Earthquake - structure Introductory Comment The notation system in the table below is not immediately transparent. Each chorus can be heard by clicking on its highlighted number in the table. In addition, key phrases have been highlighted and can be replayed by clicking on the relevant descriptor ("Phrase1", "bomp1" and the like). In a notation such as "2Phrase1A1 1Phrase1D 3Phrase1B2", the first number refers to the number of repetitions; "Phrase1" is the phrase isolated in the sound fragment bearing that highlighted name (which can be accessed by clicking on the highlighted name); the capitol letters and the numbers following them refer to what I think are identifiable variations of the phrase. Although words like "chorus", "bars" and "riff" appear in this analysis, it is not a musically literate analysis. Rather, it approaches the recording like a fragment of discourse in which "phrases" are built into "choruses" and "choruses" into larger segments, which in turn constitute the whole piece. As it happens, Houston's work is particularly amenable to this sort of analysis. The work for this table has been done hastily and I am certain that there are errors in it. The intention, however, is not to show off my chops as a musical analyst (I am, after all, just an ordinary man of music), but to suggest that an enlightening structural analysis of a recording like Joe Houston's "Earthquake" is possible - and to indulge myself. I owe debts to Liam (who did the sound editing and helped me with the analysis), Judy (who did the table and the buttons) and Chris (who translated what we did into something you could access). Many thanks, guys. Ensemble. Theme. 1. 6Bompphrase1 The theme is built on a common phrase which incorporates a bomp (an unusual and/or "unmusical" low note). This type of theme is common in r&b instrumentals featuring saxophones. In this case the theme sets up a six part structure (two bars each of a twelve bar blues) which informs many, but not all, of the solo choruses that follow. Tenor Sax Solo. Introduction (Launch chorus). 2. One note repeated 24 times What I am calling the "launch chorus" identifies a solo chorus following the main theme and functioning as a means of propelling the soloist into the main body of the solo, which may or may not (as in this instance) be directly related to the material in the launch chorus. Launch choruses are not very common on records from this period, but there are other examples. This particular launch chorus is notable for the way in which it creates rhythmic tension and maintains the six part structure introduced in the theme (the 24 notes are divided audibly into 6 4-note clusters) while at the same time not foreclosing what may be done with that structure in the next chorus. Tenor Sax Solo. Main Body. [Numbers and letters are intended to suggest a very preliminary classification of the variations of Phrase1 employed here.] 3. 2Phrase1A 2Phrase1B 1Phrase1C(extended) Phrase1 may not originate with Joe Houston, but was certainly commonly enough employed by him to serve as an identification tag. C extends over four bars and in some ways foreshadows the tag that introduces the eighth chorus, which seems like the most obvious variation on the 6 part structure (although it does not actually change the structure any more than the extension of C does). 4. 2Phrase1A1 1Phrase1D 3Phrase1B2   5. 1Phrase1B3 1Bomp1 4Squeal1 Bomp1 is the first direct reference back to the opening theme, but it is also related to Phrase1 and it sets up the Squeal1s which immediately follow it and which are treble echoes of it. 6. 1PhraseA1 2Phrase1E 2Phrase1F The last variation in this chorus is perhaps the most unlooked-for one, because of the "twiddly" effect at the end. 7. 2Phrase1A1 4Phrase2 Phrase2 is a common one for the period; in certain ways it harks back to the launch chorus at the same time that it foreshadows a movement away from the dominance of Phrase1 that will characterise the next two choruses; because it is not obviously related to Phrase1, it is also something the preceding four chorus have not set up. Tenor Sax Solo. Climax. 8. 1Tag 1Phrase1G 3Phrase3 The tag acts like a break, although it is not technically that; it does, however, cover four bars (like variation C in the third chorus); a variation of Phrase 1 begins the chorus proper, but is quickly discarded for the variations which become Phrase3; Phrase3 is varied from its first appearance and only settles down by the end of the chorus; it is another common phrase, like Phrase2 and the theme and, like the theme, is (in the end) a bomp phrase, setting up the climactic bomp phrase of the next chorus. 9. 2Squeal2 4Bompphrase2 This is the chorus described so enthusiastically by Ken Mills in the Lp liner notes (see the main text). It marks the climax, but not the finish, of the solo. It is the only chorus composed entirely of squeals and bomps, and the repeated bomp phrase (another common riff) is a variation of Phrase3 and indirectly evokes the ensemble theme as well. At the same time, the structure of this chorus reverses the order of bomps and squeals in the fifth chorus, bookending what has gone between. 10. 1Phrase1A1 1Phrase1E 2Phrase1A3 2Phrase1B4 Return to variations of Phrase1, evoking the main body of the solo; although one could argue that this return is a sign of "giving up" the effort to build a bigger climax, it is also an inspired means of maintaining the solo's dynamic level, the sense that it seems it will go on forever, mein dear, like "The Rites of Spring". 11. 1Phrase1H + Tag ending Two bars of another chorus, but then a stop. The tag ending evokes the tag phrase which begins the eighth chorus.