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Greatest guitar intro riffs of all time
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Interesting David you mentioned the 3 separate movements in this song, just like in classical music Symphonies, Concertos, and Sonatas that involve 3 or 4 movements. The Beatles did it so effectively with the two movements in A Day In the Life, and it is wonderfully done in Band On The Run too. Love the transition, as the mood change progresses from one movement to another! I think Pink Floyd, Super Tramp and others adopted the use of movements in some of their epic songs later on too. I don’t know if the Beatles first adopted this in A Day In the Life, as I am not aware of any other pop/rocks songs doing this prior to the Beatles. Love the bag pipes in Mull Of Kintyre. Such innovators the Beatles were.
I had that blue “Wings Greatest Hits” 1978 compilation album on cassette that I played to death. It looks like that 1987 album has many of the best tracks from the 1978 album and many of his later hits too. Looks even better.
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I love both Band on the Run and Mull of Kintyre as my faves from Wings Era….. Musically and lyrically magical to me…. As a younger gal back in the day, and still now in her 50s….lol
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I’ve heard it said that Mull of Kintyre makes you fiercely proud of your Scottish heritage, whether you have any or not. It sounds like a traditional ballad from the 1800’s. It blows my mind that it didn’t dent the U.S. charts. My understanding is that most American DJ’s just said “What is THIS crud?” and played the B-side instead.
I have to admit that the first time I saw the video for The Wide Wide Land, and the marching band entered, I flashed back to the Mull of Kintyre video with the bagpipers by the beach. Anyone think it may have been a bit of a homage? Or just a happy coincidence?
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I don’t have any Scottish heritage, but I love bag pipes! 🙂 Especially when played to honor someone or a proud event. At the recent tragedy in New Brunswick I saw a news clip where a lone bag pipe was played to honor the victims and the fallen police officer, and the sounds of the bag pipe was truly moving and emotional. In Canada I remember back in the 70s Mull Of Kintyre was very big, and one of Paul McCartney and Wings most well known songs. The marching band in The Wide Wide Land when I first saw it reminded me of the brass band image in Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band, but now that you mention it, I can relate it to Mull of Kintyre too.
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I thought for a second that I had come up with a pop song with “movements” that pre-dates “A Day in the Life”, but it turns out that it was released a few months later: “Susan” by the Buckinghams. Perhaps the cacophonous middle part was even inspired by the structure of “A Day in the Life”.
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David, yes I notice that change at about 1:30 into the song. It stands out. I never heard of this band before. This song, Mercy Mercy Mercy, and Don’t You Care sounds nice. They are still together and performing. Looks like one of the lesser known gems from the 60s.
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I just did a little reading about “Susan”. Apparently the weird part is a snippet of a song written in 1906 by modernist composer Charles Ives. The producer inserted it into the finished song, and the whole band hated it.
From the first time I heard it, I visualized gathering storm clouds followed by thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour. Then suddenly it stops and the sun comes out and the raindrops drip off the flowers as they sing “love, love, love, love…”
When I was teething on 60’s music with my oldies radio station in the 80’s, they frequently played the songs you mentioned, plus “Hey Baby” and “Kind of a Drag” (my favorite), and I became quite smitten with their sound. I thought they would have been much better remembered than they actually are.
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Hey I know this one, Kind of a Drag! Great 60s iconic song, so that was the Buckinghams! They are not so unknown, it’s probably just me.
That’s a great visualization of the change in mood in “Susan”. As the song goes on and suddenly at “love, love, love..” it really grabs you. An effective use of a distinct movement.
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Now that I think about it, the dripping flower imagery was probably inspired by my early childhood viewing of this moving film from Sesame Street, with an accompanying Vivaldi composition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojxgL3nf0Y
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That’s very beautiful and moving.
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When I found this clip on YouTube I was amazed at how many of the comments below said “I saw this when I was four years old and it made me cry even then.” Again we’re looking at the amazing power of music (along with a visual, in this case) to conjure up deep feelings, even in the very young.
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That is a beautiful video David. Very therapeutic. For me Vivaldi had the ability to hit the right note at the right time, just like Mozart did.
The magic and beauty of nature (and sadness), in a man made concrete jungle.
This slightly different version comes with some beautiful photos of flowers, and even a flock of geese taking off.
Not as hauntingly sad as the Sesame Street video, which is a classic.
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Very nice, Howard! And it’s the first time I’ve ever heard the extended dance mix of the song.
I don’t actually know much about Vivaldi. I remember in the late 80’s I was running around to all the record stores in a desperate search for a compilation of hits by Frankie Valli, and I kept getting my hopes raised and immediately dashed by albums titled “The Four Seasons: Vivaldi”. I guess it’s time to get over the emotional scars and give him a listen.
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Ok Howard, you have me at the sight of the Groovy Purple Flower Piwer Vibe Essences in that video…lol ??
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What I love about Mona and Lisa? When it comes to guitar riffs, drum riffs, strings, they make sure they input that in the songs that we know and man does it sound great! They can match note for note in my book
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