Songs with Odd Time Signatures

[mcgraham]

I was going to post this in the technique section, but realised it didn't fit.

Some artists can play over mindbendingly bizarre time signatures, e.g. John McLaughlin, whilst others have written songs that don't feel like they are odd, e.g. Take 5, Mission Impossible Theme, numerous songs by Dream Theater. I'm fascinated by both groups, i.e. those who can feel a pulse over pieces that really lack a natural groove in their raw state, and those who can write songs in a truly different time signature but that still 'feel' natural and normal.

One of my favourites is 'Just So Only More So' by John McLaughlin. I also like 'Sacrificed Sons' by Dream Theater, 'Fives' and 'Sevens' by Guthrie Govan, '(A) Love Eternal' by Joe Satriani (I think that's the one I'm thinking of). All of these have a (more or less) natural feeling time signature that is not just in straight 4. I'm sure there's more but those are the ones that leap to mind right now.

What other ones are there out there? What are your favourites?

Mark

[Starvolt]

Golden Brown (The Stranglers) has a really odd time signature.

The majority is 3/4 but in the chorus, every 4th bar is 4/4.
I think the overall time signature is 13/4 or something.

[niceguyhomer]

Money - Pink Floyd
Almost anything by Sting

[Adrenochrome]

Money - Pink Floyd
Future Breed Machine - Meshuggah (sp?)

[Bilbo]

Two thirds of Dave Hollands catalogue!

'Long As You're Living' - Claudia Acuna (5/4)

I'll come back with more later.

[hubrad]

Light Flight by Pentangle.
Mostly 5.
Features Danny Thompson on double bass.. worth hearing for him alone but each member of the band was (and still is - I saw them in Harrogate last year) superb.
Tons of E.European folky stuff.
HUGH

[crez5150]

21st century Schizoid man...... Crimson/Cross

[EBS_freak]

The Ocean - Led Zep

[KevB]

Living In the Past - Tull

[chris_b]

Life's A Bowl Of F****g Cherries in 5/4.

[BOD2]

Pat Travers - "Heat in The Street"

[url="http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&q=%22pat+travers%22+%22heat+in+the+street%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=1TmcScipNeS1jAfP-NTcBQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#"]http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=e...4&ct=title#[/url]

[xgsjx]

Zombie Eaters by Faith No More

[lowdown]

[quote name='chris_b' post='413265' date='Feb 18 2009, 04:35 PM']Life's A Bowl Of F****g Cherries in 5/4.[/quote]

Whoosh........

One for us oldies...

Garry

Edited February 18, 2009 by lowdown

[Happy Jack]

[i]Searching For The Spark[/i] by Steve Hillage.

[risingson]

Sting - Seven Days. Anything by Oceansize... some interesting 11/8 in on the opening track of the most recent album

[SteveK]

All You Need Is Love - by that obscure 60s band from Liverpool.

[alibabu]

Music from Balkan use a lot of what we normally would call odd time signatures, but which does not seem odd at all to them . Here is an example from a norwegian band called Farmers Market (on this occation including Michael Brecker). Their concerts are always a great mixture of balkan, folk and jazz combined with a big dose of humour.

[Huw Foster]

Dreaming in Metaphors by Seal has an awesome 7/8 groove.

There's some ridiculous modulation going on in some of the tracks off Letter From Home by the Pat Metheny Group.

[bremen]

Nick The Stripper

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PewXuDTotww"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PewXuDTotww[/url]

fantastic bass sound. Fantastic everything sound really; the whole album is so fat and filthy.

[clauster]

Times Like These - Foo Fighters. A good mixture of 7/4 and 4/4.

[thinman]

What do we we class as "odd"?

I suppose I look upon anything that's not 3/4, 4/4, 4/8 or 6/8 and maybe a few others as odd but then I'm very limited!

5/4 is bit "odd" but quite common.

How about "River Man" by Nick Drake and "Gun Fury" by The Damned.

[casapete]

Wuthering heights,Kate Bush?
Once had to busk this backing a 'name' female singer - nightmare!

[harryharold]

shoreline by broken social scene is really good, in 7/4 but it takes you a while to realise. another classic is take 5 by dave brubeck, obviously in 5/4. quite a few of the tunes previously mentioned are in 4 but have a slightly wierd pulse - the birthday party one is actually in 4.
there are quite few funk tracks which are supposedly in 'open' time - which means bootsy wasn't counting so it ended up as 17/16 or something wierd, the only example i can think of is the crunge by led zep, funky as hell, nuts time signature but feels completely right, so easy to play and groove to, which i guess is the point.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UG3B57Ky1g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UG3B57Ky1g[/url]

Edited February 19, 2009 by harryharold

[bremen]

[quote name='harryharold' post='414447' date='Feb 19 2009, 04:16 PM']shoreline by broken social scene is really good, in 7/4 but it takes you a while to realise. another classic is take 5 by dave brubeck, obviously in 5/4. quite a few of the tunes previously mentioned are in 4 but have a slightly wierd pulse - the birthday party one is actually in 4.[/quote]


It is? I tried counting it in 4 and it just wouldn't fit. Stick it on your ipod and go for a walk, the 'one' is alternately on left and right foot.

Maybe i have odd feet...

[harryharold]

[quote name='bremen' post='414455' date='Feb 19 2009, 04:19 PM']It is? I tried counting it in 4 and it just wouldn't fit. Stick it on your ipod and go for a walk, the 'one' is alternately on left and right foot.

Maybe i have odd feet...[/quote]

yeh i know, its not until you walk with it that you realise, unless its on a compilation and its called 7/4 shoreline, i hate that they do that, i missed the joy of discovering a weird time signature.