"Leave Me Be"

The other thing I noticed when I listened to The Decca Stereo Anthology a few days ago is that the "-more" of "anymore" in the line "You'd better leave me be till I don't need her anymore" in "Leave Me Be" is sung with a melisma (C B, I think).  Musically, this gives something of a sense of the word's meaning.

"It's Alright with Me"

Since the 12th was the 55th anniversary of the Zombies' first (proper) studio session (on 12 June 1964), I listened to The Decca Stereo Anthology.

I noticed a small thing in "It's Alright with Me."  "Far" in the line "My bank account won't see me very far" is sung with a melisma (Eb C, I think), musically giving something of a sense of distance.  It's negated in the lyric though, so perhaps it's appropriate that the interval is only a minor third.

"Walking in the Sun"

A couple weeks ago, I figured out one of the backing vocal parts during the bridge of "Walking in the Sun" (this is one of the overdubs added in December 1968).  I don't know if this is just coincidence or if it's an indication of Rod Argent's cathedral choir background, but the first few measures bear some resemblance to the first phrase in hymn tune "Jefferson."

Here's the backing vocal phrase (during "You will laugh and walk with me..."):

Here's a recording I made of "Jefferson" a few years ago for my blog about hymns.  Here's the first phrase in notation (I adjusted the key so that it's easy to compare with "Walking in the Sun"):

The note values in each tune are considerably different, but if the first note of "Jefferson" is disregarded, the intervals of the first seven notes match.

I also noticed a small point about the lyrics in the bridge:  "ecstasy" in the line "And we will share our ecstasy" is sung with a melisma (I think it's E F G F E in the lead vocals), and since it's divided among a number of notes, there's a musical sense of that "shar[ing]."

Ready Steady Go!

[source]

I was looking through Zombies pictures recently and found this one, which I've never seen before.  The caption reads:  "English rock group The Zombies perform on the set of the music television show Ready Steady Go! at the Rediffusion studio in Kingsway, London in September 1964.  The band members are, from left, Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy and Chris White."

It's clearly early days since they're wearing the same stage clothes as they did during the Herts Beat competition in April and May 1964.  Rod Argent doesn't have his Vox Continental, just his Hohner Pianet (although, as I explain here, I think he got his Vox Continental in late August 1964), and it looks like Hugh Grundy is playing someone else's drum kit.  Based on what letters are visible ("ley... is... ts"), I think it might be Bill Haley & His Comets.

The Zombie Heaven liner notes list only one Ready Steady Go! appearance in September, on the 11th.  Paul Atkinson notes that because they did Ready Steady Go! they were late to a gig in Birmingham later the same day.

"Imagine the Swan" b/w "Conversation off Floral Street"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (30 May 1969), "Imagine the Swan" b/w "Conversation off Floral Street" (CBS 4242) was released in the U.K.

"Turn Your Heart Around"

A couple days ago, I listened to Keats and noticed a small thing in "Turn Your Heart Around" that's also in the version that Colin Blunstone recorded for On the Air Tonight.  "On" in the line "This can't go on" is sung with a melisma (D E), giving a sense of continuation.

"Salvation Song"

This morning I listened to Rod Argent's Red House and noticed a small thing in "Salvation Song."  At ~4:03, one of the synths plays the phrase A Bb C F.  With a different rhythm and in a different key (so that it's C# D E A), this same phrase is in the band Argent's "Be Free."  It appears on organ at ~0:09 and on electric piano at ~2:03.

"Imagine the Swan" b/w "Conversation off Floral Street"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, "Imagine the Swan" b/w "Conversation off Floral Street" (Date 2-1644) was released fifty years ago to-day (29 April 1969) in the U.S. and Canada.

"Loving You Is Sweeter than Ever"

Earlier, I was thinking about "Loving You Is Sweeter than Ever" (on The BBC Radio Sessions), and I realized that "ev'ry night and day" in the line "Ev'ry night and day I lived the life of a lonely one" is a merism.

"What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"

Yester-day I was thinking about "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (included on Colin Blunstone's Collected), and I realized a couple things about it.

"Dreams" in the first line ("As I walk this land of broken dreams") and "hearted" in the title line are both sung with melismas (C Bb Ab and D C Bb, respectively), musically giving a sense of being "broken."

Earlier to-day, I realized that there's also a significant melisma in the second line:  "I have visions of many things."  "Things" is sung to the notes Bb Ab, so while it's a smaller melisma, there's still something of a sense of that "many."

"The Feeling's Inside"

The last thing I noticed when I listened to Argent last week is that there's an instance in "The Feeling's Inside" where the structure mirrors the lyrics:  the first line of the bridge is "And you begin to feel your life was changed," and the bridge is a musical change in the song.  Before it, there's an organ introduction and two verses.  It's not the most significant point, but I thought it was interesting.

"Lonely Hard Road"

When I listened to Argent last week, I noticed a couple small things in "Lonely Hard Road."

"Away" in the line "Like a fool, I made her run away" is sung with a melisma (F F Eb C), musically giving a sense of movement or distance.

"Walking" in the line "So I'll just keep walking" in the slower section at the end is also sung with a melisma (F Eb Eb), musically giving a sense of movement but also of that continuing.