The road to Rhodes
October 25, 2011 12:04 PM Subscribe
I love the sound of a Rhodes piano. Help me find more songs that showcase this fantastic instrument.
In addition to that video, a few other examples include Don't Leave the Light On Baby by Belle & Sebastian, On the Mountain by Elvin Jones, or pretty much anything from Steely Dan.
Preferred genres include: jazz, 70's funk/soul, indie rock and classic rock -- but really, I'm open to most anything.
So help me down the road to Rhodes with your recommendations!
In addition to that video, a few other examples include Don't Leave the Light On Baby by Belle & Sebastian, On the Mountain by Elvin Jones, or pretty much anything from Steely Dan.
Preferred genres include: jazz, 70's funk/soul, indie rock and classic rock -- but really, I'm open to most anything.
So help me down the road to Rhodes with your recommendations!
Spain is always the first song I think of with the Rhodes.
posted by supercres at 12:07 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by supercres at 12:07 PM on October 25, 2011
Best answer: Check out a band called The Album Leaf. The In A Safe Place album is a virtual Rhodes-fest-o-rama.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 12:08 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by chrisfromthelc at 12:08 PM on October 25, 2011
Here's a list that gives some examples of popular songs and the various models of electric piano used on them. Not a lot on here, but gives you a good idea of exactly what model it is that you like.
posted by modernserf at 12:16 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by modernserf at 12:16 PM on October 25, 2011
Obvious, but Bitches Brew--especially Spanish Key.
posted by Lorin at 12:26 PM on October 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Lorin at 12:26 PM on October 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The last couple of albums by Lovespirals had a bunch of Rhodes. '70s-style downtempo make-out music. Good stuff.
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:27 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:27 PM on October 25, 2011
Portishead (though I think they distort it somewhat)
posted by asuprenant at 12:35 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by asuprenant at 12:35 PM on October 25, 2011
Miles Davis's In a Silent Way.
While confirming that that was a Rhodes on that record, I found this list of reviews of albums with Rhodes piano featured heavily.
posted by dfan at 12:36 PM on October 25, 2011
While confirming that that was a Rhodes on that record, I found this list of reviews of albums with Rhodes piano featured heavily.
posted by dfan at 12:36 PM on October 25, 2011
Best answer: Maybe a bit out of your comfort zone, stylistically, but give it a shot:
Flytronix - The Rhode Tune
JMJ & Flytronix - In Too Deep
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
Flytronix - The Rhode Tune
JMJ & Flytronix - In Too Deep
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Check out this streaming radio station, I'm a Rhodes fan and owner and player and every time I listen through it has surprises. (And a playlist with song names and artists to follow up on if anything catches your ear...) Also, here's a decent discography of Rhodes stuff from the Rhodes super site. No more comprehensive than any little list like that could be, but all stuff recommended by real enthusiasts.
Off the top of my head, the Herbie Hancock's 70's funk albums like Headhunters, Thrust and Manchild are seminal, and Joe Zawinul of Weather Report fame had Rhodes all over his stuff up until the 80s when it dwindled and got more synthy.
Early Jan Hammer from the 70s, including solo, with Jeff Beck, and with Mahavishnu, have great jazz/fusion Rhodes. Most soul or R&B bands in the 70s used it, Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang (pre-disco). Billy Joel used Rhodes a lot in the late 70s and early 80s, i.e. Just the Way You Are. Lots of Stevie Wonder around Innervisions, too. Ramsey Lewis, i.e. Sun Goddess, Bob James, i.e. Nautilus, and so on.
Sort of depends what you're looking for; there was a lot of Rhodes in country music during a period but I never could get interested in it. On the other hand, there's Rhodes in drum and bass music like Photek and even Squarepusher, and there are some decent jazz albums based around it. (One sort-of-recent favorite was Bedrock 3 by Uri Caine, jazz musicians playing Rhodes based music using drum n' bass rhythic textures.) Some of Bugge Wesseltoft's stuff is jazzy and Rhodes-based, but more European techno-jazz than anything, a good or bad thing depending on your taste.
I'll stop now. I love the Rhodes too. Be aware that it can be sort of a gateway drug for Hohner Clavinet music, Wurlitzer Electronic Piano tunes and Hammond Organ stuff.
posted by mullicious at 2:12 PM on October 25, 2011
Off the top of my head, the Herbie Hancock's 70's funk albums like Headhunters, Thrust and Manchild are seminal, and Joe Zawinul of Weather Report fame had Rhodes all over his stuff up until the 80s when it dwindled and got more synthy.
Early Jan Hammer from the 70s, including solo, with Jeff Beck, and with Mahavishnu, have great jazz/fusion Rhodes. Most soul or R&B bands in the 70s used it, Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang (pre-disco). Billy Joel used Rhodes a lot in the late 70s and early 80s, i.e. Just the Way You Are. Lots of Stevie Wonder around Innervisions, too. Ramsey Lewis, i.e. Sun Goddess, Bob James, i.e. Nautilus, and so on.
Sort of depends what you're looking for; there was a lot of Rhodes in country music during a period but I never could get interested in it. On the other hand, there's Rhodes in drum and bass music like Photek and even Squarepusher, and there are some decent jazz albums based around it. (One sort-of-recent favorite was Bedrock 3 by Uri Caine, jazz musicians playing Rhodes based music using drum n' bass rhythic textures.) Some of Bugge Wesseltoft's stuff is jazzy and Rhodes-based, but more European techno-jazz than anything, a good or bad thing depending on your taste.
I'll stop now. I love the Rhodes too. Be aware that it can be sort of a gateway drug for Hohner Clavinet music, Wurlitzer Electronic Piano tunes and Hammond Organ stuff.
posted by mullicious at 2:12 PM on October 25, 2011
The Beatles' Get Back.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 2:36 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by Threeway Handshake at 2:36 PM on October 25, 2011
Oh yeah, check out Jazzanova's Introspection. I prefer the Kid Loco mix, which speeds up the original. The lovely Rhodes action starts around 3:30-ish.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:30 PM on October 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:30 PM on October 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Baldwin Brothers - Return of the Golden Rhodes (No not the Baldwins, but the Baldwin Brothers, they're a band
posted by filthy light thief at 3:52 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by filthy light thief at 3:52 PM on October 25, 2011
Best answer: Pomplamoose use a Rhodes 73 on a bunch of their tunes. : )
posted by bitterkitten at 4:13 PM on October 25, 2011
posted by bitterkitten at 4:13 PM on October 25, 2011
Sweet Metallic by Tokyo Zawinul Bach. Sample track: Cacao Argentum.
posted by misteraitch at 1:19 AM on October 26, 2011
posted by misteraitch at 1:19 AM on October 26, 2011
Seconding keeping your eye (ear?) out for Wurlitzer Piano too. A lot of stuff that people think is a Rhodes is actually a Wurlitzer.
posted by SampleSize at 6:37 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by SampleSize at 6:37 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh man, you will love Billy Cobham's Heather. Bonus info: Souls of Mischief sampled this on '93 til Infinity. (Note that the tempo is too fast on the You Tube link -- the actual version is even slower. )
Some others that come time mind are Chick Corea's album, Friends, and Chet Baker's She Was Too Good To Me. I think this is Hammond Organ, but it might be worth checking out Jan Hammer's work on John Abercrombie's Timeless.
posted by crLLC at 7:41 AM on October 26, 2011
Some others that come time mind are Chick Corea's album, Friends, and Chet Baker's She Was Too Good To Me. I think this is Hammond Organ, but it might be worth checking out Jan Hammer's work on John Abercrombie's Timeless.
posted by crLLC at 7:41 AM on October 26, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks all for the kickass suggestions! I'm really digging a lot of this, especially the indie and downtempo electronica. (Though, I gotta admit, the fusion stuff isn't really doing it for me, and Chick Corea is one that I've never been able to get into in all my years of jazz-loving.) This thread has already cost me a good $50 on iTunes. Keep it coming!
posted by slogger at 8:03 AM on October 26, 2011
posted by slogger at 8:03 AM on October 26, 2011
The Whitest Boy Alive features Rhodes piano on a lot of their songs. Very dance-y. Very Indie. If you're unfamiliar, the band is fronted by Erlend Oye, one half of the super quiet, acoustic folk duo Kings of Convenience.
posted by teriyaki_tornado at 2:06 PM on October 26, 2011
posted by teriyaki_tornado at 2:06 PM on October 26, 2011
Best answer: Here is Daytime Kiss by Jake Slazenger (a Mike Paradinas side project), among the high points of the whole IDM genre, IMO. Crunchy, but the Rhodes oozes pure sex.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:12 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:12 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:06 PM on October 25, 2011