What Makes This Song Great? Ep.99 THE CARS

hey everybody i'm rick beato and today's everything music it's what makes the song great episode 99 the band is the cars and the song is just what i needed coming up next just what i needed was the first single off the car's first album released on june 6 1978 it was written by rick o'kasick and produced by the great roy thomas baker who you will know from queen for example he produced bohemian rhapsody and when you listen to how well this song is produced or the entire record you'll start to see the similarities i mean it's incredibly well recorded now 78 was a great year for music van halen one came out devo first record came out dire straits the police squeeze they all put out their first record that year well this actually came out during the summer time after my sophomore year so in between sophomore and junior year and i was playing in a band at the time called the monroes and we actually covered it so i've been playing this song since the 70s let's check out the intro [Music] i don't mind you coming here so i love the intro because of the timing of it you don't really know where two and four is until the snare comes in so you hear those four double hits in a row and then the [Applause] [Music] snare then two three four one two three four one wasting all my time cause when you're standing on the sun here okay so we have a one five six four progression but then one five six and then the major three the second time around it's really great writing and you'll always hear the vocal melody will adjust to those notes when it goes to that major three chord you'll hear it in the solos i mean it's really really well defined now i want to listen to just the guitar parts by themselves because the way that they're recorded is great check it out so you have the muted guitar up the center and then you have a stereo pair playing the stabs if you think about van halen one there's just one guitar eddie's guitar in one speaker and the reverb in the other or when andy summers played with the police there's really just one main part this was real high production value for the time right the stereo layering like this this is what makes roy thomas baker sound right you'll notice this as we go on all the extra overdubs that just give it a huge huge sound another thing about new wave that we had to get used to is the really severe muting of the base it's so short right [Music] and then what i really like about this is that when the drums come in i think there's a great it's not really well played incredibly good time keeping you notice that high hat build up whoa another thing you'll notice is the way the guitar layering progresses through the verse so it starts out with a simple eighth note playing but halfway through the verse it goes to two two left discrete parts so you have the muted guitar in the left speaker and then [Music] that lifts you up to go into the inner loop it's really great playing there and listen the drum fill into it how the drums just get more intense [Music] and once again awesome there's so many killer little fills that happen in this interlude section of the choruses that eliot easton plays he's such a great player listen [Music] i love it they're also in stereo like that part is actually in stereo and then the synth line that happens in the interlude which is the main that is a perfect interlude melody i love that that is the new wave sound right there okay the track is perfectly written and perfectly produced but the vocal performance is amazing the song sung by bassist benjamin orr check him out here from midnight special how good his vocal is i don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time cause when you're standing now so near i kind of lose my mind [Music] wasting all my time not only is his vocal good but his haircut is amazing you just heard my favorite part go by there when it goes to first inversion chord on the b major in the uh lead up to the chorus [Music] [Applause] [Music] you notice the vocals go to a double there too as it leads into the chorus i love that first inversion b [Music] oh it's so good we have this we have the synth line that that uh flows through that whole section really great that bass note makes that whole section now this is really an involved part when you think about it there are so many moving lines that happen here's the base and then the guitar line is completely different let's see guitar with the bass [Music] and then all the great harmony parts right just amazing layered vocals which is very roy thomas baker listen i guess you're just what i needed i needed someone to feed i guess what i needed i needed someone to please so those you hear that electric piano in there it sounds like a really playing along with it those guitar stabs are on there you have the single note [Music] let me put the base in with it listen [Music] oh that is unbelievable here's the whole band together really incredible orchestration [Music] i love that the drums are so in the pocket here everybody in the cars were great players and that's what made the band so interesting to me not only were they amazing songwriters but all their parts were so well thought out the drums are really in the pocket this is just a perfectly performed and arranged pop song next we have elliot easton's guitar solo i had it in my top 10 underrated guitar solos of all time it's really amazing listen [Music] there's he plays thirds all over the place he's uh so that's a third of the e chord then he bends into the third of the b uh then the fourth to the third so he's following the changes perfect [Music] even there he goes he bends up to the third of the a major chord [Music] and then right there to the third of the a flat chord again and then [Music] and then there's six at the end just perfect goes up to that uh to the to the third of the e major chord third and the fifth right fifth third total chord tone solo very much like a jazz player that's what makes it such a classic solos in fact when i learned this when i was uh 15 or so 16 um it taught me a lot about how to play lead how to go for those notes that i had never really heard most of those i played up till that time were blues based rock solos jimmy page david gilmour jimi hendrix and this solo was like what are those notes didn't sound like anything i had heard but it sounded great so after the guitar solo goes back to the verse [Music] then it goes back so it goes to one and three for a second like halfway through one two three four one two three four one two three four one two three four one that's so cool right and then back to two and four [Music] incredible singing [Music] and then on the second phrase [Music] right here listen i guess you're just running great singing [Music] then dakota [Music] right there those answer vocals that happen along with that melody line this became a standard thing to do but they were one of the first bands to do this [Music] great coda [Music] that's all for now don't forget to subscribe if you're a first time viewer ring the bell that'll let you know when i go live and when a new video comes out give it a thumbs up leave a comment that's very important if you're interested in the biato book go to my website at www follow me on instagram at rickbeat01 check out the new beatto ear training program at beautiertraining.com and if you want to support the channel even more think about becoming a member of the beatto club thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Rick Beato

Views: 781,967

Keywords: rick beato, everything music, rick, beato, music, music theory, music production, education, song analysis, hit song analysis, music analysis, what makes this song great?, how to write a hit song, rick beato what makes this song great, chord progressions, music production tips, what makes this song great, The Cars, ric ocasek, elliot easton, benjamin orr, The Cars candy o, New Wave, Hits of the 70s, pop song analysis, rock mixing, pop song arranging, how to write a song

Id: 44NUPu7cVfI

Length: 14min 17sec (857 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 07 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/memebuster]

Rick Beato is a great youtuber, and he covers a very wide range of music!

[u/Phinster1965]

I know what I like, but Rick tells me why I like it!