Musicheads focus on the musical keyboard: What is one of your favorite keyboard parts?

Lou Reed, "Perfect Day".

"Drinking with an Angel" , The Suburbs.

The organ bits in Nick Cave's Red Right Hand. Freaking chilling...

So many GREAT answers! FRick, I am right with you regarding Steve Nieve. Love that piano on "Oliver's Army"

Tim M, I dig Chan's piano as well on Drinking With an Angel. Always LOVED seeing the 'Burbs doing that one at the Cabooze. Beej was always hangin from the rafters!

My runner-up answer has to be the Band's Chest Fever!

Professional Widow by Tori Amos- the version on Boys for Pele uses the harpsichord with amazing effect and the live, Merry Widow version uses an organ and sends chills down my spine.

I am also consistently blown away by the piano prowess of Diamanda Galas. Whether she doing a more straight-up version of a song or a more radical interpretation, she always uses the piano effectively. Some of my favorites are Time (Interlude) from her latest album Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!, the classicaly influenced Si La Muerte and the rembetika influenced Keigome Keigome (both tracks from the album Malediction and Prayer).

On her album Northern Lights, Gretchen Peters does a version of Angels We Have Heard on High that she calls (Charlie's) Angels because instead of the Glorias in the hymn, it's the riffs from Vince Guaraldi's Skating. Barry Walsh plays the part, and it's great, as is his work on the rest of the album. I also like Emily Smith's work on her album Too Long Away, especially on May Coven and Caledonia .

Question: Does the MOOG synthesizer fall under the "keyboard" category? If so, then...

Answer: The Rentals. ANYTHING by The Rentals kicks ass. Matt Sharp is a genius. The Current should definitely play more of them (well, except "Waiting" - nobody likes that song).

The organ breakdown in "Organ Donor" by DJ Shadow. Every time I hear that it makes me want to buy an organ and dedicate the rest of my life to it's study.

the best in my mind is Rick Wakeman's iconic solo at toward the end of Yes' "Roundabout". hands down - there is nothing better, & proof that the keys do rock, as sited by Jack Black in "School of Rock". (his solo towards the end of "Close to the Edge" is pretty good as well.)

for something more au courant, i would say Ben Folds in his song "My Philosophy" off the same album that gave us "Underground" - which itself has a pretty great piano break. but what makes it for me on "My Philosophy" is the fact that its like his statement song - his defense of himself & his music - & as such he gives himself wide berth on his solo - & i mean, he really lets loose. he even cribs Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" - how awesome is that?

One of the greatest keyboard in my opinion is "Siberiaan Khatru" By Yes. If you haven't heard this song you must because it is of the best prog-rock songs by one of the best prog-rock band.

I also LOVE the "Oliver's Army" keyboard part. Tokyo Police Club have a buch of good parts as well on basically all of their songs.

I also love "Baba O' Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" but who doesn't.
"Perfect Crime #2" by The Decemberists has a great line too, oh and M79 by Vampire weekend is great too. "Hummer" by Foals has a great keyboard riff as well, "Sequestered In Memphis" is a great one as well as "Stuck Between Stations" by The Hold Steady. And who could possibly forget The Good, The Bad and The Queen's self-titled song although that may be piano.

oops - just remembered one more fantastic piano solo - from The The's first album, the song "Uncertain Smile". very moving.

ok - that does it for me - Yes, Ben Folds, & The The.

Ack!

How could I forget "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procal Harum?!

Great song.

Um...why so many "classic rock" bands here? Ish.

An answer to your question Dan...Yes the Moog can count. As I have said on occasion, this in not an exact science!

Good call on The The's "Uncertain Smile" david b!

I LOVE the organ on the New Pornographers tune, "The Laws Have Changed!"

being the progressive rock nerd I am, I could have chose dozens..from my beloved Marillion, to Dream Theater, to the likes of Jethro Tull or Pain of Salvation.

I guess 1 of my favorites that really features some outstanding work is Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's "Tarkus."

Another obvious choice, although I have to preface it to say the key/synth/piano work on said piece is hardly the only element that makes this particular work as exceptional as it is. Yes's "The Gates of Delirium." Many fans, of course can't entirely get past the fact on the "Relayer" record from which it comes from, renowned keyboard legend Rick Wakeman did not write or perform on this. But instead, it was future Moody Blues key-man Patrick Moraz who replaced Wakeman admirably, taking Yes to new places and in many opinions, heights. TGOD is one of those compositions that took full advantage of studio experimentation and overdubbing. Bombastic, dynamic, interactive, the "war" or "battle" section (as I've seen it referred) alone is worth the price of admission, which leads to the wonderful pitch-bending "Soon" section/ending. Moraz basically threw everything and the kitchen-sink into it. Perhaps why it has never fully translated as well live as the masterwork he was able to pull off in the studio. Sadly, it was his only studio work with Yes, and they never entered into anything quite that heavy/layered again in the keyboard department. Maybe a big reason why it stands out in fact.

But I probably would be lying to not name maybe 1 of the most signature key/synth parts in so-called *classic* progressive rock. Genesis "The Cinema Show." Tony Banks shines greatly to bring their 1973 'Selling England By the Pound" album to a fitting climax. I always get goosebumps when I hear the layering and interaction that builds. And maybe one of the best things about it, is the fact it never feels overdone or long. Every phrase, every nuance was composed how it was for a reason.

Song Of Zarathustra - A former roomate of mine used to listen to these guys a lot. I ripped his cd (The Birth of Tragedy) into my I Tunes and found myself listening to them this morning. I forgot how great the keyboard work in this album is. I don't hear too many punk/hardcore bands that use keyboards, let alone use them effectively. Another, simillar sounding band that comes to mind that uses keyboards quite well is VSS.
I also liked how the Get Up Kids incorporated keys into their sound.

In a couple weeks, the best answer will be: Jimmy Smith, Silent Night

Oh yeah....The Get Up Kids really DO have some good keyboard parts. Their 2000 album Eudora has a great alternate version of "Newfound Mass" with beautiful piano. Kinda strange - The Get Up Kids have been mentioned several times in the last few weeks here on this blog. I can see why.

R.E.M.'s "Don't Go Back To Rockville" also deserves some mention here. And so does pretty much anything by Wolf Parade. And "Toxic Toast" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

Anyone want to take bets that Mary Lucia could ask more interesting questions?

just kidding..I think Bill is a great moderater. I agree with the chap who brought up The Who, but nobody has talked about The Doors-didn't they kinda rework the band element thing with replacing the bass with a keyboard? I know it's more KQ territory than The Current, but it's music.

Re: The Doors...I think the keyboards were the only thing about the Doors that I liked. :)

Muse's Butterflies and Hurricanes is another favorite of mine.

Ann Dudley does some very impressive work in the Art of Noise album The Seduction of Claude Debussy.

I listen to quite a bit of metal and while a lot of keyboard work in metal can come off as quite cheesy, some bands use keys to great effect. Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Arcturus are three bands that immediately come to mind. Emperor leader Ihsahn had a side project with his wife, Ihriel, called Peccatum that used keyboard to great effect, especially on their last album, Lost in Reverie.

Madness, is one of my all time fave bands, and they have lots of great piano driven songs. I just have to play air-piano to "The opium eaters day on the town"every time I hear it, of course while I'm belting out the lyrics. Infact I was just playing it ...Oh great my wife just smashed the record....guess I'll have to get the cd.

We has also discussed how awesome Emerson, Lake and Palmer "Lucky Man" was... after the show. The use of the "wheel" on the keyboard kind of rules of that tune.

I tend to go for the simplicy over the bombastic keyboard racks of ELP. Things like Trio, "Da Da Da"

The first piano guy I thought of was Max Middleton of the Jeff Beck Group. With Bob Tench vocalizing and of course J.B., Timeless and awesome. Then there's Nils Lofgrens first solo album, He played both piano and guitar, though probably not at the same time. That rolling piano on songs like "Going Back" and "The sun hasn't set on this boy yet" is killer.
Or how about Seth Justman of the J. Geils band. Wolf and Justman were like Jones and Strummer or like Lennon and Mcartney for that matter. They should have all kissed and made up. Phil Aaberg was a crucial element to the Elvin Bishop Group sound. Barry Andrews in the early XTC band, out of control. Jerry Harrison on the first Modern Lovers album cranking out "Road Runner" totally Garage. And if you were into the Boston music scene in the 80's, Jeff Connely of the Lyres was a god.

Anything From Keane is a masterpiece to me!

Speaking of which

I gotta go buy the new one!

OK, here's the old guy who's remembering how Booker T. and the MGs taught us all how to build a groove on a tasty slice of keyboards back in the day. Can I also give a shoutout to ? and the Mysterians "96 Tears," probably the first time I ever heard the funky Farfisa (and that if I didn't mention it, you know I'd cry, cry cry cry!).

thanks for mentioning the New Pornos, Bill. my answer would probably have to be the synth on "All for Swinging You Around." Neko makes reference at one point to "the moments you are hearing through a beam of light," which is total genius because that synth part cuts through the song precisely like a laser beam. few keyboard parts are so central or defining to a song as that keyboard part over in the left channel.

On the flipside of all this, what keyboard parts are utterly horrible?

This is the question I thought to myself yesterday when someone at the Current (I forget who) played Kate Nash. My knee-jerk reaction to hearing her was to turn the station. Kate Nash is SO annoying!! ARGH!! Does anyone else feel this way?

Elvis Costello's "Radio, Radio"

The Fender Rhodes is a beautiful sounding keyboard, and I think few musicians have been able to get as much out of it as Stevie Wonder.

Specifically, Stevie Wonder's "As" is a great example with an almost percussive bottom layer played by Stevie and some great melodic riffs played over the top by Herbie Hancock.

Also, "I Wish" really showcases the versatility of the instrument. Those bass parts he playes on the keys still blow me away.

I love the piano on Wilco's "A Shot in the Arm." That's gotta be one of my favorites.

I agree Eric. Also Wilco's "When You Wake Up Feeling Old" is amazing.

The Animals version of "House Of The Rising Sun" has a nice solo.

Bruce Hornsby's keyboard work on "That's Just the Way It Is" pretty much blew me away in the day. Much of the keyboard work on Steely Dan's music still gets me pretty revved up.

A bit late to the party here, but I'm throwing in the pair of keyboard parts on U2's "Lemon." No high virtuosity, but spare notes judiciously applied. The alternation between the tremolo'd, heavily processed verse parts (matching the uncertain, tentative lyrics) and the clean, bright chorus tones ("Midnight is where the day begins") gets me every time.

Rick Wakeman, Yes, Roundabout.