“Safer” is from the 2013 Broadway musical by Austin Winsberg (book), Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (music and lyrics). The song comes about halfway through the show, as Casey is wondering if she is getting in her own way in looking for a relationship. The track, performed here by original cast member Krysta Rodriguez, begins in Ab and modulates up a half step to A at 2:25.
Tag: soundtrack
The Supremes | The Happening
“If the Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations‘ was a ‘pocket symphony,’ as it was so masterfully marketed, then the Supremes’ classic singles were pocket melodramas,” (Stereogum). “Those songs were heavily and fascinatingly orchestrated in their own ways, but the arrangements, nimble and groundbreaking as they might’ve been, were there to serve the stories. The Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team found simple, direct ways to write about complicated feelings — heartbreak, elation, faint embers of hope. And Diana Ross sang those songs with poise and sensitivity, maintaining her composure even as she subtly hinted at huge and overwhelming feelings.
For years, the Supremes were an absolute machine. They cranked these songs out with a terrifying efficiency, and almost all of them hit their marks. And maybe that’s why ‘The Happening’ stands out in the group’s catalog. It’s a rare miss, a song that deviates from the plan and goes all the way awry. It’s the moment where everything falls apart … ‘The Happening’ sounds like exactly what it is: a cynical tie-in with a bad movie. But it doesn’t sound like a Supremes song — even though, in some literal sense of the term, it’s the last Supremes song.” Nonetheless, the track hit #1 in 1967, if only for one week!
The tune modulates up a half-step while trying its darnedest to be a light-hearted and goofy part of its “crime/comedy” genre.
Independently Owned (from “Shucked”)
“Independently Owned” is from the new Broadway musical Shucked. Composed by first-time musical theatre writers Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, the song is performed in the show by Lulu (played by Alex Newell), shown here recording the track for the cast album. Not only does the tune have a modulation, but Lulu announces it while she’s singing at 1:28; she kicks it up another notch (a third, to be precise) at 1:45.
All the Wasted Time (from “Parade”)
“All the Wasted Time” is from composer Jason Robert Brown’s 1998 Broadway musical Parade. The show tells the real-life story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Atlanta who was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of his 13- year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in 1913. Brown’s Tony Award-winning score, the first he wrote for Broadway, is tinged with folk, blues, gospel and musical theater influences.
This song comes near the end of the show; Leo and his wife Lucille are sitting in his cell taking stock of all they have been through over the past two years, and expressing how their love for each other is as deep as it has ever been. Its rolling accompaniment is reminiscent another of Brown’s romantic duets, “I’d Give It All For You,” from the 1995 show Songs For a New World. The first revival of Parade, starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, opened on Broadway last week.
There are three modulations in the tune: at the start of Lucille’s verse at 1:37, leading into the third chorus at 3:10, and at the coda at 3:48.
Pettin’ and Pokin’ (from “Five Guys Named Moe”)
“Five Guys Named Moe” premiered on London’s West End in 1990 and on Broadway in 1992. The musical, with a book by Clarke Peters, features the music of saxophonist and songwriter Louis Jordan, who was known for helping to bridge the transition from jazz to rock ‘n roll in the 1950s. The show has been revived by numerous regional theaters over the last decade. There are modulations at 0:41 and 1:11.
I’ll Make a Man Out of You (from “Mulan”)
“I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is featured in the 1998 Disney film Mulan. Written by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel, it is sung by Donny Osmond in the movie and on the soundtrack.
This track is one of the few well-known Disney favorites that is not a ballad. “We knew it needed to be masculine and muscular and hence the drums, all the military aspects of what were factored into a very odd pop song,” Wilder said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I knew I wanted it to sound large and I knew what the tempo and the cadence of the piece was,” he continued. “I had a very extensive Asian sample library. I was sort of mixing and matching East meets West where I was taking drum cadences from traditional Chinese drums and then marrying that with military snares, etc. and just kept building and building and building so it became this cacophonous effect of a Chinese marching American band.”
The song begins in E minor and modulates up a whole step to F minor at 2:03.
You’ll Think of Someone (from “Promises, Promises”)
“You’ll Think of Someone” is sung by the two main characters in Act 1 of the 1968 Broadway musical Promises, Promises, based on the classic 1960 film The Apartment. Featuring a score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the show is notable for introducing the pop idiom to Broadway, and was among the first shows to use amplified instruments in the pit.
Performed here by Kristin Chenowith and Sean Hayes, who starred in a 2010 Broadway revival, the song moves fluidly between time signatures and alternates between E major and Db major throughout. Bacharach, a 6-time Grammy winner known for his unconventional chord progressions, died yesterday at age 94. In 2012, Bacharach and David were awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin prize for Popular Song, the first time the award had been presented to a duo.
Harry Connick Jr. | A Wink and a Smile
Written by MotD favorite Marc Shaiman with Ramsey McLean for the 1993 Nora Ephron film Sleepless in Seattle, “A Wink and a Smile” was performed by Harry Connick Jr. for the soundtrack.
The song, which was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, plays over a montage as Sam Baldwin (played by Tom Hanks) tries to cheer up his son Jonah (played by Ross Malinger) after his mother dies. It modulates from C up a half step to Db at 2:09
John Bucchino | I’ve Learned To Let Things Go
“I’ve Learned To Let Things Go,” with music and lyrics by John Bucchino, was included in It’s Only Life, a concert revue of Bucchino’s music that was performed at Lincoln Center in 2006. It is performed here by cast member Jessica Molaskey, and modulates from A up to C at 2:25.
Quiet (from “Matilda The Musical”)
“Quiet” is from the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic 1988 book Matilda. Written by Tim Minchin, the song is sung by the title character when in Act 2 as she is feeling overwhelmed by questions about how different she feels from everyone else. The key change comes about 1/3 of the way into the song at 1:20 as the texture thins out and the melody and harmony simplify, and Matilda imagines how much more peaceful it would be if it was quiet.
A movie adaptation of the musical was released by Netflix last week, starring Alesha Weir as Matilda.
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