Al Green – “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”

Album: Let’s Stay Together

Producer: Willie Mitchell

Released: 1972

Genre: R&B, Soul

Length: 6:22

Studio Recorded At: Royal Recording Studios

Chords: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/a/al_green/how_can_you_mend_a_broken_heart_tab.htm

“How can You Mend a Broken Heart” was originally write by Barry and Robin Gibb of The Bee Gee’s. However, Al Green’s soulful rendition of the song is just too good to pass up and will be the subject of our analysis. Al Green’s song is sad song that evokes memories of younger days. From reading the lyrics it seems to be about someone older looking back at the past with heartache.

The 6/8 time signature is the perfect way to enhance the emotion the musician is trying to convey. 6/8 time signatures have a flow to them that makes it sound waltzy-y while not feeling rigid. Another really good example is “Still Got the Blues” by Gary Moore.

Chords and song structure

Intro: E – F#m – A -B – A – B – A – Ab – Gm – E

Verse/Prechorus: E – F#m – E – Ab – C#m – F# – B

Chorus: Intro: E – F#m – A -B – A – B – A – Ab – F#m – E

Even though the song is in E major, the use of the F#m gives the song a somber feeling. It’s a very cleverly hidden I-IV-V blues song with certain chordal arrangements thrown in to tie the song together. Both the intro/chorus chords as well as the verse have a chordal refrain to close off each part of the song. This is a very effective technique to avoid a repetitive three chord verse or a chorus by closing each part with a completely unique hook.

The song structure is a simple verse/prechoru/chorus structure that blends really well together. You could almost dismiss the pre-chorus as just a part of the verse but it does sound like a distinctly different part connecting the verse and chorus together. The arrangement, along with the chords, make this song a very fluid one, and at 6:22 it is quite long considering the simple structure. However, it’s all because of the arrangement and how the instrumentation keeps weaving in and out that makes the length of the song irrelevant

Arrangements

The arpeggio guitar is perfectly suited for the 6/8 time signature as the guitar arpeggio moves with the song in such a nice way.

Notice the instrumentation in the intro. The drums and guitar start off the E chord and it isn’t until the chord change that you notice the organ swell that was underneath the whole time. Talk about a subtle surprise.

To close off the intro into the chorus the string section enters to enhance the flowing arrangement even further. This is a great way to create interest in the arrangement before you mute it again to focus on the vocal and lyrics that start in the first verse.

The vocal takes center stage as soon as the verse starts. All the instruments tend to back off except the ever-present guitar arpeggio. The organ increases in volume and presence in the verse refrain as we start to enter into the chorus.

Production and arrangement is all about contrast and creating interest for the listener so adding or dropping elements of the production is an easy way to accomplish this. In the chorus we hear the string section coming in to reinforce the sadness of his lyrics. Because we have all these instruments playing at the same time in the chorus there is a need for another instrument to enhance it even further.

Enter the backing vocals. By adding harmonies with the choir of backup vocals we get an even more somber feel to the chorus as they sing along with him. Every chorus can be considered a double chorus so when the first line enters again the backup vocals drop into simple oohs that help end every phrase in an interesting way.

The rest of the song follows this structure and arrangement. Backup vocals enhance the hook in the chorus while the lead vocal gives a great performance, with soulful and professional ad-libs. The strings do short fills here and there in empty pockets of the song and the organ and guitar keep the song flowing forward. The feel of the song is so good they can get away with repeating the chorus over and over with some extra scat and interplay between Al Green and the backup vocals.

The Production

Without inside knowledge of the matter, the sound of the recording sounds like it was all recorded together for a great performance, straight to tape. The vintage sound, the interplay between the musicians and the live feel you get from the space and reverb on the recording is especially an indicator of this.

There are no fancy production or mixing tricks that are obvious from listening. The whole sound is fairly dry though, especially the vocal. There’s just the right amount of reverb for separation between instruments and was probably just done with expert engineering and microphone placement in a big live room.

You could say that sometimes the strings and backup vocals interfere with the lead vocal. The guitar might have a slight tremolo or univibe effect on it, although the vibe from the organ could be affecting how the listener hears the guitar.

Key Take Aways

Simplicty – Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of a simple song structure. The song flows as one whole without section changes being too apparent. To me, that’s the point of the whole arrangement. Letting it flow in a simple way while enhancing it with subtle production decisions and arrangement is what makes this such a great song.

Time signature – The 6/8 time signature completely complements the feel of the song, the constant guitar arpeggio and the subtle organ sounds in the background. Adding in soulful backup vocals and lush strings alongside an incredibly soulful vocal performance by Al Green is what puts it all together.