Deep Purple "Smoke On The Water" Song Analysis

It's time for another song analysis and this time it's a real classic that's one of the first songs that most guitar players learn to play - Deep Purple's iconic "Smoke On The Water."

A song about a true event, “Smoke On The Water” went on to become not only the breakout song for Deep Purple’s career, but their best seller as well. The song illustrates the story of the recording of the Machine Head album, and the many twists and turns involved along the way.

The band recorded the album in Montreux’s Grand Hotel, which was vacant for the off-tourist season, after an aborted attempt at recording in a local theater when they was forced to find a different recording venue after the neighbors complained about the noise. The basic tracks of “Smoke” there first were recorded there first, but the vocals, as well as the rest of Machine Head, were later finished in the makeshift recording environment of the Grand Hotel.

The Song

“Smoke On The Water” is a fairly simple song consisting of the basic guitar riff that acts as an intro and interlude, along with verse and chorus sections. There is no bridge, but a twist at the end of the guitar solo acts as a bridge in that it adds tension and release to the song. The guitar solo, and later the outro organ solo, is over a verse with an altered arrangement. The song ends in a fade, although a later live version released as a single several years later has a hard ending.

As stated previously, the lyrics outline an event during the making of the recording. The lyrics seem a little forced in places, but generally sing well, while the melody is very memorable, especially the hook during the chorus. The song’s form looks like this:

intro | verse | chorus | interlude | verse | chorus | interlude | solo | tag | interlude | outro

The Arrangement

The song begins with a fairly long intro that starts with the guitar playing the main riff by itself twice. On the third time through, a double time high hat enters, followed by the snare drum on the next. On the next two times through, both the bass and organ enter.

The verse keeps all instruments in the mix, although the parts change; first with a fairly discipled part for the guitar, and fairly free-form parts for the bass and organ. During the chorus, the drums change the part slightly, while a second harmony vocal enters. The next verse and chorus are virtually the same, except for an organ fill towards the end of the second verse.

The guitar solo is interesting in that it’s basically a verse except that the drums switch to a galloping snare drum pattern and the bass switches to a much more active pattern. The end of the section also has an 4 bar tag that acts like a bridge where the guitar solo plays across the next intro/riff section. The last verse and chorus are again identical to the previous.

During the outro, the organ takes the lead as the song fades out, as the drums change their pattern once again.

Arrangement Elements

The Foundation: bass and drums

The Rhythm: high hat in the intro, bass during the verses

The Pad: organ during the chorus

The Lead: vocal, guitar and organ solo

The Fills: organ

The Sound

Even though “Smoke On The Water” wasn’t recorded in a “proper” recording studio, the sound is generally excellent, especially the drums. In fact, the drum sound is closer to something that you might hear today than the norm of the day.

The record was recorded using The Rolling Stones mobile recording studio which was packaged in a large truck and responsible for quite a number of big selling albums from the 1970s, include several Led Zeppelin albums as well as albums for Fleetwood Mac, Bad Company, Bob Marley and many others. The truck was equipped with a 16 track tape recorder, which was more than enough for Deep Purple to record on, since the band wasn’t noted for highly embellished tracks at this time.

While you’ll hear only a single short plate reverb on the recording, the echo on the guitar solo was supplied by a Revox tape recorder that was a permanent part of Ritchie Blackmore’s stage setup. As well as adding echo when needed, it also added an additional level of overdrive that the guitarist liked.

The guitar is panned to the left, but you can hear the reverb on the right side during the intro when it plays by itself. The organ, which is run through a Marshall amplifier stack to sound more like a guitar, is panned to the right.

LISTEN UP

• To the excellent sounding drums, especially the snare
• To the tape echo on the guitar solo
• To the organ sound that emulates a guitar
• To the precision of the drum fills going from section to section

The Production

“Smoke On The Water” is a very simple song played exceedingly well but a group of superb musicians. Listen to any garage band play the song and you’ll understand that the nuances make the recording, and that’s usually what’s missing in just about any cover of the song that you’ll hear.

While the spotlight is on guitarist Blackmore and vocalist Ian Gillan in this song, it’s the drumming of Ian Paice that pushes it along. The precision of his drumming frequently goes unacknowledged, but a serious listen shows what he master he really is. Listen to any drum fill that bridges the various sections of the song and you’ll find massive technique along with unassailable taste. The fact that he makes it sound and look so easy is exactly what makes the parts work.

The other part of the song’s production that’s interesting is the disciplined guitar part that Blackmore plays during the verse of the song. While organist Jon Lord is left to improvise, Blackmore’s part stays rock-solid throughout, something that’s usually missed by your local cover band."

You can find more song deconstructions from all eras and all genres in my Deconstructed Hits series of books. You can read additional excerpts from this and my other books on the book excerpts section of my web site.

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Golden Earirng "Radar Love" Song Analysis

Dutch rock band Golden Earring was founded in 1961 but came to international fame in 1973 with “Radar Love,” a song still played on classic rock radio. The song started around an idea for the title and grew from there, eventually becoming a cut on the band’s US debut album Moontan.

The song was chosen as a single more through the process of elimination, since it was the only one on the album that lent itself to a radio edit. Ironically, the band never considered the song hit material and were always surprised at the notoriety it brought them. Here's an excerpt from the upcoming Deconstructed Hits: Classic Rock Volume 2 that provides an inside look at the song.

The Song

“Radar Love” has a lot of sections, including two intros and two bridges, as well as an elongated last verse and chorus. This accounts for the 6:22 album length, but it also enables some easy editing to bring it down to the 3:41 running time that most of us are familiar with on the radio.

The song doesn’t really have an instrumental hook other than the driving beat, but the melody is strong as are the lyrics, which take the point of view of an automobile driver rushing to see his lover. During the drive he communicates with her via telepathy as he listens to a rather obscure Brenda Lee hit from 1963 called “Coming On Strong.” The form looks like this:

intro | intro 2 | verse | B section | chorus | interlude | verse | B section | chorus | bridge | bridge 2 |  intro 2 | verse | B section | chorus | outro

The Arrangement

For the most part, the arrangement for “Radar Love” is generally sparse but very dynamic. The song begins with an 8 bar intro that gives way to a second intro built around the galloping snare drum play, then the main bass riff. A tambourine also enters on the right side that continues through the verse.

The verse begins with the vocal punctuated by a guitar on the left side that plays in between the phrases. Background vocals enter on right during the B section, which leads into the chorus, where the vocal is doubled, the left guitar is doubled with a synth and a lead guitar plays fills on the right.

On the second verse the left guitar plays a different riff but in a higher register, with a lower vocal added during the last two phrases. The second B section and chorus are identical to the first.

On the first bridge there’s a new synth bass line and drum pattern, and it begins with a high synth line that leads to a new guitar entering on right side. As the bridge progresses, the lead guitar enters at the end of the phrases on the left. This bridge then builds with a synth to accents at the end

Bridge 2 begins with repeated tom pattern, with the bass and guitar playing the same symphonic line (the guitar panned to the left), with the synthesizer building on the right.

The last verse begins with 8 bars of the bass and drum intro that increases in intensity as it builds to the vocal verse. On the last verse two guitars panned left and right play fills in octaves. This verse is twice as long, although the B section is the same length as all other B sections of the song, and the chorus is also twice as long, with the synth entering on the second one.

The song ends with the bridge bass and drum riff, as the guitars and synth build to a hard ending.

Arrangement Elements

The Foundation: bass and drums

The Rhythm: tambourine

The Pad: synth in chorus

The Lead: lead vocal

The Fills: background vocals, guitar fills

The Sound

“Radar Love” is engineered very well, with excellent bass and drum sounds, and makes great use of panning that you just don’t hear today. The song opens with a guitar on the left that’s balanced out with a reverb on the right. This effect is never heard in the song again.

During the first and second verses, the guitar answers the lead vocal on the left side, and is then balanced out by background harmony vocals on the right during the bridge. During the bridge the left guitar is doubled with a synth on the right. On the third verse, there’s an answer guitar on each side but they’re playing in different registers.

There isn’t much in the way of effects on the song, as it falls to a delayed reverb that’s used mostly on the vocal with a touch on the snare as well. The guitars use either a short reverb, or more than likely, were recorded with a lot of room ambience to set them apart from the rest of the track.

LISTEN UP

1. To the intro guitar with the dry sound on the left and reverb on the right

2. To the off-mic vocal during the second intro

3. To the lead guitar sneak in at the end of the phrases on the bridge

4. To the delayed reverb on the vocal and short reverb on the guitars

The Production

Here’s another example of a band producing themselves successfully, and once again a record that was made to be played live. There’s some sweetening, especially with the synthesizers on the bridge, but mostly the parts are laid down just like they were performed on stage.

Contrast that to most of the songs today that are heavily produced, where parts are doubled and tripled to make them sound bigger, and multiple layers of effects are added. The simplicity of production of “Radar Love” made it a hit and has kept it on the radio 40+ years later. Maybe we should use this as an example of how production should be done."

You can read more about how the hit songs that you love were created in Deconstructed Hits.

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Led Zeppelin "Kashmir" Song Analysis

I haven't done a song analysis for quite a while as I've been saving them up for some new editions of my Deconstructed Hits series. Here's a preview from Classic Rock Volume 2. It's "Kashmir," one of Led Zeppelin's most iconic songs.

"Of all the songs recorded by Led Zeppelin, “Kashmir” may be the most highly regarded. Considered to be the peak musical achievement by all four members of the band, the song was a radio staple from when it was released (even with 8:28 running time) until this day.

“Kashmir” was originally titled “Driving to Kashmir” and reflects a time when guitarist/producer Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant were driving through the Saharan Desert on their way to play the National Festival of Morocco. The song carries Moroccan musical influences, despite Kashmir actually being a province of India, a country half a world away.

This was one of the few songs by the band that featured outside musicians, as uncredited string and horn players were brought in to provide the power that only an orchestra can provide. The song actually took three years to complete, as it started out on a home recorded work tape of Page. The song is only credited to three of the four band members as bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones was late getting to the studio when the song was being worked out.

The Song

Few Led Zeppelin songs follow the traditional rules of popular songwriting, and “Kashmir” is no exception. The verses are principally in 6/8 time but the drums play in a 4/4 rhythm against it, yet instrumental choruses and bridges come back to 4/4 so the song seems anchored and closer to what we’re used to hearing. Plus, there’s no traditional vocal chorus, as only the orchestral riff at the end of each verse acts like a chorus.

Even though the song might be considered a dirge by some, the lyrics are fairly positive and uplifting, being set around the idea of life as an adventure. The verses are written as poetry with few forced rhymes (save for the second verse, which feels unfinished), but the bridges are somewhat contrived and seem almost like they were improvised or tacked on at the last minute. The form looks like this:

intro | verse | chorus | intro (1X) | verse | chorus | intro (1x) | chorus | bridge 1 | chorus | bridge 2 | intro (2X) | verse | intro (1X) | verse | chorus | intro (1x) | chorus | bridge (fade)

The Arrangement

“Kashmir” has an arrangement as interesting as the song demands. The song is very long because the sections repeat multiple times (except for bridge 1 that only happens once in the song), but we don’t lose interest not only because of the power of the orchestra, but because of the subtle arrangement changes.

The intro and verse are the same instrumentally with the guitar on the left, strings on the right and drums up the middle, except for the vocal entering on the verse. The instrumental chorus has an additional guitar doubling the line on the right, and horns in the center.

The second verse is identical to the first except a string counter line enters, with the basses holding the lowest note on the right side. The second chorus is the same as the first except for the strings doubling the guitar on the left.

The first bridge is entirely different from the rest of the song in that it’s much more open and funky, especially the drums. The elements remain the same as the chorus, with the second string line on the left doubling the guitar original guitar line, and Page’s guitar now playing harmony to it. The next chorus is identical in arrangement to the previous one.

The second bridge sees the Mellotron strings playing a high line on the left and the lower strings from the orchestra playing a different, almost answering line on the right, with the horns punctuating the accents.

The third verse is identical to the second, except that low horns answer the end of the string counter phrase. The next chorus is the same as the previous, as is the last verse and chorus, except for the last time through the pattern when low strings fill out the sound.

The final bridge sees the Mellotron strings begin on the right, punctuated by horns at the end of each line. After 4 bars, a new ascending line enters with the orchestra strings on the left and Mellotron on the right, accompanied by much more active drumming, including fills at the end of each string line.

Arrangement Elements

• The Foundation: bass and drums
• The Rhythm: none
• The Pad: strings and horns, Mellotron (bridge 2)
• The Lead: lead vocal
• The Fills: strings and horns

The Sound

The mix balance of “Kashmir” is very interesting as it centers around John Bonham’s drums with Jimmy Page’s guitar and John Paul Jones’ bass somewhat buried in the mix. Even the vocal is laid back into the mix, which is typical of many rock songs in order to help emphasis the power of the band.

Bonzo’s drum sound is typical of all Led Zeppelin albums in that it’s somewhat distant and roomy, mostly because the drummer insisted on recording with two or three mics (when recording in stereo) in order to adequately capture the sound of the drums as he heard them. That said, by this time most other producers were resorting to using more mics closer in on the drums in order to capture the full sound of each, which helped to make them sound more dramatic. You can hear the difference in Bonzo’s many drum fills on the last bridge of the song where you can hear a bit of a stereo effect, but not what we’re used to hearing on other records. The drums were also put through an Eventide phaser suppled by engineer Ron Nevison, which can be heard clearly on the cymbal crashes of the first bridge.

Probably the most interesting thing on the record is how much producer Page used the stereo field. Guitar is panned to the left and the strings are panned to the right during the bridge and the strings are in wide stereo during the chorus. As the song progresses, you hear two different strings lines on the left and right in the second bridge, and a low horn pans left to center, then right to center at the end of the string counter phrases during the third and fourth verses.

LISTEN UP

• To the guitar on the left and the strings on the right playing the same line during the verses
• To the wide stereo reverb on the vocal
• To the stereo orchestra panned hard left and right during the choruses
• To the two different string lines left and right on the second bridge
• To the low horn that pans left to right at the end of the string line during the third and fourth verses
• To the phasing effect on the drums during the first bridge

The Production

The production of “Kashmir” is truly a departure for both Led Zeppelin and rock music at the time. Being known as the most influential rock band of the era didn’t stop them from coming out of left field to employ an orchestra on a recording that was the centerpiece of the album, and some say even the band’s career.

The fact that the guitar is somewhat buried in the mix turns out to be a brilliant move. It’s there in the mix and an essential part, but it doesn’t need to be front and center like on other songs.

Another interesting production point is that’s it’s difficult to tell the difference between the simulated strings and the real ones, a tribute to arranger John Paul Jones skills. The Mellotron strings can be more clearly heard as a line on the bridge 2, but they interweave so well with the real strings that it takes a conscious effort to discern the difference.

Yet another interesting production trick is the panning of the instruments in the mix. There are elements constantly entering and exiting from all sides, as well as parts moving from one side to the other. The moves are subtle, and in no way make the recording seem as drastic as a stereo demonstration record, instead adding the interest that an 8+ minute song needs to keep the listener’s attention.

All this leads to one of the most important and influential track of the era, and one that seems destined to be played on radio and streaming to people’s headphones for decades to come.

To read additional excerpts from Deconstructed Hits and my other books, go to the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Lady Gaga "Poker Face" Song Analysis

I haven't posted a song analysis for a while, so here's a big hit from the recent past. It's Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and it's an excerpt from my book Deconstructed Hits: Pop and Hip Hop. Here's what's found in the book.

"Song Facts

Album: The Fame

Writers: Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat 

Producer: RedOne

Studio: Record Plant Recording Studios (Los Angeles)

Release Date: September 23, 2008

Length: 3:58

Sales: 10+ million (single), 15+ million (album)

Highest Chart Position: #1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 U.K. Singles Chart, #1 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland

“Poker Face,” from Lady Gaga’s debut album The Fame, was the song that catapulted her to international stardom. The song was #1 virtually worldwide and became one of the biggest-selling singles of all time at over 10 million. It was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards, and won for Best Dance Recording. Rolling Stone ranked it #93 of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s, while NME placed it at #103 of the 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years.

The album was a huge hit as well, peaking at #2 but staying in the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 for an unbelievable 100 non-consecutive weeks. It was nominated for six Grammy Awards and won for Best Electronic/Dance Album. It also won Best International Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards.

The Song

“Poker Face” was a huge hit for Lady Gaga, and a close listen to the song tells you exactly why; it has everything we’ve come to expect from a mega-hit. First of all, the song form may be pretty basic, but it’s expertly put together to keep the interest high, since there’s always forward motion and dynamics. The form looks like this:

intro ➞ verse ➞ B section ➞ chorus ➞ interlude ➞ verse ➞ B section ➞ chorus ➞ interlude ➞ bridge ➞ chorus ➞ chorus ➞ chorus ➞ interlude/chorus ➞

interlude/chorus ➞ interlude/chorus

What’s especially interesting is that both the bridge and interlude/choruses at the end of the song are primarily choruses with either new parts or a combination of new and previously heard parts. It’s a great way to keep things familiar yet different.

The melody is strong and memorable, and turning “Mum mum mum mah” into a hook was genius. The lyrics are far superior to most pop songs in that they tell a story and are cleverly put together. Good examples are “Russian roulette is not the same without a gun” and rhyming “promise this” with “marvelous.”

The Arrangement

“Poker Face” begins with a single arpeggiated synth that makes up the backbone of the song, and it is followed by an additional synth layer playing the same part. Then, the song’s hook, the “Mum mum mum mah” background vocal part, enters along with a new synth line. After the line plays through once (4 bars), it plays through a second time—with kick, claps, and open hi-hat—to end the intro.

When the lead vocal enters at the verse, only the kick and basic arpeggiating synth remain for the first half. At bar 9, the synth line from the intro enters, as does a very subtle percussion sound.

A new synth enters on beat 1 of the B section to signify the beginning of the section, but other than the vocal changing (the backgrounds sing “Oh, oh, ohhhh, oh, oh”), the instruments remain the same until the downbeat of the last bar, when the music stops except for a combination of a guitar-string-scratch glissando and a synth whoosh sound behind the lyric “Show him what I got.”

On the chorus, all the instruments reenter with the addition of a string pad, claps, open hi-hat, and a new synth emphasizing the upbeats. The vocal sings the chorus hook (“Can’t read my, can’t read my poker face,”) and the background vocals answer. At the interlude, the strings, claps, and hi-hat all drop out, and a new synth plays only on the downbeat of the first measure.

Unusually, the second verse, B section, chorus, and interlude are all the same as the first with no changes. The bridge begins again with the same instrumentation as the interlude, only with a new synth line that plays by itself for 4 bars and is then joined by Gaga’s sing/talk for another 8 bars.

The last chorus then begins, but without the drums for 4 bars while you hear the guitar-string-scratch glissando. The drums enter while Gaga sings another “Can’t read my, can’t read my poker face,” and the next time the line is repeated, a lower harmony is added. The song then goes into the interlude lyric (“P-p-p-poker face…”) over the chorus instruments and chord changes, and the song ends on the last phrase of the answer (“Mum mum mum MAH”).

Arrangement Elements

The Foundation: Kick drum

The Rhythm: Synthesizer, claps

The Pad: Strings during the chorus

The Lead: Lead vocal

The Fills: Background vocals

The Sound

What strikes you most about the sonics of “Poker Face” is the use of echo to set the ambience. The prominent long delay that’s timed to the track (probably a quarter-note delay) fills up the space where there’s no vocal and at the ends of phrases on both the lead and background vocals. One place where it can be clearly heard is the male “Hey!” after the end of the first phrase of the second verse, where you can distinctly hear the echo ping back and forth between the speakers. This can also be heard on the lead vocal on the second B section.

It’s also interesting that Gaga’s verse vocals are doubled but not very closely, which produces an interesting effect. This especially sets up the bridge, when the vocal is only a single track, making it sound much different from the vocal on the rest of the song.

The panorama of the soundfield is also put to great use in “Poker Face” by having some elements strictly in mono and others in stereo. For instance, the synth line in the intro and bridge is in stereo, and that provides a lot of space for the lead vocal as a result. The background vocal answers are all in stereo, while the drum elements of kick, snare, and cymbal are all in the center.

Finally, the mix balance is interesting because there’s no real bass instrument, so the kick drum uses up much of that sonic space. The fact that there are a number of synthesizers parts more or less from the same family of sound (possibly even the same instrument) yet all are easily distinguishable is a tribute to a great mix by Robert Orton.

Listen Up

    To the synth that plays only on the upbeats of the chorus.

    To the cross echoes on the lead vocal during the second verse.

    To the guitar-string-scratch glissandos and synth sound effects at the turnarounds between verse and chorus.

The Production

“Poker Face” is evidence of the new sound of pop-hit production, which no longer depends on a bass guitar to fill out the bottom end of the frequency range. The song was produced by RedOne and is entirely programmed except for the vocals. Where once upon a time that meant the song would be stiff and robot-like, “Poker Face” is imminently danceable with a terrific feel, and it breathes as parts enter and are removed.

As with all hits, the details are what make the song. Take, for instance, the harmony answer vocals in the chorus, which are pretty subtle but really lift the song and almost sound like a harmony vocal to the lead. The low harmony part on the pre-chorus (the B section) also helps to develop the dynamics of the song. Add these subtleties to the gigantic groove and you have a massive hit."

To read additional excerpts from the Deconstructed Hits series and my other books, go to the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Rush "Tom Sawyer" Song Analysis

We haven't done a song analysis for a while, so here's an excerpt from my Deconstructed Hits: Classic Rock Vol 1 book. It's Rush's "Tom Sawyer," a perennial FM radio favorite and the first single from their breakout Moving Pictures album from 1981. The song is a part of the defining moment in the band’s history when they finally broke out to world-wide superstardom.

The song was written on a band summer rehearsal holiday spent on a farm outside of Toronto. Poet Pye Dubois presented the band with a poem entitled “Louis The Lawyer,” which drummer Neil Peart then modified, and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson set to music.

THE SONG

As with everything Rush, "Tom Sawyer" is complex and doesn't follow a standard form, but that's why they're so well liked, right? The form looks something like this:

intro/chorus ➞ verse ➞ B-section ➞ C-section ➞ chorus ➞ interlude ➞ solo ➞ 

intro ➞ verse ➞ B-section ➞ C-section ➞ chorus ➞ outro

You can dispute exactly where the chorus is, but the popular thinking is it's where the "Tom Sawyer" lyric is mentioned. None the less, the song is as unconventional as it is interesting.

While most of the song is in 4/4 time, the solo begins in 7/8, then switches to 13/16. It then returns to 4/4 until the outro, where it again changes to 7/8. 

The lyrics are poetry set to music, instead of the other way around. There’s no overt need to rhyme if it doesn’t fit the thought, which is a whole lot better than forcing it and having an awkward lyric or cadence.

THE ARRANGEMENT

Rush's songs are fairly bare-bones in that they're meant to be played live, so there's not a lot of obvious layering. The guitars are doubled and heavily effected to make them bigger, but you can hear how they effectively use only a single less effected guitar in the first turnaround of the solo, then the second has the full guitar sound to change the dynamics.

Arrangement Elements

• The Foundation: drums

• The Pad: synthesizer on the intro and outro, high register synth in solo beginning and outro

• The Rhythm: high hat

• The Lead: lead vocal, guitar solo, 

• The Fills: none

Rush uses synthesizers very creatively, from the Oberheim OB-X swell in the intro and outro, to the Moogish sound in the interlude and outro. Also, the lead vocal is doubled in the C-section, which differentiates it from the other sections.

THE SOUND

The mix of “Tom Sawyer” is as interesting as is the song form. Neil Peart's drums are way up in front and the snare has a nice pre-delayed medium room on it that you can only hear in the beginning when the drums are played by themselves. All of the other drums are dry. The snare is fairly bright, as is the high hat, which is featured in the mix since it keeps the motion of the song moving forward. The kick and snare are compressed well to make them punchy and in your face without seeming squashed. The cymbals are nice and bright but pulled back in the mix.

Geddy Lee's vocal has a timed delay with a medium reverb wash that blends seamlessly into the track, which also has a bit of modulation that you can hear as it dies out. Once again, you can only hear it during the intro when the song is fairly sparse. His bass has that Rickenbacker treble sound yet still has a lot of bottom, despite the distortion.

Alex Lifeson's guitar is doubled using a short delay, and slightly chorused with a medium reverb wash for the huge sound that glues everything together. In the case of the solo guitar, the reverb is effected and then spread hard left and right. It also uses the same guitar sound as the rhythm guitar, which is unusual, since solos usually have a different sound on most records. 

Listen Up:

• To the modulation at the end of the reverb on Geddy Lee’s vocal.

• To how large the stereo synthesizers on the intro of the song are.

• To the stereo effect on the Moog synth at the beginning of the solo and the outro.

THE PRODUCTION

Any power trio has to have great musicians to have everything sound big and cohesive, and Rush does just that. Peart's drumming is absolutely rock solid, without a beat ever feeling like it drifted even a microsecond out of time, yet still feels organic. The way he’s placed in the mix totally holds it together, yet it never feels as if he’s the one featured. As with most other hits, it’s the energy of the track that pulls you in, which goes to show you that without a near perfect basic track, it’s difficult to keep the track interesting.

You can read additional excerpts from the various Deconstructed Hits volumes, as well as my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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The Anatomy of Songs

Here's a rather light-hearted look at the anatomy of songs in different genres. There's actually a lot of truth in it though, as I found when doing research for my Deconstructed Hits series of books. If you analyze the hits of a particular genre (and their eras, which is equally as important), you find that there are numerous similarities.

For instance, in some of the most loved classic rock songs, there was no set song form formula, where sometimes a song took a wild turn in the middle that was totally unexpected ("LA Women," "Magic Man," "Free Bird," and "Don't Fear The Reaper" for example). Today most pop songs are built around the magic triad of verse, chorus and bridge. And today most songs have an ending, since that makes it tend to play better in a digital format, while in previous eras the fade was a lot more common.

That said, there's more than a grain of truth in the following graphic. Enjoy.

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The Police "Message In A Bottle" Isolated Bass

The Police was one of the biggest bands in the world in the 80s thanks to great hooks, vocals and musicianship. Some of this is on display on this isolated bass track from the band's big hit "Message In A Bottle," from the band's second album Regatta de Blanc. It's easy to think of Sting as a singer and songwriter, but he's an excellent bass player as well, as you'll hear.  Here are some things to listen for.

1. The song was cut live with the entire band playing, as you can clearly hear both the guitar and drum leakage.

2. The bass part is very solid, but there are a few very minor timing mistakes (especially in the chorus) that we'd probably fix today.

3. There's an overdub at the end of interlude after the first chorus before the second verse begins at 1:06. You can hear the leakage go away and the sound of the bass change.

4. It sounds like the outro is from another take as the audio drops out, then changes slightly at 3:23.

5. Sting changes the bass part slightly on the outro, turning the bass riff around.

If you like looking at the x-rays of songs like this, check out my Deconstructed Hits book series.

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Rod Stewart "Maggie Mae" Song Analysis

I haven't done a song analysis for a while, so here's one from my Deconstructed Hits: Classic Rock book - Rod Stewart's big hit "Maggie Mae." As with all song analysis, it's broken down into the song, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

"The breakout song from Rod Stewart's first solo album Every Picture Tells A Story was "Maggie May," which eventually topped the charts in both the US and the UK and launched his solo career. The song was originally released as a B-side of another song from the album, “Reason To Believe,” but after DJ’s began playing “Maggie May” instead, the song was re-categorized as the A-side. 

The mandolin part featured on the intro of the song was played by Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne, who sued Stewart for back royalties in 2003 even though he was paid as a session player. Supposedly drummer Micky Waller broke his bass drum pedal and had to play it with a stick, which is the reason why it doesn’t have much punch. Ironically, the song was almost left off the album because the record label didn’t feel it had a strong enough melody, but had to be included in the end as Rod ran out of time to replace it.

THE SONG

“Maggie May” only has three sections, verse, chorus and solos, but the distinction between the verse and chorus isn’t very strong. The song form looks like this:

intro ➞ verse ➞ chorus ➞ verse ➞ chorus ➞ verse ➞ chorus ➞ solo ➞ verse ➞ chorus ➞ solo ➞ interlude ➞ outro

Rod’s record label didn’t feel that the melody was strong enough, and while that might not be true, the fact that there’s not much of a difference between the verse and chorus melody and there’s really not a hook let’s you understand their trepidation.

The lyrics tell a supposedly true story of a jilted young lover, and while the story line is strong, Rod makes not effort to rhyme, especially in the chorus. That’s never bothered record buyers though, as millions of women everywhere suddenly felt they had some Maggie May in them. Interestingly enough, although Stewart sings “Maggie” in a number of places, he never actually sings “Maggie May” in the entire song.

THE ARRANGEMENT

Much of the playing in “Maggie May” is very loose, and you get the feeling that they didn’t do many takes to figure out each player’s part. That said, there is a specific arrangement that works well. Here's what the arrangement elements look like:

Arrangement Elements

• The Foundation: drums, bass

• The Rhythm: 12 string acoustic guitar, electric piano

• The Pad: organ

• The Lead: lead vocal, mandolin, guitar solo

• The Fills: electric piano in fourth verse

The song begins with an intro of a mandolin and an acoustic 12 string along with the bass playing a counter line. When the verse begins, the lead vocal enters as does the drums. While the drums, organ and the 12 string play fairly straight, the bass never plays the same thing twice and is generally ad libbed throughout except for the intro and interlude. During the chorus (“You led me away from home…..”), the chord pattern changes but all the instruments as they were during the verse.

The next two verses and choruses have exactly the same instrumentation, but the chord pattern does change slightly during the guitar solo. During the fourth verse and chorus, an electric piano is added playing random arpeggiated chords.

The next solo is the same as the first one, except that it’s six bars long and plays bars seven and eight over the first two measures of the interlude. The interlude is the most different thing in the song as the 12 string drops out and is replaced by two mandolins that play similar (but not identical) melody lines, which is probably the signature line of the song. The bass also plays a more or less written line, imitating what he did on the intro. There’s also a high organ pedal note that’s doubled with an electric piano playing eighth notes. This continues for 20 measures (which is an odd number), and then the drums return as everything plays as they did in the section prior to the outro.

THE SOUND

The sound of “Maggie Mae” is fairly thin, especially the bass and kick drum, which have virtually no bottom end to them. Although not all of Rod’s band The Faces played on the album, this was generally the sound of the band throughout its life.

The panning is odd, with the drums panned hard to the left and the bass hard to the right. The intro and interlude has two mandolins that are spread slightly left and right, while everything else is panned to the center.

The song is bone dry, proving that hit records can be made without any effects whatsoever. Rod Stewart's vocal is clear and not overly compressed.

Listen Up:

• To the drums panned hard to the left and the bass panned hard to the right.
• To the doubled mandolins playing slightly different lines in the interlude.
• To the mistake in the bass at :38 as it fails to follow the chord change.

THE PRODUCTION

Rod was the producer of the album, but as was many the case back then, that probably meant more selecting the take and setting the song’s feel rather than directing the the band like it is today. Plus, you can’t really say that he had a vision, since both he, his co-writer, and the record label didn’t think of “Maggie May” in the first place. That said, history has proven so many times that what artists, producers and record companies may not be in love with is just the thing that the public wants."

You can read additional excerpts from Deconstructed Hits: Classic Rock Vol.1 and my other books on the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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The Common Characteristics Of Hit Songs

Hit songs aren't easy to create, as we all know. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it. That said, there are a number of common elements that you'll find with hits that may help you in constructing one. Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote for the last issue of Music Connection magazine entitled "Analyzing the Hits." The information from the article came from my work on the Deconstructed Hits series.

"After looking at hundreds of hit songs, there is definitely a list of similar characteristics:

• Most hits are short. Songs today average 3:47 in length, which is a lot longer than it used to be, but still an easily digestible bite.

• Most hits have a short intro. The average intro of today’s hit is about 7 1/2 seconds, but it’s always been about getting to the point and that never seems to change.

• Most hits limit the number of arrangement elements that occur at the same time. Most have only three or four, and rarely even five arrangement elements that play simultaneously, but no more.

• The arrangement of most hits develops over the course of the song. Usually it reaches a peak at either the bridge or the last chorus.

• Most hits use the arrangement to keep your interest. There’s always a new element entering or exiting to hold your attention.

• Most hits have either a bridge or arrange a repeating song section to act like a bridge. The latter is an arrangement trick to keep the interest high and the song flowing.

• Virtually all hits are dynamic, with a lot of tension and release, which means a hit changes in intensity. This is usually accomplished through the addition or subtraction of instrument or vocal tracks, but can also occur because of good old-fashioned dynamic playing if real musicians are used.

• There are exceptions to all of these rules. It is rare to find a song that follows these traits exactly. Often what makes a song a hit in the first place is the ability to twist one of these traits into something new.

As you listen to songs in the future, begin to listen to the similarities in song form, arrangement and production, which can be a great help if you’re a songwriter, arranger or producer. The more you know about how hits are made, the more likely you’ll actually create one.

Keep in mind that even though you may not like a song or an artist, it is still worth a listen. Hits are hits for a reason, and they are definitely hard to come by. Each has some sort of magic––as well as some common elements––so something can be learned from every single one."

You can read excerpts from the Deconstructed Hits books on the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

Bruno Mars "Grenade" Song Analysis

I'm a big fan of Bruno Mars and believe he embodies what's best about the music of today. While I don't usually care much about who is performing during halftime at the Superbowl (I find it a distraction from the game), I must admit that I'm looking forward to Bruno this year. Here's an excerpt from my new Deconstructed Hits: Modern Pop & Hip Hop book, that breaks down Bruno's big hit "Grenade" into it's essential elements.

"“Grenade” was the breakout single from Bruno Mars from his debut album Do-Wops & Hooligans, which went on to become a huge worldwide hit. Not only did the song hit #1 in 15 countries, but it also charted Top 10 in eleven others while selling seven million units. The album also went on to sell over 4 million copies, going #1 in six countries and Top 10 in thirteen others. “Grenade” was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and the Pop Solo Performance Grammys, losing all of them to British singer Adele.

The song took several months to write, then was recorded with a different, more guitar-based arrangement that was 15 bpm faster. After hearing Mars perform the song live at the slower speed, the record label asked for a recording of the slowed-down version, which became the hit we’re familiar with. 

The Song
If you were going to write a straight down the middle pop song, this is the way to do it. The song is unusual in that it begins right with the verse with no intro, but other than that it's formula all the way, not that there's anything wrong with that if it works (it does here). Basically the song looks like this:

      verse | chorus | 2 bar interlude | verse | chorus | bridge | 2 bar interlude | verse (outro)

The good thing about "Grenade" is that it has a great melody, which is something that's sometimes sorely lacking in much of popular music. The lyrics are finely crafted and tell the age-old tale of unrequited love. They sing better than they read, but they’re still put together well.

The BPM of the song is 108.

The Arrangement
Just as the form of the song follows a formula, so does the arrangement. It develops from the sparse first verse to the big chorus, then drops to a less sparse second verse, and finally peaks at the bridge. The tension is released by the stripped-down last outro verse, which is very unusual since most outros retain the big sound, and the tension, to the end.

There's an organ that plays just underneath everything that acts as the Pad and glues the track together, which is a pretty common use for the instrument. What’s interesting is that the arpeggiated electric piano line in the verse acts as the Rhythm element, but during the chorus the rhythm switches to the double time feel of the drums.

The song starts with a synth build and the goes right into a verse with the lead vocal in the center, arpeggiated electric piano sound on the right channel and the organ on the left. Half-way through the verse the three part background harmonies enter along with bass drum, plus a very low in the mix tom and percussion, which propels the track forward. 

In the chorus the piano is lowered in the mix and a new synth pad enters, as the drums now play a tom figure, but no snare drum. The three part background vocals behind the lead vocal act as both a fill element in the beginning of the chorus and as an additional pad element in the second half.

In the second verse, the drums continue to play the tom feel but a snare also enters. There’s also a higher piano that plays effects fills, and percussion that plays fills as well. Three part harmony is added to the lead vocal to emphasize the lyrics. 

In the bridge a new higher synth pad enters, then goes to the beginning of the intro without the vocal, which resolves to the V chord and back to the chorus. The outchorus has the lead vocal adding ad libs to add tension. The outro is similar to the intro, only with the verse drum feel and added percussion. The song then ends on a vocal ad lib with a repeated echo effect.

Arrangement Elements   The Foundation - Bass and drums.
   The Pad - Organ
   The Rhythm - Arpeggiated electric piano line in the verse, the double time feel of the drums in the chorus and outro, percussion
   The Lead - Lead vocal
   The Fills - Background vocals and the occasional percussion sound effect.

The Sound
This is a very well made record in that it's not too compressed and the ambience is layered in a pleasing, ear-candy kind of way. The vocal has a medium-long reverb decay on it in the beginning, but then a timed and repeated quarter note delay is added during various times during the song. The other instruments have their own short ambiences that make them seem more in-your-face, except for the percussion effect that has a long reverb with a very long, timed pre-delay.

The Performance
Make no mistake about it, Bruno Mars is a star. He's got the chops and his vocal shows considerable passion that effectively sells the song. That said, this is a very well produced song from a number of standpoints. 

First of all the song has effective dynamics, breathing in the right spaces, from the less intense verses to the big sounding choruses, then the drums play a tom pattern to add motion to the song rather than the snare, although a small sounding snare (which actually fits the song perfectly) enters in the second verse. Using the drums in this way is not only unusual, but really interesting as well.

The add to all this the use of fills to keep the listener engaged on a subliminal level. You’ll find percussion, vocals, piano and synthesizers all sharing that duty. Finally, the background vocals, which are now becoming a Bruno Mars trademark, are also well-executed and add to both the motion and the tension of the song as well. This song was a huge international hit and the the production is a big reason why."

You can read more from the Deconstructed Hits book series as well as my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

Christmas Gifts For The Musician And Engineer

We're just a few days away from Christmas 2013, and many of you may still be looking to buy some audio or music-related gifts. Here are some books and programs from my catalog that would make great gifts for that musician, engineer, songwriter, producer or music exec in your life.

Social Media Promotion For Musicians - If you don't have the online presence that you think you should, or you're not increasing your fan or client base through your online efforts, then this book's for you. Covers Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious, as well as your website, blog and mailing list. (a Kindle version is also available). See the table of contents and read some excerpts.

Deconstructed Hits - If you're enjoyed my song analysis on this blog, you'll love the Deconstructed Hits series. Designed to look deep inside the hits from different genres, you'll get some real insight as to why songs are hits and how they're both the same yet different. Each book looks at song facts, song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production. There are three volumes: Classic Rock Vol. 1, Modern Rock and Country, and Modern Pop and Hip Hop. You can read more about them, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

Mixing Engineer's Handbook 3rd Edition - Are your mixes not sounding the way you think they should? The latest version of the Mixing Engineer's Handbook (written especially for the home or small studio) can come to the rescue. New interviews and a new "advanced" chapter that looks at automation, sound replacement, pitch correction techniques and more make it a must-have for any musician or engineer. Also available in a Kindle edition. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

Video Courses At Lynda.com - Have you ever wanted to learn a new piece of software, but hated the "how-to" videos you found on YouTube with their bad audio and lighting and people that barely know what they're doing? Try Lynda.com, with more than 1500 courses with super high production values by experts and in small digestible bites. Check out my courses on mixing, recording, mastering, studio building, and social media, and get 7 days free of unlimited access to lynda.com.

Recording Engineer's Handbook 3rd Edition - Not sure how to mic a tabla, marimba or fiddle? Here's the book that will show you not only one, but multiple ways how, as well as the techniques you can use for getting a great recording every time. Invaluable to the recording musician. Also available in a Kindle version. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

The Studio Builder's Handbook (with Dennis Moody) -  Every musician has a home studio these days but the product coming out of it can be disappointing, not so much because of the gear, but because of the acoustics in the listening position. The Studio Builder's Handbook shows how to improve any listening area for as little as $100, as well as showing you everything you need to know to keep your neighbors from hearing what you're doing, and you from hearing them. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

The Music Producer's Handbook - This is the book you need if you want to be a producer, but aren't sure how to get there. Covers everything from getting a production gig, to handling a budget, to getting paid, to working with musicians, to making sure that the recording is great. Also available in a Kindle version. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

How To Make Your Band Sound Great - If your band isn't quite where you want it to be musically, if you don't sound as tight as the records you love, or if you're stage presence isn't knocking your audience dead, then you should read this book. Also comes with a DVD that shows a band in rehearsal as they get a song tight and together with tried and true techniques that always work. Also available in a Kindle version. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

The Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook (with Rich Tozzoli) -  For most all guitar players, the quest for the perfect tone is like looking for the perfect wave. The Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook shows you why electric guitars, acoustic guitars and amplifiers sound the way they do, why the tone varies, and how to zero in on the perfect tone for your playing. There's also a host of great interviews with some real kings of tone that you won't want to miss. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

The Touring Musician's Handbook - If you want to know what it takes to get a gig as a touring musician, this books for you. Covers the essentials like gear, chops and attitude required to get the gig, how to pass the audition, how to prepare for the road, what to bring with you, and how to stay healthy. You can read more about it, look at the table of contents and read some excerpts here.

There are other books on being a studio musician, music business, creating videos, recording, mixing and mastering in my library that you might like as well. Check them all out at bobbyowsinski.com.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.