Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of vintage Rolling Stones’ songs in various places… and I started noticing how harmonically clever Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were (and probably still are).
Although they’re known for their 3 or 4 chord rock and roll songs, there’s always an inventive, unexpected twist (or two) in them. This week I’m going to look at a few examples of this, as well as one simple device they use very well.
For best results I suggest you listen to the songs before you read, or as you read. I especially recommend that you play and sing the songs through a few times if you can. This’ll be well worth your while.
Part 1: Surprising Twists
My favorite of these is in ‘Street Fighting Man‘ (below). After going back and forth in unexpected, rhythmically jagged ways between the I and IV chords (‘C’ and ‘F’ – tuned a little flat) in the Verse, they explode into the V chord (‘G’) for the Chorus (see Part 2 for more on this). So far pretty normal – I, IV, and V in the key of ‘C’.
But then (here’s the twist) the Chorus climaxes on a ‘D’ chord with an F# in the melody – way out of the key of ‘C’. Then, when it settles back into ‘C’ again for the next Verse, it’s also very exciting. The move out of key – and then back in – definitely gives the song a kick in the ass it wouldn’t otherwise have.
Note also that there’s a bar cut off of the ‘normal’ length of almost every section – the Verse is two 5 bar sections, the Chorus is 7 bars.
In ‘Brown Sugar‘ (below) they add more twists to the 3 or 4 chord routine. The Verse uses ‘C’ and ‘F’ chords (with a single ‘Bb’) then, as in “Street Fighting Man’, they jump to the ‘G’ chord (V) for the Chorus.
But the Intro, which is used after each Chorus throughout the tune, has these chords: | Eb | C | Ab Bb | C |. Another really powerful out-of-key move that adds another dimension by providing a break that also makes the 4 chord Verses and Choruses feel fresh every time they return.
Part 2: The Exploding V Chord
Both songs mentioned above enter their Choruses using a similar approach.
In their different ways, the Verses of both songs bounce back and forth between ‘C’ and ‘F’ chords (I and IV), building enough tension so that when they finally hit the ‘G’ chord (V) for the Choruses, it’s explosive. Check it out! Same thing in both songs. So simple; so powerful.
Mick and Keith still have some stuff to teach us.
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Yes indeed, Tony! When I started playing Keith’s open-G tuning, i noticed how easily it was to shift tonality with ambiguousness btw I-IV-V — (‘Start me up’ is an example, and ‘Take it so hard’ from Keith’s solo album ‘Talk is Cheap’ is another prime example). So that ‘exploding V chord’ can be set up from a bunch of unexpected places. Crazy-Cool!
Karl,
Thanks for mentioning the tuning – definitely a factor here!
Best wishes,
Tony
Not to take anything at all away from Mick and Keith, but there is some precedent to interesting rhythmic uses of I-Iv-V in both classical music and afro-pop…also in the Brown Sugar progression Eb-C-Ab-Bb-C, the technique of using chords from the relative minor and resolving to I major is found in classical, and was a common device in the 60’s-70’s, Beatles used this a lot. Rock on Tony, great insight and see you tonight with Pork Chop Willie…
Steve,
Your insights are always on the money and your perspective is always welcome. Please come on back and post anytime!
Best wishes,
Tony
The II major chord was also quite common – called the “lydian II#” by classical types you’ll find it all over the place in 60’s pop tunes, especially in early Beatles. It functions essentially as a V of V.
Still, the Stones were interesting songwriters and their music holds up thanks in part to the twists and turns Tony mentions.
Good point, Ed!
Thanks,
Tony