Leonard Cohen
Suzanne
Hallelujah
vs.
Tommy James and the Shondells
Crimson and Clover
Mony Mony
Judging music is perhaps the most difficult judgment we ever make—music which other people enjoy can embarrass us, music can move us to tears, and our own musical tastes can be quite a mystery, though some of those questions can seem to have easy answers—” this is the music I grew up with, etc.”
And then there is the question of how much the poetry of the lyrics matters—and this is a mystery, too, since we often love a song which if written down as a poem would not move us at all.
The two songs by Tommy James in this tournament will not likely thrive under the scrutiny of analysis—though as popular numbers it wouldn’t be wrong to assert they would “out-sell” “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, luxurious as Cohen’s songs are in their priestly lyric. “Crimson and Clover” and “Mony Mony” evoke sexual attraction in a deft and mostly musical manner—one is a brilliance-on-water reverie, the other a song of hand-clapping abandon, classics of their kind.
“Crimson and Clover” and “Mony Mony,” as might be expected, utilize the standard 1-4-5 chord progression; but Cohen, as also might be expected, is really simple, too—“Suzanne” exploits half-steps to musically support the chant-like exposition of his poetry, and “Hallelujah” comes out and says, “the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift” to one who “doesn’t really care for music.”
Virtually every tune exploits “the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift.” Even “happy” songs use the “minor fall” (they’ll sneak in a chord which contains an important note in the musical scheme played a half-step lower). Musically, then, Tommy James and Leonard Cohen, are almost the same. “Crimson and Clover” (1968) might be borrowing a little from “Wild Thing” (1966), we don’t know.
If one examines the lyrics, Cohen isn’t terribly deep—the downtrodden is holy is the thrust of it. Of the four songs, “Suzanne,” as simple as it is, seems the most original, the most worthy of being kept under glass forever.
Winner Leonard Cohen
Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced?
The Wind Cries Mary
vs.
Buddy Holly
Peggy Sue
True Love Ways
Speaking of the “minor fall,” Hendrix deliberately avoids this in “Are Your Experienced,” and it gives his song a bright menace. The ear expects the minor sixth to accompany the song’s established 1-4-5, but by denying it and resolutely using the major sixth throughout, as listeners (not experienced) we are ushered somewhere unsettling. “The Wind Cries Mary” deliberately hints at two keys in this subdued and haunting number; these are both good songs in their own right (the lyrics are poetic).
Like Hendrix, Holly prefers stridency and brightness to wallowing in a minor—not that this is unusual; it’s a formula for pop success, using the minor but never succumbing to it. “True Love Ways” is a very pretty song—with a fairly sophisticated chord progression. It’s hard to believe we lost both of these artists so young.
Winner Hendrix
Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On
Lets Get It On
vs.
Nina Simone
Where Can I Go Without You
Just Say I Love Him
“Lets Get It On” has the same chord progression for its verse and chorus—a climbing one (ha ha) mirroring its theme—expressed by Marvin Gaye’s illimitable vocals. The joke is that “Lets Get It On” doubled the U.S. population after its release—it’s such a good ‘making babies’ record. “What’s Going On” is a masterpiece—mostly as a musical mix; the bass, strings, percussion, and background voices stamp the song, which has a subdued and gentle power, as genius.
The two Nina Simone’s songs here don’t sound produced for a mass audience—more for a smoky club. There’s not a sophisticated layering of tracks—though it does manage to project a very sophisticated sound.
There’s a great argument to be made for music which is “real” versus music which is slick and over-produced—and if you find yourself liking the latter more? Does this accuse you, or does this mean the dichotomy is meaningless? The question becomes, how suggestible are we? How much patience does it take to relax and listen to music which is good? Is there musical expertise which can discern good music, or is it all just a matter of taste—and is that taste often informed by mass suggestion rather than by true individual discernment? Or is one in the mood for certain kinds of music from one moment to the next?
If you haven’t heard Nina Simone’s album “Forbidden Fruit,” give it a listen. “Where Can I Go Without You” and “Just Say I Love Him” are both from this 1961 record. It’s not quite jazz, soul, rock or r&b—it’s almost pop in a weird way—there’s fast numbers and slow ones—and “Where Can I Go Without You” and “Just Say I Love Him” are slow—and so beautiful and languorous that you have to stop what you are doing and listen to them.
Winner Nina Simone
Led Zeppelin
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
Stairway To Heaven
vs.
Procol Harum
Whiter Shade Of Pale
A Salty Dog
Led Zeppelin was not only an act composing its own songs; lead guitarist Jimmy Page (songwriter, producer) crafted sounds in the studio, as well.
“Whiter Shade Of Pale” (1967) is a terrific song, a popular classic. “A Salty Dog” (1969) has a lovely atmosphere and was no doubt influential.
“Whiter Shade Of Pale,” as good as it is, sounds more or less like Bach played by a rock band. A wonderful idea, certainly. Led Zeppelin, however, created a sound which was so extraordinary, it destroyed the current (and extremely successful) rock scene which existed when their first album came out in 1969.
“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” was recorded by Joan Baez. Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” is not Joan Baez. From the haunting acoustic guitar sound which opens up the song to its lovely spear-like ending, it exploded in 1969 like an atom bomb of musical texture. Led Zeppelin understood how to make a drum skin and an acoustic guitar string sound better than it ever had before. Robert Plant’s vocal channeling of rock/metal/folk/blues complemented the amazing instrumental sound extremely well.
This is only a theory, but the breakup of the Beatles, the deaths of Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison, which all happened around 1970 may have been caused in part by the reaction to the truly heavy rock sound which this new band, Led Zeppelin, was able to generate in the studio as the 60s drew to a close. Led Zeppelin (they were more than just heavy) were that good. (“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “Stairway To Heaven” were not about sexual intercourse. Something else was going on.) The icons of the 1960s must have listened to Led Zeppelin’s early releases (“Stairway,” from their fourth album, was recorded in 1970) and despaired. New and better will always come along.
Winner Led Zeppelin
Page’s group, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, and Leonard Cohen advance.