Interestingly, there’s no alternative treatment of the instrument, but within the context of this song, this “folk” instrument is utterly transformed. It’s accordion that you can have a barfight to. If you ever thought the accordion wasn’t capable of dishing up some serious attitude, this track is here to prove you wrong. In the same tradition of The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys lean heavily on their Celtic roots in their brand of hard-hitting rock. I’m Shipping Up to Boston – Dropkick Murphys This singalong waltz makes a hero of the accordion, which fills the production with warmth, making this very rock ‘n’ roll band sound positively folky. On Back Street Girl, however, the band explores their gentle side. The Stones have a reputation for being one of the hardest rocking bands in history, filling stadiums with their anthemic tunes, built on the back of immortal guitar riffs. It’s a gentle tone, but given its distorted rock context, it carries a great deal of menace and foreboding. The simple motif that punctuates Neighborhood #2 (Laika) was the world’s introduction to the riff mastery of the band. Their debut album, Funeral, displayed the band’s eclectic roots on its sleeve, with the accordion stylings of Régine Chassagne at the fore. The use of accordion here isn’t excessive, though it plays a concise melodic role alongside the trumpet, blending together to concoct a phasey, breathy and altogether otherworldly tone.Īrcade Fire didn’t so much emerge as explode onto the world stage. The accordion finds a home in Scenic World among a selection of other typically non-rock ‘n’ roll sounds, especially trumpet. The brainchild of Zach Condon, Beirut has always incorporated a broad swathe of cultural influences in its music. Garth Hudson was a master of many keyboards and woodwind instruments and perhaps it was this intimate knowledge of breath and keyboard skills that met its apex on the accordion. Their freewheeling style never compromised the chops of this all-star ensemble and in When I Paint My Masterpiece, the accordion shone. It’s subdued when the vocals take over and spring into life in between The Boss’ phrases.Ĭanadian-American Folk-rock legends The Band were famous for incorporating all kinds of strange tones into their music. Most impressive of all is the instrument’s ability to inject extra emotion into the song. This sprawling song is heavy with lyrical content, yet the accordionist Danny Federici manages to pull off a masterclass in busy rhythms and melodic gymnastics amid the dense arrangement. In this immortal example from Bruce Springsteen, the accordion plays an unconventional role. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) – Bruce Springsteen It finds a perfect home among other folk staples like the tin whistle and banjo, filling in the arrangement’s mid-range with rich harmony and lush texture. This kind of tempo and metre seems made for this particular sound, but that doesn’t make it any less alluring. The Irish folk stylings of The Pogues were in safer accordion territory. The rhythmic rub between the angular accordion and the smooth shuffle of the drums and reverberant vocals of Simon shouldn’t work on paper, but it sure does. The opening salvo was Boy in the Bubble featuring the unique accordion stylings of Forere Motloheloa. In the mid-’80s Paul Simon took a musical tour through South Africa, resulting in his definitive artistic statement, Graceland. Despite being overshadowed by the powerhouse vocal performance, the accordion weaves in and out of Lang’s phrases with finesse, carving its own compelling melodic path throughout the song.
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