USA – Page 61

Flim + the BBs | On the Avenue

“One of the most popular fusion and light jazz groups to emerge during the 1980s, Flim & the BBs comprised bassist Jimmy “Flim” Johnson, keyboardist Billy Barber, percussionist Billy Berg, and reeds player Dick Oatts. Debuting in 1982 with the album Tricycle, Flim & the BBs’ fusion sound proved ideally suited for the onset of the compact disc boom; they were among the first artists to record utilizing digital technology, and albums like 1985’s Big Notes and 1987’s Neon quickly found a following not only among contemporary jazz fans but also among tech-heads.” (AllMusic). The group continued to release albums until 1992.

In producing 1982’s Tricycle, “because of the ‘direct-to-disc’ setup (recording directly onto a lacquer platter) the band was required to play the entire LP side without stopping and without being able to do any editing afterward. When the resulting acetate disc was deemed inferior in sound quality to the digital master tape, the LP record was pressed from that digital backup tape, making it the second-ever U.S. commercially available digital recording. Since the machine used was a one-of-a-kind prototype, built before any digital recording standards were established — and dismantled within months — there is currently no way to reissue that first album on either LP or CD.” (from Tricycle‘s liner notes).

“On the Avenue,” built around a swaggering reggae-tinged groove and what appears to be an excellent sense of humor among the band, starts in G minor. At 2:29, a section that sounds an awful lot like a second intro shifts up to Ab, despite the saxophone’s lower register making the modulation feel more like a descending one. 3:35 brings a suddenly groove-less bridge and a shift of tonality to F# mixolydian; 3:49 brings another change, this time to D minor. 4:02 returns to G minor, as well as the groove.

for JB

Tommy James | I Think We’re Alone Now

Tommy James, along with his band, The Shondells, scored a Billboard #4 in 1967 with the just-over-2-minutes bubblegum rocker “I Think We’re Alone Now”. The song, written by Ritchie Cordell (who also co-wrote another Shondells hit, “Mony Mony”), stuck to one key throughout.

Over 50 years later, in 2019, James reprised the song on his album Alive, featuring only acoustic guitar and background vocals, and a much slower tempo. Missing in this version are the percussive “heartbeats” from the original, perhaps because at this tempo, they would be suggestive of brachycardia. James’ voice, perhaps sweetened by a touch of autotune, is really the highlight here.

The song starts in A; in addition to some subtle re-harmonization here and there, it features an elegant modulation to C at 2:18.

Home Free | Elvira (feat. The Oak Ridge Boys)

“While working on their new album of classic country covers — Country Evolution (2015),” the a cappella ensemble Home Free decided to cover The Oak Ridge Boys’ “defining 1981 hit ‘Elvira,'” (Rolling Stone). The kicker: Home Free collaborated with the song’s originators on the track. “’Once we got together as a group, there was a magic happening among the nine of us that just exploded…’

The result is an ‘Elvira’ that … maintains the cadence of the Oaks’ recording, but adds modern-day flourishes, thanks to Home Free’s beat-box singer Adam Rupp.” Home Free has been awarded “the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.”

After the initial surprise of “a capella + country” starts to wear off, there’s a half-step key change at 1:03; at 2:02, another modulation hits (this time a whole step). At 2:29, there’s a shift to the parallel minor for a brief bridge before a jubilant return to major at 2:40. Many thanks to first-time contributor Joya M. for submitting this track!

Michael Bolton | When a Man Loves a Woman

Written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, “When a Man Loves a Woman” was originally recorded by singer R&B singer Percy Sledge in 1966 and became his biggest hit. Michael Bolton included a cover of the tune on his 1991 album Time, Love & Tenderness, winning a Grammy for the track and making it the seventh tune reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 as recorded by multiple artists.

The song begins in Db and directly modulates up a half step to D at 2:04.

Martin Luther | A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (arr. Don Hart + David Wesley)

“No hymn is identified with the Protestant Reformation more than Martin Luther’s ‘A Mighty Fortress,’ (UMCDiscipleship.org). Luther (1483-1546) left a body of congregational songs that both defined the Lutheran confessional tradition and became truly ecumenical in influence … In addition to skills as a writer, translator and preacher, Luther was an amateur musician. His thirty-seven hymns stand alongside his theological writings and his translation of the Bible into German as testaments of his creativity and intellectual ability.

United Methodist Hymnal editor Carlton R. Young summarizes well Luther’s contribution to hymnody: he ‘wrote several original hymns and melodies, revised many Latin hymns to German texts set to adaptations of plainsong and folk melodies, and encouraged the composition of new texts and rhythmic hymn melodies. His 37 hymns and paraphrase are cast in simple, plain, and sometimes rough phrases and striking metaphors, qualities that are for the most part lost in English translations.’ Over 100 English-language versions of Luther’s hymn exist.”

An excellent example of the virtual/online choir trend which grew exponentially during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the contemporary arrangement for chorus, piano, brass, and percussion shifts up a whole step at 2:56.

Taylor Swift | Mr. Perfectly Fine

“Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream,” (AllMusic). “Others have performed similar moves — notably, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work — but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse.”

Originally released in 2008 on the album Fearless, “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is just one of the many tunes which Swift has re-recorded recently. After her original masters were sold in a way she deeply disagreed with, she decided to re-record and re-release her earlier material: “If she couldn’t own the rights to the recordings that made her one of the most successful musical artists of all time, at least she could undercut their value and present her loyal fan base with a way to enjoy that music without benefitting her nemeses,” (Stereogum). Billboard‘s ranking of the 50 best songs of 2021 included the tune as #46: “vintage Taylor Swift that still feels fresh in 2021.”

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” features a short instrumental interlude at 2:43; a bridge follows at 2:56 which tapers off to the point where the groove drops out altogether. The full texture returns with a bang at 3:45, along with a full-step modulation. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for sending in this song!

It’s a Great Big World (from “The Harvey Girls”)

“A group of refined waitresses for a chain of railroad-station restaurants in New Mexico are sent out to tame the wild and woolly West in the 19th century, but encounter some resistance in the form of a saloon owner, a corrupt judge and a local madam,” (TV Guide). “Featuring the Oscar-winning song ‘On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe.'”

“The Harvey Girls was MGM’s big-budget Technicolor musical follow-up to Meet Me In St. Louis (in between the two Judy filmed her first dramatic role in The Clock as well as her one-scene guest appearance in Ziegfeld Follies),” (TheJudyRoom). “It was based on the 1942 Samuel Hopkins Adams novel of the same name, which was inspired by the real-life ‘Harvey Girls,’ the waitresses who were employed by the Harvey chain of restaurants (still in existence today) placed along the route of the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. The Harvey Girls became one of Judy’s (and MGM’s) biggest musical hits of the 1940s, winning the Oscar for Best Song (‘On The Atchison, Topeka, and The Santa Fe’) and earning a spot on Variety’s list of ‘all-time box office hits.’

“It’s a Great Big World,” a fast but gentle waltz, serves as a feature for several of the musical’s lead characters. It shifts up a half-step at 2:53. Many thanks to our regular contributor Jamie A. for this submission!

Adele | Don’t You Remember

“Don’t You Remember” is the fourth track on Adele’s 2011 album 21, which traces her grief after a break-up. This track marks a shift from anger and defensiveness to reflection and heartbreak. “”You know when you forget why you loved someone?” Adele said in an interview with The Sun discussing the song’s meaning. “I was just thinking about how my entire body would just shiver if my ex touched me to say hello. It’s sad when you can’t remember why you loved someone.” The album was the best-selling record of the 2010s decade.

The track begins in Eb and briefly shifts up to F near the end at 3:16.

Redwood | Time to Get Alone

Although also recorded by the Beach Boys, the band Redwood (later to become Three Dog Night) recorded Brian Wilson’s tune “Time to Get Alone” in 1967. Danny Hutton, one of Three Dog Night’s vocalists, recalls the recording session in the book Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece:

“‘ … there’s something that sounds like this big, distorted, smooth guitar sound, and it’s just a little piano played through a blown speaker that I had at my house. Then I remember Brian calling in the string section. [Brian’s sister-in-law] Diane Rovell called them in at the last minute, and some of them still had their tuxedos on. Brian was thoroughly in control of those guys … he was sitting there, talking to me, while they were doing a take, and he stops and says, Hold it, Danny. Hey, viola! The second chair … you’re flat on that C. He not only heard a bad note; he knew which guy did it.’”

Redwood’s version and the Beach Boys’ subsequent 1968 version have some similarities and some differences, but anyone who’s heard Three Dog Night will recognize the overall textures of that band immediately. Wilson’s compositional sense, however, is so strong that it remains paramount throughout. At 1:31, there’s a shift from D major to C major.

More detail about the collaboration between Wilson and Redwood/Three Dog Night, directly from Hutton’s recollections:

The Sylvers | Boogie Fever

“Among the more popular family acts on the ’70s R&B circuit, Memphis’ Sylvers (featured) no less than nine of the ten brothers and sisters in the family … the group was viewed as a Southern version of the Jackson 5,” (AllMusic). “Bassist James Jamerson came up with the ‘Boogie Fever’ bassline, and he clearly based it on the riff from the Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper,'” (StereoGum). “If it was anyone else biting ‘Day Tripper,’ the various ex-Beatles might’ve had some reason to get annoyed. But all through the ’60s, Jamerson was the bassist for the Funk Brothers, the legendary Motown session band. For years, Jamerson did fascinating, inventive things with his instrument. And Paul McCartney paid close attention; McCartney’s bass work on the Beatles’ mid-’60s music carries a clear and pronounced Jamerson influence. So if James Jamerson wanted to use the ‘Day Tripper’ riff for a bubblegum disco jam about a boogieing pandemic, nobody was going to stop him.

And ‘Boogie Fever’ (1976) really is top-shelf bubblegum disco. (Songwriter and producer Freddie) Perren manages to capture a whole lot of the magic he had with the early Jackson 5 … But Perren also updates that sound, adding in a relentless disco pulse that fits it nicely … but the real joy is in hearing all those different siblings layering up intricate, joyous harmony lines all over that beat. Because there are so many of them, they become a whole massed choir, breaking into little subgroups and then coming back together to yelp out the song’s title … “

This performance from 1970s/1980s late-night TV staple The Midnight Special seems to feature energy-to-burn live vocals (not lip synching) as well as a live band(?) After a start in F major, a bridge shifts up to G major at 1:32 – 1:46 and again from 2:26 – 2:39.