Is it all about the melody and whether the harmony makes your head cock and eyes squint? Maybe there’s more to it….

Lady Antebellum (“Need You Now“) versus Alan Parsons (“Eye In The Sky“): when the melody of two songs is this close to being the same, it could be a lawsuit of Grammy-ical proportions just waiting to happen. Give it a listen and decide for yourself:

Now I’ve read (oh great, Tim’s reading now), the YouTube guy that posted this video admittedly changed the key and tempo of “Eye in the Sky” in order to mash the songs and showcase the similarities between “Eye” and “Need” more closely. So then the questionable doubt would be is it then ‘fair to compare’ if that kind of  manipulation happened? (just another reason why YouTube should be strictly for entertainment and not used as a soapbox for any other agenda grandstanding).

Personally, I liked Alan Parsons back in the 70’s and early 80’s (I still do like his music from back then, for that matter). And I enjoy Lady Antebellum today. There is only, what…30 years, give or take a few, between the artists and their hit songs! Geez – is imitation no longer flattering even after all this time?

Perhaps we ought to think of this melody as that of an old, old pair of trousers still hanging in our closet (or maybe its that life-long collection of neckties). You know darn good and well that if you keep hold of clothes long enough the fashion will come back into style. Hmmmm. In this case here, are we seeing if the trousers (songs) still fit today after all these years?

I say we enjoy both songs for what they are, when they are…and can I get the waistline let out a bit while you’re at it (dang if those trousers didn’t shrink up hanging on that hanger).