it was first owned by someone at a time when a lot of people owned vinyl records—and a lot of those people owned Silk Degrees. There are certain albums that go down so smoothly — inhaling the busy sounds of pop radio and exhaling their own cool, irresistible blend — that they seem to open a permanent slot in the greater public consciousness, sailing like a ship into a harbor in the clouds. Some albums belong to everybody …

If you know Silk Degrees but don’t know much about Boz Scaggs, it is at least partially by design. Before its release, he was largely a critical favorite, first for his contributions to an early, underrated iteration of the Steve Miller Band, and later for the solid if slightly anonymous albums under his own name. Within five years of the release of Silk Degrees, he would retire from the music industry … ” But during its moment, the album secured Scaggs’ place in the varied mix that was late-70s top 40. ” … as it has aged, the album feels increasingly divorced from its moment in pop culture, and its more mysterious qualities—the abstract melancholy of Scaggs’ voice, the late-night twinkle of the band—are what pull you in, making it feel like your own, no matter how many people owned the LP before you did.”

“Lido Shuffle” was recorded in 1975 but not released as a single until 1977. Members of the backup band included David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate, who later became founding members of Toto. The track did well on the pop charts worldwide: #2 in Australia, #5 in Canada, #13 in the UK, and #11 in the US. The verses are in G major, but the choruses shift to Bb major (for the first time at 0:55 before reverting to G for the next verse at 1:31). The layered synth solo (2:47 – 3:14) could be seen as an unlikely tip of the hat to prog rock textures, given the tune’s more traditional horn-driven arrangement — but serves the relentless shuffle groove so well that it all fits like a glove.

The American Breed | Bend Me, Shape Me

“Bend Me, Shape Me,” was originally recorded in 1966 by The Outsiders, who were known for their hit “Time Won’t Let Me.” The tune was written by songwriters Scott English and Larry Weiss, who later wrote “Rhinestone Cowboy,” made famous by Glen Campbell. In 1968, a band called Amen Corner took the tune to #3 in the UK (Songfacts). But in 1967, The American Breed took the definitive version of the song to #5 on the US pop charts and #24 in the UK.

The American Breed’s big break was quite unusual: “On January 20, 1967, a freak snow storm that dumped twenty inches on Chicago changed the fate of Gary & The Knight Lites,” (the band’s initial name) … “when Kenny Myers, former Senior Vice President of Mercury Records, found himself stranded and met with producer Bill Traut in his studio at Universal Recording. After Traut played Meyers some of the band’s tapes, Meyers was impressed enough to sign them to his new record label … and suggested they change their name. ‘They told us Gary and the Knight Lites sounded a little dated, so we put a bunch of names in a hat and pulled out American Breed.’ The band’s first single was ‘I Don’t Think You Know Me,’ written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin.” (Billboard).

Two of the four members of American Breed that played on “Bend Me,
Shape Me” — bassist Chuck Colbert and drummer Lee Graziano — formed a new group, which included newer AB members not on that hit, keyboardist
Kevin Murphy and singer Paulette Williams. That new group became “Ask
Rufus”. Eventually, AB guitarist Al Ciner joined. Three of the original four AB members were in Rufus, though only guitarist Al Ciner stayed through that group’s fame with vocalist Chaka Khan.

Key changes are the main ingredients here. The tune starts in C minor; the pre-chorus (0:27) shifts to A minor; finally, the chorus (0:41) is in A mixolydian. After a percussion break, the cycle repeats.

Bill Champlin | I Don’t Want You Anymore

Bill Champlin, perhaps best known for his membership in the band Chicago during the 1980s and 1990s, earlier served as “lead singer, primary songwriter, keyboard player, rhythm guitarist, and occasional saxophonist in the Bay Area band the Sons of Champlin from 1965 to 1977, shepherding the middle-level San Francisco rock group through seven modestly selling albums,” (AllMusic). “In August 1977, he quit the band that bore his name and moved to Los Angeles, where he became a busy session singer. Not surprisingly, that soon led to his own solo recording contract and his debut album, Single … Champlin had hooked up with producer David Foster to write and record a collection of love songs very much in the mold of Boz Scaggs’ blue-eyed soul blockbuster Silk Degrees.”

The review goes on to describe the album as “sleek — and sometimes slick — ’70s white R&B, as played by a cast of Los Angeles studio pros including all six of the future members of Toto.” Backing vocalists included blue-eyed soul A-listers Michael McDonald and Daryl Hall. “At the center of it all is Champlin, whose soulful, rhythmic voice ranges from a tender tenor to a gruff baritone, sometimes in the same line … This is an album concerned with style, not substance, and it is a state-of-the-art example of studio craft, circa 1978. So, why didn’t anybody buy it? Probably because it went almost completely unpromoted …”

Between a hyperkinetic rhythm section, multi-layered and intensely syncopated backing vocals, intermittent assists from shimmering synths, and yes, plenty of emphatic cowbell, the full chart for the funk-driven uptempo pop tune “I Don’t Want You Anymore” might rival an orchestral score. Although the lyrics are a bit of a downer, the yacht rock quotient is otherwise strong here! After a short instrumental break (2:44), the tune shifts up a whole step at 2:54.

Joel Waggoner & Julia Mattison | Stable Girl

“Stable Girl” is featured in Joel & Julia‘s Haunted Holiday Singalong, a variety special which premieres and is available on-demand online tomorrow. “They’ve been awoken from permanent sleep by Santa and they’ve found themselves in a cabin owned by the Christmas Witch,” says the website describing the show. “They find out that the Christmas Witch’s clams have lost their dingle bongle (aka. Christmas Spirit) and they set out on a musical journey to help them get their dingle bongle back.”

The track begins in Ab and modulates up a half step to A at 2:47. Thanks to long-time MotD fan and first-time contributor Leah Pye for this find!

Jim Brickman & Matt Doyle | When It Snows

Grammy-nominated and songwriter pianist Jim Brick released a new holiday collection titled A Very Merry Christmas in October, and is currently on a nationwide tour performing selection from the album. “When It Snows,” featuring vocalist Matt Doyle is the opening track; it begins in G and dramatically modulates up a third to B at 2:51.