rock – Page 8

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.

Bruce Springsteen | Jungleland

“’Jungleland’ is the album-closing track of Bruce Springsteen’s career-making third LP Born to Run,” (American Songwriter). “The album features three of Springsteen’s most iconic songs: the title track, ‘Thunder Road,’ and ‘Jungleland,’ an operatic nine-and-a-half-minute ode to hope and innocence’s attempt to survive the city’s mean streets.

This was an important transition for Springsteen, who had initially built his appeal around the live show. The dramatic, rafter-raising approach was part of the design, to create something memorable but also to attract an audience united by the feelings the music evoked. ‘I had to have songs that could capture audiences who had no idea who I was,’ he wrote in his 2016 autobiography, also called Born to Run. ‘As an opening act then, I didn’t have much time to make an impact. I wrote several long, wild pieces that were basically the soul children of the lengthy prog-rock music I’d written with [early band] Steel Mill. They were arranged to leave the band and the audience exhausted and gasping for breath. Just when you thought the song was over, you’d be surprised by another section, taking the music higher. It was what I’d taken from the finales of the great soul revues. I tried to match their ferocious fervor.'”

(The American Songwriter article is expansive and informative: please read it all if you have a few minutes!)

Starting in C major with a soft-spoken piano accompaniment, the palette grows stronger gradually until Springsteen sings the title word (1:54) and the groove suddenly kicks in. At 3:54, the feel shifts completely as the key moves to Eb major under a Clarence Clemons tenor sax feature. At 7:45, the tune returns to its initial key via an unexpected mid-phrase leap. Casual fans who first tuned in during the 80s “Born in the USA” era might be surprised by the rawness and vulnerability of early-career Springsteen — particularly as seen during his live performances.

The Eagles | The Last Resort

“The Eagles achieved stratospheric success in the 1970s, effectively bridging the country rock and soft rock styles that were popular in the early 1970s,” (Aphoristic Album Reviews). “Songwriting team Don Henley and Glenn Frey pumped out a ton of popular singles, and their Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is one of the highest-selling albums of all time.”

In Rolling Stone, the group’s lead vocalist and drummer Don Henley reflects: “‘The Last Resort’, on Hotel California (1976), is still one of my favorite songs… That’s because I care more about the environment than about writing songs about drugs or love affairs or excesses of any kind. The gist of the song was that when we find something good, we destroy it by our presence — by the very fact that man is the only animal on earth that is capable of destroying his environment … ‘ The song begins in Providence, Rhode Island, and goes all the way across America, wrapping up in the Hawaiian town of Lahaina. Along the way, it chronicles how Americans have exploited and destroyed their own land. ‘We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds,’ Henley sings. ‘In the name of destiny and the name of God.'”

After a gentle solo piano starts the tune in E major, the track gradually grows in intensity over time. At 3:24, an instrumental bridge starts with a shift upwards to G major before the the next verse begins.

Many thanks to our devoted reader Scott R. for this submission — his first!

The Grateful Dead | China Cat Sunflower

“Deadhead or not, you have to respect any band that had the impact on popular culture that the Grateful Dead did,” (American Songwriter). “Even though several of the founding members, including Jerry Garcia, died long ago, the interest in the band continues, and you can still hear and see their influence in the music of jam bands like Phish and Widespread Panic.”

Most of the band’s classics are songs for which Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics “like ‘Truckin’’ and ‘Friend of the Devil.’ Even 1987’s ‘Touch of Grey’ became part of the fabric of life for so many counter-culturalists, some of whom actually were grey by the time “Touch of Grey” was recorded. One of Hunter’s most abstruse pieces, which became a staple of the Grateful Dead’s legendary hours-long concerts, was ‘China Cat Sunflower.’ It was recorded for the band’s 1969 studio album Aoxomoxoa, and later released on the live Europe ’72 triple album set in a mash-up with the old blues number ‘I Know You Rider.’ The two songs segued together perfectly, and the Grateful Dead performed the combination well over 500 times in live performances.”

Starting out in G major, the tune shifts up to E mixolydian at 2:08 before returning to G major at 2:50. At 3:18, a long instrumental outro in D major closes out the track.

Connie Francis | Who’s Sorry Now

Written in 1923 by Ted Snyder, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, “Who’s Sorry Now” later became the signature hit of American singer Connie Francis in 1958. The tune was initially published as a waltz, but subsequent covers were arranged as a foxtrot in cut time. Francis’s version, in 12/8 time, was the first of her eight singles to be certified gold in the US, and topped the UK charts for 6 weeks.

The tune begins in Eb and modulates up a half step to E at 1:29.

Joe Perry Project | East Coast, West Coast

“As co-founding member, principal songwriter, electrifying lead guitarist and co-producer of Aerosmith … Joe Perry has achieved permanent iconic stature in the pantheon of rock,” (ArcadaLive). “He has helped to drive his band, over the course of three decades, to sales of more than 150 million albums, critical acclaim, four Grammy Awards … and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Perry’s work with Aerosmith has resulted in an unending array of accolades and honors. Beyond their Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, other key milestones over the past 35 years include: 12 MTV Video Awards; two People’s Choice Awards; six Billboard Music Awards; eight American Music Awards; 23 Boston Music Awards; and an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ (from the soundtrack to Armageddon).”

During a hiatus from Aerosmith, Perry explored different facets of his sound with a new band, the Joe Perry Project. Their uptempo 1981 single, “East Coast, West Coast,” shifts from E major downward to C major during an instrumental verse (1:51 – 2:33). Many thanks to our regular contributor Rob P. for sending us this tune!

Don Henley | Dirty Laundry

“’Dirty Laundry’ is one of Don Henley’s greatest hits—but it doesn’t come without controversy,” (American Songwriter). “The song, co-written by Henley and session musician Danny Kortchmar, was released in 1982 as the second single off his debut solo album, I Can’t Stand Still. The lyrics take aim at mass media, proclaiming how people love dirty laundry. But the second verse is particularly scathing, as Henley sings, We got the bubble-headed bleached-blonde / Comes on at five / She can tell you ’bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye / It’s interesting when people die / Give us dirty laundry.

‘Dirty Laundry’ holds no punches when it comes to Henley’s opinion about sensationalism in news, especially. ‘I’m a news junkie, I watch the news a lot,’ the Eagles frontman said in a 1990 interview. ‘I got tired of seeing these talking heads up there stripping people of their dignity. I got tired of the sensationalism of the death of certain celebrities,’ he said, referencing the deaths of high-profile figures including Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, and Elvis Presley … ‘Dirty Laundry’ became Henley’s first #1 hit as a solo artist. It reached the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.”

The song featured a star-studded personnel list, including Henley’s Eagles bandmates Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh and Toto’s Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, and Steve Lukather. Given that the song is one of Henley’s most static in terms of repetition of melody and chord progression, the whole-step key change arrives with a bang at 3:39.

The Band | Stage Fright

After a wait of too many years, MotD is happy to finally feature a tune by a legendary band whose name likely created more than a few promotion challenges: “After many tours of duty backing the rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins and providing the muscle behind Bob Dylan’s move towards electric rock, the four Canadians and one Arkansan comprising the Band were pedigreed to a legendary extent even before making their first album,” (Pitchfork). “By the time they issued the twinned masterpieces Music From Big Pink in 1968 and The Band in 1969, their polymathic command of multiple genres, and self-conscious embrace of traditional American folk, country, bluegrass, and zydeco had established them as the thinking fan’s alternative to the diminishing returns of psychedelia and the counterculture … For critics, audiences and no-lesser peers than the Beatles, they had come to represent authenticity personified. So. How do you follow that up?

The answer came in the form of Stage Fright (1970), a charming, loose-limbed collection that elides the chore of living up to the previous records by basically not even trying. If their first two LPs inspired the Beatles and Stones to return to basics, Stage Fright connotes an entirely different sphere of influence: it’s a nonpareil boogie album, whose in-the-pocket playing establishes the Band as the equal of groovemaster peers like Booker T. and the Meters and sets a predicate for followers like Little Feat and NRBQ … What Stage Fright lacks in history lessons it makes up for in palpable joy. They would never seem so happy again.”

The album’s title track shows off the group’s unique songwriting sense; at times it’s often difficult to predict what might be coming next in terms of either overall form or harmonic progressions. G major holds sway overall, but between 1:47 and 2:41, there’s a clear shift in emphasis to the tune’s relative minor, E minor.

Humble Pie | Sweet Peace and Time

“There was a lot riding on this album (Smokin‘, 1972). After the general economical failure of (UK band Humble Pie’s) first two albums released in the States, Humble Pie and Rock On, their live album, Rockin’ the Filmore shot them up to top-billing across the country and into a major name,” (TheUncool). “So, when Smokin’ hit the racks it would provide exposure of the studio side to a band that became famous on their live side. The reception would be significant …

Actually there is nothing extremely original about the band. They play a brand of rock ‘n roll that is definitely not unique to them. So…just what is it about Humble Pie, or for that matter Smokin’, that in actuality puts them in a class above so many others? … Humble Pie is a confident band. They don’t bashfully kick around a number of styles and techniques … Humble Pie is a band that works with the bare essentials of rock ‘n roll. Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore proved them as a great live band. Smokin’ proves them as a great band. Anywhere.” (Courtesy of the Door [aka San Diego Door] – Cameron Crowe)

After beginning in A minor, “Sweet Peace and Time” shifts up to B minor at 0:45, then hangs out in E minor for an instrumental section from 1:09 – 1:39. At 1:39, the same A minor pattern from the intro and first verse is once again in effect. The pattern continues from there.

Bon Jovi | I’ll Be There For You

“I like the whole expansive vastness of the song — the rising drone on the intro, the whispery opening line, the way it builds to massed heartbroken shouting,” (Stereogum). “‘I’ll Be There For You’ (1989) isn’t as clean and sharp as Bon Jovi’s best songs, but it still has a chorus that lands like a grand piano falling off a sixth-floor roof. As a band, Bon Jovi’s single greatest strength is the power to trigger arena-wide communal yelling. From that perspective, ‘I’ll Be There For You’ is a roaring success. It’s over-the-top even before the key change comes screaming in at the end.

… ‘I’ll Be There For You’ does give Jon a chance to do some of his most effective vocal work. Jon Bon Jovi is a famously limited singer, but he puts a whole lot of force and emotion into everything. The chorus … is mostly half-drunk shouting, but if you’re trying to get a whole arena to sing along, then half-drunk shouting is a good means to that end … Bon Jovi weathered the grunge-era storm, shed their big-hair trappings, and became a venerated staple on the arena rock circuit. ‘I’ll Be There For You’ was Bon Jovi’s last #1 hit.”

You’d expect a key change as the guitar solo wraps up at 3:37, or perhaps as the bridge ends at 4:03. Nope! There’s yet another chorus before the whole-step modulation finally hits at 4:30. All in all, quite the power ballad stadium anthem specimen, with a total run time of close to six minutes.