Tag: UK

Jeff Beck | You Know, We Know

In its review of Jeff Beck’s Flash, Rolling Stone ranks it as “one of Beck’s best ever, a record of awesome guitar prowess and startling commercial daring. It is also irrefutable proof that his kind of flash never goes out of fashion.”

Trading on the huge cachet he’d built up during the 1960s and 1970s with garden variety music fans and tech-obsessed guitarists alike, Beck rested on his laurels a bit in the 80s: 1985’s Flash was his first release in five years. His work with The Yardbirds in the late 60s was legendary, but “while he was as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix,” explains AllMusic, “Jeff Beck never achieved the same commercial success as any of those contemporaries, primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career. After Rod Stewart left the Jeff Beck Group in 1971, Beck never worked with a charismatic lead singer who could have helped sell his music to a wide audience. Furthermore, he was simply too idiosyncratic, moving from heavy metal to jazz fusion within a blink of an eye … releasing only one album during the course of the ’90s. All the while, Beck retained the respect of fellow guitarists, who found his reclusiveness all the more alluring.”

“You Know, We Know,” the closing track of Flash, is based on a simple hook. After an intro in C major, the hook is first stated at 0:33, along with a rasping unprepared modulation to C# minor. Another jarring key change to D minor drops at 4:35. The mid-80s production fingerprint of Chic’s Nile Rogers, catching perhaps the most synth-centric sound of the entire decade, couldn’t be clearer on this track. Robert Christgau’s snarky review gave the album a B grade, opining that Beck “turns in the best LP of his pathologically spotty career by countenancing Rodgers’ production on five tracks. So what do we have here? We have half a good Nile Rodgers album, more or less.”

Sting | Sister Moon

Derived from Shakespeare’s Sonnet #130, the title of Sting’s second solo album …Nothing Like the Sun (1987) doesn’t appear as the title of one of the album’s songs, but rather only as a lyric in the tune “Sister Moon,” the tenth of twelve tracks.

In an interview with Spin, Sting noted that the album was the first which he’d recorded in all-digital format — a novelty at the time: “Although recording digitally was difficult and kind of alienating, it allowed me more flexibility in terms of arrangement … and that drove me crazy. I could change the key, add whole sections to the song when it was already finished, change the tempo, everything. But basically I knew there was a core in each song that worked that you couldn’t destroy.” Q Magazine‘s review of the album focused on the artist’s growing maturity after his years of rock/reggae/pop with the Police and a debut solo album from two years earlier: “It’s a measure of what makes solo Sting special that after so many years in the hype machine, living a lifestyle based on god only knows what riches in the bank, he has finally found the will and the voice to sing simply and affectingly … “

This 2021 performance of “Sister Moon” was recorded remotely for the Sanborn Sessions, an echo of host David Sanborn’s groundbreaking 1980s music TV series Night Music. The tune begins in F# melodic minor, with plenty of emphasis on the natural 7th degree of the tonic chord. 2:02 brings a shift to A# minor at the chorus, but at 2:25, we return to F# minor well before the chorus ends.

Adam Ant | Goody Two Shoes

The Guardian proclaims that in 1980, Adam and the Ants “were a riot of makeup, feathers, tribal drums and surf guitars – and, for a spectacular moment, they became the biggest band in the UK.” But by 1982, the flashy glam-fueled New Wave band probably best known for 1981’s “Stand and Deliver,” had largely disbanded. Frontman Adam Ant “cast around for a new angle,” reports FreakyTrigger. “It was a moment in pop history when sudden changes of image and sound were respectable – even expected for some stars. Compared to today’s performers who tend to cover bandwagon-jumping with a figleaf of artistic intent, there was a refreshing honesty about this pursuit of a new look for a new season: pop and fashion were merging in a blare of colour.”

The tune went to #1 in the UK and Australia; top 5 in Canada, Germany and Ireland; and top 20 in Belgium the Netherlands, and the US.

Regular contributor Kent adds to his submission: “Not only it its entire ‘verse’ a simple cycle of tonic, supertonic, subtonic (which is already disquieting if your ear is trying to settle on the key), but it migrates through through other keys before returning to the original (A, 0:00; D, 1:56; B, 2:15; C, 2:25; A, 2:35)!”

Don Broco | One True Prince

UK rock band Don Broco‘s “One True Prince” is a single from its forthcoming album Amazing Things, scheduled for release in September 2021.

IndieIsNotAGenre details lead singer Rob Damiani’s thoughts on the track: “‘(it’s) about finding comfort in the fact that whatever you’re going through and however bad it may feel, nothing lasts forever. In these moments I try to remind myself how insignificant I am. Just one person amongst billions, on a rock orbiting a dying star, in a universe that will eventually implode on itself.’ … Amazing Things is the band’s fourth album, and follows the release of 2018’s Technology, which was a Top 5 album in the UK charts upon release … “

After starting in C major, the track dies down to a quiet grooveless interlude from 2:39 – 3:05, but then returns in the same key at full power at 3:12. The shift to a Db Lydian scale drops like a 10-ton anchor on dry land — in the middle of a phrase, no less — at 3:25.

The Jam | English Rose

“In May 1977, a three-piece rock group from Woking appeared on Top of the Pops. You can see what happened on YouTube: the presenter announcing an ‘effervescent new 45 called In The City, and the 140 seconds of wonderment that followed,” recalls The Jam’s website. “The song fizzed with the energy and sense of purpose that was firing what had been called punk and was now mutating into New Wave, but it had a lot more: a melodic charge – as in the glorious opening riff – that betrayed its makers’ love of classic British pop, and the clear sense that the band’s main creative force was already thinking like an accomplished songwriter. Between 1977 and 1982, the band released an incredible array of music. In the UK, there were five albums and 17 singles, a stack of number 1s, and a journey which encompassed no end of influences, styles, and textures.”

The punk/New Wave/mod revivalist band was best known for hard-edged, uptempo rave-ups like the debut album title track, but also for more reserved, carefully constructed New Wave songsmithing like 1981’s “That’s Entertainment” (listed by BBC 2 radio as the 43rd best song ever released by any artist) and the UK #1 hit “A Town Called Malice.” But its spare acoustic ballad, “English Rose” (1978) shows a different side of the band, with the extra weight of invoking England’s national flower and one of the nation’s most venerated symbols. The tune was written by band member Paul Weller, who later continued his success with the soul-inflected band The Style Council, founded just as The Jam lost steam in 1982.

The track modulates up a half-step at 1:39, propelled by many unexpected inversions along the way. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for identifying this mod in the wild!

Gentle Giant | Free Hand

“Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-’70s to break out of their cult-band status,” AllMusic reports, “but they somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing.”

Going into detail on the tune “Free Hand,” released in 1975, AllMusic continues: “The title track stands out as one of Gentle Giant’s most completed efforts, with every aspect of their music coming into play … Derek Shulman’s jittery vocals offer up an erratic Jethro Tull-like resemblance throughout … Hectic and stirring yet well-controlled, “Free Hand” is one of the finest examples of Gentle Giant’s industrious progressive style, and the song serves as one of the band’s last wholehearted efforts before they lost their experimental edge.”

The track starts with an archetypical prog rock intro, falling into place with a deceptive gentleness. At 0:33, we land in F# minor; verse 1 sets us up with a strong 4/4 at 0:41. At 0:59, there’s a chaotic interlude in D# minor-ish, leading back to another verse 2 in F# minor at 1:11. At 1:28, a chaotic interlude leads into a new section at 1:37: the wheels start to fall off with a displaced verse 3, following the original melodic shape of the others but placed in what sounds like G mixolydian mode, in alternating bars of 4/4 and 3/4.

At 1:51, we have an all-bets-are-off instrumental interlude in 6/4, or 12/8 if you prefer. At 2:31, we’re briefly out of the rapids with another verse in F# minor. At 2:48, there’s a sign that reads ‘Beyond Here There Be Dragons,” with a vast multi-section, multi-meter, multi-key instrumental interlude. At 5:14, we’re back to the verse structure, again in F# minor. 6:09 brings us to a hilariously short, tongue-in-cheek mini-outro, given all of the sturm und drang which preceded it: a tiny version of the “chaotic interlude” originally heard at 0:59.

Our always-vigilant mod scout JB is responsible for this submission. We might thank him later for this one, but we need a stiff drink first.

Astral Drive | Onebiglove

Phil Thornalley is known as a co-writer (along with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) of Natalie Imbruglia‘s international smash single “Torn.” The tune reached #2 on the UK Singles chart in 1997, led airplay around the world, and maintained a #1 position on the Billboard Airplay chart for 14 weeks. Thornalley, a UK native, is also known for his early-80s stint as a producer — and for a time, the bassist — for The Cure. In various production roles, he also worked with several other bands, including Duran Duran, Prefab Sprout, Graham Parker, and XTC.

In an interview for Sound on Sound magazine, Thornalley examined his place in the music ecosystem: “My natural inclination has always been to make pop. Having had such success with Natalie, I suddenly was a pop writer and producer, and I’m not unhappy about that at all. The artists that I worked with … all have their own artistic voice, but I don’t think I ever had that. I’m not ashamed to say that. I have always felt that I am a craftsman: I like to make things. Some people know how to make a chair or a table, and if someone comes to me with a request to make something in music, I go: ‘Oh, yes, I know how to do that.’ Of course I respect artists: my biggest influence is Todd Rundgren; but I’m not an artist or protest singer.” Despite Thornalley’s modesty, ArkansasOnline‘s review of his 2018 release (as Astral Drive) suggests that the work indeed rises to the level of art: “Astral Drive feels dreamy and pre-punk, shot through with sunshine with just a hint of melancholy. It’s sonic virtual reality, something you can get lost in. It transports. It connects. And so it succeeds.” The 2021 release, while distinct from the Astral Drive debut, operates on or near the same axis.

The 2021 track “OneBigLove” features a gentle intro built on compelling yet ambiguous compound chords, a regular feature of the Rundgren liturgy. At 0:15, now firmly in A minor, the verse features an insistent eighth-note groove with a prominent sub-V Bb major kick at 0:24, just in case you weren’t paying full attention yet. At 1:03, an early syncopated start to the lead vocal line opens a trapdoor into the next verse, this time in B minor. We can’t locate liner notes, but longtime Rundgren bandmate, Utopia co-vocalist, songwriter, and free-range bassist Kasim Sulton has collaborated on recent Astral Drive tracks and his distinctive tenor seems to be in strong evidence on backing vocals. During a mini-bridge starting at 2:06, the groove falls away, but returns again at 2:17 as the key shifts to C# minor. The long fade, more than 30 seconds, suggests that this track was a party that nobody wanted to bring to an end.

Many thanks to our stalwart mod scout JB for this submission!

Pretenders | Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely

The single “Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely” was released in the spring of 2020 as part of the album Hate For Sale, Pretenders’ eleventh studio album. Frontwoman and songwriter Chrissie Hynde co-wrote tracks for the album with guitarist James Walbourne, a first for the Hynde: “I wanted to write with him since day one. James is especially sought after and has recorded with Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Gahan, and The Rails, to name but a few,” Rockpit reports. The comic book-inspired video for the tune was produced entirely during COVID lockdown.

Starting in C major, the tune features not only the usual I/IV/V rock chords, but also plenty of bVIIs. That addition becomes a fulcrum — the V of the new key — when the tune jumps up to Eb major at 2:02.

Many thanks to our distinguished frequent contributor JB for this submission!

Garbage | Breaking Up the Girl

“The voice and mind behind 90s alt-rock anthems ‘Happy When it Rains’, ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘Supervixen’ hates talking about individual songs, or the meaning of lyrics, or what makes this or that tune a good single,” The Guardian reports.

Despite becoming a “tough-talking, smart-mouthed, big-boot-wearing icon to a generation,” Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson, an Edinburgh native, has often had trouble with the business side of the music business. ‘When we first started out, we were signed to an indie label. We had a lot of freedom. Then we got sold like a commodity to a record label that did not give a flying fuck about our music or our career or us as people. And it was a nightmare. They had all these corporate expectations about us. We didn’t care if we weren’t the biggest band in the world! But to this record label, if you’re not the biggest band in the world, then you’re worthless. I just do not adhere to that principle.’ All the artists she loves, from Patti Smith to Siouxsie Sioux, ‘didn’t sell anything.'”

2001’s “Breaking Up the Girl” features plenty of the pristine, highly-produced wall-of-sound textures for which the band is famous. The video — which looks to have been shot in a computer chip manufacturer’s clean room with the aid of a robotic arm — is also standard fare for the band’s singularly stark visual aesthetic. At 2:33, the dense groove falls entirely away, clearing the stage for a whole-step modulation before rebuilding itself for a final iteration of the hook at 3:08.