The song I choose to deconstruct was "lanslide" by Lleetwood Mac, and the cover version by the Smashing Pumpkins.
“Landslide” is not a complex song on the surface; it is only driven by a voice and a single guitar. Fleetwood Mac uses a very clean sound to produce a constant pitch and balance. A continuous emotion is able to be picked from the song based on Stevie Nicks’s strong vocals. Beyond the vocals lays a set of lyrics that reflect on one growing older and pondering if they are ready for the world.
The Smashing pumpkins present the lyrics in a completely new fashion. With a voice that does not even compare to Nick’s, Billy Corgan harsh voice sounds as if he is staining to get the words out. I feel his raspy voice adds more emotion to the song because of his average vocal quality. Comparable to singers such as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, Billy Corgan even though he was not blessed with a voice of an angel, still projects his voice full of emotion to make up for the lack of pitch variation.
The rhythms of both songs are driven by the acoustic picking of the guitar and the melody is carried by the vocals. I feel the tempo for the Smashing Pumpkins cover is rushed just a bit over the original by Fleetwood Mac. The organization of each song is similar along with the pattern. However, the major difference between the two is the style of guitar picking on Corgan’s guitar. His style is much quicker and he picks a few more notes than the original, thus I believe for the tempo picking up. The intensity of the song is low, it is more of a thought provoking sound that one would sit down and enjoy rather than getting up and dancing.
I admire both versions of the song; each has its own unique quality. However, I prefer the Smashing Pumpkins cover over the Fleetwood Mac version. Aside from the echo and delay affects that is in the Pumpkins cover I do enjoy the quicker tempo. Also Corgan’s hoarse voice that is straining throughout, definably gives “Lanslide” more emotion to its lyrics and overall structure.
LISTENING FRAMEWORK (Original)
(SIMPLIFIED)
LISTENING PHASE 1
(Rhythm)
Tempo
[slow, medium, fast] - The tempo is inbetween medium and slow throughout the song
Source
[where is the rhythm coming from?] - the rhythm is coming from the guitar being picked through the song.
Groove
[describe how the personality of the rhythm] - the personality is deep and reflecting on various emotions
LISTENING PHASE 2
(Arrangement) - the pattern of the song goes chorus, verse, verse, guitar solo, verse, chorus, chorus.
Instrumentation
[which instruments drive the song?] - acoustic guitar
Structure/Organization
[how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.] - the pattern of the song goes chorus, verse, verse, guitar solo, verse, chorus, chorus.
Emotional Architecture
[Draw how the song build and drop - the songs starts a middle point to be built up to a guitar solo, dropped, and then picked back up f or the final chorus.
LISTENING PHASE 3
(Sound Quality)
Balance
Height [high and low of frequency] - the song maintains a constant pitch except during the guitar break it drops to a noticably low pitch
Width [stereo panning left/right] - none
LISTENING FRAMEWORK (Cover)
(SIMPLIFIED)
LISTENING PHASE 1
(Rhythm)
Tempo
[slow, medium, fast] - medium
Source
[where is the rhythm coming from?] - the rhythm is coming from the guitar
Groove
[describe how the personality of the rhythm] - noticably more emotional than the original, voice feels like it is straining.
LISTENING PHASE 2
(Arrangement)
Instrumentation
[which instruments drive the song?] - acoustic guitar
Structure/Organization
[how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.] - the songs starts a middle point to be built up to a guitar solo, dropped, and then picked back up f or the final chorus.
Emotional Architecture
[Draw how the song build and drop? - the song drives with a constant emotion and fades away at the end
LISTENING PHASE 3
(Sound Quality)
Balance
Height [high and low of frequency] - the song does not vary too much in frequency
Width [stereo panning left/right] - none
Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] - only two layers; voice and guitar
No comments:
Post a Comment