Re: What about song writing?

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It's an interesting question !

And a damn hard one to answer too !

I can easily say what I dislike about most blues songwriting :

- - lack of melody : a lot of blues songs followed a melody. The vocals
weren't just improvising around the chord sequence. That seems to have
become mostly non-descript and unattractive.

- - lack of arrangement : you can do shuffle-like without doing chunk-a-chunk
shuffle everytime. I seem to hear so many songs cloned on other songs it's
unreal...

- - lyrics as a bad excuse for soloing : let's have one verse of lyrics then
25 times 12 solo and then another verse of lyrics, shall we ?

- - cliched as hell lyrics : I swear the next time I hear about highway so and
so or cadillac cars, I'm gonna blow up my stereo...

- - the retro thing : A lot of otherwise competent bluesmen seem to think that
not only you have to use gear that's fifty years old and wear clothes that
are (or look like they are) fifty years old, you also need to talk about
stuff that was meaningful fifty years ago (that's when you are actually
talking about something !)

- - arrangement : a good song is sometimes bare bones and sometimes not, but
above all, a good song is not a free for all "we'll see how it falls in
place". That's called a jam. I so wish that blues performers today would
realise that what made the songs good fifty years ago was that the players
actually thought about how to put the various elements in place. A pinch of
arrangement can make yuor blues sound new, fresh and your own !

Well that's about it, in tongue-in-cheek rantish mode. So where does that
leave me about what does make a good son ? I'll answer for myself and let
you guys figure out your own preferences :

- - a well thought out arrangement (see above) Example : Lots of examples,
obviously. On Lee Sankey's first album, listen to the first song (drinking
game) : the way the horns accentuate the chord sequence, the way the rhythm
guitar supports the lyrics, it's actually arranged. Wow ! Another great
example is the French "Mojo Band"'s album : it's all covers of pre-60s
blues, mostly acoustic, and yet you listen to it and feel like you've never
heard a single one of these songs. That album is a lesson in arrangements
(and the rest is perfect too ;-)

- - meaningful lyrics : meaningful in the sense that they talk to me about
things that a relevant now. Doesn't have to be about current events, just
about the life in the 90s and 00s, not life in the 40s and 50s. The old
blues dudes talked about that and I might as well listen to them if that's
what I wanna hear. Examples : El Fish in Copycat, telling about this guy who
makes his living photocopying documents. When he finally retires, he's so
bored he goes back to his boss begging for his job "you needn' pay so much
but can I have my old job back ?" Or Lee Sankey in Office Politics about
being in love with a colleague. That's today. Paul deLay in Wealthy Man
"nothing in my pocket but my hand". Wow...

- - as an alternative, poetic lyrics : lyrics don't always have to tell a
story, even if that's how it is in most traditional blues. What I like about
Paul Reddick is that his lyrics summon images, even if there's no narrative.
I can't quite remember the full line with "Sleepy John Estes and a
cigarette", but it immediately brings images to my mind.

- - space and dynamics : it could be said that this is more a feature of
performance than songwriting, but it can also come up with songwriting. A
change of pace, rhythm, mood mid-song can be written and it usually sounds
great when it's well done. Again, Lee Sankey in S'spicious woman for
example, at the end after that long guitar solo with the odd changes, when
they end the shuffle and shift to a 12/8 slow blues. Mmmmm...

Anyway, that's what does it for me...

Ben FELTEN, Editor
www.planetharmonica.com

- ----- Original Message -----
From: <mlpratt@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 5:33 PM
Subject: What about song writing?


>
> Alright already.  We could name "great" songwriter's all day long.  We all
 have
> our favorites, regardless of genre.  But what makes a great song writer
great?
> What are the critieria?  What moves a song from filler to "best song on
the
> album?"  Think of the component pieces of a song; lyrics, melody, rhythm,
> delivery, solos, what else?  How does this all come together to make a
great
> song?  Is it all just divine inspiration?  How do great song writers
approach
> writing a song?  I realize this is straying somewhat from our intended
topic,
> the harmonica.  But it applies to harp songs just as well.  Has anybody in
Harp-
> L land actually written a song?  Tell us about your experience.  How did
it
> happen?
>
> Best Regards to All
>
> Larry Boy Pratt
> --
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