"Goin' out of My Head"

Last night, I figured out the guitar chords for "Goin' out of My Head."  Here's a recording with guitar, bass, vibraphone, and some of the trumpet part:

 

I'm not sure the bass part is entirely accurate, but it's pretty close at least.  Some of the vibraphone part may consist of two simultaneous notes, but I have only single notes.  I used a mellotron sound ("2 Brass") for the trumpet part.

While learning and verifying the chords, I noticed a couple things.  There are quite a few odd chords in the song, to the point that I'm not even sure what key it's in, and that erratic nature mirrors the title sentiment.

During the line "I must think of a way into your heart," the chord progression is F# major | A minor | E major | G minor.  This too is quite an unusual group of chords, and it gives the impression of the speaker/singer's use of various techniques to win the girl's affection.

"Apart" in the following line ("There's no reason why my being shy should keep us apart") is sung with a melisma (A# A# B), musically giving something of a sense of its meaning.

"She Loves the Way They Love Her" [Into the Afterlife]

A couple weeks ago, I re-learned and notated the bass part in "She Loves the Way They Love Her," specifically the version that appears on Into the Afterlife.

What I have now is more accurate than what I had before, but I still wouldn't guarantee complete accuracy.

*These two notes are played as Cs in the recording, but based on previous sections, they should actually be Bbs.  A bit of dissonance between the bass and the piano can be heard there in the recording.

Abbey Road Piano

Quite a while ago, I found a few pictures of Rod Argent in Abbey Road in 1973:

[source]

[source]

Recently, the Beatles tweeted about "Lady Madonna" and included a clip of the promotional film.  The same piano is in that footage (the music rack matches):

As this video explains, the footage that was used to create the "Lady Madonna" video was actually shot when the Beatles were recording "Hey Bulldog," so the same piano heard in "Hey Bulldog" can also be heard on whatever Argent was recording when these pictures were taken in 1973 (probably In Deep or Nexus).

The Zombies' Guitars

It's been quite a while since I posted anything here, so I felt I should write something, and since my last post was (a link to a post) about Rod Argent's Hohner Pianets, it seemed like a good idea to carry on in that vein and write a post about the guitars the Zombies used.

I should start this post with saying that I'm not an expert on vintage gear, so this post may not be as detailed as it could be (I don't know the specific years these instruments were manufactured, for instance).  I should also note that - for now, at least - I plan on covering only the instruments from about 1964 to 1967.

Guitars

Epiphone Zenith

While not the first guitar Atkinson owned (in Claes Johansen's Hung up on a Dream [p. 37] and in the Zombie Heaven liner notes [p. 7], he mentions trading a violin for an old guitar, which was his first), I believe this is the first guitar he used in the Zombies.  Johansen quotes Atkinson:  "My mother had bought that for me for £15 in 1961 from the local music store.  It wasn't expensive, but it was a pretty well-made guitar.  I added a couple of pick-ups to it and electrified it myself" (p. 61).

This is the guitar Atkinson used when the Zombies appeared in the Herts Beat Competition in April 1964:

[source]

Here a picture of Atkinson playing it in the studio, either November or December 1964:

It now resides in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Here it is in a picture from when the Zombies visited in 2015:

[source]

The pick-up and pick guard have been removed, but there's a small scratch near the edge that proves this is the same guitar:

Click to enlarge

A few years ago, it was (and - as far as I know - still is) part of an exhibit on the Zombies.  According to this article, this is the guitar used on "Tell Her No."

Hohner Acoustic Guitar

I could find very little information about this guitar.  In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, Atkinson says, "I had an old Hohner acoustic guitar, which I bought for £15 in about 1963 and electrified it myself, adding two pickups to it, and that's what I recorded with on the early sessions."  The liner notes for The Decca Stereo Anthology credit Atkinson with "Hohner acoustic" but don't offer any additional information.

Because The Decca Stereo Anthology doesn't mention the Epiphone and because some of the details here match the account above (the cost of £15 and Atkinson's adding pick-ups himself), I'm wondering if this is actually the Epiphone and is simply mis-identified.

Gretsch Chet Atkins

Atkinson quoted in Johansen (p. 95):  "I got a Gretsch Chet Atkins, which was a double cut-away.  It's a great guitar, but I ended up not liking it very much.  I couldn't get a great tone out of it.  In retrospect I should have got the Country Gentleman, which is the George Harrison one.  It has a much more cutting tone."  Johansen also explains that Atkinson had acquired this guitar by the time of the Zombies' recording session on 31 August 1964, and this is confirmed by Atkinson himself in the Zombie Heaven liner notes (p. 19).  Both sources go on to note that Atkinson often used his electrified acoustic in the studio, rather than the Gretsch (or the Rickenbacker that he later replaced it with).

Miming to "Tell Her No" on Shindig!:

Here's a color photo from the same appearance to show the orange finish:

[source]

Burns Double Six

By November 1964, Atkinson had a Burns Double Six.  In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, he explains that "in the studio [it] sounded good" but he eventually gave up using it because it "kept going out of tune."  The liner notes also mention that the Burns was "featured heavily in the album sessions" (for Begin Here) in November and December 1964 (p. 43).

Scanned from the liner notes of Greatest Hits Greatest Recordings

Rickenbacker 360-12

In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, Atkinson says, "I also tried the Rickenbacker 360-12, but you had to have tiny fingers for that" (p. 43).  The Decca Stereo Anthology liner notes do list it in the credits, so apparently Atkinson did use it for recording.  I think "Don't Go Away" and "How We Were Before" are the only tracks featuring twelve-string guitar that weren't recorded during the Begin Here sessions (they were recorded in 1965, June and July, respectively), so they seem the likeliest candidates for where Atkinson used the Rickenbacker twelve-string (but of course that's speculation).

Rickenbacker Rose-Morris 1997

From the Zombie Heaven liner notes (p. 19):  "I eventually sold [the Gretsch], as I didn't really like it.  I switched it for a Rickenbacker, which I then played all of the way through on stage, but I still used my electrified acoustic on sessions because it sounded great, chunkier and tougher, on record, and frequently better than the Rick."

This exchange seems to have taken place in early 1965.  When the Zombies appeared on Hullabaloo in January 1965, Atkinson still had the Gretsch:

[source]

The Zombie Heaven liner notes mention that Atkinson got contacts in March 1965, and since there are a number of pictures of him still with glasses and with the Rickenbacker six-string, he must have switched guitars before then.

Here's a picture from the Odessey and Oracle recording sessions, dated September 1967:

[source]

This Rickenbacker has an F hole and a straight-edged tailpiece (rather than just a slash for a sound hole and the curved tailpiece that incorporates the R), and these features identify it as a Rose-Morris 1997.

Here's a color picture to show the Fireglo finish:

[source]

Bass Guitars

Homemade Bass

According to Jim Rodford, the first bass that Chris White used with the Zombies was made by a local in St Albans.  Rodford and White himself explain that it was used to record "She's Not There."

Here's White (center) with the homemade bass in 1962 before he joined the Zombies:

[source]

An early Zombies gig, probably 1963:

The homemade bass was also used in the Herts Beat competition (as seen in a picture above).  Like Atkinson's Epiphone, the bass is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's exhibit on the Zombies:

Gibson EB-3

Johansen explains that by the recording session on 31 August 1964, "Chris White had got himself a Gibson bass which he would continue to use throughout the Decca period" (p. 95).  Here he is using it on the Swedish show Drop-In in November 1966:

[source]

The five knobs identify it as a Gibson EB-3.  As can be seen in some of the pictures above, it had a red finish.

Here's an-other shot of it, from when the Zombies were in the Philippines in March 1967:

Fender Precision

Johansen notes that by the time of the Odessey and Oracle sessions (which started in June 1967)  White had "changed from his short-necked Gibson bass to a Fender Precision" (p. 168).

Here's a picture dated September 1967:

[source]

"This is a piano" and "This way up" were painted on the bass (apparently by White himself).  White later gave this bass to Jim Rodford, who used it (for mimed television appearances, at least) in Argent.  Here are some isolated frames from mimed performances of "Hold Your Head Up," which I'm including mostly because they're the only color images I've seen of this bass:

Rod Argent's Hohner Pianets

Back in September, I started a blog devoted to the Hohner Pianet.  My main goal is to record keyboard pieces using the Pianet sample on my Nord Electro 5, but now and then I also write some posts about the instrument itself.  (For example:  in February, I published a post in which I transcribed the German text of the demonstration record and translated it into English.)  Earlier this month, I published a post in which I tried to provide a comprehensive history of Rod Argent's use of the Pianet (from 1963 to 1974).

"Let It Go"

Yester-day, the Zombies posted that it was the anniversary of the release of Breathe Out, Breathe In, so I listened to the album.  I found two small things to note in "Let It Go":  "Night and day" and "From high and low" are both merisms.

"I'm in the Mood"

I listened to Rod Argent's Moving Home a couple days ago and noticed a small feature in "I'm in the Mood."  In the lines "You know I feel so good, / Feel so good!" the second "good" is sung with a melisma for a sense of degree (for "so").

Argent mentions Duke Ellington in the lyrics, and I think the title "I'm in the Mood" might be a subtle reference to "Mood Indigo," one of Ellington's songs.  For what it's worth, Argent also mentions Ellington in this radio piece from 2009.

"Trapeze"

While going through my notes for Out of the Shadows, I discovered an-other note about "Trapeze" from earlier this month (the 17th) that I'd forgotten about:  "Faces" in the line "Upturned faces" is sung to an ascending phrase (although only a whole step: A B), musically giving a sense of that "upturned."

"Danger Zone"

I also found some significant melismas in "Danger Zone."

"Late" in the line "For we could leave it much too late" is sung with a melisma (E D) for a sense of degree (for "too").  "Lives" in the line "All of our lives" is sung with a melisma (although it's the same pitch twice:  A# A#) to portray something of the entirety of that "all."  "Go" in the line "And it's hard to know we should let it go" is sung with a melisma (G# F#) for a sense of (metaphorical) movement.

"Baby Don't You Cry No More"

Some of the "more"s in "Baby Don't You Cry No More" are sung with melismas, so while it's negated, there's something of a sense of its meaning.  While writing this post, it occurred to me that "no more" has the same semantic ambiguity (it could be taken either temporally or as an amount) as "any more"/"anymore," which I wrote about five years ago.  I also referenced Rod Argent's version (titled just "Baby Don't You Cry") on Red House and discovered that it too has these melisma'd "more"s.

"A Girl Like That"

I listened to Out of the Shadows a couple days ago and noticed a few small features.

In "A Girl Like That," "down" in the lines "And when I'm down and feeling flat" and "But I've come down; she brought me back" is sung with a descending melisma (D# C# B), musically giving a sense of its meaning.

"Trapeze"

I've been listening to Argent a lot lately.  Over the last month or so, I listened to Circus four times, and somewhere along the way, I realized something about "Trapeze."  At ~0:56 and again at ~6:49 there are sections that really exploit the stereo mixing, with electric piano (I'm pretty sure it's a Fender Rhodes) panned far left, bass centered, and guitar panned far right.  Musically, these alternate so that there's something of a sense of the music moving back and forth from left to right.  Extra-musically, this seems to present the movement of the singer/speaker's act.

"Remember You" [single version]

Last month, I re-learned and notated the bass part for the single version of "Remember You."  As always, there's the disclaimer that I might have something wrong:

Rather than use a second piece of paper for only a handful of measures, I squeezed together a few at the end.

"Indication"

I recently re-learned the opening organ part to "Indication" (and while I still might not be note-perfect, comparison with my old recordings shows that I'm more accurate than I used to be).  Last night, I was thinking about the song, and I realized that "ev'ry day and ev'ry night" in the lines "I don't want to be / Tied down ev'ry day and ev'ry night" is a merism.

"Hung up on a Dream"

This morning I listened to Odessey and Oracle and noticed a small thing in "Hung up on a Dream."  "Crowd" in the line "And from that nameless, changing crowd" is sung with a melisma (A G E, I think).  Since the word isn't sung to a single, constant pitch, there's a musical sense of that "changing."

"The Way I Feel Inside"

Recently, I've been re-learning some parts that I never wrote down and have forgotten.  Last night, I re-learned and notated the bass part for "The Way I Feel Inside," and I thought I'd post it here (appropriately, on Chris White's birthday).

The bass plays only in the last section of the song, and there's a ritardando at the end.

"Remember You"

I recently remembered/re-learned the bass part for the single version of "Remember You."  Last week, I wrote it down (I plan on scanning it and posting it eventually), and while doing so, I realized that it represents the lyrics in this section:

And if I should change my mind
And I do sometimes
You know I do sometimes
I'll come back to you

The bass part there is:

(There's a glissando between the D and B bridging the first and second measures of the second line, but I couldn't indicate that in the program I use to make notation.)

There are a handful of accidentals here, and they musically represent that "chang[ing] my mind."  The first G# (in the third measure) is particularly effective because it's directly underneath "change."

This feature is also present in the soundtrack version, although that's in a different key.  I've already written out the bass part for that version, but since that was one of my first forays into notation and was almost four years ago, it's a bit rough.

"Something Happens When You Touch Me"

Last night, I figured out a couple more parts for Colin Blunstone's "Something Happens When You Touch Me" (bass for one section and the chords in the bridge).  I realized something that I was very close to seeing when I wrote about the song in October 2018.  In the line "Just say the word, and I'll drop ev'rything, ev'rything," the three syllables of those "ev'rything"s are all sung to different pitches (F E C, A G E in the lead vocals, A G E, C Bb G in the harmony vocals), musically giving a sense of breadth.

"She's Coming Home"

I listened to The Decca Stereo Anthology recently.  This afternoon, I was thinking about "She's Coming Home," and realized something about this section:

Oh, baby, baby, baby, I'll be good to you
If you would only try again to love me too
Our love was such a sweet and gentle thing
I threw our love away without a thought

Unlike the first verse, which exhibits an AABB rhyme scheme, this section has an AABC rhyme scheme.  That the last two lines don't rhyme illustrates in some way the singer/speaker's lack of thought.

Argent

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, Argent's eponymous debut album (CBS 63781) was released in the U.K. fifty years ago to-day (16 January 1970).