As the piano is my favourite instrument and I listen to a lot of heartland rock, I decided to write an article discussing the heartland rock piano sound. I mention the use of piano in heartland rock songs ranging from big hits to album tracks. I’ll start with the song “American Storm” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Bill’s piano contributes wonderfully to the full band sound with his playing. The piano notes go up the scale in a very heartland rock way. In their other song “The Ring”, it’s led by the piano of Silver Bullet Band keyboardist Craig Frost. Craig brings an epic feel with his playing and has two solos. The Ring fuses heartland rock with pop rock.
The Ring - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1986)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had a piano-driven hit “Don't Do Me Like That”. Keyboardist Benmont Tench gives a memorable jolly piano part. Nearly a decade later, their song “Jammin’ Me” is a different type of heartland rock song. Benmont brings rock & roll piano sounds into a heartland rock setting. I love what the piano does in the chorus. In Billy Joel’s hit “Allentown”, he leads the song greatly with his piano playing. There is a great piano riff throughout the song.
Don’t Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)
Cleveland heartland rock singer Michael Stanley had released music both with the Michael Stanley Band and solo. When keyboardist Kevin Raleigh joined the band, he was a songwriter and co-lead singer. The songs I’m featuring have two keyboardists Kevin Raleigh and Bob Pelander. They both contributed piano and I don’t know who was the piano player for each song. I wonder if Kevin played piano on the songs he wrote and Bob played the piano on the songs Michael wrote. Last Night, written by both Michael and Kevin is opened by the piano which has a majestic presence on this song. There is a section in the song where the piano notes go up and down in an epic rocking way.
Last Night - Michael Stanley Band (1979)
Promises, a Kevin Raleigh written song has the verses sung by Michael with the choruses seemingly sung by both Kevin and Michael. The piano is lively and energetic. There is a nice glissando after the first chorus. The song “Lover” has a nice piano riff which comes in following the guitar intro. The piano part isn’t the loudest, but it contributes greatly to the song’s sound. My Town is an epic rocker about Michael’s hometown. While this is a guitar-driven song, the piano provides good support including prominent notes during the choruses. How Can You Call This Love written and sung by Kevin has powerful rocking piano playing. The piano goes fast with deep notes.
How Can You Call This Love - Michael Stanley Band (1983)
Bruce Springsteen’s piano player Roy Bittan played wonderful jolly piano on Bruce’s hits “Hungry Heart” and “Glory Days’. Roy gives those songs a great upbeat feel with his playing. Singer Southside Johnny’s song “It’s Been a Long Time” has three lead vocalists with the other two being Bruce and Bruce’s E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt. Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes keyboardist Rusty Cloud provides a good musical base with his piano. Bruce Springsteen wrote, was one of the producers and his E Street Band played on the song “This Little Girl” by Gary U.S. Bonds. Roy’s piano fuses rock & roll and heartland rock sounds. He brings a similar jolly sound to what he brought to the Bruce songs I mentioned. I’ll continue mentioning other artists Roy played for.
Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen (1984)
On the Dire Straits song “Skateaway”, Roy’s piano comes about a minute into the song. Roy alternates between slow playing and fast playing. In the choruses, Roy plays in an epic way with his piano rocking in sync with the drums. Roy is driving the heartland rock sound of this song. In Dire Straits' more popular song “Romeo and Juliet” from the same album, Roy plays melodically. Roy’s strongest moments in the song have a very heartland rock feel. He backs Mark Knopfler’s guitars (which are both acoustic and electric) very well. Michael Stanley did a very good cover of this song. He’s an American heartland rock artist covering a heartland rock song by an English band going back musically to where it came from. The piano by Bob Pelander is more prominent than the original. Some people will hate what I’m about to say. I think it’s better than the original.
Skateaway - Dire Straits (1980)
Even Now is my favourite Bob Seger song. It’s one of his forgotten US hits. Roy’s piano goes up and down the scale in an incredible way. The piano matches greatly with Bob’s vocals with there being sections where Roy’s notes seem to be a musical response to what Bob sang. On “Roll Me Away”, another hit from the same album, Roy gives us majestic rocking piano. Another song Roy played for Bob is “The Fire Inside”, an epic rock song nearly six minutes long. It’s led by the piano and the fact that the guitar part is acoustic gives more room for the piano to rock. Roy’s piano is incredible and detailed which includes two solos.
The Fire Inside - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1991)
On Jackson Browne’s “Here Come Those Tears Again”, Bill Payne plays piano in a warm way. The piano gives off its heartland rock vibes in the way the notes jump from one place to another. Jackson Browne’s epic rock song “The Fuse” has Craig Doerge play incredible heartland rock piano. Craig’s piano has deep dark notes that are so effective. The piano goes very well with David Lindley’s slide guitar. I love how Jackson fuses piano and guitar in a heartland rock setting in many of his songs. Jackson’s classic song “The Pretender” has rich piano from Craig. In parts of the song, the piano shifts from one note to another.
The Pretender - Jackson Browne (1976)
Running on Empty is a faster rock song driven more by guitar, but Craig’s piano is still a big part of the song. It has an iconic piano opening. Craig incorporates rock & roll influences while maintaining the heartland rock sound. That Girl Could Sing is a case where Jackson played piano on one of his own songs. Jackson’s piano is catchy and has both slower and faster sections. In “For America”, the piano by Jai Winding has sections going back and forth between musical notes. It also has a few short parts led by the piano. Jai’s piano holds this guitar-driven song together very well. Jackson’s lyrics are thought provoking, especially in relation to America’s current issues and 250th anniversary.
That Girl Could Sing - Jackson Browe (1980)
So far these songs by classic rock artists were in the 20th century, with most of them being in the 70s and 80s. I’ll now feature three 21st century songs from classic rock artists. In Michael Stanley’s solo song “My Brand New Day”, Bob Pelander offers amazing, rich piano playing filled with depth. Elton John did a rare case of a heartland rock song in “England and America” ten years ago. Elton showcases his brilliant piano skills by playing different to the way he normally plays where he nails the heartland rock piano sound. Bob Seger’s “Forward Into the Past” is a guitar-driven song, but it’s supported well by Bill Payne’s piano. Bill brings out prominent piano notes in parts of the song which contribute greatly to its rock sound.
My Brand New Day - Michael Stanley (2009)
Companion Articles
I’m providing links to previous articles of mine which are companion articles as they discuss some of the same songs.
These songs show the prominent place piano has in heartland rock music. I like the fact that many of them feature a piano/organ combination. They cover a wide range on the rock spectrum going from soft to hard rock. Some of them fuse heartland rock with other styles such as rock & roll and pop rock. Most of the songs are by American artists, but I did include two English artists. They are Dire Straits and Elton John who fuse English rock with American heartland rock in the songs of theirs I featured. Elton’s song is apt for this as it’s literally about England and America. Heartland rock is a genre which has some epic long rock songs like “The Pretender” and “The Fire Inside”. I’d be interested in hearing what you think of the heartland rock piano sound.
No comments:
Post a Comment