By pejepeine
Human Instruments, Instrumental Humans
David Raksin’s Laura is one of the great noir themes for one of the great noirs. Apparently, director Otto Preminger wanted to use Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady, Raksin objected, Preminger gave him the weekend to write an alternative and his wife helped him get in the right mood by leaving him. It became a jazz classic, and we’ll lead off with two versions – a vocal treatment by the Four Freshmen and a wonderfully emotive sax version by Don Byas.
George Duke’s Mashavu is an engaging and atmospheric interlude in which percussion instruments howl, yelp and grunt like animals in a jungle clearing.
Always a fuzzy line between vocals and instruments with the Cocteau Twins, whose Musette and Drums drops you straight into a blizzard before whirling you off to a place where howling guitars dance with impressionistic wordless vocals.
Senegalese talking drum master Massamba Diop brings modulated flurries of his ancient instrument to the mbalax style, with some incredible dancing on the video.
Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato’s version of Jobim’s Inutil Paisagem is a fantastic blend of vocal percussion, scat and warm, human bass which reminds us that bossa nova is best in extreme close-up.
Piero Umiliani’s La Ragazza Dalla Pelle Di Luna is one of hundreds of wordless, deeply expressive vocals that Edda Dell’Orso recorded for Italian film composers in the 60s and 70s. Dell’Orso’s is one of those unmistakable voices that is as distinctive as an instrument.
The Mills Brothers do their thing on Caravan. There were a few vocal group recommendations this month, but these boys were among the original and best, with a hugely influential style of vocal imitation of instruments.
Vicki Sue Robinson’s Turn the Beat Around is an underrated pop-disco classic, with a brilliant interplay between a singer who vocally flirts with the instruments she’s singing with and a talkative wah-wah disco guitar and chattering percussion.
Harold Alexander’s makes his flute buzz, pant, wail and almost talk on Mama Soul, an example of how narrow the gap between instrument and vocal can be.
Beatboxing was everywhere in the 1980s, but European electronic artists also harked back to earlier Moog and tape-recorder experiments to create innovative, engagingly quirky dancefloor hits. None did it better than Yello, whose Goldrush still sounds new.
The Talkbox is a spittle-collecting tube connected to a synthesiser that allowed the voice to be modulated with a keyboard. Plenty of bands and artists experimented with it, but Zapp’s Roger Troutman made it the signature sound of his deeply funk band. So Rough, So Tough.
The All-As-One-With-The-Instruments A-List Playlist:
The Four Freshmen – Laura (Olive Butler)
Don Byas – Laura (Nilpferd)
George Duke – Mashavu (BanazirGalbassi)
Cocteau Twins – Musette and Drums (megadom)
Massamba Diop – Awo Yi (Nicko)
Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato – Inútil Paisagem (Untergunther)
Piero Umiliani - La Ragazza Dalla Pelle Di Luna (Untergunther)
The Mills Brothers – Caravan (Altra Ego)
Vicki Sue Robinson – Turn The Beat Around (Isabelle Forshaw)
Harold Alexander – Mama Soul (Nilpferd)
Yello – Goldrush (Shoegazer)
Zapp – So Rough, So Tough (9hairs9knots)
The Brilliant Blending B-List Playlist:
The B-list leaps straight into a hypnotic konnakol wormhole before emerging, blinking, into the landscape of a bonkers Björk video. We then visit a song sung by a computer, marvel at wailing, moaning fiddles from the Kronos Quartet, hear Blind Willie Johnson attempting to become one with his slide guitar and smile nervously at Pete Drake’s marvellously eerie early talkbox before Burial leads us to Annette Peacock’s vocal experiments, a marvellously snotty summer hit from 100 gecs and Steve Reich blending vocals with marimbas see us off …
V Shivapriya & BR Somashekar Jois - Konnakol Duet (Ravi)
Nitin Sawhney – The Conference (barbryn)
Björk – Triumph of a Heart (megadom)
Hatsune Miku – World Is Mine (ajostu)
Kronos Quartet – Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground (Seth Miller)
Blind Willie Johnson – In My Time of Dying/ Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed (Seth Miller)
Pete Drake and his Talking Steel Guitar – Forever (phillipphilip99)
Burial – Ghost Hardware (DiscoMonster)
Annette Peacock – I’m the One (ajostu)
100 gecs – Money Machine (magicman)
Steve Reich – Drumming Pt II (Uncleben)
Guru’s Wildcard Cuica Picks:
Jorge Ben & Toquinho – Carolina Carol Bela
Joao Bosco – Ronca da Cuica
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Sound and vision: songs about eyes. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Fancy a turn behind the pumps at The Song Bar? Care to choose a playlist from songs nominated and write something about it? Then feel free to contact The Song Bar here, or try the usual email address. Also please follow us social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube. Subscribe, follow and share.
Please make any donation to help keep Song Bar running: