Tag: rock

The Ventures | Theme from “Hawaii 5-0”

Regular contributor JB writes: “This track really ticks all the boxes: A one-hit wonder surf rock band in psychedelic costumes, playing a track with a ladder of ascending mods. All in all, an important historical/cultural artifact. They really should have included this one in the Voyager space probe — it tells alien intelligences all they need to know about life on earth in the ’70s … ” The Ventures’ website proclaims the band “the best selling instrumental rock band in music history.”

The band’s nominal regular rock instrumentation had plenty of orchestral help, including the opening bars’ signature syncopated tympani hits, brass poking out of just about every corner, and a piccolo flourish on the piccardy third D major ending. Starting in C minor, we climb up by half steps, starting at 0:36.

The theme as heard at both the opening and closing of Hawaii 5-0 is somehow even more bombastic. IMDB summarizes the show’s premise: “The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.” Scoring four Emmy wins out of 23 nominations, the show ran 12 seasons (1968 – 1980). The theme also won TV Land Awards for “TV Theme Song You Want for Your Ringtone” in both 2007 and 2008, and was nominated in 2003 for “Drama Theme Song You Can’t Get Out of Your Head.”

Anastacia | Paid My Dues

“Paid My Dues” is featured on American singer Anastacia’s 2001 album Freak of Nature. Reviewing the album for Slant magazine, critic Sal Cinquemani wrote “her tenacious attitude on songs like “Paid My Dues” and the funky title track carve a unique niche for the singer.”

The track reached the #1 spot on the charts in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. It begins in C# minor and modulates up to D minor for the last two times through the chorus at 2:38.

Genesis | Taking It All Too Hard

“Moments of Genesis (1983) are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab — in particular, there’s the tortured howl of ‘Mama,’ uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins’ Face Value, and the two-part ‘Second Home by the Sea’ — but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a band’s career often are,” (AllMusic).

“Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true. Some of this may be covering their bets — to ensure that the longtime fans didn’t jump ship, they gave them a bit of art — some of it may be that the band just couldn’t leave prog behind, but the end result is the same: as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band. Anybody who paid attention to ‘Misunderstanding’ and ‘No Reply at All’ could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as ‘That’s All’ with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on ‘Taking It All Too Hard.’ It has a little bit too much of everything — too much pop, too much art, too much silliness — so it doesn’t pull together, but if taken individually, most of these moments are very strong testaments to the increasing confidence and pop power of the trio, even if it’s not quite what longtime fans might care to hear.” Released as a single during the summer of 1984, the track got stuck at #50 on the pop chart but reached #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

“Taking It All Too Hard” starts in E major, with the chorus placed first in the lineup. At 0:36, the verse starts in E minor, but features unprepared shifts to A major via a syncopated kick at 0:51, C major at 1:02, and Ab major at 1:11. The bass line moves down a half step for the next verse. Collins’ vocal delivery on the verses is quieter, almost to the point of sounding like so much interior monologue. But then he shifts to a louder, more agitated sound as the chorus returns at 1:20. The patterns persist throughout.

The Revivalists | Celebrate (feat. Preservation Hall Jazz Band)

“The strongest bonds never bend, break, or burst. Such a bond forms the bedrock of anything worth fighting for, whether it be a family, a friendship — or a band,” (TheRevivalists.com). “The Revivalists retain this union 15 years into their impressive career as they prepare to unleash their strongest material yet. Standing together, this eight-piece rock ‘n’ roll collective has made the journey from hole-in-the-wall marathon gigs to sold-out shows at hallowed venues a la Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks Amphitheater, multi-platinum success, numerous national television performances, and more than 800 million streams.

… ‘Art can revive and make life feel vibrant. Live music can especially do that. When we first started out, we were watching New Orleans rebuild after Katrina, and fight to keep the city’s spirit alive. In a way, that’s what we’re seeing now, except on a global scale. Everybody realizes what they almost lost, and it happens to be many of the things New Orleans is known for – being with friends, experiencing things good and bad, building fulfilling relationships, and going to concerts and restaurants. It boils down to the zest for life – that’s what our band name and music are all about.'”

Featuring the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, an ensemble with roots going back 70+ years in the Crescent City, “Celebrate” is often a joyful shout chorus: just about everybody is playing at any given time. But the boisterous tradition of the shout chorus is something of a New Orleans specialty — and it’s used expertly here. At 3:08, a half-step key change appears.

Thunderclap Newman | Something in the Air

In the late 1960s, talk of revolution may have seemed credible. The antiwar movement, the Civil Rights movement, and of course, popular music were changing society in significant ways. The Beatles could sing “Revolution,” even if you could “count them out.” But here we are in 2023, where, as journalist George Monbiot points out, paraphrasing Rousseau, “man is born free, and is everywhere in chain stores.” At least we got some cool tunes out of the era.

One such tune is 1969’s “Something in the Air” by the short-lived English band Thunderclap Newman. The members were drummer “Speedy” Keen, who wrote the song, guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, later of Paul McCartney’s Wings, and the eponymous Andy Newman on piano. The group released one studio album Hollywood Dream, produced by Pete Townsend, who also played bass guitar on the recording. “Something in the Air” was a #1 hit in the UK, and reached a respectable #37 on the US Billboard chart.  It’s been included in the soundtracks for several movies, including The Magic Christian, also released in 1969, and Almost Famous. The lyrics asserted “you know it’s right”, and in those times, you may not have detected any irony.

There’s a whole step modulation from the original key E major to F# major at 1:04; the saloon-style piano bridge starting at 1:58 passes through a few tonalities; lastly, when we land at the final verse at 2:55, we’re in G# major, two steps up from the original key.

The Grass Roots | Sooner or Later

“They began as a bunch of faceless, veteran session musicians playing soulful pop, but the Grass Roots were no mere bubblegum band—they developed a mix of blue-eyed soul and big, brassy rock that would one day morph into the power-pop phenomenon,” (Liveabout).

“Formed in 1966 in Los Angeles, the Grass Roots may have made songs that are familiar to you even if you don’t know the band. ‘Let’s Live for Today’ and ‘Midnight Confessions’ remain the most likely candidates for Grass Roots songs you might have heard on radio, movies, or TV. The former was featured in Season 2 of American Horror Story, while the latter is heard in a Season 4 episode of The West Wing and on the radio in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.“

Full of kicks delivered by horns and organ, “Sooner or Later” (1971) is relatively repetitive, particularly in the simple lyrics of its chorus. But it somehow doesn’t feel that way due to the tune’s syncopation; every line of the chorus starts on an off-beat. At 1:47, a half-step key change kicks in unexpectedly as part of a tag at the end of a chorus.

Fee Waybill | Tall, Dark and Harmless

“Wild, wacky, weird and wonderful are just a few words that would appropriately fit but still fall short of fully describing the unclassifiable theatrical rock enigma and fabulous freak show known as The Tubes,” (ChicagoConcertReviews.com). “The San Francisco-based band started in the 1970s by turning underground upside down with cult favorites ‘Don’t Touch Me There’ and ‘White Punks On Dope,’ accompanied by technologically-advanced productions, outrageous characters, over the top costumes and comedy that all seemed to jump straight out of a scene from The Rocky Horror Picture Show crossed with a Saturday Night Live sketch.”

After many years with the band, Waybill decided to go solo. “It was the good, bad and the ugly of David Foster. He was a brilliant producer and a brilliant arranger, but he wanted to make hits. When we did the first album with him, he put me together with [Toto’s] Steve Lukather and we all wrote ‘Talk To Ya Later,’ which was a big hit. Then we wrote ‘She’s a Beauty’ on the second album and that was an even bigger hit. He wanted big hits on the radio and that’s what the record company wanted, but it kind of flew in the face of a band that had been together 15 years and he’s telling us, ‘no, I want to do this. I want to do that. I want to do a whole side of just hits with Lukather and Fee.’ The band couldn’t handle it and I understand it.”

Waybill released several solo albums, including 1996’s Don’t Be Scared of These Hands. “Tall Dark and Harmless” features all of the harmonic complexity and layered textures of later Tubes material. The uptempo rocker features a buzzing, ascending chromatic guitar line on the chorus — as complex as the repeated one-note title line is simple. Overall, the architecture of the tune is ever-changing: after an intro in E major, 0:17 features multiple two-chord pairs (suggesting several keys, none of which is E major). At 0:49, a pre-chorus leads back into the static E major of the chorus.

Elvis Presley | You Don’t Know Me

*This is the fourth installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*

Elvis Presley recorded “You Don’t Know Me” for the 1967 film Clambake, which he also starred in. Presley was a fan of the song and personally added it to the film, which was directed by Arthur H. Nadel. The track starts in B and shifts up to C at 1:50.

Bill Chase | Bochawa (feat. United States Marine Band)

“The U.S. Marine Band’s mission is to perform for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps,” (Marine Band website). “Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, the Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. President John Adams invited the Marine Band to make its White House debut on New Year’s Day, 1801, in the then-unfinished Executive Mansion. In March of that year, the band performed for Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration and it is believed that it has performed for every presidential inaugural since. In Jefferson, the band found its most visionary advocate. An accomplished musician himself, Jefferson recognized the unique relationship between the band and the Chief Executive and he is credited with giving the Marine Band its title, ‘The President’s Own.’”

“‘Bochawa’ was written by Bill Chase (1935–74); this version was arranged by Jackie Coleman,” (from the video description). “Chase was a trumpet player who graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with Herb Pomeroy and Armando Ghitalla. After graduation, Chase soon found himself working with Maynard Ferguson, where he remained for about a year before moving on to the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Chase finally settled into the lead trumpet chair in Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd. After leaving Herman’s band in August 1967, he moved to Las Vegas where he worked as a freelance musician and arranger. Around this time, The Beatles burst onto the scene, and his interest turned towards rock. As the 1970s began, Chase wanted to create his dream band comprised of four trumpets, four rhythm instruments, and one vocalist. Chase gained national attention after his group earned a Grammy nomination in 1971 for Best New Artist. ‘Bochawa’ comes from Chase’s third and final album, Pure Music.“

Splitting up into various smaller ensembles to perform for various events is a constant process for the Marine Band, including the jazz quintet heard here. Featuring the trumpet in the original spirit of Chase’s composition, the funk/rock track modulates up a whole step at 4:47.