"Hound Dog" is firmly associated with Elvis, and Clapton did a good cover of it too. However, our version is not really rock'n'roll. It opens as a slightly funk latin in C minor, moving to C major for the vocal entry, but still latin. After the first vocal chorus the brass takes a beautifully crafted descending minor phrygian bridge which the saxes then pick up to modulate into the instrumental chorus, followed by a ripping Tenor sax solo. The vocalist re-enters in the original key and the chart switches to a rock feel for the final chorus.This arrangement is wonderfully conceived and is a totally refreshing approach which works extremely well. The vocal key is C, and there are no sax doubles.
