Post by Dawn on Jan 23, 2009 16:14:29 GMT -5
I think this topic may have been discussed on YL, but I don't think we've talked about it on the Click.
Many songs sound very much of their time - for instance, when you hear a song like Incense and Peppermints, it immediately brings the late '60s to mind, or I Melt With You is very representative of the '80s sound. But then there are other songs that don't really sound like their time period - they sound "older" or "younger" than they are.
Some examples:
Love is the Drug - Roxy Music. This was released in 1976, but to me, it has more of a New Wave-ish sound, and wouldn't be too out of place among a group of songs from, say, 1982. Another one from this period that has a "newer" sound is Dwight Twilley's I'm On Fire - to me, it sounds more late '70s - early '80s than '75.
Quite a few of the Beatles' songs fit this category as well, but probably the one that stands out for me most is Something. It was recorded in '69, but sounds very mid '70s both in style and production.
Then there is the opposite, songs that sound older than they actually are. One example is Lenny Kravitz' It Ain't Over Til It's Over - released in 1991, but it sounds more like a classic track from say, 1978. Then there is Herb Alpert's Route 101, released in 1982. It's a great song, but sounds very out of place among other hits of that time period; it sounds more like an AM hit from the very early '70s. Roger Whittaker's The Last Farewell was a hit in 1975, but sounds much more like an early-to-mid '60s song, along the lines of Andy Williams' stuff from that time. Hard to picture it on the radio alongside hits like Listen to What the Man Said and Philadelphia Freedom.
I'll add to the list as I think of more. What are some of yours?
Many songs sound very much of their time - for instance, when you hear a song like Incense and Peppermints, it immediately brings the late '60s to mind, or I Melt With You is very representative of the '80s sound. But then there are other songs that don't really sound like their time period - they sound "older" or "younger" than they are.
Some examples:
Love is the Drug - Roxy Music. This was released in 1976, but to me, it has more of a New Wave-ish sound, and wouldn't be too out of place among a group of songs from, say, 1982. Another one from this period that has a "newer" sound is Dwight Twilley's I'm On Fire - to me, it sounds more late '70s - early '80s than '75.
Quite a few of the Beatles' songs fit this category as well, but probably the one that stands out for me most is Something. It was recorded in '69, but sounds very mid '70s both in style and production.
Then there is the opposite, songs that sound older than they actually are. One example is Lenny Kravitz' It Ain't Over Til It's Over - released in 1991, but it sounds more like a classic track from say, 1978. Then there is Herb Alpert's Route 101, released in 1982. It's a great song, but sounds very out of place among other hits of that time period; it sounds more like an AM hit from the very early '70s. Roger Whittaker's The Last Farewell was a hit in 1975, but sounds much more like an early-to-mid '60s song, along the lines of Andy Williams' stuff from that time. Hard to picture it on the radio alongside hits like Listen to What the Man Said and Philadelphia Freedom.
I'll add to the list as I think of more. What are some of yours?
