Song analysis – Ethereal erratic eros playlist
Ok here goes:
1. Dead Babies – Alice Cooper.
The driving force in this song is definitely the ominous sounding bass line, supported in the verses by the ringing guitarwork. Defnite proof here that Alice Cooper weren’t all about creepy crawlies and such – this is a song of a very serious nature, about mothers not watching after their babies as well as they should, as shown with this lyric:
“Little Betty ate a pound of aspirin. She got them from the shelf up on the wall. Betty’s mommy wasn’t there to save her. She didn’t hear her baby call. Dead babies can’t take care of themselves”
The guitars kick the song into gear after the first lyric and continues to pop up during the chorus. This song certainly makes good use of atmosphere, lyrically and musically. The guitarwork throughout this song, plus the bass line, certainly lend a dark atmosphere to it. Cooper himself delivers the vocals in his usual style – the song, as most of their songs, wouldn’t be the same without his delivery. Interestingly enough, towards the end of the song there are some horns and keyboards that are thrown in (I don’t know, I suppose it was producer Bob Ezrin’s style to throw everything and the kitchen sink too). The ending is a bit odd with the rowdy courtroom sounds (the band members rambling and making noise with “the judge” shouting out “Order in this court!” and banging his gavel).
2. Megalomania – Black Sabbath
Starts off with acoustic guitar and a creepy sounding organ. Some great guitar provided by Tony Iommi here, ranging from the acoustic guitar in the verses to the meaty riffs in the chorus. Some great lyrics here:
“Obsessed with fantasy posessed with my schemes. I mixed reality with pseudogod dreams. The ghost of violence was something I’d seen. I sold my soul be the human obscene. How could this poison be the dream of my soul? How did my fantasies take complete control?”
Maybe the song’s about a power crazy person losing his mind on his way to the top too? Hard to really say, but I would have a great time in trying to analyze these lyrics. Ozzy Osbourne performs pretty well on this song, he certainly gives it at all without managing to go over the time. The initial, grinding riff in the chorus escalates and gets more distorted each time as the song progresses; perhaps imitating the mental state of the narrator of the lyrics. The real stars here are the guitar, vocals, and atmosphere-adding keyboards but the drums and bass keep the song together pretty well. Quite a lengthy song – probably Black Sabbath’s longest – at 9:46, but no problem there; this is how metal should be done, with deep, thought provoking lyrics, driving riffs, and structured passages.
