When I makes lists like this, I try to expose people to as many different artists and genres of music. This is a list that is song oriented. There are plenty of Prog Metal bands that I could have put in the video but I wanted to show that there are a lot of classic songs in odd meters.
I see mentioning Solsbury Hill a lot when it comes to odd timing signatures, but it seems that nobody pointing out the fact that verse goes in 3+4 BUT main chorus melody goes in 4+3, which is cutest timing twist of them all. I love it so much.
I know it's really old and I know it was Jazz, but The Dave Brubeck Quartet's Take Five broke new ground by making it into the Billboard Top 100 in 1961. Seems to me it was worth at least an honorable mention.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet is synonym to odd time signatures. I own some of their albums but I also like it that they are not mentioned here because they are almost literally mentioned all around the net.
Goliath is a killer song for sure, but I would not call it 27/4. 3 measures of 7/4 with 1 measure of 6/4 makes way more sense to me personally in terms of note subdivisions.
I thought about Pyramid Song but didn't realize it is in 4/4, some say 12/4 and even 16/4 counted 3+3+4+3+3. Even as a drummer and keyboardist , I still have a hard time with playing the intro because of the piano and drums unique timing together.
I love the story of Whipping Post, that when Gregg Allman presented the song to his brother, Duane said "I didn't know you knew 11/8", to which Gregg replied "what's 11/8?"
@@Pehennji I have a songbook that includes lyrics for it written by Iola and Dave Brubeck. That said, I have never run across a version that wasn't an instrumental performance.
This video helped me realise 7/4 is my favourite unorthodox time signature, there's something so satisfying and propelling when the 'one' beat hits. Although I also love the combination of 5/8 and 6/8 in Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin
Another vote for Living in the Past, plus ... Take 5 by Brubeck (!) (not to mention Mission Impossible theme.) A favorite of mine is King Crimson's Frame by Frame.
Listen to the first album with Take 5… groundbreaking but rather stiff when compared to later live versions where Brubeck absolutely swings! Much more comfortable.
Apocalypse in 9/8 from the masterpiece Supper's Ready by Genesis consists of an organ solo from Tony Banks played in 4/4 and 7/8 against the 9/8 (expressed as 3+2+4) rhythm section. Great musicianship by the members Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and of course Phil Collins on drums. Absolutely stunning!
@@modeltrainfan Also. 100% in agreement ! Check out also "Carrying no Cross" by UK from "Danger Money". Terry Bozzio on drums. A true Legend !! In Entire album the only song in 4/4 feel is "Nothing To Lose". The rest is in add time signatures, and that's like 90 percent of the album. Hmmm. What else ? Pat Metheny's "First Circle" 22/8. Not to mention Jerry Goldsmith's "Total Recall" and bunch of other Hollywood action film soundtracks. Hardly any 4/4 in those...
Great example of 9/8 and my favorite section of Supper's Ready. A band (my favorite) that I find overlooked far too often is Happy The Man. Nearly all of their music is in odd time but sounds amazingly natural. Any Genesis fan should check them out! 🙂
'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers. That was my first favourite 'odd' metered song; still love the feel of it to this day. Back then, I had no concept of time signatures, but the way the song shifts rhythmically, that got me immediately; I was only 10 at the time. I enjoy these song breakdown videos, but this one might just be my favourite so far; and probably needs a part 2
Great band and I was just starting my first job after highschool when Golden Brown came out. I bought the record on vinyl that year and still listen to it regularly. Had no idea it was an odd meter song. Very underrated band...
Glad you used the Zappa cut. Probably the best-selling non-standard-time-signature record of all time was Take 5, recorded by by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1959. It was pretty ground-breaking for its time. I'm pretty sure someone must have mentioned it somewhere in the 8500 plus comments before mine. Also worthy of mention (and practically unheard of these days) is the music of big band leader Don Ellis. His exotic time signatures were way ahead of their time. He also experimented with a quarter tone trumpet and tape loop effects.
Sting is a masochist when it comes to odd meter time. Not only was Copeland a master class at this, but he had Vinnie playing with him as well when he went solo. I think Sting's entire song library probably has more odd-meter time songs than not, and I love him for it!
The Police song that has me stumped trying to count it is Spirits In The Material World. I cannot air-drum that song even after knowing it for about 30 years!
@@ChemSteve The Accent Keyboard/guitar motif from the get go is played on the Upbeats of every measure... this is what draws you into thinking it's the downbeat... but it's not. Stewart Copeland is playing the Bass drum on beats 2+4... The tune is in 4. Great tune though.
There's a tune on King Crimson's "Discipline" where half the band is in 15/8, and the other half in 17/8. They all hit the "one" together just three times: the start, the Least Common Multiple of 15 and 17, and two times the LCM (at the very end). Incredible counting.
The song is Discipline, from the album Discipline. And it's actually more complex than that, and yet doesn't sound that complex. It was written with Fripp playing guitar in 15/8 and Bruford on drums in 17/8. But then Belew and Levin weave in and out and you get ridiculous combinations of time signatures throughout, with that 15 and 17 still working together as the structure. If you google it, Gabriel Riccio and Trey Gunn(who was in KC for a decade) described every time change and wrote sheet music and tabs for it.
That's one of my favorite 7/4 drum grooves of all time, the grouping is very clever. Another good Porcupine Tree song is The Start of Something Beautiful, which has the verse in 9 and the chorus in 5.
Rick, you know your audience so well. I was on the edge of my seat until you hit #2. Could not be an odd time list without a shout out to Rush somewhere.
As someone who's somewhat new to progressive rock/metal and also to Rush, I've found that my favorite Rush song that showcases interesting time signatures is Losing It. It starts off in 5/8 and goes into 4/4 for a bit, and then it goes to an amazing 11/8, then ramps down to 6/8, 5/8, and ends in 4/4. I can't help but count along with it in my head, and it really scratches the itch I have for songs that groove HARD outside of 4/4. It's especially amazing how fluid and natural all of the meter changes feel.
@@jimford7649 an album is a commercial success and people accuse him of selling out …(yawn). It proves you don’t know much about his work before or since 😉
Hey Rick, a great list as always, but there are two songs you may have missed. The first is Golden Brown by the Stranglers and the second is the opening to Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.....Rich....
When reading your comment I had to laugh, because this is exactly was I thought. English is not my native tounge, so when I saw the video title I just clicked it to find out what an "Odd meter song" is. After Rick explained it the first thing that came to my head was "Golden Brown". And I kept waiting for it, absolutely convinced it had to occur on the list :)
I knew the day I tried to live would be up there. When you mentioned "1994 release, and a lot of other songs on the album were in odd meter as well," I got so excited.
@@c.a.t.732 yes, once. “Best Song Openinngs”, I think. “Songs From the Wood”. Tull is under-appreciated here on this channel. Not popular enough for the masses I’d guess.
Even though this was a rock based "best of", I was still kind of waiting for Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". As you well know, it became the biggest selling jazz single ever and, on a personal note, was my first conscious intro to 5/4. But, totally respect your choice to narrow your scope to rock here, even though I'd bet "Take Five" popped up in your head, at least. Cheers.
Odd story: About 25 years ago we played a wedding but had a hard time getting anyone on the dance floor. We offered them everything from a waltz to the Rumba, even throwing in evergreens that everybody knows and loves - to no avail. Then we started Take Five and within seconds, the dancefloor filled. They even danced to/through the drum solo. In 5/4.
thats amazing to think that as someone who grew up listening to rush and became a musician, and being so exposed to odd time signatures, i never even realized that "times like these" was written in an odd time signature. dave and taylor were one of the most exciting and energetic combos to have ever happened to rock
One of my favorite songs is Golden Brown by the Stranglers parts of which alternate between 6/8 and 7/8. It such a weird song. An odd time signature, ostensibly about heroin (and/or a woman), played on a harpsichord by a punk band. This list is great and bands like Tool, Rush, Yes, etc. could have an entire top 20 list each of odd time signatures.!
How weird, I just heard that song yesterday for the first time in years, probably decades. It was used in season 2 of a show called The Umbrella Academy.
@@OlYables Especially the Britain of 100+ years ago when the mysteries of the empire were collected in places like Leighton House (where the video was filmed). It's a museum today which I would love to visit if I make it back to the UK.
I guessed 5 of these correctly including Solsbury Hill and your top 3 in order :) Great video! One notable exception is Take 5 from Dave Brubeck. Not only was it the first jazz single to surpass 1m sales, but it charted #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's just one of those songs like many Herbie and Miles tunes that are simple and complex at the same time. IMHO, Take 5 still managed to capture a lot of the "innocent sound" of the 50's-60's era in a tune that's an absolute banger with a LOT of buried harmonic and melodic depth... plus it's in SIX FLATS! lol And for a straight ahead jazz tune that's swung, has a head, an intro vamp, and solos (so it's traditional jazz form) to do so well in pop music, that's a pretty cosmic achievement.
Bassist Eugene Wright did not take a solo in T5. Somebody had to keep track of the tempo! I think I was 8 when that came out, and we had that on the turntable at our house immediately. Been a fan for 64 years since.
@@larrymiller4 Good catch, so I corrected it. I do think Morello would have been fine even without the bass (and I'm a bass player... ha!), though. If you listen and watch him, he always keeps that hi hat going on the quarters with his foot in his solo.
I used to be in a Genesis tribute band and the most fun I ever had playing with them was the middle-ish section to Supper's Ready, when it goes into 9/8 and I just played the epic 9-note riff for like 5 minutes, while the keyboard player and drummer worked harder than they ever had to in their lives!
This was a delicious list for a prog fan. Karnivool should DEFINITELY be checked out by everyone, they don't get the recognition they deserve. Please check out Maraton and Rishloo also!
I love odd time signatures! I love your list, Rick. If asked, I would add the following: 1) 'In A Glass House' by Gentle Giant, 2) 'Morning Bell' by Radiohead, and 3) 'Sell You Beautiful' by Rx Bandits. Yes, mostly for nostalgia but also for the fact that these tunes are in funky meters :-)
JETHRO TULL - Living in the Past 5/4; ELP - Tarkus 5/8 ; CHRIS SQUIRE - Lucky Seven 7/4; MANFRED MANN - Solar Fire 7/4; GENTLE GIANT - Black Cat 7/8; DEEP PURPLE - Bananas (verse: 7/4; Chorus: 5/4; interlude 7/8) YES - Awaken 11/8 (8+3); HAPPY THE MAN - Service with a Smile 11/8 (6+5); MIKE OLDFIELD - Tubular Bells 15/8 (7+8)
While I really love the sneakiness of the odd time signature in Genesis' "Turn it On Again", I feel that one of their classics, like "Dance On a Volcano" (there is a "What Makes This Song Great" for this), "Cinema Show", "Firth of Fifth", "Apocalypse in 9/8" (from "Supper's Ready"), or even "Down and Out" would have made the list a bit juicier for my taste....also, "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin would go on my list as well...But I LOVE what you're sharing with the world Rick and I am so grateful to have been steered to your channel a few years back. Congratulations and here's to your continued success!
Kinda surprised Kashmir didn't make the list. Bonham and Page are playing to different beats (3/4 and 4/4) and don't "sync" back together until the 12th beat.
HAHA love this. I was REALLY hoping you would have one of the numerous TORI AMOS songs on it. 'Spark' would be my first pick. It feels like the primary signature being 6/4 with beautiful random bars of 7/4 thrown in. But, It is all in a singable pop/rock sensibility! AWESOME. P.S. What you do for music...it makes a difference. You make a difference, my man!
Two personal favourites, Sting's "I Hung My Head" in 9/4 and Marillion's "easter" from Seasons End, which is has one of the most natural grooving 5/4's of all time.
"I hung my head" is in 9/8, isn't it? I remember when Johnny Cash covered it, and it subsequently got really popular, and it was in 4/4 time, it almost broke my brain, lol. I had heard Sting's version SO many times before that, that I almost couldn't listen to Johnny's version (although it was a really good cover!).
My favorite odd Rush meter is the solo section from Red Barchetta. The sense of anticipation and movement that it creates puts me on the edge of my seat, and the moment it goes back into 4/4 when the vocals enter is so satisfying!
Favorite Take 5 memory… high school band exchange concert, first leg at the other town’s school. We all went to a dance at the school gym on Friday night featuring a live band who would break into Take 5 before they took a set break, a cool enough touch. But watching the non music kids trying to dance to it was pretty interesting. 😏😁
Rick needs to hear some COG! Just as good as the 'Vool, and just as well produced (by Sylvia Massey (has produced TOOL & loads of other great alternative rock bands)).
I think that adding in Jazz, like adding in Prog, would make the list too long. Huge number of great songs in both genres that are in odd signatures. And then we'd want to add in other genres like Classical ("Mars" from Holst's "Planets Suite" is in 5/4, for instance)
Oohh… great to see Alice in Chains up there in the top-5. They haven’t received enough credits for the influence they have actually had on the rock world of today. Great list! Should have been a top 21 or 19 or… any odd number though 😉
Rush put on a time signature clinic with “Natural Science.” Seamless shifts between 7/8, 6/8, 4/4, and 3/4 without even feeling or thinking about them . Pure genius.
You nailed it. Natural science is my favorite Rush song and actually my all-time favorite song. The time signature changes there are unreal. Neil was such a God.
One of my vey favorite tracks, from Rush or anyone else. But they put on an even more seamless clinic with 'Limelight.' Why do I say this? There's odd meter all over that song if you try to actually play it - but it NEVER gets name-checked as an odd-meter tune. Nobody even seems to notice.
The first one that comes to mind is Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog". I don't know what weird Martian time signature John Paul Jones wrote that riff in, but Bonzo at first couldn't handle it. It was when he decided to power through it in 4/4 that the song came together with its push/pull feel. (The Cult would do something similar on "Memphis Hip Shake" off Electric). The Pretenders' "Tattooed Love Boys" is in 13/8, which comes natural for Chrissie Hynde. Queen's "Sweet Lady" is in 6/8. And then there's Heart's "Barracuda", which changes time signature several times in the verse alone! When we did this in one of my bands, I had to count it out several times before our drummer finally got it.
I think one that you forgot was the Ocean by led zeppelin, I love that intro. Thats one the I love playing on drums because it is so simple yet pure Bohnham, so heavy.
I was surprised that you didn't include Bill Bruford's Hell's Bells. Used to listen to this song and try to count it out. 11/8? Very difficult. Thank you for all you do! Love the channel.
"Living in the Past" by Jethro Tull, one of the greatest 5/4 songs ever. (And of course Dave Brubeck with Take Five, and Lalo Shifrin with Mission Impossible...)
Also from Jethro Tull; the section of Thick as a Brick that includes "I've come down from the upper class..." Most musicians can't seem to figure out waht time signature it is and in an interview with Ian Anderson and Martin Barre; they don't seem to know either.
I would add "Living in the Past" by Jethro Tull (5/4) and the "Apocalypse in 9/8" section from "Supper's Ready" by Genesis. I was also in a band that covered "The Fish". Unlike most odd time signatures it's evenly divisible into two 3.5 beat phrases.
Excellent selections! And who can not think of of Supper's when it is in the song section name? Not among my favorites though because the guitar and bass are doing very little except counting. Great keyboard solo though and wonderful opportunity for drums. And where Collins and Bruford do a duet on the "Seconds Out" live album, arguably better than the originals except for some of Collins' Broadway vocal stylings. Foreshadowing their turn to pop, I suppose.
Yes made these crazy sound signatures flow like nobody else. They made something unnatural feel so natural and sound so good. Almost all their songs have crazy time signatures but one that comes to mind is Gates of Delirium
Time signature is such aa incomprehensible concept to me. I am tone deaf, but even more completely devoid of rhythm. God bless all the musicians who turn squiggly marks on paper into beautiful music.
The common thread through every one of these songs is an amazing drummer. These songs don't work without the drummer being able to hit the ONE consistently.
You've got to have a Zeppelin tune on the list. Black Dog, The Crunge, The Ocean, etc. Bonham and the boys make the odd feel pretty natural. As always, great video.
Came here to mention Black Dog. Hadn't thought of the others! And you're spot on, LZ were so good they made those weird times into such awesome grooves that get under your skin.
@@richardclifton-smith8705 Spot on black dog, what's great about them they aren't scared to just change signatures within songs. That's the mark of fine musicians.
May I nominate the 13/8 section of “Jacobs Ladder” by Rush from Permanent Waves. It still blows me away after all these years. The rest of that song uses odd time sigs too
100%! I know Rick B agrees and loves it just as much, but he was going with the most popular odd time songs, not necessarily the best. Maybe he should've called it such - include "most popular" or "well known" in the title, but I guess "top" could mean that too...
At first, my unfettered outrage over the omission of Dream Theater's "The Dance of Eternity" from this list made me figuratively insane. But, I soon saw the list was rife with simplicity in comparison to the multitude of time changes in DT's masterpiece. I see you, Rick Beato. You're going to cover this magnum opus in a special video of its own, aren't you?
For the main riff, count it as 7+7+5 and it makes a ton of sense. ONE two ONE two ONE two three / ONE two ONE two ONE two three / ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE. For the next part, it's 4-4-4-4-3. I always get lost in the slow section after that.
The Frank Zappa tune at 8:54 sounds like you had something playing in a browser tab, but opened a new tab that had an ad auto-play and you're frantically trying to mute things
By the time I watched it, the honorable mentions section had already been cut from the video. Which Jethro Tull song was it, and do you remember any of the other mentions?
Love it Rick! Learning about these "odd" meters helps me to understand why certain pieces of music really grab me. Genesis had to be in there! And yes, you introduced me to bands that I want to explore further. Great work, my friend.
I would also like to mention "The sound of muzak" by Porcupine Tree - since Gavin Harrison plays a beautiful 7/8 pattern over a 7/4 guitar line. Very elegant and and a bit tricky to recognize.
Possum Kingdom by Toadies was perhaps the first time I noticed an odd time signature in popular music. That’s why even though it may not seem significant to most, it’s quite significant to me.
@@jsbennett2679 - I’ve definitely always counted it as alternating 3/4 4/4… it wasn’t until talking with my mom after learning the song that I realized it could be counted different ways (she had a music minor). I think it was on this channel when I heard about Led Zeppelin having the guitar and drums in different time signatures for Kashmir. That blew me away. I’ve since written a few songs with drums and synth in different time signatures and it’s really fun. It really feels like tricks like that can turn simple riffs into super interesting songs.
Coincidentally, I just watched this for a second time, right after another video on odd time signatures by David Bennet, another great UA-camr. He pointed out that the longer odd time signatures make a lot more sense when you break them down into shorter phrases. So, when you mentioned Goliath being in 27, I tried breaking it down, and after a few listens, I realized that, if you count it in eighth notes, it alternates between a 6 beat phrase and an eight beat phrase three times in a row, but the last time, it's a 6 beat phrase followed by ANOTHER 6 beat phrase, for a total of 54 eighth notes (which, of course, is 27 quarter notes). Once you get used to counting the groups of 6 and 8, it's a LOT easier to follow!
One of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, "Black Dog," alternates between 4/4 and 5/8 during parts of it. It honestly took me by surprise the first time I listened to it.
I think Dance of Eternity from Dream Theater really deserves a spot on this list. Theres even a video of Mike Portnoy counting all the time signatures which are just all over the place :D
Odd time signatures are simply the most emotive and evocative to my ear. They pull you in and capture your attention through their irregularity. I love them so very much!
"I'm all a-quiver!" Please more videos about offbeat music, thank you. Our tastes don't always align, but yours are in my opinion impeccable and very lovingly developed. I also appreciate your completely authentic enthusiasm.
One of the most fun bits in the new live Rush set (from 1981, packed in with the Moving Pictures 40th anniversary disc) is hearing Neil Peart yell out the count after the acoustic intro to The Trees: "FIVE! SIX!"
i'd love just once to see the lead in a prog band throw it to the to drummer to introduce a new song who begins by bobbing their head silently for an awkwardly long time then shouting out "twenty-eight, twenty-nine!"
The really cool thing about "Money" is how Nick Mason takes the song seamlessly from 7/4 to 4/4 for Gilmore's guitar solo, then seamlessly back to 7/4.
@@347Jimmy Yep, I saw that in an interview with Gilmour; he was very appreciative of the change so he could think more about playing the solo and not have to concentrate on the timing.
Hey, Rick! You should do a video on "layered" time signatures - like "Touch and Go" by the Cars. Bass and drums playing in 5/4 while keyboards and vocals are in 4/4 at the same time. Or, of course, Kashmir by LZ - 3/4 Guitars and Drums in 4/4.
My favorite example of this is King Crimson's "Discipline," in which "the two guitars of Belew and Fripp, respectively, move through the following sequence of pairs of time signatures: 5/8 and 5/8, 5/8 and 4/4, 5/8 and 9/8, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16, 10/8 and 20/16, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16, 12/16 and 12/16, 12/16 and 11/16, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16." Underlying all that is Bruford's 5/4 beat. I can't remember what Levin is doing, time signature-wise.
So many great bands utilizing odd time signatures. One of my favorite songs is Porcupine Tree's The Sound Of Muzak, just because of the amazing drum work by Gavin Harrison.
I won't say that you made me love music Rick, because I've always loved music. However, you remind me why I love music. You have so many different types of videos, and they're all great. Thank you so much for your hard work, you are very much appreciated.
That’s a great observation and one I whole heartedly agree with. For me I’d go one step further and say Rick has in many ways taught me why I love music. This video is a good example of that, so many of these songs I love and yet didn’t realise they had odd meters. Now I’m going through my favourite songs and find odd meters everywhere.
I met Sting once, and I told him Seven Days was one of my favorite songs. He replied "of course it is, it's in 5!" I tried my best not to geek out too hard, not sure I succeeded.
Discovered you channel a few months ago and watched this one today. Reminded me I was a big fan back in the 70's of Don Ellis band who had lots of odd meter music.
Hard to not include The Cars' "Touch and Go," an amazing example of polymeter, with half the band playing in 5/4 and the other half in 4/4 -- only to resolve the tension for the chorus when they all go to 4/4.
How did Led Zep miss this list? Four Sticks alternates between 5/8 and 6/8, The Ocean alternates between 4/4 and 7/8, and nobody seems to agree what meter Black Dog has.
' Black Dog ' is a song structure that Page once said was based on ' Oh Well ' by Fleetwood Mac, which has the same stop / start element. Are they in the same meter ?
The Ocean by Led Zeppelin seems like it would’ve been fit for this list. But you nailed #1 (we all knew that’s what number one would be) and I was really happy to Synchronocity I on there. I remember hearing it recently and stopping to count it because I too thought, man that sounds weird. I even tried experimenting with what it would sound like in 7/4 instead of 6/4. Also when you mentioned Joe’s Garage, I was sure you were going to say Watermelon in Easter Hay, for which Vinnie Colaiuta also played drums, but Keep it Greasy is a much better example from that one.
Such a great list. Loved the inclusion of Karnivool & Sting’s Seven Days is one of my favourites. Important ones you’ve missed out: • Led Zeppelin - The Crunge - 9/8 • Nick Drake - Riverman - 5/4 • King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Coundown - 9/8 (they also do some amazing 24 tet microtonal songs like Flying Microtonal Banana in 7/8) • Hiatus Kaiyote - By Fire (choruses have two bars of 3/4 and 1 bar of 2/4, verses are in 10/4)
King Gizzard has tons of songs in odd time signatures (especially 7/4 or 7/8), and they often switch between time signatures in a single song. Their album Polygondwanaland is basically entirely in odd time signatures as well
@@pastamanofficial absolutely. Hard to pick a favourite album or song of theirs. Polygondwanaland is definitely high on my list. I chose that song because I loved the way they did that particular 9/8.
AOK Rick, your top number one is the one I was waiting for. I'll add this for the music theorists, a lot of odd signature pieces are groups of two bars where the second is a repeat of the first but starts a beat early, if you tap your foot every other beat then the first bar is the melody on the down beats and the second bar is the melody on the up beats and starts early by starting on the last up beat of the first bar. I figured this out playing pieces of the Brubeck "Take Five" album (on piano), of course the title song "take five" is an exception to that !
How'd you miss Take Five?! The entire Time Out by Dave Brubeck is the best odd time album of all time. Kudos for including U.K. I played along with the drums to Rush's Subdivisions for decades before realizing how many time changes there were in it when trying to show someone else how to play it because the changes are so natural and smooth.
Maybe it doesn't count as a song for Rick because I don't think there were any instrumentals in Rick's list. Maybe he needs to do another list with instrumentals? In one of Rick's live shows it would be interesting with songs that use polyrhythms to split the audience and have part of the audience clap and count one beat while the other part claps and counts the other.
One of the greatest moments in musical history is Genesis - Foxtrot - Supper's Ready - Apocalypse in 9/8 It is so confounding, I can't image the number of takes or rehearsals needed to get it right.
Given that it was Phil Collins, I'm guessing he figured it out on the first take. Collins was something like Genesis's fourth drummer and they all knew instantly he was their guy because he could play anything. Strange that he's usually not even thought of as a drummer these days.
I'm also very partial to the instrumental middle section of Cinema Show, from Selling England by the Pound. One of the most natural sounding 7/8 riffs I've ever heard. The initial melody is soaring and beautiful, especially when it comes in with the Vox Humana synth, and it's amazing how they can solo in it! The way they transition from it back into the soft 4/4 is so subtle I didn't even catch it until I finally listened specifically for it. They do it by finishing the 7 part with a repeated riff, which they then change very subtlety to put it back to 4, but most of it's the same. That's why it's not very noticeable until you suddenly realize you're back in 4, but you didn't hear it happen.
If 7 days was in 7, Sting should be the devil himself 😂. It´s so smooth how the song flows. The melody integrates so well with the odd time signature. How the chorus grows in tension from one day to the other makes it a pop masterpiece.
When I makes lists like this, I try to expose people to as many different artists and genres of music. This is a list that is song oriented. There are plenty of Prog Metal bands that I could have put in the video but I wanted to show that there are a lot of classic songs in odd meters.
Holy smokes Rick, no Radiohead? I know this isn't David Bennett's channel, but I'm heartbroken :)
Always the teacher! 👊💥
I don't know enough about music, but I always felt that Don Caballero had some really weird time signatures.
Love the channel! Thank you 😎
Two great ones from the jazz genre: Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk, both by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Great list...part two can have anything by Dream Theater on it.
Part two can be an entire collection of Tool and DT
……Porcupine Tree anyone?
I especially like Erotomania, as it bounces around back and forth between different time signatures.
Surrounded is in 9!
When there are react videos just for Dance of Eternity, it was clearly a missed opportunity to showcase DT on the list.
I see mentioning Solsbury Hill a lot when it comes to odd timing signatures, but it seems that nobody pointing out the fact that verse goes in 3+4 BUT main chorus melody goes in 4+3, which is cutest timing twist of them all. I love it so much.
Let's be honest, here, you could do a top 20 odd time signature songs list just using Rush's music. 🤣
Yes, that would be very cool.
or tool
Love Rush and agree entirely , but check out Gentle Giant - they had more than 20 different time signatures in one song! and more than once.
And the audience would nod off.
@@davidallen2077 Brilliant, but not true.
Weren't you in Gong ?
"Get Closer" by Linda Ronstadt is another one you wouldn't expect to be in an odd time signature.
Yes!
I agree. It sounds like a 7/8 time signature to this novice.
I've heard that song many times through the years and never realized it was in 7/8 time 😊😊
I know it's really old and I know it was Jazz, but The Dave Brubeck Quartet's Take Five broke new ground by making it into the Billboard Top 100 in 1961. Seems to me it was worth at least an honorable mention.
The whole of the album Time Out (and the later Time Further Out) by Brubeck experiments with time signatures, especially Blue Rondo a la Turk.
This is a definition of odd meter
Was missing that too
The Dave Brubeck Quartet is synonym to odd time signatures. I own some of their albums but I also like it that they are not mentioned here because they are almost literally mentioned all around the net.
Take 5 is in my all time top 10 albums.
So glad to see Karnivool getting the much needed recognition they deserve!
One of my favourite albums of all time
@Fransie van Eeden sound awake is so good!
@@fransievaneeden1966one of the greatest rock records of all time. Sonically and musically
Goliath is a killer song for sure, but I would not call it 27/4. 3 measures of 7/4 with 1 measure of 6/4 makes way more sense to me personally in terms of note subdivisions.
Seen them twice- awesome live!!.. Checkout COG also- amazing..
Paranoid Android from Radiohead instantly came to my mind when i saw the title and it wasn't featured. Such a phenomenal band and song.
Or what about pyramid song?
@@Tony8418 4/4
I thought about Pyramid Song but didn't realize it is in 4/4, some say 12/4 and even 16/4 counted 3+3+4+3+3. Even as a drummer and keyboardist , I still have a hard time with playing the intro because of the piano and drums unique timing together.
marvelous as usual, but to me the strangler´s golden brown should be in
I thought of Everything In Its Right Place in 6/4ths
I love the story of Whipping Post, that when Gregg Allman presented the song to his brother, Duane said "I didn't know you knew 11/8", to which Gregg replied "what's 11/8?"
Great book, my cross to bare.
He also once said "Calling our music southern is like say "rock" rock". RIP Gregg Allman. 🙏
When Gregg asked Duane about 11/8, Duane replied with something along the lines of, "Okay dumbass, I'll try to draw it on paper for you."
Take Five. Written by Paul Desmond. Performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
How can you have list of odd time signatures and not include Take Five? I guess because he was only going with rock songs?
@@bomafett Maybe because it's not a "song", with a "singer". But yeah, anyway, it should have been somewhere in this top 20;
@@bomafett yep. Not a single jazz tune .
thank you.
@@Pehennji I have a songbook that includes lyrics for it written by Iola and Dave Brubeck. That said, I have never run across a version that wasn't an instrumental performance.
This video helped me realise 7/4 is my favourite unorthodox time signature, there's something so satisfying and propelling when the 'one' beat hits. Although I also love the combination of 5/8 and 6/8 in Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin
Another vote for Living in the Past, plus ... Take 5 by Brubeck (!) (not to mention Mission Impossible theme.) A favorite of mine is King Crimson's Frame by Frame.
Listen to the first album with Take 5… groundbreaking but rather stiff when compared to later live versions where Brubeck absolutely swings! Much more comfortable.
Could have written the same myself - you saved me the effort!
YESS!! Mission Impossible... way cool!
They aren’t songs but these are really cool pieces of music. Mars by Gustav Holst is also a really sick piece with 5/4 time.
Yes! My wife and kids (except my drummer son) have gotten sick of me playing Frame By Frame so often. Take 5 was a massive omission, as well.
Apocalypse in 9/8 from the masterpiece Supper's Ready by Genesis consists of an organ solo from Tony Banks played in 4/4 and 7/8 against the 9/8 (expressed as 3+2+4) rhythm section. Great musicianship by the members Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and of course Phil Collins on drums. Absolutely stunning!
100% in agreement!
@@modeltrainfan Also. 100% in agreement ! Check out also "Carrying no Cross" by UK from "Danger Money". Terry Bozzio on drums. A true Legend !! In Entire album the only song in 4/4 feel is "Nothing To Lose". The rest is in add time signatures, and that's like 90 percent of the album. Hmmm. What else ? Pat Metheny's "First Circle" 22/8. Not to mention Jerry Goldsmith's "Total Recall" and bunch of other Hollywood action film soundtracks. Hardly any 4/4 in those...
Or the great 7/8 jam in the second half of "Cinema Show." I've seen Hackett do that twice number, and it just grooves.
Agreed.
Great example of 9/8 and my favorite section of Supper's Ready. A band (my favorite) that I find overlooked far too often is Happy The Man. Nearly all of their music is in odd time but sounds amazingly natural. Any Genesis fan should check them out! 🙂
'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers.
That was my first favourite 'odd' metered song; still love the feel of it to this day.
Back then, I had no concept of time signatures, but the way the song shifts rhythmically, that got me immediately; I was only 10 at the time.
I enjoy these song breakdown videos, but this one might just be my favourite so far; and probably needs a part 2
As soon as I saw the title for this vid I thought of the Guilford boys
Yeah nice song. 3/4 and 4/4. That makes 7/4.
Great band and I was just starting my first job after highschool when Golden Brown came out. I bought the record on vinyl that year and still listen to it regularly. Had no idea it was an odd meter song. Very underrated band...
@@david_davinci They have more...
Golden Brown is amazing. Could use a "What makes this song great" video.
Glad you used the Zappa cut. Probably the best-selling non-standard-time-signature record of all time was Take 5, recorded by by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1959. It was pretty ground-breaking for its time. I'm pretty sure someone must have mentioned it somewhere in the 8500 plus comments before mine. Also worthy of mention (and practically unheard of these days) is the music of big band leader Don Ellis. His exotic time signatures were way ahead of their time. He also experimented with a quarter tone trumpet and tape loop effects.
Synchronicity hits me so hard, and it feels like 6/4 at that tempo. Copeland absolutely killing it.
Sting is a masochist when it comes to odd meter time. Not only was Copeland a master class at this, but he had Vinnie playing with him as well when he went solo. I think Sting's entire song library probably has more odd-meter time songs than not, and I love him for it!
@@gustafsone
Yup... the V-man playing groups of "3" inside the 5 for Sting's tune SEVEN DAYS. What a groove!
The Police song that has me stumped trying to count it is Spirits In The Material World. I cannot air-drum that song even after knowing it for about 30 years!
@@ChemSteve
The Accent Keyboard/guitar motif from the get go is played on the Upbeats of every measure... this is what draws you into thinking it's the downbeat... but it's not.
Stewart Copeland is playing the Bass drum on beats 2+4...
The tune is in 4.
Great tune though.
It is in 6/4!
There's a tune on King Crimson's "Discipline" where half the band is in 15/8, and the other half in 17/8. They all hit the "one" together just three times: the start, the Least Common Multiple of 15 and 17, and two times the LCM (at the very end). Incredible counting.
That's very cool. I don't know the song, but the description sounds like something out of the 14th century Ars Subtilior repertoire.
Which song?
The song is Discipline, from the album Discipline. And it's actually more complex than that, and yet doesn't sound that complex. It was written with Fripp playing guitar in 15/8 and Bruford on drums in 17/8. But then Belew and Levin weave in and out and you get ridiculous combinations of time signatures throughout, with that 15 and 17 still working together as the structure. If you google it, Gabriel Riccio and Trey Gunn(who was in KC for a decade) described every time change and wrote sheet music and tabs for it.
My favourite KC album
The song is frame by frame where the guitars are out of time but cycle around and hit the beat correctly only to be out of beat again
One of my favourite grooves in odd time is The Sound of Muzak by Porcupine Tree. With polyrhythm on the drums as well... beautiful!
Indeed, that would have been a great song to include.
Good choice👍
A great choice, because Gavin Harrison, the drummer, makes the odd time feels like not an odd time.
That's one of my favorite 7/4 drum grooves of all time, the grouping is very clever. Another good Porcupine Tree song is The Start of Something Beautiful, which has the verse in 9 and the chorus in 5.
Also "Halo" is a great example with the centre section in 15/8 if I remember correctly
Rick, you know your audience so well. I was on the edge of my seat until you hit #2. Could not be an odd time list without a shout out to Rush somewhere.
As someone who's somewhat new to progressive rock/metal and also to Rush, I've found that my favorite Rush song that showcases interesting time signatures is Losing It. It starts off in 5/8 and goes into 4/4 for a bit, and then it goes to an amazing 11/8, then ramps down to 6/8, 5/8, and ends in 4/4. I can't help but count along with it in my head, and it really scratches the itch I have for songs that groove HARD outside of 4/4. It's especially amazing how fluid and natural all of the meter changes feel.
“Solsbury Hill” is one of my favourite songs of all time, in any genre. The lyrics, the layering of the instruments, everything about it is perfect.
Completely agree with you. Have listened to it so many times that it's stuck in this head forever.
That’s the genius of the man ;) You are right, of course. 😊
Agreed. This song can really pump you up when you're feeling a bit down.
Peter Gabriel before he went pop with "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". What a shame he sold out....
@@jimford7649 an album is a commercial success and people accuse him of selling out …(yawn). It proves you don’t know much about his work before or since 😉
"Golden Brown" by The Stranglers may not have been a big hit in the USA but it was huge in the UK. It combines 12/8 and 13/8.
One of the most atmospheric songs of all time. Utterly gorgeous
Yes yes yes yes
And thank guy Ritchie and snatch for exposing a lot of us in the US
For the longest time I didn't know it was from the 80s.
I might add "Love 30", the B side of the "Golden Brown" single.
Hey Rick, a great list as always, but there are two songs you may have missed. The first is Golden Brown by the Stranglers and the second is the opening to Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.....Rich....
When reading your comment I had to laugh, because this is exactly was I thought. English is not my native tounge, so when I saw the video title I just clicked it to find out what an "Odd meter song" is. After Rick explained it the first thing that came to my head was "Golden Brown". And I kept waiting for it, absolutely convinced it had to occur on the list :)
I thought of Golden Brown as well, although maybe it wasn't "odd" enough for him since it alternates between 3 and 4 time.
I knew the day I tried to live would be up there. When you mentioned "1994 release, and a lot of other songs on the album were in odd meter as well," I got so excited.
Living in the past by Jethro Tull is one of the most natural sounding 5/4 meter songs.
One of the first bass lines I learned.
@@deltaveedesignconsulting7697 Nice.
Has Rick every talked about Tull on his channel?
It's actually in 6/8 + 2/4.
@@c.a.t.732 yes, once. “Best Song Openinngs”, I think. “Songs From the Wood”. Tull is under-appreciated here on this channel. Not popular enough for the masses I’d guess.
Even though this was a rock based "best of", I was still kind of waiting for Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". As you well know, it became the biggest selling jazz single ever and, on a personal note, was my first conscious intro to 5/4. But, totally respect your choice to narrow your scope to rock here, even though I'd bet "Take Five" popped up in your head, at least. Cheers.
my first thought was take five
Or anything from "Time Out". I would suggest Blue Rondo à la Turk.
Odd story: About 25 years ago we played a wedding but had a hard time getting anyone on the dance floor. We offered them everything from a waltz to the Rumba, even throwing in evergreens that everybody knows and loves - to no avail. Then we started Take Five and within seconds, the dancefloor filled. They even danced to/through the drum solo. In 5/4.
Or the Mission: Impossible theme. I read that the composer, Lalo Schifrin based the timing from Morse Code for the letters M I. This made it 5/4.
Love me some Dave Brubeck. It was on in my house all the way through my childhood.
thats amazing to think that as someone who grew up listening to rush and became a musician, and being so exposed to odd time signatures, i never even realized that "times like these" was written in an odd time signature. dave and taylor were one of the most exciting and energetic combos to have ever happened to rock
Not a rock song but you should never leave out Dave Brubeck Quartet. Take Five is an all time classic!
Agreed
Also by Brubeck/Desmond, Blue rondo à la Turque, 9/8 (2223 2223 2223 333)
One of my favorite songs is Golden Brown by the Stranglers parts of which alternate between 6/8 and 7/8. It such a weird song. An odd time signature, ostensibly about heroin (and/or a woman), played on a harpsichord by a punk band.
This list is great and bands like Tool, Rush, Yes, etc. could have an entire top 20 list each of odd time signatures.!
How weird, I just heard that song yesterday for the first time in years, probably decades. It was used in season 2 of a show called The Umbrella Academy.
Fantastically British track.
@@OlYables Especially the Britain of 100+ years ago when the mysteries of the empire were collected in places like Leighton House (where the video was filmed). It's a museum today which I would love to visit if I make it back to the UK.
I guessed 5 of these correctly including Solsbury Hill and your top 3 in order :) Great video!
One notable exception is Take 5 from Dave Brubeck. Not only was it the first jazz single to surpass 1m sales, but it charted #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's just one of those songs like many Herbie and Miles tunes that are simple and complex at the same time. IMHO, Take 5 still managed to capture a lot of the "innocent sound" of the 50's-60's era in a tune that's an absolute banger with a LOT of buried harmonic and melodic depth... plus it's in SIX FLATS! lol And for a straight ahead jazz tune that's swung, has a head, an intro vamp, and solos (so it's traditional jazz form) to do so well in pop music, that's a pretty cosmic achievement.
That song is timeless, ooops, I mean immortal!
A lot of dave brubeck,s are in odd time signatures ,unsquare dance is a classic
Bassist Eugene Wright did not take a solo in T5. Somebody had to keep track of the tempo! I think I was 8 when that came out, and we had that on the turntable at our house immediately. Been a fan for 64 years since.
@@barryjones872 I love Kathy's Waltz
@@larrymiller4 Good catch, so I corrected it. I do think Morello would have been fine even without the bass (and I'm a bass player... ha!), though. If you listen and watch him, he always keeps that hi hat going on the quarters with his foot in his solo.
I used to be in a Genesis tribute band and the most fun I ever had playing with them was the middle-ish section to Supper's Ready, when it goes into 9/8 and I just played the epic 9-note riff for like 5 minutes, while the keyboard player and drummer worked harder than they ever had to in their lives!
Right, good call. Also the middle section of Cinema Show is a master class in how many different grooves you can try on 7/8
Just came in here to say Supper's Ready. Beat me to it!
This was a delicious list for a prog fan. Karnivool should DEFINITELY be checked out by everyone, they don't get the recognition they deserve. Please check out Maraton and Rishloo also!
I know he's not a rock composer, but it always feels strange to talk about odd time signatures without mentioning the late, great Dave Brubeck.
I was expecting to see Take Five at the very least
Take 5 was my first thought!
Take Five was my first thought as well - and I figured it'd have to be on this list somewhere.
I first thought of Frank Zappa then I thought about Dave.
Rondo. Brubeck didn’t write Take Five…
I like the fact that Rush's "YYZ" is in 10/8 - the drums beat out the letters Y, Y, and Z (the Toronto airport code) in Morse code.
And if you're wondering why the code is YYZ - all Canadian airport codes start with Y.
Wow never new that !! )
10/8 or 5/4? I mean...they are kinda the same actually? LOL!
It’s in 5/4. I have the transcription.
@@tompw3141 Because "Y"? would anyone ever fly to Canada :D Just kidding. Bad dad joke.
I love odd time signatures! I love your list, Rick. If asked, I would add the following: 1) 'In A Glass House' by Gentle Giant, 2) 'Morning Bell' by Radiohead, and 3) 'Sell You Beautiful' by Rx Bandits. Yes, mostly for nostalgia but also for the fact that these tunes are in funky meters :-)
I was itching to see "Money" on the list...and there it is!! Good job, Rick!
JETHRO TULL - Living in the Past 5/4; ELP - Tarkus 5/8 ; CHRIS SQUIRE - Lucky Seven 7/4; MANFRED MANN - Solar Fire 7/4; GENTLE GIANT - Black Cat 7/8; DEEP PURPLE - Bananas (verse: 7/4; Chorus: 5/4; interlude 7/8) YES - Awaken 11/8 (8+3); HAPPY THE MAN - Service with a Smile 11/8 (6+5); MIKE OLDFIELD - Tubular Bells 15/8 (7+8)
The Gentle Giant catalogue....
While I really love the sneakiness of the odd time signature in Genesis' "Turn it On Again", I feel that one of their classics, like "Dance On a Volcano" (there is a "What Makes This Song Great" for this), "Cinema Show", "Firth of Fifth", "Apocalypse in 9/8" (from "Supper's Ready"), or even "Down and Out" would have made the list a bit juicier for my taste....also, "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin would go on my list as well...But I LOVE what you're sharing with the world Rick and I am so grateful to have been steered to your channel a few years back. Congratulations and here's to your continued success!
Rick mentioned dance on a volcano a year or two ago. It's how I actually heard the song for the first time! Super impressed with it!
Dance on a volcano for sure, 7/8 and 7/4 in the same song, seamless and genius!
Kinda surprised Kashmir didn't make the list. Bonham and Page are playing to different beats (3/4 and 4/4) and don't "sync" back together until the 12th beat.
Great story, Collins says he was the one who told Rutherford that he (Rutherford) had accidentally written TIOG in 13. MR thought it was in 4 ...
Went to see Steve Hackett play live yesterday. Those meters were felt
HAHA love this. I was REALLY hoping you would have one of the numerous TORI AMOS songs on it. 'Spark' would be my first pick. It feels like the primary signature being 6/4 with beautiful random bars of 7/4 thrown in. But, It is all in a singable pop/rock sensibility! AWESOME. P.S. What you do for music...it makes a difference. You make a difference, my man!
Two personal favourites, Sting's "I Hung My Head" in 9/4 and Marillion's "easter" from Seasons End, which is has one of the most natural grooving 5/4's of all time.
Marillion is a great choice. They don't get nearly as much love as they deserve for keeping the heart of prog going through all these years
"I hung my head" is in 9/8, isn't it? I remember when Johnny Cash covered it, and it subsequently got really popular, and it was in 4/4 time, it almost broke my brain, lol. I had heard Sting's version SO many times before that, that I almost couldn't listen to Johnny's version (although it was a really good cover!).
@@gustafsone yep, 9/8 would be more accurate, as would 5/8-4/8 if you want to give a little more information about the groove. My bad :)
My favorite odd Rush meter is the solo section from Red Barchetta. The sense of anticipation and movement that it creates puts me on the edge of my seat, and the moment it goes back into 4/4 when the vocals enter is so satisfying!
Totally!
And so smooth that I didn't notice the 7/4 for several *years* after
Take 5 by Dave Brubeck is the classic odd meter song. I was surprised it wasn't on the list.
Eh, he focuses more on rock in these sorts of videos but that's obviously a jazz classic in 5.
Thinking the same about "Mission Impossible".
Favorite Take 5 memory… high school band exchange concert, first leg at the other town’s school. We all went to a dance at the school gym on Friday night featuring a live band who would break into Take 5 before they took a set break, a cool enough touch.
But watching the non music kids trying to dance to it was pretty interesting. 😏😁
That whole album has crazy meters.
Because it's a jazz standard and not a rock song.
So pleased to see Turn It On Again mentioned! Great candidate for What Makes This Song Cool.
The intro of "Times like these" from Foo Fighters is also a very nice example of a 7/8 signature I think. Very cool.
Happy to see some Karnivool appreciation! What a masterpiece of a song and album
As soon as he said 27/4, I knew Goliath would be on this list.
Rick needs to hear some COG! Just as good as the 'Vool, and just as well produced (by Sylvia Massey (has produced TOOL & loads of other great alternative rock bands)).
Best band!
@@mpk33 Love COG!
Some of them like Synchronicity or Foo Fighters are very easy for me to hear, but I can't hear this one at all
I kept waiting for "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. That entire album is tunes in odd time signatures, and it's wonderful.
That was the first thing I thought of when I saw odd time signatures!
Fully! Bit of a sausage party this list too. PJ Harvey was phenomenally good at rocking 7/8.
@@kendouble9705 and 5/4 - "Water", "Hair"...
Yes Plus Unsquare Dance.
I think that adding in Jazz, like adding in Prog, would make the list too long. Huge number of great songs in both genres that are in odd signatures. And then we'd want to add in other genres like Classical ("Mars" from Holst's "Planets Suite" is in 5/4, for instance)
Oohh… great to see Alice in Chains up there in the top-5. They haven’t received enough credits for the influence they have actually had on the rock world of today. Great list!
Should have been a top 21 or 19 or… any odd number though 😉
Definitely a missed opportunity
A perfect mix, well known, obscure, different time signatures, good stuff and some not so good. Love your videos, learning so much.
Rush put on a time signature clinic with “Natural Science.” Seamless shifts between 7/8, 6/8, 4/4, and 3/4 without even feeling or thinking about them . Pure genius.
my favorite Rush song. good pull.
You nailed it. Natural science is my favorite Rush song and actually my all-time favorite song. The time signature changes there are unreal. Neil was such a God.
Absolutely spot on! Genius.
One of my vey favorite tracks, from Rush or anyone else. But they put on an even more seamless clinic with 'Limelight.' Why do I say this? There's odd meter all over that song if you try to actually play it - but it NEVER gets name-checked as an odd-meter tune. Nobody even seems to notice.
Such an awesome song
The first one that comes to mind is Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog". I don't know what weird Martian time signature John Paul Jones wrote that riff in, but Bonzo at first couldn't handle it. It was when he decided to power through it in 4/4 that the song came together with its push/pull feel. (The Cult would do something similar on "Memphis Hip Shake" off Electric).
The Pretenders' "Tattooed Love Boys" is in 13/8, which comes natural for Chrissie Hynde.
Queen's "Sweet Lady" is in 6/8.
And then there's Heart's "Barracuda", which changes time signature several times in the verse alone! When we did this in one of my bands, I had to count it out several times before our drummer finally got it.
Absolutely on Black Dog, I just posted mentioning that song. Different time signatures on different instruments overlapping. Brilliant.
yeah I was going to mention "tattooed love boys". my favorite guitar hero track :)
I think one that you forgot was the Ocean by led zeppelin, I love that intro. Thats one the I love playing on drums because it is so simple yet pure Bohnham, so heavy.
Great call.
The Police would always be a pick for this! Odd, reggae times on verses, and going into standard rock rhythms for the choruses!!!
Danny Carey for Tool would have to be another pick!
He can’t do Led zeppelin as they’re notoriously brutal with blocking… he does the Beatles cos they’re his fav
That is a weird time signature. One bar of 4/4 and one bar of 7/8.
I was surprised that you didn't include Bill Bruford's Hell's Bells. Used to listen to this song and try to count it out. 11/8? Very difficult. Thank you for all you do! Love the channel.
"Living in the Past" by Jethro Tull, one of the greatest 5/4 songs ever. (And of course Dave Brubeck with Take Five, and Lalo Shifrin with Mission Impossible...)
Also from Jethro Tull; the section of Thick as a Brick that includes "I've come down from the upper class..." Most musicians can't seem to figure out waht time signature it is and in an interview with Ian Anderson and Martin Barre; they don't seem to know either.
Weren’t a lot of Tull tunes in 11/4 (11/8 . . . 11/something)? From the first album.
... and "River Man" by great Nick Drake is 5/4, too.
Rick doesn't seem interested in Tull. They also had a Christmas hit in 7/4.
Dancing Madly Backwards
I would add "Living in the Past" by Jethro Tull (5/4) and the "Apocalypse in 9/8" section from "Supper's Ready" by Genesis. I was also in a band that covered "The Fish". Unlike most odd time signatures it's evenly divisible into two 3.5 beat phrases.
Supper's Ready is where my thoughts went too.
Living in the Past is what I immediately thought of. Has such a smooth feel to it - I didn't even realize it was odd meter for a long, long time.
Like wise on Supper.
Excellent selections! And who can not think of of Supper's when it is in the song section name? Not among my favorites though because the guitar and bass are doing very little except counting. Great keyboard solo though and wonderful opportunity for drums. And where Collins and Bruford do a duet on the "Seconds Out" live album, arguably better than the originals except for some of Collins' Broadway vocal stylings. Foreshadowing their turn to pop, I suppose.
@@mathiasohlson6265 a lot of genesis songs could be up here cinema show firth fo fifth and many more
Yes made these crazy sound signatures flow like nobody else. They made something unnatural feel so natural and sound so good. Almost all their songs have crazy time signatures but one that comes to mind is Gates of Delirium
Right on!
Time signature is such aa incomprehensible concept to me. I am tone deaf, but even more completely devoid of rhythm. God bless all the musicians who turn squiggly marks on paper into beautiful music.
The common thread through every one of these songs is an amazing drummer. These songs don't work without the drummer being able to hit the ONE consistently.
You've got to have a Zeppelin tune on the list. Black Dog, The Crunge, The Ocean, etc. Bonham and the boys make the odd feel pretty natural. As always, great video.
yep, I was going to say The Crunge
Came here to mention Black Dog. Hadn't thought of the others! And you're spot on, LZ were so good they made those weird times into such awesome grooves that get under your skin.
@@richardclifton-smith8705 Spot on black dog, what's great about them they aren't scared to just change signatures within songs. That's the mark of fine musicians.
The Ocean is my favorite Zep Song
What about "That's The Way'?
#8 - In the Dead of Night, also has my vote for best guitar solo EVER!
Big smile on my face. Great musicianship by so many artists. How about Jethro Tull for an honorable mention?
May I nominate the 13/8 section of “Jacobs Ladder” by Rush from Permanent Waves. It still blows me away after all these years. The rest of that song uses odd time sigs too
Definitely love playing that one on bass and keyboards
100%! I know Rick B agrees and loves it just as much, but he was going with the most popular odd time songs, not necessarily the best. Maybe he should've called it such - include "most popular" or "well known" in the title, but I guess "top" could mean that too...
Absolutely, was hoping I wasn't the only one thinking of this. :)
@@TimMagicSevenhuysen indeed. Rick calls Jacobs Ladder his fav Rush song (Or was it Xanadu? Sorry, both are amazing!)
Definitely...then again could be a list of 20 Rush songs
At first, my unfettered outrage over the omission of Dream Theater's "The Dance of Eternity" from this list made me figuratively insane. But, I soon saw the list was rife with simplicity in comparison to the multitude of time changes in DT's masterpiece. I see you, Rick Beato. You're going to cover this magnum opus in a special video of its own, aren't you?
Whoever told you you could use 'figuratively' like that was lying.
Bill Bruford's Hell's Bells has always stood out to me, hard to count for me too!
For the main riff, count it as 7+7+5 and it makes a ton of sense. ONE two ONE two ONE two three / ONE two ONE two ONE two three / ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE. For the next part, it's 4-4-4-4-3. I always get lost in the slow section after that.
Some great choices! When I think of odd time signatures, my mind always goes to Apocalypse in 9/8, part of Supper's Ready by Genesis.
First song I thought of seeing the title of Rick's video. A song that actually states its time signature in the title.
The Frank Zappa tune at 8:54 sounds like you had something playing in a browser tab, but opened a new tab that had an ad auto-play and you're frantically trying to mute things
Jethro Tull should get waayyyy more than an honorable mention!
I LOVE this channel! Thank you so much for this GREAT content!
As well as a damn R&R HOF nomination. They're still holding that Hard Rock/Metal Grammy against them.
By the time I watched it, the honorable mentions section had already been cut from the video. Which Jethro Tull song was it, and do you remember any of the other mentions?
@@chrismcrouch Gotta be Living in the Past. I believe in 5/4.
@@chrismcrouch I’m sorry it was in the comments 😞 Rick did not mention it… tho I WISH HE WOULD!
Love it Rick! Learning about these "odd" meters helps me to understand why certain pieces of music really grab me. Genesis had to be in there! And yes, you introduced me to bands that I want to explore further. Great work, my friend.
RICK SOME GREAT SONGS I NEVER KNEW.YOURE SOMETHING!
I would also like to mention "The sound of muzak" by Porcupine Tree - since Gavin Harrison plays a beautiful 7/8 pattern over a 7/4 guitar line. Very elegant and and a bit tricky to recognize.
Fear of a Blank Planet is great too. 6/8 that you can also count as two bars of 3 or three bars of 2
I was expecting that one as well...great song!
My fave Porky Tree track next to "Trains".
the new album is pretty smokin, but I'll leave it to someone else to figure out the time sigs
I was also expecting that one. Special extra credit to bands who can actually GROOVE in an odd time like that. Rush were masters of it.
Possum Kingdom by Toadies was perhaps the first time I noticed an odd time signature in popular music. That’s why even though it may not seem significant to most, it’s quite significant to me.
Agreed!, my band coved that song back in the 90's.
The way we looked at it was alternating 3/4 and 4/4. I guess it could be 7/4.
@@jsbennett2679 - I’ve definitely always counted it as alternating 3/4 4/4… it wasn’t until talking with my mom after learning the song that I realized it could be counted different ways (she had a music minor).
I think it was on this channel when I heard about Led Zeppelin having the guitar and drums in different time signatures for Kashmir. That blew me away. I’ve since written a few songs with drums and synth in different time signatures and it’s really fun. It really feels like tricks like that can turn simple riffs into super interesting songs.
Synchronicity is one of my all time favourite albums. great choice.
Coincidentally, I just watched this for a second time, right after another video on odd time signatures by David Bennet, another great UA-camr. He pointed out that the longer odd time signatures make a lot more sense when you break them down into shorter phrases. So, when you mentioned Goliath being in 27, I tried breaking it down, and after a few listens, I realized that, if you count it in eighth notes, it alternates between a 6 beat phrase and an eight beat phrase three times in a row, but the last time, it's a 6 beat phrase followed by ANOTHER 6 beat phrase, for a total of 54 eighth notes (which, of course, is 27 quarter notes). Once you get used to counting the groups of 6 and 8, it's a LOT easier to follow!
One of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, "Black Dog," alternates between 4/4 and 5/8 during parts of it. It honestly took me by surprise the first time I listened to it.
Also "the ocean" by Zeppelin has 7/8 beat mixed in with the 4/4, in the chorus. Don't try to dance to it ...
What about The Crunge? Talk about impossible to dance to.
@@petermott2411 Came here to mention this! One of my favorite Page riffs ever
I also like Four Sticks, in 5/4 and 6/4.
What about Kashmir? Something interesting happening with the intro/verse bit re time signature.
I think Dance of Eternity from Dream Theater really deserves a spot on this list. Theres even a video of Mike Portnoy counting all the time signatures which are just all over the place :D
Yes! This 👆
Totally agree DT deserved a spot.
The first verse in panic attack could also have been here
YESSS
Massive oversight
Yeah. UK, so glad you included them. I was fortunate enough to see them on their first tour.
A delightful list. I can see that a lot of work went into this. Thank you!
Nick Drake's 'River Man' is all in 5/4 and just flows beautifully.
Came here to say the same. Love that song. - Flows like a river.
Exactly! A masterpiece
Odd time signatures are simply the most emotive and evocative to my ear. They pull you in and capture your attention through their irregularity. I love them so very much!
"I'm all a-quiver!"
Please more videos about offbeat music, thank you. Our tastes don't always align, but yours are in my opinion impeccable and very lovingly developed. I also appreciate your completely authentic enthusiasm.
Thank you so much. That's exactly what I was looking for.
One of the most fun bits in the new live Rush set (from 1981, packed in with the Moving Pictures 40th anniversary disc) is hearing Neil Peart yell out the count after the acoustic intro to The Trees: "FIVE! SIX!"
i'd love just once to see the lead in a prog band throw it to the to drummer to introduce a new song who begins by bobbing their head silently for an awkwardly long time then shouting out "twenty-eight, twenty-nine!"
Siick
The really cool thing about "Money" is how Nick Mason takes the song seamlessly from 7/4 to 4/4 for Gilmore's guitar solo, then seamlessly back to 7/4.
Gilmour always felt it was very nice of Nick to shift into 4s for him
Especially after making Dick Parry do his sax solo over 7s
Yes very cool piece
@@347Jimmy Yep, I saw that in an interview with Gilmour; he was very appreciative of the change so he could think more about playing the solo and not have to concentrate on the timing.
Love the video Rick! I’m 100% sure that Genesis’ “Turn It On Again” is in 13/8. There’s also a section of “Supper’s Ready” that’s in 9/8…
See, I thought it was 13/8 too.... but I figure Rick's the expert...
Hey, Rick! You should do a video on "layered" time signatures - like "Touch and Go" by the Cars. Bass and drums playing in 5/4 while keyboards and vocals are in 4/4 at the same time. Or, of course, Kashmir by LZ - 3/4 Guitars and Drums in 4/4.
My favorite example of this is King Crimson's "Discipline," in which "the two guitars of Belew and Fripp, respectively, move through the following sequence of pairs of time signatures: 5/8 and 5/8, 5/8 and 4/4, 5/8 and 9/8, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16, 10/8 and 20/16, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16, 12/16 and 12/16, 12/16 and 11/16, 15/16 and 15/16, 15/16 and 14/16." Underlying all that is Bruford's 5/4 beat. I can't remember what Levin is doing, time signature-wise.
So many great bands utilizing odd time signatures. One of my favorite songs is Porcupine Tree's The Sound Of Muzak, just because of the amazing drum work by Gavin Harrison.
Yeah, the 7/8 beat in the verse is insanely catchy !
The Sound of Muzak is probably THE best Porcupine Tree song, and the verse groove is one of the reasons why it is such a great song.
@@opettajah.3001 this and the vocals in the chorus make for a perfect song
I won't say that you made me love music Rick, because I've always loved music. However, you remind me why I love music. You have so many different types of videos, and they're all great. Thank you so much for your hard work, you are very much appreciated.
That’s a great observation and one I whole heartedly agree with. For me I’d go one step further and say Rick has in many ways taught me why I love music. This video is a good example of that, so many of these songs I love and yet didn’t realise they had odd meters. Now I’m going through my favourite songs and find odd meters everywhere.
I met Sting once, and I told him Seven Days was one of my favorite songs. He replied "of course it is, it's in 5!" I tried my best not to geek out too hard, not sure I succeeded.
Sting have another song in this album : "Saint Agustine in hell" , in 7/8
Discovered you channel a few months ago and watched this one today. Reminded me I was a big fan back in the 70's of Don Ellis band who had lots of odd meter music.
Hard to not include The Cars' "Touch and Go," an amazing example of polymeter, with half the band playing in 5/4 and the other half in 4/4 -- only to resolve the tension for the chorus when they all go to 4/4.
Love The Cars!
Plus one of the greatest Elliott Easton solos ever caught on wax!
Was going to say the same thing about Touch and Go! One of the best Cars songs and definitely should have been included here by Rick.
I would love for Rick to do a complete "what makes this song great" on that one!
How did Led Zep miss this list? Four Sticks alternates between 5/8 and 6/8, The Ocean alternates between 4/4 and 7/8, and nobody seems to agree what meter Black Dog has.
Yeah. I was thinking of Four Sticks. I didn't know Black Dog's meter was controversial. Very interesting.
Fool in the Rain is also a wacky meter
I always wondered about Black Dog too.
That was MY question as well!
' Black Dog ' is a song structure that Page once said was based on ' Oh Well ' by Fleetwood Mac, which has the same stop / start element. Are they in the same meter ?
Glad you threw in U.K.!! Longtime favorite of mine. That band had it all, except top-flight vocals. Wish they'd lasted.
ESPECTACULAR RICK (as usual)! An amazing list with amazing bands. Very useful video to get into the odd meters.
The Ocean by Led Zeppelin seems like it would’ve been fit for this list.
But you nailed #1 (we all knew that’s what number one would be) and I was really happy to Synchronocity I on there. I remember hearing it recently and stopping to count it because I too thought, man that sounds weird. I even tried experimenting with what it would sound like in 7/4 instead of 6/4.
Also when you mentioned Joe’s Garage, I was sure you were going to say Watermelon in Easter Hay, for which Vinnie Colaiuta also played drums, but Keep it Greasy is a much better example from that one.
I think The Ocean is in 15/8. Great call.
But it would have been blocked
Such a great list. Loved the inclusion of Karnivool & Sting’s Seven Days is one of my favourites.
Important ones you’ve missed out:
• Led Zeppelin - The Crunge - 9/8
• Nick Drake - Riverman - 5/4
• King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Coundown - 9/8 (they also do some amazing 24 tet microtonal songs like Flying Microtonal Banana in 7/8)
• Hiatus Kaiyote - By Fire (choruses have two bars of 3/4 and 1 bar of 2/4, verses are in 10/4)
That Karnivool song sounds excellent. Must look into them.
I would have gone with The Ocean myself.
King Gizzard has tons of songs in odd time signatures (especially 7/4 or 7/8), and they often switch between time signatures in a single song. Their album Polygondwanaland is basically entirely in odd time signatures as well
@@pastamanofficial absolutely. Hard to pick a favourite album or song of theirs. Polygondwanaland is definitely high on my list. I chose that song because I loved the way they did that particular 9/8.
3:58 I am so proud that I sung that part before it played after hearing him say Duke!!! Great album!
AOK Rick, your top number one is the one I was waiting for. I'll add this for the music theorists, a lot of odd signature pieces are groups of two bars where the second is a repeat of the first but starts a beat early, if you tap your foot every other beat then the first bar is the melody on the down beats and the second bar is the melody on the up beats and starts early by starting on the last up beat of the first bar. I figured this out playing pieces of the Brubeck "Take Five" album (on piano), of course the title song "take five" is an exception to that !
How'd you miss Take Five?! The entire Time Out by Dave Brubeck is the best odd time album of all time. Kudos for including U.K. I played along with the drums to Rush's Subdivisions for decades before realizing how many time changes there were in it when trying to show someone else how to play it because the changes are so natural and smooth.
Yea, you can’t miss Take Five, a revolution in music history !!!
Really top call there. That is the song that began my path to Brubeck and Jazz as a genre.
In all fairness Rick does start the video by saying “MY top 20” so there really are no wrong answers. Take Five is an amazing song though.
I guess if this is a top 20 rock songs, fine. But I don’t know how Take Five was missed; I would argue it was most musicians’ intro to odd time.
Maybe it doesn't count as a song for Rick because I don't think there were any instrumentals in Rick's list. Maybe he needs to do another list with instrumentals? In one of Rick's live shows it would be interesting with songs that use polyrhythms to split the audience and have part of the audience clap and count one beat while the other part claps and counts the other.
One of the greatest moments in musical history is Genesis - Foxtrot - Supper's Ready - Apocalypse in 9/8 It is so confounding, I can't image the number of takes or rehearsals needed to get it right.
Given that it was Phil Collins, I'm guessing he figured it out on the first take. Collins was something like Genesis's fourth drummer and they all knew instantly he was their guy because he could play anything. Strange that he's usually not even thought of as a drummer these days.
Firth Of Fifth’s opening is even greater. Uses a mixed meter of 13/16 and 15/16 which is just insane.
Apocalypse in 9/8 is truly gigantic.
You stole my thunder-give it back!
I'm also very partial to the instrumental middle section of Cinema Show, from Selling England by the Pound. One of the most natural sounding 7/8 riffs I've ever heard. The initial melody is soaring and beautiful, especially when it comes in with the Vox Humana synth, and it's amazing how they can solo in it! The way they transition from it back into the soft 4/4 is so subtle I didn't even catch it until I finally listened specifically for it. They do it by finishing the 7 part with a repeated riff, which they then change very subtlety to put it back to 4, but most of it's the same. That's why it's not very noticeable until you suddenly realize you're back in 4, but you didn't hear it happen.
As somebody commented, It´d have been nice to see Genesis and Jethro Tull tunes, they have quite some . Cheers, master 🙂
He did list a song from "Duke" by Genesis.
If 7 days was in 7, Sting should be the devil himself 😂. It´s so smooth how the song flows. The melody integrates so well with the odd time signature. How the chorus grows in tension from one day to the other makes it a pop masterpiece.