SONGS WITHOUT CHORUS: STRANGE DAYS AND OTHER GREAT TUNES

 

The track that gives the Doors' second album its name and opens its fascinating and mysterious paths was recorded by the group without an actual refrain. This circumstance, although not unique, is nonetheless rare in 1967.

Until then, and for a few more years, most of the songs were in fact organized around the verse-chorus alternation. The insertion of short parts created specifically to vary this scheme (called bridge or middle eight) was still not enough to change this musical structure, nor were the increasingly frequent instrumental digressions inserted by several bands from 1966 onward.

Within the framework of this established sound structure, "Strange Days" reveals a relevant original feature, which is unfolded through the poetic flow of a psychedelic rock capable of enchanting and amaze the listener.

Each verse of the song ends with an alteration of the melodic line (listen at min. 0.47, min. 1.49 and min. 2.50), yet without detaching itself from it in a notable or substantial way. The change is perceptible, yet it occurs without changing the rhythm and melody of the verse itself. This part sounds much more like the end of the main stanza rather than a well-defined chorus.

The elimination of the refrain does not negatively affect the song's appeal to the listener; on the contrary it enhances its hypnotic continuity, focusing the attention on the inspired dialogue between vocals and instruments.

As mentioned above, this feature also appears in other pieces of the period, which, just like "Strange Days", are exceptions to the clear distinction between verse and chorus. Among them we’d like to take as an example "I'm Waiting For The Man" by the Velvet Underground, included on their first LP (released in March 1967), a few months before the Doors' record.

In this masterpiece of innovation and expressive authenticity, written by Lou Reed between 1965 and early '66, what has already been stated above about "Strange Days" is confirmed.

A verse that ends with a variation of the ongoing melody and, therefore, without a real chorus. The rough, pounding rock slightly changes just for a few seconds its harsh, mocking inflection by modifying the trend of the chorus' melodic line (listen at min. 0.31, 1.05, 1.39, 2.48 and 3.26).

Stopping at the same time juncture, in this case December 1967, we’d also like to mention "John Wesley Harding", the title track of Bob Dylan's album of the same name. Here we find again the melodic line of the song almost completely intact with the progression of the stanzas. The simple, evocative and lean folk-rock of Dylan's composition tells the protagonist's story in short episodes, which are never interrupted by refrains.

Returning to the Doors' "Strange Days," the compositional mode we have highlighted through the examples should be considered even more daring if we think about the time when the song was conceived and written.

In fact, although it was released on the band's second album (25^th of September 1967), it was already present in the set list of live performances in the first months of the previous year.