The Corrs Club

Closer and Runaway
13-Oct-2015 22:32:50

CorrsClub Time:
28-Mar-2024 02:59:45

I've been wanting to write a detailed comparison of Closer and Runaway -- two of my favorite songs -- for a while. I'm not going to have time to do that anytime soon, so I'll just offer some brief thoughts now:

I agree with OsamaRaashid that this sounds like an Andrea and Caroline song. It has many musical aspects in common with Runaway, which we know is mainly an Andrea and Caroline song (with some help from Sharon). Some common points:

1) Both songs are built around an ostinato -- a repeated piano arpeggio that runs through most of the song.

2) Both songs have unusual harmonies, emphasizing 2nds and 9ths -- a Corrs trademark. In Runaway, we have chords such as C7sus4/G, Bbmaj9, Gm9, and a whole bunch of Bbsus2 and Fsus2 chords. Closer has C#m7sus2, D#dim/A, and lots of C#m9 and Aadd9 chords. Closer is a somewhat darker, but the two songs sound similar to me. I've often thought of Closer as the darker, more minor cousin of Runaway.

3) Both songs are in 6/8 time (6 beats per bar). Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other non-traditional Corrs songs that are in 6/8, although I'm sure I'm forgetting some. (Erin Shore and probably Buachaill On Eirne are also in 6/8).

4) Both songs have unusual arrangements in the outro. Neither song simply fades out from the chorus, as is typical. Runaway fades out over the intro music (with Sharon's memorable violin part), and Closer fades out over what you might call a bridge or middle eight (the section where Sharon plays keyboards in Lansdowne Road). Also, the fade-out harmonies are unexpected. Sharon's violin part in the Runaway fade-out "brightens" at 3:48 in the FNF version, where she replaces B-flats in her violin line with B-naturals (I think the song modulates into the Lydian mode at this point, which is not common in pop music). Closer fades out over a A/C# - Em7 - F# progression, which is unexpected for a song in key of E major (particularly the E minor 7 chord). Runaway also has a shift in the drumming pattern from a 6/8 to a 4/4 feel as the song fades out (starting at 3:52), which we discussed here a long time ago.

If both songs were indeed written when Andrea and Caroline were in their late teens or early 20s, I think that's an impressive level of musical sophistication for that age. Actually, they're great songs no matter how old the songwriters were. smile.gif

There's probably more that could be said, but that's all I have time for at the moment. Anyone want to compare the lyrics to see if there are similarities? smile.gif

SteveW
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