Tag: rock

Genesis | You Might Recall

“On the one side stood their proggy past; on the other, pop stardom. Even the album itself – released in tandem with a film of the same name on June 1, 1982, it chronicles the tours in support of 1980’s Duke and 1981’s Abacab – seems to be peeking ahead,” (Ultimate Classic Rock). “The fourth side features a handful of sleek tracks left over from the Duke sessions and 1982’s 3×3 EP.

‘The direction we took is very obvious, having started off in a very complex and technical background,’ (guitarist) Mike Rutherford told the Oklahoman in 1982. ‘If you want to progress and change, where do you go? You don’t want to get more technical and complex. You have to go simpler in the sense you get more into feeling … you’ve got to do what you enjoy doing. It’s as simple as that. There’s no other way to do it and be honest with yourself.’ Three Sides Live (is) a recommended entry point for anyone who came to Genesis via the MTV-era hits, and is now curious about what came before. It’s a perfect bridge to the past.”

The “single side of studio tracks from the double album” conceit only worked during the vinyl era, which in 1982 was within five years of its end. “You Might Recall,” one of the tracks from the studio side, starts in C minor with an energetic, arpeggiated keyboard hook, prominently out front in the mix. As the verse begins at 0:19, keyboardist Tony Banks’ marshy comping texture lets the lavish chord progressions and Phil Collins’ rangy vocal melody shine. At 1:01, the three-section chorus arrives with a shift to C major, rich in compound chords, supported by a pedal-point G in the bass throughout. After eight measures (1:21), part two arrives with a shift to Bb major and a pedal-point F. Finally, part three features eight measures of F major with C in the bass (1:43). At 2:04, a C minor interlude mirroring the hook-centric intro returns, and we cycle through the pattern again. As a parting gift, the second interlude (following verse 2 and chorus 2) shifts up to to new territory — G major with D in the bass (3:47 – 4:08) — before the 3-segment chorus returns and fades.

Cheap Trick | Tonight It’s You

“Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between ’60s pop, heavy metal, and punk,” (Qobuz). “Their sound provided a blueprint for both power pop and arena rock; it also had a long-lived effect on both alternative and heavy metal bands of the ’80s and ’90s (and beyond), who often relied on the same combination of loud riffs and catchy melodies.

The band’s early albums were filled with highly melodic, well-written songs that drew equally from the crafted pop of the Beatles, the sonic assault of the Who, and the tongue-in-cheek musical eclecticism and humor of the Move.” From most accounts, the mid-80s was a bit of a lull for the band creatively, but one strong single resulted from its 1985 album Standing on the Edge: “the silvery-sounding ‘Tonight It’s You,’ which peaked just outside the Top 40 at number 44 in the fall of 1985.”

Starting in F# major, the tune’s long pre-chorus in B major appears at 0:59 leading us to a chorus in D major (1:19 -1:41). The pattern continues from there.

The Guess Who | No Time

“Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who were aiming for a rock hit to follow their first gold record, the ballad ‘These Eyes,'” (Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame). “They found it in the contrasting hard-driving rocker ‘No Time.’

They had been impressed by the new country-rock sound of Buffalo Springfield, of which their Winnipeg friend Neil Young was a member. The inspiration for (the) opening guitar riff came from one in Springfield’s ‘Hung Upside Down’; Bachman said he ‘turned it upside down and made my own riff out of it,’ … by early 1970 it was another million-seller.” In February and March 1970, the track was a top 10 hit in the US and Canada alike. “The Guess Who were chosen as the Junos’ top group in 1970 and again in 1971.

… The BMI award-winning No Time is, in essence, a break-up song:

No time for a summer friend / No time for the love you send
Seasons change and so did I / There’s no time left for you.

The intriguing lyric ‘No time for the killing floor’ is anti-war slang that Cummings and Bachman had heard in San Francisco, equating the Viet Nam war – accurately – with a slaughterhouse.”

The tune’s intro and verse are in D minor; the chorus shifts to G major (heard for the first time from 0:37 – 1:04). Throughout, the track’s energetic feel runs counter to the heartbreaking lyrics.

Julian Cope | World Shut Your Mouth

“Retreating from the collapse of the (band) Teardrop Explodes to his hometown of Tamworth UK, Julian Cope produced his first solo effort,” (World Shut Your Mouth, 1984) … “The result is a surprisingly vibrant, rich album that shows Cope easily moving on from his group days while retaining his unique powerful and natural gifts for singing and songwriting,” (AllMusic). “If there’s something about the sound of World that suggests its early-’80s recording dates … Cope’s own particular, heavily psych-into-pop-inspired goals aren’t lost in it.

Some of his songs are so inspired that one just has to wonder how in the world they didn’t end up as hits somewhere … Throughout World, Cope demonstrates why he’s one of the best, most unaffected singers in rock around, his vocals carrying sweep and passion without sounding like he’s trying to impress himself or others.”

Built in an uptuned B major overall, there’s a brief key-of-the-moment shift (2:28 -2:36) up a whole step to C# after verses and choruses 1 and 2, an instrumental break, and another chorus before a return to the original key. But at 3:06, C# major is back to accompany us through the instrumental outro.

Sugarloaf | I’ve Got a Song

“The end of the 1960s set the stage for Sugarloaf, with its beginning as the Denver band Chocolate Hair. Keyboardist/vocalist Jerry Corbetta and guitarist Bob Webber … plus Bob Raymond on bass and Myron Pollock on drums … (later) took the name of a mountain summit in the foothills above Boulder … transforming the rock quartet into Sugarloaf,” (Colorado Music Hall of Fame).

“… A mix of rock, R&B, and jazz licks became the basis for the debut LP … the band (produced) a major national hit: “Green-Eyed Lady,” which peaked at No. 3 in October 1970. The song resonated with psychedelic rock fans coming down from the high of the Summer of Love and quickly became the group’s biggest hit.” The band later released another hit, “‘Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You.’ An amusing song about the fickle music industry, the dance-friendly track spelled out, touch-tone style, the phone numbers for CBS Records … (it) became a hit, reaching #9 in March 1975.”

The band’s 1975 uptempo release, “I’ve Got a Song,” didn’t fare as well, only reaching #110 on the US pop charts. Starting in A major, the piano-driven tune shifts into D major after the intro (0:39) and ends in Eb major (3:10).

Kestrel | The Acrobat

“(A Newcastle, UK band,) Kestrel, debuted in 1975 … a symphonic rock quintet that were doing the London college circuit when they caught the attention of producer John Worth, who signed them and released their one album in 1975 (Background Magazine) … The (self-titled) original album was almost 45 minutes long and contained eight tracks.

Right from the start you hear you’re dealing with a progressive rock outfit. Not so strange when you do know that (guitarist/vocalist Dave) Black was influenced at the time by acts such as Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Camel, Yes, and Genesis. However, don’t expect that kind of music on this release. The songs the band recorded for their album were more radio-friendly than most of the bands that had influenced them … They were great in the lead and harmony vocals and could shine on their instruments as well. At the same time, they mixed their complex compositions with rather catchy sounding three-minute songs … which gave them a couple of hits in their own country. Unfortunately, the lack of promotion of by their record company at the time made it impossible that Kestrel would receive the same international success … the band had certainly everything to make it bigger.”

On “The Acrobat,” after a quiet rubato intro, the groove kicks in for the first verse in A major at 0:35. A rangy, often highly syncopated vocal melody, kept front and center in the mix, is very much the focus from there on. The tune touches on C major around the 1:00 mark, A major at 1:06, C minor at 1:11, etc., etc. At that point, we’re more or less harmonically unmoored. 2:58 brings a Fender Rhodes-led jazz interlude which decays into something resembling self-parody before we return to more familiar territory at 3:41. At 4:35, we circle back to a new verse at last. Light in the Attic called the album “(an) unsung prog-rock gem … boasting an abundance of technical musicianship and inhabiting a space somewhere between golden-age prog and AOR.” Whether or not you agree, we hope you packed a lunch!

Starship | Jane

“Jane” (1979) is “a track that represents big changes in the history of a band renowned for them,” (UltimateClassicRock). “Formerly Jefferson Airplane, the group had lost vocalists Grace Slick and Marty Balin in the run-up to their fifth album, Freedom at Point Zero. They hired former Journey drummer Aynsley Dunbar and, up front, gambled on singer Mickey Thomas – who wasn’t even sure he wanted to be in a rock band.

… ‘Jane’ proved to be the perfect showcase for Thomas’ talents, pointing the band towards the stadium rock sound that would see them through the ‘80s as Starship … ” The track peaked at No. 14. It later appeared in the films Cocaine Bear and Wet Hot American Summer, and in the gaming world as part of Grand Theft Auto IV and Rock Band 4.

Built in E minor overall, the bridge (1:47 – 2:15) shifts to F# minor and also shifts from a hard-driving rock texture to a gentler reggae-inflected feel.

Procol Harum | Salad Days (Are Here Again)

“Formed in 1967, the sophisticated and forward-looking British band Procol Harum … recorded and released 1967’s ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale,’ a smash hit that today remains the band’s most well-known song,” (MusoScribe). “After opening for Jimi Hendrix in London in that same year, the band organized a tour.

… The band’s sound had always been a mixture of the members’ r&b influences (and) a progressive – but not overly fussy – musical bent (aided and abetted by the presence of not one but two keyboard players) … Those qualities had largely fallen out of favor with the record-buying public by 1977, so the members went their separate ways.” The band regrouped several times, including a new album, Novum, and touring in the late 2010s.

“Salad Days Are Here Again” (1967) begins in G major. At 0:31, there’s a brief shift to an F major chorus before a return to G at 0:44.

Creedence Clearwater Revival | Lookin’ Out My Back Door

“Before we begin, let’s just take a moment to pay respect to John Fogerty’s voice. It sounds like sunshine through a rusted pipe,” (American Songwriter). “Okay, now that we have that behind us, let’s check out one of Fogerty’s most memorable tunes, ‘Lookin’ Out My Back Door,’ which he wrote with his influential California-born rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and released on the group’s 1970 LP, Cosmo’s Factory … The gravelly rock single hit #2 on the Billboard charts.” It’s #1 “in the hearts of many fans of the 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski, a movie that mixes the mundane with the psychedelic, much like the Creedence song at hand.

Since its release, many have speculated that the lyrics are about drugs … But, if you ask Fogerty, it’s not … In interviews and in Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater, Fogerty is quoted as saying the song was actually written for his then three-year-old son, Josh. He’s also said that the reference to the parade passing by the door was inspired by the Dr. Seuss story, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street … More than anything, though, it’s just an epic example of Fogerty’s inimitable scratchy-snarly voice that will live forever long past the view out any of our back doors.”

After a start in B major and a mid-song suspension of the tune’s very catchy groove for a few measures, there’s a downward chromatic bass line journey, counterintuitively ending in a higher key — C# major — at 1:46.

Elton John | Tower of Babel

“Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, released in 1975, was the culmination of six years’ feverish exertion (PopMatters) … (it) was the first album to ever premiere at number one on the Billboard album charts … (Elton’s) early ’70s run is almost unmatched in the history of pop music. In terms of quality and quantity, his only real peers are the likes of the Beatles, the Stones, and Bowie … The duo of John and (lyricist) Bernie Taupin produced some of the greatest songs and most memorable albums of the rock era, and yet today their prolific career is routinely dismissed, if not forgotten.

The duo’s creative marriage was defined by their marked dissimilarities. While both came from lower middle-class origins, John (born Reginald Dwight), was raised in urban London while Taupin hailed from the rural districts of Lincolnshire, in the far north of the country. Their musical interests were similarly contrasted: John had been raised on a catholic diet of mainstream pop and early rock ‘n’ roll, with a special affection for American soul music, while Taupin was a fan of American folk and country … one of the most influential synergies in the history of pop music … Elton John, the globetrotting Captain Fantastic, and Bernie Taupin, the down-home countrified Brown-Dirt Cowboy, rose out of absolute obscurity to become the most successful songwriting duo since Lennon and McCartney (if you young’uns don’t believe me, just take a gander at the historical record).”

The album is listed at #158 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” John mentioned in an interview: “I’ve always thought (it) was probably my finest album because it wasn’t commercial in any way,” (EltonJohnItaly.com). “We did have songs such as ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight,’ which is one of the best songs that Bernie and I have ever written together, but whether a song like that could be a single these days, since it’s [more than] six minutes long, is questionable. Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure—or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story.”

After starting in C major, “Tower of Babel” falls into a flight of Elton’s trademark inversion-driven fancy at 0:28 before landing once again on the terra firma of Eb major at 0:50. Don’t get too comfortable, though, because 1:40 brings a multi-key instrumental bridge; eventually we’re led back to C major. The shifting pattern continues from there.