Tag: UK

Oli Howe | Livin’ On a Prayer

“After releasing his debut album Moving Forward in 2020, Brighton UK based pianist/producer Oli Howe has been establishing himself a leading force amongst the dynamic UK jazz scene … In 2022/23, Oli released a six-track EP Hackney Daze … which amassed over 2.8 million streams on Spotify alone in just six months (artist website).

… Oli has shared stages with the likes of Yoland Brown, Omar Lyefook, Tortured Soul, Freak Power, The House & Garage Orchestra, Billy Cobham and Taylor McFerrin while drawing sold out houses with headline shows at top UK venues such as Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Brighton Jazz Festival and most recently Love Supreme Jazz Festival.”

Via his very popular Instagram channel, Howe has made a habit out of cranking out modernized, harmonically up-cycled cover versions of pop favorites. Just like Bon Jovi’s 1986 original, “Livin’ on a Prayer” starts in E minor (later flipping over to its relative G major). But after the bridge, there’s a shift up to Bb major, enhanced by a hiccup in the otherwise stable meter.

NOTE: Howe’s Instagram channel won’t allow direct embeds, so please click through below!

Level 42 | Take a Look

“Following the success of 1987’s Running In the Family, Level 42’s stock as the premier UK based pop/funk crossover act was assured, but the original fusion of the two genres had been watered down with each individual collection until by 1988 the band were a highly polished pop group with only the merest hint of their funk past,” (The Hackskeptic).

Staring At the Sun is by far Level 42’s most uneven performance. There is a definite lack of bite in the songs, none of Mark King’s superior bass prowess, with listless arrangements and a tired, formulaic production effort … (but) the uptempo funk/rock ‘Heaven In My Hands,’ which became a successful single, harks back to the “Hot Water” era Level 42 … the sweetly heartfelt ballad “Take A Look” can’t disguise the rest of the album’s inherent problems.”

“Take a Look” starts in F# major, yielding to G# major during a chorus mid-phrase at 2:18.

The Honeydrippers | Sea of Love

Somewhere between his tenure as the tenor banshee frontman of Led Zeppelin and his recent role as rock’s elder statesman in his collaborations with Alison Krauss, Robert Plant assembled The Honeydrippers, which recorded just one EP. While the group formed in 1981, it did not have a fixed membership. Members on the 1984 EP included guitarists Jimmy Page (Plant’s Zep bandmate), Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, keyboardist Paul Shaffer (yes, that Paul Shaffer), and drummer Dave Weckl.

“Sea of Love” was written by and originally recorded by Phil Phillips. Released on a small Louisiana label at first, and later on Mercury, the single was a considerable success, reaching #2 on the Billboard pop chart and #1 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1959. The spartan arrangement features a doo-wop chorus with dubious pitch, piano, and brushed drums.

The Honeydrippers’ version uses a more complex soundstage, with a string section providing an elaborate intro and accents throughout, and subtly-present female background singers. The groove drops out for an upward half-step modulation (1:40) introduces a tasteful guitar solo (Page, maybe?).

The Style Council | You’re the Best Thing

“In 1982, Paul Weller disbanded The Jam at the height of their popularity, citing a desire to pivot toward using a more soulful approach to his music,” (Albumism). “He felt The Jam were stuck in a rut and not growing as a band. Bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Ric Buckler did not share this opinion and the split took them by surprise. To this day, Buckler and Weller are not on speaking terms.

In 1983, Weller enlisted keyboard player Mick Talbot, who previously had stints in Dexys Midnight Runners and The Merton Parkas to form The Style Council. To round out the lineup, The Style Council used a rotation of studio musicians and guest stars like Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt from Everything But the Girl, forming a unit known as the Honorary Councilors. With this new group, Weller was able to branch out and experiment with soul, jazz and pop in a way which was not possible with The Jam.

‘You’re the Best Thing’ is The Style Council’s homage to the ‘70s soul, slow jam era. It borrows themes from popular R&B songs from the previous decade and puts Weller’s spin on it.” After an intro and two breezy verses in E major, 1:18 brings a whole-step shift upwards to F# major. At 1:41, an interlude returns us to E major. The pattern continues from there.

Young Gun Silver Fox | Kids

“Musical chemistry is a rare, intangible thing. However, for Andy Platts and Shawn Lee, the creative force behind Young Gun Silver Fox, the unmalleable, unspoken connection that gives their work such a unique and distinctive sound was apparent from their first experiences together in a studio,” (Glide Magazine). “Alongside their now decade-plus-long tenure as Young Gun Silver Fox, both have already received plaudits for their creative excursions.

American-born, UK-based musician Shawn Lee (is known for) his extensive catalog of recordings with the likes of Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra and his well-received solo albums, as well as a go-to award-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist for the likes of Hannah Williams and Joel Culpepper.” The multi-talented UK-born Andy Platts is “chief songwriter and leader of much loved Brit-soul sensations Mamas Gun. He’s also clocked up many songwriting collaborations with legends such as Rod Temperton and Brian Jackson.”

YGSF’s compact release “Kids” (2020) beings in D major, shimmies through a short but dynamic bridge at 2:06, and lands in E major at 2:24.

Dougie MacLean | Solid Ground

“Dougie MacLean, originally famed for writing the song ‘Caledonia’, has built an international reputation as songwriter, composer and extraordinary performer on his own terms,” (artist website). “He’s taken his performance to concerts and festivals all over the world and to the stages of Carnegie Hall in New York, London’s Festival Theatre, and the Sydney Opera House. Other appearances of note include sharing the stage with Lou Reed and Eddi Reader in the grounds of Culzean Castle at the Burns and A’ That festival, featuring on the BBC Hogmanay programme from Edinburgh Castle with James Taylor, and sharing the bill with the legendary Mavis Staples at Glasgow‘s Royal Concert Hall.

He has received two prestigious Tartan Clef Awards, a place in the Scottish Music Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and an Order of the British Empire award.”

MacLean’s 1988 tune “Solid Ground” is built primarily in G minor, but shifts to C minor at 4:05 as the vocal ends and a pipes solo closes out the track.

Rina Sawayama | This Hell

” … Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama … was born in Japan and raised in North London. (She) ascended to pop stardom via an unusual trajectory at Cambridge University studying politics, psychology and sociology, and funding her early music with modeling before signing a record deal,” (IMDB). “At the beginning of her song “This Hell,” Rina Sawayama recalls seeing a religious poster condemning so-called sinners for their identities,” (Pitchfork). “She rebukes the hateful messaging with an eye roll—’Don’t know what I did but they seem pretty mad about it’—pulls her chosen family closer, and offers affirmation: ‘This hell is better with you.’

The first track off the SAWAYAMA-follow up Hold the Girl (2022) was inspired by country pop, and that influence is most evident at the track’s intro, which features a neighing horse and a winking tribute to country pop queen Shania Twain (‘let’s go, girls’). From there, she fans these flames into a turbocharged pop banger complete with a glam, unapologetically over-the-top hair metal riff. Not one to pass up a good pop culture reference, Sawayama quotes Paris Hilton’s famous catchphrase and chastises the paparazzi for their cruelty towards Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, and Princess Diana. ‘Got my invitation to eternal damnation,’ she chants. ‘Get in line, pass the wine, bitch.’ With Sawayama, hell is the hottest party in town.”

After an intro in A minor, the verse enters in E major (0:31), then shifts to a pre-chorus and chorus in C major at 0:48. More changes follow from there.

One Day (from “Groundhog Day”)

“In the role that won him the 2017 Olivier, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Award for Best Actor, Andy Karl plays Phil Connors—a disgruntled big-city weatherman mysteriously stuck in small-town America reliving the same day over and over and over again—with no consequences, no regrets, no tomorrows, and no hangovers,” (Broadway.com). “But once he starts getting to know associate TV producer Rita Hanson, he discovers it’s a day of second, third, and fourth chances.

“Tim Minchin, with too many credits to mention, perfects the music and lyrics for Groundhog Day,” (New York Theatre Guide). “Minchin’s score makes a joyful noise, to be sure, but it is not unalloyed hoopla. As one of the shows recurring lines underscores — for all the toe tapping mania — ‘there’s a sense of sadness’ (and, I would argue, of substance). While there is a nod to Leonard Cohen and another to Jerome Kern … this is an original score that will endure. The sometimes dense lyrics, by turns funny and poignant — in the mode of Sondheim — leave you stretching to sort it all out at times. It’s more than worth the effort.”

Starting in Eb major, the piece shifts to G major after the solos and as the chorus enters at 1:52. The footage is from the rehearsals for the 2023 return of the show at London’s Old Vic Theatre.

The Who | I Can See For Miles

“The Who had exactly one top 10 hit in America. It wasn’t ‘My Generation,’ which peaked at #74 here in the States,” (American Songwriter). “‘Substitute” and ‘I’m a Boy’ both reached top five in England and ultimately failed to chart in the U.S. ‘Pictures of Lily,’ #4 in the UK, peaked at #51 here. The one big success? ‘I Can See for Miles,’ which soared all the way to #9 in 1967. All of this to say, you can’t go by the charts alone … The slow start in record sales surprised Pete Townshend, who wrote, ‘(it) wasn’t shooting up the charts as a single, which was a shock to me; I really had expected my masterwork to sweep us to eternal glory.'”

The song is ranked #40 on Dave Marsh’s “The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,” #37 on NME‘s “The Top 100 Singles of All-Time,” and #162 on Pitchfork‘s ‘The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s.’ It was ranked #262 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2010.

Built primarily in E major, the tune shifts up to A major at 2:54. Upon closer listening, the verses are a mix of major and minor, while the choruses remain on the major side of the ledger.

Lisa Stansfield | Little Bit of Heaven

Lisa Stansfield, the northern (UK) lass with a voice that belied her appearance, was (an) integral singer-songwriter storming the charts (in 1989) with her debut album Affection … Over the years, much has been made about Stansfield’s vocals not ‘matching’ her image, whatever that means,” (Albumism). “In reality, one only has to scratch the surface to see that ‘northern’ or ‘blue-eyed’ soul actually has a long standing history in the UK … (it) ultimately began in the ‘60s with British and North American singers like Timi Yuro, The Righteous Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Kiki Dee and of course the legendary Teena Marie. All of them drew inspiration from the sounds of Motown and R&B which heavily influenced their musical style and at times, even their vocals.

Lisa Stansfield was no different. Having spoken of the heavy musical influences throughout her childhood in Northern England with the likes of Barry White (with whom she would later go on to record), Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and of course the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, it was inevitable that these soulful influences would permeate throughout her music … Stansfield was—and still very much is—an originator and Affection, whilst clearly having been influenced by other artists and genres, is unequivocally one of the greatest original debuts to have ever been released.”

After starting in F# major, a downward half-step shift to F major hits at 2:30, just after the launch of an alto sax feature. But at 3:18, we return upward to the original key for the balance of the tune.