The first volume of the flute in pop (rock and soul) was well received. Perhaps there was a gap in the market. So here’s the second volume, with a third one in the works. Thank you to those who have given some very good ideas — in the comments section, on Facebook (become my friend) and elsewhere. You’ll find some suggestions incorporated here, or in Volume 3. And, yes, I’ve caved and included the Tull. What next? Glockenspiel in rock?
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1. Manfred Mann - Mighty Quinn (1968)
Flute Moment: 0:01 Appropriately, the mix kicks off with the flute. What came first, the Mighty Quinn or Come Together?
2. The Coasters – Love Potion No 9 (1970)
Flute Moment: 1:38 The flute starts up suddenly and quite frantically as the whole Leiber & Stoller classic goes into funk mode.
3. Canned Heat - Going Up Country (1968)
Flute Moment: 0:01 The flute introduces the song until the very odd vocals begin, making the occasional cameo appearance throughout.
4. Jethro Tull – Up To Me (1971)
Flute Moment: 0:02 The Tull giggle as though they are high (surely not), and the almost percussive flute comes in.
5. Donovan – Sunny Goodge Street (1965)
Flute Moment: 1:33 Alas, poor Donovan. History underrates him dreadfully. But hear this and tell me he did not profoundly influence Nick Drake. The flute solo is quite lovely.
6. Minnie Riperton – Light My Fire (1979)
Flute Moment: 1:59 The interplay between keyboard and flute is impressive. José Feliciano comes in later to duet on this (superior) cover of his interpretation. One wonders how big Riperton might have been had cancer not claimed her. She had one of the most beautiful, sexiest voices in music. Ever.
7. Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. – You Don’t Have To Be A Star (1976)
Flute Moment: 0:04 The flute hook introduces the song by these two former 5th Dimensions, who by then had gone soul.
8. Albert Hammond – It Never Rains In Southern California (1972)
Flute Moment:0:08 The brief flute interlude, which recurs at 1:56, sets the scene for the vocals. Happily, on this blog I needn’t point out that this Hammond is the dad. I don’t think Hammond, like Donvan, gets enough respect.
9. George Harrison – Dark Horse (1974)
Flute Moment: 1:08 The flute is going discreetly in the background until it decides to let its presence felt.
10. Marshall Tucker Band – Take The Highway (1973)
Flute Moment: 0:05 The flute drives this song from the start. A flute rock classic.
11. CCS – Whole Lotta Love (1970)
Flute Moment: 0:35 The purring flute holds its own against the thumping rhythms in the Collective Consciousness Society’s fantastic cover of boring old Led Zep, which British readers may know better as a theme for Top Of The Pops.
12. The The – Uncertain Smile (1982)
Flute Moment: 1:21 I don’t know if The The ever appeared on TOTP. For the flute in this, they (well, he) should have. Hear where Lloyd Cole got his ideas from.
13. Men At Work – Down Under (1981)
Flute Moment: 0:03 One of the most famous flute songs in pop, with perhaps the most recognisable flute riff. Men At Work are often seen as a naff ’80s outfit (and written off as — calumny! — a one-hit wonder). They were fronted by Colin Hay, who is not in any way naff.
14. Saint Etienne - Nothing Can Stop Us (1991)
Flute Moment: 1:17 The whole thing is a chilled-out house thing, but when the flute comes in, the song gets soul.
15. Esther Williams – Last Night Changed It All (1976)
Flute Moment: 0:30 Dance music in the mid-’70s made great use of flute hooks (and, yes, The Hustle must feature in Volume 3).
16. The Chiffons – Just For Tonight (1968)
Flute Moment: 1:14 The alto flute solo gives the latter-day girl-band a whole new sound.
17. Marvin Gaye – Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (1962)
Flute Moment: 1:04 But the flute solo also did a fine job in early Motown.
18. Love – Orange Skies (1966)
Flute Moment: 0:31 The flute comes in to echo and emphasise the singers declaration of love. When he sings about how happy he is, the flute responds as if it was a cartoon bird. It’s like Mary Poppins for love-struck hippies.
19. Chicago – Color My World (1970)
Flute Moment: 1:54 Damn, Chicago were good before the group was hijacked by the extravagantly coiffured Peter Cetera. The flute solo takes a long time coming, but when it arrives, it is quite beautiful and it sees out the remaining minute of the song.
20. The Guess Who – Undun (1969)
Flute Moment: 2:15 The Guess Who might have given English teachers nightmares, but they knew how to use a flute to good, albeit far too brief, effect.
21. Lou Reed – Sad Song (1973)
Flute Moment: 0:01 Is the flautist trying to get to the melody of Somewhere Over The Rainbow?
I’m really enjoying all the fluteness! I liked the Minnie Riperton. :) Anyway, don’t really have anything to add, except that I, for one, think “Glockenspiel in rock” could be the Next Big Thing. Oh, yeah.
Donovan came up on the iPod yesterday funnily enough.
Meanwhile, Saint Etienne – did you know that was a sample? The original tune it’s on is Dusty Springfield ” I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face”. There are a pile of versions of the song: Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin and my own personal favourite version Baby Washington. Which is here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?t2nzkjmmmmy
I don’t have an electronic version of the Dusty at the moment, but it is superb.
There’s a nice flute part in Joe Walsh’s “Days Gone By” on Smoker You Drink….
Chicago was more done in by the death of Terry Kath than by Cetera, although he sure didn’t help matters. IMO!
Your “Flute Posts” are awesome. Totally original idea. And your little comments on each song are a blast to read.
Good stuff!
Great job on flute posts. What about ‘Get ‘em Out By Friday’ with Peter Gabriel’s excellent flute solo.
Leave it to Lizzle to have the perfect word: fluteness! Another good selection, whatever word one uses. Thanks!
Thanks for all the kind comments and recommendations (though I can’t find the Joe Walsh track). And ‘fluteness’ is a fantastic word.
Simon, thanks for the Baby Washington song. Great call. And I do have the Dusty version, which shall feature in the third volume (in fact, I dug out the album it’s on, and was reminded of a track I’ll want to post in the next Originals instalment next week, so thank you twice!).
Great post! Check out the beautiful instrumental by the Grateful Dead called Sage & Spirit from the Blues for Allah album.
Just a glockenspiel thought: If you do that series, you must — repeat, must — lead off with “Born to Run”! Best use of glock in rock! (And there’s your title: Any Major Glock in Rock)
Colin Hay is wonderful – definitely not naff!
Oh, and The National’s latest ‘So Far Around The Bend’ has all kinds of flute goodness going on. Lovely stuff.
The The definitely appeared on TOTP in ?1988 with The Beaten Generation. Not sure if they did before that, though…
Here are a couple of tunes with flute that have just crossed my mind:
Heart – Dreamboat Annie (the version with orchestral arrangement)
King Crimson – I Talk To The Wind (From the album “In The Court Of The Crimson King)
Here are some songs with flutes for you:
Funky Flute – Jimmy Z ft. Dr. Dre
The Whistle Song – Frankie Knuckles [ yes there is flute in it ]
The Flute – Pipedream
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This is great information. Do you know how I can access sheet music for these pieces?
There’s quite a bit on the Internet, it seems. At least, that’s what it looked like when I googled the songs for further info.
lol totally forgot about men at work having a flute in it
stubborn flute is amazing…. thinking of motown, heres a story u might like…. one of my favourite flute/piccolo (not sure what it is) parts is in the background on the second verse of “ill pick a rose for my rose” by marv johnson… i remember the vinyl totally distorting my shit record player on that part and killing the vocal and everything, and then buying a motown ‘remastered’ cd and it being really quiet in the mix…. sometimes a bit of analog saturation/distortion is what makes the tune, i think the remaster is awful!
you’ll find the original mix on either the motown single (probably posted on youtube a few times) or the vinyl issue of motown chartbusters 3
i think thats my favourite ‘pop’ flute part in a song….