Songs where aug or dim 7th chords are prominent

Nice to see this thread come back to life. I play some of these jazzier chords, but could use a refresher. Some bands get a bit carried away with them and start heading into dangerous territory.

 

The Grateful Dead got pretty diminished crazy around the time of Wake Of The Flood through Blues For Allah. In particular, Eyes Of The World, Slipknot!, et al feature diminished tonality very prominently.

 

And as a sub for II7 chord as well. That happens a lot in Gospel music. Andrae Crouch for example would take a II7 and raise the root a half step. For years I struggled to understand that usage... why it worked when it seemed so out of place. It's a piano thing. It's very easy to play that II7 chord and sneak the root up a half step. A lot harder on guitar if you don't realize that's what's happening.

 

HEY!!!, Then apparently I know how to play an E7 (#9) chord!! Woo-Hoo!!

 

I have a question for all the people who don't understand this topic. I'm just curious to know if your ears can distinguish the difference between a major chord and a minor chord. If so, then becoming familiar with augmented & diminished chords shouldn't be too difficult. Of course, there are people who listen to music strictly for lyrical content, or based on whether or not it's easy to dance to. In those cases, it makes sense to not understand a word of this thread.

Anyhow, the diminished chord that repeatedly appears on the word "Gander" in this is magnificent:

 

Iron Butterfly - Flowers and Beads ("beads, that's one thing")

Cowsills - We Can Fly ("you on the ground")

Johnny Rivers - Summer Rain (the second chord of that descending sequence that starts the song and repeats through it)

 

Femme Fatale by the Velvet Underground. Can't find a video but Live 69 is a good one with a great Lou Reed vocal and an intro mentioning the chords.

 

Jimi Hendrix played a series of four ascending diminished chords a few times in "My Friend."

Wish I could find an actual Jimi version on YouTube, but this will have to do. You can hear the chords at 0:44, 1:25, and 2:29 (with somewhat sloppy execution).

 

A couple of Cheap Trick diminished chord examples:
I Can't Take It (at :45)
E____________D_________E/D__D#dim______F#dim____A________F#m
Still the smell of you was on my face,____but you were too busy to notice me last night


Dream Police (from 2:36 to 2:50)
Rick Nielsen, going up the neck on his guitar, plays 16 chromatically ascending diminished chords.
The instrumental section that follows (with the string riffs) has a strongly implied diminished quality as well.
Dream Police - Cheap Trick

 

xtc mayor of simpleton

 

The Augmented chords at 1:55 and 1:59 in this are downright majestic:

 

There’s a augmented beauty in Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile’s recording of I Hear You Knocking.

It’s played on piano right at the end of the guitar solo, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

It's not in the original. Nice touch, Dave!

 

Very beginning of this song. Another fat aug7 chord leading to the I.

 

And another aug chord at :09 (right before the vocal begins) and repeated throughout.
[Mod: Please re-post and identify the artist and title! Thanks!

 

Elton John's Club at the End of the Street. "When the shades are drawn" - he uses a D+ on that line, coming off the root D.

The augmented chord adds a bit of drama/confusion/mystery - it's begging to be resolved to something else (in the case above, to a G, before returning to the D).

 

I think Billy Swan's intro to 'I can help' is a aug chord on the intro from memory.....

 

And another aug chord at :09 (right before the vocal begins) and repeated throughout.
Tightrope -Leon Russell

[Mod: please delete similar previous post]

 

A rare example of both types of chords occurring in the same song...and in the pre-Beatle era no less!
Augmented Chords at 0:12, 0:47 & 1:42
Diminished Chords at 0:30, 1:05 & 2:00

 

which part?

 

Nice tabs, thank you!

 

Beach Boys - Christmas Day.
Intro chord, and at 1:03:

 

Can't talk about aug chords without Wayne Shorter's "Juju". Half the song is big fat vamp on one. Also w sharp11, aka whole tone scale.

 

There's a Bdim chord in crowded house's Nails in my Feet. You can hear it at the end of every other line in the verses starting at the second line under the word window.

I love this song and I have particular trouble fingering that chord on my acoustic. It really bugs me.

 

AC/DC Back in Black has diminished chords all over it. One of the great harmonically sophiscated rock albums.

 

In "Tequila", the diminished 7th chord appears in the choruses. In each chorus, there are 4 lines (of 2 bars each), the 4th line ending with the word "tequila." The first chord of the first 3 chorus lines is a diminished 7th, listen closely