rock

Devo | Girl U Want

(In 1980), American art-rock band Devo released their breakthrough record, Freedom of Choice,” (Variety). “The album not only spawned the new wave smash ‘Whip It,’ but the full-length still stands the test of time, with singles such as ‘Girl U Want’ and especially the title track, still resonating today with fans … “

Devo member Gerald Casale: “‘Whip It’ was a fluke. Warner Brothers put all their chips on the first single, ‘Girl U Want.’ They released that first, and it just stiffed. Then suddenly this guy named Kal Rudman [the founder of Friday Morning Quarterback, a noted radio trade publication that covered the radio and broadcast industry] — he was a regional programmer, he had a tip sheet, and this was a guy who had ears — he actually listened to the albums people sent him. And on his own, he decided that he loved “Whip It” and started playing it. Warner Bros. wasn’t sending him money to play it; he just loved it. And it took off down south first, then quickly spread up the east coast and by the time it hit New York, it was over. We had to recalibrate our whole tour that year, and we suddenly were no longer playing 400-seat clubs; instead, we were playing 2000-5000 seat venues.'”

The intro of “Girl U Want” is striking from the first few notes: during the verses and short choruses, the melody is in E minor, particularly the persistent flatted seventh over the tonic chord. But the hook features a natural seventh degree over the tonic chord. 1:16 brings a shift to C major for the bridge. The pattern continues from 1:26 — until the unresolved ending suddenly drops off a cliff.

Eric Clapton | Let It Rain

“Eric Clapton was such a reluctant recipient of the solo spotlight in the early 1970s that he hid behind a different band name at least some of the time,” (UDiscoverMusic). “But after Derek and the Dominos’ ‘Layla’ had belatedly become a Top 10 US hit on Atco in August 1972, Polydor hoped to keep the momentum going by returning to Eric’s self-titled debut solo album of two years before.

The result was the release of his soft-rock co-write with Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, ‘Let It Rain,’ as a US single. It was a new entry on the Billboard Hot 100 for September 23, 1972. The track entered at #80 … The song stuttered up to halfway on the Hot 100, most weeks without the “bullet” that signified major sales or airplay increases, and stopped at #48 in the chart for the first week of December. Clapton wouldn’t make the Top 10 as a solo artist again until 1974, but when he did, he went all the way to No.1, with ‘I Shot the Sheriff.’”

After an intro in A mixolydian, 0:15 brings a verse in D mixolydian. 1:17 features a return of the intro material, this time as an interlude. The sections continue to alternate from there.

MGMT | The Youth

“At some point in the last decade or so, public opinion, among those who still give thought to MGMT, began quietly shifting to accommodate the notion that they are a much stranger band than their career might initially have suggested,” (Pitchfork).

“More than just one-album wonders who never recaptured the magic of their indelible early hits, or even misunderstood tinkerers who found the spotlight in a fluke accident and quickly retreated—though both descriptions are true enough—they are artists whose work addresses the very sort of glitzy mass appeal that those early hits still command. Even ‘Time to Pretend,’ one of the singles that earned them slots opening for Paul McCartney and soundtracking the season finale of Gossip Girl, was itself a grimly funny satire of rock stardom.”

The band, whose core members met while attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut, released its debut album Oracular Spectacular in 2007. “The Youth,” a track from the album, spends most of its 3:45 length in F major. But at 2:35, there’s an unprepared trapdoor shift downward into E major — certainly as compelling as any half-step key change, but in this case, perhaps moreso before of its direction.

Richard Marx | Take This Heart

From a 2023 concert review in Perth, Australia: “Richard Marx is the only male artist in history to land the first seven singles on top five of the Billboard charts,” (SheldonAngMedia). “After selling over 30 million albums, one would imagine the singer songwriter could’ve performed to sell-out arenas across the world … But the American artist has always been about fan engagement since the early days, preferring to carry out his trade at intimate venues.”

“I would describe Richard Marx’s sound as a combination of Toto, Bryan Adams, Chicago and David Foster (SuperCoolGuy)… Although he hasn’t had a top 10 hit as an artist since the 1998’s “At the Beginning” (with Donna Lewis, from the Anastasia animated movie soundtrack), Richard Marx continues to lead a very successful and prolific career, both as an artist, and even more so as a songwriter/producer … His songs have been recorded in a wide range of styles, from country to R&B and of course pop and rock, by a long list of to artists, including Kenny Rogers, Keith Urban, Luther Vandross, N Sync, Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Daughtry, Ringo Starr … “

Starting in D major, this live 2012 version of “Take This Heart” shows Marx’s preference for smaller, more engaging live venues. This performance is pitched a minor third below the original 1991 studio version, but still retains all of the tune’s original energy and spirit. At 1:08, the verse starts, climbing through straightforward chord progressions fancied up with Marx’s trademark inverted voicings. At 1:33, the chorus shifts to E major until the 2:00 return to the original key for the next verse. Marx makes it seems like he could crank out catchy pop tunes by the dozen in the time it would take a lesser songwriter to sweat out just a single track.

Midnight Oil | Beds Are Burning

“Australian rock ’n’ roll band Midnight Oil broke into the U.S. charts with an explosive single from their album Diesel and Dust. ‘Beds Are Burning’ was powerful on every level: musically, politically, sonically, even visually,” (MixOnline). “In fact, anyone who had an ear to the modern rock radio format in 1988 can almost certainly name this song in three notes: Those effected horn-and-drum blasts make an unforgettable intro. Midnight Oil were already a huge band in Australia before they made Diesel and Dust. They had put out three Top 10 albums and had gained popularity as well as notoriety for their political activism. The lyrics of ‘Beds Are Burning’ demand reparations to Australia’s Pintupi people, who—like Native Americans in the United States—had been relocated and marginalized by whites: ‘The time has come/To say fair’s fair/To pay the rent/To pay our share.’

Midnight Oil was a band with a message as well as ambition, and they enlisted the help of producer Warne Livesey—who had already achieved significant success with The The and Julian Cope, among others—to help take their sounds to a larger audience. ‘We spent a long time with them sending me demos and having conversations about the direction of the record … (It) was one of the last songs they wrote for the album; it was in the last batch of demos they sent me. That demo didn’t have any verse lyrics on it, but it did have the chorus, and it was very long—a jam. I responded immediately to that absolutely first-rate, killer, hook-y chorus with a great lyrical message.'”

After a gradual intro, the verse and pre=chorus are in E major. The iconic 3-note horn line announces the epic chorus in E minor at 1:13. At 1:58, E major returns for the next verse and the pattern continues from there.

The Kinks | You Really Got Me

“There are very few records whose influence can be so strongly felt after 45 years as the Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me.’ It is the song that has been widely touted as the blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal, long before the likes of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin came along,” (SoundOnSound). ” … the jarring, distorted two‑chord riff that opens the track and continues behind the lead vocal, and the fierce, deliberately sloppy guitar solo … paved the way for punk rock.

A UK chart‑topper in September 1964, and a number seven hit in America at the height of the so‑called British Invasion, ‘You Really Got Me’ was not only the breakthrough number for North London outfit the Kinks, but also a landmark recording that inspired the Who’s Pete Townshend to compose ‘I Can’t Explain’, and whose influence resonates to this day. All of which was quite an achievement for a group of teenagers who had only formed the previous year, and their innovative producer, who hadn’t been around a whole lot longer.

… In his 1984 book The Kinks: The Official Biography, author Jon Savage wrote, ‘What (producer) Shel Talmy and the Kinks did … was to concoct the perfect medium for expression of the adolescent white aggression that has been at the heart of white popular music …’ Those involved in its creation apparently agree. ‘When I left the studio I felt great,’ recalled Ray Davies, whose fruitful efforts on behalf of the song established him as the chief composer and — at least in his eyes — the leader of the Kinks. ‘It may sound conceited, but I knew it was a great record… I said I’d never write another song like it, and I haven’t.'”

The colorless guitar power chords don’t give any indication of the track’s tonality, but at 0:21 the slightly uptuned G-based two-chord riff shifts to a riff centering around A. It’s the vocal melody, using a major third degree of each chord, which gives away both the G and A chords as major. At that point, it’s spelled out that the A chord isn’t actually a ii chord within the context of G major, but rather a new tonic chord (a key change from G major to A major). More changes continue from there.

The Cars | Panorama

“Fans were expecting more upbeat new-wave hits on The Cars’ 1980 LP Panorama. What they got was something far darker and more exciting,” (Goldmine). “After achieving commercial success with their first two albums, The Cars (1978) and Candy-O (1979), American new wave/pop combo The Cars decided to take a left turn when it came time to begin work on their third album, 1980’s Panorama … while the music still had its inherent pop-iness, it was much darker in sound and lyrical matter … the band won the ears of both fans and critics alike with their first two albums … but fans and critics were left scratching their heads, particularly with the more avant-garde sounds on Panorama that were unlike anything heard on the band’s previous outings.

… Around the same time as the band began working on the album … synth pop was in its infancy and would soon come to dominate the early 1980s climate, with bands such as Ultravox, Devo, and Gary Numan all leading the charge in experimenting with the new sounds of synthesizers. The Cars were tapping into the zeitgeist; Panorama would see Easton’s previously upfront guitar take a back seat to the keyboard and synthesizer sounds of The Cars’ Greg Hawkes … Panorama was released August 15, 1980 … and reached #5 on the Billboard chart in September of that year … it was systematically panned by critics … (But as guitarist) Elliot Easton affirmed, ‘I look at it as our third album. Honestly, we just made this stuff up as we went along. There was no grand plan beyond making the best music we could.'”

Right out of the gate, the title track’s harmonies teeter between Bb major (with an emphasis on the flatted seventh degree of the chord, Ab, in the guitar line) and a colorless G chord during the intro — with no clues as to which chord should predominate. The verse then falls down into F# minor at 0:27. The brief chorus arrives at 1:11 in B mixolydian, followed by the next verse (1:22) in F# minor. The pattern continues from there. A long outro starts at 3:24 with a few shifts back and forth between B major and Bb major. The track ends by dropping off a cliff with a colorless E chord at 5:39. But these key changes, low in traditional harmonic progressions, speed by without much impact. Instead, the relentless groove, angular melody, and uniquely American slice of New Wave’s sonic palette and visual style were clearly the stars of this show.

Aztec Camera | Good Morning Britain

“‘When I was 13 years old, I was a real Mick Jones, Joe Strummer freak. I used to go and see them in the Glasgow Apollo and stand in the front row,’ pipes Aztec Camera singer, songwriter, and all around chief Roddy Frame,” (KillermontStreet). The Scottish songwriter reported “‘Recently I got to meet Mick because we played the same kind of festivals together and we got to hang out. He was just such a positive guy, I called him guru Mick and we talked a lot about the state of the nation,’ he continues. ‘I was quite negative about the things in Britain and he was saying yeah, but there’s more to life than that.

So I went home and wrote this song for him in about 45 minutes. I said, Mick, this sounds so much like the Clash that you’re either gonna sue me or you’re going to wanna sing on it, and he wanted to sing, so it was fantastic.'” Aztec Camera’s 1990 release Stray features the resulting single, “Good Morning Britain.”

The pop/rock track, which certainly sounds like The Clash (or its younger cousin, Big Audio Dynamite) shifts up a full step at 2:25.

Little Steven + The Disciples of Soul | Gravity

“The vintage Born To Run wall of sound towers like the Empire State Building over Steve Van Zandt’s first album of original material since 1999,” (2019’s Summer of Sorcery), with New York City’s beleaguered multi-racial spirit crackling under its foundations,” (LouderSound).

“Of course, Van Zandt’s been busy these past 20 years – as Bruce’s E Street Band lieutenant, Tony Soprano’s consigliere, and star of Lilyhammer, in between activities as DJ, producer and larger-than-life rock’n’roll activist. Back in the saddle as bandleader, his tangible labour of love defiantly captures old-school New York’s cross-pollinating melting pot … “

The sixth track of the album’s collection of twelve, “Gravity” begins in C major. The tune is full of short sidesteps into other keys (first heard at 1:03 and 1:12), but C major’s gravitational pull always seems to win out (first heard at 1:21).

Big Brother + The Holding Company (feat. Janis Joplin) | Combination of the Two

“Cheap Thrills (1968) was the breakthrough album for Janis Joplin and Big Brother & The Holding Company,” (Daily Vault). “Topping the charts for eight weeks and spawning a top 20 single, this was the album that solidified the reputation that the band had spawned with their set at the Monterey Pop festival. It also marked the end of the band; not terribly long after the album’s release, Joplin left the band to pursue a solo career.

… Musically, (Big Brother co-founder, songwriter, and guitarist) Sam Andrew and crew had worked themselves into a tight musical unit by the time these tracks (some of which were recorded live at the Fillmore Auditorium) were cut. But on the other end of the spectrum, you can hear the strain on Joplin’s vocals … She had vocal power beyond many female blues singers; pity that she overused that power. ‘Piece of My Heart,’ the hit single from Cheap Thrills, remains a classic song that has lost little of its power over the course of three decades. Likewise, ‘Combination of the Two’ is an underrated classic that allows Joplin the fiery freedom to cut loose with her vocal abilities.”

After starting with an instrumental intro in A minor, “Combination of the Two” shifts up to B major for its first verse at 0:54. At 1:16, another verse falls into place, this time in G# major. 1:29 brings a whoa-only vocals section in E major which leads into a short chorus. At 2:00, we’ve returned to the B major verse; the sections repeat from there.