Tag: rock

The Eagles | New Kid In Town

Boston-based pianist and music professor Mark Shilansky has submitted “New Kid In Town,” a textbook example of The Eagles’ country-tinged rock sound. The lead single from the smash hit album Hotel California (1976), the track went to #1 in the US and #20 in the UK.

Rolling Stone‘s “Eagles: The Ultimate Guide” quotes vocalist/drummer Don Henley’s description of the tune: “It’s about the fleeting, fickle nature of love and romance. It’s also about the fleeting nature of fame, especially in the music business. We were basically saying, ‘Look, we know we’re red hot right now, but we also know that somebody’s going to come along and replace us — both in music and in love.'” The version featured here is from the band’s 2004 “Farewell” tour.

Mark reports: “The modulation is SO killer: From E major to G major during the bridge, then back down to E after the final chorus — but it feels like a lift! Amazing. I’m going to start using it in my Ear Training 4 class.”

The Raspberries | Go All the Way

AllMusic’s bio of The Raspberries describes the Cleveland, OH-based band as running counter to the “epic pretensions and pomposity of ’70s-era rock to proudly reclaim the spirit and simplicity of classic pop, recalling the heyday of the British Invasion with their exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies.” The vocalist and songwriter, Eric Carmen, also pursued a prominent solo career.

The 1972 single “Go All the Way” has a rich harmonic vocabulary from top to bottom. The first modulation hits after the guitar-driven intro as the verse starts (0:29), shifting from A major to C major. Many thanks to inveterate contributor JB for this submission.

Nate Wood | Stand By Your Man

Nate Wood is perhaps best known as the drummer for the modern electric jazz quartet Kneebody, which the New York Times calls “a resolutely un-pindownable band” using “a common jazz instrumentation to make a somewhat less common amalgam of urban-signifying genres, from electro-pop to punk-rock to hip-hop.”

In addition to working with Kneebody since 2002, Wood has balanced sideman stints with the likes of George Harrison, Sting, Chaka Khan, guitarist Wayne Krantz (Steely Dan), Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters). Wood’s several solo releases (starting with 2003’s Reliving) showcase his writing and vocal abilities; he played and recorded every instrument on the debut album.

“Stand By Your Man” has a plodding groove, but features a dense harmonic tapestry. Starting in C major, the track shifts about mysteriously, its cadences far from expected. Near the end of the track (3:04) the tonality shifts, obscured by the unconventional harmonies and frequent inversions. At 3:30, the fog clears: the harmonies simplify as the first phrase is repeated, now unmistakably in D major.

The Beach Boys | Fun, Fun, Fun

Wrapping up Beach Boys week is “Fun, Fun, Fun,” a 1964 single by The Beach Boys which features a guitar riff during the opening inspired by Chuck Berry’s iconic “Johnny B. Goode”. The track hit #5 in the US, #5 in Australia, and #8 in New Zealand.

The tune modulates at 1:51. Many thanks to frequent contributor JB for this submission and so many others!

The Beach Boys | Be True to Your School

Continuing with Beach Boys week: “Be True to Your School,” by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys, was released in 1963. The melody of the University of Wisconsin fight song, “On, Wisconsin,” can be heard on the track. There was also single version, which was released with “In My Room”. The tune peaked at #6 on the Billboard charts, but also #3 in New Zealand, #6 in Sweden, and #10 Australia. However, the single performed best back home in Los Angeles: three weeks at #1, according to airplay on KFWB.

The key change is at 1:54, interspersed with cheerleader chants. Many thanks to Rob Penttinen for this submission!

The Beach Boys | That’s Not Me

Continuing with Beach Boys week: AllMusic refers to The Beach Boys‘ “That’s Not Me” as “the closest thing to a conventional rocker” on the experimental Pet Sounds album (1966). According to Jim DeRogatis, author of “Turn on Your Mind,” it’s a work “influenced by psychedelic drugs that inspired Brian Wilson to turn his attention inward and probe his deep-seated self-doubts.”

Starting in A major, the tune has multiple modulations, starting at 0:34. Plenty of compound chords and inversions add to the overall harmonic richness. Thanks again to frequent contributor JB for submitting this tune!

The Tubes | What Do You Want From Life

Here’s one of the singles from The Tubes self-titled 1975 debut album, “What Do You Want From Life?” The track received sustained airplay, likely due to what AllMusic calls the band’s “offbeat pop splendor.” Frequent contributor JB describes the track’s iconic spoken-word outro as a “tour-de-force gameshow voice-over … one of the most scathing bits of social satire in all of pop music.”

Starting in C minor, an early bridge (1:03 – 1:39) takes us through several pivots and pushes up briefly into D minor before falling back into Db minor for the balance of the tune.

BIlly Joel | All for Lena

A long-overdue MotD debut for Billy Joel​: “All for Lena” is a non-single track from Joel’s 1980 album Glass Houses. The album topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked #4 on Billboard​’s 1980 year-end album chart. The track reached #40 on the UK pop charts, where it was released as a single.

AllMusic​’s review reports “…it’s nice to hear Joel scale back his showman tendencies and deliver a solid pop/rock record … it’s the closest Joel ever got to a pure rock album.” The lyrics seem to suggest a dark, unrequited romantic fascination, right down to Joel’s uncharacteristically edgy vocal. The tune is in A minor, with brief patches of A major between 1:54 – 2:08 and 3:04 – 3:17.

Steely Dan | West of Hollywood

The unique rock/jazz fusion sound of Steely Dan is well known to most. But their 2000 album, Two Against Nature, featured a more experimental focus than most of the band’s other releases. The tune “West of Hollywood” has a multi-minute outro which kicks the modulations into high gear starting at about 4:30.

A poster on the website Music in Practice and Theory sought insight on the complex outro: “Many, many modulations–this song must surely have set some kind of record with the sheer number of tonal-center changes during the outtro. Often, the tonal center is established only for a few measures, and the transitions happen so quickly that the listener barely notices.”