People always forget how great a drummer Stevie is.
tvh
· 9 months ago
Screw it - I'm with you: I like the Eagles.
I like your point about the modulation from E to G - it sent me scurrying to have a look. The moment where the key change is somewhat noticeable is during the bridge on the word "tears" where they hit an Am7 (the actual switch to the key of G), which then gets smoothed out by the C - D - G resolution.
But I think I'll shut up now! Great column!
Gigi
· 9 months ago
As a person who has spent the last year and a half reading about Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army (long story), I find that the Sylvers' reference to government surveillance make complete sense. The 1970's were paranoid in the extreme - can you blame them? After Vietnam, Watergate, and Martha Mitchell, folks had no trouble believing that the Man was poking his honky nose into all their bizness. (Deja vu, anyone?)
Maxus
· 9 months ago
Actually, that Am7 (on "tears") is preceded by a F# chord, so harmonically we're already out of the E tonality. The whole thing is perfectly executed, and the trick is that the Am sets us up for a return to the E root chord but then effortlessly lifts into the key of G. You can spot these "passing chords" everywhere from the traditional European hymns through English/Irish/American folk music to the Beatles and Elton John. For a masterclass in modulation, see "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
jefito
· 9 months ago
I can't play an instrument or read music, but I love stuff like this. Write us a series!
jasonhare
· 9 months ago
Agreed!
tvh
· 9 months ago
Good point about the F#7. Would you really say that Am sets up a return to E though, as it doesn't belong to that key either ( A *major* being the IV chord in E)? To me the trick (and it's a good one) is how the Am7 leads to C and D and ultimately to G (a ii - IV - V - I progression into the new tonic).
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: what a study.
A fine discussion!
Maxus
· 9 months ago
My point is that Am7 acts as a dominant and tries to pull us back into E Major. It doesn't belong tonically to E, but look at it in the context of E: The C-note, not belonging in the tonality of E Major, desperately wants to resolve to B. The E wants to stay right where it is. The G and the A pull from two directions to what lies between them, namely the G# which, of course, is the 3d in E. Major conflict all around! Traditionally, we're used to this being resolved to E. But then, and we're on the same page here, the whole thing is resolved in a completely different fashion, by going straight into G Major (and then neatly back out again after a chorus in E Minor). A great piece of songwriting.
DwDunphy
· 9 months ago
The big question is whether the band knew they were doing this when they did it, or whether they were high off their mother-lovin' asses... I agree with Jeff and Jason though. We all love the musical dissection work!
Jack
· 9 months ago
I'm still trying to imagine a world where Elvis Presley took Barbra Steisand up on her offer to play the male lead in "A Star Is Born" (the role of course ultimately went to Kris Kristoferson). Would Elvis have gotten in shape, cut down on all the pills, and finally gotten some respect as an actor?
We'll never know, because he turned it down, ramped up the drugs, and died halfway through the year Barbra's song charted.
Waste.
jabartlett
· 9 months ago
"Hot Line" is fine, but it's no "Boogie Fever." Also, Leo Sayer must be the whitest R&B Grammy winner of all time.
Old_Davy
· 9 months ago
Wow, what a great chart. Only one real stinker in the bunch <cough7cough>. I even kind of like Babs song a bit. It figures it was written in a fit of jealousy. No, you do NOT fuck with Barbra Streisand!!
DwDunphy
· 9 months ago
Dusic sounds like something you insert into an aorta to keep it from collapsing. "Nurse, his heart rate is causing aortic failure! Shove this dusic into that blood-hose, STAT!"
Oh, and once again, Juan Valdez regrets to inform you his hard work was squandered when I spit up my coffee at: "Mom Sylver was not a member of the group, as the stress to her poor vagina rendered her unable to move."
Ray
· 9 months ago
Ahh yes, Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded By The Light". Did these guys have trouble enunciating or what? In addition to the oft-quoted "wrapped up like a douche" line, for years I could have sworn they were singing "... and little early birdie gave my anus curly-whirly and asked me if I needed a ride."
Car Wash definitely a worth chart-topper, unlike its successor whose name shall not be mentioned again. Makes most other dance/funk tunes sound lame by comparison -- even the ones that do not sound absolutely lame.
"Wishing On A Star," on the flip side of Rose Rose's 1979 minor hit "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," is one of my all-time favorite ballads. Too soulful to ever be considered mellow. Compare it to Atlantic Starr's 1987 #1 "Always" and weep. Gwen Dickey/Rose Norwalt had a voice.
All Comments
I like your point about the modulation from E to G - it sent me scurrying to have a look. The moment where the key change is somewhat noticeable is during the bridge on the word "tears" where they hit an Am7 (the actual switch to the key of G), which then gets smoothed out by the C - D - G resolution.
But I think I'll shut up now! Great column!
and the trick is that the Am sets us up for a return to the E root chord but then effortlessly lifts into the key of G. You can spot these "passing chords" everywhere from the traditional European hymns through English/Irish/American folk music to the Beatles and Elton John. For a masterclass in modulation, see "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: what a study.
A fine discussion!
We'll never know, because he turned it down, ramped up the drugs, and died halfway through the year Barbra's song charted.
Waste.
Oh, and once again, Juan Valdez regrets to inform you his hard work was squandered when I spit up my coffee at: "Mom Sylver was not a member of the group, as the stress to her poor vagina rendered her unable to move."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9_3nQFNy-w
"Wishing On A Star," on the flip side of Rose Rose's 1979 minor hit "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," is one of my all-time favorite ballads. Too soulful to ever be considered mellow. Compare it to Atlantic Starr's 1987 #1 "Always" and weep. Gwen Dickey/Rose Norwalt had a voice.