South California Purples
Composer: Lamm
Key: A minor
Meter: 4/4 with a few bars of 3/4 in the form
Lead Vocal: Robert Lamm
Form: intro - verse 1 - organ solo - verse 2 - guitar solo - interlude - verse 3 - outro
Instrumentation: trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, electric guitar, organ, bass, drums, one voice
Overall form and style: “South California Purples” is a riff-based minor blues tune which opens up for solos. The most distinctive feature of this tune is the form; it starts out sounding like it will be twelve bar blues, matching a typical blues progression for eight measures before veering off into an unexpected direction both harmonically and rhythmically. The big picture form of this tune is quite simple. The riff begins, there are three verses interspersed with solos, a short interlude, and a straightforward outro including a quick guitar cadenza. With the possible exception of “I’m a Man” (which, of course, is not a Chicago original), this is the most straightforward tune on the album in terms of overall form. There are no tempo or key changes, though the form contains a surprising meter change.
Melody: This tune is almost entirely minor pentatonic, and is sung somewhat freely in regards to pitches and exact rhythm. The first four bars repeat in both melody and lyrics in the second four, really enforcing the already blues-heavy feel of the tune. The rhythm is a little more exact when the time signature changes.
Harmony: The main form is a subverted blues. The best way to show this is to simply line up “South California Purples” and a typical 12-bar blues and compare:
A typical 12-bar blues in A minor:
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
D- (iv) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
F7 (VI) E7 (V) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
There are plenty of common blues variations, but this is the one the most closely matches “Purples”.
“South California Purples”:
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
D- (iv) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
F7 E D C B- C D
VI V IV III ii III IV
/ / / / | / / / | / / / | / / /
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
Notice that the ninth bar of “Purples” is still on the i chord, where a typical blues would go to V or a pre-dominant chord. Then the eleventh bar of “Purples” hits F7, a dominant chord built on the bVI scale degree, which is common in the ninth bar of a normal blues. Then “Purples” has three bars of 3/4 time before resuming 4/4 time. The effect is somewhat that of a hemiola, but it is a true meter change since it doesn’t come out evenly in 4/4. The form is also extended with four bars of the tonic chord at the end of the form instead of blues’ usual two.
For most of the song, the harmony is pretty standard, and only in the short interlude do we hear something surprising. The bass and guitar play a heavy blues riff which takes four measures. It is then repeated, this time with the horns joining in in stacks of perfect fourths above the riff. The trombone is a perfect 4th above, the tenor a P4 above that, and the trumpet another P4 above that. It’s a fresh, smoothly atonal sound, and striking as the rest of the tune’s harmony is not complicated.
Arrangement: As a whole, this a simple, straightforward arrangement for this record. However, this is another tune where the horns play mainly a background role but are used in unusual ways that make the chart compelling. The first horn section entrance is a fortepiano on a minor 7th chord, followed by two whole measures of gradual crescendo and two whole measures of gradual decrescendo, almost like a train going by in slow motion. It’s a simple but really neat effect, and gets repeated in the four bars of tonic harmony at the end of every time through the form. Throughout the tune, the horns join the rhythm section on the riff in alternating measures, filling in the gaps left by the vocalist. They also harmonize the accents in the 3/4 section. Aside from the stacks of perfect fourths in four bars in the interlude, the horns are voiced close together and without any unusual voicing or dissonances.
Other notes: In the interlude after the guitar solo, we have a quote of the first line of the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus”: “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together”, followed by a Chicago trademark “whoa-oa-oa”.
This has always bothered me, and I’d be interested to know if anyone else hears this too. The tune begins with guitar on the riff, then bass joins, then drums and organ join. I have never liked the choice of organ notes when he enters. They are not wrong notes, but they don’t sound like they belong. They’re too cheerful and perhaps a little out of tune. Maybe the organ should have just waited and come in with the vocals.
I always thought that the title was a reference to the fact that the form is a subverted blues form, hence “purples” instead of “blues”. But a source who was around in the late 60s informs me that “South California Purples” was also slang for marijuana.
This is the third straight tune (not counting the fully improvised “Free Form Guitar”) that is riff-based. Except for “Introduction” which had a lot of style and feel changes, all of the more harmonically static riff-based tunes are lumped together in the middle of the album.
A personal note: I'm going to express an unpopular opinion here. I don't care for the blues. It isn't interesting to hear song after song with the same chord progression and form, repeating over and over with no changes in tempo or key. It's the same reason I don't care for Sousa marches, but even those at least don't all have the same harmony! Someone's going to object that blues is about the feeling, but music is either an art or it's not, and if it is an art, then a composer writes the emotion into a piece by actually composing a piece instead of just following a formula as specific as 12-bar blues.
That said, I enjoy tunes like this one (or, for example, Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva") with bait-and-switch blues variations. It gives the general impression of the blues but each song retains its own unique flavor due to its harmony and form without the dull, endless predictability.
PM
Key: A minor
Meter: 4/4 with a few bars of 3/4 in the form
Lead Vocal: Robert Lamm
Form: intro - verse 1 - organ solo - verse 2 - guitar solo - interlude - verse 3 - outro
Instrumentation: trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, electric guitar, organ, bass, drums, one voice
Overall form and style: “South California Purples” is a riff-based minor blues tune which opens up for solos. The most distinctive feature of this tune is the form; it starts out sounding like it will be twelve bar blues, matching a typical blues progression for eight measures before veering off into an unexpected direction both harmonically and rhythmically. The big picture form of this tune is quite simple. The riff begins, there are three verses interspersed with solos, a short interlude, and a straightforward outro including a quick guitar cadenza. With the possible exception of “I’m a Man” (which, of course, is not a Chicago original), this is the most straightforward tune on the album in terms of overall form. There are no tempo or key changes, though the form contains a surprising meter change.
Melody: This tune is almost entirely minor pentatonic, and is sung somewhat freely in regards to pitches and exact rhythm. The first four bars repeat in both melody and lyrics in the second four, really enforcing the already blues-heavy feel of the tune. The rhythm is a little more exact when the time signature changes.
Harmony: The main form is a subverted blues. The best way to show this is to simply line up “South California Purples” and a typical 12-bar blues and compare:
A typical 12-bar blues in A minor:
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
D- (iv) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
F7 (VI) E7 (V) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
There are plenty of common blues variations, but this is the one the most closely matches “Purples”.
“South California Purples”:
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
D- (iv) A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
F7 E D C B- C D
VI V IV III ii III IV
/ / / / | / / / | / / / | / / /
A- (i)
/ / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / /
Notice that the ninth bar of “Purples” is still on the i chord, where a typical blues would go to V or a pre-dominant chord. Then the eleventh bar of “Purples” hits F7, a dominant chord built on the bVI scale degree, which is common in the ninth bar of a normal blues. Then “Purples” has three bars of 3/4 time before resuming 4/4 time. The effect is somewhat that of a hemiola, but it is a true meter change since it doesn’t come out evenly in 4/4. The form is also extended with four bars of the tonic chord at the end of the form instead of blues’ usual two.
For most of the song, the harmony is pretty standard, and only in the short interlude do we hear something surprising. The bass and guitar play a heavy blues riff which takes four measures. It is then repeated, this time with the horns joining in in stacks of perfect fourths above the riff. The trombone is a perfect 4th above, the tenor a P4 above that, and the trumpet another P4 above that. It’s a fresh, smoothly atonal sound, and striking as the rest of the tune’s harmony is not complicated.
Arrangement: As a whole, this a simple, straightforward arrangement for this record. However, this is another tune where the horns play mainly a background role but are used in unusual ways that make the chart compelling. The first horn section entrance is a fortepiano on a minor 7th chord, followed by two whole measures of gradual crescendo and two whole measures of gradual decrescendo, almost like a train going by in slow motion. It’s a simple but really neat effect, and gets repeated in the four bars of tonic harmony at the end of every time through the form. Throughout the tune, the horns join the rhythm section on the riff in alternating measures, filling in the gaps left by the vocalist. They also harmonize the accents in the 3/4 section. Aside from the stacks of perfect fourths in four bars in the interlude, the horns are voiced close together and without any unusual voicing or dissonances.
Other notes: In the interlude after the guitar solo, we have a quote of the first line of the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus”: “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together”, followed by a Chicago trademark “whoa-oa-oa”.
This has always bothered me, and I’d be interested to know if anyone else hears this too. The tune begins with guitar on the riff, then bass joins, then drums and organ join. I have never liked the choice of organ notes when he enters. They are not wrong notes, but they don’t sound like they belong. They’re too cheerful and perhaps a little out of tune. Maybe the organ should have just waited and come in with the vocals.
I always thought that the title was a reference to the fact that the form is a subverted blues form, hence “purples” instead of “blues”. But a source who was around in the late 60s informs me that “South California Purples” was also slang for marijuana.
This is the third straight tune (not counting the fully improvised “Free Form Guitar”) that is riff-based. Except for “Introduction” which had a lot of style and feel changes, all of the more harmonically static riff-based tunes are lumped together in the middle of the album.
A personal note: I'm going to express an unpopular opinion here. I don't care for the blues. It isn't interesting to hear song after song with the same chord progression and form, repeating over and over with no changes in tempo or key. It's the same reason I don't care for Sousa marches, but even those at least don't all have the same harmony! Someone's going to object that blues is about the feeling, but music is either an art or it's not, and if it is an art, then a composer writes the emotion into a piece by actually composing a piece instead of just following a formula as specific as 12-bar blues.
That said, I enjoy tunes like this one (or, for example, Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva") with bait-and-switch blues variations. It gives the general impression of the blues but each song retains its own unique flavor due to its harmony and form without the dull, endless predictability.
PM
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