Ticklin' The Ivories

I’ve been trying to write a post about piano solos for the last few weeks and somehow, the number of songs I discuss keeps getting way out of control. There are just too many awesome piano dominated songs to talk about in just one post, so I’ve forced myself to limit myself to just a few songs that I’ve been more partial to recently.

Piano is a very versatile instrument.  It works with a number of different genres and rarely sounds out of place. Also, I love how you can get such a full sound with just the one instrument. While I don't have the same infatuation with piano solos as I do with guitar solos, I do love listening to a really great piano part. There are tons of piano dominated music ranging from the classical pieces, to ragtime (Scott Joplin was pretty awesome, by the way), to jazz, to early rock ‘n’ roll. The Beatles used it constantly in their songs (and there are a number of great Beatle-piano songs). Queen and Elvis Costello are no strangers to piano music – and Billy Joel and Elton John are known for it. Fiona Apple has a large amount of piano driven songs, as well. There just doesn’t seem to be an end to artists that feature great piano parts, which is why I had to take a step back and re-evaluate before writing this post! But here are a few of my favorites:

 

I’ve still been on an Elliott Smith kick as of late. I mentioned in my last post about Elliott’s talent as a songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, but he also was pretty decent behind the keyboard. (If you don’t believe me, search on youtube for Elliott Smith playing Rachmaninoff). One song that I’ve been going back to lately is off of the album Figure 8, “In the Lost and Found”. It has a pretty nice ragtime-y piano riff that I enjoy listening to. It’s not the most impressive solo, but it’s catchy as hell.

 

The Carpenters also had a ton of piano songs – Richard is an exceptional pianist with an inclination towards jazz influenced solos, though, he’s no stranger to classical composers (the arrangement of “From This Moment On” accompanied by Bach’s “Prelude in C Minor” proves that). And there are quite a few Richard solo songs featured on various Carpenters albums, but one of my favorite solos is from “This Masquerade”. As is Richard’s style, his excellent technique is showcased with jazzy runs and a lovely variation of the melody. Though, the tune “Flat Baroque” is a lot of fun to play – and his tribute to Karen, “Karen’s Theme” is exquisite.

 

I have already mentioned that The Beatles often featured the piano in their music – and after the band called it quits, the instrument continued to consistently be featured in their solo efforts. I suppose the most popular of these songs is John’s “Imagine” – and while it is gorgeous song – I’m more than a little partial to the piano solo in the song “Out the Blue” from Mind Games. (I find this album is quite underrated, but that is best saved for another post). While the piano isn’t performed by John, but rather jazz pianist Kenny Ascher, it is fantastically performed. Wonderful mixture of rock and jazz combine into this love song. And the solo is amazing. Love the tremolo moments and the arpeggios at the end of the solo. As for Paul, he constantly uses piano in his songs as well – and though (again) there are a number of songs I’d love to mention, my favorite is probably “Maybe I’m Amazed.”  While Paul was never classically trained as a pianist, he definitely can hold his own – and the chromatic runs are so much fun to play! (Of course, the guitar is great as well!).

 

Jumping ahead in time a bit, Ben Folds is a rather impressive pianist. He has a rather distinctive style that I enjoy listening to. Since he is a pianist, you’re going to find some pretty remarkable piano work in all of his songs. My favorites, however, may be the songs “Philosophy” and “Landed”. Both include captivating intros and catchy melodies and lovely solo work. In “Philosophy”, I really enjoy the ending – particularly when he launches into a bit of “Rhapsody in Blue”. And I always love glissandos on the piano and how the very end it finishes with a crash of chords. “Landed” is really just a really beautiful song so I wanted to mention it here. (Though, he also has an Elliott Smith tribute song, “Late”, which I have learned to play on the piano!)

 

It seems that there are quite a few women in pop music who have a talent at the piano and Carole King is one of my favorites. She obviously has significant talent for songwriting – since she co-penned dozens of chart topping hits through the ‘60s, but she can really rock on the piano. The song, “I Feel the Earth Move”, off of Tapestry, has a great, driving piano part and pretty rocking solo.

 

Another female who rocks the piano is from one of my favorite bands, The Dresden Dolls. The Dresden Dolls is a “Brechtian punk cabaret” band out of Boston. There are just 2 members of the band, Amanda Palmer on piano and Brian Viglione on drums. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live and they are both amazing to watch perform. Amanda, as a pianist, is forceful and theatrical. I highly recommend the album, Yes Virginia, particularly if you like piano driven rock – or women who play their instruments with an uninhibited passion. The song with one of my most favorite piano solos is “Necessary Evil”. I feel like that solo just builds to a wonderful climax.

 

The last piano soloist I’m going to talk about here is Billy Preston. He’s well-known for his work on The Beatles album, Let It Be, but he had a few hits during his solo career as well. “Nothing From Nothing” is a song that never fails to put a smile on my face. It has a great swingy piano groove that is a bit reminiscent of the ragtime saloon style of the 1890s. The intro and solo are both amazing – and like I’ve mentioned in other solos, I adore the tremolo part. The other solo of his that just astounds me is during his performance of “Isn’t It A Pity” at the tribute Concert for George. What I find so impressive about his organ solo is that he seems to be able to bend the notes the way a guitarist or vocalist can do – a technique you don’t hear all that often on the keyboard. It’s really a fantastic performance. (Of course, Eric Clapton’s solo is up there too!)