What is the Best Saxophone Song?

  • Thread starter Evo
  • Start date
In summary, some of the best songs are "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty, "Guns N Roses, Sweet Child O' Mine." by Axl Rose, "Bruce Springsteen - "tunnel of love"" by Led Zeppelin, "Honor thy Father" by Dream Theater, and "Octavarium" by Dream Theater.
  • #2,696
Here's a favorite of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C4PsXoFslM
 
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  • #2,697
Recently, I've become intrigued about why certain types of songs can totally "possess" a certain type of person, while other people are indifferent to it, or even dislike it and want to turn it off. What's going on deep in the human psyche that makes this so? Some types of music are a thoroughly addictive drug to some people, but other people hate it.

If any psychologists or neurobiologists are reading this, can you shed any light on this question? (I have almost zero background in these areas.)

Anyway, here's an example. The song linked below (Cruel Sister by The Pentangle) is one that totally transfixes me. When the album of the same name was released, I loved it, but it didn't do very well commercially. If you dislike the folk-rock genre that Pentangle pioneered, then you probably won't like it. Yet, I can play it again and again without getting bored and its very hard for me to stop playing it. In that sense, it's heavily addictive for me, though probably not for many of you who might now listen to it out of curiosity. I can't figure out what's going on in my head that makes it so, and I'd appreciate insights if anyone can offer such.

Here it is...

 
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  • #2,698
strangerep said:
Anyway, here's an example. The song linked below (Cruel Sister by The Pentangle) is one that totally transfixes me.

I got bored with this song at about 1:57. ? It just keeps repeating?...

I think you're transfixed with the grammaphone in the picture and the 19th century theme? I'm forcing myself right now to listen to the rest of it.
 
  • #2,699
DiracPool said:
I got bored with this song at about 1:57. ? It just keeps repeating?...

I think you're transfixed with the grammaphone in the picture and the 19th century theme?
Nah, I bought the original album on vinyl when it first came out. I find it hypnotic. That's kinda why I posted my question about it. I get a similar feeling with some of Pentangle's other tracks (though, curiously, nowhere near 100% of their stuff). But other people totally don't.
I'm forcing myself right now to listen to the rest of it.
Oh, don't bother if it doesn't grab you. I had a feeling you wouldn't like it.

And... just to get more data [ :- )]... what do you think of the final song "Into The West" at the end of Lord of the Rings part III -- Return of the King?
(I'll find a link if you don't already know it.)
 
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  • #2,700
What's going on deep in the human psyche that makes this so?

If any psychologists or neurobiologists are reading this, can you shed any light on this question?

For this song I would say it is probably a tumor in your superior temporal lobe, possibly just caudal to the Sylvian fissure. I can't think of any other reason you'd be transfixed with that dysphony...:-p
 
  • #2,701
DiracPool said:
For this song I would say it is probably a tumor in your superior temporal lobe, possibly just caudal to the Sylvian fissure. I can't think of any other reason you'd be transfixed with that dysphony...:-p
Oh well, at least I've now got a diagnosis. (BTW, did you see my edit in the previous post?)
 
  • #2,702
That sounds like video game music from the elder scrolls o.o. I like it though.
 
  • #2,703
WannabeNewton said:
That sounds like video game music from the elder scrolls o.o. I like it though.
Ah good -- seems like I'm not alone in the braindamage club. :-)

Hey, try some of the other Pentangle tracks linked from that youtube page -- "Once I had a sweetheart" is another fine example of Jacqui McShee's rare vocal purity (at least for those who can appreciate it).
 
  • #2,704
I'm actually transfixed on this song right now...



I can't stop playing it. When it ends, I get morosely depressed. I think I'm going to have my team give me an MRI tomorrow to see what's going on. I'll keep you posted.
 
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  • #2,705
strangerep said:
Ah good -- seems like I'm not alone in the braindamage club. :-)

Hey, try some of the other Pentangle tracks linked from that youtube page -- "Once I had a sweetheart" is another fine example of Jacqui McShee's rare vocal purity (at least for those who can appreciate it).
Yeah I'm pretty accustomed to this kind of music because I used to play a lot of fantasy rpg games in high school. The sitar was a very nice touch I have to say; overall the music is quite serene, thanks! If you like soft music like this you *might* like the following artist, however the genres are different:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ShXHW_FrlM

One of my most favorite artists all around, Nick Drake's songs always remind me of my brother back home because he introduced me to Drake's music :smile:
 
  • #2,706
WannabeNewton said:
If you like soft music like this you *might* like the following artist, however the genres are different:
Hmmm -- what would you call this genre?

I'd never even heard of him before. But... was that a gravestone with his name of it at the end? Was that real, or just part of the visual montage for the sake of the song?
 
  • #2,707
strangerep said:
Hmmm -- what would you call this genre?

I'd never even heard of him before. But... was that a gravestone with his name of it at the end? Was that real, or just part of the visual montage for the sake of the song?
I would say folk but not the kind of folk you linked to before as they seem to have distinct sounds. I don't know about the gravestone thing but he did die very young at the age of 26 in 1974 if I recall. Here's another

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2JjJPDz3EE
 
  • #2,708
WannabeNewton said:
I would say folk but not the kind of folk you linked to before as they seem to have distinct sounds.
Yeah, Pentangle is kind of blend of traditional old-English, a touch of jazz and some rock. They pretty much invented the genre, and fans began to call it "folk-rock". Steel Eye Span is similar, but not as good as Pentangle, imho.

I don't know about the gravestone thing but he did die very young at the age of 26.
Ah, that would explain it. It's probably real, then.
 
  • #2,709
And, just before I tear myself away from the computer and go to bed...

I just did a search on this thread. Surprised to find no mention of "The Real Thing" by Russell Morris from the 1960's. I was too young understand it properly when it first came out -- I just heard the bizarre "lyrics" in the repeating crescendo and wondered "WTF?". I didn't understand then that "come and see the real thing" meant "come and see the real world"...

The video is an updated compilation including more recent clips (including a much older Russell Morris), and more clips from history showing not much has changed in the world...



[Warning: a couple of brief scenes herein are a bit confronting...]
 
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  • #2,710
This is kind of blowing my mind to think about.

We're about to go see this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKdnkGBSgA

In the same hall where we saw this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDZuNM3HmU4
 
  • #2,711
dkotschessaa said:
This is kind of blowing my mind to think about.

We're about to go see this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKdnkGBSgA

In the same hall where we saw this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDZuNM3HmU4

Verdi and Vai, a pretty eclectic combination, but it's not that unusual for an upscale venue to host such diversity. Carnegie Hall in New York City has hosted a number of rock/pop groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. In 1969, 1971 and 1976 Laura Nyro played to sold out crowds at Carnegie. Although not nearly as famous as many popular groups, she had considerable talent as a songwriter, vocalist and pianist. One thing about her albums was that many of her recordings were layered multi tracks, something you can't carry over to live performances. This probably limited her exposure to the general public as a solo performer.

I particularity like this song, recorded with Duane Allman (guitar). The opening verse appears under the video and is sung slowly, after which the tempo picks up. I like the way Laura closes the piece with an unusual piano figure.



home.earthlink.net/~peter_rocheleau/index.html
 
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  • #2,712
This is one of my favorite songs. It's long, but it needs to be because it's epic.

 
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  • #2,713
strangerep said:
Recently, I've become intrigued about why certain types of songs can totally "possess" a certain type of person, while other people are indifferent to it, or even dislike it and want to turn it off. What's going on deep in the human psyche that makes this so? Some types of music are a thoroughly addictive drug to some people, but other people hate it.

After watching some recent NOVA shows on brain development, i wonder if it's simply what one listened to as a teenager & into early 20's.

Seems one's brain adapts itself as one grows older, and a lot of behavior is imprinted during adolesence. Last night's NOVA show repeated this idea in their study of violence.

Laugh if you like, but my favorite group in Junior High School was "Arthur Fiedler & Boston Pops". To this day i prefer light classics and symphony-sound treatments of contemporary music.

And a little of the Big Bopper era stuff from my early teen years, before i discovered high fidelity .

Observing other folks, they seem similarly imprinted from their developmental years.

What about your own kids, and your parents?

Is there a brain doctor in the house?

old jim
 
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  • #2,714
Pleased to meet you ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBecM3CQVD8
 
  • #2,715
NUuJxk-ZoKs[/youtube] Try getting this one out of your head after you hear it once or twice.
 
  • #2,716
jim hardy said:
After watching some recent NOVA shows on brain development, i wonder if it's simply what one listened to as a teenager & into early 20's.
Interesting thought, but... I think there must be more to it...

As a very young child I'd wear out the old vinyl records of (instrumental only) carols every Christmas season. Even many weeks after Christmas I'd still be listening to them continuously, until my mother couldn't tolerate any more and told me "no, it's time to put those records away now, until next year".

I wonder why my child mind was so hypnotized by that type of music?

What about [...] your parents?
My (now elderly) mother is besotted with Andre Rieu (and absolutely everything he releases), but I can only tolerate his versions of the more sombre classics, not the fluffy musical-theatre songs my Mum likes.

It also occurred to me that different religions have been exploiting such neurological susceptibilities for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And as different religions tend to attract/influence different types of people, they also use different music to do so. Compare, say, modern fundamentalist Christian revivalist, vs old-style Christian, vs Gregorian chant monastery types, vs Buddhist meditative chants, Sufi whirling-dervish, and so on. It's kinda scary when you think about it -- how one can be thus deeply influenced, even conscripted, semi-subconsciously.
 
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  • #2,717
jbunniii said:
[... "All the MotherF-----s ..." ]
Try getting this one out of your head after you hear it once or twice.
Hmm. Interesting take on the modern protest/rejectionist genre. :rolleyes:

But I was playing the following one last night, and it's been in my head all day today, and still pushes out other songs as soon as I stop playing them. For those who've never heard it, you'll soon understand why.

(BTW, does anyone know of a modern rock singer who can match the young Ian Gillan? I've never heard anyone do this song as well as him -- though of course he paid for it later with severely damaged vocal chords (true story).

The bizarre thing is that I really like this, and the gentle delicate stuff I posted earlier.
Go figure.
 
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  • #2,718
strangerep said:
jim hardy said:
After watching some recent NOVA shows on brain development, i wonder if it's simply what one listened to as a teenager & into early 20's.

Interesting thought, but... I think there must be more to it...

I agree. I'm in my mid 50's and still discover new music, by new bands, to which I become, transfixed: (The Shins, Sleeping Lessons). Even genres of music, which I've had no previous interest: Opera, Hip Hop(I think? What genre is Nelly's "Hot In Herre"? ), Bob Dylan, etc, etc.

I think I posted, in the past, that people who play musical instruments, experience music differently than people who sit around, get stoned, and go; "Wow. This is cool."

Though I like some of that music also. :blushing:

A line from that last one popped into my head yesterday morning as I was heading out the door for work. I was doing a mental checklist:
Keys: Check
Wallet: Check
Water: Check
Computer: "You're magnetic ink" :cool:

Flashbacks aren't always bad. :-p
 
  • #2,719
Really nice page of music, including some things I hadn't heard before, like Nick Drake.
 
  • #2,720
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9n1bAahg4
 
  • #2,721
Take an hour out of your day, turn your digital dealies off, relax in nice, comfortable chair, and listen to this start to finish, and I promise it will change your life...

 
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  • #2,722
DiracPool said:
... I promise it will change your life...



Yes it has.
 
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  • #2,723
It changed my life too. When I heard it, I was 21 years old, single and still in college. Now I'm 62, married with 2 kids and retired.
 
  • #2,724
It changed my life too.

It's right at the 15:00 mark in the album where the whole universe changes for me...All of a sudden the spacecraft goes into warp drive an I've left the galaxy going to who knows where and loving every minute of it...
 
  • #2,725
How come you clowns haven't put this one up yet?

 
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  • #2,726
Or you can watch this Canadian songbird live...

 
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  • #2,727
Roy Clark :

yes, Charles Aznavour wrote it..



I've seen them both perform it...four decades apart.
 
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  • #2,728
DiracPool said:
How come you clowns haven't put this one up yet?



I don't think anything from that album has not been put up.

Court and Spark, and Joni Mitchell, rule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwiBsNzO2HU

---------------------
I was going to post a reference to an old post, but that song appears to have been from her "DOG EAT DOG" album. Equally superb, IMHO.
 
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  • #2,729
OmCheeto said:
I don't think anything from that album has not been put up.
[/SIZE]

Oops, sorry. My mistake, I came late to this game.
 
  • #2,730
strangerep said:
Recently, I've become intrigued about why certain types of songs can totally "possess" a certain type of person...

I'm currently possessed with the spirit of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87On2GxwEKs​
 

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