USA – Page 55

Stacie Orrico | (There’s Gotta Be) More to Life

Contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist Stacie Orrico released “her 2000 debut album, Genuine, is a combination of Christian pop with an urban flare and has been compared stylistically to both Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill.” (AllMusic) She has worked with noted CCM artist Michael W. Smith as a producer and served as an opening act for Destiny’s Child. After the pace of the music business led her to take a break and get a restaurant job, she returned in 2007 to release another album.

Orrico’s 2003 single “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life” is “an inspirational mid-tempo number with the chorus ‘There’s gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me,’ (MTV). ‘I think so many times we feel like we’re lacking something in our lives and we try to fill it with the wrong things,’ she explained. ‘Sometimes it’s drugs, sometimes it’s a relationship you shouldn’t be in.'”

Orrico clearly demonstrates the same pop sensibilities of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who are her contemporaries. After a start in F minor, the tune shifts up a half-step at 2:03. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Blitzen Trapper | Don’t Let Me Run

“It has been a challenge keeping up with Portland, Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper over the past two decades,” (American Songwriter). “From their indie rock beginnings through a catalog that includes twisted folk, laid-back West Coast vibes, art-pop, country-tinged sounds, a rock opera and even a children’s album — all with a handful of label changes thrown in — it has been a head-spinning yet never boring ride.” Their album Holy Smokes Future Jokes was released in 2020.

Contributor Galen C., who unearthed this track for us, adds: “Blitzen Trapper has blended genres like rock, folk, blues, country, and psychedelia. Their genre bending is on full display with this song, ‘Don’t Let Me Run,’ which takes the listener for a spin as the song switches style and key from folk-rock to a slight jazz vibe.

At 2:00 the song switches from F major to A# minor for a few seconds; around 2:06 the key changes to G# minor; finally, at 2:11, there’s another shift to E minor, where it remains for the rest of the song.”

The Beach Boys | ‘Til I Die

‘Til I Die” from The Beach Boys’ 1971 album Surf’s Up was “one of the only songs written by Brian (Wilson) for which he wrote the lyrics as well the music, (American Songwriter). “Usually other lyricists, such as Mike Love, Van Dyke Parks and Tony Asher, wrote the words to his songs. This one was inspired by Brian’s confrontation with the immensity of the universe. ‘The ocean was so incredibly vast,’ Brian said, ‘the universe was so large, and suddenly I saw myself in proportion to that, a little pebble of sand, a jellyfish floating on top of the water; traveling with the current I felt dwarfed, temporary. The next day I began writing Til I Die, perhaps the most personal song I ever wrote for The Beach Boys.’

Don Was, (the noted producer), said that Brian told him the chords for the song were created by the way they looked geometrically. ‘He essentially created this masterpiece by contorting his fingers into really groovy shapes (on the piano),’ said Was.”

“‘Til I Die’ is the most personal and revealing track he ever wrote, depicting the troubled young songwriter as … an isolated, helplessly adrift person who will be at the mercy of others ‘until I die,” (Sputnik Music). “Surf’s Up represents desolation and despair, not visceral in nature, but rather submissive to fate and the hell it will bring. Anyone with a basic knowledge of Beach Boys history can connect the dots regarding what this album is representing: the woes of Brian Wilson as his struggles with addiction and depression spiraled to some of their lowest points.”

Dropping right into the first verse without so much as a note of introduction, the tune shifts tonality often, meandering among several keys but never quite finding a home in any of them. At 1:40, a prominent repeating bass vocal part finally provides some grounding for the outro, which is an extended one given the tune’s overall length of only 2:33.

The Brothers Johnson | Stomp

The Brothers Johnson release Light Up the Night “was the album that Quincy Jones produced in late 1979 soon after helming Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall,” (BBC Music). Light Up the Night was a real UK soul radio favourite at the turn of the 80s, as it was another window into bright, shiny Californian sunshine amid the grimness of the early part of that decade. However, (it’s) all really about its lead single, ‘Stomp,’ a truly irresistible piece of post-disco groove. It is as good as the best of anything by their peers, Chic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Rufus. Its killer chorus, well-arranged strings and bass breakdown from Louis Johnson make it one of perennial sounds of a Saturday night.

It was a US R&B #1 and reached #6 in the UK in March 1980 … The Brothers made some more decent albums before splitting in 1982. While Louis Johnson played bass on Thriller (it’s him on ‘Billie Jean’), George played guitar for Steve Arrington; Alex Weir, meanwhile, joined Talking Heads. The Brothers Johnson now reform periodically, but nothing comes close to the glory of this album. The sound of a fun, fertile time is truly captured here.”

The verse, which sounds for all the world like a an extremely funky study of major and minor thirds, starts in G minor; then the pre-chorus, first heard at 0:37, shifts to E minor before that “killer chorus” kicks in at 0:50 with a return to the original key.

Eileen Ivers | Pachelbel’s Frolics

“Eileen Ivers will change the way you think about the violin,” (CapeSymphony.org). “It is a rare and select grade of spectacular artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium. GRAMMY-winning Celtic fiddler Eileen is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion and original musical star of Riverdance. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen has played with the London Symphony Orchestra, Sting, and The Chieftains; performed for presidents and royalty; and is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and World music genres. Her recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores, including Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. Billboard magazine called Eileen a ‘sensation’ and The New York Times called her ‘the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.'”

Ivers’ 2021 track “Pachelbel’s Frolics” is based on Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” (written somewhere between 1680 and 1706). The Canon has since become nothing short of omnipresent, gaining fame for its composer as something of a classical music one hit wonder. But by now the Canon, a victim of its own success, is certainly near the top of many “needs a refresh” lists: “Since the 1970s, the Canon has been played at innumerable weddings, and quite a few funerals … been called upon to underscore: a tribute to baseball hero Ted Williams at Boston’s Fenway Park (2002); a tenth anniversary commemoration of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots … (2002); a renewal of vows at a Grand Forks, ND old-age home where the harpist was over 90 and the cumulative years married totaled 735 (2006); and … a yearly ceremony in which medical students at the University of Minnesota paid final respects to the cadavers they had lately finished dissecting in first-year gross anatomy class (1997).” (Prisoners of Pachelbel: An Essay in Post-Canonic Musicology, Robert Fink).

Ivers provides a refreshing renovation to the Canon by including some well-trodden ground while also welcoming sprightly new melodic ideas, tempo changes, and a wide-ranging tour of various fiddle styles into the vocabulary. An even larger departure is the modulation to the parallel minor from 2:21 – 3:10.

Garbage | I’m Only Happy When It Rains

“Garbage are an iconic, eclectic band that is anything but what their name implies,” (Consequence). “With the music scene awash in a sea of grunge {in the ’90s], Garbage went a different way — and to great effect. This all-star band — with world class producer Bruce ‘Butch’ Vig (Nirvana) at the production helm — has released hit after dynamic hit with an infectious pop sound that belied frequently dark lyrics. They’ve scored a number of Top 10 hits and were even chosen to record a James Bond theme.

Fronting the outfit is the charismatic and irrepressible Shirley Manson from Edinburgh, Scotland. Manson first met up with her three future [American} bandmates in Wisconsin … their self-titled debut came the iconic hit ‘Only Happy When It Rains” (1995) [is] a record that feels as fresh today as it did nearly 30 years ago.”

Starting in G# minor, the track shifts at 0:41 into a chorus that seems a bit off-kilter. On closer inspection, it’s built completely from major chords and (colorless) power chords: C#, G#, A, and B, touching on F# before moving on to the next verse.

Peggy Lee | The Glory of Love

Written by Billy Hill and originally recorded by clarinetist Benny Goodman, “The Glory of Love” has been covered by many artists including The Andrews Sisters, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin and Paul McCartney. Peggy Lee included the song on her 1958 album Jump For Joy, and her cover was recently featured on the Netflix series Dead To Me, which concluded its run earlier this year. There’s a quick modulation from C up to Db at 2:09

Robert Glasper (feat. Ledisi + Gregory Porter) | It Don’t Matter

“Robert Glasper’s 2012 album Black Radio was a groundbreaking collection that combined hip-hop, R&B, jazz and more into a diverse yet cohesive package … (SoulTracks.com). It was justly honored with the Best R&B Album award at the 55th Grammys, recognizing both its ambitiousness and its near flawless execution. It also begat the critically acclaimed Black Radio 2 a year later.”

“Glasper has released two albums of what you might call neo-soul, or maybe organic R&B, featuring a core band (The Robert Glasper Experiment) and guest stars like Erykah Badu, Lupe Fiasco and Norah Jones. Black Radio and last year’s sequel, Black Radio 2, aren’t heard much on ‘urban’ radio, but the point is that they ought to be,” (NPR Music). “Glasper builds his songs with old-school values: singers and MCs who don’t need software to carry a melody, improvising within a band, hand-building beats and vamps with live instruments.”

After a start in Bb major, the bridge of this slow but cutting ballad shifts to Bb minor from 2:50 – 3:24 before reverting to the original key.

Boz Scaggs | Lido Shuffle

“Whoever you are, wherever you are, as you read this sentence, a used vinyl copy of Silk Degrees is sitting in the closest record store to you,” (Pitchfork). “It is not in great condition, and it is not expensive, and it was first owned by someone at a time when a lot of people owned vinyl records—and a lot of those people owned Silk Degrees. There are certain albums that go down so smoothly — inhaling the busy sounds of pop radio and exhaling their own cool, irresistible blend — that they seem to open a permanent slot in the greater public consciousness, sailing like a ship into a harbor in the clouds. Some albums belong to everybody …

If you know Silk Degrees but don’t know much about Boz Scaggs, it is at least partially by design. Before its release, he was largely a critical favorite, first for his contributions to an early, underrated iteration of the Steve Miller Band, and later for the solid if slightly anonymous albums under his own name. Within five years of the release of Silk Degrees, he would retire from the music industry … ” But during its moment, the album secured Scaggs’ place in the varied mix that was late-70s top 40. ” … as it has aged, the album feels increasingly divorced from its moment in pop culture, and its more mysterious qualities—the abstract melancholy of Scaggs’ voice, the late-night twinkle of the band—are what pull you in, making it feel like your own, no matter how many people owned the LP before you did.”

“Lido Shuffle” was recorded in 1975 but not released as a single until 1977. Members of the backup band included David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate, who later became founding members of Toto. The track did well on the pop charts worldwide: #2 in Australia, #5 in Canada, #13 in the UK, and #11 in the US. The verses are in G major, but the choruses shift to Bb major (for the first time at 0:55 before reverting to G for the next verse at 1:31). The layered synth solo (2:47 – 3:14) could be seen as an unlikely tip of the hat to prog rock textures, given the tune’s more traditional horn-driven arrangement — but serves the relentless shuffle groove so well that it all fits like a glove.

Ledisi | What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

This holiday classic, written by Frank Lesser in 1947, was originally recorded by Margaret Whiting and has been covered by dozens of artists since. American singer/songwriter Ledisi included the song on her 2008 album It’s Christmas. It modulates coming out of the guitar solo from Db up to D at 2:16