Miracle Drug

Freedom has a scent
Like the top of a new born baby's head

I know exactly what they mean.

U2's 2004 album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, displays both the band's excesses (mostly when Bono's lyrics, not infrequently, go 100% bombastic) and its strengths (mostly the atmospheric guitar touches of The Edge, about which I've written previously).

Miracle Drug is one of my favorites from the album.  At 2:45 listen to the guitar pattern solo by The Edge and then his playing during the verse in which he deploys his trademark; distinctive tonal strokes in that gray area between lead and rhythm guitar.

GodPop

References to God and religion have shown up in quite a few pop music songs over the past fifty years.  This sampling of 17 tunes illustrates some of the different takes on the subject.  And, if you get to the end and are wondering, Losing My Religion (1991) by R.E.M. is not included because it is not about religion.

Pride Of Man (1968) from Quicksilver Messenger Service (composed by Hamilton Camp who later went on to voice Greedy Smurf and Harmony Smurf in The Smurfs cartoons) was typical of the hippie era, with its warning that mankind better straighten itself out and get rid of all that greed and war or else . . . .

All You Zombies (1982) by The Hooters.  The song was written by two band members, Eric Bazilian, who composed the next tune on this list and Rob Hymans, who also co-wrote Time After Time with Cyndi Lauper.

Holy Moses on the mountain
High above the golden calf
Went to get the Ten Commandments
Yeah, he's just gonna break 'em in half!

Watch the cheesy 80s video.

Bazilian's composition, One Of Us (1995), was a smash hit for Joan Osborne on her debut album.  Lyrics, vocal and melody come together well.

From the gospel tradition we have People Get Ready (1965), by The Impressions (composed by Curtis Mayfield), with its references to the civil rights movement.
In the same gospel mode is Jesus Is Just Alright (1966), written by Arthur Reid Reynolds and first recorded by his group, the Art Reynolds Singers.   The first cover version was in 1969 by The Byrds and quickly became a staple of their live sets, with another popular cover by the Doobie Brothers, becoming a hit single in 1973.  The song has since been covered by many other artists.

Many U2 songs, particularly in the band's early years, have religious overtones.  Gloria (1981) is very direct, with its chorus: 

Gloria, in te domine (Glory in you, Lord)
Gloria, exultate (Glory, exalt him)
Oh, Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to you

One of U2's best known songs, Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983), is a plea for peace in Northern Ireland, with its last verse telling us "the real battle just begun, to claim the victory Jesus won, on a Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Regina Spektor, a Russian Jew who emigrated to the United States when she was nine, contrasts our sometimes joking take on God with the old adage of "there are no atheists in foxholes" in Laughing With (2009).

Dar Williams provides a good-natured take on dealing with those of different (or no) faiths in The Christians And Pagans (1996).

In Let It Be (1970), The Beatles evoked the solace provided by faith in times of trouble.

Songs often reference God but sometimes they are really about other things.  For instance, Highway 61 Revisited (1965) by Bob Dylan starts off:

Oh, God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What ?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done ?"
God says. "Out on Highway 61".

But that's it, and the song goes on to discuss other interesting facets of Highway 61.

This is Leonard Cohen's moving interpretation of the Story Of Isaac (1969):

Then we have the anti-God songs.  Dear God (1986) by XTC, mangles theology but THC thinks the composer could care less.

Randy Newman's, God's Song (That Why I Love Mankind) (1972) is a scathing take on God and humanity, which makes for quite an acidic combo:

I burn down your cities-how blind you must be
I take from you your children and you say how blessed are we
You all must be crazy to put your faith in me
That's why I love mankind
You really need me
That's why I love mankind

In a category all its own is Jesus Walks (2004) by Kanye West. 

Let's end on on a more upbeat note, starting with God Only Knows (1966) by the The Beach Boys (music by Brian Wilson; lyrics by Tony Asher; lead vocal, Carl Wilson).  In an indication of how much things have changed, the song's title induced some hesitation about its release among the producers and record company because it mentioned God in the title, which was unusual for a pop song at the time.  It's also an example of the ambiguity of phrases invoking the Lord's name in pop culture; is "God only knows", just a meaningless expression, often used but little thought about, or does it mean here "God only knows", and no one else, as an expression of the deep mystery of life?  You can decide.

The song has a gorgeous melody, arrangement and vocals with some very unusual musical aspects which you can read about here and here.  First up is the original version, followed by a 2014 remake (the song has been covered hundreds of times) featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Chrissie Hynde, Lord, Chris Martin, Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters & Nirvana), Sam Smith, Florence (of Florence + The Machine), Brian May (of Queen), and Brian Wilson.

We'll finish with Spirit In The Sky (1970), composed and song by Norman Greenbaum, which became a massive international hit.

The Edge

(Above, The Edge circa 1980, Left, The Edge as 21st century man)

We've posted before about some of the great classic rock guitar soloists like Eric Clapton (Double Trouble), Jimi Hendrix (Heavy Guitar and Little Wing), Steve Ray Vaughn (Little Wing & Couldn't Stand The Weather), Jimmy Page (Since I've Been Loving You), Duane Allman and Dickie Betts (In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed) and the strange brew of guitarists constituting the Steely Dan players (the 3-part Steely Dan guitar solo series).  Now we'll turn to a favorite guitarist who THC doesn't consider a classic soloist; he's really more of a creative pattern and sonic structure builder - The Edge (real name David Evans) who joined the band that eventually became U2 as a 15-year old in 1976. There is another guitarist THC considers a bridge between the classics and The Edge and that is Pete Townsend of The Who.  Townsend is not one of the great soloist as his efforts can be choppy but he is the greatest rhythmic and power chord player in rock history (as well as a tremendously exciting live performer and improviser during his prime) and the inventor of the "crash chord" where you hit the chord and then mute the reverberations so it sounds quick like a shot with no ringing left hanging (in more recent years while on tour Townsend is letting his chords ring). Just listen to the opening chords of I Can't Explain.

As for The Edge it is all about the sound and patterns he devises.  He's the driving musical force in U2 and gives the band its trademark sound.  A U2 song is recognizable soon as you hear it because it has that brilliant, shimmering glassy guitar sound which gives a haunting feel to much of their music. The man has a great aural sense of how to complete the mood of a song.

Since it's difficult to find isolated guitar tracks by The Edge on YouTube we'll use some covers by others so you can hear the guitar clearly and learn how he creates the sound.  It's about the use of feedback delays (so you'll hear the note 2 or 3 times after it's played), reverb and compression along with a Herdim guitar pick turned the wrong way round so the scratchy part of the pick is hitting the strings.

Let's start with two covers by James Fernando.  The first is Where The Streets Have No Name from the mid-80s a song which has probably THE classic edgiest sound.  The second is Beautiful Day from around 2001 (which has a beautiful shimmering part at about 1:54).  Both videos have helpful captions explaining some of the technical setting and playing styles utilized.

Next up is a video which goes into some detail on the techniques used by The Edge to build his sound.

Next up is one of THC's favorite early U2 songs, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock.  At around 1:25 you can hear the use of harmonics and at 2:40 and 4:00 are a rarity - Edge style lead guitar parts. 

Crumbs From Your Table is from the 2006 album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.  THC loves the  sound of this cover!

We'll close with Pride (In The Name of Love).  This shows you what you can do with a simple guitar riff that ended up driving a majestic song.  Plus the guy playing it has a young son who clearly is not impressed with what's going on as he appears to be doing his homework.

Best History Songs

What's the best song based on historical events?  I look for the best mixture of accurate and evocative lyrics with music reflective of its theme.  One candidate is The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band (and see yesterday's post on the passing of Levon Helm).  Please ignore the Joan Baez version which become an AM radio hit but mangled the lyrics, obliterating some of the precise historical references from the original.  Pride by U2 also fits the bill even though it's more indirect in its approach to the murder of Martin Luther King and contains a glaring inaccuracy in its lyric (see if you can find it), but is so emotionally resonant it gets away with it.  Then there are songs like Zombie, by The Cranberries, about the troubles in Ireland. What are your favorites?