[Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

The song Pretty Woman is a blend of rock 'n' roll and pop, featuring that strong and rhythmic drive and those catchy melodies. The song is rooted for being a 1960s rock song but factors into having elements from blues and country music, which wasn't an unusual thing in Orbison's music.

The songs instrumentation consists of electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, piano and vocals.

This song's iconic opening riff is played using the electric guitar, setting that driving rhythm. The electric guitars are used to in order to set both the rhythmic support and melodic hooks. 

The bass guitar plays a walking bassline to add some groove and movement to support the steady and danceable feel of this song.

The drums act as a strong backbeat and having such a driving and forceful rhythm really helps to display the songs energetic pulse.

The subtle chords played on the piano add a nice harmonic depth because of how they are played in the background of the song.

The vocals in this song are phenomenal. Roy Orbison's beautiful dynamic vocals are shifting from smooth to deep, he does this one to just sound amazing, two is act as the main feature of the song.

The song is in the key of A major, briefly changing to the key of F major in the bridge. The song uses a common I-vi-IV-V chord progression, which is used often in 1950s and 1960s music, more so in the 60s. The main chord progression in this song stays the same in the verses and chorus. This being:

A major | F# minor | D major | E major

But in the bridge, the key changes from A major to F major and the chord progression goes as followed:

C major | D minor | G major | C major

The sudden shift, being the key change, adds such a musical contrast and build up tension and anticipation for the return to A major. The structure of the song is as followed: The intro which contains that iconic guitar riff, verse 1, chorus which repeats the main hook "pretty woman", verse 2 which continues the story, chorus, bridge contain that key change from A major to F major to build up the tension, an instrumental break which contains the guitar solo and a build of rhythm, verse 3 which is an emotional climax, and then the outro were the vocals dramatically fade-out as the woman seems to acknowledge him.

The structure keeps the song strong, engaging and dynamic in order to balance the repetition with changes in key and they intensity. All of these factors is what makes this song one of Orbison's most famous hits.

The song use a Parallel Minor chord, this is the use of F# minor in the key of A major, it is used to give the song a different, bluesy and emotional feel. The song also uses a key change to briefly shift the feel of song and create a sense of movement.

The lyrics in this song are really meaning full. The lines "pretty woman, walking down the street" and "pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet" show an idealised attraction, while the lines after reveal hope and vulnerability. The lyrics change into a more hopeful and even triumphant tone as we get to the end, as the woman seemingly turns back towards the narrator, suggesting that his admiration for this woman, may be directed back at him, by this woman.

Orbison's message demonstrates a romantic longing and admiration, capturing that exciting feeling of attraction and the uncertainty of how love can be. The way he delivers this message ass such emotional intensity, making it more than just any simple old love song.

[I Feel Good - James Brown]

The song I Feel Good is a very famous funk and soul song which was heavily influenced by R&B. It showcases Brown's signature groove driven way of playing, by emphasizing the rhythm over melody. This style would become the main foundation for funk music.

The instrumentation in this song is amazing. You have a section of brass which includes trumpets, saxophones and trombones. The horns role is to play the tight and punchy riffs that is played in response to Brown's vocals, essentially creating a call-and-response effect between the brass and vocals.

The electric guitar in this song provides quite a percussive as well as rhythmic role with the repeated syncopated chord jabs.

The vocals sang by James Brown are powerful and expressive, his vocal style is a central factor of the song.

The drums the down a strong backbeat for the song to follow along to, emphasizing the first beat of a bar of 4, which is one of they key characteristics of funk music.

The bassline line played on the bass guitar is syncopated, driving the song's energy the whole time.

I Feel Good is written in the Key of C major. The main chord progression goes:

C major | C major | D major | G major | C major.

This progression is a simple but highly rhythmic pattern, meaning that the horn stabs and vocal improvisation can take the main role.

The chord progression changes within the bridge. Instead it is played as:

F major | E major | D major | C major

This descending pattern adds a level of tension before coming back into the main groove.

The songs structure goes as followed:

The intro with the punchy riff on the horn, verse 1 where the vocal come in with the main groove, the chorus which repeats the hook of "i feel good", verse 2, the bridge with that descending chord progression which adds a sense of tension in the music, the chorus, and the outro which is just the instruments as well as vocal ad-libs fading out.

This song uses harmonic methods such as call-and-response between the vocals and the brass instruments. There is an influence taken from the C major and C blues scales within the melody and some of those instrumental licks. There is a good use of syncopation and accented offbeats, which is one of the main features that make up funk music.

The lyrics in this song are simple and direct. This shows how James Brown expresses pure joy, most likely about being in love. The lines "I feel good, I knew that I would now, so good, so good, I got you" shows how he is excited to be in love and very happy with confidence about this love between him and this other person. Brown's message was to embrace joy of living in the moment, which matches the song's energy. The repetition of phrases like "so good" and "I feel good" structures the emotional intensity of the song, making it feel a mantra of positivity.