Listening Journal - Week 6

Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" is one of the most famous pieces of the early 70s.  It is a huge rock ballad, clocking in at nearly 8 minutes.  The form is complex, though harmonically, there are only a few variations.  There are three distinct sections, with the third being the most distinct, with significant changes in tempo and vocals (Robert Plant sings the last major C section an octave up).  Jimmy Page's guitar solo around the 6 minute mark marks the most distinct change in mood, especially as it leads into the higher vocals.  Interestingly, this song has been accused of "backward masking," hiding Satanic sayings that can only be heard by playing the record backwards.  Robert Plant has expressed frustration with these accusations and I personally do not hear it. 

Moving on to Santana's "Oye Como Va" we find a wonderful example of a Latin, Jazz, Rock fusion piece that would pave the way for Latin mainstream music in the decades to come.  While it seems complex at a first listen, the form of the piece is rather straight forward, with 3 major sections (A, B, and C) that are surrounded by solos (guitar and organ), interludes, and grooves.  Originally written in 1963 by Tito Puente, Santana's cover is the most famous.  He replaces the original flute with his guitar playing and adds many rock/jazz elements such as drum kit and organ.  I was particularly impressed with the organ solo, and unique Hammond sound remind me somewhat of songs like "Hush" by Deep Purple.

The Talking Heads were one of the most well known bands of the "new wave" era in the late 70s and early 80s.  As with the others this week, the form is actually pretty straight forward, but adds some interesting variations to keep it interesting.  In this case, David Byrne not only offers lyrical stuttering (Fa fa fa fa fa fa far better) but also sings a significant portion of the chorus (B section) and the C section in French.  The instrumentation in this piece is more simple, compared to the other pieces we focused on this week.  It's a basic two guitar, bass, and drum setup.  The bass guitar provides a lot of the drive for the song throughout, and the drums have a march-like quality.  The closing moments offer a bit more variety with the addition of keyboard/organ for a bit before the end.

The music this week has shown just a small sample of the incredible variety of music from the late 1960s and 1970s.  The punk/new wave trends set by the Talking Heads and other bands would pave the way for more of these types of bands to dominate the airwaves and MTV in the early 80s.  However, more traditional Rock and Roll would continue to thrive as well.  The 70s and 80s offered more and more variety in the style and substance of music available, and I am looking forward to listening to more next week.