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I was listening to a song today and decided to analyze the structure to see how the parts worked. It's an AOR song but very well put together, which helps make the most of the rhythm and melody aspects, making up the song.
It starts with a 'set-up' of 2 bars which just sets the tempo and feel of the song without giving too much away. Next is the backing chords to the chorus/hook, so you're being familiarised before the chorus/hook proper, but the 'set-up section has served tee this bit up, so you're already paying attention. Now the verse comes in, but it's at half tempo, and written to emphasise the vocal lines and a slight change from the 'intro chorus'. Next is the second part of the verse which sounds like a bit like a key change, but just uses a vii chord where the rest of the song so far is on the normal/classic i,iv,v chord plus a vi minor (not necessarily in that order). There's a little 'rifflet' in the middle of that part, separating two vocal lines, which points up the interest, and the end of part is rhythmically and melodically set to lead into the chorus/hook proper.
The chorus/hook uses the backing chords we've previously heard at the start, but now there's vocals and some simple riffs separating the vocal lines, but set in the song and the mix to sound equivalent to the vocal lines, in more of a 'call and response' style, rather than backing or embellishment of the vocals. There's a section of the second part of the chorus which repeats the vocal without lyrics 'do wop' style and is only 2 bars, rather than the 4 bars of the previous section. I suspect that's in as a singalong device, so useful, but not something you'd want to overuse. Maybe that had something to do with only 2 bars and I notice toward the end there are 4 bars worth of that style.
The rest of the song has other tweaks like 7 bar verse, other complications, and a proper key change (modulation?), but I think they are the just devices for variation to keep interest, without having to change the basic ideas too much. I think the song would probably work OK without them, but it probably keeps the musicians on their toes. Interestingly there's no 'guitar solo' within the song but there's an extended 'outro' with similar chords to the 'set-up' section, mostly a rhythmic vamp on one chord with that 'rifflet' occasionally on a second chord, which probably goes on quite a while live, but suitable for fading out in a radio playing.
Of course the structure wouldn't work without some good basic melodic and rhythmic ideas to make up the parts. I've heard lots of similar songs which are probably as well put together, but didn't interest me enough to want to analyze them, but it's still interesting to have a close look at a good one, and use some of the structural ideas for my own songs.
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