OT - Talking Music Monday
Slow day on the blog; let’s have fun with music.
I listen to a wide spectrum of rock music, from classic to 80’s to progressive, alternative, and grunge. Every once in a while, I hear a song with instrument that just doesn't fit with the normal rock band ensemble. But, the song works non the less. For example:
Clarinet
- Billy Joel – Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
- Supertramp – Breakfast in America (Tuba as well!)
- Wings – Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
- Sting – Englishman in New York
Bagpipes
- AC/DC – A Long Way to the Top
Flute
- Jethro Tull – many songs
Strings
- Elton John – Madman Across The Water
The entire USC marching band
- Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Rock bands bring in an Orchestra for live concerts and I’m sure I’ve heard a trombone in a song somewhere. What are songs you’ve listened to where they drop in a different sound?
All hail Boognish!
Cake deploys the vibraslap in many of their songs.
you beat me to it.... it's much more noticeable when you see them live
The matterhorn used in Oysterhead (comprising of Les Claypool from Primus, Trey Anastasio from Phish and Stewart Copeland from The Police) songs. It was a guitar with a built in theramin over deer antlers.
Also, since talking about Les Claypool, the Whamola, which is probably best known from its use in the South Park theme song.
That was cool seeing that matterhorn guitar used at the Sweetwater set, fit in perfectly with Les donning the pig mask and getting heavy.
Suspicion - Organ? I always thought it was a trumpet or something. It is a friggin organ!
Sitar
- Rolling Stones "Paint It, Black"
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks.
Dave Mathews normalized the fiddle/violin for me on classics like Ants Marching and Satellite.
Portishead's live show at Roseland in NYC with a full orchestra was very cool.
There was also a really obscure band from somewhere in Washington state in the 90's called Black Happy. They had like two trombones, some other brass and two drummers. I don't think they lasted long, but if you're looking for a change up I think you can find some of their stuff on YouTube.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer toured in 1977 with a 70 piece orchestra. It was incredible to see, but I they lost a lot of money on the tour. They played at Cobo Hall for their stop here in Michigan.
That Works Tour was really something. ELP helped us die hards survive the Dead Wings of the '70s, as the upbeat Moog synthesizer instrumental of Karn Evil 9/First Impression was awesome during the Wings Ch 50 TV intro/promotions. Channel 50 also used ELP's Hoedown another year.
"Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. features a lead mandolin.
Mandolin shows up a lot in stuff rooted in country. Two favorites that leap to mind are Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin and Copperhead Road by one of favorites Steve Earle. That song also starts with a bagpipe-like riff and a killer lyric.
Mott The Hoople made use of the mandolin in at least a couple of their songs, including this one, which is one of their best ballads:
The mandolin was also used by Brian Jones in a few Stones songs.
Haven’t listened the Sunny Came Home in a looong time. Thanks for the post; just added it to one of my play lists.
Cello part on the Beach Boys Good Vibrations, and the Tannerin on the lead melody line
I'm gonna say anything by Roy Orbison because his voice was an instrument like no other.
Also a big fan of the slide trumpet in The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Edit: Just came across this video about the story behind the Traveling Wilburys. Pretty cool history.
Edit #2: Thinking about The Band and now rewatching The Last Waltz. Was there ever a greater assembly of musicians at one concert?
Thanks, OP. Great topic!
Traveling Wilburys for the win.
Roxy Music worked in electric oboe and violin on “Out of the Blue”. Andy McKay plays a mean sax, too. One of my favorite 70s bands.
Deftones has a B-sides and Rarities album. There is a song in there called “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep” that has what I believe is a sitar. I think it’s common in other genres but not in rock / alt rock. I really enjoy the song.
On phone so can’t embed but what’s that thing called at the start of The Who Join Together
Here's a concert video with the answer to your quiz question:
I believe it's commonly called a mouth harp. Great song, one of the crowd favorites just about every time I've seen them in concert
Yep, that's what I was talking about.
Hope they play that song when they come to Detroit
I'd be shocked if they don't play it, but we'll both find out this fall---I think it'll be my 15th time seeing The Who and although I'd have to look up setlists, I think it's still a regular part of their concert song rotation, even when with an orchestra like they're doing on this tour.
I've been getting deeply and disturbingly obsessed with Florence + the Machine lately, and a lot of her earlier stuff is notable for its use of harp. Rabbit Heart is probably my favorite of hers right now (it's a rotating list!) that uses harp
Violin bow on guitar and theramin by Jimmy Page added a psychedelic sound to Zeppelin’s blues based rock.
Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap (aka Christopher Guest) used the entire violin on HIS guitar solo.
And he tuned the violin mid-solo
God I love that movie. I just might have to go watch it now.
I liked his guitar bow during dazed and confused. But I also liked his lead riffs in many LZ songs.
Hendrix on the comb and wax paper kazoo on the intro of "Crosstown Traffic".
How did i know you'd be here with some AJJ.
Some that come to mind:
- Yes used milk bottles filled to different heights on "Roundabout"
- Pink Floyd used wine glasses at the beginning of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" after trying to make an entire album using sounds from houeshold objects (they abandoned that and ended up making their best album {IMHO} - Wish you were Here)
- Jamie Muir from King Crimson used all sorts of things (e.g. a musical saw comes to mind) as a sort of crazed perscussion madman in the Larks Tongues in Aspic era of the band
- with synthesizers and sampling it gets sort of muddy - Peter Gabriel simulated a shakuhachi on a Fairlight at the beginning of Sledgehammer - I also remember him using samples of stuff he smashed around from a junkyard on some of his earlier stuff
Stavros Hughes "Backwards" and "Snow on the Rooftops" both use violin in a beautiful way.
The piccolo trumpet in Penny Lane is probably one of the best examples of what you’re going for here.
Lots of great rock songs with harmonica, but this has to be one of the rockingest
Another french horn shout out, "For No One" by the Beatles
Another song with kazoo called "Get up and Dance" by Freedom. Anyone who's listened to early hip hop (or Jurassic 5) may recognize
I'm glad you posted this because it made me think of this this rock harmonica song
Neil Young is the first that comes to mind when I think of the harmonica.
that is great video
here's another another one to check out just for his mastery of the guitar
Great songs. I'm amazed at the depth and range of sounds that he gets out of the guitar.
Lots of harpsichord in the 60s, and Papa John Creach with Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane in early 70s on violin, but I nominate Dylan on the slide whistle on "Highway 61 Revisited", and The Troggs featuring the ocarina on the garage band classic "Wild Thing".
Soundgarden made playing the spoons cool
The spoon solo starts at the 3:05 mark
Now that I see the video, that song makes sense!
Song by Soungarten, but spoons by Artis the Spoonman. Artis is a Pacific NW legend, seen him many times at many venues w/many artists, sometimes solo w/a tip jar on the street, and a regular at the Oregon Country Fair (three day hippy renaissance festival outside Eugene, OR in July). He always had a great story and could make rhythms out of anything.
video does not capture his lunatic talents, he’d punish himself for entertainment
I think Beck plays just about every instrument in Steal my Body Home.... including beer bottles...
especially at the end of the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hjLWhLN7nM
side note: I love much of his material but he disappointed when I saw him live at Redrocks
And then there's Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with John Lennon on maracas, Paul McCartney on the Lowrey organ and George Harrison on the Tanpura.
And then there was that time when John Lennon and Yoko Ono joined a wild and crazy band on David Frost's TV show.
Cypress Hill memorably played with the London symphony orchestra at a concert in Springfield