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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 11, 2014 14:37:31 GMT -5
Albums which should form part of the readily available series of albums:
Polydor/Decca - an album containing the 15 Decc audition recordings and the Polydor tracls featuring The Beatles
Demos - an album collecting together all the existing demos other than:
Esher - all the white album demos
Outtakes and Alternates - the best of the tracks which didn't appear until Anthology and alternate takes: How Do You Do It Shout Can't Buy Me Love And I Love Her What You're Doing (take 11) Leave My Kitten Alone If You've Got Troubles That Means A Lot Norwegian Wood (original) 12 bar Original Norwegian Wood (1st remake) I'm Looking Through You And Your Bird Can Sing Strawberry Fields Forever Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da What's The New Mary Jane (although I hate to suggest putting this tripe on an album again) Not Guilty Mailman Bring Me No More Blues Ain't She Sweet Free As A Bird Real Love
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Post by Panther on Nov 12, 2014 2:45:04 GMT -5
I kinda wish 'How Do You Do It' had never been released officially. They should have just destroyed the tapes.
It's a reasonable early-60s pop hit, and it's catchy. It's got a beat and you can dance to it. Great, it's appropriate for Gerry and the Pacemakers, but it's not worthy of The Beatles.
Just another thing to dislike the 'Anthology' for...
(Mind you, 'From Me To You' is a marginally better composition. It's pretty forgettable too.)
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 12, 2014 8:01:05 GMT -5
I kinda wish 'How Do You Do It' had never been released officially. They should have just destroyed the tapes. It's a reasonable early-60s pop hit, and it's catchy. It's got a beat and you can dance to it. Great, it's appropriate for Gerry and the Pacemakers, but it's not worthy of The Beatles I like "How Do You Do It" and have always been surprised at The Beatles' feeling it was somehow "beneath them" when it was actually very much like the early stuff they had been writing and performing: "Like Dreamers Do", "Love Of The Loved", "Love Me Do", "P.S. I Love You", etc...
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Post by dcshark on Nov 12, 2014 11:09:19 GMT -5
I'm not surprised they passed on How Do You Do It even though they did a very good performance of it.
The Pacemakers used the Beatles demo for their own version.
But the revised Please Please Me blows it away.
What I'm surprised about is the Beatles giving away; 'Like Dreamers Do' and 'Hello Little Girl'.
Both tracks are better, in my view, than Love Me Do.
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 12, 2014 21:45:04 GMT -5
Here's a completely different version of That Means A Lot. The instrumentation is different anyway.
That Means A Lot (rehearsal, take 20-24 - Beatles
I guess you have to search it in youtube. You can start it at 0:45.
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Nov 13, 2014 0:14:05 GMT -5
I'm not surprised they passed on How Do You Do It even though they did a very good performance of it. The Pacemakers used the Beatles demo for their own version. But the revised Please Please Me blows it away. What I'm surprised about is the Beatles giving away; 'Like Dreamers Do' and 'Hello Little Girl'. Both tracks are better, in my view, than Love Me Do. "Hello Little Girl," maybe, but not "Like Dreamers Do."
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Post by Panther on Nov 13, 2014 0:57:52 GMT -5
To me, there's a huge difference between The Beatles' early singles and 'How Do You Do It". "Love Me Do" was distinctive because of (a) the bluesy style and (b) the harmonica. Neither of these distinguishes 'How Do You Do It', which isn't unlike hits by cheeseball artists like Cliff Richard.
"Please Please Me" also uses the harmonica to excellent effect (George Martin's suggestion), and it's a very raw, exciting track -- super-fast, super-hyped, super-orgasmic. By comparison, 'How Do You Do It' is a folk song for grannies.
I do think The Beatles dropped the ball with 'From Me To You', which, for me, is easily the weakest of all their A-sides. There's nothing much to distinguish this song from something like 'How Do You Do It'.
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Post by Panther on Nov 13, 2014 1:03:45 GMT -5
...it was actually very much like the early stuff they had been writing and performing: "Like Dreamers Do", "Love Of The Loved", "Love Me Do", "P.S. I Love You", etc... There's a colossal difference between "stuff they had been writing and performing" and A-sides of singles -- upon which their entire recording career depended in 1962-63. Do anyone really think John Lennon would have allowed 'Like Dreamers Do' or 'Love of the Loved' to be a Beatles' A-side??
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 13, 2014 7:25:00 GMT -5
...it was actually very much like the early stuff they had been writing and performing: "Like Dreamers Do", "Love Of The Loved", "Love Me Do", "P.S. I Love You", etc... There's a colossal difference between "stuff they had been writing and performing" and A-sides of singles -- upon which their entire recording career depended in 1962-63. Do anyone really think John Lennon would have allowed 'Like Dreamers Do' or 'Love of the Loved' to be a Beatles' A-side?? Yes, I think that if George Martin had thought any of those originals could be recorded as their first single, The Beatles themselves would have recorded them for an A Side. The Beatles mostly rejected "How Do You Do It" because it was not their own material, but it's better than lots of things they wrote in those same early days.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 13, 2014 12:47:59 GMT -5
To me, there's a huge difference between The Beatles' early singles and 'How Do You Do It". "Love Me Do" was distinctive because of (a) the bluesy style and (b) the harmonica. Neither of these distinguishes 'How Do You Do It', which isn't unlike hits by cheeseball artists like Cliff Richard. "Please Please Me" also uses the harmonica to excellent effect (George Martin's suggestion), and it's a very raw, exciting track -- super-fast, super-hyped, super-orgasmic. By comparison, 'How Do You Do It' is a folk song for grannies. I do think The Beatles dropped the ball with 'From Me To You', which, for me, is easily the weakest of all their A-sides. There's nothing much to distinguish this song from something like 'How Do You Do It'. I laughed out loud to your first post, berating "How Do You Do It." I am in the middle on it. I am glad that the Fabs did not release it as a single but I am okay that it ended up on AI. No one but us Beatles freaks ever plays AI anyway. As to "From Me To You," I have opined before(and I think there was a Thread about this) that the release of FMTY was one of the most dangerous moments in The Beatles musical career. It was the single where the Fabs at best tread water, I'd say took a step backwards, and almost became twee like Gerry and the Pacemakers. They were to rebound in a big way with "She Loves You" but one more "From Me To You" and this would be a Partridge Family Message Board!
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Post by Panther on Nov 14, 2014 22:35:44 GMT -5
I agree with your points about 'From Me To You'. Actually, I'm looking forward to reading Lewisohn's take on it -- in about 7 years! -- in the second part of 'All These Years'. He makes such a big deal out of how 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me' were so different from what any other group was doing at the time, and that the Beatles' always being different was so essential to their success and nature. I wonder what will be said of 'From Me To You'. It's really hard for me to hear it as anything but a hack-job, mildly pleasant diversion as it is.
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Post by winstonoboogie on Nov 16, 2014 12:24:57 GMT -5
Well, I like FMTY myself. I actually liked it better than LMD or PPM - I didn't hear the latter two until my sister bought the Red Album! But they grew on me...we also had "The Beatles Oldies but Goldies" on 8-track which is where I likely heard FMTY first but I vaguely hearing it on the radio too....but to each their own!
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nine
Very Clean
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Post by nine on Nov 16, 2014 17:57:10 GMT -5
I've also thought before that From Me To You was a step backward. It got me thinking about the singles... the British ones anyway...
Love Me Do ... An introduction to the Beatles. Please Please Me ... a massive step forward From Me To You ... a backward step She Loves You ... massive leap forward I Want to Hold Your Hand ... another leap forward Can't Buy Me Love ... Good track but not groundbreaking Hard Days' Night ... Groundbreaking I Feel Fine ... Groundbreaking Ticket To Ride ... great but no major leap forward Help! ... ditto Day Tripper ... cutting edge Paper Back Writer ... treading water Yellow Submarine ... novelty factor Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields ... Earth shattering All You Need Is Love ... step forward Hello Goodbye ... see From Me To You Lady Madonna ... treading water Hey Jude ... another leap forward Get Back ... this and the reaminder of the Fabs' singles are all top notch but no longer groundbreaking Ballad of John and Yoko Something Let It Be Free As A Bird Real Love
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 16, 2014 18:54:02 GMT -5
I've also thought before that From Me To You was a step backward. It got me thinking about the singles... the British ones anyway... Love Me Do ... An introduction to the Beatles. Please Please Me ... a massive step forward From Me To You ... a backward step She Loves You ... massive leap forward I Want to Hold Your Hand ... another leap forward Can't Buy Me Love ... Good track but not groundbreaking Hard Days' Night ... Groundbreaking I Feel Fine ... Groundbreaking Ticket To Ride ... great but no major leap forward Help! ... ditto Day Tripper ... cutting edge Paper Back Writer ... treading water Yellow Submarine ... novelty factor Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields ... Earth shattering All You Need Is Love ... step forward Hello Goodbye ... see From Me To You Lady Madonna ... treading water Hey Jude ... another leap forward Get Back ... this and the reaminder of the Fabs' singles are all top notch but no longer groundbreaking Ballad of John and Yoko Something Let It Be Free As A Bird Real Love That is a really good summary Nine as to the singles. And remember, no one is saying any of those are bad songs but some are treading water by Beatles' standards. I wonder if "Lady Madonna" should get more props for taking the Fabs back to Rock and Roll although musically it is perhaps too derivative of the 1950's sound but the lyrics are nicely mysterious in many ways.
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 16, 2014 19:38:09 GMT -5
Lady Madonna debuted the McCartney Lady Madonna voice, which later slightly morphed into the Let it Be - McCartney voice. "Believe me mama."
It's a worthy advancement if just for that.
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nine
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Post by nine on Nov 16, 2014 22:04:15 GMT -5
Giving it some thought Lady Madonna could be considered more important just for the sake that it did change musical directions. The hippy trippy was stuff was done (well, almost). Hello Goodbye though catchy and by anyone else's standards pretty good, did sound a bit sub par for The Beatles so Madonna was a rocking little left turn.
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Post by Panther on Nov 17, 2014 5:56:22 GMT -5
Not every single needs to be a giant leap forward, but I think for me the ones that do seem like a (mis-)step backwards are 'From Me To You', 'Can't Buy Me Love', and 'Hello Goodbye'.
George Martin was obviously the perfect studio-boss/collaborator for The Beatles, but sometimes I question his taste. He didn't like The Beatles' music in general when he first heard it. Then, he listened to their original songs and didn't like any of them. He didn't want 'Love Me Do' out and never rated it at all (though everyone else who heard it thought it was great).
He evidently thought 'From Me To You' was a better song for a single than 'The One After 909' (I would disagree). [At least Martin quickly decided 'Thank You Girl' wasn't strong enough for an A-side, which was the original plan.]
After favoring wimpier songs in 1962-1963, in 1964 he apparently thought the dull 12-bar 'Can't Buy Me Love' was a better A-side than 'And I Love Her', now a standard.
After Sgt. Pepper and the generational anthem 'All You Need is Love', they thought "Hello Goodbye" was a good single? 'Hey Bulldog'...'I Am The Walrus' as A-side... anything would have been better!
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 17, 2014 9:34:41 GMT -5
Not every single needs to be a giant leap forward, but I think for me the ones that do seem like a (mis-)step backwards are 'From Me To You', 'Can't Buy Me Love', and 'Hello Goodbye'. I'm not a huge fan of "From Me To You" these days, but Paul has said that even the bridge in the middle was a different step for them. "Can't Buy Me Love" is sheer excellence. No matter how silly "Hello Goodbye" is lyrically, it's massively catchy and that's why I love it, and why it was a hit. "From Me To You" is a much better commercial song for a single than "One After 909". Don't forget that John and Paul themselves have said they never cared much for "The One After 909". "Can't Buy Me Love" is an excellent song, and very exciting -- and it was a huge #1 hit. What more could one want? Uh, yeah -- "Hello Goodbye" proved to be a wise choice, as it became a #1 hit. Everyone knows what a fan I am of Lennon, and I love "Walrus"... but no, it should not have been the A Side. I wonder if The Beatles would have had many #1 hits if Panther produced and made the marketing decisions?
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 17, 2014 13:02:17 GMT -5
I wish Paul had given "Hello Goodbye" to The Monkees to record. Sure it was a number 1 but The Archies had a huge #1 too with "Sugar Sugar."
Didn't the Monkees hit singles start drying up then anyway?
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 17, 2014 14:56:09 GMT -5
I loved Hello Goodbye.
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Post by Panther on Nov 17, 2014 23:45:58 GMT -5
In which Joe reveals himself a Britney Spears/Justin Bieber fan because "#1 hits must be good!"
I would prefer The Beatles had fewer #1s if it meant wiping 'Hello Goodbye' or 'From Me To You' from the list.
Maybe I'm being a little hard on 'From Me To You'. It isn't terrible, and was good compared to what was out there (in the UK anyway) at the time (spring '63), but compared even to singles before and after it, it's pretty cheap.
'Can't Buy Me Love' at least rocks, so there's that.
'Hello Goodbye' is just trash, though. John and George hated it, didn't they?
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 18, 2014 7:05:32 GMT -5
In which Joe reveals himself a Britney Spears/Justin Bieber fan because "#1 hits must be good!" No - what you basically said was, it was not a wise choice putting 'Hello Goodbye' as the A-side single. I meant that since it became a big #1 hit, then it couldn't have been the "wrong" choice (marketing-wise). In which Panther reveals that he relies on John and George, as anything John or George don't like is bad! (Zillions of other bands only wish they could make such "trash").
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 18, 2014 7:07:16 GMT -5
I wish Paul had given "Hello Goodbye" to The Monkees to record. Sure it was a number 1 but The Archies had a huge #1 too with "Sugar Sugar." "Sugar Sugar" is another good song that gets 'lumps' just because it's got 'sugar' in it.
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Post by coachbk on Nov 18, 2014 11:44:18 GMT -5
[quote
'Hello Goodbye' is just trash, though. John and George hated it, didn't they?[/quote]
John liked the "outro" part of the song a lot, but didn't think much of the main part of the song. I've never read a comment by George about "Hello Goodbye".
Myself, I like "Hello Goodbye" a lot. Catchy music and optimistic lyrics!
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 18, 2014 11:45:58 GMT -5
I wish Paul had given "Hello Goodbye" to The Monkees to record. Sure it was a number 1 but The Archies had a huge #1 too with "Sugar Sugar." "Sugar Sugar" is another good song that gets 'lumps' just because it's got 'sugar' in it. I agree Joe, I love "Sugar Sugar" but I am glad that The Archies did it, not Paul McCartney and His Beatles! In fact, I now wish Paul had given "Hello Goodbye" to The Archies! I am surprised OldFred hasn't scolded me because "Hello Goodbye" is too poppy for early 1968 Monkees(let alone the great Beatles!).
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Post by coachbk on Nov 18, 2014 11:53:02 GMT -5
I'm surprised nobody has disputed the listing of "Paperback Writer" as treading water. The sound is groundbreaking with all the reverb, bass, Who like guuiar, and 3 part harmonies. Lyrically it moved beyond the "boy/girl" lyric to a more clever realm.
And back to "How Do You Do It?" I recently listened to the Gerry & the Pacemakers version and that is pretty weak. The Beatles did it much better both vocals and music. I enjoy listening to the Beatles version on ANTHOLOGY. But I'm glad it wasn't a single. The released stuff they wrote is all better.
Lastly on "From Me To You". I never heard it until the RED ALBUM. It wasn't a hit in the US. It is at best treading water, but more likely a small step backwards as it is not as strong as either "Please Please Me" or "She Loves You", though it is still a catchy song and as Panther points out, better than most anything coming out of the UK (or the US for that matter) in late 1963
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 18, 2014 19:27:03 GMT -5
My mini reviews:
Love Me Do ... An excellent song. To my ears, it's Paul's doing his Elvis vocals with a heavy dose of his own style. With P.S. I Love You on the b-side, this is an early classic single.
Please Please Me ... I 'm not a fan. I don't get it's appeal.
From Me To You ... This and Please Please Me are different sides to the same song. I don't see how you can like one and not the other.
She Loves You ... As a first generation fan, this was the song for me. We heard it after I Want To Hold Your Hand but knew it was an older song.
I Want to Hold Your Hand ... This was the song in America that broke the band. It just sounds like something completely new. Elvis was as out of style now as Sinatra was when Elvis came out. I remember thinking at the time that I liked She Loves You so much better.
Can't Buy Me Love ... This was the song that proved the Beatles were not going away. Everything else had been recorded before they were on Sullivan. The song does not quit, from the instrumental break with the rockin' solo, to the coda that takes it up another notch. I replaced it with the Anthology version on my Beatles Best playlist. Just to keep it fresh.
Hard Days' Night ... I don't get this one either. Great movie, not so much the song.
I Feel Fine ... A great song to learn on the guitar. It may be easy for someone with talent, but for me it's a challenge but real fun to play.
Ticket To Ride ... I've always liked Ticket to Ride, great ending. It's not heavy metal but it rocks.
Help! ... I'd say ground breaking in that it was Lennon getting personal.
Day Tripper ... This would have to go in the plus column. 1965 - 66? This is good stuff.
Paper Back Writer ... Speaking of the Monkees, this one always reminded me of Last Train to Clarksville. Turns out they were thinking of it when they wrote Last Train.
Yellow Submarine ... I'd say this was more a children's song than a novelty song. Oddly, I think of both '66 and '69 when I hear this. It works with both years.
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields ... Hey, we're in Strawberry Fields territory here. This is what you judge great songs by. Penny Lane is just a sing-a-long song to me. Catchy but not great
All You Need Is Love ... A great song. I don't listen to it any more but I can't deny it greatness. I'm probably just burned out on it.
Hello Goodbye ... I like this better than Penny Lane. The instrumental version reveals how much it rocks underneath the surface.
Lady Madonna ... This one kind of got passed me growing up. I never paid much attention to it.
Hey Jude ... Easily my favorite song, Revolution being at number 2. The Beatles became something bigger than imaginable. What Sgt Pepper did to the Beatles' legend and fame, Hey Jude just doubled.
Get Back ... Great Rock and Roll. In my top five.
Ballad of John and Yoko ... I love Paul's bass on this
Something - a good pop standard. I like the flip side much better.
Let It Be - a good pop standard. I like the flip side much better. I remember scenes from Let it Be being shown on the 6 O'Clock news prior to an Ed Sullivan special on the Beatles. Paul sang "There will be no sorrow, let it be, let it be". I always liked those words better.
Free As A Bird ... I liked this when it came out, still do. It's not as great as it would have been had it been a real reunion.
Real Love ... Beatle magic.
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 19, 2014 4:45:15 GMT -5
I recently had cause to go through the list, too. Disagreement with Debjorgo in industrial quantities, who MISSED PAUL'S SONGS OFF THE DOUBLE A SIDES:
Love Me Do – It has its moments (it was the first Beatles song I ever heard, and it definitely attracted my attention), but it’s not actually that good. “Gauche” might be a good word for it. Please Please Me – First rate in composition, arrangement and delivery. Gentlemen, you’ve made your first number 1. Bloody right. From Me To You – not wonderful. Pleasant enough, but a mere placeholder. Better things were to come. She Loves You – a stunning single. This cemented their position in the forefront of pop stardom in the UK. It sounds a little dated these days in terms of instrumentation and production, maybe, but it is still a brilliant song with killer hooks and a great performance. I Want To Hold Your Hand – similar comments to those for She Loves You, but in an American accent. As if we needed reminding after She Loves You. Can't Buy Me Love – an established hit before the album came out, time shows it to have rather cliched lyrics, but they were still fairly fresh in 1964. And the Anthology version shows how well The Beatles shifted from drafts to final versions with arrangements which were exactly right. A Hard Day's Night – Wow! What a song! They boys almost always kicked off albums with a killer track, and AHDN was no exception, doing the same job with the film. Considering that this was essentially written to order, it is a stunningly good song, with a great group performance. I Feel Fine – another brilliant A side. Watch Ringo’s drumming when they do it on Ed Sullivan – this is rock’n’roll? Ticket To Ride – a stunning piece of pop in its day, TTR has lost some of its allure for me over the years: I now find it rather turgid and overlong. But it is distinguished by many original elements – the droning opening chord held for so very long, the unusual drum pattern, the pronounced variation from verse to bridge, and the overall feel of the piece – and it thoroughly deserved its success at the time. Help! – another killer track to kick off the album. They really did find these great songs to start things off with a bang. Help! Is another nearly perfect song: the combination of lyric, melody, arrangement and performance is stunning. Day Tripper – John’s powerful rocker, with one of the most memorable riffs ever, and (like Ticket To Ride) sustained use of a single chord at the start of the song. The bridge is not so much a solo as a section of escalating chaos, presaging A Day In The Life. We Can Work It Out – an excellent example of the partnership at work, the upbeat verse contrasting with the more cynical, weary bridges (which also bear John’s stamp in terms of contrasting time signature and horizontal melody). And you don’t encounter double A sides that often, but this one was worth giving both sides equal weight. Paperback Writer – a Paul story song, and rather inconsequential, this song has dazzling playing and production, to the extent that playing it live in 1966 really wasn’t a good idea. This song marks the point where studio meant that live performance had to be knocked on the head. Eleanor Rigby – and along comes Paul with more strings in another classic, a story song which is both sensitive and poignant. Excellent lyric, string arrangement, and singing (especially harmonies). Yellow Submarine – who else could do this and get away with it. A perfect children’s song, and Ringo gives it the perfect vocal. Strawberry Fields Forever – I disliked this intensely when it first came out, I now love it passionately. On this occasion, John’s move towards avoiding the mainstream works perfectly, aided by the other 3 and George Martin’s work: it was very unfair of John to disparage this recording. Penny Lane – Penny Lane appears simple but is anything but. Its musical regularity hides some awkward chord progressions and unlikely modulations, the clock-like crotchet progression in the verses syncopates to a relaxed swing in the chorus, the arrangement is witty and effective. No wonder PL/SFF is often regarded as the best 45 ever (a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree). All You Need Is Love – corny, but completely effective, John playing more quirky time signature games, George’s lead flub preserved for all time, and endless arguments over who is singing “Yeah yeah yeah” at the end. What larks! Hello, Goodbye – jaunty melodic word games, the ideal Christmas single. It is easy to dismiss it as being empty, but there is quite a lot more to it than that – it is a cleverly assembled pop single, and needs no apology. This is the first Beatles song which I heard in stereo – “Wow, there are cellos in it!” Lady Madonna – a straightforward piano boogie – is this the first appearance of Paul’s Fats Domino voice? Terrific arrangement. Hey Jude – let’s try to put this in context. In the summer of 1968 there had been a lot of press about Apple (heralded by mentions on MMT), and this was the first record with that beautiful label and sleeve. It was also a great song – McCartney’s gift for melody harnessed with one of his better lyrics – coupled with THAT fade. I played it over and over and over, as did everyone else. A majestic piece of work in 1968, over-exposure in McCartney’s live sets has dimmed its glory. Yet how can he not play it? Get Back – I really don’t understand why this was a hit or why Paul keeps returning to it so often. It is a) completely empty, b) melodically unexceptional, c) musically unchallenging. John’s lead licks are nice. The Ballad Of John And Yoko – I have mixed feelings here. On the one hand, there were elements of John’s collaborations with Yoko creeping in, and not just with the title and lyric – the use of “Christ!” had a strong whiff about it of the desire to outrage, and so it did. I’d already decided, on the basis of Rev 9, bags and John’s dick, that Yoko’s artistic influence on John was malign and was better left outside the recording studio. On the other hand, this is such infectious fun musically that who can fail to fall for the Nerk Twins’ last hurrah? Let It Be – a very good song, somewhat sabotaged by John’s indifference/dislike, over-Spectorised, and suffering from over-exposure in Paul’s live years. Something – and George pulls a classic out of the hat. A lovely song, beautifully delivered (and with THAT guitar solo), with Paul’s contributions so important – that melodic bass which complements rather than detracts, and the high harmony vocal. Just gorgeous. Free As A Bird – for the avoidance of confusion, I do regard this as a Beatles track. I was disappointed with it as a single (I think Real Love would have had a much better chance of success) and I think it was only chosen because of Paul’s ego as regards the writing contributions. It would have made a fine album track. Real Love – a better song than FAAB, a better demo to work with, and a better recording results.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 19, 2014 8:25:23 GMT -5
Hey Jude – let’s try to put this in context. In the summer of 1968 there had been a lot of press about Apple (heralded by mentions on MMT), and this was the first record with that beautiful label and sleeve. It was also a great song – McCartney’s gift for melody harnessed with one of his better lyrics – coupled with THAT fade. I played it over and over and over, as did everyone else. A majestic piece of work in 1968, over-exposure in McCartney’s live sets has dimmed its glory. Yet how can he not play it? Paul never played "Hey Jude" in the 1970's and he ruled the Pop world. He rehearsed it for WOA and concluded that it did not feel right. Macca had better hunches back then. Now "Hey Jude" is pimped out like a worn out whore. Any majestic, magical or mystical properties of that song are gone, done, finished. It is the song aging white guys in business suits give high fives to at current Paul concerts as they deliberately spill their beer on the old hippie couple sitting in front of them. Hey, Steve Miller saved "Hey Jude" from it Las Vegas cabaret treatment given by Paul! Not!
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 19, 2014 9:17:38 GMT -5
Now "Hey Jude" is pimped out like a worn out whore. Any majestic, magical or mystical properties of that song are gone, done, finished. It is the song aging white guys in business suits give high fives to at current Paul concerts as they deliberately spill their beer on the old hippie couple sitting in front of them. Okay... First, I am with you completely that "Hey Jude" has been sung and sung so much by Paul in the past 25 years that I am dead SICK of it myself; I wouldn't care if he never sang it again, not EVER, for the rest of his life. I do think that the song has seemingly lost its mystical magic and majestic allure.... ... BUT -- I also believe this is only temporary. When our Paul is no longer alive, and no longer performing concerts, I think the original song track will survive and weather the storm just fine. Not many people will be remembering or even playing the "live" versions of "Hey Jude"... so for now, we have to deal with the song being completely scrubbed of its majestic qualities. AND again, JSD, I will have to remind you that there are NOT only "aging white guys in business suits spilling beer on old hippie couples" at these Paul concerts. I don't know why it is that you prefer to imagine that only oldsters like Paul and The Beatles these days, but nothing can be further from the truth; there are teens and college fans who love The Fabs, and every time Paul trots out "Jude" for an umpteenth appearance on stage, there are ALWAYS young first-timers who are absolutely thrilled to hear it for their first time. That is why Paul keeps returning to the song, no matter how many times you and I may want to throw up. The Beatles' enduring Legacy is second to none in how fresh their music is and how it keeps attracting new generations who love and collect an older, defunct band.
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