Songs with great harmonies

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by RickH, Jan 21, 2004.

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  1. quadjoe

    quadjoe Senior Member

    I love The Association! Cherish is one of the most beautiful love songs of all time, and nobody can do it like The Association.

    Also great harmonies from them in:

    Requiem for the Masses
    We Love Us
    Windy
     
  2. Ere

    Ere Senior Member

    Location:
    The Silver Spring
    Collective Soul has had some good harmony songs, specifically the song 'Run' on the album Dosage.
     
  3. quentincollins

    quentincollins Forum Word Nerd

    Location:
    Liverpool
    "Cotton Fields" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

    LOVE that guitar solo, too. Listenin' to Steve's SACD of Willy right now, actually. :love:
     
  4. GP

    GP Senior Member

    Location:
    Lynbrook, NY
    Although I was never a big fan of the BeeGees, I always thought their harmonies were excellent. There's something to be said about siblings that grow up in harmony.

    "South Side Of The Sky" has an instrumental break with some great wordless harmonies and an excellent arrangement. I can't think of many vocalists that could harmonize over Jon Anderson's melody the way Chris Squire does. The Yes repertoire is full of gems, I just happened to be listening to this one.

    "Goodbye Blue Sky". Nobody harmonizes with Gilmour better than Gilmour. :)

    The Voices Of Ascension would be hard to match as a chorus of tonal purity.
     
  5. The Beach Boys made their mark with harmony. The song that does it for me is, SLOOP JOHN B.
    The sad part of this thread is the vast majority of listed songs are thirty years ago or longer. Harmony seems to be a thing of the past for the most part.
     
  6. Rick B.

    Rick B. Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    So true! My wife and I were talking about this a few nights ago. With The Beatles long gone, 2 of 3 Beach Boys' brothers dead, Maurice Gibb dead, who is carrying the harmony torch these days? Who is singing intricate harmonies for the sheer beauty and joy of it?

    All we get these days are synthetic harmonies where all of the voices line up like clones, every note sung exactly the same few notes apart. I want to hear harmonies where each singer's part does not even make sense by itself until fully combined with another 2,3 or 4 voices.

    As mentioned previously, Teenage Fanclub, to name at least one, sings really nicely, even if they don't have the best pipes around.
     
  7. Beatle Terr

    Beatle Terr Super Senior SH Forum Member Musician & Guitarist

    The first LP from them has songs that are incredible too Joe. I'd love to find a good copy on CD. I still have the LP only this was the one with "Along Comes Mary"
     
  8. Norbert Becker

    Norbert Becker Senior Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia PA
    That may well be the case, but Randy Meisner was the real force behind the great early Eagle harmonies, from Take It To The Limit to Witchy Woman to Try And Love Again. He was also replace 2x by Schmitt, once in Poco, once in the Eagles. Has that ever happened since?
     
  9. quadjoe

    quadjoe Senior Member

    I'm about to make you jealous: I didn't list any of those songs as I didn't know if anyone else knew them. I have a mono copy of and then...along comes THE ASSOCIATION Valiant Records VLM 5002 which I have owned since it came out. My favorite songs from that album other than "Cherish" and "Along Comes Mary" are: "Enter the Young" (the original mix, not the one everyone is familiar with on WB records), "Message of Our Love," and "Remember." There is a bit of surface noise due to frequent playing by me on my old Sears Silvertone portable stereo (it's really surprising how well vinyl survived those old phonographs) but it still sounds good. Where on earth did you find the CD? I've never seen it in our local record stores (and never thought to look on-line).

    Edit: Oops! I misread your post, I thought you had the CD.
     
  10. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    Take 6 also has some neat harmonies...if you like their kind of music. They can get a little too esoteric at times, but they shine on a song like "U Turn" from that Joe Sample album, Spellbound.

    There was also that vocal group...The Nylons, I think?

    Also, what about Manhattan Transfer? My two favorite albums are Vocalese (tight harmonies in bebop style), and Brasil with American lyrics set to Brazilian songs by Ivan Lins, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, etc. And surprisingly, some of those lyrics were penned by Doug Fieger, former front man of The Knack!
     
  11. Ready Steady Go

    Ready Steady Go Active Member

    Location:
    California
    "Choosey Beggar" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (flip side of "Going To A Go-Go")
     
  12. Urban Spaceman

    Urban Spaceman Forum Eulipion

    Most recently the harmonies on "Bitter Wind in Tanganeka" from the Legendary Grape (Moby Grape) disc caught me by surprise - wow! Not the kind of harmony you would expect from Moby Grape (who always had some great harmonies).
    Also I'd have to vote for "Ridin' in my car" by NRBQ. They do a wonderful BB's style harmony on that one.

    ---- Chris
     
  13. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    Check out the 2001 "Listen to What the Man Said" tribute to Paul McCartney and listen to an a capella version of "Warm and Beautiful" by a 29 year old singer and songerwriter named Linus Of Hollywood - he's multitracked his vocals. You'll change your religion. It's absolutely stunning. And a bold move while everyone else on the disc is punking it our or jamming it out with screaching guitars. He's an incredible singer songwriter in his own write, too - I suggest picking up his own two albums.

    That aside, yes, The Beach Boys' "All This is That" from Carl and The Passions probably takes the cake for a group effort. Never fails to blow me away. And it's the past.
     
  14. Beattles

    Beattles Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Gram and Emmy Lou on GP and Return of the Grevious Angel. Especially: Song For You, Love Hurts, Return of the Grevious Angel and In My Hour Of Darkness. This is magic.
     
  15. Urban Spaceman

    Urban Spaceman Forum Eulipion

    Yeah! I just heard their version of Love Hurts on the radio (of all places!) for the first time the other day and it knocked me for a LOOP! It was perfect!

    ------ Chris
     
  16. Beatle Terr

    Beatle Terr Super Senior SH Forum Member Musician & Guitarist

    Joe, yep ya missed my post, that's the LP I'm speaking of that I own also, "Enter The Young" well you already know:) :thumbsup: I loved this whole LP there is also a very nice ballad called "Angeline" that's very a super pretty song. Well as I said, this would be one nice LP to get someone to do a nice Needle Drop on.

    The group sort of had some big changes when it came to the WB LP with "Windy" and "Never My Love". This is why that the And then...Along comes The Assiociation, LP is the orginal group to me still or the better when it came to vocals. IMO!
     
  17. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    The Hudson Brothers' "So You Are A Star" has a bridge that was pure Lennon/McCartney harmonizing. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Oo. Good call - forgot about that one. Also reminded of that Eric Carmen song "She Did It" with Bruce Johnston and Brian Wilson.

    And another Bruce Johnston arranged backing track that's a TOTALLY missed classic from Elton John's "Blue Moves" album called "Someone's Final Song" - great harmony.
     
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