Gentle Giant - Just the Same

 #Gentle Giant #Shulman brothers #progressive rock #British prog #eclectic prog #classic prog #hard rock #experimental rock #jazz rock #neoclassical #medieval  #1970s #animated music video

Cool stuff in Gentle Giant songs

This is a listing of interesting musical and lyrical tricks and devices that Gentle Giant used on their albums. Some of them are obvious, while others require careful listening. These sorts of things make Gentle Giant's music so interesting to analyze.

Free Hand

During the verses of Just The Same, the bass and drums are playing in 6/4 while the piano, voice, and guitar are playing in 7/4.

The first section of On Reflection is a four-part vocal fugue. The last section is the same fugue played on instruments. In On Reflection, the last entrance of the band is accompanied by a springy wavering of the pitch (most noticeable in the electric guitar), which is likely the sound of the 24 track tape machine being dropped into "Vari Speed" mode, and the entire end section is transposed (sped up really) by a half step. Both the Studer and the Ampex tape machines, which were popular at the time of Free Hand, make this distinctive noise when you drop them into varispeed.

The bass part at the very beginning of Free Hand is repeated, in a different rhythm and tempo, when the "waltz" section begins (3:55 into the song). In fact, the whole waltz section contains various themes from earlier in the song.

The opening melody of On Reflection and the middle ballad section have almost identical melodies. Compare "In my way did I use you, do you think I really abused you" to "I remember the good things how can you forget."

The opening melody of Talybont is a heavily disguised reworking of the vocal melody of Just The Same. Talybont is a small hamlet in Wales near to where John Weathers lived. Talybont was recorded as the theme song for a movie about Robin Hood. The movie was never released, but it reportedly had "quite well known players in the movie business." If the movie had gone ahead, Gentle Giant would have recorded more material for it. Actually, some of that music did get recorded and appears on Under Construction.

The electronic sounds at the beginning of Time To Kill are from the old videogame, "Pong." And if you listen closely, you can hear one of the guys whisper "go" just before the loud buzz which indicates a goal scored.

The middle of His Last Voyage is a three-part vocal canon. The bass riff in the introduction of His Last Voyage fits over the very classic rock chord progression: I, bVII, bVI, V.

From: https://gentlegiantmusic.com/GG/Cool_stuff_in_Gentle_Giant_songs#Free_Hand

Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. Although not commercially successful, they did achieve a cult following. The band stated that their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular” although this stance was to alter significantly with time. Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from philosophy and the works of Francois Rabelais and R. D. Laing.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentle_Giant

Cream - Dance the Night Away

 #Cream #Eric Clapton #Jack Bruce #Ginger Baker #blues rock #psychedelic rock #acid rock #hard rock #British psychedelic rock #psychedelic blues rock #classic rock #1960s

Cream’s second album, Disraeli Gears, remains a psych-blues masterpiece that ensures Clapton and co.’s place in the history books. The album was recorded over three and a half days between May 8-16, 1967 at Atlantic Studios in New York City. It was produced by Felix Pappalardi who would later form the Cream-alike band Mountain with guitarist Leslie West, and engineered by Tom Dowd. Released on November 2, 1967, the album made the UK charts and eventually climbed to number 5. Those are the facts, but what about the record’s unusual name? In the 1960s the “must-own” racing bike was equipped with “derailleur gears.” Eric Clapton seems to have had a yearning for such a bicycle and while driving around London, discussing the matter with Ginger Baker one day, up piped Mick Turner, the band’s roadie, to say, “Has it got them Disraeli gears?” Everyone fell about laughing and the band decided to name their album just that (Benjamin Disraeli served as prime minister of the UK in the late nineteenth century and was the only prime minister of Jewish origin ever). Of all the band’s albums, this one is the least blues-influenced record and definitely reflected the prevailing mood of the “Summer of Love.” The album’s distinctive cover was designed by Australian artist Martin Sharp who worked for OZ magazine and lived in Chelsea, where Clapton also lived. Sharp also did the cover for Wheels of Fire as well as writing some of the lyrics for “Tales of Brave Ulysses.”  From: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/rediscover-disraeli-gears/

Faces - Stay With Me

 #Faces #Rod Stewart #Ron Wood #hard rock #blues rock #boogie rock #blue-eyed soul #classic rock #British blues rock #1970s #ex-Small Faces #ex-Jeff Beck Group

The Faces were an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of The Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces - Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass, vocals), and Kenney Jones (drums) - were joined by Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (lead vocals), both from The Jeff Beck Group, and the new line-up was renamed Faces. The band had a unique arrangement, as Rod Stewart had signed a separate solo recording contract with the Mercury label shortly before joining the group, which was signed to Warner's. Band members often contributed to Stewart's solo albums as contract players, and Faces live shows of the period would feature as much of Stewart's solo material as that of the band, which later fuelled tensions amongst them when they began to effectively be viewed as Stewart's backing band.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faces_(band)

 

David Bowie - Time

 #David Bowie #glam rock #hard rock #art rock #classic rock #singer-songwriter #pop rock #album rock #proto-punk #experimental #1970s

When David Bowie dyed his hair orange and donned a revealing bodystocking, many commentators accused him of compromising rock music with showbiz, while manipulating the process of image and stardom. No doubt. This was Bowie the actor, starring as Ziggy Stardust on the stage of British glam rock. Eschewing the fading seriousness of the hippie subculture, along with its fading denim jeans, Bowie created his most memorable character in 1972. Ziggy Stardust exploded onto the music scene, alongside contemporaries Marc Bolan, Elton John, and Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. At the time, glam rock was effectively in its infancy, but Bowie caused it to enter puberty with the release of the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Over the next two years, Bowie's Ziggy Stardust pantomime would create a breath of fresh air, essentially ridiculing the pretensions of those who fell into the camp of the progressive rocker. Perhaps camp is the operative word here, as Bowie's outrageous lurex clothing and orange hair became the leading trademark of glam rock in the U.K. However, there is no denying that many of the tracks produced by David Bowie during this era have become classics of rock, no matter how you wish to describe it.  From: https://spinditty.com/genres/david-bowie-glam-rock-years

Alice Cooper - Halo of Flies

 #Alice Cooper #hard rock #heavy metal #shock rock #glam rock #art rock #classic rock #glam metal #garage rock #theatrical #stage show #1970s

“Halo of Flies”: Just the name of the song is evil. It’s accompanying music is spellbinding, and it’s lyrics are vividly picturesque. I always wondered: How did this masterpiece come to be? In a personal conversation I was lucky enough to have with Cooper at a 2016 convention, he said the song was partly inspired by, surprisingly, bad reviews of their previous album, Love It to Death. Alice Cooper were no strangers to criticism, but apparently when one reviewer called them “lackluster musicians”, that’s where they drew the line. Cooper described “Halo of Flies” as their “attempt at prog”. “If King Crimson and Yes could do it, so could we.” Although not as complex as either band in arrangement and instrumentation, “Halo of Flies” is indeed a suite of grandiose proportion. It’s lyrics were inspired by classic James Bond movies, yet again showcasing the band’s love for Hollywood. It’s an appropriate pairing as “Halo of Flies” is definitely cinematic in nature, and for my money, the greatest Alice Cooper song ever recorded.  From: https://defendersofthefaithmetal.com/top-10-alice-cooper-the-band-songs/

"Halo of Flies" is a 1973 single by rock band Alice Cooper taken from their 1971 album Killer. The single was only released in the Netherlands, two years after the song appeared on the album. The song was, according to Cooper's liner notes in the compilation The Definitive Alice Cooper, an attempt by the band to prove that they could perform King Crimson-like progressive rock suites, and was supposedly about a spy organization. Upon its 1973 single release, the song became a top 10 hit in the Netherlands and also charted in neighboring Belgium because of imports. The single release featured the B-side "Under My Wheels", also a song of the Killer album, which had already been released as a single two years prior. The noise rock band Halo of Flies named themselves after this song. Jello Biafra and The Melvins covered the song on their release Sieg Howdy!, while Haunted Garage covered it for the 1993 Cooper tribute Welcome to Our Nightmare. The song was also used in the VR experience Dreams of Dali. This song was performed live by Tripping Daisy Aug 27, 2022 at the Kessler Theatre as part of a Homage Nation tribute to the Alice Cooper band.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_of_Flies_(song)

Alice Cooper (also known as the Alice Cooper Group or the Alice Cooper Band) was an American rock band formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964. The band consisted of lead singer Vince Furnier (stage name Alice Cooper), Glen Buxton (lead guitar), Michael Bruce (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Dennis Dunaway (bass guitar), and Neal Smith (drums). Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and has had a solo career under that name since the band became inactive in 1975. The band was notorious for their elaborate, theatrical shock rock stage shows. After years of obscurity, the Alice Cooper band rose to fame in 1971 with the hit single "I'm Eighteen" and the album Love It to Death. Success continued with the popular single "School's Out" and the album of the same name in 1972. The band peaked in popularity in 1973 with their next album Billion Dollar Babies and its tour, which broke box-office records previously held by the Rolling Stones.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper_(band) 

Spooky Tooth - I've Got Enough Heartaches

 #Spooky Tooth #Gary Wright #Mike Harrison #hard rock #blues rock #psychedelic rock #progressive rock #classic rock #British R&B #proto-prog #proto-metal #1960s #1970s 

Spooky Two is this British blues-rock band's pièce de résistance. All eight of the tracks compound free-styled rock and loose-fitting guitar playing, resulting in some fantastic raw music. With Gary Wright on keyboards and vocals and lead singer Mike Harrison behind the microphone, their smooth, relaxed tempos and riffs mirrored bands like Savoy Brown and, at times, even the Yardbirds. With some emphasis on keyboards, songs like "Lost in My Dream" and the nine-minute masterpiece "Evil Woman" present a cool, nonchalant air that grooves and slides along perfectly. "I've Got Enough Heartache" whines and grieves with some sharp bass playing from Greg Ridley, while "Better by You, Better Than Me" is the catchiest of the songs, with its clinging hooks and desperate-sounding chorus. The last song, "Hangman Hang My Shell on a Tree," is a splendid example of the bandmembers' ability to play off of one another, mixing soulful lyrics with downtrodden instrumentation to conjure up the perfect melancholia. Although Spooky Tooth lasted about seven years, their other albums never really contained the same passion or talented collaborating by each individual musician as Spooky Two.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/spooky-two-mw0000191912

Part of the early 70s British hard rock scene, Spooky Tooth had a towering sound, highlighted by swelling keyboards and, in founding members Gary Wright and Mike Harrison, two full-throated blue-eyed soul singers. Crucial to their sound was their instrumentation; they were one of the few acts within the rock forum of the time to adopt the twin keyboard approach (both an organ and a piano player).  From: http://www.spookytooth.sk/bio.html

The Doors - The Celebration of the Lizard

 #The Doors #Jim Morrison #psychedelic rock #experimental #acid rock #hard rock #art rock #blues rock #classic rock #1960s #poetry #spoken word

Celebration of the Lizard is a performance piece by American rock band the Doors, featuring lyrics written by lead singer Jim Morrison and music by the Doors. Composed as a series of poems, the piece includes both spoken verse and sung lyrics, musical sections and passages of allegorical storytelling. According to Morrison, Celebration of the Lizard was "pieced together on different occasions out of already existing elements rather than having any generative core from which it grew." The entire piece was originally intended to be recorded and released as one full side of the band's third studio album, Waiting for the Sun, in 1968. However, record producer Paul Rothchild and the members of the band thought that the extended poetic sections and overall length of the piece made a complete recording impossible, while the other reason was due to its lack of commercial appeal.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration_of_the_Lizard