‘Running Away’ by Roy Ayers Ubiquity

Roy Ayers, who sadly passed in March, had a Ubiquity (1970) album before he chose the name for his band, Roy Ayers Ubiquity. They had released eight albums between 1972 and 1976 before the following year’s Lifeline. William Henry Allen plays his bass as a lead instrument on ‘Running Away’, with the backing “Doo-bee-doo / Run, run, run” and even Ayer’s vocals sounding like accompaniments. Kwame Steve Cobb’s drumming is relentless and never gets stale, even on the near-7-minute ‘12-Inch Long Version’ (on which the snare is mixed higher in a very disco fashion).

‘Runnin’ Away’ by Sly & The Family Stone

‘Runnin’ Away’ was among the perkier songs on Sly & The Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971) (though the album does include Sly yodelling on ‘Spaced Cowboy’). The record is widely considered to be Sly’s masterpiece. By this time, he had mostly retreated from the rest of the band and recorded many of the instruments himself. It does, though, still feature significant contributions from his bandmates, not least on ‘Runnin’ Away’. The bright guitar, played by Sly’s brother Freddie Stone, dovetails wonderfully with Cynthia Robinson’s trumpet. Robinson mostly played with extreme energy, but here her playing has a softness. The song is a rarity in featuring Rose Stone on lead vocals; Sly only joins her for a close harmony on a few lines. Like Robinson’s trumpet, Rose Stone’s singing is unusually soft.

‘Running Away’ by Bob Marley & The Wailers

Far from from the joyous beauty of other Kaya (1978) songs like the title track and ‘Is This Love’, ‘Running Away’ is edging on unsettling due to Bob Marley’s vocal melody. When you think the melody is going to be resolved, Marley takes it to a weird place with, “But you can’t run away from yourself”, to which the horns reply with a great three-note phrase. The I-Threes backing singers—Rita Marley (Bob’s widow), Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt—were a big part of Kaya and their harmonies on ‘Running Away’ add a brightness that contrasts with the moody trombone and guitar.

‘Running Away’ by Vulfpeck, Joey Dosik, David T. Walker, James Gadson

Vulfpeck’s ‘Running Away’ would sound a lot like ’60s soul if not for the compressed drums and bass. Joey Dosik, who helped compose the song, sings a melody that sounds alternately sunny and bluesy. Woody Goss’s wurlitzer adds a few unexpected notes to make the outro less straightforward and Dosik’s sax leans towards the blues until the final few seconds. It’s mostly a very smooth production but the human touches make the song feel alive: the drumming gets louder shortly after 1:00; the guitar hits a high-pitched note at 1:30 and it's unclear whether it was intentional.

‘Running Away Into You’ by John Frusciante

During the recording of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, John Frusciante was writing his debut solo album, Niandra LaDes And Usually Just A T-Shirt. They're mostly guitar and vocal songs with lots of backwards electric guitar. Frusciante’s vocal melodies throughout the album are unpredictable and often unresolved. From one line to the next, you’re not sure quite where you are until having listened to the album multiple times. That’s true as ever on ‘Running Away Into You’, which briefly, from 00:08 to 00:16, sounds like it may be a straightforward song, at least in terms of the vocals. The acoustic guitar’s arpeggios from 0:55 are a touch of optimism amid a sea of confusion. There are so many disparate tones and pitches in that instrumental section that the sound at 1:49, something like someone using a dustpan and brush, feels like stepping in the front door after driving through a storm.

Top image from Discogs.