Pop songs with brass sections

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I'm thinking of (mostly breezy up tempo) songs much improved with the addition of of horns. By artists without brass in their usual lineup.

― Braces Tower, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:09 (twenty years ago)

To start:

1. Reward - Teardrop Explodes
2. Northern Lights - Super Furry Animals
3. Wake Up Boo - Boo Radleys
4. Can't Get There From Here - REM
5. Geno - Dexy's Midnight Runners

― Braces Tower, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:11 (twenty years ago)

6. Identity - X Ray Spex

I know, but they had one sax person, and that track has a brass section.

7. Kick over the Statues - The Redskins

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:17 (twenty years ago)

8. re-recorded version of Victoria Gardens by Madness (with Ranking Roger on vocals !) - excellent horn section.

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:21 (twenty years ago)

9. Ex-con - Smog

― d-90 (D-90), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:50 (twenty years ago)

10. Summer In Disguise - Mid-State Orange

― acb (acb), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 09:53 (twenty years ago)

"Got To Get You Into My Life" by the Beatles and maybe "Coming Up" (the live version) by Paul McCartney solo. Both excellent uptempo numbers for which, in fact, non-horn versions exist for comparison. The tinny 4-track "Coming Up" does have its admirers, but I have yet to hear anyone express a preference for the breezy, momentum-less organ version of "Got To Get You Into My Life."

The mention of Teardrop Explodes is funny to me.. I'm not a big follower of the band's music, and put on Kilimanjaro once every six months or so, and for some reason I have it in my head as "that album that sounds like the Fixx but with horns all over the place." Guess I'm REALLY not a big follower of them...

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

13. Spiral Starecase - More Today Than Yesterday

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

Loads by the Higsons, Dislocation Dance, Pale Fountains ... You Little Thief - Feargal Sharkey.

― Jez (Jez), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

By artists without brass in their usual lineup.

Oops - sorry! You'll have to disregard my first 3.

― Jez (Jez), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

Wan light & satellite city by orange juice come to mind.

― Jam (1020am), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

"Know Your Product" by the Saints, "What's the New Mary Jane?" by the Moles.

"It's a Kid's World" by Disco Inferno.

― owen moorhead (i heart daniel miller), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Menswe@r: "Being Brave"

I'll get me coat...

― Doozer, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

"Rocks Off" by the Rolling Stones

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

Um, almost everything by Frank Sinatra. Almost every soul song of the 1960s. shall i go on?

― jonny, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

"By artists without brass in their usual lineup"

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

It's Gonna Happen - Undertones ... bluddy great example imo!

― Jez (Jez), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

eric matthews - fanfare

― hmmm (hmmm), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Beautiful Love - Julian Cope
Passionate Friend - Teardrop Explodes

re:By artists without brass in their usual lineup ... how could you possibly include Dexys??

― Jez (Jez), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

"re:By artists without brass in their usual lineup ... how could you possibly include Dexys??"

Congratulations! You passed!

― Braces Tower, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:42 (twenty years ago)

The Cure - The 13th

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

Stereolab - The Free Design

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

Know Your Product - The Saints & It's Going To Happen - The Undertones both vigorously seconded.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 16:12 (twenty years ago)

"Dying Day" by Orange Juice. I wish they came in sooner though. That last 30 seconds or so is bliss.

― kwhitehead (stephen schmidt), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

'Angel of Harlem'!

― the finefox, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

"Drag," Fuzzy

The correct Beatles-related answer is, in fact, "Savoy Truffle," so much so that when They Might Be Giants covered it on the George Harrison tribute, the horn lines were the only instrumentation they kept.

― monkeybutler, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 17:31 (twenty years ago)

Surprised not to see the first thing that popped into my head:

"Late in the Evening" by Paul Simon

― declan Z, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 18:10 (twenty years ago)

Love's "Alone Again Or" pretty much fits except maybe the breezy part.

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

sloan - everything you've done wrong

― fuzzy blooded, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

Keith, "98.6"

Rolling Stones, "Bitch"

Grass Roots, pretty much everything post-"Midnight Confession"

Turtles, "She'd Rather Be With Me"

Monkees, "Valleri"

Doors, "Touch Me"

Love, "You Set the Scene" (perhaps the greatest horn chart ever?)

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)

blur to thread?

― Shooz (shooz), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 19:24 (twenty years ago)

The single mix of The Cure's "Close To Me". Those trumpets really make the song.

― LeRooLeRoo (Seb), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

40? Belle & Sebastian "Wrapped Up In Books" - or is that reeds that come in at around 1:20?

― marianna (mariannapm), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

blur to thread?

"The Universal"

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

the jam, "boy about town"
the jam, "absolute beginners"

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 13 October 2005 03:43 (twenty years ago)

Fleetwood Mac, "Tusk"

― These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Thursday, 13 October 2005 03:47 (twenty years ago)

Bringing up the Rolling Stones, I'd say "Heartbreaker" also fits in pretty well here. Or was that just a lone saxophone? I suddenly can't really hear it in my head.

And as for the Monkees, "Valleri" is great, but it's "Listen to the Band" that really delivers on this thread. Although I'll never unlink it from my old assistant manager who, when asked about Listen To The Band, said "They should have called it 'Listen to the Bad.'" (His thoughts on "Life in the Fast Lane": "Life in the Bad Lane." He was a fantastic guy...)

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 13 October 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

Pink Floyd, Atom Heart Mother

... well, it's fairly breezy

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 13 October 2005 08:07 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and let's not forget "Lazarus" Boo Radleys.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 13 October 2005 08:59 (twenty years ago)

"Going Nowhere" is the only Oasis song I can think of with horns. NB: only counting the first two albums plus the B sides comp obv, not having acquainted myself with any others from their canon.

― darren (darren), Thursday, 13 October 2005 10:12 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Spoon, "You've Gotta Feel It"

― These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Friday, 18 November 2005 07:02 (twenty years ago)

You know what? I'll be the one to say it: "Pieholden Suite" by Wilco.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 18 November 2005 08:15 (twenty years ago)

six years pass...

Revive. And also add in melancholy solo trumpets as well as breezy fanfares.

LDN by Lilly Allen.
Badhead by Blur.
An Olive Grove facing The Sea by Snow Patrol.
Requiem For An Oil Spill Seagull by 6.by 7.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 2 March 2012 13:51 (fourteen years ago)

Pretty Little Ditty by Red Hot Chili Peppers (if solo trumpets count)

― beachville, Friday, 2 March 2012 14:01 (fourteen years ago)

No Cars Go by Arcade Fire.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 2 March 2012 14:13 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTwFrs5yPiA

― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Friday, 2 March 2012 15:04 (fourteen years ago)

brass songs with pop sections

― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Friday, 2 March 2012 15:05 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49dlD2bwDE8

― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Friday, 2 March 2012 15:19 (fourteen years ago)

brassy broads with poppin' bods

― beachville, Friday, 2 March 2012 15:23 (fourteen years ago)

The Who, 5.15

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Friday, 2 March 2012 15:30 (fourteen years ago)

six years pass...

There's this German marching band called Meute who do brass cover versions of dance music at festivals, and they are more hipster than seems possible in 2018, but here is their live version of the Flume remix of You & Me by Disclosure and Eliza Doolittle, and I think it's somehow really good. Am I going crazy here? This shouldn't be good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKFbnhcNnjE

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 14 September 2018 21:20 (seven years ago)

There's a fair bit of brass on The Notorious Byrd Brothers innit. "Artificial Energy" and "Draft Morning", etc...

Jens Lekman's "You Are the Light"; probably a few other tracks too, his "usual lineup" being hard to define.

― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Saturday, 15 September 2018 00:52 (seven years ago)

I guess Talking Heads' Naked begins ("Blind"/"Mr Jones") with uncharacteristically large helpings of brass. Though some of that is saxophone, so...

Bjork has obviously dabbled a few times, circa Debut and Volta especially.

Hunters & Collectors seem like serial offenders. Have to remind myself that the horn section were semi-official members.

The Meute clip is good methinks. At this point I'd get way more mileage out of brass band renditions of pop hits than string quartet arrangements.

― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Saturday, 15 September 2018 03:03 (seven years ago)

xp and on "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star"

― visiting, Saturday, 15 September 2018 06:31 (seven years ago)

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