What are the itty-bitty bits you love in certain songs?

Cafe Society
201

I love the sound of an acoustic guitar. Especially when you can hear the little squeaks where the guitarist repositions.

A few of mine:

  1. the very beginning of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” where he softly hums along right before the first verse. It’s almost like he’s trying to find the right pitch before singing.

  2. the bluesy cadence in"Big River" where he sings “Well I’ve gotten on down to Baton Rouge, river queen roll on…take that woman on down to New Orleans, New Orleans.”

  3. the entire piano opening to Billy Joel’s “Prelude/Angry Young Man.”. I’m a sucker for a piano riff, too

202

Rolling Stones Let It Bleed album “Gimme Shelter”: We all know the incredible backing vocals as done by Merry Clayton but listen closely the next time she sings “Murder!” when her voice cracks. You can just barely hear Jagger say/sing “Whooo!”…I believe they were singing this together for the track. It’s clear Jagger was mightily impressed.

Jeff Beck Truth album “Beck’s Bolero”: Great instrumental featuring Beck, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon. Midway through the song, right as it breaks into a full on rock jam…Keith Moon screams just as he breaks one of the drum mics and from then on, all you really hear is cymbals. It’s fun to hear Moonie just scream “arrrggghhh!” as only he could.

Rod Stewart Gasoline Alley album “It’s All Over Now”: As the song is winding up, everybody gets a short solo and Ron Wood plays some tasty licks when it’s his turn. I noticed a long time ago that of the various slide licks he’s playing is the main lick for the previous song “Gasoline Alley”. He just threw it in there as a joke I imagine.

203

Flubbing?:o (heh - I’m sure it’s intentional sometimes)
(Oh oh! I better not have heard ole Johnny do that at 0:20, 0:31, and [bad ones!] 0:39 and 0:50!!!)

Ima gonna be an apostate and mention a bit I’m not too crazy about and that’s when Robert Plant does the uh-uh-AH! uh-uh-AH! AH-uh-uh! AH-uh-uh! thing at 7:29 in what’s actually one of my top five Zep numbers - “Achilles Last Stand”.

In ELP’s “From the Beginning”, I like the almost Spanish-sounding (?) “flourish” at 1:13 and 2:04.

Great expression - ‘pulling out all the stops’, and Rick Wakeman uses that to great, (and, for me - dare I say spine-tingling) effect at 3:00.

He does it more subtly at 3:17 and 3:23 in one of my favourite rock passages.

204

Flubbing?:o (I’m sure it’s intentional sometimes)
(Oh oh! I better not have heard ole Johnny do that at 0:20, 0:31, and [bad ones!] 0:39 and 0:50!!!)

Ima gonna be an apostate and mention a bit I’m not too crazy about and that’s when Robert Plant does the uh-uh-AH! uh-uh-AH! AH-uh-uh! AH-uh-uh! thing at 7:29 in what’s actually one of my top five Zep numbers - “Achilles Last Stand”.

In ELP’s “From the Beginning”, I like the almost Spanish-sounding (?) “flourish” at 1:13 and 2:04.

Great expression - ‘pulling out all the stops’, and Rick Wakeman uses that to great, (and, for me - dare I say spine-tingling) effect at 3:00.

He does it more subtly at 3:17 and 3:23 in one of my favourite rock passages.

ETA: Actually Tony Kaye does the “Wurm” keys.

205

I was just coming in to mention voice cracks. I’m glad you mentioned this one; the two that came to mind for me (one more well known than the other) are Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols – at about 2:24 when Johnny Rotten sings “Is this the I.R.A.?”

And the lesser known Eric Lindell in his tune It’s My Pleasure when he sings … well, I’m not exactly sure, but it sounds like “girl if I saw you wanted, girl you bet I’d get you furs and things, it ain’t no thang,” at about 1:17.

206

At first I didn’t like it, but the (school?) buzzing sound intensifying at 2:39 in Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” I guess eventually grew on me.

Bob Plant in “Misty Mountain Hop” has about five or six Plant-like bits that are so Plant-y he out-Plants himself here. At the end of almost every damn line. This makes it difficult to pick just one, (just listen to the whole damn song) (again, I know), so I went with his raspy delay at 2:18.

/ATMB derail/ Burned: In my previous post, I should’ve gotten a message saying that I missed the 5-minute edit window, and I’d just end up with what I originally wrote.
Instead, the edit was allowed, (despite being past five minutes), but made it into a double post.:frowning: /end of ATMB derail/

207

Bumping again with some bass guitar offerings.

Mike Watt’s crazy note at 0:51.
(How the Minutemen do it live)

Soo Yun Park’s (of Bitch Magnet) slide up the bass at 19:43

208

This one gets me every single time…

From the Cowboy Junkies “Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning”.

At 3:03 when Margo sings “yeah sure I’ll admit there are times when I miss you, especially like now when I need someone to hold me…”

It’s the “need someone to hold me” that send shivers down my backbone.

209

At the end of the first chorus of Wall of Voodoo’s Shouldn’t Have Given Him a Gun For Christmas, there’s this single note that always gives me joy. It’s at about 1:24 in this clip.

210

In the first 20 seconds of the Scorpions song ‘I Can’t Get Enough’. The frenetic guitar riff and then a long high-to-low pitched AAAAAAAAA…aaaahhhhhhh from the lead singer. Almost like a yodel.

211

Don’t know what the term is, but you can really hear them on some Acoustic Alchemy stuff.

212

1.) In “America” by Simon & Garfunkel there’s a line that goes, “Toss me a cigarette, I think there’s one in my raincoat.”
The reply is a very quiet, “We smoked the last one an hour ago.”

It’s followed by a mournful “Oooh-oooh” harmony that perfectly conveys that little shoulder-drooping moment of disappointment, that any smoker will understand intuitively.

2.) In the song “But That’s Not The Way It Feels” about calling a telephone operator to track down an old flame, at the very tail end he finally gives up his quest. I always found it charming that despite his obvious disappointment, he remembers his manners and thanks the operator very politely: “Oh, you’ve been so much more than kind!”

Then he adds, “You can keep the dime.” There’s so much sweetness and naivete wrapped up in that sentiment. It’s something a little kid would say.

213

Several references upthread to squeaking noises caused by repositioning of fingers on guitar strings. It can sound cool sometimes, but it’s the result of sloppy technique or a difficult passage and is not something that guitarists do intentionally. Although I’m sure there are skilled guitarists who consider it “not broken so doesn’t need fixing,” the truth is that it’s the kind of thing that tends to disappear from your playing once you become mindful of technique. It’s comparable to scuffing your feet or standing with poor posture. I’m only saying this because someone asked about it.

I recall hearing once on the radio an extended version of Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About a Mover.” IIRC, as the music fades away, there’s some guitar work and someone responds by shouting, “Hey! Who let that freaky guitar player in here?” I’ve looked for this version unsuccessfully for so long that I’m starting to wonder if I didn’t dream it or something. Actually, I was going to post it here in an “identify this” thread, so here goes: If anyone’s heard this version, please let me know.

An old recording I’ve mentioned here before: “My Sweet” by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. The whole thing is bristling with optimistic energy, especially Django’s supercharged strumming, heard at several points but especially at 1:33 here.

An even older recording is Blind Blake’s “West Coast Blues.” Again, I’ve mentioned it here before and the whole thing is full of great playing (kicking every guitar player’s ass since 1926). One detail I like is how he introduces his solo with “I got something gonna make you feel good!” at 1:38 here.

The rhythm behind Muddy Waters’ version of “Still a Fool” (Two Trains Running) sounds weirdly disjointed, largely due to a trippy little repeating guitar riff but also because someone is thumping away on a bass drum (I read that it was Lester Melrose). Once every couple of years, I love to get very drunk and listen to this really loud in a dark room. I’m not going to indicate a specific part; just crank up the volume and enjoy.

Bukka (Booker) White’s “Fixin’ to Die Blues.” Mushmouthed delivery throughout, but notice how his voice changes timbre for some lines of verse (“That’s why I tried so hard and come back home to die”).

ZZ Top’s “Jesus Just Left Chicago” has some blisteringly hot moments. The music, of course, but also in the singing (“Turning muddy water into wine”).

Robin Trower’s “Too Rolling Stoned” and, in addition to the smokin’ guitar, someone in the crowd yelling “Hey, that’s alright!” at 7:02-7:03 here. Another one to crank up real loud.

214

The tiny guitar lick between “Won’t you take me to” and “Funkytown?”

215

Similar to the pause in Eddy Grant’s We gonna rock down to (pause) Electric Avenue. The first time I heard the song, I thought the phrase “Electric Avenue” was being sung by another, different person.

216

Another good one I love with prominent string squeak:

Darren Korb - Build That Wall

In the right songs, it pulls you in to close intimacy, like being on a stool there in the studio. Elsewhere, it can just sound like sloppy playing/recording.

217

1) Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles, Abbey Road
(also mentioned by Blank Slate)
I love the instrumental passage between the bridge (Sun sun sun here it comes) and the third/final verse.
DA da-da-DA da-da-DA da-da-DAAA
(2:05-2:12)

**2) Shiny Happy People, REM, Out of Time **
The song begins with an instrumental passage, which is slower than the main part of the song. Near the end, they repeat the slower passage before resuming the main tempo for the coda. At the end of the slow passage, Michael Stipe says, ”Here we go!”
(2:19-2:36)

**3) Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited **
The most common structure for popular music is 4 lines of 4 bars each per stanza. In this song, however, the 3rd line is 2 bars of Dylan singing then 4 bars of the band playing without him. The payoff is in the 3rd verse, where the 3rd line goes:
Louie the king said, “Let me think for a minute, son.” (pause)
(1:34-1:42)

218

Two of the songs that make me drive way to fast
Don Henley, The Boys of Summer
Bob Seger, Hollywood Nights

219

Holy chroly that.
(And to also hopefully not go too off-topic): Might have mentioned in an old post…always imagined that one and Genesis’s Duke intro/outro making great chase soundtracks, epecially in the air, soaring inches along cliffs n’stuff.
Some bits from R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant:
Whenever they come to a stop in “Begin the Begin” and play this Bond, Bond-like riff @ 0:22.
Starting at 1:58 (with the drum fill leading into the “EH!” yell) there are three more things immediately following: the high note hit on “Heart” (2:05) at the same time a staggered vocal track is layered over, capped off by the song’s signature descending bass line (2:14).

220

The Mamas & The Papas’ version of Dedicated To The One I Love has a ton of good little parts. But the best is near the beginning. After the solo bit there’s this great crash vocal really kicking off the song.

(I see so many performers on Colbert, etc. that start off simple and mild and then … just keep going like that. Come on, kick it into gear folks.)