Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Three days ago, I listened to Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.  In the third movement, there was a part that reminded me of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.  So I looked up the scores and compared the two pieces (that's what took so long between first hearing this and writing a post about it - I'm not very good at reading music).

On the left are the first two bars of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony.  On the right are some measures from the 3rd movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto.  Both of these - the first measure and a half of Beethoven's 5th Symphony and the 69th and half of the 70th measure of Grieg's Piano Concerto - use inversions of C major in escalating the melody.  Beethoven does this with a variety of instruments (although I've shown only a few), and Grieg does it with just the piano, but they're both doing the same thing.

The Apples in Stereo's Electronic Projects for Musicians

I listened to the Apples in Stereo's Electronic Projects for Musicians this morning.  By the end of the album, I started to realize how appropriate their name is (or how appropriate their music is, in the event that their name was created first): most of the songs combine double-tracking (or triple-tracking) and extremely left and right panning.  So the stereo element is heavily emphasized in their songs, which is also reflected in their name.  I think this is mostly the case for the vocals (both lead and backing) and some of the guitar parts.  I'd have to listen to the album again in order to be more specific though.

I'm fairly certain that this stereo arrangement is featured on their other albums too, but, offhand, the only other song I can point to specifically is "The Afternoon" from The Discovery of a World inside the Moone.  There, the vocals are triple-tracked in left-center-right stereo.

Cliff Richard's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care"

This morning I listened to a Cliff Richard compilation album titled Early Days.  In his version of "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," I noticed that the lyric is "You don't know any dance steps that I knew."  I'm more familiar with Buddy Holly's version of the song (although he flips the parenthetical around and titles it "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)"), where the line is "You don't know any dance steps that I do."

Buddy Holly's version was recorded on 19 December 1957 and was released on his second album - titled Buddy Holly - in February 1958.  Cliff Richard's version was released on his first album - Cliff - in April 1959.  So the Buddy Holly version is older.

Because Early Days also includes Cliff Richard's versions of some Buddy Holly songs ("That'll Be the Day" and "That's My Desire") and some other songs (such as "I'll String along with You," "Little Things Mean a Lot," and his version of Gershwin's "Embraceable You" - all of which appear on his second album, Cliff Sings) venture into the orchestrated instrumentation that Buddy Holly also used (on songs such as "True Love Ways" and "Raining in My Heart"), I think it's safe to say that Cliff Richard was influenced by Buddy Holly.

It's quite possible that his changing "You don't know any dance steps that I do" to "You don't know any dance steps that I knew" is simply a mistake.  They heard "knew" instead of "do" when listening to the Buddy Holly version.  (Lyrical mishearings are pretty common.  On the Who's version of "Good Lovin'" from The BBC Sessions, the line is "I asked a famous doctor just what I had" instead of "I asked my family doctor" as it is in the Rascals' version.  Boyce and Hart's "Last Train to Clarksville" (famous by the Monkees) came out of mishearing the Beatles' "Paperback Writer," and the Zombies' "Time of the Season" came out of a mishearing of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears.")  Changing the line might just be an-other example of one artist's mishearing an-other.

Regardless of whether the change was intentional or not, it does affect the song.  "You don't know any dance steps that I knew" indicates that the singer/speaker has forgotten the dance steps that he used to know.  And the cause of his forgetting them is likely his spending time with the girl who's so square.  He hasn't been dancing, so he's forgotten the steps.  This situation gives the song a greater depth, and it illustrates a greater connection between the singer/speaker and the girl, where the Buddy Holly version - staying in the present tense - could seem more like an infatuation that will soon pass.

The changing of the parentheticals also seems to suggest this.  The more prominent title of Cliff Richard's version is "Baby I Don't Care," but the more prominent title of Buddy Holly's is "You're So Square."  For the singer/speaker in Buddy Holly's version, the significance is still on the girl's squareness, which could interfere with the relationship.

Vipers Skiffle Group's "The Ash Grove"

This morning, I listened to Vipers Skiffle Group's Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O.  One of the songs included is "The Ash Grove."  I recognized the melody of this; it's a slight variation of the melody for the hymn "Sent forth by God's Blessing."  In the hymnal, the title of the melody is listed as "The Ash Grove."  The melody that the Vipers use is slightly different from what's in the hymnal, and obviously the words are completely different.

I looked it up on Wikipedia, and apparently "The Ash Grove" is a melody that's used with quite a few sets of lyrics.  The Vipers use the words written by Thomas Oliphant, although the liner notes lists it as just "traditional" and "public domain."

I think this is only the second or third time I've listened to this album, and I have a vague recollection of recognizing this melody, but I don't think I actually looked into it last time.  So now I have.

Eagles' "Saturday Night"

I'm listening to the Eagles' Desperado.  There's a song called "Saturday Night" that rhetorically asks, "Whatever happened to Saturday night?"  I didn't notice this the first time I listened to this album (this is only the second time I've listened to it), but that line is also a line in Buffalo Springfield's "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?" (and, of course, the title).  Buffalo Springfield released only three albums (four, if you include Retrospective), but "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?" didn't appear on any of them.  I'm not sure, but I think it was first released on Box Set.

In any case, I don't think it's likely that the Eagles knew about the Buffalo Springfield's "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?"  Yet it's still interesting that the two bands - which are pretty similar in their musical styles - are asking the same question.

Tommy James & the Shondells' "Gettin' Together"

I'm part of the way through the Tommy James & the Shondells' compilation The Definitive Pop Collection.  At the very beginning of "Gettin' Together," there's a musical phrase that's reminiscent of the opening of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'."  I think it's the interval of a fifth instead of the octave that's in "Gimme Some Lovin'," but I'm pretty sure that the rhythm of the two parts is the same.  Five quick notes and then a sixth lower note.

I looked up the dates, and it is possible that "Gettin' Together" was inspired by "Gimme Some Lovin'," as it's from 1967 and "Gimme Some Lovin'" is from 1966.

The Zombies' "Woman"

I listened to part of the Zombies' The Decca Stereo Anthology this morning.  (It's pretty long - which is awesome, but which also means it takes awhile to listen to.)

This is only the third time I've listened to this album, and I think I've noticed something new every time I've listened to it.  This time, it was in the backing vocals/harmonies on "Woman."  While Colin Blunstone sings, "I can't conceive, no, I can't believe you love me too," Rod Argent and Chris White's harmonies are just "e."  It works well because the same sound is in both "conceive" and "believe," but it's still sort of a weird choice of a vowel as far as backing vocals go.  Usually, it's "ah" or "ooh."  Maybe even "oh."  And here it's "e."  But it still works.

Jefferson Airplane's "The House at Pooneil Corners"

I just listened to Jefferson Airplane's Crown of Creation.  I'm fairly certain that this is only the second time I've listened to it.  The first time I listened to it, I noted the similarities in the opening feedback of "The House at Pooneil Corners" and the opening track of After Bathing at Baxter's - "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil."

I said then that it was the same feedback, but listening to the opening of the two songs back-to-back, it becomes evident that it's not exactly the same.  However, it's still very similar.  It's sort of amazing to me how they could replicate the feedback that well.

Back when I first listened to the album, I said that "The liner notes mention that the songs are related, which is obvious from the titles, but I think it’s neat how that’s reflected in feedback rather than any similarities in lyrics or music.  (Though, there may be those connexions too.  I’ve listened to it only once, and I wasn’t paying that much attention to it.)"  Listening to it this time, I did notice a similarity in the lyrics.  The line "And you know I'm still gonna need you around" appears in "The House at Pooneil Corners," which recalls the "you know I need you around" from "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil."

"The House at Pooneil Corners" also mentions a rhinoceros, which I feel may be connected in some way to the armadillo in "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil."

The Beach Boys' "Don't Hurt My Little Sister"

I kept thinking about the Beach Boys' "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" because the melody of Brian's falsetto part sounded familiar too.  Last night, I finally figured out where I know it from.  There's a song by Jay and the Americans called "Things Are Changing," which - in my opinion - is one of the worst in their catalogue.  Some of the melodies of the background parts are grating, and the song as a whole seems more like propaganda.

But in any case, it has the same melody as part of "Don't Hurt My Little Sister."  I looked it up and was surprised to discover that it was actually co-written by Brian Wilson (with Phil Spector).  While looking up the recording dates, I discovered that "Things Are Changing" is pretty much just Phil Spector's revision of "Don't Hurt My Little Sister."  From Keith Badman's The Beach Boys:  "Brian originally wrote this song for The Ronettes and submitted it to their producer Phil Spector, who then altered the lyrics and called it "Things Are Changing (For the Better)".  Brian will recall that Spector kicks him off the session because he 'couldn't play the song right'.  Spector later cuts the revamped song with The Blossoms as a public-service announcement for equal opportunities."

The melody of the first part Brian's falsetto section ("why don't you kiss her") remains unchanged in Spector's rewrite ("it doesn't matter"), which is what first caught my ear.  But listening to the beginnings of the two songs back-to-back, the resemblance does come across.

The recording dates:  The Beach Boys' "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" was recorded on 22 June 1964 and 18 January 1965 and was released on Today! on 8 March 1965.  Jay and the Americans' "Things Are Changing" was recorded in August 1965 and released in January 1966.

The Beach Boys' "Don't Hurt My Little Sister"

I went a bit out of alphabetical order this morning and listened to the Beach Boys’ Today!  The recurring riff in “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister” caught my attention.  I figured out how to play it and then compared it to the first few seconds of “She’s So Fine” by Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids from the American Graffiti soundtrack.  The riffs are identical, save that the Beach Boys’ is in Bb and Flash Cadillac’s is in B.

I’m not sure what to make of this though because the chronology is confusing.  The Beach Boys’ Today! is from 1965.  American Graffiti is from 1973 but is set in 1962 and features some of the earlier Beach Boys songs, like “Surfin’ Sufari” and - anachronistically, as it’s from 1964 - “All Summer Long.”

I guess “She’s So Fine” was a good choice for the film’s soundtrack if it’s trying to be reminiscent of the Beach Boys (both “She’s So Fine” and “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister” heavily feature piano as a rhythm instrument and harmony and falsetto singing), but its resemblance is to a song that came a few years after the film’s setting.