The CD was released 1982. By 1986, the eight track had been replaced by the cassette. But, vinyl was still very much alive. Many had made the case that vinyl offered some very unique advantages. One such advantage was the art work. Each 12" by 12" jacket was an opportunity for some graphic artist to maybe make a name for his or her self.
Maybe you purchase all of your music as digital downloads. If so, you may not care one way or another about the art work that comes with an album. This might remain true until someone, maybe a friend of yours, shows you an amazing poster that came with the same CD that you have, that they ordered from Amazon.com.
OK, maybe that's not good enough. Have you ever heard a great song, bought the download and then wondered what the artist was singing? If it had come on vinyl, and all you wanted was the lyrics, you might just look on the back or on the inner sleeve. And, while you were perusing the words, you might actually end up checking out the great illustration that so aptly fits or ably depicts the concept of the music that you're listening to. Then, maybe what the band is trying to say with their music begins to not only to make sense, but you may also realize both the music and the illustrations are a total work of art.
Album cover art began in the late 1930s and was the brain child of Alex Stienwiess. Early work was primarily drawings and reflected social values, racial attitudes, lifestyles, fashion, and/or political views. Most of the decisions about album art were maintained by the record labels.
Through the 50s, photography was the major source of images on album covers as the artist or band would be brought front and center. This would last into the 60s until the release of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper album." The cover consisted of the Beatles surrounded by photos of all of their friends or heroes. The album was a smash and served to change what was acceptable on album covers.
Throughout the decade of the 70s music fans were treated to some of the most memorable cover art ever made. Covers like Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy, The Eagle's Hotel California, or Yes', Relayer were just a few of the most notable. Some others to consider are Sly and the Family Stone's, There's A Riot Going On, the Ohio Players, Honey, and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
By the mid 80s the switch to CD created a change in packaging which reduced an albums cover size to 12cm by 12cm. This smaller size left little room for detail. Eventually, the fold out booklet allowed for the addition of more art, lyrics and album credits. As vinyl and then cassettes were phased out, the digital download of the 90s did away with album art altogether, as the Mp3 became popular.
But, the 90s also brought back the artist photo as the principle image on album packaging. As the careers of more and more recording artist became dictated by their image, and while more emphasis was put on hit singles, less importance was being place on the music as a concept that needed to be illustrated.
In this new millennium, with the rise of the DIY movement, there has been a resurgent interest in album art. Bands and artists are finding ways to get the art to their fans. Whether they're doing it themselves or getting outside help, including the art work as a value added feature of a CD purchase or full length LP download is just one way that it's being done. This has the makings of a possible music renaissance.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
There And Back (Part III)
It was August 1979. One month before, music fans and consumers had staged what turned into a violent protest against, "Disco," The fans had spoken and the recording industry responded. The "Disco," moniker was quickly dropped as radio stations and night clubs around the world moved to distance themselves from the whole fiasco. As the labels groped for something to replace "Disco," what seemed like a lost for them was actually a victory. "Disco," was gone, but with it went the creative and artistic freedom which artists had fought so hard for.
The major labels had been successful in pressuring some of the top artist of that time into adding at least one "Disco," track to their latest releases. By doing so, they set a new standard for what the market would bare. New, up and coming artists essentially lost any small amount of power that they might have had to say what their music should sound like. For several months after the incident in Chicago's Comisky Park, all "Disco," music was labeled as "Dance," music and would be so from then on. If you wanted to get signed, this is what you played. R&B and Funk artist were most profoundly effected, because, "Disco," made use of many of the qualities of those genres.
December of that year, a Rap artist named Kurtis Blow arrived on the scene. The release of Christmas Rappin' made him the first Rapper to be signed to a major label. The song was pure novelty. It had sketchy, but original music, while the words were spoken in rhythm over it. It was a hit, selling more than 500,000 copies and it marked the beginning of what would go on to be Rap's dominance over the global music scene. Later in 1980 he released, "The Breaks," which also sold 500,000 copies and fueled the next trend that the music industry had been looking for.
Hot on the heels of Kurtis Blow's success, came the Sugar Hill Gang in 1980. The band was produced by Sylvia Robinson and the single release of, "Rapper's Delight," went platinum selling a million copies. This must have been most pleasing to the labels, who were still releasing "Disco," left overs, passed off as, "dance," music. The track featured an extra long loop of Chic's hit, "Good Times," with the words spoken with a rhythmic flare.
The next several years of the 80s saw Rap slowly become Hip Hop. Early artists included, Whodini, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Fat Boys and Run DMC. These acts used their own music, however sparse the arrangement. The songs were mostly about partying and having a good time, but often, songs like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's, "The Message," actually decried the state of life in the ghetto. But, the sound of Hip Hop would be most notably defined by the much sparer and harder edge sound of Run DMC.
Run DMC have been considered the originators of the, "New School." They wore black denim pants and black leather jackets, along with unlaced Adidas and bowler hats. With them, the ghetto, a place of misery and despair, would become, "The Hood," the place where you were proud to be from. Their hard edge style and choice of fashion would set the trend for those Hip Hop artists that followed them.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Prince, Madonna, and Phil Collins were all hugely successful, both as pop artists and within their own genres, going into and through to the mid 80s. However, some artists such as the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Parliament/Funkadelic, and the Average White Band disbanded for a while. Apparently, the sound of the market, seemingly had no place for what they had to offer. "Disco," had become "dance," Rock went toward power chord ballads, while Jazz became , "smooth." R&B/Funk became a muddle of sythn/dance/slow jams, or what ever it took to sell.
Rap and Hip Hop was on the rise, but wouldn't really break through until 1987, when word spread that a local area Rap artist had made $750,000 selling home made Rap tapes from the trunk of his car. When this news reached industry bigwigs, one thing was very clear, they had of get a piece of that action.
The major labels had been successful in pressuring some of the top artist of that time into adding at least one "Disco," track to their latest releases. By doing so, they set a new standard for what the market would bare. New, up and coming artists essentially lost any small amount of power that they might have had to say what their music should sound like. For several months after the incident in Chicago's Comisky Park, all "Disco," music was labeled as "Dance," music and would be so from then on. If you wanted to get signed, this is what you played. R&B and Funk artist were most profoundly effected, because, "Disco," made use of many of the qualities of those genres.
December of that year, a Rap artist named Kurtis Blow arrived on the scene. The release of Christmas Rappin' made him the first Rapper to be signed to a major label. The song was pure novelty. It had sketchy, but original music, while the words were spoken in rhythm over it. It was a hit, selling more than 500,000 copies and it marked the beginning of what would go on to be Rap's dominance over the global music scene. Later in 1980 he released, "The Breaks," which also sold 500,000 copies and fueled the next trend that the music industry had been looking for.
Hot on the heels of Kurtis Blow's success, came the Sugar Hill Gang in 1980. The band was produced by Sylvia Robinson and the single release of, "Rapper's Delight," went platinum selling a million copies. This must have been most pleasing to the labels, who were still releasing "Disco," left overs, passed off as, "dance," music. The track featured an extra long loop of Chic's hit, "Good Times," with the words spoken with a rhythmic flare.
The next several years of the 80s saw Rap slowly become Hip Hop. Early artists included, Whodini, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Fat Boys and Run DMC. These acts used their own music, however sparse the arrangement. The songs were mostly about partying and having a good time, but often, songs like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's, "The Message," actually decried the state of life in the ghetto. But, the sound of Hip Hop would be most notably defined by the much sparer and harder edge sound of Run DMC.
Run DMC have been considered the originators of the, "New School." They wore black denim pants and black leather jackets, along with unlaced Adidas and bowler hats. With them, the ghetto, a place of misery and despair, would become, "The Hood," the place where you were proud to be from. Their hard edge style and choice of fashion would set the trend for those Hip Hop artists that followed them.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Prince, Madonna, and Phil Collins were all hugely successful, both as pop artists and within their own genres, going into and through to the mid 80s. However, some artists such as the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Parliament/Funkadelic, and the Average White Band disbanded for a while. Apparently, the sound of the market, seemingly had no place for what they had to offer. "Disco," had become "dance," Rock went toward power chord ballads, while Jazz became , "smooth." R&B/Funk became a muddle of sythn/dance/slow jams, or what ever it took to sell.
Rap and Hip Hop was on the rise, but wouldn't really break through until 1987, when word spread that a local area Rap artist had made $750,000 selling home made Rap tapes from the trunk of his car. When this news reached industry bigwigs, one thing was very clear, they had of get a piece of that action.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Something To Blog About
I tried to listen to the radio again. As a songwriter, you're told that if you want to write a hit, you need to listen to the radio. There are a couple of things that I hear when ever I do. Granted, if you you've only been listening to the radio for only the last fifteen years, you probably don't think that there's anything wrong. And, maybe there isn't. But, I think that if you're fifteen years or more older, there's a good chance that you know what I'm talking about.
The first thing that I noticed, when I listen to top forty especially, is the increasing number of songs that make use of what's become known as, the auto-tune effect. The auto-tune effect is essentially the robotic sound that used to be created with a vocoder or talk box. Now, pitch correction gear made by such companies as Antares can, if adjusted just right, produce the same effect. For many years, vocal tuning was was the recording industry's biggest and best kept secret. That is, until a very well know and popular pop singer released a song in 1998 where the vocals were tuned until the sound of her voice became robotic and mechanical.
Since then, the use of pitch correction hardware, and now software, has been growing at a steady pace. I won't lie to you, I am not against the occasional use of such gear. In cases where studio time is at a premium and/or deadlines have to be met, this hardware and software can save countless hours, days, months, or maybe even years, trying to nail a particular vocal line or phrase. But, when many fellow artist and producers start to decry its over use, maybe there's something to what they are saying. Tune into any Urban or Hip Hop station and it seems like every two or three songs is making use of it. God forbid if auto tune gets turned into its own genre.
The second thing that I noticed, is that melodies are getting weaker and weaker as rhythm is taking over. It seems, and this is just my opinion, that more songs feature the artist sing/talking, nearly rapping their lyrics. And, at times it sounds like they're squeezing more and more syllables into every line. I've said this before, there is more than one way to write a song. But, I've also said, that there's nothing that makes a song more memorable than a good melody.
Some Neo Soul artists are beginning to put more emphasis on real instrumentation, but they are merely going for a retro feel while maintaining their Urban or Hip Hop sensibilities. All they would really have to do is sit down with a piano or keyboard, write a melody first and then fill in the rest.
Maybe it's just enough to pass the whole thing off as changing times. But, what will happen when the latest hit song is a patch work collage of bits and pieces of other songs, while someone talks over it? Sound like the makings of a classic to you?
The first thing that I noticed, when I listen to top forty especially, is the increasing number of songs that make use of what's become known as, the auto-tune effect. The auto-tune effect is essentially the robotic sound that used to be created with a vocoder or talk box. Now, pitch correction gear made by such companies as Antares can, if adjusted just right, produce the same effect. For many years, vocal tuning was was the recording industry's biggest and best kept secret. That is, until a very well know and popular pop singer released a song in 1998 where the vocals were tuned until the sound of her voice became robotic and mechanical.
Since then, the use of pitch correction hardware, and now software, has been growing at a steady pace. I won't lie to you, I am not against the occasional use of such gear. In cases where studio time is at a premium and/or deadlines have to be met, this hardware and software can save countless hours, days, months, or maybe even years, trying to nail a particular vocal line or phrase. But, when many fellow artist and producers start to decry its over use, maybe there's something to what they are saying. Tune into any Urban or Hip Hop station and it seems like every two or three songs is making use of it. God forbid if auto tune gets turned into its own genre.
The second thing that I noticed, is that melodies are getting weaker and weaker as rhythm is taking over. It seems, and this is just my opinion, that more songs feature the artist sing/talking, nearly rapping their lyrics. And, at times it sounds like they're squeezing more and more syllables into every line. I've said this before, there is more than one way to write a song. But, I've also said, that there's nothing that makes a song more memorable than a good melody.
Some Neo Soul artists are beginning to put more emphasis on real instrumentation, but they are merely going for a retro feel while maintaining their Urban or Hip Hop sensibilities. All they would really have to do is sit down with a piano or keyboard, write a melody first and then fill in the rest.
Maybe it's just enough to pass the whole thing off as changing times. But, what will happen when the latest hit song is a patch work collage of bits and pieces of other songs, while someone talks over it? Sound like the makings of a classic to you?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
You Can't Get There From Here
You probably wouldn't think of a small town as a being a bastion of super stardom, let alone notoriety, celebrity, fortune or fame. But, many of the greatest names in sports, movies and music have come from such places. The names are many, maybe even someone you know.
I bring this up because I happened to be reading a local news paper when I noticed a half page write up on an artist from my neck of the woods. The article stated that this artist was about to release their debut CD. I don't actually know this person, but it was a little more than intriguing to read the story. As it happened, music was not this person's first career choice. However, not being able to pursue choice number one, fate took over and music led to an appearance on MTV.
As I continued to read the story, I discovered that this person had moved from small town USA to New York. That's when it hit me. Most small town success stories are the result of someone relocating to the big city. If you want to make it to the top, you've got to get out of the sticks. Or do you?
This is the point where I was originally going to go off on a rant about why I remain in small town USA. The fact is, I love my home town and I would be very proud to represent it, doing just about anything. Besides, with the state of new technology, I, as well as millions of others, can purchase any recording gear our budgets will allow. And, the internet gives me and those countless millions of artists a global stage on which to perform our creations.
My personal favorite program is Pro Tools. Pro Tools is digital audio recording software that has become the music industry standard. For about $249, anyone can make their music sound like a million bucks.
And, you can take your music a step further by using online distribution. Places such as Tunecore, CDbaby, and Reverbnation.com can distribute your music to e-music stores like iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com.
Myspace also has a music service, and you can upload as many songs as you want into their music player. Facebook, which doesn't have a music service, does allow artists a free page and a limited space to upload music.
Then, there's YouTube. YouTube allows anyone to upload video to their own personal channel. Artist can use YouTube to either augment their live performances, or if you're unable to tour, you can use the videos as your performances. The site is hugely successful and the high level of traffic can be used to increase interest in your music.
So, while signing to a major label, and getting on TV or radio are still the main sources for exposure, there are ways to get around packing up all of your belonging into your VW and heading for the big city.
I bring this up because I happened to be reading a local news paper when I noticed a half page write up on an artist from my neck of the woods. The article stated that this artist was about to release their debut CD. I don't actually know this person, but it was a little more than intriguing to read the story. As it happened, music was not this person's first career choice. However, not being able to pursue choice number one, fate took over and music led to an appearance on MTV.
As I continued to read the story, I discovered that this person had moved from small town USA to New York. That's when it hit me. Most small town success stories are the result of someone relocating to the big city. If you want to make it to the top, you've got to get out of the sticks. Or do you?
This is the point where I was originally going to go off on a rant about why I remain in small town USA. The fact is, I love my home town and I would be very proud to represent it, doing just about anything. Besides, with the state of new technology, I, as well as millions of others, can purchase any recording gear our budgets will allow. And, the internet gives me and those countless millions of artists a global stage on which to perform our creations.
My personal favorite program is Pro Tools. Pro Tools is digital audio recording software that has become the music industry standard. For about $249, anyone can make their music sound like a million bucks.
And, you can take your music a step further by using online distribution. Places such as Tunecore, CDbaby, and Reverbnation.com can distribute your music to e-music stores like iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com.
Myspace also has a music service, and you can upload as many songs as you want into their music player. Facebook, which doesn't have a music service, does allow artists a free page and a limited space to upload music.
Then, there's YouTube. YouTube allows anyone to upload video to their own personal channel. Artist can use YouTube to either augment their live performances, or if you're unable to tour, you can use the videos as your performances. The site is hugely successful and the high level of traffic can be used to increase interest in your music.
So, while signing to a major label, and getting on TV or radio are still the main sources for exposure, there are ways to get around packing up all of your belonging into your VW and heading for the big city.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
On The One
Everyone has a favorite genre of music. I like "Funk. George once said that Funk is it's own reward." And George Duke once said, "that once you're funky you're always funky." Those who enjoy the music know that there's something about it, something that you feel that you can't explain.
Many believe that Funk began with George Clinton, but it was actually James Brown. The God Father of Soul was actually the king of funk. It was Brown who introduced the heavy syncopated rhythm guitar riffs that propelled songs like Papa's Got A Brand New Bag to hit status in 1965. Brown's music was raw and rhythmic, with a melodic bass line that was woven into the fabric of his tunes and punctuated by horn stabs. His sound would serve as a guide for bands like the Meters and Sly and the Family Stone who would go on to add their own contributions to the genre.
In 1969, disagreements between Brown and members of his band, involving money, caused them to go off in different directions. Around this time, George Clinton was having problems with his label and his band, The Parliaments. He had recently formed another band called the Funkadelic. A year later he reformed the Parliaments as simply, Parliament to avoid hassles with his record label. He recruited members, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley of Brown's old band. Meanwhile, Brown formed a new band with William Boosty Collins and his brother Phelps as members.
The Collins brothers toured with Brown for three years before they too joined Clinton as part of Parliament, whose members were also in the Funkadelic. By 1974, Clinton and crew had managed to put there own spin on the James Brown sound. The result was a slightly slower, more laid back groove that maintained all of the rhythm, but with fewer drum beats. this served to offset the syncopation, and if possible, made the music even funkier. Clinton would later describe his take as simply, every thing is on the one. This meant that in 4/4 time all of the instruments would play on the first beat of every measure.
In 1976, fed up with the rising tide of "Disco," Clinton's Parliament released "Mothership Connection." The album was a solid Funk smash whose lead, track, P-Funk featured long sections that had music, but no beat at all. The trick was to get on the one and you would always know the countby just following the rhythm. This served to prove that the every count bass beat of "Disco," was not necessary in order to dance, and that there was a huge difference between Funk and "Disco." In fact, Funk ceased to be played in clubs after 1977.
As a genre, in my view, Funk is like Rock, R&B, Jazz, Blues, and Country. Each has a very clear and definitive sound. Each can be used to add flavor to any of the others. And whether you accept this or not, just grab any hit album from the spring of 1974 to the spring of 1979, and listen to it. You just might find the one lurking in the most unexpected places.
Many believe that Funk began with George Clinton, but it was actually James Brown. The God Father of Soul was actually the king of funk. It was Brown who introduced the heavy syncopated rhythm guitar riffs that propelled songs like Papa's Got A Brand New Bag to hit status in 1965. Brown's music was raw and rhythmic, with a melodic bass line that was woven into the fabric of his tunes and punctuated by horn stabs. His sound would serve as a guide for bands like the Meters and Sly and the Family Stone who would go on to add their own contributions to the genre.
In 1969, disagreements between Brown and members of his band, involving money, caused them to go off in different directions. Around this time, George Clinton was having problems with his label and his band, The Parliaments. He had recently formed another band called the Funkadelic. A year later he reformed the Parliaments as simply, Parliament to avoid hassles with his record label. He recruited members, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley of Brown's old band. Meanwhile, Brown formed a new band with William Boosty Collins and his brother Phelps as members.
The Collins brothers toured with Brown for three years before they too joined Clinton as part of Parliament, whose members were also in the Funkadelic. By 1974, Clinton and crew had managed to put there own spin on the James Brown sound. The result was a slightly slower, more laid back groove that maintained all of the rhythm, but with fewer drum beats. this served to offset the syncopation, and if possible, made the music even funkier. Clinton would later describe his take as simply, every thing is on the one. This meant that in 4/4 time all of the instruments would play on the first beat of every measure.
In 1976, fed up with the rising tide of "Disco," Clinton's Parliament released "Mothership Connection." The album was a solid Funk smash whose lead, track, P-Funk featured long sections that had music, but no beat at all. The trick was to get on the one and you would always know the countby just following the rhythm. This served to prove that the every count bass beat of "Disco," was not necessary in order to dance, and that there was a huge difference between Funk and "Disco." In fact, Funk ceased to be played in clubs after 1977.
As a genre, in my view, Funk is like Rock, R&B, Jazz, Blues, and Country. Each has a very clear and definitive sound. Each can be used to add flavor to any of the others. And whether you accept this or not, just grab any hit album from the spring of 1974 to the spring of 1979, and listen to it. You just might find the one lurking in the most unexpected places.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Tracks Of Life
So much attention is placed on having a hit single it's a wonder that anyone ever considers whether or not if it was released as part of an album or not. And, if so what other gems might there be? In the past, album tracks have often gotten as much or more attention as the songs that were released as singles. So, what makes for a good album track?
It's guaranteed that the answer to that question is very subjective. But, having said that, looking back to the early 1990s, a lot of hit albums contained only one song of any merit and that was the song that got released as a single. The problem then was, that the thinking was to make an album composed of songs that had singles potential. And, the course of action was to gather a group of well known producers who had had hit single success, and have each one produce a single for a particular artist. The result of such a process usually yielded one hit single, a couple of maybes and the rest sounded like filler. Having 6 or more producers only made for a disjointed and/or disconnected sonic experience.
Previously, in earlier decades, an album was built upon a concept. Possibly the sound or songwriting of a particular artist would be the theme that ran throughout the music of an entire album. One producer would be chosen, either by the label, or if the artist was of enough stature, they would choose the producer, or produce it themselves. The artist would demo their songs and bring them to the studio where together with the producer, they would listen to what was there and decide which ones would work toward a complete body of work.
After working on several songs, new ideas might be added and possibly 15 to 20 or more songs might actually get recorded. From those songs, the artist and producer would sit down and listen to them to choose which ones had a similar appeal and cohesion to form a single project. These songs might be narrowed down to 10, 11, or maybe 12 tracks. The lead single might be something that the artist had come up with as a single. Or, the lead song may have come from the new material written as a process of working through the album.
As an example, take Earth Wind and Fire's All 'n' All. The album opens with the lead single, "Serpentine Fire," which is an uptempo funk jam with a positive theme. They follow that with, "Fantasy," a smoother groove with about the same tempo. After that comes a brief musical interlude called, "In The Market Place," that features the Kalimba and vocal chants. The piece serves as a segue into another uptempo jam called, "Jupiter." "Jupiter," is followed by a ballad called, "Love's Holiday." This serves to change the pace and set the stage for more jazzier sounds. Next comes the first of two interludes called, "Brazilian Rhyme." This one has scatted lyrics and serves to segue into the song, "I'll write A Song," which is of a slower tempo with acoustic guitar as the band stretches out a little. A different musical theme follows, in the form of the song, "Magic Mind," which has a mid tempo groove whose lyrics relate to the previous song. From there they move into an instrumental that has some scatted lyrics called, "Runnin'." Then the second interlude also called, "Brazilian Rhyme," follows and it's a slow, serene musical passage that serves as a segue into the final song, "Be Ever Wonderful," which leaves the listener with a positive message.
A listener, listening to this album should come away with the feeling that the music is a complete work and all because of the unreleased, album tracks. But, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
It's guaranteed that the answer to that question is very subjective. But, having said that, looking back to the early 1990s, a lot of hit albums contained only one song of any merit and that was the song that got released as a single. The problem then was, that the thinking was to make an album composed of songs that had singles potential. And, the course of action was to gather a group of well known producers who had had hit single success, and have each one produce a single for a particular artist. The result of such a process usually yielded one hit single, a couple of maybes and the rest sounded like filler. Having 6 or more producers only made for a disjointed and/or disconnected sonic experience.
Previously, in earlier decades, an album was built upon a concept. Possibly the sound or songwriting of a particular artist would be the theme that ran throughout the music of an entire album. One producer would be chosen, either by the label, or if the artist was of enough stature, they would choose the producer, or produce it themselves. The artist would demo their songs and bring them to the studio where together with the producer, they would listen to what was there and decide which ones would work toward a complete body of work.
After working on several songs, new ideas might be added and possibly 15 to 20 or more songs might actually get recorded. From those songs, the artist and producer would sit down and listen to them to choose which ones had a similar appeal and cohesion to form a single project. These songs might be narrowed down to 10, 11, or maybe 12 tracks. The lead single might be something that the artist had come up with as a single. Or, the lead song may have come from the new material written as a process of working through the album.
As an example, take Earth Wind and Fire's All 'n' All. The album opens with the lead single, "Serpentine Fire," which is an uptempo funk jam with a positive theme. They follow that with, "Fantasy," a smoother groove with about the same tempo. After that comes a brief musical interlude called, "In The Market Place," that features the Kalimba and vocal chants. The piece serves as a segue into another uptempo jam called, "Jupiter." "Jupiter," is followed by a ballad called, "Love's Holiday." This serves to change the pace and set the stage for more jazzier sounds. Next comes the first of two interludes called, "Brazilian Rhyme." This one has scatted lyrics and serves to segue into the song, "I'll write A Song," which is of a slower tempo with acoustic guitar as the band stretches out a little. A different musical theme follows, in the form of the song, "Magic Mind," which has a mid tempo groove whose lyrics relate to the previous song. From there they move into an instrumental that has some scatted lyrics called, "Runnin'." Then the second interlude also called, "Brazilian Rhyme," follows and it's a slow, serene musical passage that serves as a segue into the final song, "Be Ever Wonderful," which leaves the listener with a positive message.
A listener, listening to this album should come away with the feeling that the music is a complete work and all because of the unreleased, album tracks. But, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
There And Back (Part II)
1977 was an amazing year for music. Artists were continuing to enjoy the most creative freedom that they had ever had. It was the year that Billy Joel released , "The Stranger," Fleetwood Mac released, "Rumors," Steely Dan released, Aja, Meatloaf released Bat Out Of Hell, Earth Wind & Fire released, All'N'All, the Commodores released, Commodores and the Isley Bothers released, Go For Your Guns. It appeared that this freedom was going to produce a never ending wave of truly great music that would go on indefinitely.
The movie Saturday Night Fever was released on December 14th, 1977 and it would serve to both resuscitate a trend that was waning and ultimately, lead to it's demise. The movie and soundtrack proved to be a huge success, in spite of the music released from the albums mentioned above.
1978 was an even more amazing musical year as single releases from the above mentioned albums, plus music from Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen seemed to belie that there was a "Disco," phenomenon. The movie, Saturday Night Fever, grossed over $93 million dollars domestic and $142 million dollars overseas. The soundtrack eventually sold over thirty million copies worldwide and went platinum 15 times.
These statistics proved to be more than the recording industry could pass by.
With all of the great music releases of 1977 and then again in 1978, perhaps, and this is just my opinion, but maybe the case could be made that "Disco," was already on it's way out when the movie and soundtrack were released in late 1977.
The Success of the movie and it's soundtrack sent the recording industry in search of the next big thing. They began to pressure their artists to come up with hits in the "Disco," style. Corporate America was quick to jump on the bandwagon as well, as 1978 saw everything going "Disco." Some radio stations even added the word to their logos. But, major recording artist appeared to ignore the trend as Rock, Funk, and Jazz, continued to dominate the charts.
It wouldn't be until the spring of 1979 that the real onslaught began. Releases by artists such as the Rolling Stones' "Miss You," sparked rumblings of discontent amongst music fans, feeling that their favorite rock stars were about to abandon the music that they loved. Labels began enlisting the aid of in house writers and producers to come up with quick tunes, while creating the bands or groups that would front the music, at a later date. Artists who hadn't had a hit in years released their versions of the "Disco," sound, inviting the criticism that, "Disco," was nothing more than "welfare music,"
What started as music for a good time had become lost in a corporate vision of maximum yield. More and more artists, feeling the pressure from their labels, began adding at least one "Disco," track to their albums. They failed to realized that what they were actually doing, was relinquishing the creative freedom which they had fought for so long to gain. They didn't realize or seemingly care, that this was not what their fans really wanted.
But, on July 12, 1979 they would find this out in a big way. A Chicago radio DJ and a baseball promoter staged an event between games of a double header between the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Comiskey Park. Fans were invited to bring their "Disco," records and throw them onto a big pile as they were burned. Things got out of control as people began throwing their vinyl disc through the air. Fights broke out as the whole affair turned into a riot. Much damage was done to the stadium and the White Sox, who were hosting, had to forfeit the second game, due to the amount of damage that was done.
Like the shot heard around the world, radio stations all over the country stopped playing the music and in many cases, they quickly dropped the word "Disco," from their names. By the end of September of that year, there were no, "Disco," records in the top ten.
Usually, when there is discontent over the latest trend in music, it comes from the parents of those who love it. This event, in my mind, marks the first time that the people who actually listened to the music had gotten so fed up that they were moved to violent protest. While I can't condone the actions that took place all those years ago, I can understand the frustration of being forced to accept an unwanted change. However, record burning is too close to book burning. We are much too smart and civilized a people for that. Perhaps, in hindsight, some other choice should have been made. What was also forfeited by the time that day was reached, was control of sound of the marketplace.
The movie Saturday Night Fever was released on December 14th, 1977 and it would serve to both resuscitate a trend that was waning and ultimately, lead to it's demise. The movie and soundtrack proved to be a huge success, in spite of the music released from the albums mentioned above.
1978 was an even more amazing musical year as single releases from the above mentioned albums, plus music from Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen seemed to belie that there was a "Disco," phenomenon. The movie, Saturday Night Fever, grossed over $93 million dollars domestic and $142 million dollars overseas. The soundtrack eventually sold over thirty million copies worldwide and went platinum 15 times.
These statistics proved to be more than the recording industry could pass by.
With all of the great music releases of 1977 and then again in 1978, perhaps, and this is just my opinion, but maybe the case could be made that "Disco," was already on it's way out when the movie and soundtrack were released in late 1977.
The Success of the movie and it's soundtrack sent the recording industry in search of the next big thing. They began to pressure their artists to come up with hits in the "Disco," style. Corporate America was quick to jump on the bandwagon as well, as 1978 saw everything going "Disco." Some radio stations even added the word to their logos. But, major recording artist appeared to ignore the trend as Rock, Funk, and Jazz, continued to dominate the charts.
It wouldn't be until the spring of 1979 that the real onslaught began. Releases by artists such as the Rolling Stones' "Miss You," sparked rumblings of discontent amongst music fans, feeling that their favorite rock stars were about to abandon the music that they loved. Labels began enlisting the aid of in house writers and producers to come up with quick tunes, while creating the bands or groups that would front the music, at a later date. Artists who hadn't had a hit in years released their versions of the "Disco," sound, inviting the criticism that, "Disco," was nothing more than "welfare music,"
What started as music for a good time had become lost in a corporate vision of maximum yield. More and more artists, feeling the pressure from their labels, began adding at least one "Disco," track to their albums. They failed to realized that what they were actually doing, was relinquishing the creative freedom which they had fought for so long to gain. They didn't realize or seemingly care, that this was not what their fans really wanted.
But, on July 12, 1979 they would find this out in a big way. A Chicago radio DJ and a baseball promoter staged an event between games of a double header between the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Comiskey Park. Fans were invited to bring their "Disco," records and throw them onto a big pile as they were burned. Things got out of control as people began throwing their vinyl disc through the air. Fights broke out as the whole affair turned into a riot. Much damage was done to the stadium and the White Sox, who were hosting, had to forfeit the second game, due to the amount of damage that was done.
Like the shot heard around the world, radio stations all over the country stopped playing the music and in many cases, they quickly dropped the word "Disco," from their names. By the end of September of that year, there were no, "Disco," records in the top ten.
Usually, when there is discontent over the latest trend in music, it comes from the parents of those who love it. This event, in my mind, marks the first time that the people who actually listened to the music had gotten so fed up that they were moved to violent protest. While I can't condone the actions that took place all those years ago, I can understand the frustration of being forced to accept an unwanted change. However, record burning is too close to book burning. We are much too smart and civilized a people for that. Perhaps, in hindsight, some other choice should have been made. What was also forfeited by the time that day was reached, was control of sound of the marketplace.
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