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Popular Songs Featuring Unconventional Arrangements
Posted on 8/22/26 at 12:51 pm
Posted on 8/22/26 at 12:51 pm
quote:
In April 1984, Prince was deep in the studio, surrounded by tapes, instruments, and emotion. He was finalizing his most iconic album: Purple Rain. This album wasn't just another record in his discography, it was a sign of a new era in pop and rock.
The song “When Doves Cry” stood out immediately. It had no bass track, no standard song structure, and an eerie sound that was haunting and bold. That original decision would shape the album, and the life of Prince, forever.
In one intense day, Prince entered the Sunset studio to deliver what the director of Purple Rain requested: a final song. In real time, he recorded everything himself.
Drums, guitar, synth, vocals: every track was played by his own hands.
What made the recording unforgettable was what wasn’t there. Prince made an unprecedented edit: he removed the bass entirely from the track. He told people in the studio, “They won’t believe I did this.”
And yet, that silence became the sound of a revolution.
Stripping away the bass, Prince let the guitar and raw emotion carry the solo in a way that felt truly original.
quote:
Most songs connect rhythm and harmony through bass. It grounds the sound. In “When Doves Cry,” that ground was pulled out from under us. It was a reply to internal conflict, heartbreak, and pain.
The lyrics: “Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold…” aren’t just about a man. They’re about every person who ever felt too much. Every life that ever searched for peace.
The missing bass? That was the metaphor. The edit wasn't technical, it was emotional. A sign that Prince was telling us something deeper.
Posted on 8/22/26 at 12:56 pm to shutterspeed
Three years later, Lars Ulrich fricked one of the greatest albums ever recorded by having the bass pretty much stripped from the entire album.
Lars was no Prince.
Back to the OP. I love reading stories about Prince's song writing prowess. Not just songs he sang himself, but songs he ended up writing for others. I wish there were more recordings of him in the studio playing every instrument for each song on his albums.
The story Stevie Nicks told is still one of my favorites.
Lars was no Prince.
Back to the OP. I love reading stories about Prince's song writing prowess. Not just songs he sang himself, but songs he ended up writing for others. I wish there were more recordings of him in the studio playing every instrument for each song on his albums.
The story Stevie Nicks told is still one of my favorites.
Posted on 8/23/26 at 7:31 am to SludgeFactory
Ha ha ha! As a big Metallica fan, I immediately thought of Lars and Justice while reading the OP. Who know Ulrich was such a visionary?!
Posted on 8/23/26 at 4:52 pm to Hoodie
quote:
The Tragically Hip's "Nautical Disaster" has no chorus because it is structured entirely as a continuous, linear narrative poem and a shifting dream sequence rather than a standard pop-rock song..
Posted on 8/23/26 at 7:15 pm to shutterspeed
There are plenty of examples of a song without a chorus, but I submit this one...
Posted on 8/23/26 at 7:22 pm to shutterspeed
quote:
The song “When Doves Cry” stood out immediately. It had no bass track
This song only had a bass... which is very odd for a top 20song in the 80s..
Posted on 8/25/26 at 9:47 am to TFTC
quote:How about all chorus?
song without a chorus
Posted on 8/25/26 at 5:28 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
How about all chorus?
Now find me a song that's all bridge.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 5:35 pm to shutterspeed
Not exactly on topic but how about a song that fades out during a VERSE? I can’t remember ever hearing any other song that does that.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 5:53 pm to Vandyrone
Upvoted just because of that song. 
Posted on 8/25/26 at 9:09 pm to shutterspeed
Man, Fela Kuti’s ENTIRE CAREER was being unconventional in his arrangements! His true inspiration was having Tony Allen as his drummer in Africa 70. Tony would play his downbeat anytime and anywhere, and having 2 baritone saxophonists created Afrobeat rhythms that to this day are mesmerizing. If you’re not familiar with Afrobeat, here’s a track featuring the saxophonists:
Posted on 8/25/26 at 10:05 pm to shutterspeed
Don't Stop Believin' is a strange arrangement - it only has one chorus, and that chorus is the outro and after the solo!
Posted on 8/25/26 at 10:06 pm to shutterspeed
quote:
It had no bass track
Sucks and it is a piece of shite!
Posted on 8/26/26 at 4:25 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
Don't Stop Believin' is a strange arrangement - it only has one chorus, and that chorus is the outro and after the solo!
Good one!
Posted on 8/26/26 at 4:26 pm to wareaglepete
quote:
Sucks and it is a piece of shite!
Yeah, no.
Posted on 8/26/26 at 4:39 pm to wareaglepete
quote:
Sucks and it is a piece of shite!
Absolutely
"touch if you will my stomach"
Posted on 8/26/26 at 5:35 pm to AlxTgr
yeah.. that is ear candy!
I always felt like this song could have been split into a few different songs.. and was just full of hooks...
Sure it sounds a bit dated in that 80s way.. but I still dig it..
I always felt like this song could have been split into a few different songs.. and was just full of hooks...
Sure it sounds a bit dated in that 80s way.. but I still dig it..
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