Song of the Week # 7 - "Imagine We"

"Imagine We" clocks in at 4:41 and is chock full of guitar mayhem hidden within it's mellow exterior.

Today, I mostly want to talk about compositional ideas....

Borrowing from a common melodic theme heard in dozens of songs sung over a simply Cmaj7 to Am7 change, followed by a 2nd section that replaces the C with an F add9 (the F doesn't properly replace the C until you add the maj 7 and the add9, then you get out of the box, which creates some interesting opportunities for the melody). The F add9 then expands to add the mj7 & #11 for extra spice.

Then comes the twist: a modulation to F#m (using the4 same 2 chord pattern, this time F#m add9 to E add9) that pivots off the A note in both Am7 & F#m. The F# expands using the same open E & B to an F#m11, with the E & B notes common to the Eadd9. This allows a pivot back to the original key using, again, the E & B that are also common to the Cmaj7.

Cute, huh?

Several more things then rear up: the same bridge that we saw in "That You're Gone" and "Ragamuffin Voodoo" re-appears (again, in a new context) and the stage is set using some mean guitar runs that occur later on the CD in other songs, for more self-referencing tie-ins on "Virtual Light".

I wonder how many more YOU can find? We haven't even mentioned the lyrics yet, or melodic themes.

Yes, "Virtual Light" is becoming quite the musical puzzle....

Listen here: http://www.skinnydevil.com/Imagine We.mp3

Enjoy!