Flashback to ‘77
Background: When I first started my record collection, there were certain vinyls I knew I had to have, and among them were six records from 1977: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, The Grand Illusion by Styx, The Stranger by Billy Joel, Saturday Night Fever by The Bee Gees, Aja by Steely Dan, and Running on Empty by Jackson Browne. This being my 77th blog, I figured we’d flash back to 1977 and take a look at six of my favorites (notice I did not say “My six favorites” because that’s way too difficult) from the aforementioned albums. Although it’s easy for us to refer to songs from any year as a product of their time, my goal is to point out the fabulous songwriting evident in these tunes, regardless of genre, as that’s how I tend to listen to and write songs.
“Gold Dust Woman” by Fleetwood Mac (From Rumours)
Lyrically: I had the pleasure of seeing Stevie Nicks in concert, and during the show, she shared that this particular song was about a drug-addicted vagabond and someone’s observations of said person. She said that the narrative was supposed to evoke a sort of romantic element to the lifestyle, but also, as producer Ken Callait put it, “The song evolved slowly. It just kind of snuck up on you. Next thing I knew, it was getting kind of creepy.” You get that vibe through both the lyrics and the delivery. So it has a romantic element to it, but also serves as a warning — perhaps her speaking to herself, given all the drugs she was using when the song was written.
There’s a cool homophonic play on words in one of the verses. It discusses seeing the sunrise, having stayed up all night using, Notably, there’s a line that says, “Pick your path and I’ll pray” (P-R-A-Y), and “Lousy lovers pick their prey,” (P-R-E-Y), discussing the push and pull between how the user feels while on drugs (addiction) and the the reason they need to escape (the lousy lovers). Either way, though, they’re going to have to kick the habit, as the narrator can see the effect it has on the titular character. Yet there’s some question in the chorus as to whether or not that’s possible: “Did she make you cry, make you break down, shatter your illusions of love? Is it over now, do you know how to pick up the pieces and go home?”
Melodically: The song is written in D major and uses D, C, G, A, a I, bVII, IV, V pattern in the intro, followed by D, G, C, G, a I, IV, bVII, IV pattern in the verses. The chorus uses Bb, G, C, and D (the bVI, IV, bVII, and I chords). After each pattern of D, C, G, C, it goes back to the intro pattern. Instrumentally, the song uses guitar, bass, sitar, dobro, drums, percussion, harpsichord, and a Fender Rhodes keyboard. As mentioned earlier, there’s a creepy build to this song, and that’s aided by all of the aforementioned instruments.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus format. Part of the creepiness to the song is the melody, but it’s also the fact that there’s no resolve. In addition to this being a cool choice just with the song individually, it also ends the album, which was marked by personal strains on the band. The fact that there’s a simple structure, ending on the chorus with the question of whether or not the Gold Dust Woman knows how to move on from her habit is just terrific. It’s a portrait, but not a story, so no bridge is necessary – in fact it would make the song completely different – because the whole point is that this person is in a haze. Adding anything else would take away from that haze, and the song doesn’t need that kind of positivity.
You can listen to “Gold Dust Woman” below.
2. “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” by Styx
Lyrically: Tommy Shaw joined Styx in 1975, and was somewhat of the wide-eyed young guy, a direct contrast to the cynical lead singer, Dennis DeYoung. “Fooling Yourself” was written by Tommy as a reaction to Dennis’ attitude, although he has said that the older he’s gotten, the more he’s identified with his own lyrics. He starts out by telling the titular angry young man that he needs a rest, asserting, “You’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it” and in the second verse asks, “Why must you be such an angry young man when your future looks quite bright to me?” also questioning why there would be “Such a sinister plan” with all the promise the angry young man has. The bridge then sees the narrator encouraging the angry one to “Get up, get back on your feet, you’re the one they can’t beat and you know it.” It fits with the larger theme of its parent album, to not worry about what others are doing and control what you can control.
Melodically: The song’s verses use D, C/D (played 3 times), before ending on Bb, C/Bb (played twice), followed by D/A and G/A (also played twice). The song is written in D major, so this is a I, bVII, bVI, bVII, I, IV pattern. The bridge/breakdown uses D, Eb/D, C/D, and D, a I, IIb, VIIb, I pattern, played four times. Instrumentally, the song starts off in the intro with the iconic keyboards that to me defined this record, before the acoustic guitar comes in. The song also includes electric guitar, bass, and drums. As I mentioned, the keyboards seem to define the sound of this record, and with the lyrics also evoking the general themes of it as well, it makes sense that the melody is upbeat and fast-paced, to encourage the downtrodden narrator.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, refrain, verse, refrain, bridge/breakdown, refrain format. We haven’t chatted much about refrains vs. choruses, and a new blog idea is coming to me, but basically a refrain is one or two lines at the end of a verse that aren’t long enough for a chorus but still drive the point home. For as bombastic as the sound is on this record, this is the right choice. This is because the bridge/breakdown portion of the song is the big payoff: chanting out “Get out! Get out! Get back on your feet!,” which is done twice throughout the song allows for the summing up to be repeated with the aforementioned refrain. Having a big booming chorus and the big booming breakdown (the latter of which I’ve had plenty of), wouldn’t make sense, because the whole song is supposed to be encouraging, not forceful, and choosing your spots to be forceful is crucial to get the point across.
You can listen to “Fooling Yourself” below. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t believe it.
3. “Vienna” by Billy Joel (From his album The Stranger)
Lyrically: I had the pleasure of seeing Billy Joel live in 2016, and shortly thereafter, went on a massive listening kick, with An Innocent Man and The Stranger being standout albums. During the concert, Joel gave the audience an option of two songs, one of which was “Vienna,” which I had never heard before. I’m glad the audience chose that one, because it’s now one of my favorite songs of his. The tune is told from the perspective of an older narrator, encouraging a younger person to slow down and enjoy life, warning, “You’re gonna kick off before you’re even halfway through.” Eventually, he asks the young person, “When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?” Billy was inspired to write the song after visiting Vienna and being struck by how slow-paced life was there. As a touring artist, having to go from one place to the next has to be exhausting, so his advice to “Take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile” sounds like wisdom from someone his age now, but the advice coming from a 28 year old (how old Billy Joel was when he wrote the song) probably would mean a little more to whoever he was talking to, since the narrator saying “I’ve been there recently, so trust me, this is what you need.” It’s a gorgeous, sweet song, and fits with the larger theme on the album of taking people out of their normal routine so they don’t wake up one day not recognizing themselves.
Melodically: The song’s intro uses Bbaug, D7, E7, Em/Gb, F7, and Bb. With the song written in Bb major, this is a I, III, IV, iv, V, I pattern. The verses use Gm, Bb, F, Ab, Eb, Bb, C, D9sus4, and D. This is a vi, I, V, bVII, IV, I, II, III pattern. The chorus uses Eb, F, Bb, Dm/A, Gm, Bb/F, Eb, Am7, D7, Gm7, C7, Gb7, F, and Bb. This is a IV, V, I, iii, vi, I, IV, bvii, III, vi, II, bVI, V, I pattern. The instrumental section before the last verse uses the same chords as the verses. The verses ending on the III chord provides a certain amount of tension that gets melodically resolved by the end of the chorus. I say melodically resolved because when I think of anticipation, I think of waiting. So the fact that Vienna is waiting for the narrator, but we don’t know if the narrator will actually go there, you’d think there would be some sort of uneasy chord. But the whole point of the song is that whenever the person the narrator addressing is ready, Vienna will be too. So this is the reason ending on the I chord is a great choice. Instrumentally, the song uses a Fender Rhodes piano (the same type of piano used in “Gold Dust Woman”), as well as accordion. The simple arrangement fits well with the laid-back nature of the song as a whole.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus format. The half verse, which acts as a reprise of the first, is perfect, because this whole song is advice, rather than being a lecture. So he’s already said most of what he needs to say, and putting it in a slightly different way might get through to the younger person, if he hasn’t done so already. The verses build up the narrator’s credibility, without explicitly saying how he came to figure this out, yet it doesn’t feel like a lecture, because there are just so many ways the younger person will burn out if they don’t escape for a second.
“Vienna” waits for you, in the embedded video below.
4. “More Than a Woman” by The Bee Gees (From Saturday Night Fever)
Lyrically: In the intro to this blog, I mentioned how, regardless of genre, if a song is lyrically strong enough, I’m going to love it. And while disco songs were typically meant to get people on the dance floor, not necessarily think about the lyrics, there was still plenty to say in this tune from Saturday Night Fever. There was a standout line that I was going to lead with, but I’ll get to that in a bit, because while writing for this blog, I discovered another gem: “Girl I’ve known you very well, seen you grown every day, I never really looked before, but now you take my breath away.” It’s easy to think of that line in a similar context to “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5, where the narrator took his love interest for granted and he missed his chance, or that it wasn’t until now that he noticed how stunning she was. But for me, the subtle power of this line beyond that is the blending of the senses. There is sight, not having looked, then there’s the fact that now she takes his breath away. This isn’t one of the five senses, per se, but more of the physiological effects of the narrator’s new feelings. There’s also the contradiction of “I’ve seen you growing every day,” and “I never really looked before.” In addition to that, the initial standout line I mentioned is “We can take forever just a minute at a time.” I’m not always the best at living this out, but there’s something special about being willing to wait for a person, knowing they’re the one, but also knowing you’re working toward forever. It’s just terrific.
Melodically: The song’s intro uses Cmaj7 and A/B. The intro and verses are written in E major, so this is a VI, IV pattern. The verses, also written in E major, use Emaj7 and A/B, a I, IV pattern. The pre-chorus changes keys to D major, and uses G, A, Dmaj7, and B, followed by G, A, Dmaj7, and F#m, and G, A, Dmaj7, and B. This is a IV, V, I, VI pattern, followed by a III, IV, I, iii, IV, V, I, II pattern. The chorus then switches to the key of C major and uses Cmaj7, G, and Am, a I, V, vi pattern. In between the first and second verse, it goes back to the intro pattern. Instrumentally, the song uses guitar, bass, drums/percussion, and keyboards, with the string sound coming from the keyboards.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, chorus format. Although the lyric section’s length would beg to differ, the simplicity of this song is what makes it thrive, especially given the genre. It’s not a story song – there are simple, relatable examples of what this person who’s more than a woman means to the narrator. But the song doesn’t dive into specifics, like “I remember the time when you did this.” So having some quick, but poetic examples is just what the song needs, and throwing short instrumental breaks between those lyrics allows people to dance to it in between. It’s just an objectively well-crafted song.
Funny Closing Note: The title of this blog alludes to a line in Everclear’s “A.M. Radio” (discussed in one of our nostalgia blogs), but he mentions in the outro of that song that he never liked disco. His loss – this is a great song!
You can listen to “More Than a Woman” below.
5. “Josie” by Steely Dan (From Aja)
Lyrically: When we talked about “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” in our That’s All, Folk! Blog, I alluded to the fact that it shared some similarities with “Josie” by Steely Dan, in terms of celebrating when someone makes their triumphant return. In this case, the person in question is someone named Josie. Interestingly, the song never actually gets to Josie’s return, it’s just talking about all the things they’ll do to celebrate once she does. This includes them saying, “We’re gonna break out the hats and hooters, we’re gonna rev up the motor scooters,” “Throw down the jam ‘til the girls say when, lay down the law and break it when Josie comes home.” The rest of the song is dedicated to talking about the kind of person Josie is and why she deserves that much celebrating upon her return. This includes her being “The pride of the neighborhood, the best that we ever had, the raw flame, the live wire,” and someone who “prays like a Roman with her eyes on fire.”
Melodically: The intro of this song is iconic for Steely Dan and for Larry Carlton. The song’s intro uses Fmaj7, F#7#9, Gmaj7, and G#maj7add13. With the song written in E minor, this is a II, #II, III, #III chromatic based pattern, The first verse then use Em7, A/D, G/C, D/G, and C/F, a i, IV, III, bVII, bVI pattern, followed by Em7, A7, G/C, D/G, and C/F, a i, IV, bIII, bVII, bVI pattern. It ends with Em7, A7, G/C, D/G, C/F, Em7, D/G, E/A, and Em7. This is a i, IV, bIII, bVII, bVI, i, bVII, I, i pattern (ending on the major I and the minor i). The second verse is simpler, relatively speaking, using Em7, A/D, G/C, D/G, Em7, A7, G/C, D/G, C/F, followed by Em7, D/G, E/A, and Em7, which is a i, IV, bIII, bVII, I, IV, bIII, bVII, bVI, i, bVII, I, i pattern The chorus uses C/F, F#m7#9, B7#5#9, Em7, C/F, which gets played twice, except the second time around, the Em7 is followed by an A7. The chorus ends with Am7, D7, Gmaj7, Cmaj7, F#7#9, and B7#5#9. Instrumentally, the song contains guitar, drums, bass, and a Rhodes piano. Of note, Jim Keltner, a fabulous studio drummer, played drums on the track, and Timothy B. Schmidt, of Eagles fame, sang background vocals on the track.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus format. You might be noticing that in the structure section, I’ve been talking about the parent album, and this song is no exception. Though Fagen and Becker were meticulous about the instrumentation in the studio, Aja is where they really went nuts and used over 40 studio musicians. I bring that up because although I love the lyrics on the album, the instrumentation is what really shines – so building a whole song around the anticipation of someone’s return allows for it to do so, because there isn’t a whole lot you have to do narratively.
You can listen to “Josie” below.
6. “Rosie” by Jackson Browne (From Running on Empty)
Lyrically: First of all, I totally did not intend for the last two song titles to rhyme, but here we are. “Rosie” recounts someone the narrator presumably met on the road, who really wanted to get into a show where he was running sound, but it was sold out, so he let her in. He was completely infatuated by her, and enjoying both the show and how much she was enjoying it, only to have the drummer come in and make a move on Rosie (which is how you know it’s fictional). It’s a bold choice to have that revelation in the beginning of the song, but the chorus reveals that Rosie and the narrator are reunited. So it’s not just some far off memory, he’s hoping she’s out there somewhere and will hear his cries, he’s actually talking to her directly, and she’s his again.
This time out, I’ll chat about the song as it relates to the larger album theme in the lyric section. All of the songs on Running on Empty are songs recorded on the road and they’re about the road. This one was recorded backstage at a venue in California, so have a live feel (with applause at the beginning), and has to do with road life and the loneliness that comes with connecting with someone and losing them (though in this case, it had less to do with traveling and more to do with the fact that she ran off with someone else).
Melodically: The song’s verses use E, A, B, E, A, E, followed by E, A, E, A, E, and C#m. It is written in E major, so this is a I, IV, V, I, IV, I, I, IV, I, IV, I, vi pattern. That pattern gets repeated throughout the verse, but a B chord, the V, gets thrown in the last line. The chorus plays A, E, and A twice, followed by A, E, and C#m, before ending on A, E, B, A, E, B, A. This is a IV, I, IV, IV, I, vi, IV, I, V, IV, I, V, IV pattern. The only instrument on this track is a piano. Since the song doesn’t go anywhere major with a bridge or big change (like in “The Load Out/Stay”, the closing track to the album), there is no need for more instrumentation than is already there. It also fits well with the mourning on the part of the narrator – we want to feel his pain and to fully do that, to fully understand him, it needs to have an intimate feel to it.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, outro format (with the outro only repeating “Rosie”). It’s a simple, straight to the point narrative. It doesn’t even really say what the drummer did to lure Rosie away, but the focus is more on the pain. If there were a middle 8 or bridge, that’s probably the direction it would have gone, but again, the key is the emotional impact of her leaving, so it doesn’t matter why she left, it just matters that she left. In the chorus, it just matters that they’re back together, and the past doesn’t matter. The simplicity of those feelings is what makes the song stand out.
You can listen to “Rosie” below.
