An couple of extreme cases of "built around a single riff" -
Motorhead - Orgasmatron
Hawkwind - Brainstorm
Motorhead - Orgasmatron
Hawkwind - Brainstorm
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Songs built on ONE riff or chord?
- Thread starter Flatwound
- Start date
(I know it's two chords, but still...)
Most of the songs on Talking Heads' "Remain In Light". Houses in Motion comes to mind. I swear there are only one or two chord changes on that whole record and it's solid.
White Discussion - Live
Alcoholiday - Teenage Fanclub
I guess that I don't really listen to a lot of 1-riff tunes. I expect more out of music.
Alcoholiday - Teenage Fanclub
I guess that I don't really listen to a lot of 1-riff tunes. I expect more out of music.
Coconut, Bang on the Drum - great stuff!
If There's Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go by Curtis Mayfield (Lucky Scott, probably)
Who Do You Love by Bo Diddley
I'm A Man by Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley
The Story of Bo Diddley by Eric Burdon and The Animals
The Beat Goes On by Sonny & Cher
88 Lines About 44 Women by The Nails
By the way, this thread is the first result from a Google search for "one riff songs."
I've been listening to Crosseyed And Painless by Talking Heads (from their Remain In Light album) for the past couple of weeks, and I haven't found any deviations from the one riff, or chord throughout the entire song.
However, I'm no musician.
However, I'm no musician.
Wang Dang Doodle was mentioned in the OP, but a lot of other Howlin' Wolf stuff fits the bill - Smokestack Lightning and Spoonful being the obvious ones.
+1. A constantly repeating chord progression like in Viva la Vida or With or Without You is not the same thing as a one-chord song.
My mind gets drawn to pop and hip-hop on this one - Sexyback/Justin Timberlake and Lose Yourself/Eminem come to mind. Though I think even Sexyback is technically two chords.
Don't confuse one "chord" with one "riff".
When I think of a one riff repeating song "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers always comes to mind. Although I believe there is a break/bridge when it goes to one other note/chord. Close enough to be one riff in my book!
When I think of a one riff repeating song "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers always comes to mind. Although I believe there is a break/bridge when it goes to one other note/chord. Close enough to be one riff in my book!
You can add "Keep on Chooglin'" for CCR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB8CMN-jX_g
"Graveyard Train" is badass and more of a song tha "Keep on Chooglin'" which is more of a jam.
D
73 posts and no one has mentioned "Feelin' Allright" by Dave Mason??? Definitely 2 chords, definitely one riff, at least in most arrangements, but it's been covered dozens (maybe hundreds) of times, so someone may have stuck their own break in a version.
