The 13 greatest pop songs ...

 ... from a classical music perspective

Britney Spears sings 'Toxic'. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

1K

From augmented chords to a random incredible theremin part, these pop songs all give a very pleasing nod to the classical world.

These are undoubtedly the best pop songs of all time (if you’re a classical musician).

1. Toxic – Britney

   Aside from Britney’s iconic vocals, what makes ‘Toxic’ so great is that jarring tritone in the refrain. It’s an unexpected moment of dissonance, and it’s all the more awesome coming from Britney.

2. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys

   It’s impossible to count the number of tempo changes, key changes and bizarre instruments The Beach Boys used to create their biggest pop hit. From a chorus with one of the greatest modulations in music history to an unexpected appearance from a theremin, ‘Good Vibrations’ is the model of an incredible pop song.

3. I Want You Back – The Jackson 5

   Weirdly, the bassline of ‘I Want You Back’ is nearly as important as its melody. It starts with a thrilling glissando on keys, followed by a battle between the bassline and rhythm guitar line. Then, a third, completely independent line – the main melody – is added over the top, creating ACTUAL THREE-PART COUNTERPOINT. It gets better and better the more you listen to it.

4. Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles

   A killer pop song with… a killer cello part. How often can you say that? ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is just one example of McCartney’s creative genius. Both the lyrics and harmony of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ are eerily melancholic – and that’s largely down to those eerie marcato strings.
   Read more: ‘Eleanor Rigby’ proves that Paul McCartney would’ve been a genius Lieder composer

5. Lovefool – The Cardigans

   Tonally, ‘Lovefool’ never quite makes up its mind. It starts in A minor and occasionally switches into the major, before properly landing in A major for the chorus. But then, the chorus repeats and just when it seems like it’s going to finish in a major key, we’re back to A minor and into the next verse. It’s a tonal tug-of-war, and it’s just brilliant.

6. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel

   A bottle of white, a bottle of red… the intro of ‘Scenes from an Italian restaurant’ is constantly undercut with those beautiful descending piano phrases. But then, we’re hit with a dramatic tempo change (at 3.36): the octave-jumping semiquavers come in, leading into one of the catchiest solo jazz piano sections in the pop-rock history. It’s the best.

7. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

   Gaga outed herself as a true music geek when she opened the music video to her 2009 hit with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fugue in B minor from The Well Tempered Clavier. We always knew she seemed like someone who’d enjoy a bit of Baroque counterpoint action.

8. Breakfast in America – Supertramp

   From a squealing soprano saxophone to a parpy, rhythmic trombone-tuba duet undercutting Roger Hodgson’s vocals, Supertramp are big fans of the brass section. They also use a pleasing harpsichord-esque setting on their keyboard in the opening two bars. We like.

9. Life in a Northern Town – Dream Academy

   ‘Life in a Northern Town’, most famous for its chorus, is a song brimming with nostalgia, something that's mainly achieved, somewhat unexpectedly, with the wistful sound of an oboe. The instrumentation is dominated by acoustic guitar and various keyboards, but the oboe cuts through beautifully.

10. She’s Like a Rainbow – Rolling Stones

    The instrumental passages in ‘She’s like a Rainbow’ might now have been used in about fifteen various car and perfume adverts, but they are still brilliantly original. The opening keyboard refrain, along with the descending strings, sound just like a tinkling music box.

11. Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel

    Otherwise known as the ‘demo’ setting on everyone’s childhood keyboard, ‘Just the Way You Are’ opens with a beautifully soothing electric piano solo – but it’s the saxophone solo, expertly performed by Phil Woods, that really takes the biscuit. Have a listen from 3:00.

12. Without You – Harry Nilsson / Mariah Carey

    Paul McCartney called it “the killer song of all time” – and its power comes from a bunch of really simple, but really emotive piano chords. The way Nilsson uses the opening chords to build up to the climax of the chorus, only to bring us straight back down again, is just agonising.

13. Single Ladies – Beyoncé

    It might not be one of Beyoncé’s more melodic creations, but there are some really interesting bits of music theory going on here. The ‘E’ which runs throughout the song acts as a drone under Bey’s main pentatonic melodies, giving the song a modal feel. But then, she throws in some unexpected chords in the form of siren noises over the top. Why? Because she’s Beyoncé and she can.

13 unbelievable oboe solos ...

... you didn’t even notice in pop music

Mariah Carey with an oboe. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

0

The oboe has been a regular fixture in classical orchestras since the Baroque era – but its melancholic, singing tone is also an essential ingredient in some of the best-known pop bangers.

These are the greatest oboe lines in pop music…

1. Natural – S Club 7

   Before we get to enjoy the pop-tastic vocals of everyone’s favourite S Club member (obviously Rachel Stevens, don’t @ us), the 90s group presents us with something even more interesting: an oboe, playing an unexpected few lines from Fauré’s Pavane. What a throwback.

2. The Sun Always Shines On TV – A-ha

   You have to listen out a bit harder for this one, but the oboe plays an essential role in ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’. It helps to build up the suspiciously slow, melodic introduction, so it’s even more of a surprise when the synthpop beats start flying in around the one-minute mark.
   Read more: The 13 greatest pop songs (from a classical music perspective)

3. Kiss From A Rose – Seal

   It’s easy to miss it when distracted by Seal’s intense, breathy vocals, but there’s a lovely solo oboe which soars over the intro passage to ‘Kiss From A Rose’, an octave higher than the vocal line. It also comes back every time Seal sings that refrain.

4. Honey, Honey – Mamma Mia!

   The singing sound of the oboe lends itself perfectly to this instrumental passage in the Mamma Mia! version of ‘Honey Honey’, which replaces Bjorn and Benny’s singing part in the original. It’s playful and ever so slightly yearning, and helps turn the song into one cracker of an ABBA cover.

5. Last Dance – Donna Summer

   A fabulous summer disco track with… a wistful oboe-based introduction. Although unexpected, the oboe works perfectly here as a build-up to Donna Summer’s iconic disco beats.

6. I Got You Babe – Sonny and Cher

   While Sonny and Cher are looking at each other longingly singing the title words, there’s an oboe parping away in the background. It’s the perfect choice for one of the all-time greatest love duets.

7. Life In A Northern Town – The Dream Academy

   ‘Life in a Northern Town’, most famous for its chorus, is a song brimming with nostalgia, something that’s mainly achieved, somewhat unexpectedly, with the wistful sound of an oboe. The instrumentation is dominated by acoustic guitar and various keyboards, but the oboe cuts through beautifully.

8. Crazy For You – Madonna

   ‘Crazy For You’ was the ultimate slow-dancing song of the 80s – but it would be nothing without the loving tones of an oboe in the first few bars. Listen, and swoon:

9. Happy Together – Turtles

   There’s a lovely little oboe line in this around 1:30, just before the third chorus. It’s beautifully melancholy, and is followed by a great big blast of brass in the chorus. We like.

10. One Day I'll Fly Away – Randy Crawford

    As well as some particularly great spiccato violins which appear later in the song, there’s a glorious oboe solo which takes on the main melody before Randy’s vocals come in.

11. Dandelion – The Rolling Stones

    Instrumental breaks are always better when an oboe is involved, as proven by this nifty little woodwind solo in the B-side to The Rolling Stones’ ‘We Love You’.

12. Mariah Carey – Hero

    It only lasts for about four seconds, but there’s a beautiful soaring oboe that comes in at 1:26. It continues to dip in and out of the song in single long notes, perfectly complementing Mariah’s belting vocals.
    Read more: Is Mariah Carey actually a good singer?

13. Handbags and Gladrags – Stereophonics

    Does this have the most glorious introduction in a pop-rock song? We think so. Is it all thanks to a random oboist? Almost certainly.
    It might not be an original song – ‘Handbags and Gladrags’ was written in 1967 by Mike d’Abo and made famous by Rod Stewart in ’69 – but it’s certainly an original interpretation. The oboist who features in this version plays the line beautifully legato, creating a sense of yearning that wasn’t *quite* there in previous versions.

Definitively the Best Classical Covers of Pop Songs

By Daniel Ross, ClassicFM London

One of the great things about classical musicians is that they’re always up for a cover version. Here are the best classical covers of pop songs on the internet, from Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson.

image: http://assets5.classicfm.com/2016/41/classical-covers-of-pop-songs-1476272346-article-0.jpg

Taylor Swift - Blank Space (Brooklyn Duo)

The cloying eagerness to settle down balanced by the whimsy of living your youth with abandon… Argh, it just feels so real! And even without the lyrics, Brooklyn Duo get it across beautifully.

Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Electric Colour Orchestra)

A monster hit that requires its performers to convey as much charisma as Bruno Mars. Do these guys manage it? (YES.)

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Nicholas Hersh)

One of the all-time greats in the pop rep, Bohemian Rhapsody has been reimagined in countless different and inventive ways. But here, turning it into a kind of viola concerto, it sounds like it’s never sounded before.

Adele - Skyfall (Ji Liu)

Classy, solemn, exciting - and that’s just the Adele version. When pianist Ji Liu gets hold of it, though, Skyfall becomes that little bit more heightened.

Play

Ji Liu plays Skyfall

When James Bond meets Rachmaninov

04:03

image: http://cf.c.ooyala.com/N2M29udzoV_6c7V-T_WDNNLiIJkjne2N/rQqFhpGihXXoLKSn4xMDoxOjA4MTsiGN

Nicki Minaj - Anaconda (Lara St. John)

One of the most bonkers pop songs in recent years is given a performance art twist in this invigorating chamber performance.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (2CELLOS)

The King of Pop is ripe for classical reinterpretation, and many have tried - especially with Smooth Criminal. But the boys from 2CELLOS had it nailed when they stripped the whole song back and let the intensity come to the fore.

Let It Go - Idina Menzel (The Piano Guys)

This list wouldn’t be complete without the Piano Guys, who arguably kickstarted this whole movement for classical covers of pop songs in the YouTube generation. Their delicate mash-ups (on this occasion they’ve paired the Disney classic with some Vivaldi) are as ingenious as they are infectious, and this might just be their best one.

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