Musical Metamorphosis

     Like the caterpillar emerging from its cocoon to take flight as a beautiful butterfly, so music emerged from the decade of the 1960s with freedom to soar beyond form, tone and content. This week we will look at this decade as rock ‘n’ roll evolves to simply rock through the work of three innovative artist: the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan.

Please, Please Me, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
performed by the Beatles (1962)

As you might expect, we start off the decade without venturing too far from tradition. Please, Please Me follows a traditional form, AABA Tin Pan Alley, maintaining a solid structure even within each of the sections. Variations from tradition are subtle and include the use of “please” as both a verb and adverb, the descending melody stating the issue and then the reply of “come on…” with an ascending melody, and the lack of a cadence until the end of each section. While not pushing the bounds of music too far at this point, the Beatles demonstrate even in these simple ways an adeptness toward molding lyrics and music to present a well constructed composition.

A Hard Days Night, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
performed by the Beatles (1964)

From the onset, the strum of the dissonant guitar, we recognize that A Hard Days Night is going to continue to push the limit of popular music. This first sonic hit serves as an efficient and effective hook. Though still maintaining a typical AABA format and 12 bar blues structure, we see the emergence of poetic variation and chord structure. The traditional chords do not fall in expected places but rather serve the lyric of the song by waiting to resolve the tension until the lyric has also resolved. Additionally, the song ends with the music fading as if to tell the listener that things are “all right.”

Yesterday, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
performed by the Beatles (1965)

Yesterday demonstrates the ability of the Beatles to master the compositional and production aspects of popular music. The striking thing here is the use of non-rock instruments along with the simple appeal of the song. Again we see the typical AABA format and the time honored theme of broken romance. The novelty here is that it is such a departure from rock ‘n’ roll, a deliberate venture into new musical territory, while maintaining the many things that make popular music iconic. The hook of the elongated first word provides us with a basis for the rest of the song. The melody lines fall when we look lyrically backward and soar as we hear the hope that once was. The addition of the string ensemble on the word “suddenly,” perfectly emphesises the feeling along with driving the song forward musically in lush tonality.

Eleanor Rigby, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
performed by the Beatles with accompanying string ensemble (1966)

Eleanor Rigby is the true departure from tradition for the Beatles. Again we see the use of strings as accompaniment, but this time instead of long lush phrasing and counterpoint they bow repeated chords keeping the rhythm of the song much like guitars and drums in a typical rock group. Harmonically the song utilizes two chords, C major and E minor, that have little relation to each other in terms of tonal centering. We would expect that the major chord would dominate the song, but in the end it is the minor chord that plays a larger role. The austere harmonic nature of the song once again serves the lyrics of loneliness and despair. In terms of form, it borrows from the folk ballad, telling the story with the repeated chorus, interrupted by a restatement of the introduction prior to the third verse that builds tension as we wait to hear the rest of the story. The musical phrasing also serves the depressed lyric as the four bar phrase is followed by a one bar interjection, destabilizing the listener and adding to the despair. Finally, the song concludes with the introduction sung over the top of the final chorus. Here again we see the musical tension, lyrical depravity and mastery of the songwriters to match sound and lyric.

Good Vibrations, music by Brian Wilson, lyrics by Mike Love,
performed by the Beach Boys with instrumental accompaniment (1966)

Brian Wilson’s masterpiece of musical innovation takes us on a journey of harmonic variance, sumptuous sound and a departure from previously known form. There is no good way to describe the form of Good Vibrations other than to say it builds on the idea the lyrics are describing. Initially a standard verse/chorus pattern (2 statements of each), it falls apart into two diverse sections that only serve to add to the enjoyment of the “good vibrations.” Musically the sound is otherworldly, as the accompaniment is rooted in the organ and Theremin. The tonal center shifts of the C section, which should serve as a bridge were it not for the lack of a restatement of either the A or B sections, also serve the otherness sound of the song. The ecstasy of the chorus is restated at the close of the song but in a way that is derivative rather than repetitive, continuing to develop the idea and texture of the song. Rather than a hard ending the song, the music fades out as if to let us know that the Good Vibrations continue.

Like a Rolling Stone, written by Bob Dylan,
performed by Bob Dylan with instrumental accompaniment (1965)

Bob Dylan single handedly turned musical recording on its ear with Like A Rolling Stone. Aside from the familiar pattern of verse/chorus, everything else here is a departure from tradition. The most obvious note is that the song is more than six minutes long, a huge departure from the three minute limitation of early singles. Additionally, both the verses and chorus are elongated; forty bars for each verse and twenty or twenty-four bars for the chorus’. This expansion along with the lyrical density creates a dynamic intensity that is only amplified by the lack of lyrical closure. Musically, the song is sonically dense and different from previous songs due to the use of two keyboard instruments—the organ and piano. One final ground breaking item to note is that this recording simply sounds like a live studio performance with as little editing or sonic augmentation that would affect the final product.

Reborn without the constraints of the past, rock (and virtually all popular music) presses on into the tumultuous 1970s where the tension between commercialism and authenticity begins to take root. Additionally, the 1970s reveal both the creative rejuvenation of certain popular musical styles as well as the popularization of new forms of cultural music.