Tag: USA

Milli Vanilli | Blame It On the Rain

The misrepresentation which surrounded late-80s Munich-based pop artists Milli Vanilli has become legend. In a nutshell, the studio personnel didn’t match the stage personnel … In 1990, the band won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Later, it became the only musical group to ever have the award rescinded; the frontmen were dancers and lipsyncers who’d played no role whatsoever in the creation of the hit album, Girl You Know It’s True (1989).

The album’s title track was the best-known single from the outfit. But another standout single, “Blame It On the Rain,” written by American songwriter Diane Warren, is packed with unprepared, off-kilter modulations:

0:00 | B major intro
0:38 | Bb major verse
1:05 | B major pre-chorus, chorus
1:44 | Bb major verse
2:11 | B major pre-chorus, chorus
2:49 | Ab major bridge
2:57 | C major chorus

With just as much oddness as the key changes, the tune ends suddenly, mid-phrase, on a IV chord. From AllMusic: “It’s hard to imagine why there was such a fuss about an album so transparent, lightweight, and intentionally disposable…But when it comes down to it, this music is so manufactured, it doesn’t sound like anyone is really singing. And that’s what’s sort of cool about it.”

Many thanks to prolific mod scout JB for the submission!

We’re All In This Together (from “High School Musical”)

Recognizing a sentiment that is invoked frequently these days, today we feature “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical (2006). Key changes abound, with the tune modulating by whole step between verses and choruses throughout — 0:25, 0:42, 0:58, 1:36, 1:52, 2:00, 2:33, 2:50.

Boyz II Men | Pass You By

AllMusic.com describes the sound of the remarkable R&B/Soul/Pop vocal quartet Boys II Men: “aching, tremulous harmonies (which) lifted some of the biggest pop hits of the 1990s…According to no less an authority than the RIAA, B2M are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time. They sold ludicrous numbers of records and were involved in three of the longest-running number one pop singles in history, and they did it as a unit of equals.”

“Pass You By” (2000) wasn’t one of those many runaway hits (it reached only #27 on the R&B/Hiphop chart, although it did better in Europe and Australia). The tune nonetheless scored a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. The lush arrangement and raw emotion of the vocals suggests something a little weightier than the average breakup song; the video goes even further in suggesting the onward-and-upward route.

Starting in B minor, the tune builds in intensity through a few verses and choruses. At 2:27, a short bridge arrives, giving way to another chorus at 2:38, ascending upward a full step into C# minor.

Tom Lehrer | We Will All Go Together When We Go

Today we feature a guest post from frequent MotD contributor Jonathan Jharms Harms — Tom Lehrer’s “We Will All Go Together When We Go” (1967).

“Lots of unprepared modulations to communicate the unhinged nature of the song, while still keeping the ‘high propriety’ style intact to mask the insanity. Guess I’m specifically referencing verses 3 and 6. Those two have unnatural unprepared modulations that both evoke military marches and unstable harmonic shifts, but they’re mixed in with more natural 1/2 step increases from verse to verse, a much more normal form of modulation.”

Glen Campbell | By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Glen Campbell’s breakthrough single, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (1967) reached #2 on the US Country charts, #1 on the Canadian Country charts, and #26 on the US pop charts. The tune was written by Jimmy Webb, perhaps best known for writing “MacArthur Park.” The Philadelphia Daily News reported that Frank Sinatra called it “the best torch song ever written.” BMI ranked the tune #20 on its list of Best Songs of the Century. An example of the “Nashville Sound,” also known as “Countrypolitan,” the tune garnered Grammy awards for Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary Male Solo Vocal Performance.

The list of artists who’ve covered the track is nothing short of staggering. A partial list: Isaac Hayes, Anne Murray, Dionne Warwick, Engelbert Humperdinck, Reba McEntire, Nick Cave + the Bad Seeds, and … Sinatra.

F major is in effect until 2:22, when the tune modulates to D Major at the very end, just as Campbell sings the last few words of the lyric.

A Quiet Thing (from “Flora, the Red Menace”)

John Kander & Fred Ebb‘s musical Flora, The Red Menace opened on Broadway in 1965, featuring Liza Minnelli, making her debut on the Great White Way in the title role. While the score overall is not particularly memorable, “A Quiet Thing” stands out as one of Kander & Ebb’s best ballads. Performed here by the late Marin Mazzie. Key change at 1:05.

Seals + Crofts | Hummingbird

“Hummingbird” by the 70s soft-rock duo Seals and Crofts reached #20 (US Pop), #3 (Canada Pop) and #12 (Adult Contemporary) in 1973. According to AllMusic.com, the lyrics quote from the scriptures of the Baha’i faith which the duo shared and features a “segmented structure, with a chant-like opening and a sharp change in tempo, which didn’t stop it from becoming a hit…for all of its beauty, the soaring orchestral accompaniment (highlighted by lofty strings and a gorgeous horn part) never eclipses the core sound of the duo’s singing and their acoustic guitar/mandolin combination.”

An intro in 3/4 transitions between E minor and E major, ending with keening chromatic melody over A major. After transitioning to 4/4 for verses and a chorus alternating between D minor and D major, 3:20 brings a sweeping extended outro, with myriad chords floating over a consistent D pedal-point in the bass. At 3:45, a progression of C Maj | F Min | : E major | A Major : | wraps up the tune as it heads for the horizon.

In a Place of Miracles (from “Hunchback of Notre Dame”)

“In A Place of Miracles” is from, in your humble moderator’s opinion, Alan Menken‘s best score, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show, which premiered in Berlin in 1999 and became one of the city’s longest-running productions, has still not made its way to Broadway. But someday, in a place of miracles, it will. Key change at 1:37.

Eric Reed | Flamenco Sketches

Though post-bop jazz and gospel flavors of his sound have developed over his many solo releases, pianist Eric Reed, a native of Philadelphia, got his first break working with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’ band during the 1980s. Since then, he’s worked with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Cyrus Chesnut, and many other greats.

Starting in C major, “Flamenco Sketches” (2002) cycles through several keys before returning back to C major at 2:05, repeating the cycle again at 3:54 and 5:30. From AllMusic.com’s review: “Reed takes full advantage of the modal basis, building lush chord structures, trills, and tremolo effects on top of each other for a heavy six and a half minutes.”

Bruce Springsteen | Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen’s smash hit “Born to Run” (1975) is another submission from our frequent contributor JB. Addressing the grandiosity of the album’s wall-of-sound approach, AllMusic.com’s review states: “To call (it) overblown is to miss the point; Springsteen‘s precise intention is to blow things up, both in the sense of expanding them to gargantuan size and of exploding them…an intentional masterpiece, it declared its own greatness with songs and a sound that lived up to Springsteen‘s promise, and though some thought it took itself too seriously, many found that exalting.” While the track only hit #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, it’s ranked #21 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is enshrined in the Rock Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

After establishing verses and choruses in E major, a chaotic multi-section bridge starts at 2:12, veering into several keys before touching back down into E major at 3:06 for a final verse, chorus, and an extended outro.