Thursday, March 24, 2005

Great moments in vocal harmonies, vol. 2

The Cranberries - Ode To My Family (1:04): This is a good example of creative double-tracking. The second vocal track alternates between singing harmony and countermelody. Sometimes it sounds like the two vocal tracks are switching roles.

The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again (1:52): Notice how Morrissey's moan fades in from the background as though branching off from his main melody.

The Beatles - Help! (throughout): It's very frustrating that no one's topped The Beatles in the last 40 years. "Help!" is a fine example of what no one's been paying attention to...

Rufus Wainwright - April Fools (throughout): ...or maybe Rufus Wainwright was paying attention. He's got a whole choir doing cool shit. The best part is the long bridge, beginning at 2:03.

The Beach Boys - I Get Around (0:00-0:08): The finest acappella opening on a rock song. This is before acappella openings turned into shit like Yes' "I've Seen All Good People."

No comments: