POP
MUSIC
Breaking the
3-minute barrier
by
Sam Sutherland
Από τα τραγούδια των 3
λεπτών στα albums
The Beatles “Sergeant Pepper”
The Who “Tommy”
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
The Kinks “Arthur”
Moody Blues “Days of Future Passed”
Strawbs “Grave New World”
Jethro Tull “Aqualung” “Thick as a Brick”
Yes “Fragile” “Close to the Edge”
Fairport Convention “Babbacombe Lee”
Pink Floyd “More” “Obscured by Clouds”
David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust”
Bee Gees “Odessa”
Miles Davis “Bitches Brew”
The Mahavishnu Orchestra “The Inner Mounting Flame”
Carla Bley “Escalator Over the Hill”
Penthouse magazine January 1973
ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ
Breaking
the 3-minute barrier
Pop music has
grown up by growing longer. The rock epic, the extended track, the electronic
opera are with us to stay—at least for a while, which is quite some time in the
mutable world of pop culture.
The change
was inevitable really. During the ‘50s and ‘60s the destiny of a record was
largely determined by its ability to comply with the limitations of AM radio
and that meant a strictly three-minute timeslot. Even major groups like the Rolling
Stones could not afford to let cuts run more than a few seconds over the three
minutes allowed. The single record was the alpha and omega of an artiste’s
success and the idea of actually playing a whole album was too way-out to
mention. Hence, musicians were compelled to establish atmosphere and identity
in a matter of seconds: no screwing around, boys, and grab those listeners’
ears in the first few bars or they'll tune out and go elsewhere on the AM band.
Around the
mid-'60s, however, rock began to expand its field of vision. The lp (long
playing discs/albums), previously little more than an economy measure, a random
hotchpotch of hit singles and flip sides, began to achieve an identity of its
own. The songs were crafted more carefully, with an eye toward the album's
internal relationships, and thematic links began to emerge.
[ Beatles, “Sergeant Pepper” (1967) ]
Sergeant Pepper (Capitol) was the first
flower of this new-look conception. Though still basically a collection of
songs, the songs this time hung together, linked by re-echoing themes and a
vivid psychedelic aesthetic. Which in turn opened the way for the possibility
of continuous dramatic narrative, and that certainly elicited no small flurry
of debate, suggesting as it did that rock was o’erleaping its humble boundaries
and aspiring to the scope and complexity of “serious” music.
[ Pete Townshend, The Who, “Tommy” (1969) ]
( Pete Townshend
)
Foolish
fears, largely dissipated by Peter Townshend, whose increasingly detailed
social narratives had earlier led him to devote a sizable chunk of Happy Jack (Decca) to “A Quick One While
He's Away”, a melodramatic nugget about infidelity and forgiveness. Where the
Beatles had remained content to focus on song form, Townshend moved on to Tommy. This used a clutch of strong
tunes and a reasonably detailed plot to provide the framework for the ascension
of Tommy, messianic Pinball Wizard
and prototype for the alien-popstar-savior-figure so beloved of recent
progressive scenarios.
Tommy (Decca) was energetic, imaginative
and immensely popular, But, more important, it established a broad audience for
longer rock pieces. Since then the formats have varied enormously and the
quality has ranged from exalted to exhausting, but the popularity of the
pursuit has remained unchallenged as each new attempt is unveiled.
[ Frank Zappa and the Mothers ]
Sheer
seniority demands that Frank Zappa and the Mothers be singled out, both for
their dogged persistence and for their prolific output. Whether you find Zappa
a genius or a monumentally successful bullshit artist, he was probably first
off the mark with his longer pieces prominently featured on the earliest Verve
releases.
[ The Kinks, “Arthur” (1969) ]
( The Kinks )
Only slightly
more conventional are the Kinks, who have never felt the need for all that
instrumental gingerbread some bands use to link songs. Their scene is basically
rock ‘n’ roll, with an occasional not-so-tender ballad and a classic shot of
music-hall energy: no pretensions to higher philosophical problems here, just
gut-level contempt for the mediocrity of contemporary life. That response has
always been Ray Davies’ strongest suit, and his one major extended work, Arthur (Reprise) focuses on that rage.
Originally written for a BBC-TV drama, Arthur
illustrates the Decline and Fall of the British Empire through the eyes of
Arthur and his family. The songs stand nicely on their own as essential Kinks.
[ Moody Blues, “Days of Future Passed” (1967) ]
( Moody Blues )
[ Strawbs, “Grave New World” (1972) ]
Superficial
similarities exist between the Moodys (the Moody Blues) and a recent offering
by the Strawbs. Grave New World (A
& M) resembles the Moodys in its melodramatic production touches and underlying
structure of a spiritual journey (always an undergraduate favorite), but
prime-mover David Cousins has easily surpassed many better-known works. Grave New World's spin offs include a
half-hour color film and an elaborate stage presentation incorporating dance,
mime and elaborate lighting techniques. But even without the props, the work is
successful in its synthesis of traditional English folk music with progressive
rock.
[ Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull,
“Aqualung” (1971)
“Thick as a Brick” (1972) ]
Then there is
lan Anderson. Brilliance and excess have marked his two attempts at larger
works, as Jethro Tull has achieved its most dramatic commercial success. Aquadung (Reprise) offered two sets of
songs, one for each side, and linked by common themes.
More
recently, Anderson has moved on to Thick
as a Brick (Reprise), conceived as a single 50-minute piece. Actually
comprising several main themes linked by a poetic text and some tasty ensemble
playing, Thick as a Brick is that
band’s most uneven work, occasionally disjointed, intermittently pretentious
and often dazzling in its versatility.
[ Yes
“Fragile” (1971)
“Close to the Edge” (1972) ]
Less burdened
by thematic content are Yes who, since their emergence as a global contender,
have moved steadily toward larger works. Fragile
(Atlantic) displayed their virtuosity, as well as their thematic vacuity. Close to the Edge, (Atlantic) is their
most ambitious work to date, occupying an entire side, and, while their skill
is undiminished, the lack of emotional or thematic meat suggests that the band
might consider returning to those humble nine-minute, multi-themed works that
graced their earlier albums.
[ Fairport Convention,“Babbacombe Lee” (1971) ]
Fairport
Convention, one of the most evocative and influential bands strongly oriented
towards folk styles, must be applauded for Babbacombe
Lee, (A&M) a terse re-telling of a Victorian murder trial. They use it
to show their unquestionable skill in electrifying the ballad.
[ Pink Floyd
“More” (1969)
“Ummagumma” (1969)
“Atom Heart Mother” (1970)
“Meddle” (1971)
“Obscured by
Clouds” (1972) ]
Then, for
those unashamedly partial to aural gratification via surreal timbres, Pink
Floyd remains prominent. The conceptual ties are loose indeed, but the group's
film soundtracks More (Tower) and Obscured by Clouds, (Harvest) thrive on such freedom, abstracting
electric music to pure texture.
[ David Bowie, “Ziggy Stardust” (1972) ]
Tommy has
been followed by Ziggy Stardust
(RCA), David Bowie's popstar and messiah. And, like Townshend, Bowie has
maximized his spectacle by focusing on strong songs, rather than following a
more complex, involuted form for the album.
[ Bee Gees, “Odessa” (1969) ]
Recently,
more pop-oriented bands have tried their hands at the extended work. The Bee
Gees, who had mastered the lush romantic lyricism of the Beatles’ more opulent
projects, were otherwise perfect AM tunesmiths when they began expanding songs
to embrace larger, more detailed narratives. Odessa (Atco) is their most conspicuous attempt so far.
[ Miles Davis, “Bitches Brew” (1970) ]
The last two
years have seen an increasing diversity of styles gaining acceptance through
extended works. Miles Davis has become the apogee of instrumental fire for a
surprising legion of supposed rockers, thus further shattering the myth of
rock's illiteracy. Via Miles, John McLaughlin has received increasing
attention, though his own style has evolved mightily since his participation in
Bitches’ Brew.
[John McLaughlin, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, “The Inner
Mounting Flame” (1971) ]
Indeed,
McLaughlin's intensity has been most effectively projected via the Mahavishnu
Orchestra, The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia),
wherein Jerry Goodman's electric violin, Billy Cobham’s drumming, Jan Hammer's
piano and Rick Laird’s bass have combined to create an extraordinarily powerful
sense of freedom. Where Pink Floyd pursues sci-fi fantasies, the Mahavishnu
Orchestra has embraced a startling variety of styles. Their live performances
are clear, bright, expanded musical journeys.
McLaughlin is
just one of an impressive roster of first-rate jazz and rock luminaries who
have participated in what may be the most ambitious extended work yet attempted:
[ Carla Bley, “Escalator
Over the Hill” (1971) ]
Carla Bley’s “chronotransduction,” Escalator Over The Hill (available only
from Jazz Composers of America, 1841 Broadway, N.Y.), Jack Bruce, Linda
Ronstadt, Viva, Gato Barbieri, Ms. Bley among others contribute to a work that
is stunning in its stylistic pantheism and complexity. Heavy going? Perhaps,
but that hasn't prevented Escalator
from capturing the imagination of quite a few folk who thought they didn’t like
anything other than Good Old Rock'n'Roll. And that reaction points toward the
increasing subtlety of rock as it opens itself up to other styles.
The list does
go on, of course. It will grow, despite questions of art and artifice, because
the extended work is no longer a pop curiosity.
—Sam Sutherland.
Penthouse magazine, January 1973,
column: Sounds, columnist: Sam Sutherland, pp. 27-29.
ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΓΡΑΦΟΣ
[ ανάρτηση 11 Δεκεμβρίου 2024 :
POP MUSIC
Breaking the 3-minute barrier
by
Sam Sutherland
Από
τα τραγούδια των 3 λεπτών στα albums
The Beatles “Sergeant Pepper”
The Who “Tommy”
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
The Kinks “Arthur”
Moody Blues “Days of Future Passed”
Strawbs “Grave New World”
Jethro Tull “Aqualung” “Thick as a Brick”
Yes “Fragile” “Close to the Edge”
Fairport Convention “Babbacombe Lee”
Pink Floyd “More” “Obscured by Clouds”
David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust”
Bee Gees “Odessa”
Miles Davis “Bitches Brew”
The Mahavishnu Orchestra “The Inner Mounting Flame”
Carla Bley “Escalator Over the Hill”
Penthouse magazine January 1973
ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ]
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