Unit 2: Song Analysis
Unit 2: Song analysis
Song 1: The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
The articulation in "The Chain" is defined by the emotional intensity of each vocalist, particularly Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie. Each voice adds a unique emotional layer to the narrative, with their vocal delivery highlighting the song's theme of betrayal, heartache, and the tension of a strained relationship.
The main theme of "The chain" is betrayal and tension. "The chain" itself is a metaphor for the emotional bond that persists despite betrayal. The repetition of "chain" throughout the song emphasises the idea of something unbreakable, yet suffocating and inescapable. "And if you don’t love me now, you will never love me again" is one of the most emotionally charged lines of the song.The articulation of this line, especially by Lindsey Buckingham, emphasises the hopelessness that often emotional disillusionment.The line "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" reflects the promise that was made the reality of broken trust.
The chain was recorded at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California. We can hear that there is a use of guitar reverb and delay in the song, later as the song intensifies we can hear distortion and overdrive on Lindsey Buckingham's guitar. Also in the intro we hear some subtle tremelo on Lindsey Buckingham's guitar. We can also hear some panning and delay on John Mcvie's bass guitar and some sliding bass lines. Effects on the drums include echoes and reverb, and cymbal swells. In the vocals we can hear some vocal delay and reverb, multi-tracking and layerd vocals. For this song the producer was Keith Olsen. The mixer and engineer was Ken Caillat and the co-producer was Richard Dashut.
The key of the song is in A Major. In the melody/harmony, we hear repetition, Broken chords, consonant chords, no anacrusis since it starts on the first beat of the song, we do not know the cadence of the song since it ends on a fade out, imitation in the lead vocals and backing vocals. The tempo is 152bpm and it is allegro. The chords are Em, A, D, C, Am, Dsus4, G – Some out of key chords such as G, Am and C. The scale is A major, a relative minor of F# scale. The rhythm starts on drum doing minim beats, bass comes in playing crotchet beats and following the drum throughout a lot of the song.
The genre of the song is Rock. The writer is Stevie Nicks although the band chipped in with the instrument parts. Personally, i believe the song is more directed at a general audience and fans of Fleetwood Mac. The song influences folk, rock and country music.
Song 2: Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Performance
The performers of "Back to black" are Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, Thomas Brenneck, Binky Gripite, Victor Axelrod, Vaughan Merrick, Perry Montague-Mason, Chris Elliot, Isobel Griffiths, Chris Tombling, Mark Berrow, Warren Zielensci, Liz Edwards, Boguslaw Kostecki, Peter Hanson, Jonathan Rees, Tom Pigott Smith, Everton Nelson, Jon Thorne, Katie Wilkinson, Bruce White, Rachel Welt, Anthony Pleeth, Joely Koos, John Heley, Andy Macintosh, Chris Davies, James Talbot, Dave Bishop, Frank Ricotti, Gabriel Roth. The instrumentation in this song are lead female vocals, piano, electric bass, electric guitar, tambourine, hand claps, violins, violas, baritone saxophone, tenor saxiphone, 2 alto saxophones, cello, drums. The articulation is plucked bass, Strummed guitar, Slurred brass, arco in string orchestra, and claps. Even though the song is meant to be depressing, it has a motivating side to it, it also has quite a vicious feel to it. It was also recorded live.
Technology
The song was recorded at Daptone studios and Chung King studios both in New York and Metropolis, London under the label ‘Island’. It was recorded with producer Mark Ronson, engineers Dom Morley, Jesse Gladstone and Mike Malowski. The mixer was Tom Elmhirst and the masterer was Stuart Hawkes. The only two effects in this song are reverb and compression especially in the vocals. The reverb is used to add an atmospheric effect to the song and compression is simply used to restrict how loud or quiet the song can go. There were also some echo effects given by a delay effect used throughout different sectors of the song.
Music theory
The song is in the key of D minor. The melody and harmony includes repetition, imitation, scalic, conjunct, consonant chords and the song ends on a perfect cadence. The rhythm is straight, the beat of the song is compared to the same beat from girl groups from the 1960s. The tempo is 123bpm in andante. The chords are: Dm, Gm, Bb A, BbMaj7, F, A7. D Minor scale used by string orchestra, they also used the relative major key which is F major. The arrangement is rock band and orchestra.
Musical content
The writer of "Back to black" is Amy Winehouse about her ex boyfriend leaving her to get back with his ex girlfriend and to get rehab for abuse of drugs and drink meanwhile Amy Winehouse went 'back to black' referring to drugs and alcohol. The genre of the song is soul. The audience is directed at her ex. The influence is heartbreak and the song is in her point of view. The theme of the song is about heartbreak and a break up which happened to Amy Winehouse. The singability of the song is fairly difficult considering Amy Winehouse used a lot of vocal slides and vibrato in her voice. She did this to incorporate the olden-time jazz into her song which makes it more difficult to sing along to. The range of the song however is quite restricted and easy to sing without all the articulation put into the singing.
Song 1: The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Performance
'The Chain' is a rock song by Fleetwood Mac, written and performed by all five members of the band. The song was released on their 1977 album 'Rumours'. Instrumentation for this song includes: Lindsey Buckingham (lead guitar, vocals). Stevie Nicks (lead and harmony), Christine Mcvie (keyboards), John Mcvie (bass), and Mick Fleetwood (drums). The song is very energetic and creates a driven, hypnotic feel that's enhanced by the dynamic shifts in the song. The song also becomes intense from the memorable bass line and the gradual build-up. From listening to the song, i can tell that it was recorded live.The articulation in "The Chain" is defined by the emotional intensity of each vocalist, particularly Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie. Each voice adds a unique emotional layer to the narrative, with their vocal delivery highlighting the song's theme of betrayal, heartache, and the tension of a strained relationship.
Lyricism of "The Chain"
The main theme of "The chain" is betrayal and tension. "The chain" itself is a metaphor for the emotional bond that persists despite betrayal. The repetition of "chain" throughout the song emphasises the idea of something unbreakable, yet suffocating and inescapable. "And if you don’t love me now, you will never love me again" is one of the most emotionally charged lines of the song.The articulation of this line, especially by Lindsey Buckingham, emphasises the hopelessness that often emotional disillusionment.The line "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" reflects the promise that was made the reality of broken trust.
Technology
The chain was recorded at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California. We can hear that there is a use of guitar reverb and delay in the song, later as the song intensifies we can hear distortion and overdrive on Lindsey Buckingham's guitar. Also in the intro we hear some subtle tremelo on Lindsey Buckingham's guitar. We can also hear some panning and delay on John Mcvie's bass guitar and some sliding bass lines. Effects on the drums include echoes and reverb, and cymbal swells. In the vocals we can hear some vocal delay and reverb, multi-tracking and layerd vocals. For this song the producer was Keith Olsen. The mixer and engineer was Ken Caillat and the co-producer was Richard Dashut.
Music theory
The key of the song is in A Major. In the melody/harmony, we hear repetition, Broken chords, consonant chords, no anacrusis since it starts on the first beat of the song, we do not know the cadence of the song since it ends on a fade out, imitation in the lead vocals and backing vocals. The tempo is 152bpm and it is allegro. The chords are Em, A, D, C, Am, Dsus4, G – Some out of key chords such as G, Am and C. The scale is A major, a relative minor of F# scale. The rhythm starts on drum doing minim beats, bass comes in playing crotchet beats and following the drum throughout a lot of the song.
Musical Context
The genre of the song is Rock. The writer is Stevie Nicks although the band chipped in with the instrument parts. Personally, i believe the song is more directed at a general audience and fans of Fleetwood Mac. The song influences folk, rock and country music.
Song 2: Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Performance
The performers of "Back to black" are Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, Thomas Brenneck, Binky Gripite, Victor Axelrod, Vaughan Merrick, Perry Montague-Mason, Chris Elliot, Isobel Griffiths, Chris Tombling, Mark Berrow, Warren Zielensci, Liz Edwards, Boguslaw Kostecki, Peter Hanson, Jonathan Rees, Tom Pigott Smith, Everton Nelson, Jon Thorne, Katie Wilkinson, Bruce White, Rachel Welt, Anthony Pleeth, Joely Koos, John Heley, Andy Macintosh, Chris Davies, James Talbot, Dave Bishop, Frank Ricotti, Gabriel Roth. The instrumentation in this song are lead female vocals, piano, electric bass, electric guitar, tambourine, hand claps, violins, violas, baritone saxophone, tenor saxiphone, 2 alto saxophones, cello, drums. The articulation is plucked bass, Strummed guitar, Slurred brass, arco in string orchestra, and claps. Even though the song is meant to be depressing, it has a motivating side to it, it also has quite a vicious feel to it. It was also recorded live.
Technology
The song was recorded at Daptone studios and Chung King studios both in New York and Metropolis, London under the label ‘Island’. It was recorded with producer Mark Ronson, engineers Dom Morley, Jesse Gladstone and Mike Malowski. The mixer was Tom Elmhirst and the masterer was Stuart Hawkes. The only two effects in this song are reverb and compression especially in the vocals. The reverb is used to add an atmospheric effect to the song and compression is simply used to restrict how loud or quiet the song can go. There were also some echo effects given by a delay effect used throughout different sectors of the song.
Music theory
The song is in the key of D minor. The melody and harmony includes repetition, imitation, scalic, conjunct, consonant chords and the song ends on a perfect cadence. The rhythm is straight, the beat of the song is compared to the same beat from girl groups from the 1960s. The tempo is 123bpm in andante. The chords are: Dm, Gm, Bb A, BbMaj7, F, A7. D Minor scale used by string orchestra, they also used the relative major key which is F major. The arrangement is rock band and orchestra.
Musical content
The writer of "Back to black" is Amy Winehouse about her ex boyfriend leaving her to get back with his ex girlfriend and to get rehab for abuse of drugs and drink meanwhile Amy Winehouse went 'back to black' referring to drugs and alcohol. The genre of the song is soul. The audience is directed at her ex. The influence is heartbreak and the song is in her point of view. The theme of the song is about heartbreak and a break up which happened to Amy Winehouse. The singability of the song is fairly difficult considering Amy Winehouse used a lot of vocal slides and vibrato in her voice. She did this to incorporate the olden-time jazz into her song which makes it more difficult to sing along to. The range of the song however is quite restricted and easy to sing without all the articulation put into the singing.
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