#also: i too am shocked to learn that the bass line on 'arrow through me' was done on the electric piano

[sounwise]

DAYTRIPPIN’: Let’s address the reputation Paul McCartney had at the time for treating members of Wings like “sidemen,” a charge that was leveled by other Wings members and played up quite a bit in the 1970s. JUBER: A sideman is typically a musician that is hired to play a role on stage and/or in the studio. For me specifically, to deliver a guitar solo, some groove and texture, a cool rhythm guitar part or whatever was appropriate. For example during the Back to the Egg period, as well as playing the obvious lead guitar stuff, I played bass guitar on “Love Awake,” slide acoustic on “After the Ball,” the Flamenco lead acoustic solo on “Goodnight Tonight.” So yes, I was a sideman, but the job assignment very much included considering myself a part of the band. I’m a bit of a chameleon stylistically and I think that I got the gig because I could play the bluesy lead stuff, but also other styles like the jazzy intro on “Baby’s Request.” What’s on the recordings represents the creative opportunities that Paul afforded me and he gave me a lot of leeway. The only times he ever told me what to specifically play was when he had a particular lick, like on “Daytime Nighttime Suffering.” Addressing the question in financial terms it was still a ‘work for hire’ and a reasonable improvement from what I was making as a studio musician. I’ve never had any complaints about the financial end of the arrangement. Early on, Paul had a bit of a reputation for not paying his bandmates well. This really goes back to when Wings first started and Paul had limited cash flow. There were financial issues because of the way the Beatles broke up and it took a while for those to be solved. Part of it was also Paul’s idea of creating Wings essentially from scratch. When the band first started, Paul told me that he [basically only] had an office and a phone, and got to work. I think he wanted to know the basic functions of the business end before he would hand it over to someone else. So basically the attitude was, “This is a small band and we’re going to get in a bus and go to a college and play at lunch time and share whatever money goes into the hat.” It’s a nice utopian kind of vision, but it became hard on the other guys as time wore on and didn’t quite fit with the fact that Paul was a still a megastar. By the time I joined the band things had changed, although the ‘esprit de corps’ was still there. In all its incarnations Wings sounded like a band, not like a solo McCartney project and I think that reflects well not only on Paul’s ability to share in the creative process, but also on the importance of Denny and Linda’s contributions, too. The other players brought their own personalities to the scene.

[—from “Exclusive: Ex-Wings guitarist, Laurence Juber, talks about having Paul McCartney as a boss” in Daytrippin’ Beatles Magazine (October 15, 2010)]

[austencello]

Lian Yu - Arrow Music Notes 5x23

The end of this season brings Team Arrow (plus a few former enemies) against Team Prometheus with many epic fights and small character moments as Oliver deals with the residing guilt over his father’s suicide as he fights for his own son.  Meanwhile, Oliver races against Kovar and time to get to the boat to return home in the Flashbacks bringing the 5 seasons full circle back to the pilot.

Usually, I divide the episode review up into characters or places.  However, the episode is so intertwined with returning themes, new themes, and the Flashbacks that I will point out important themes and characters as the episode unfolded.

The episode begins with the opening line from the Pilot about Lian Yu (Purgatory) with the Lian Yu sound (”Five Years” 1x01) as it transitions to Oliver recruiting Slade to help him.  As Slade explains that he is sane again, the music “Promise Kept” plays (2x20 - Slade kidnaps Oliver, Moira and Thea before Moira dies).  It is eerie and reminds us (along with Slade) of the man and monster Slade had become in Season 2.  Oliver is literally facing his demons and one of the worst nights of his life to defeat Prometheus and find his son.  Slade recognizes that Oliver should have killed him but Oliver says that this could be the reason he didn’t.  He offers redemption to find their sons and then gives him the Deathstroke mask accompanied by the electronic Deathstroke sound (1x05 - “Deathstroke” - first with Billy Wintergreen, then Slade later on.)

The Deathstroke motive (low brass tri-tone - 1x09 “Deathstroke”, again first with Wintergreen then Slade) plays as he appears with Oliver and Harkness in his full gear.  Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Kovar discovers that Oliver has escaped and the music has a sense of urgency as Oliver runs with a repeating string pattern, cimbalon, electronics, and percussion.  (This was one of my favorite new music moments.)  The cimbalon plays as Oliver flashbacks to his agreement with Anatoly that the boat would arrive soon.

Back in the present day, Slade, Oliver, and Harkness discover part of Team Arrow in cages accompanied by a repeated pizzicato pattern (pizzicato was also used for the trap set for Thea and Quentin in 5x22).  Slade at first appears to help the enemy but then gives a clue to Oliver: “There is no giving up to these guys” - a reference to their training in 1x14.  The same timpani hit with brass plays for both times he says that line. The electronic Deathstroke sound plays as Slade punches Harkness.  The fight that ensues with Talia and Evelyn (and Harkness) has an almost techno feel in the syncopated electronic and percussive beats.

Felicity and Thea are not happy to see Oliver teaming up with Slade and that he wants them to leave so Thea brings Oliver to the side to talk.  Hammered dulcimer (Oliver’s instrument) plays as he asks her for help regardless of the situation.  Because she loves him, she agrees.

Oliver gives Felicity a tablet containing imagery of the Island: “Just in case.”  Harp (Felicity’s instrument) and piano (Oliver’s instrument) plays “Purest Heart” as Felicity kisses him: “Just in case.”  “Purest Heart” is from 2x21 as both Walter and Oliver tell Thea how much Oliver loves her.  This returns several times throughout the series as Oliver expresses his love as her brother and how much he needs her: 3x03, 3x20, 4x12.  Oliver will always love Thea, no matter what.  His love is strong, loyal, and faithful and he will always believe the best in her.  The other woman that he loves this much is Felicity.  He will always love Felicity with this depth, strong and loyal.  She is his world and he believes in her.  (Thanks to Blake Neely who helped clarify this for me!)

Men’s choir (often used for religious spaces) sings as Diggle and Quentin are brought through the Chinese Holy Retreat by Black Siren to where Dinah and Rene are chained up.  Meanwhile, Oliver and Slade talk about his past coming to haunt him.  Slade tells Oliver it all comes down to his Father’s suicide and the guilt he carries from it. The only way to move forward is to forgive himself.  During this scene, strings and horn (Hero theme 2) plays.

Malcolm tries to initiate conversation with Thea, who wants nothing to do with him.  Crutales (a callback to “Like Father, Like Daughter” - 3x03 when they trained together) play over an electronic repeated note before Thea steps on a landmine (with the Lian Yu sound.)  Malcolm pushes her off and sacrifices himself as his theme in the harp plays with a new theme in strings.  Malcolm was a selfish villain and had a twisted sense of love but he gets a chance for redemption for finally putting Thea first.

Oliver, Nyssa and Slade arrive at the Retreat site and split up.  Slade knocks Oliver out (appearing to betray him) and the first note of the Deathstroke motive plays as he hands Oliver over to Black Siren. 

Meanwhile, Thea and Felicity talk about their evil dads as Thea struggles with the reality that Malcolm just died.  Regardless of their issues and terrible parenting, both Dads ultimately were willing to sacrifice themselves for their children when in harms way.  As Felicity tells Thea it is okay to miss Malcolm, a new melody plays in high bell-like tones over strings.  Thea got to see the father Malcolm could have been but too late.

Back with the rest of the Team, Oliver gives Dinah the device Curtis created to bypass the sonic dampeners.  As she lets go a scream (and named Black Canary by Quentin), a new triumphant brass motive plays.

Talia hears the Canary Cry and turns to stop the prisoners but is interrupted by Nyssa.  As they deal with “unfinished business” by dueling, a lot of Nanda Parbat/Nyssa instruments are featured especially with the duduk and drums. The Season 2 mirakiru horns (interestingly mirroring the melismas in the duduk) play as Deathstroke jumps in and stops Talia’s League.

Oliver and the rest of the team joins up with Nyssa and Slade as hero horn 1 (first heard in 1x01 “Sacrifice”) plays but then switches to Prometheus’ tick-tock and string glissandos as he appears with his team.  The tick-tock continues as he continues to taunt and mess with Oliver’s head.  A fight commences and the music plays the themes of each character as they fight: Arrow, Deathstroke, Diggle (in horns) and Wild-Dog. It’s pretty awesome.

The music morphs as the fights morph from Flashbacks to present day: cimbalon and low Russian strings as Kovar knows he just has to make Oliver miss his boat, to Team Arrow music timbre with higher strings as the team fights, to more electronics as the Canaries fight.  Horns begin the Canary theme (2x03 “Canary”) and then changes into the last 3 notes of the new melody with Dinah’s cry earlier in the episode.  Electronics pick up again as Black Siren walks over to Dinah but then quiet as she gets knocked out.  Horn (hero) plays as Quentin explains he had to: “for so many reasons.”

Chase tries to get Oliver to kill him but Oliver ultimately refuses as the slow version of the Arrow theme plays in the lower strings (used in emotional moments for Oliver - “I forgot Who I was”)  As he tells Adrian that he is no longer that killer, the violins play it faster overlaying the slower version (Green Arrow plus Oliver Queen): “That’s not who I am now.”  Horn joins with a new theme as he declares that he is done blaming himself for his father’s death.  Violins play the slow Arrow theme again as Chase tells Oliver that William is dead, a moment of brief anguish.  Cellos and basses play as Oliver refuses to kill Chase and become that murderer again even if that is true.

Oliver runs to catch Chase (in a boat) while in the Flashbacks he gets ready to catch his boat accompanied by “Saving Oliver” (1x14 - Diggle and Felicity race against time to save dying Oliver.)  This track gives a sense of urgency of life and death.  The Arrow brass glissando occurs as present Oliver jumps and races down the pier to catch Adrian’s boat.  A version of the Arrow theme plays as he attack Chase.

The music switches to “Five Years” as a shortened opening sequence from the Pilot is shown of Oliver being rescued bringing the series full circle.

The team discovers that the escape plane has been sabotaged as the strings maneuver around (similar but longer pattern to “The Team Continues Without Oliver” in S3).  They tell Oliver and then Chase brings out William giving Oliver an ultimatum: save the team or William.  The horn plays a new melody starting on a dissonant note before resolving and repeats it.  Dissonance always gives musical tension which amps up the tension for this horrible situation.

Oliver shoots Chase in the leg and rescues William from Adrian’s grasp.  Then Flashbacks begin with Oliver calling Moira that he is still alive.  “Returning Home” plays which is the same music when she sees him for the first time in the pilot: “My beautiful boy.”

As Chase begins to monologue about how fitting it is that William should discover his father’s identity in the same place that Oliver learned the truth about his, a high eerie pitch plays over a slow minor scale in the strings.  It gives a hint that something is not quite right and then the tick-tock begins as his final plan comes into play to destroy Oliver.  His string glissandos are added as the gun comes out and Oliver realizes in horror that Chase is going to kill himself and blow up the Island with everyone on it.  A very low rumble and the high pitch is left hanging before everything becomes silent except for the bombs exploding.  Leaving Oliver and William (and the audience) in complete anguish and shock.

Extra Notes

- What an ending.  This reminded me of Season 1 when Oliver believed he had won only to have the villain have a final twist up his sleeve.  To finally choose to let go of his past and trust his team only to have them ripped away from him is heartbreaking.  (Thankfully we know that Arrow will not have killed off almost every cast member so we have a bit more hope)

-  It has been a joy to go through this music again this season.  Thanks for all of your support and encouragement.  Thanks also to Blake Neely and his team for writing fantastic music that gets us all so excited (and for answering my questions!)

- Until next time!

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