Adam & The Ants - "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (1980)
Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard. Not as big a mouthful as Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, but I think we can forgive him for wanting a stage name.
Interesting song, You've got African style drums, masquerading as Native American drums. You've got guitars that are twangy, so they evoke the country sound and more specifically, the western movie genre sound. then you've got war whoops and lyrics about family, nobility, war cries and 'redskins'. Not exactly politically correct, but for a British band from the 80s gosh darn it they were trying to bring attention to something. They actually used two drummers on this album, one of whom, Chris Hughes, produced the record. The whole guitar sound, crashing down loudly over the drums makes this track much louder and impressive than I expected going into a track from the band before Adam Ant went solo.
So a little history on that. Adam & The Ants were founded in 1977 and had some minor success live, while never achieving much success on record sales. In January of 1980 the band's manager Malcolm McLaren (who had managed the Sex Pistols) convinced the whole band, minus vocalist Adam Ant, to quit and be the basis for a new band, Bow Wow Wow, to be fronted by a 14 year old girl that his friend had seen in a dry cleaner. Adam put together a new band, recorded a new album, and released Kings of the Wild Frontier, a big hit. Just two years later he went solo as Adam Ant, but continued to work with guitarist Marco Pirroni as a co-songwriter.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
"Dub Be Good to Me"
Beats International - "Dub Be Good to Me" (1990)
"You brought two too many."
This is a late night summer track. This is an end of the night "who are you going home with tonight" track. Sung by a woman imploring a player to stay with her tonight but not really trying to force the issue for any longer than the night. Written by Norman Cook, six years before he became known the world over as Fatboy Slim. It's based on a well known Reggae fusion song by The Clash and a lesser known song from U.S. R&B act S.O.S. Band. "Just Be Good to Me" was written and produced by 80s and 90s hit-makers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, so it has been covered and used in samples by acts as diverse as Mariah Carey and 2Pac. Rather than sample this song, Cook had singer Lindy Layton record the vocals with a little more bounce, to fit with the Reggae style Dub track he imagined. Two more major elements finish off the song. The harmonica comes from the soundtrack to the film Once Upon a Time in the West. The spoken word bit is Johnny Dynell from his 1983 track "Jam Hot". The whole album this is on, Let Them Eat Bingo, and in fact the whole point of Beats International was so that Norman Cook could combine samples he liked in order to create new songs. Much like Girl Talk does now, but with longer samples. The only part of the song I can't find reference to existing previously is the trombone solo that starts in the last thirty seconds of the song. I don't know who it is, but three years after this album, and still a few years from becoming Fatboy Slim, Cook started another band called Freak Power with a trombonist named Ashley Slater and I'm willing to guess it's him.
So despite the fact it's plunderphonics, or perhaps because it's Fatboy Slim before he was famous, the song has been covered. Dido sings the hook on the version by Faithless; Lilly Allen sings the hook on the adaptation by Professor Green. The most original (and by no means best) cover is the acoustic thing The Ting Tings do live. Without the reggae bass from The Clash it just doesn't do much for me, but I do respect the limb they are going out on.
"You brought two too many."
This is a late night summer track. This is an end of the night "who are you going home with tonight" track. Sung by a woman imploring a player to stay with her tonight but not really trying to force the issue for any longer than the night. Written by Norman Cook, six years before he became known the world over as Fatboy Slim. It's based on a well known Reggae fusion song by The Clash and a lesser known song from U.S. R&B act S.O.S. Band. "Just Be Good to Me" was written and produced by 80s and 90s hit-makers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, so it has been covered and used in samples by acts as diverse as Mariah Carey and 2Pac. Rather than sample this song, Cook had singer Lindy Layton record the vocals with a little more bounce, to fit with the Reggae style Dub track he imagined. Two more major elements finish off the song. The harmonica comes from the soundtrack to the film Once Upon a Time in the West. The spoken word bit is Johnny Dynell from his 1983 track "Jam Hot". The whole album this is on, Let Them Eat Bingo, and in fact the whole point of Beats International was so that Norman Cook could combine samples he liked in order to create new songs. Much like Girl Talk does now, but with longer samples. The only part of the song I can't find reference to existing previously is the trombone solo that starts in the last thirty seconds of the song. I don't know who it is, but three years after this album, and still a few years from becoming Fatboy Slim, Cook started another band called Freak Power with a trombonist named Ashley Slater and I'm willing to guess it's him.
So despite the fact it's plunderphonics, or perhaps because it's Fatboy Slim before he was famous, the song has been covered. Dido sings the hook on the version by Faithless; Lilly Allen sings the hook on the adaptation by Professor Green. The most original (and by no means best) cover is the acoustic thing The Ting Tings do live. Without the reggae bass from The Clash it just doesn't do much for me, but I do respect the limb they are going out on.
Friday, May 11, 2012
"Stayin' Alive"
Bee Gees - "Stayin' Alive" (1977)
I hate this song. It's so damn good.
Seriously though, this is not my kind of music, but aside from the fact that the drum is a loop from another song on the same album ("Night Fever") what is it exactly that I don't like? Well, the guitar solos are repetitive, and I'm not a huge fan of falsetto, but I find it acceptable in other songs. So I guess it really is just the association with one of the worst flash in the pan genres of modern music. So let's take away the drums, and listen to it as if it wasn't one of the most well known disco songs ever written.
The Gibb brothers are songwriters. First and foremost they tell great stories in a few minutes with well crafted lyrics. Their early numbers include a poignant song about miners talking together trapped underground, a soul ballad written for Otis Redding who died before he could record it, and eventually they became known for quiet contemplative songs like "Words", "I Started a Joke", and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". They wrote story songs and folk songs and were well regarded if not huge sellers. They actually wrote "Stayin' Alive" on acoustic guitars, and successfully told a story of inner-city struggle and the release of hitting the club on a weekend. What else works in this song? The harmonies are tight as can be. There's not half a dozen men alive who could have hit any of those notes, much less pulled them together into a three part harmony. Then they used a surprisingly live sounding keyboard to do the horn and string sections, so rather than sounding fake and electronic, it sounds like there are a dozen musicians adding layers to this track, instead of (as best as I can tell) just Blue Weaver playing all of that great backing instrumentation on his keyboard. So we've got a looped drum sample (which would became a staple of the disco genre), some repetitive so-so (and beloved) guitar work, vocals that I both respect and don't really love, a great keyboardist faking a larger group of musicians and a good story. So how does a song with this much balancing back and forth between I respect it and I can't stand it get me to say it's damn good?
Maurice Gibb on Bass. Often overlooked in favor of his good looking lead singing brother Barry or his interesting looking lead singing lead brother Robin, Maurice sang a lot of backup, and played a lot of instruments through the years, but on this track his bass holds the song together. The drums are mechanical, walking to a metronome doesn't make John Travolta, it's the funk and soul in the bass that made this song, that made the scene that made the movie.
I hate this song. It's so damn good.
Seriously though, this is not my kind of music, but aside from the fact that the drum is a loop from another song on the same album ("Night Fever") what is it exactly that I don't like? Well, the guitar solos are repetitive, and I'm not a huge fan of falsetto, but I find it acceptable in other songs. So I guess it really is just the association with one of the worst flash in the pan genres of modern music. So let's take away the drums, and listen to it as if it wasn't one of the most well known disco songs ever written.
The Gibb brothers are songwriters. First and foremost they tell great stories in a few minutes with well crafted lyrics. Their early numbers include a poignant song about miners talking together trapped underground, a soul ballad written for Otis Redding who died before he could record it, and eventually they became known for quiet contemplative songs like "Words", "I Started a Joke", and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". They wrote story songs and folk songs and were well regarded if not huge sellers. They actually wrote "Stayin' Alive" on acoustic guitars, and successfully told a story of inner-city struggle and the release of hitting the club on a weekend. What else works in this song? The harmonies are tight as can be. There's not half a dozen men alive who could have hit any of those notes, much less pulled them together into a three part harmony. Then they used a surprisingly live sounding keyboard to do the horn and string sections, so rather than sounding fake and electronic, it sounds like there are a dozen musicians adding layers to this track, instead of (as best as I can tell) just Blue Weaver playing all of that great backing instrumentation on his keyboard. So we've got a looped drum sample (which would became a staple of the disco genre), some repetitive so-so (and beloved) guitar work, vocals that I both respect and don't really love, a great keyboardist faking a larger group of musicians and a good story. So how does a song with this much balancing back and forth between I respect it and I can't stand it get me to say it's damn good?
Maurice Gibb on Bass. Often overlooked in favor of his good looking lead singing brother Barry or his interesting looking lead singing lead brother Robin, Maurice sang a lot of backup, and played a lot of instruments through the years, but on this track his bass holds the song together. The drums are mechanical, walking to a metronome doesn't make John Travolta, it's the funk and soul in the bass that made this song, that made the scene that made the movie.
Monday, April 9, 2012
"Confide in Me"
Kylie Minogue - "Confide in Me" (1994)
One of the biggest stars in the world. In the US, she's damn near a one hit wonder, and this isn't it.
The strings kind of have a Middle East/Indian sound, as understood and transcribed by Western ears. The guitars sound like a mix of guitar and sitar, and are in fact from The Doors "The End". The drums are a murky mix of bass drum, snare drum and rarely used cymbals. There is no drummer or percussionist listed in the liner notes, so we have to assume that it's all a drum machine programmed by songwriters and producers Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman. Owain Barton is listed as a songwriter on the track, because he write a song called "It's a Fine Day" for a band called Jane in 1983. The song was covered by Opus III in 1992 and became a top 5 hit in the U.K. and a #1 US Dance Club hit. Barton complained that the string parts on "Confide in Me" sounded like the melody of "It's a Fine Day" and so his name was added.
The piano opening, and Minogue's voice kind of make the song a breathy torch number. Combining all of the elements, I think the song sounds like a perfect Bond theme song. Listen to "Goldeneye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), and "Die another Day" (2002) and tell me that if they turned the vocals up just a touch on Kylie Minogue that "Confide in Me" wouldn't have made a better theme song than any of them.
One of the biggest stars in the world. In the US, she's damn near a one hit wonder, and this isn't it.
The strings kind of have a Middle East/Indian sound, as understood and transcribed by Western ears. The guitars sound like a mix of guitar and sitar, and are in fact from The Doors "The End". The drums are a murky mix of bass drum, snare drum and rarely used cymbals. There is no drummer or percussionist listed in the liner notes, so we have to assume that it's all a drum machine programmed by songwriters and producers Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman. Owain Barton is listed as a songwriter on the track, because he write a song called "It's a Fine Day" for a band called Jane in 1983. The song was covered by Opus III in 1992 and became a top 5 hit in the U.K. and a #1 US Dance Club hit. Barton complained that the string parts on "Confide in Me" sounded like the melody of "It's a Fine Day" and so his name was added.
The piano opening, and Minogue's voice kind of make the song a breathy torch number. Combining all of the elements, I think the song sounds like a perfect Bond theme song. Listen to "Goldeneye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), and "Die another Day" (2002) and tell me that if they turned the vocals up just a touch on Kylie Minogue that "Confide in Me" wouldn't have made a better theme song than any of them.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
"State of Independence"
Donna Summer - "State of Independence" (1982)
Donna Summer was the first artist signed to Geffen records when it was founded in 1980.
Between Donna Summer's Disco Queen era, with hits like "Love to Love You Baby" and "Last Dance"; and her 80s New Wave/Dance hit "She Works Hard for the Money", there were a few albums that could almost be called experimental. 1982s Donna Summer was produced by Quincey Jones, and had elements of soul, traditional R&B, and world music."State of Independence" was a cover of a song by progressive electronica act Jon and Vangelis. Quincy Jones picked the song to be on the album, and recruited a choir of friends in the industry to sing back up. Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder were among the vocal talent on the track.
The song has got a funky bass track, odd keyboard sounds, vocoder-style electronically processed vocals, chanting, a flute sound, Summer doing a weird Caribbean/African accent, and the star choir already mentioned. How does this all come together? Well, I will tell you that listening it, you will feel like you are watching the end credits of an 80s movie. Something uplifting like Iron Eagle but not as action oriented. Maybe the story of a African man who came to America, started working in the copy room, learned English, taught everyone around him how to lead a better life and take it a little easier. He would also help two young White people realize that they are in love and that they should get married despite her parents dislike of the young man. Along the way, a wacky hi-jinks situation would occur, possibly involving the young white man, his girlfriend's father, and the hero at a dance club and women that want to sleep with them all, but none of them do. At the end of the movie, our African hero would decide to go home and take the money he earned to go make his country a better place. That sounds just like an 80s movie to me. And this is the song that would play at the end of the credits.
Donna Summer was the first artist signed to Geffen records when it was founded in 1980.
Between Donna Summer's Disco Queen era, with hits like "Love to Love You Baby" and "Last Dance"; and her 80s New Wave/Dance hit "She Works Hard for the Money", there were a few albums that could almost be called experimental. 1982s Donna Summer was produced by Quincey Jones, and had elements of soul, traditional R&B, and world music."State of Independence" was a cover of a song by progressive electronica act Jon and Vangelis. Quincy Jones picked the song to be on the album, and recruited a choir of friends in the industry to sing back up. Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder were among the vocal talent on the track.
The song has got a funky bass track, odd keyboard sounds, vocoder-style electronically processed vocals, chanting, a flute sound, Summer doing a weird Caribbean/African accent, and the star choir already mentioned. How does this all come together? Well, I will tell you that listening it, you will feel like you are watching the end credits of an 80s movie. Something uplifting like Iron Eagle but not as action oriented. Maybe the story of a African man who came to America, started working in the copy room, learned English, taught everyone around him how to lead a better life and take it a little easier. He would also help two young White people realize that they are in love and that they should get married despite her parents dislike of the young man. Along the way, a wacky hi-jinks situation would occur, possibly involving the young white man, his girlfriend's father, and the hero at a dance club and women that want to sleep with them all, but none of them do. At the end of the movie, our African hero would decide to go home and take the money he earned to go make his country a better place. That sounds just like an 80s movie to me. And this is the song that would play at the end of the credits.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
"Smooth Operator"
Sade - Smooth Operator (1984)
/Coast to Coast L.A. to Chicago/ Ummmmm....
Using the Single edit, not the full 8 plus minute long video. The long play version includes a spoken word section over the intro and a full on Latin jazz ending. I like it, but it's not the version that people know, or the version that the book mentions.
Alright, trying to listen to this song fresh, and not as the easy listening, WASH-FM pablum it has become. First thing I notice is the beat: congas over a drum set giving us a slow swinging Latin beat. It's the kind of beat you see people dancing to in a movie where the woman is actually looking out into the crowd for the male lead and as soon as he is spotted the male dance partner melts into the crowd so that she can walk across the dance floor towards the male lead seductively.
Helping the beat along is a bass that occasionally breaks out of the simple and beat pattern to follow the vocals and bring some bottom. Then out of nowhere, halfway through the song, the bass takes the first solo. It's up high on the neck, so you can be forgiven for thinking guitar, but I've watched more than a few live versions now, and it is the bass player. Good solo, nothing out of the park other than it is a bass solo, but I appreciate the fact that he doesn't just parrot and of the already existing melody lines. The second solo immediately follows the first and is the sax player. Again, he doesn't play anything we've heard before, which I love. I'm not a real fan of the sax, so take with a grain of salt my opinion that through the first part of the song, the sax is over utilized and repetitive. After the solo though, the sax does what accompaniment instrument should do, which is find interesting places to drop a few sounds then back away. I still think he plays too much, but at least it's different and not the same things over and over again.
During the solo break, we can hear an electric guitar that doesn't seem to make any other appearance until the very end of the song. The little riff makes the solo section seem faster and speed right by. The fact that Sade Adu isn't singing takes away the smoothness and together with the speed feeling, the solo section is like a whole different song in the middle. There's a keyboard hitting chords during the majority of the song, the could be adding to the Latin feel by hitting those chords along with the congas, but they really don't, so it just adds to the smooth soul sound instead.
Vocally it's a song about a gigolo plain and simple. Because one of the lines includes the phrase "...love for sale." I immediately think of the Cole Porter song Love for Sale from The New Yorkers. It's sung by a street prostitute offering her wares. I know it's a man in Smooth Operator and a woman in Love for Sale, but I'd like to think there's a connection there; if you make it long enough and stay safe, you may be able to graduate to Smooth Operator.
/Coast to Coast L.A. to Chicago/ Ummmmm....
Using the Single edit, not the full 8 plus minute long video. The long play version includes a spoken word section over the intro and a full on Latin jazz ending. I like it, but it's not the version that people know, or the version that the book mentions.
Alright, trying to listen to this song fresh, and not as the easy listening, WASH-FM pablum it has become. First thing I notice is the beat: congas over a drum set giving us a slow swinging Latin beat. It's the kind of beat you see people dancing to in a movie where the woman is actually looking out into the crowd for the male lead and as soon as he is spotted the male dance partner melts into the crowd so that she can walk across the dance floor towards the male lead seductively.
Helping the beat along is a bass that occasionally breaks out of the simple and beat pattern to follow the vocals and bring some bottom. Then out of nowhere, halfway through the song, the bass takes the first solo. It's up high on the neck, so you can be forgiven for thinking guitar, but I've watched more than a few live versions now, and it is the bass player. Good solo, nothing out of the park other than it is a bass solo, but I appreciate the fact that he doesn't just parrot and of the already existing melody lines. The second solo immediately follows the first and is the sax player. Again, he doesn't play anything we've heard before, which I love. I'm not a real fan of the sax, so take with a grain of salt my opinion that through the first part of the song, the sax is over utilized and repetitive. After the solo though, the sax does what accompaniment instrument should do, which is find interesting places to drop a few sounds then back away. I still think he plays too much, but at least it's different and not the same things over and over again.
During the solo break, we can hear an electric guitar that doesn't seem to make any other appearance until the very end of the song. The little riff makes the solo section seem faster and speed right by. The fact that Sade Adu isn't singing takes away the smoothness and together with the speed feeling, the solo section is like a whole different song in the middle. There's a keyboard hitting chords during the majority of the song, the could be adding to the Latin feel by hitting those chords along with the congas, but they really don't, so it just adds to the smooth soul sound instead.
Vocally it's a song about a gigolo plain and simple. Because one of the lines includes the phrase "...love for sale." I immediately think of the Cole Porter song Love for Sale from The New Yorkers. It's sung by a street prostitute offering her wares. I know it's a man in Smooth Operator and a woman in Love for Sale, but I'd like to think there's a connection there; if you make it long enough and stay safe, you may be able to graduate to Smooth Operator.
Friday, January 13, 2012
"Walk"
Pantera - Walk (1992)
/Are you talking to me?/
A really simple riff fuels this song. Guitarist Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott starting playing the riff during a warm up and drummer Vinnie Paul added his part on the wall while someone recorded it so that the band could remember it later for recording. The bass and guitar parts are just doubling each other for most of the song, and it's the same riff over and over. It kind of sounds like walking if you listen to it. The song is in 12/8 time which means you can hear the triplets over the standard rock 4/4 time signature. The drums do a lot of doubling as well, just adding layers of sound and noise to the mix. Vocalist Anselmo's vicious attack on posers, back-stabbers, false friends and others with no self respect is so aggressive and violent it leaps over the almost calm-by-comparison band riff. It also reminds me of De Niro in Taxi Driver.
The guitar solo is a bolt of lightning from out of nowhere. "Dimebag" was known as a great guitar player, but this song seemed like it was set to me. We had the riff, we had the vocals, the whole band is just churning it out, and I was expecting an almost punk-short 3 minute anger session. But the guitar had other plans. In fact, right at three minutes the lead guitar just starts going off. Fast, high, less distorted (but still distorted) and very melodic, this thirty second guitar solo is not as blistering as other guitar solos, but taken with the rest of the song it can be viewed as the fight, the confrontation, and eventual victory over the posers the song is talking to.
/Are you talking to me?/
A really simple riff fuels this song. Guitarist Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott starting playing the riff during a warm up and drummer Vinnie Paul added his part on the wall while someone recorded it so that the band could remember it later for recording. The bass and guitar parts are just doubling each other for most of the song, and it's the same riff over and over. It kind of sounds like walking if you listen to it. The song is in 12/8 time which means you can hear the triplets over the standard rock 4/4 time signature. The drums do a lot of doubling as well, just adding layers of sound and noise to the mix. Vocalist Anselmo's vicious attack on posers, back-stabbers, false friends and others with no self respect is so aggressive and violent it leaps over the almost calm-by-comparison band riff. It also reminds me of De Niro in Taxi Driver.
The guitar solo is a bolt of lightning from out of nowhere. "Dimebag" was known as a great guitar player, but this song seemed like it was set to me. We had the riff, we had the vocals, the whole band is just churning it out, and I was expecting an almost punk-short 3 minute anger session. But the guitar had other plans. In fact, right at three minutes the lead guitar just starts going off. Fast, high, less distorted (but still distorted) and very melodic, this thirty second guitar solo is not as blistering as other guitar solos, but taken with the rest of the song it can be viewed as the fight, the confrontation, and eventual victory over the posers the song is talking to.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
"Cry Baby"
Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters - Cry Baby (1963)
Janis Joplin covered a lot of songs in her day, this original version of Cry Baby sounds a lot more Gospel than her blues.
In fact, this song was written by two American born sons of Eastern European Jews. Bert Berns also wrote Hang on Sloopy, Twist and Shout and many others. He died five years after this song came out, before Janis took it back up the charts. Jerry Ragovoy wrote Piece of My Heart, Get it While you Can (covered by Janis as well) and Time is on My Side among many others. He died earlier this year.
The song is written in 6/8 time, so it sounds like a fast waltz. The drummer uses almost exclusively snare, pushing the beat along, never getting in the way of everything else going on in the song. Lyrically it's a man singing to a woman who loves another man. The singer presumes that the other man will do her wrong, and she will come running to him. It clearly belongs in lots of movies. I think if Bruno Mars did a cover of it and it was put in a movie starring Jonah Hill, Kristen Bell and Topher Grace it would climb the charts again.
There's a bit of twangy guitar through the song, which makes it sadder. The piano gives us most of the back bone of the song. You need a versatile instrument that can go all the way up and down half a dozen octaves just to try to keep up with the vocals. Garnet Mimms sings down into the lower part of the baritone range and all the way up into the high tenor. The background group, The Enchanters help keep him aloft up there in the stratosphere. Jerry and Bert also produced the track, making sure that the brass section that comes in at 1:50 adds just enough sad, and then fades out. Garnet does a kind of spoken word thing that was very popular in R&B/do-wop style hits of the early 60s around 2:20. The strings start to swell and the song lifts us up into the end, with a sax choir responding to the vocalists appeal as we fade out.
Monday, September 19, 2011
"Cars"
Gary Numan - Cars (1979)
Well, I think I found the break. This song was released in the summer of 1979, but is clearly remembered as an "80s" song. I'm marking it at 70s as far as the labels go, because it's a date, not a genre.
Beginning with an ominous oscillating electric mid ranged sound, this song quickly kicks into the well known synth heavy riff that even Homer Simpson can sing along with. Outside of the percussion, (hey there tambourine solo!) you would think the entire song is recorded on keyboards. You would be wrong. The production notes mention bass guitar. I think it must of been doubled by keyboard, because even the bottom most notes in every groove have that synthesized sound. Even the vocals are intentionally "robotic" sounding like they've been compressed.
Lyrically the song reminds us that when we are inside of our cars, we in the modern world feel safely cut off from everyone else. Reading the lyrics as a poem, it sounds like a mentally unstable homeless person that lives in a run down part of town in their bombed out car is slowly beginning the process of healing. I'm imagining an "80s movie" with Jodie Foster as the psychologist trying to heal the protagonist, and bearded Robin Williams as the homeless crazy. It would be a bust at the box office, but a critical success. Siskel would have hated it, but Ebert would have talked about what a great serious role it was for Robin Williams. It would mostly be remembered as one of the early film roles of Leaf (soon to be Joaquin) Phoenix.
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