Robert's Midi Music Quiz!

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

Aarggh, very frustrating........Pink Floyd comes to mind...Dark side of ther moon?

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

Rats....Forever - Far away - Earth Wind and Fire

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

Fantasy - Earth Wind and Fire!

[Robert Bruce]

Ricky,

Great work on the EW&F track but Bertie had provided the clues already so regret you do not qualify.

However you are halfway there on the other answer so dig deep and you will scream something great when the answer pops into your head.

Don't give up. Take up your preferred yoga position, close your eyes, tilt your head skyward and let the scream in your brain stop and the answer will unfold. Alternatively you could read what has been wrote before 'cos the rest of the clue to the answer is in there! Oh yes it is.

[Robert Bruce]

Congratulations Ricky - you get the karma point for being so close to figuring out the song title. You got the band and the album correct - Pink Floyd and Dark Side of The Moon.

The track is called "Great Gig In The Sky". Amazing vocals by Clare Torry.

This is what Wikipdia says acout the track:

Composition

The song began life as a Richard Wright chord progression, known variously as "The Mortality Sequence" or "The Religion Song". During 1972 performances of the Dark Side of the Moon song cycle (prior to the album being recorded), it was simply an organ instrumental accompanied by spoken word samples from the Bible and snippets of speeches by Malcolm Muggeridge, a British writer known for his conservative religious views. By the time the band came to record the song for Dark Side, the lead instrument had been switched to a piano rather than an organ. Various sound effects were tried for the track, including recordings of NASA astronauts communicating on space missions, but none were satisfactory. Finally, a couple of weeks before the album was due to be finished, the band decided to try having a female singer "wail" over the music.[2]
[edit] Clare Torry's vocals

As the band began casting around for a singer, album engineer Alan Parsons suggested Clare Torry, a 22-year-old songwriter and session vocalist. Parsons had previously worked with Torry, and had liked her voice on a compilation album of covers.[3] An accountant from Abbey Road Studios contacted Torry and tried to arrange a session for the same evening, but she was initially unenthusiastic. Torry was not a particular fan of Pink Floyd, and she had various other commitments, including, she later admitted, tickets to see Chuck Berry that evening.[4] Eventually, however, a session was scheduled for the following Sunday. The band played the instrumental track to Torry, and then with very little further direction asked her to improvise a vocal. At first, Torry struggled to divine what the band wanted, but then she was inspired by the thought, "maybe I should just pretend I'm an instrument."[5] She performed two complete takes, the second one more emotional than the first. David Gilmour asked for a third take, but halfway through Torry stopped, feeling she was getting repetitive and had already done the best she could. The final album track was assembled from all three takes. The members of the band were deeply impressed by Torry's performance, but were so reserved in their outward response that she left under the impression that her vocals would never make the final cut. She only became aware they were used when she saw the album at a local record store, spotted her name in the credits and purchased it.

[Robert Bruce]

Try guess the name of this track and the band who charted with it.

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

Sunshine of your love - Cream (Eric Clapton)

[Robert Bruce]

Whoa! Mr Barron is letting us see he is a serious headbanging heavy rock super-group fan.

Sorry Ricky. Close but no cigar. You got the genre right(ish) but it isn't Cream.

[Michael Alexander]

Points awarded to Ricky and Bertie on Behalf of the lad from 1st Avenue....

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

OK - Santana!

[Robert Bruce]

Sorry Ricky - it is Iron Butterly's "In A Gadda Da Vida".

Back then I was here in UK at senior school and I recall not liking this track when I first heard it in '69 or '70.  I thought was on of those one hit hiipie wonder with meaningless lyrics and to go on an on for 17minutes was sooo incredibly self-indulgent and naive! But little did I know that it'd go on to sell a lot.

Here is what Wikipedia says abuot them:
===================
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.
===================

Now who'd have thought this track would keep selling.

And as for the melodic similarity in later released material by a couple of other heavy rock tracks? It makes you think the Butterfly were copied by other rising rock bands of the time. There is one inparticular which I will upload soon and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was by Iron Butterfly too.

Here is a link to a clip of the original: http://tinyurl.com/6a46fjj

OK - onwards to the next track which I think you will not have a problem with...........;0)

[Ricky Barron (RIP)]

Yo Robert, you really had me there! I do know the number well, but the start is so similar to my guess........I reckon a few more bars next time?

[Robert Bruce]

Ricky - you can never get enough bars!

And on that splendid thought, here is today's clip. Hope there is sufficient but not too much to make it too easy!

Guess the artist and the song title.

[Robert Bruce]

Here especially for Ricky and Bertie is a clip written and performed by one of the masters and originals of modern music. I think it is fair to say that every rock artist has hankered to jam with him.

If you two cannot recogise this track I am flying over to bitchslap you so hard, you'll not know what day of the century it is........!! Now get to work. I expect you to post an answer within 2 seconds of hearing the opening sequence to the clip.

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

Addicted to Love....Robert Palmer.

I'll leave the other one for Bertie and Ricky...won't steal their thunder.