It’s my contention that (generally speaking) the quality of music has been devolving for decades, not necessarily in terms of emotional feel or stylistic delivery but rather in terms of harmonic sophistication. And hence the enduring popularity of classic jazz standards, and certain jazz-influenced pop songs.
In this video, Rick Beato — who’s probably forgotten more about music than I ever learned — reveals (in a humor-filled recollection of a gig he did back in the day) the complexities of the #1 hit from 1983, produced by Sergio Mendez, Never Gonna Let You Go. Beato observes that, while this tune has an insanely complex chord progression — with measure after measure of intricately altered and poly-chords, visiting God-knows how many key centers — the result is not at all jarring or obtuse, but instead flows so smoothly that the casual listener can be forgiven if completely unaware of the utterly unique chord progression they’re experiencing.
And it was just a pop tune from the early 80s. Compared to today’s machine-driven, monochromatic excursions into beat-land… well, a tune such as this is never heard these days. I won’t argue that today’s music isn’t “real music”… it is. It’s just the music of a dumbed-down culture and society in decline.
Thank God we have recordings such as this to refresh our severely abused eardrums!
