When I first heard the Gold City song, “Master’s Degree,” it was on the 1986 live video, Movin’ Up To Gloryland. I kinda dismissed it at the time, because it sounded kinda cheesy. The live arrangement was a little too fast, and it felt like straight-up filler. You can listen to it here on YouTube.
Recently, I got to hear the original studio version of the song as recorded on the Sing With The Angels album in 1985. This version is a little slower and definitely has more of a country feel to it. In fact, the more I listened to it, the more familiar it started to sound. I knew I’d heard it before….or at least parts of it.
While listening to the song on shuffle, it was followed by The Oak Ridge Boys’ 1982 album cut, “Doctor’s Orders,” from their Bobbie Sue album. “Doctor’s Orders” is equally cheesy – it’s basically a cheap pick-up line. The music arrangement, however, is what sells the song. It also seems to have inspired “Master’s Degree” to some extent.
Listen to the two songs below for comparison, and tell me what you think….do they sound alike?
To be fair, there are plenty of differences in the two songs. I’m not saying Gold City ripped off The Oak Ridge Boys. I just think they sound quite similar, and would not be surprised if one inspired the other’s arrangement.
That being said, I WILL say that the intro to “Master’s Degree” does sound like a rip-off of another country song from around the same time….
I’ve never heard either but I see what you’re saying. Have you noticed The Guardians’ “My Hope Is In the Lord” sounds an awful lot like Gold City’s “If God Be For Us”? Also, Greater Vision’s “There Is A River” has the same intro as Natalie Cole’s “Mona Lisa” (minus a few seconds of initial Spanish guitar): https://youtu.be/uc6Ewb8zq6g
The Talleys’ “The Church Will Overcome” sounds a lot like EHSS’s “Singing in the Midnight Hour.”
That is quite interesting – especially since both songs are written by Dianne Wilkinson. Very interesting to hear the tunes nearly duplicated like that.
Sorry, but these two don’t sound much alike to me. It may be because I am not a musician, and when I listen to music I tend to focus more on the lyrics.
I hear some similarity.