"Conversation off Floral Street"

Last week, I wrote out the bass part for "Conversation off Floral Street" and discovered that it's quite unusual.  It starts out simply enough, with this repeated figure in 4/4:

But then at ~0:24, the song changes meter.  I think it's 7/4, something like this:

In the BBC Mastertapes program (the A side), Rod Argent (who wrote "Conversation off Floral Street") comments on the off-beat hand claps in "Time of the Season" and explains that "I've always loved the idea of broken rhythms in verses and then it developing into something that was more straight ahead and building to some sort of climax."  This change in meter in "Conversation off Floral Street" seems to be an extreme example of this, especially since the second half of each 7/4 measure has notes that occur on the upbeats rather than the downbeats.

"In My Mind a Miracle"

I listened to As Far As I Can See... yester-day and noticed a significant contrast in "In My Mind a Miracle."  At the beginning of the first verse, the organ drops out completely, and the other instruments (electric piano, guitar, bass, and drums) play with softer dynamics or fewer notes compared to what they played in the preceding chorus.  This change highlights the paucity in the lyrics there:  "When I was young, I didn't notice much."

"Hung up on a Dream"

A couple weeks ago, I realized that the line "I stood astounded staring hard" in "Hung up on a Dream" exhibits consonance.  I thought there was some significance to this, but it took me a while to sort it out.  Because that particular sound doesn't change from word to word, there's almost a sense of the narrator's being frozen in wonder while looking at the "men with flowers resting in their hair."

"Keep the Curtains Closed Today"

Recently, I listened to The BBC Radio Sessions, and I noticed that the line "Could this be just the start of so many nights like this" in "The Look of Love" is similar to the line "Could this be just the start of coming home" in Colin Blunstone's later "Keep the Curtains Closed Today" (or "Let's Keep the Curtains Closed Today," as it's titled on The Ghost of You and Me).  When I lookt up the lyrics of "The Look of Love," though, all of the sources I referenced listed the line as "Let this be just the start of so many nights like this."  Initially, I suspected that this similarity indicated that Blunstone borrowed from Bacharach's song while writing his own, but because of the lyrical discrepancy with other versions, I'm not sure.  Still, I thought I'd note it here.

"Dance in the Smoke"

I was thinking about Argent's "Dance in the Smoke" yester-day, and I realized that the line "But on tiptoe, the flames would grow" generally ascends, giving senses of the height of standing "on tiptoe" and of the increase of "grow[ing]."  It's a bit difficult to distinguish the vocal parts, but I think the line is sung to the notes G A B C | C A B C.

Odessey and Oracle

A couple days ago, I wrote out the bass part for "Brief Candles."  When I lookt at it again yester-day, I realized that the rhythm in the bridge is similar to the rhythm of the bass part in the bridge of "Care of Cell 44."

Here's the bridge in "Brief Candles":

I'm not sure what key the song is in, but I put the notation in A major.

Here's the bridge in "Care of Cell 44" (excepting the last measure):

In the bridge of "Care of Cell 44," some of the notes are tied across the bar lines, but otherwise, the two parts have mostly the same rhythm.  This similarity lends a bit of cohesion to Odessey and Oracle even though "Care of Cell 44" was written by Rod Argent and "Brief Candles" was written by Chris White.

"I'll Call You Mine"

I'd previously noted the sort of parallelism in the line "Walk in the light of day and talk the night away" in "I'll Call You Mine," but early last month, I was thinking about this again and started wondering if these phrases were also parallel musically.  I'd forgotten about this until recently, but yester-day, I figured out the vocal melody for the first two verses in order to investigate this.

The two halves of the line begin the same way (G# A B), and the last few notes of each, while not exactly the same, trace a diatonic descent (F E D and E D C), so there is a bit of musical parallelism that matches the sort of parallelism in the lyrics.

I was also struck by how much of the melody occurs on the off-beats, and I think this may be significant in light of the lyrics.  The second verse (repeated as the third verse) ends with the line "I was afraid to try to call you mine," and this delivery that comes just after the beat seems to indicate the narrator's hesitancy and reluctance.

"Wonderful" b/w "Beginning"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (21 September 1973), Colin Blunstone's "Wonderful" [edited] b/w "Beginning" (Epic S EPC 1775) was released in the U.K.

Last year, I found this video from a Dutch television station where Colin mimes to "Wonderful."

The video description provides two different dates, but apparently the video was originally broadcast on either 10 or 11 November 1973.

"Butcher's Tale"

Last month, I was thinking about one of the sound effects in "Butcher's Tale."  In the liner notes to the fiftieth anniversary edition of Odessey and Oracle, Andrew Sandoval describes it as "added intrigue from Rod on electronic oscillator."  Chris White confirms this in Claes Johansen's book The Zombies: Hung up on a Dream:  "There were no synthesizers in those days... the thing at the end is just an oscillator which Rod played on another track" (p. 171).  I think it's basically a glissando from A to D an octave higher.

Last night, I made a recording of the harmonium and oscillator parts.  I used my Hammond SKX for the harmonium (specifically Reed Organ 2 with Hall 2 reverb set at 26) and my Moog Subsequent 37 for the oscillator.  I'm still way out of my depth with the Moog, but I tried to use a simple setting.

I played the harmonium part from memory, and I didn't use a click track, so it may vary in accuracy and tempo.

 

"Out of the Day"

Last week, I re-learned the opening guitar figure and the chords for "Out of the Day."  I was thinking about the song again yester-day, and I realized that in the line "Driving home; I'll soon be home" at the end of each verse, the "home"s are both song to the tonic note (D), the musical "home" of the key (D minor).  Usually, the first "home" is sung with a descending melisma (E D), and the second is sung to a single pitch (D), but near the end of the song, there are two "home"s sung with an ascending melisma (C D).

"I'll Call You Mine"

Here's the bass part for "I'll Call You Mine," with the guitar chords written in above the staff.  There are eight measures of a piano introduction before this, but I didn't include those in my notation.  Of course, there's also the disclaimer that I may have something wrong.

"Is This the Dream"

I recently wrote out the bass parts for a couple more Zombies songs, and I finally got around to scanning them to-day.  Here's the bass part for "Is This the Dream," although - as always - there's the disclaimer that I may have something wrong:

Argent's Keyboard Rig

Years ago, I found this picture from an Argent concert:

[source]

The caption reads, "Keyboard player Rod Argent from Argent performs live on stage at the London Music Festival at Alexandra Palace Festival in London on 27th July 1973."

27 July 1973 was fifty years ago to-day, and I'm sharing this picture not only because it's the anniversary but also because it's the earliest evidence I've seen of Rod Argent's keyboard rig at its peak.  On the left, there are a Mellotron M-400 and a Minimoog Model D, and on the right there are a Hammond organ and what is apparently a Hohner Pianet N.

Argent mentions the Hammond C-3 in this video, but I don't know if that's the specific model in this picture.

I suspect that the picture shows Argent playing "I Am the Dance of Ages."  The two live versions I have of the song (at the Palace Theatre on 7 November 1973 and on Encore from 1974) both feature simultaneous Mellotron and Hammond parts.

"Goin' out of My Head"

I was reviewing the bass part for "Goin' out of My Head" this morning (because I need to get around to finishing the notation of it), and I realized something about the choruses.

Years ago, I noted that the "Day and night / Night and day" pairs are temporal merisms; while these two opposites are named, the sense is actually "all the time."  This effect is compounded because the order is reversed between the two pairs (although the second isn't really a pair; the whole line is "Night and day and night").  This morning, I realized that this effect is also emphasized musically because the "day" and "night" of each pair occur alternately on and off the beat.  In the line "Day and night," "day" is sung on an upbeat, and "night" is sung on a downbeat.  In the following "Night and day," "night" is sung on the upbeat, and "day" is sung on the downbeat.  Both musically and rhetorically, then, these opposites and inversions indicate an entirety.

"It's Only Money Pt. 2" b/w "Candles on the River"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (22 June 1973), Argent's "It's Only Money Pt. 2" (edit) b/w "Candles on the River" (Epic S EPC 1628) was released in the U.K.

"It's Only Money Pt. 2" b/w "Losing Hold"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (18 June 1973), Argent's "It's Only Money Pt. 2" (edit) b/w "Losing Hold" (Epic 5-11019) was released in the U.S. and Canada.

"I Know She Will"

I recently re-learned Mike Vickers' flute overdub for "I Know She Will" and notated most of it:

At the end, there's a three-note phrase (C# B A), but I'm not exactly sure where in the measure this starts (since the rest of the instruments drop out before then), so I didn't notate that.

It's worth pointing out that in the solo, the last G note is a half note in the flute part but two quarter notes in the guitar part.  I think the solo is also doubled with French horn, which is actually easier to hear than the flute.

"I'll Keep Trying"

 

I'm not sure this was really worth doing because it's so short, but here's the Hohner Pianet solo in the Zombies' "I'll Keep Trying."  The guitar plays basically the same thing, just an octave higher and articulated slightly differently (there are some glissandi between the notes, and the C in the third measure is held longer).  For a bit of context, I also included the bass part.

"Andorra" b/w "Caroline Goodbye"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (4 June 1973), Colin Blunstone's "Andorra" (edit) b/w "Caroline Goodbye" (Epic 5-11004) was released in the U.S. and Canada.

"How We Were Before"

Earlier this week, I wrote out the bass part for "How We Were Before."  In doing so, I discovered a couple notes I'd been playing wrong and also an odd measure of 6/4 at the end of the verses (the last measure in the second line).  As always though, there's the disclaimer that I may have something wrong.

"Whenever You're Ready"

Last week, I wrote out the notation for the bass part in "Whenever You're Ready."  I noticed before that writing notation forces me to pay closer attention to parts, and while writing out this part, I discovered a significant contrast between the verses and the bridge.

For most of the verse, the rhythm is two dotted quarter notes and two eighth notes:

(Many other Zombies songs feature a similar rhythm, including "I Can't Make Up My Mind," "Tell Her No," "I'll Keep Trying," "If It Don't Work Out," and "Time of the Season," although some of these substitute a single quarter note for the two eighth notes.)

The bridge retains this rhythm for the first half of each measure, but the second dotted quarter note is often tied to a regular quarter note (although the program I used to make this notation tied an eighth note to a half note instead):

There's a contrast between the rhythms of these two sections, and this mirrors the lyrics in the bridge:  "But if you call me / You've gotta treat me in a different way" (my italics).  To some degree, this difference is even emphasized because some of the pitches occur in the same order (E F Bb, in the tenth to twelfth measures in the verse and in the second to fourth and eighth to tenth measures in the bridge), making the contrast a bit more obvious.

Here's a scan of the complete notation, with the disclaimer that I may have something wrong:

"I Want Some More" b/w "Pay Me Later"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (20 April 1973) Colin Blunstone's "I Want Some More" (edit) b/w "Pay Me Later" (Dut. Epic EPC 1513) was released (I'm assuming the "Dut." abbreviation means it was a Dutch release).  The U.S. and Canada release (Epic 5-10981) was on 23 April.

"Remember You" [soundtrack version]

I wrote out the bass part for the soundtrack version of "Remember You" years ago, but recently, I did it again.  My intent was just to make a better looking copy, but in comparing my old notation to the recording, I discovered that I had some notes in the wrong octave.  What I have now is more accurate, although there's still the disclaimer that I may have something wrong.

"I Must Move"

Here's the notation for the bass part in "I Must Move," with the disclaimer that I may have something wrong.

"She's Coming Home"

I recently wrote out the bass parts for some Zombies songs, which I'll be posting over the next few days.  As always, there's the disclaimer that I may have something wrong.  Here's "She's Coming Home":

I squeezed in the last four measures so I didn't have to use a second piece of paper.

"Shadow of a Doubt"

I'd previously noticed the alliteration in the lines "The nosy next door neighbours would have laughed if they could see / That mutual acquaintance introducing you to me" in Colin Blunstone's "Shadow of a Doubt," but I was thinking about the song yester-day and realized a function of this alliteration.  The repeated N sound mirrors the persistence of being "nosy."

In Deep

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (23 March 1973), Argent's fourth album In Deep (Epic S EPC 65475) was released in the U.K.  The U.S. and Canada release (Epic KE 32195) was on the 26th.

"God Gave Rock and Roll to You" b/w "Christmas for the Free"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (23 February 1973), Argent's "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" (edited) b/w "Christmas for the Free" (Epic S EPC 1243) was released in the U.K.  The U.S. and Canada release (Epic 5-10972) was on 26 March.

"Dance with Life"

The other thing I noticed when I listened to Colin Blunstone's The Ghost of You and Me recently is that in the line "I will make ev'ry day count" in "Dance with Life," "day" is sung with a melisma (D A), musically giving a sense of number for that "ev'ry."

"The Ghost of You and Me"

A few days ago, the Zombies posted the track listing of the new album.  The title "The Sun Will Rise Again" seemed familiar to me, and I suspect that this is a re-recording of a song from Colin Blunstone's solo album The Ghost of You and Me (the Zombies also re-did "Any Other Way" from the same album for Breathe Out, Breathe In).  It had been years since I last listened to the album, and when I listened to it a couple days ago, I found some small features to note.

In the lines "What am I supposed to do with all these blues / Haunting me ev'rywhere no matter what I do" in "The Ghost of You and Me," "ev'rywhere" is sung with a melisma (F# B B C B A G), musically giving a sense of that breadth.

"How Could We Dare to Be Wrong" b/w "Time's Running Out"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (19 January 1973), Colin Blunstone's "How Could We Dare to Be Wrong" b/w "Time's Running Out" (Epic S EPC 1197) was released in the U.K.

"Andorra" b/w "How Could We Dare to Be Wrong"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (12 January 1973), Colin Blunstone's "Andorra" b/w "How Could We Dare to Be Wrong" (Dut. Epic EPC 1183) was released in the U.K.

"Walking in the Sun" and "I Don't Want to Know"

Before I wrote a post about "Walking in the Sun" a couple days ago, I read the older posts I'd written about the song, in order to make sure that I hadn't already written about the significance of that conjunct phrase.

In this post from December 2018, I wrote out the guitar part and noted that a short phrase in between a C major and an A minor (first at ~0:50) is the same (albeit an octave lower) as a short phrase in between a C major and an A major (at ~1:43) in "I Don't Want to Know" (I wrote out that guitar part in September 2016).  The two phrases have the same rhythm and fall in the same place in the measure:

Yester-day, I was thinking about this similarity again, and I realized that these two songs were recorded at the same session, on 25 November 1964.  This similarity is still a rather trivial point, but now I know that the songs are closely connected chronologically.

"Walking in the Sun"

Last night, I figured out the violin in the choruses of the orchestral version of "Walking in the Sun" (although, provided I've figured out the parts correctly, the violin arpeggiates different chords compared to what the guitar plays).

In any case, while figuring out the part, I realized something about the melody to which the title phrase ("We'll be walking in the sun") is sung.  Here's the notation from an old post (it's actually the French horn part from the orchestral version, but that just doubles the vocal part):

This is a conjunct phrase (it moves step-wise through the scale), so musically, there's a sense of that "walking."