Zooming in on Unusual Rock Instruments 2 Quiz

Answer: Glass of Champagne

Sailor was a four-piece UK band that first formed in 1973. Their co-founder Georg Kajanus developed his version of a nickelodeon with pianos, synthesisers and glockenspiels. Using this instrument and taking it on tour allowed the band to faithfully recreate the music from the recording studio, on stage. "Glass of Champagne" was the group's first hit, reaching number two on the UK charts and number one in Ireland in 1975. The song was off their second studio album "Trouble" which also featured their second hit "Girls, Girls, Girls".

The original nickelodeon, apart from an early movie theatre, was a coin-operated piano embellished with percussion, bells and whistles.

Leith90, who is quite partial to a glass of bubbles herself, was singing along while writing this question. Cheers!

Answer: Good Vibrations

The theremin, which, as a musical instrument, separates itself from most other instruments by not requiring physical contact to be played, was invented by a young Soviet scientist by the name of Lev Termen. Lev would become become known as Leon Theremin in the West. Here's the important bits; (a) the Beach Boys were not the first rock band to use the theremin, that distinction goes, arguably, to Lothar and the Hand People, who were known for their spacey, psychedelic sound and (b) the instrument that the Beach Boys used was not "technically" a theremin. What they did use was labelled an electro-theremin, invented by Paul Tanner, that had a similar sound. Regardless, it was the sound and the popularity of the song "Good Vibrations" (1966) that focussed attention on the theremin's possibilities.

"Good Vibrations" was the Beach Boys' attempt to create a psychedelic sound. Brian Wilson composed the music, drawing inspiration from a fascination he had with "cosmic vibrations". He indicated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that it was his mother's warning to him that the world is filled with "different" vibrations and quoted, as an example, that dogs will bark when they sense "bad vibrations". Mike Love wrote the lyrics and indicated that he'd gotten the psychedelic vibe (no pun intended) from Wilson's sound and simply tried to write a "flowery poem" that kind of described a "bad acid trip" to accompany it.

This question just had to be written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who could just feel it in his bones.

Answer: Love Me Do

This was, arguably, the first rock record to feature the harmonica. Originally released in the UK in 1962, it only managed to get to number seventeen on the UK Singles chart. It did better in the US when it was released two years later, topping the Billboard Hot 100.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon both provided the vocals, and Lennon was the harmonica player. According to the "The Beatles Anthology" (2000, page 45) he (Lennon) was playing a harmonica he'd stolen from a Netherlands music shop. Lennon cited Frank Ifield's "I Remember You", with its harmonica intro, as being an influence.

Interestingly there were three versions of "Love Me Do" recorded, each with a different drummer. The version that went to number one in the USA featured Andy White on the drums, while Ringo Starr played the tambourine.

smpdit admits to kicking her son's harmonica under a cupboard, where it languished for many years. She doesn't think the music scene suffered from this act of kindness.

Answer: Harpsichord

The Stranglers were having trouble keeping a record contract in 1980 as their punk origins were no longer de rigueur. The band's keyboardist Dave Greenfield had been trying to foist this passage of music on the group for two years without success. One day at Mr Greenfield's abode, he played the piece on his harpsichord, a piece of furniture that was too big to put on stage. Hugh Cornwall finally took notice and wrote deliberately vague lyrics that could have been about a girl with a tan or heroin. The result was The Stranglers' biggest hit. Aside from the unique sound of the harpsichord, the song also has an unusual time signature of 6/8, at times, changing to 7/8. This was revealed by Hugh Cornwall when interviewed by Brian Nankervis on Australian Broadcasting Commission's "Friday Review" in 2019. In the same interview, he also admitted that the song was about both his "experimentation with illegal substances" and about his current partner, the girl with the golden skin.

This question was submitted by 1nn1 as a tribute to Dave Greenfield who contracted COVID-19 whilst in hospital for an unrelated condition and subsequently died on May 3, 2020. Rest in Peace, Mr Greenfield.

Answer: Soundgarden

Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Spoonman" was released as the first single from Soundgarden's 1994 album, "Superunknown". It featured the spellbinding spoon playing and passionate performance of Artis the Spoonman. Born Roger Leroy Wensel, Artis legally changed his name in 1988 after (apparently enjoying) a trip to the Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam. Artis was not entirely unknown to the world before working with Soundgarden. He had already collaborated with Frank Zappa in the early 80s and made a guest appearance on Letterman. But "Spoonman" definitely raised his profile. Not only did he perform a solo on the track, but the accompanying music video featured him prominently, with the band only appearing as still photographs. "Spoonman" was a smashing success, earning a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1995.

Phoenix Rising team member JCSon made a real mess trying to play spoons before finishing his ice cream.

Answer: Sing

Travis were a rock band with folk roots and the banjo features in several songs but none more so than "Sing" which was the most played song on British radio in 2001. The song started, as explained by lead singer Fran Healy to "Yahoo", after he saw a segment on MTV about swingbeat. "I started singing, 'Swing... If you swing, swing, swing, swing.' And I was imagining someone pushing someone on a swing. It was just that feeling when you're a child on a swing - it's the coolest feeling!". In the studio it became "Sing" instead of "Swing" and became about the recuperative powers of music. Healy explained further to "Yahoo", "'Sing'-You could replace that word with 'Dance' or 'Cry' or 'Laugh' or just 'Let Go.' 'Cause as an expression, when you're a child, you sing all the time. And then when you get older, you don't". The song reached number three in the UK, and top ten in several other countries. In the United States, "Sing" reached number 14 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart. The album containing the single was "The Invisible Band" and it reached number one on the UK charts, as well as receiving widespread critical acclaim. To cap off 2001, Travis was voted Best British Band at the annual BRIT Awards.

This question was written but not sung by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: 3

The instrument has three strings, two of which are tuned to the same note. The strings are either plucked with the fingertips, or a plectrum. It is a traditional Russian instrument, with a history dating back several centuries. It is mentioned in the Beatles' "Back in the USSR", but not played in that song.

Rasputin was a rather extraordinary man, and very charismatic. His charm influenced the Tsarina, Empress Alexandra, to such an extent that other powerful members of the court decided that he had to go. Even his assassination was extraordinary - he was poisoned with cyanide, shot several times, and finally succumbed after being thrown in a river. The song "Rasputin" was a Euro disco hit in 1978 for Boney M and featured on their second album "Nightflight to Venus". In their lyrics they go further than describing Rasputin as a political manipulator, they raise him to the ranks of playboy and mystical healer.

This question was plucked out of thin air by ozzz2002, from the Phoenix Rising team.

Answer: You Can Call Me Al

All of the listed songs appear on the "Graceland" (1986) album, but the one that focus on the midlife crisis is the one about Al. Simon has explained that the song was inspired by his visit to South Africa and that the lyrics shift after the instrumental interlude to indicate that Al finds himself in "a street in a strange world" and that he "doesn't speak the language". The title was inspired by an encounter at a party where composer Pierre Boulez introduced him to other guests as "Al". The penny whistle, which is related to the recorder and is also called a flageolet, was played by Morris Goldberg, a South African born saxophonist who, apart from being adept at the penny whistle, is also a virtuoso clarinettist and flute player.

This question was provided by player pusdoc, who does know how to whistle - put your lips together and blow.

Answer: Mandolin

In 1989 REM guitarist Peter Buck was teaching himself how to play the mandolin, a small four stringed instrument slightly bigger than a ukulele but with a larger range. He recorded what he played and, in the middle of it was the riff that became the unmistakable sound of "Losing my Religion". He took the riff and chorus back to the band who worked it up in the studio. Lead singer Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics in an hour. (The song despite the imagery in the film clip is not about religion but unrequited love - the title is from the Southern USA expression "lost my religion", which means something has questioned your faith so much that you might lose your religion. If you are "losing your religion" over a person, you are losing faith in that relationship and person). When they were finished, Buck told "Guitar School" magazine in 1991, "It was written with electric bass, drums, and mandolin. So it had a hollow feel to it. There's absolutely no midrange on it, just low end and high end, because Mike [Mills] usually stayed pretty low on the bass. This was when we decided we'd get Peter (Holsapple - extra guitarist on "Out of Time") to record with us, and he played live acoustic guitar on this one. It was really cool".
"Losing My Religion" was REM's biggest hit.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1 who has fond memories of his two year old daughter dropping everything to dance to this song which, in 1991 was on high rotation in their family home.

Answer: Bruce Springsteen

As he rose to a crescendo on his 1973 hit "Piano Man", Billy Joel lent into the microphone and bawled "... and the piano sounds like a carnival", before lilting off to another "la la la diddy la". Billy didn't give us a carnival, he gave us a smoke filled bar, unlike Springsteen and Federici who managed to provide us with the carousel, the Tilt-a-ride and a night filled with grease paint and fortune telling. "Sandy", which rose from Springsteen's sophomore album "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" (also 1973), is one of Springsteen's best known, albeit wordy, ballads. Springsteen is wistful as he tells of the love between the narrator and Sandy in an atmosphere that threatens to doom them. In the background "Phantom Dan" Federici is delivering a masterclass in the deft delivery of a difficult instrument. He delivers melody like a gymnast on the uneven bars, he's subdued as Springsteen moans about that waitress that got tired of him and springs into life as Bruce pauses to reconsider.

The accordion, believed to have been invented in Germany early in the nineteenth century, became a popular instrument amongst performers because of the wide range of functions it possessed and the melodies, drones and harmonies it could deliver. In the early hours of rock and roll, the guitar became the hero and the accordion slipped to being a support act before drifting into the shadows. In many respects it enjoyed a revival under Federici's guidance. Springsteen would often open his shows with just himself and Dan on the stage, pretending to be wondering minstrels. Sadly the world lost a wonderful talent when Federici passed away in 2008. He joined Bruce and the band on stage that year for one last gig and requested to play just one song... you guessed it... "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)".

This question was created by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, not because it struck a chord with him but because he is an unabashed fan of this song.