The Drifters' "Some Kind of Wonderful"

I listened to a compilation album of the Drifters this morning, including King and Goffin’s “Some Kind of Wonderful.”  As soon as the introduction started, it reminded me of Colin Blunstone’s “Wonderful” from his Journey album.  The beginning of “Some Kind of Wonderful” is almost an a capella singing of wonderful, which is the same as the very end of Colin Blunstone’s “Wonderful.”

Wonderful is a fairly common word, especially considering that most pop songs are love songs, and a capella singing isn’t too uncommon, but I do think there’s some connection between these two songs.  Blunstone’s “Wonderful” was written by Rod Argent and Chris White, and all three were in the Zombies to-gether.  In 1964, the Zombies played a Murray the K show where the Drifters were also billed.  In the liner notes to Zombie Heaven, Paul Atkinson (the Zombies’ guitarist) recalls, “We hung out in Ben E King and the Drifters’ dressing room, and we’d play poker and sing and play guitar.”

I wouldn’t say that that’s absolute proof of direct influence, but I do think it’s more than just a coincidence.

Electric Light Orchestra's "All Over the World"

I listened to Electric Light Orchestra’s All Over the World:  The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra early this morning, and I discovered something interesting.

I already wrote a post about how Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” probably inspired Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” as far as the catalogue of places, and I think ELO’s “All Over the World” takes it a step further.

"Sweet Little Sixteen" lists a bunch of cities in the United States, and "All Over the World" expands this and lists a bunch of international cities.  Where "Sweet Little Sixteen" includes places like Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New Orleans, "All Over the World" includes places like Detroit, LA, London, Hamburg, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Monte Carlo.  (There are others, but I can’t quite make them out.)

I considered the possibility that this was just a coincidence, but there are links between Chuck Berry and ELO.  ELO covered Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” and mention him by name in “Rockaria!”  So I’m fairly certain that the catalogue of places in “All Over the World” is a conscious expansion of what Chuck Berry did in “Sweet Little Sixteen.”

I think there are a fair amount of other references in ELO’s work - both to other musicians (they quote Beethoven in both “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Rockaria!”) and to themselves.  But I feel that that’s something I should spend some concentrated effort on before I write a post about it.

Jefferson Airplane's After Bathing at Baxter's

I’m in the midst of listening to Jefferson Airplane’s After Bathing at Baxter’s.  I listened to the second disc of 2400 Fulton Street:  An Anthology a few days ago (I don’t have the first disc), and I was reminded of the great bass parts, but listening to the actual album, I’m realizing how certain parts of the album work so well in stereo.

The album was released in 1967, when mono mixings were still the norm, but stereo was starting to be used more.  So it’s even more interesting to hear the stereo parts.  Like all of the things flying around at the end of “The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil” and into the start of “A Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly” and the alternating panned left and panned right guitars in “The Last Wall of the Castle.”  I don’t think there had been a precedent for that sort of stuff.

EDIT:  The last cymbal crash at the end of “Two Heads” is great in stereo too.  I don’t even think that effect is possible in mono.

Roy Orbison's "Trying to Get to You"

I just listened to Roy Orbison’s “Trying to Get to You,” and in my head, I heard these backing vocals after the verses.  And then I realized that it was the backing vocals from the Beatles’ “In Spite of All the Danger.”

Now, I’ve not listened to “In Spite of All the Danger” for quite some time (at least a year), but I’m pretty sure that “Trying to Get to You” and “In Spite of All the Danger” share some significant melody parts.  Which makes sense because Roy Orbison was one of the Beatles’ inspirations.  George Harrison was in The Traveling Wilburys with him in the ’80s.

Django Reinhardt's "Mystery Pacific"

One of the Django Reinhardt songs I have is “Mystery Pacific.”  The sounds at the very beginning emulate a train.  This isn’t an isolated occurrence in swing music either.  Erhard Bauschke’s “Nachtexpress nach Warschau” and the Ramblers’ “Hilversum Express” do the same thing.  Even the “The Train Kept A-Rollin’,” which I have by Johnny Burnette and by the Yardbirds.  There are probably others that I can’t think of.  In any case, trying to emulate the sounds of a train is pretty common.

Thinking about this, I realized that Brian Wilson does the same sort of thing in “Cabinessence” from the SMiLE album.  But he does it differently.  While most of the swing songs imitate the train whistle, provide a sense of the train’s momentum in getting started (by increasing the tempo), or try to impart some sense of the intensity once the train has started moving (by maintaining a fast tempo), the way Brian Wilson does it is to musically illustrate the train.  The moving melody describes either the pistons or maybe rolling hills that the train is going over.  Regardless of how you perceive it, Brian Wilson uses the moving melody, not the intense tempo, to give you the effect of a train (although there is a rather intense tempo, too).

One of the videos that the Beach Boys released around the time that the SMiLE sessions were released shows this better than I can describe it.

Bob Dylan's "North Country Blues"

Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Andy Gill about Bob Dylan’s songs from 1962 to 1969, so after I read about a particular album, I listen to it.  Gill mentions that some of the melodies that Dylan uses are from older folk songs.  For example, he says that “Girl from the North Country” and “Boots of Spanish Leather” bear some melodic resemblance to “Scarborough Fair.”

I’m in the midst of listening to The Times They Are A-Changin’, and I realized that the melody of “North Country Blues” is similar to the melody of the folk song “Barbara Allen.”

Gill also mentions that an-other musician who was inspired by folk songs - and “Scarborough Fair” in particular - is Paul Simon.  One of the bonus tracks for the Sounds of Silence album is “Barbriallen” - a variation of “Barbara Allen.”  So it seems that “Barbara Allen” was as important as “Scarborough Fair.”

The Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill"

I’m in the midst of listening to the Beatles’ 1967-1970.

I’d read that at the very end of “A Day in the Life,” along with the four or five pianos, there’s a harmonium.  I was finally able to find it in the mix.

Also, I don’t think I had ever really paid that much attention to the bass harmonica in “The Fool on the Hill.”  I’d heard the notes, but I never thought, “Oh, that’s a bass harmonica.”

I think the bass harmonica is indicative of Brian Wilson’s influence on the Beatles - the artistic rivalry in which the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds as a response to Rubber Soul and then the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper as a response to Pet Sounds.  Brian Wilson used bass harmonica on “I Know There’s an Answer” from Pet Sounds, and the Beatles used it on “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” (and possibly some other songs from Sgt. Pepper - I haven’t listened to it for awhile and don’t know off-hand).  The bass harmonica in “The Fool on the Hill” further demonstrates Brian Wilson’s influence.

Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen"

I listened to the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection:  The Best of Chuck Berry to-day.  It includes “Sweet Little Sixteen,” the chorus of which is:

They’re really rocking in Boston
And Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And round the Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
And down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet little sixteen

Or some variation of that.  Some repetitions substitute “Bandstand” for “Boston” and “Philadelphia” for “Pittsburgh.”

In any case, this reminded me of “Dancing in the Street.”  I don’t have the version by Martha and the Vandellas, but I do have versions by the Mamas and the Papas and by the Who (from The BBC Sessions).  ”Dancing in the Street” does this same sort of thing - a catalogue of various places:

They’re dancing in Chicago
Down in New Orleans
Up in New York City
All we need is music, sweet music
There’ll be music everywhere

And later:

Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore and D.C. now
Can’t forget the Motor City
All we need is music, sweet music
There’ll be music everywhere

As a poetic technique, cataloguing isn’t too uncommon.  But I think there’s some connection between the cataloguing in these two songs.  (For historical context, “Sweet Little Sixteen” is from 1958, and “Dancing in the Street” is from 1964.)  ”Dancing in the Street“‘s list of places includes some of the same places listed in “Sweet Little Sixteen” - New Orleans and Philadelphia, PA.  And while it could just be a coincidence because those places are certainly famous for other things, the whole spirit of both catalogues is the same - both illustrate that the dancing is all-encompassing.

Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence"

I listened to Simon & Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning, 3 AM to-day.  I’ve listened to this album often enough to be fairly familiar with it, but I’m still thrown off a bit by the acoustic version of “The Sound of Silence.”

The people at Columbia took the acoustic track and overdubbed electric guitar, bass, and drums - that’s the version that became a big hit and is played on the radio all of the time.  And it’s still the version I’m most used to.

So I’m wondering if there will ever be a time where I can just take the acoustic version as it is and not think, “Oh, this is the place where the electric guitar comes in.”