What Makes This Song Great? Ep.105 SEAL

hey everybody i'm rick biatto on today's everything music it's what makes this song great episode 105. the artist is seal and the song is kiss from a rose coming up next kiss from rose is off seal's second record which is called seal two it was released on may 23 1994 produced by trevor horn the song was written by seal and is one of the best sounding songs that you've heard on this entire series it's an incredibly well written song beautiful melody the orchestration is incredible on it the arrangement is amazing on it and it's a great example of modal interchange and some of you are like what does that mean i always like to talk about the theory of these songs because these are the things that make them great typically a song the song starts on g and then it goes to e flat major f major so here's your g major chord then you get e flat major f major and then back to g major now normally in the key of g minor the tonic chord would be g minor that would be this then you go down to the flat six to the flat seven to one the interchanges this where the one chord is actually major okay so it changes key it actually exchanges the tonic chord from major from minor to major that's where the interchange is okay so you're hearing this that note b flat [Music] and that particular note is what gives the song so much color and beauty and it's also in three four let's check out the beginning of the song okay it's a beautiful acapella vocal part that starts really on e flat major with this he goes up to the no b flat and then down to a that's the main melody line a on the f chord and then and then he goes that's the modal interchange that happens there he's bringing in that he's going from the b flat to the b right off the bat and introducing that but the vocals are outlining those chords [Music] beautiful all those interweaving lines and then elbow enters [Music] the oboe enters along with the oboe the piano enters check out the voicings there's a starkness to these actual voicings he starts out with a first first inversion b flat major chord the second inversion f major chord and then to just the open fifth just g d right no third in it to give it a starkness and then the next time once again open fifths b flat and then down to an f major spread triad and then it goes to a g5 chord there's only one of the chords that actually has the third in it and it's the middle chord the f major is in this active it happens in this octave other than that they're using just roots and fifths and that's what gives it that medieval sound in addition to that we actually have a harpsichord [Music] i want to hear those stark piano chords as open fifths and harpsichord and the oboe and having it being triple meter three four time i immediately think it sounds like the renaissance so already off the bat we have all these really interesting intervals that are going on in the vocal melody okay so you've got he starts out right with a susport yeah goes to the major seventh of the e flat then he goes really interesting jump there down to the ninth he's implying like b flat over e flat so e flat major nine [Music] check it out [Music] is a g major seven chord there really sophisticated right because we just heard this and then with the ear is hearing this this is pop music this song was song of the year won the grammy for song of the year record of the year and best vocalist or male vocalist c01 in the grammys that year okay this is what pop music used to be incredible song writing orchestration the song was written by one person seal and has all the best playing on it i mean this is really amazing so here we go [Music] that's like a g and force we call it's a g major triad but with a fourth in it beautiful we just heard this sound on g major now we're hearing this it's absolutely beautiful [Music] there's all these hooks that are going on there the base is going right because it's going f major to c major then back to g major but if you listen to the piano if you solo the piano beautiful just those moving six right beautiful right that's all kind of hidden in the background listen the melody right there that goes with that moving bass is he goes up f then to the third of the c to the major seven and then [Music] that part is amazing that's one of my favorite parts he's going from g major seven then right to g minor seven okay so he's swapping out that uh f sharp for f and the b for b flat right next to each other who would think of something that unusual i'm gonna call seal and ask him what's up rick how are you seal i'm great thanks how are you good okay so i have some questions i want to ask you i'm doing this i'm doing this breakdown of kiss from a rose and the melody is so complex like some of the phrases when you go and then you go those odd interval jumps how do you think of things like that the best explanation i i i can come up with is that i didn't know that you couldn't really do those things or those things were really unusual um it just felt like the it just felt like the you know like the right thing to do um i when i wrote that song interestingly enough i couldn't play an instrument you know somebody some may argue i still can't still but in any case i couldn't play an instrument and and somebody dear friend of mine had just bought me this recording multi-track it was called a tascam 244. i kind of started this song as an experiment to to try and figure out how to work this machine so i was thinking less song and more oh let me try and practice you know how let me try and figure out how this thing works well let's let me kind of see how this whole bouncing thing works you know you know i've been i've been i was reading the manuals reading the instructions you know uh trying to figure out how the bouncy thing was and i thought okay so what i'll do is i will try and emulate what an orchestra would do you know so hence you have that dad and and so um the whole thing happened really quickly it was like it was really a kind of an afternoon's work of about two or three hours and really that i wasn't really thinking about the melody and at all but did you know that when it snows my eyes the light [Music] that drum fill has three flams in it let's listen to it i'm gonna solo it love this huge tom sound it's perfect fill for that let's listen before that eyes the light that you share and then the strings on this build listen to this string writing this crescendo here [Music] and that's that doo doo line right into the chorus now listen to that in context when you hear that string check it out you're the string that you shine there's so many things that are going on there you have the piano build too listen all right so here's with the strings and the piano i love this it's perfect okay now let's talk about the chorus okay seal singing there is amazing on that baby so he's going from that b flat the flat third baby implying that that it's a blues sound to it right and then he goes right into the line just incredible [Music] oh my god i mean that is just ridiculous singing when he holds that no out j baby and it just has such intensity okay okay there's a couple things that happened there so you got these lyrics baby i compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray i don't know what that means but it sounds amazing people would always say is it a kiss from a rose on the gray or a kiss from a rose on the grave or a kiss by a rose on the grave and i would say what do you think i'm saying or they they would say what is it what did you mean when you were saying that and i would say what do you think i meant i think first thing i think you're going to kiss from a rose or under the grave because you know there was this lonely tower and you're the lonely graying tower in this kind of desolate wasteland and you know and this this woman or this angel she's come and she's kissed you and she's lifted you up and i would go that's what it means okay i want to get back to what i call the money cord of the chorus right here is the money cord right here oh that change the second time when it holds on the f [Music] so the bass is moving a lot then right here [Music] so first time we have e flat f g then the oh sweet and then [Music] now listen to it in context when that chord hits it's just amazing with the vocals the incredible drum fills that are going on there but the vocals i mean that's really the the amazing thing about this let me solo what's going on in the lead in the harmonies here in the chorus here's the baby i compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray oh the more i get a few the stranger it feels yeah oh he goes yeah right he's emphasizing that that's sus4 yeah all those tension notes that are happening there it makes you want to listen to it over and over i've never ever gotten sick of this song every time it hits that part of the course i'm like yes it's amazing right then the post chorus build a blast [Music] i put that thing where it says medieval interlude because this really sounds like medieval music or renaissance music that's where that that's that whole vibe especially when that guitar comes in doubling the melody the bass playing in unison oh nice then the vocals come in with the harmonies and then verse two no crash and then he has this answer vocal there there so it's a double [Music] suspension oh this break is even better this time there's a little percussion thing that happens in it it's almost like a heartbeat that's going on there let me find it here it's um [Music] it's like a little loop that's going on there but it sounds like a heartbeat and then when the piano comes back in listen this chord it comes in with you don't even notice it listen [Music] one of the reasons you don't notice that because it works perfectly with the strings listen [Music] hear that big swell on the g minor chord that's what's going on in the second pre-chorus so let's hear in context that's amazing [Music] when it snows he goes to g minor listen to strings so they swell on this g minor [Music] they had that drum fill happening there the baby is so emotional the string line is building everything is building the piano part is perfectly orchestrated then here's the chord oh so good in context so good [Music] you can hear that horn line there daddy [Music] then the voice yeah yeah right the double suspension four three six five in the second verse as in the first verse there's actually two guitar parts there's an electric guitar part and an acoustic there's actually two acoustic parts one sounds like it's in kind of a dad get tuning one sounds like it's in standard tuning and then there's a clean electric and they're hard panned these multiple guitars let's check it out [Music] once again these performances build up at the very end right they actually have a performance of them they're not adding parts they're just playing it louder and crescendoing so they go right along with the strings right along with the piano there and that makes these builds that that's there's not a lot of compression on this mix everything is just played through by pros and when you have pros playing they play with dynamics so you don't have to ride the faders it's like the song sounds mixed when i just turn the tracks on all level which is really what it should sound like let's listen to them in [Music] context [Music] [Music] right [Laughter] [Music] is now let's listen to the strings on this build they play a different figure with the piano [Music] you notice the strings too on the downbeat of the chorus they crescendo right [Music] it's so triumphant sounding once again with the vocals [Music] it's amazing with how dense the mix is that these things are just so clear you can hear them so easily this is perfect production this is the stuff that really doesn't exist these days honestly in pop music we don't find the sophistication like this with real orchestration and professional players sophisticated songwriting just beautiful orchestration that everything has its place everything has beautiful stereo imaging has huge low end the drums sound fat and it's not all squished doesn't have any of those elements yet it sounds so fresh because it's completely natural sounding because all the playing have those performance elements every individual player are crescendoing together and playing in concert to make the song exciting and then [Music] that's a little transition to the bridge and then this is another thing you would never find in a current song an actual second interlude before the bridge so that goes on and then we hit the bridge which is here [Music] let me solve the vocals first so you can hear them just isolated in the bridge they're by a beautiful on the grave i've been kissed by a rose and kissed by when it all [Music] next let me play you what the strings are doing because the arrangement is really great here [Music] [Applause] [Music] and then we go back to the verse again back in the 90s and the 80s people would go back and have a third verse that was actually common to do after a bridge nowadays it's like you if you have a bridge you get right back to the chorus and you finish the song and it's over in three minutes right [Music] listen to what the bass does when it slides off right there in the break this is this my favorite break listen [Music] and then the bass slides off you hear the heartbeat and then the piano comes in [Music] beautiful this is the piano part listen [Music] i love that so it's like a like b flat over e flat just it's beautiful that voice especially up in that register [Music] and listen to the strings here the strings are beautiful [Music] let's listen with the vocals [Music] that's my favorite part in the song the drums crash on one and then they do another crash on two listen to that chorus this is amazing listen that drummer it's like one two [Applause] [Music] three it's just incredible it's so in the pocket i mean it just it just grabs you right [Music] is you oh he changes the the phrasing on that listen i'm a solo voice odd perfect stranger it feels listen with everybody is now return to the coda and then a light hits the glue i'm offered to ask the question well what is it about music i i i love i i go you know it's really two things that are most important to me in music and if you really pushed me it's one but it's two things it's the song and the voice it's the song and the voice and if you really pushed me i'd say it's the song because it's the song that changed my life it's a song that made me realize that i could express my self in a way that it never that i never imagined possible it was a was it's the song that that made me realize i could communicate to millions of people it's the song that made me want to be someone you know it's it's the song to me you know as as bono said ideas come and go but songs last forever and it and i love the songs and as far as i'm concerned it's what you're doing that is upholding the tradition of the song and i wish there were more people like you unfortunately there aren't as many as i would like there to be but i love what you're doing i love what you're doing to the end for the industry i love that you're you're you're you're giving young people hope and educating them and reminding them that it is the song and the integrity of the song and the voice that at all costs has to be upheld so thank you thank you seal appreciate it i'd like to thank my friend seal for appearing in the video he is the one actually that got me the stems to the song and like to remind you to subscribe for those of you that watch the channel and haven't hit the bell icon please do that uh if you're interested in learning more about music theory check out my biato book on my website at www.rickbiatta.com or you can check out my ear training course epi out or ear training dot com thanks so much for [Music] watching [Music] so much

Channel: Rick Beato

Views: 587,206

Rating: 4.9839802 out of 5

Keywords: rick beato, everything music, rick, beato, music, music theory, music production, education, Seal, kiss from a rose, WMTSG, Song Analysis, music analysis, hit song analysis, pop song analysis, what makes this song great?, song analysis, Kiss from a rose, seal ii album, Trevor Horn, Isolated tracks, orchestration, orchestration techniques, Crazy seal, Seal the artist, song mixing tutorial, Grammy winner, reaction video, reaction vlogger

Id: Hhgoli8klLA

Length: 32min 32sec (1952 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 08 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/ejethan123]

One of my favorite breakdowns! Really helped me understand this song.