Imagine - your favorite artist, THE ONE you ever loved for its originality, attitude, refusal to follow the trends or simply because they were the ones to love to, pledging alliance to the enemy. In sum, making incursions in previously unknown music territories. You d better say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO but sometimes...Those heretics manage to hit the mark!
When it happens, you will never ever be the same again. Your world will not be the same world you used to love, but you had to kill as the heroes had fallen. This will be the subject of a 5-part review of mine. Let s go!
1 - Feel Every Beat by ELECTRONIC
from album ELECTRONIC, 1990
ELECTRONIC was the pop supergroup formed by former NEW ORDER leader Bernard Summer and former THE SMITHS guitar player Johnny Marr. Two household heroes from the 80 s - while NEW ORDER managed to merge Electronica and Rock to previously unimaginable heights, THE SMITHS virtually ressurrected the rock single in UK, in the process bringing back melody, delicateness and flawless songwriting partnerships (in this case, Marr and singer Morrissey) to English Rock. So, expectations were that high for the first ELECTRONIC release.
Why this number - Feel Every Beat - was so shocking? NEW ORDER always refused to submit Rock elements to Electronica, always hitting at original dimensions of that unlike combination, while THE SMITHS never let melody surrender to rhythm. Feel Every Beat, a trip-hop number, simply features Summer rapping over a smooth beat while Marr let it grooves endlessly. A moody number which is pretty much apart from their previous efforts, it includes as well a funky guitar licking very much heretic for both of them.
But I love this song!
2 - Another One Bites The Dust by QUEEN
from album THE GAME, 1980
Simply put that way - QUEEN, the band used to include a 'NO SINTETIZERS WERE USED ON THIS RECORD' stick on their 70 s releases, spawning a Funk-Disco number which skyrocketed to number one. And a number SO funky, SO groovy (thanks to John Deacon s tight-skirted bass), SO catchy, SO steady in terms of musicianship and even menacing in Freddy Mercury s aggressive delivering, one couldn t say it wasn t QUEEN, even if a very different one.
3 - Owner of a Lonely Heart by YES
from album 90125, 1983
YES, the quintessential Progressive Rock band - which released an album in 1974 with only 4 tracks (with titles like The Revealing Science of Gods , Giants Under The Sun etc), each surpassing the 18-minute mark - becames a New Wave supergroup and releases a killer 5-minute-less single, which shot to number 1. OK, the main riff is terrific (and one of YES s besy ever), the instruments are steady and technique almost as much as before, Jon Anderson sounds like only him can do. But there s a markedly different usage of keyboards (including a freakout section sampled by endless rappers further on). And the track is a much more acessible one, a clear departure from YES virtuoso epics.
Many YES fans hate this era, but almost all of them love this very special single! It has even became a live staple!
4 - Changes by BLACK SABBATH
from album Volume 4, 1972
A guitar-less BLACK SABBATH track? A mellowy ballad? Ozzy sounding melodic? These standard case in shifting-paradigms-in-Heavy-Rock managed to keep its magic untouched until our days, because BLACK SABBATH didn t want to pen a crossover hit. This track is a highly melancholic one (lead by a Gothic piano) and lyrics of the most pedestrian confer an additional mystery - why they sticked to such an obviety? Anyway, an intriguing number.
5 - Ruby Tuesday by ROLLING STONES
from album FLOWERS, 1967
ROLLING STONES were never the most subtler of bands, as well as they never carved many ballads, much less romantic ones. They were cynical bluesman, freewheeling party animals etc etc. But here they carved a monster of a ballad, with an ancient feel resembling 18th Century s England countryside. Folkish guitars, even a mandolin, minimalist percussion, deeply romantic, affecting, heartfelt lyrics. Even idealistic ones. So sutble the delivery of this number Mick Jagger had to restrain himself to the maximum level - reaching the lower notes on his long-lasting career. A jewel from the royal crown of ROLLING STONES Rock legacy - even if not their most typical one.
