Some Songs Considered

“Parker’s Band” – Steely Dan
(Words/music: Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, available on Pretzel Logic, MCA 1974) 

A while back, The Onion published a piece titled “Donald Fagen Defends Steely Dan to Friends,” and like the best types of satire, the article touches on a lot of truth.  In it, “Fagen” lists off pretty much every defense a Steely Dan superfan offers to non-interested parties.  The fact that “wry, perfectly crafted lyrics” appears so early in this mock defense makes sense only because it’s a frequent point of praise.  It’s always surprised me how quickly that comes up.  I’ve always been attracted to their musical chops first and then found certain lyrics amusing (or, ignored them altogether).  So my appreciation (and defense, I suppose) begins with their musical chops and usually bridges into Becker and Fagen’s skill as arrangers.  The lyrics would come last, somewhere between icing on the cake and a complete afterthought.

That’s the exact way my appreciation for “Parker’s Band” evolved.  The lead guitar and quick pace first caught my attention.  Then I recognized the efficient arrangement – clocking in under three minutes partially due to its quick pace but partially due to its tight structure.  Only after the music hooked me in did I start picking up on all the clever references to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker.  Fagan references his hometown of Kansas City, his one time record label Savoy, and his nickname “Bird.”  There’s also likely references to some of his tunes (“Groovin’ High”), his competition (“dizzy weekend” perhaps as a nod to trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie) and even Parker’s heroin habit.  In the end, the cleverness of working in these references (and having the lyrics still make sense beyond a series of in-jokes) put the song over the top.  Mr. Fagan needn’t remind me about his connection to Chevy Chase – I’m already listening.

More on Steely Dan: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“Killer Queen” – Queen 
(Words/music: Freddie Mercury, available on Sheer Heart Attack, Hollywood 1974) 

In terms of bite, this was my concept of how hard Queen sounded for a long time.  Between “Killer Queen” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” my earliest notion of Queen was of a band that had heavy moments yet wasn’t really a heavy band.  Sure, Brian May plays a solid solo here, but it generally sticks close to the song’s melody.  Besides, as a kid I recognized this song more for the snaps at the beginning and the thick harmonizing in the vocals.  Needless to say, it surprised me later on to find out how heavy Queen could get; in fact, up through the Sheer Heart Attack album, “Killer Queen” was less representative of the band’s sound than I might think.  If I cherry picked different songs from the Queen collections my mom owned, I might have had a different idea of Queen altogether.  

I started thinking about “Killer Queen” earlier today when I started thinking about my mom’s CD collection when I was a kid.  This was right around the time that CDs became popular, and my mom owned maybe thirty different albums, generally amassing a few on her birthday and holidays.  The two favorites, for whatever reason, of my brothers and I were Classic Queen and Queen’s Greatest Hits, two different compilations of Queen’s music.  We each had our favorite songs from the collection – “Killer Queen” was mine, and my youngest brother loved “Bicycle Race” and listened to it to the point where I still can’t hear it.  Today is my mom’s birthday, and as I went through the mental list of things to get her (I settled on baking for her instead), music came up.  Even though she’s (surprisingly) switched to iTunes as her music store of choice (where she’s one by one buying the entire Monkees and Neil Diamond catalogs), I’ll always associate Queen with her CD collection.  

More on Queen: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” – Steely Dan
(Words/music: Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, available on Pretzel Logic, MCA 1974)

Aside from eye rolling, the most popular image of Steely Dan connects to their perfectionism in the studio.  Rightfully so, as Steely Dan essentially consists of Walter Becker, Donald Fagan, and a cavalcade of hotshot studio players, each selected to bring their particular talents to a given song.  This concept of Becker and Fagan as studio hermits makes them seem more like producers and arrangers than musicians and undercuts their skill as songwriters.  Without some killer songs, I can’t imagine Becker and Fagan recruiting the type of players they feature on their records.  More importantly, their chops as songwriters keep these sessions from devolving into endlessly meandering jams.  That’s not to say that some of their songs aren’t self-indulgent (hence the eye rolling from many), but most of their best songs feel grounded by melody.

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” especially when compared with some of the other songs on Pretzel Logic, isn’t as flashy.  Instead, it relies on a fairly simple arrangement and its laid back feel.  Even the guitar solo – flawlessly executed, per usual – feels restrained.  Becker and Fagan’s sense of arranging keeps the song from feeling overcrowded by any extraneous instrumentation, letting the song breathe naturally.  The most interesting part of the song (to me, at least) is the bridge.  If the chorus of a song gets the most attention, the bridge (or “middle eight” to some) plays the supporting role that pushes the entire production over the top.  Here, the bridge modulates slightly (I’m rusty on my chord theory, forgive me) – just enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the song and leave our ears waiting for the chorus to come back one more time.  Fagan also saves his key lines for the bridge, revealing his narrator’s resolve when the harmonic shift grabs our attention.

More on Steely Dan: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“Already Gone” – The Eagles
(Words/music: Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlin, available on On the Border, Asylum 1974)

After spending far too long listening to classic rock radio, including a couple jobs where this was on constantly, I’ve overdosed on the Eagles.  I’m at a point where Don Henley’s voice causes me to turn the radio to any other station instantaneously.  Perhaps it’s a reaction to being told how wonderful “Hotel California” was for years, because I can’t say I actively loathe their songs (“Hotel California” included, even if I wouldn’t mind going a few years without hearing it).  The Eagles do a few things well – for example, they can harmonize with the best of them.  They just tend not to do these things on the songs that get blasted over the radio.

“Already Gone” plays on the band’s strengths.  Specifically, the band uses harmonies without letting them overpower the rest of the song.  Rather than push the multiple part vocals out into the front of the mix, the harmonies blend in with the rest of the track.  This way, the harmonies strengthen Glenn Frey’s lead vocal, whether it’s the subtle underscoring in the verses or the more forceful and direct backing vocals in the chorus.  These harmonies also tend to wash over the vocals, emphasizing the sound of their voices rather than the specific words they sing – another plus since the Eagles craft sounds better than words.  Additionally, the constant interplay between the lead and slide guitars breathes a lively spirit into the song.  These two guitar lines run through the entire arrangement, rarely going more than a few bars without emerging for a fill or two.  It provides a harder edged counterpoint to the smoother sounding harmonies and offers another dimension to the track.  It gives me hope enough to think that there’s a few more songs like this (or like “Take it Easy”) in the band’s catalog – well constructed rock songs that won’t drive me to furiously press my car radio’s “scan” button.

More on The Eagles: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“Mod Lang” – Big Star
(Words/music: Alex Chilton and Richard Rosebrough, available on Radio City, Ardent 1974)

Sometimes, it’s not the specific words we say, it’s how these words are said.  “Mod Lang” is that type of song for me – Alex Chilton delivers his fractured lyrics in a semi-snarl (at least as much of a snarl that a power-pop icon is capable of) buried beneath the song’s distinctive riff.  It’s tough to piece together the actual words Chilton sings without an actual lyric sheet (and then even then, it’s hard to put together a cohesive narrative).  However, the song’s attitude is loud and clear – Chilton sounds confused and anxious, but completely confident at the same time.  He manages to turn the line “how long can this go on” on its head; in one of his other songs, this might carry desperation or despondency.  In “Mod Lang” Chilton’s tone sounds like he’s almost bragging that he “can’t be satisfied” rather than being let down by it.

Between this declaration of being unfulfilled and the bluesy riff that sets the song’s tempo, “Mod Lang” sounds like a Rolling Stones song put on its head.  Like Mick Jagger, Chilton has swagger and bravado - it’s just not in the same “larger than life” way that Mick Jagger continues to sing “Satisfaction” years later.  It’s this frustration without release that helps to build Chilton’s reputation as the patron saint of rock’s outsiders.  Noted Chilton disciple Paul Westerberg (who appropriately wrote a song titled “Unsatisfied”) would perfect this hybrid of blues rock, youthful rebellion, and somewhat awkward introspection with The Replacements, but it took songs like “Mod Lang” to put these ideas out in their rawest form.

More on Big Star: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm