"Turn to Stone"

In "Turn to Stone," "more" in the line "The lights don't shine no more" in the backing vocals is sung with a glissando (I think it's E~C#~E), so while it's negated, there's a sense of continuation.

"Turn to Stone"

Last week I learned some parts for "Turn to Stone."  Here are the guitar phrases and some string parts for two iterations of the chorus (starting ~2:32).  I'm not sure of the accuracy of the very end of the last guitar phrase.

"Turn to Stone"

I listened to Out of the Blue this morning and found a number of things to write about (some more significant than others).  First, here's a small point about "Turn to Stone."  I'm still a bit skeptical of my own transcriptions, but I think the second line in the first verse is "And so the suns are way down low."  This line descends (F# F# E E D# D# C# A), so - if I have my transcription correct - there's a musical representation of that "way down low."

"Latitude 88 North"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

Yester-day, I was thinking about the solo in "Latitude 88 North."  When I figured it out, I noticed that each phrase contains progressively smaller intervals of notes.  The first phrase has notes that span a fifth (B to F#); the second phrase has notes that span a diminished fifth (B to F); and the third phrase has notes that span only a major third (B to D#).  But yester-day I realized that those progressively smaller groups of intervals sort of represent - musically - the freezing that would take place at latitude 88 north.

But then I thought about it some more, and I realized that "Latitude 88 North" shares a theme (of sorts) with "Turn to Stone."  In both, unrequited love leads to immobility.  In "Latitude 88 North," the singer/speaker says, "Then I knew that you were gone / It came to me; I was alone / Now I'm left out in the cold" to freeze, as the progressively smaller intervals in the solo demonstrate.  In "Turn to Stone," the singer/speaker repeatedly says, "I turn to stone / When you are gone / I turn to stone."  The specific method of immobility is different (freezing in one and petrification in the other), but that unrequited love leads to the same result in both songs.

Out of the Blue

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

Initial notes on Out of the Blue:

"Turn to Stone"

I've mentioned this before, but the phrase "turn to stone" is also present in "Showdown" - "Now my heart has turned to stone again."

There's also an instance of blue:  "In my blue world."

"Night in the City"

The guitar part that begins this song is nearly identical to the one that begins "Poker" from Face the Music.  The one in "Night in the City" is just raised by a fourth.

Two of the verses start with "Standin' at...," which reappears in "Jungle" ("I was standin' in the jungle…") and "Standin' in the Rain."  There’s also "I see you standin' there" in "Big Wheels," but that seems different.

"Jungle"

Near the beginning, there's a Tarzan-like call to help in establishing the scene.

Toward the end, there's an alarm clock, which might have something to do with the Beatles' "A Day in the Life," which also features the sound of an alarm clock.

"Mr. Blue Sky"

After the line "Runnin' down the avenue," there's some panting, which also seems to be in debt to "A Day in the Life," in which there's panting after the line "I noticed I was late."  There are four pants in each.

In that same verse in "Mr. Blue Sky," there are the lines "See how the sun shines brightly / In the city / On the streets where once was pity," which is a reference to some similar lines in "Night in the City" earlier on the album: "Night in the city / Madness and pity."

And, of course, there's the obvious mention of blue.

"Birmingham Blues"

Years ago, I noticed that some of the violin parts quote a phrase from George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (which - along with the "blues" in the title and lyrics - is an-other inclusion of the color).  However, I don't think they're in the same key here.  I listened to a recording I have of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Rhapsody in Blue, and while the phrases in "Birmingham Blues" start on B notes, those that I found in the Rhapsody (which aren't even on violin) start on D#s.

—

The last few times I've listened to this album, I always felt that some of the songs use similar musical phrases, chord progressions, or other elements that help tie the songs together, but until I start learning the parts, I can't point to anything specific.

On the Third Day

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

I'm going through the albums much more slowly than I'd anticipated, but anyway, On the Third Day (which, incidentally, I first heard a year ago to-day).

"New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise"

Like I mentioned earlier, because of the "continue where 'I Am the Walrus' left off" quote, I'm more likely to see Beatle connections in things than otherwise.  In "New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise" (I think during the "New World Rising" part), after "Hey good morning," there's a spoken "Morning!" sort of in the background.  It's the same type of thing that's present during the last verse of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."  The lines "Every one of us has all we need / Sky of blue and sea of green / In our yellow submarine" are interspersed with the same words but spoken instead of sung.

"Showdown"

Some of the lyrical phrases in this re-appear in other ELO songs.  The "all over the world" in "And it's a-rainin' all over the world" is the titular line of "All over the World."  And "Now my heart has turned to stone again" seems to have some connection with "Turn to Stone" from Out of the Blue.

During the second "Rainin' all over the world" section, there are pizzicati in the string parts to portray the rain musically.  It's a fairly common technique, but I actually didn't notice it until recently.

"Dreaming of 4000"

One of the verses starts with "Here, there, everywhere," and even though this is a common phrase, I can't help but think that there's some connection between this and the Beatles' "Here, There, and Everywhere" (incidentally both "Here, There, and Everywhere" and "Yellow Submarine" were on the Beatles' Revolver album).

"In the Hall of the Mountain King"

This is ELO's version of a piece by Edvard Grieg.  It's the fourth movement of his first Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 46.  Additionally, though, at the beginning ELO includes a bit of the first movement - "Morning Mood."