Tag: rock

Tears for Fears (feat. Oleta Adams) | Woman in Chains

After their early 80s hits (“Pale Shelter,” “Change,” and the original version of “Mad World,” prominently covered by Gary Jules), UK duo Tears for Fears caught the peak of the New Wave with the international smash album Songs from the Big Chair. Released in 1985, Songs included three singles which went into the Top 20 in the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia — and straight to the top of the US charts: “Shout” (#1), “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (#1), and “Head Over Heels” (#3).

After the huge success of Songs, the band released the platinum-selling album The Seeds of Love in 1989. The title track, a quirky, upbeat stylistic omnibus which seemed to update the psychedelic sound for the 90s, provided no clues about the second single. “Woman in Chains” cracked the top 20 only in Canada and the Netherlands — but the track didn’t seem to have been designed for heavy radio airplay, not least because of its 6.5-minute run time. The band, whose very name was inspired by primal therapy, never shied away from heavier subject matter — and “Women in Chains” was no exception. Songfacts reports lead singer and songwriter Roland Orzabal’s reflection on the song: “I was reading some feminist literature at the time and I discovered that there are societies in the world still in existence today that are non-patriarchal … these societies are a lot less violent, a lot less greedy and there’s generally less animosity … but the song is also about how men traditionally play down the feminine side of their characters and how both men and women suffer for it … ”

The studio track featured Pino Palladino on fretless bass and Phil Collins on drums as well as showcasing the powerful, expressive alto of Oleta Adams, who would go on to score her career-making hit “Get Here” in 1991. Adams “influenced the album before she ever agreed to be on it,” continues Songfacts. “The duo watched Adams perform in Kansas City. ‘We were both knocked out by her emotional power,’ Orzabal recalled. ‘She just cut through the intellect and got straight to the heart. It made us realize that all the machinery and the complicatedness we were using were not allowing the expression to come through. It made me go back to the drawing board; it made me want to use real instruments and real soulful vocals.'”

After adding layer after layer of ostinato onto a few repeating sections, 4:00 brings a bridge and a quieter sound, suggesting a potential ending. But a resounding return drops at 4:42, complete with a massive whole-step modulation.

Ronny + The Daytonas | Little G.T.O.

“Nashville’s greatest contribution to the hot rod and surfing craze of the early ’60s came in the form of Ronny + the Daytonas,” AllMusic reports. The band was “centered around singer-guitarist-songwriter John ‘Bucky’ Wilkin … After writing (“GTO”) in physics class as a senior in high school, Wilkin’s mom pulled a few strings, landed him a publishing deal, and had a session set up with (a) Nashville producer … The record sprang to number four on the national charts.” Nashville session musicians backed Wilkins up on the recording of the track, and he quickly came up with a name for the “band,” which initially was anything but a stable list of personnel.

The band’s accelerated breakthrough story might have been very much of its era. But ClassicCarHistory.com categorizes the 1964 track as timeless, placing the tune on its Top Ten Car Songs list. “The song reached #4 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and sold over one million copies.”

1:46 brings a half-step key change to this classic three-chord surf rocker. Many thanks to regular contributor Rob Penttinen for this submission!

The Struts | Where Did She Go

“Where Did She Go” is the final track on the 2014 album Everybody Wants, the debut release by the English rock band The Struts. The group, comprised of vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliot, and drummer Gethin Davies, count Queen, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson among their influences; they released their third album, Strange Days, last fall. Key change at 3:11.

David Bowie | Word On a Wing

According to Songfacts, “Bowie explained on the VH1 Storytellers series that he penned this song as a prayer to see him through the period when a debilitating coke addiction had him flirting with fascism and black magic. Bowie told the NME that the crunch point came when he was filming the Nicholas Roeg film, The Man Who Fell to Earth. ‘There were days of such psychological terror when making the Roeg film that I nearly started to approach my reborn, born again thing. It was the first time I’d really seriously thought about Christ and God in any depth, and ‘Word on a Wing’ was a protection. It did come as a complete revolt against elements that I found in the film.'” Bowie was reportedly unable to remember having made the 1976 album Station To Station, which featured the track.

“Abandoning any pretense of being a soulman,” opines AllMusic, “yet keeping rhythmic elements of soul, David Bowie positions himself as a cold, clinical crooner and explores a variety of styles … what ties it together is Bowie’s cocaine-induced paranoia and detached musical persona. At its heart, Station to Station is an avant-garde art-rock album … “

“Word on a Wing” is a surprisingly staid mid-tempo track among Bowie’s rangy 400-song catalog. Although the primary chord progression throughout the verses is a straightforward I-IV-V, several shifts in tonality enter the mix (starting at 1:55).

Tom Waits | Shake It

Pitchfork‘s review of Real Gone, Tom Waits’ 18th studio release (2004), goes a long way towards the difficult task of describing this singular artist, whose sound is often (and insufficiently) described as a mix of blues, rock, jazz, and experimental: “Tom Waits sings with his eyes closed, face squished tight, arms jerking, elbows popping, his entire body curled small and fetal around the microphone stand. Waits’ mouth is barely open, but his ears are perked high, perfectly straight, craning skyward, stretching out: Tom Waits is channeling frequencies that the rest of us cannot hear … Real Gone, like most of Tom Waits’ records, is teeming with all kinds of mysterious noises … it lurches along like a junk-heap jalopy, unsteady and unsafe, bits flying off in every direction, stopping, starting, and bouncing in pain.”

Waits describes himself as a person who is likely at home with his unsettled sound: “If people are a little nervous about approaching you at the market, it’s good. I’m not Chuckles The Clown. Or Bozo. I don’t cut the ribbon at the opening of markets. I don’t stand next to the mayor. Hit your baseball into my yard, and you’ll never see it again.”

Built on the utterly familiar elements of a minor blues, from the harmonic progression to the bass line to the intermittent guitar riffs, “Shake It” still manages to channel a rattling bucket of bolts that may or may not have some razor blades mixed in. Starting in F minor, 2:03 brings a transition to F# minor. The modulation doesn’t arrive at the end of the blues form, but unnervingly announces itself right in the middle of a verse. 2:55 jerks us back into F minor — this time with a tempo shift and a change in feel. The bull’s arrived at the china shop after recently enjoying a wallow in the mud, and the marked-down red table linens are on display.

Many thanks to our regular contributor Jonathan “JHarms” Harms, who submitted and summed up the track: “All hail the dirty, unannounced modulation.”

Yes | Awaken

The RIAA reports that “Yes are one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting progressive rock bands. They have sold 13.5 million RIAA-certified albums in the US.” In 1985, the UK band won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance and received five Grammy nominations between 1985 and 1992. The band produced 21 studio albums in total.

Ashley Kahn wrote about the band for its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2017:

“Not so long ago, a home stereo was a portal into a realm of hyper-sensory interstellar travel. One could drop the needle on the edge of the LP, turn up the volume, stare at the album cover’s colorful, hallucinatory landscapes, and let the music take you along galactic pathways to undiscovered planets.

Piloting such sonic voyages was a talented group of creative musicians who combined centuries-old musical traditions with the latest tools and an immense spectrum of sounds: symphonic strings, cathedral organs, driving rock drums, meticulous jazz improvisation, offbeat time signatures, dramatic rhythmic shifts. Over all soared vocal harmonies and mystical lyrics.”

Many Yes fans consider 1977’s “Awaken” to be one of the pinnacles of the band’s output. Starting at the intro (E minor), the tonality shifts with the addition of the lead vocal (E major) at 0:35, then returns to E minor at 1:30. Starting at 1:33 and returning intermittently, the real interest switches to the meter — 11/8! After falling to a brief D major at 4:54, we embark on a kaleidoscopic multi-key tour, initially based on the circle of fifths, which continues until it finally slows down like a wind-up toy losing juice.

At 6:34, we’ve returned to E minor in a restful 6/8. At 10:35, a shift back to E major lands and we’re back on another multi-key tour — but this time at a slightly slower pace and a buoyant major key fee overall, with the lead vocal added. The tumbling chord progression is more complex than a mere circle-of-fifths concept; with no idea where to plant our feet, we just go along for the ride. 12:14 continues the tour with a dizzying organ solo, joined by the full band at 12:31 — and throwing a soaring choir into the bargain. 13:20 brings a decisive cadence back to E major, then a return to the floating feel we bathed in at the start. Lastly — just because it was the 70s, and why not? — the tune closes with a guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place in a country/western cover band!

Many thanks to our first-time contributor Mark Bain for submitting this epic tune!

for JB

Blondie | Denis

“Denis” was a Top 10 hit for doo-wop group Randy & The Rainbows in 1963 as “Denise.” Blondie, fronted by lead vocalist Debbie Harry, covered it in 1977 on Plastic Letters, its sophomore release.

MixOnline reports: “'(It) sounded like a hit from the minute they started playing it,’ engineer/producer Rob Freeman says. ‘Debbie’s voice was bubbly … and cut right through the rhythm tracks. She had that little growl that would come in every now and then.'” Harry “also played with the lyrics of the song. The band had changed their version from Denise to Denis, French for Dennis, so that Harry could sing ‘You’re my king’ and ‘I’m so lucky ’cause I found a boy like you’ in French.”

This punchy two-minute pop tune went to #2 in the UK, #1 in Belgium and the Netherlands, and top 20 in several other countries. The single didn’t perform well in the US, although the album sold very well. The band was well on its way to becoming “the most commercially successful band to emerge from the New York punk/new wave community of the late ’70s” (AllMusic). The half-step modulation is at 1:05.

Bruce Hornsby | The Tide Will Rise

“The Tide Will Rise,” co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John, is featured on the 1993 album Harbor Lights. The lyric focuses on the rhythms in particular of a fisherman’s life at sea, but the sentiments are universally applicable to the ups and downs of life. Key changes from F to G at 2:08.

Kelly Clarkson | Don’t Rush

Written for Kelly Clarkson‘s first greatest hits album, released in 2012, “Don’t Rush” also features singer/songwriter Vince Gill and incorporates country and rock influences. “People have been wanting me to release something specifically for Country radio for years, but I didn’t want to just release something that has a steel guitar on it,” Clarkson said in an interview with Billboard magazine. “I wanted to release something I’m proud of, and we finally found that song. It’s my favorite kind of Country music; it’s like ’80s, ’90s Country music, that throwback, two-steppin’ style. And I’m freakin’ stoked I got Vince Gill to sing on it with me, so I win ’cause he’s like one of my favorite people.”

The track reached the #23 slot on the US Hot Country Songs chart and was performed at the Country Music Association awards in 2012 (featured here.) Key change at 2:55.

XTC | Senses Working Overtime

AllMusic describes the cult status of UK band XTC: “(Its) lack of commercial success isn’t because their music isn’t accessible — their bright, occasionally melancholy melodies flow with more grace than most bands. It has more to do with the group constantly being out of step with the times. However, the band has left behind a remarkably rich and varied series of albums that make a convincing argument that XTC is the great lost pop band. ‘Senses Working Overtime’ (1981) showed … a bemusing, distinctive take on catchy guitar music. There’s enough hints of ringing sixties guitar and clever wordplay to keep Beatles obsessives happy, say, but this is definitely the sound of a band on its own path.”

The fact that XTC’s style has been categorized with terms as varied as pop, art rock, new wave, rock, post-punk, art-punk, and progressive pop suggests that promoting their music was anything but straightforward. Lead singer Andy Partridge also suffered from severe stage fright, leading the band to experience difficulties with touring. According to Record Collector, both the album (English Settlement) and the single were the band’s highest-charting UK successes, peaking at #5 and #10, respectively.

After a reserved intro and verse in G# minor, clanging guitars announce the pre-chorus at 0:36 — a resounding all-major progression centered around plenty of compound chords. At 0:48, an E major chorus arrives, later proclaiming that the churchbells softly chime … hardly! Next up is a multi-section, multi-key bridge, which starts boisterously in A major at 2:35, charged with yet more compound chords and a schoolyard taunt of a vocal hook at 3:23. By 3:38, we’ve somehow been hoisted into F major — but making use of its rapidly expanding songcraft, XTC skillfully hides the tune’s seams.