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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: sirbradford117 on January 23, 2013, 08:03:20 PM
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And so we begin... Zydar and I decided I would do the write-ups. I don't think I will have time to do as detailed and thorough entries as Orbert has... but I'm hoping the basic information I present here will spark discussion, prompt more detail to be covered, and get you guys listening to the finest rock band in history.
“Love Me Do” b/w “P.S. I Love You” (1962)
“Please Please Me” b/w “Ask Me Why” (1963)
PLEASE PLEASE ME (1963)
Fast-forward through the history of the band… John meets Paul, Paul brings George, John brings Stu Sutcliffe, Pete Best comes aboard, band matures in Hamburg and becomes Liverpool sensation, Sutcliffe stays in Germany, Decca rejects the Beatles. Here isn’t the place to discuss every facet of the band’s history (although significant points will likely come up in discussion).
The Beatles’ first single for Parlophone Records was recorded amidst the recent departure of drummer Pete Best. Two version of the A-side were recorded… one features Ringo Starr on drums; the other relegates him to tambourine while session drummer Andy White plays the kit. The B-side “P.S. I Love You” features Andy White on drums! The single was a moderate hit in England, reaching #17… certainly not enough to qualify the band’s star status outside of their hometown.
The second single, however, would change all that. “Please Please Me” (now featuring Ringo as an established band member) hit #1 in the British charts, while in the US its release on small record labels was virtually ignored.
In February 1963 the band recorded the ten remaining tracks for their debut album in three 3-hour sessions in a single day. The performances are virtually live-in-the-studio, quite similar to takes recorded for BBC radio in 1963 (one can, arguably, find superior versions of these songs amidst those bootlegs!). Notice how strained Lennon’s voice sounds on the album… he was suffering from a bad cold that day!
“I Saw Her Standing There” opens the album with a BANG, and immediately establishes the band as legitimate songwriters…. what a way to open a debut album. It is followed by a bit of a throwaway in “Misery.” The remainder of side 1, aside from the “Please Please Me” A and B side, features two dynamite covers: Arthur Alexander’s “Anna” and the Shirelles’ “Boys.” The former is among the finest of the Beatles’ lesser-known songs, and the latter features a SCORCHING lead vocal by Ringo… his vocal range and power would rather quickly disintegrate.
Side 2 is, IMO, considerably weaker. It does, however, showcase the broad range of the Beatles’ influences. The A- and B-sides of “Love Me Do” are very unique-sounding originals, difficult to pin into any set genre or identifiable influence. The other originals on this side follow suit, with George’s first lead vocal (“Do You Want to Know a Secret”) and a glimpse into Lennon’s troubled genius (“There’s a Place”). The covers here are even broader… two pop standards and the inimitable “Twist and Shout” (listen for John’s huge cough at the end… it was the last track recorded that day and he was sick!).
Although it is far from perfect, I really enjoy Please Please Me. It is a solid effort as a debut recording and a great showing of the Beatles’ far-reaching influences. It is perhaps the most authentic record we have of the band’s early stage act (although the bootleg tapes from Hamburg, recorded at the end of 1962, feature even more diverse cover material!).
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The Beatles' debut album is one of the best debuts of bands from that era. The high quality of the songs is impressive, original and covers. And of the first four albums, I'd say I listen to it more than the others!
-Marc.
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Good album, but probably my least favorite of their early days. I Saw Her Standing There is the best song; it really jumps out and gets your attention immediately. I prefer the second side overall, though, because I've never liked Boys or Ask Me Why. Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You, A Taste of Honey...all good songs there.
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Although I'm not a Beatles fan, I do feel like I should familiarize myself with the material of the most influential band in history. Will be following.
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Despite being a huge Beatles fan, I am not overly crazy about some of their earliest material, but from this album, I do love Twist and Shout, Do You Want to Know a Secret, Misery and Anna (Go to Him).
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I'm not huge into the earlier Beatles albums, but some good songs I guess.
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Although The Beatles is my #1 band of all time, I'm not really that crazy about their first 2-3 albums. It's with "Help!" (1965) that their brilliant period started IMHO.
But this is about their debut. It's a good debut album, and a promising start. I Saw Her Standing There, Please Please Me, Love Me Do, and Twist And Shout are all classics. A couple of nice covers too, like A Taste Of Honey and Anna (Go To Him). It's a little weird though to hear Ringo sing about Boys (it's a cover of a girl group - The Shirelles), but Paul has said that they didn't care about that at all.
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I'm unusual because I like their early stuff just as much as their later stuff. They had such a positive energy when they first started out, and I've always had a fondness for the type of music of that time period.
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It's very odd watching video footage of the early Beatles while thinking about the music of Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, etc. To me they are two COMPLETELY different bands, yet still one and the same... I prefer the later Beatles but love the early band just as much. Does that make sense?
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Question: are you doing just the albums, or will you be covering all of the singles that weren't album tracks? Granted, I think most of them ended up albums like Past Masters, but I am just wondering. Cause songs like Hey Jude, Revolution, Lady Madonna, etc. were released as singles, not on studio albums, and I can't imagine them not being discussed.
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I would guess he'll be doing the Past Masters albums, that's what I would do at least :P
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It's very odd watching video footage of the early Beatles while thinking about the music of Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, etc. To me they are two COMPLETELY different bands, yet still one and the same... I prefer the later Beatles but love the early band just as much. Does that make sense?
It makes perfect sense to me, because I feel the same way. There were those clean-cut guys in the matching suits back in the early 60's, playing Phil Medley and Bobby Scott covers; and there were those long-haired hippy dudes in the late 60's with "Come Together" and "I Want You", and it's really hard to reconcile that they're the same four guys. And it the evolution was very fast; look at pictures of them over the years and see the changes, then realize that it was only like five or six years.
I remember reading that The Beatles were a bit proud of their wordplay. Paul liked "Please Please Me" for example, because the word "Please" is repeated, but has two different meanings. "Do You Want to Know a Secret" is clearly a question, everyone knows it, but there's no question mark. "Love Me Do" simply would not work without the "Do" which doesn't make grammatical sense. That kind of thing. They clearly weren't afraid to do new things musically, but I think it's interesting how fearless they were lyrically, and even with the song titles as well.
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I think I will cover the non-album tracks in their correct eras, OR do separate posts for singles. For example, I'll probably do the "From Me To You" and "She Loves You" singles in their own post, OR lump in singles like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in with With the Beatles (its proper era, if you will).
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I prefer the later day Beatles, but I love their early stuff as well. The debut certainly has its share of classics. I saw her standing there, Anna (go with him), Baby it's you, Do you want to know a secret? and the title track are fantastic. I was never too crazy about Love me do, how it became such a huge hit I'll never know...
Anyway, here's a little thing for you guys. This was my introduction to the world of The Beatles back in the day, I think I was two years old when a Serbian band which was huge back in the 90s recorded a cover of this Beatles classic, and I was hooked onto rock and roll from the very beginning. You won't understand a word, of course, but it might be fun for you to hear something which made my childhood basically. Maybe MoraWintersoul will know what this is, but I seriously doubt she will check out this thread. Anyway, here it goes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STelgAeOt3w
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Although The Beatles is my #1 band of all time, I'm not really that crazy about their first 2-3 albums. It's with "Help!" (1965) that their brilliant period started IMHO.
Agreed, but there were still some bright spots on this album - Do You Want to Know a Secret (while not my favorite George song, it's up there), Twist and Shout, and Anna (Go To Him) are all stellar.
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I'm not that crazy about The Beatles' early stuff, but I enjoy listening to the songs when they're playing on the radio or whatever.
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Bump. Next album and singles coming soon!
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Hard Day's Night is when they start clicking for me
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WITH THE BEATLES (1963)
The Beatles’ follow-up to Please Please Me was recorded in a handful of sessions spread over a few months… a far cry from the one-day-and-done approach of their debut. However, this time the band faced pressure to write songs for the first time in their career. PPM drew upon the band’s whole lives worth of songwriting and influences, but WTB had to be written and compiled within the space of less than a year. Couple that with the advent of some more advanced recording techniques (gasp… 4-track???) and realize that these two albums are really QUITE different!
I greatly prefer the debut to WTB. Having to write under pressure, the original songs on this record (save for the obvious winner “All My Loving”) are really not that strong. They aren’t BAD, but not up to the level of the singles released in 1963 (see below). The strength of WTB lies in its varied cover version. “Till There Was You” is a showtune, for heaven’s sake! “Please Mr. Postman” and “Roll Over Beethoven” are high-energy performances. “You Really Got a Hold On Me” pays great homage to Motown, “Devil in Her Heart” is a very well-done cover of an obscure tune, and “Money” is just balls-out rock-n-roll.
As I hinted in my last post, bootleg tracks from this year often trump the EMI recordings IMHO. Particularly in the months of September-November, live recordings and radio broadcasts are particularly exciting. The band is not yet road-weary and sloppy; instead, they are enjoying their fame and sound particularly excited about performing so well. Check out a TV broadcast from Sweden that can be found on Anthology 1 for a great example of an outstanding show.
“From Me To You” b/w “Thank You Girl”
“She Loves You” b/w “I’ll Get You”
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” b/w “This Boy”
Where WTB lacked in quality of original material, the singles make up for it. We see the beginning of the trend of leaving singles OFF the albums. The stronger songs were clearly selected for A- and B-side releases in 1963!
Listen to these 6 songs in sequence. One can really hear a band growing and maturing. You may feel that each song is stronger than the next, with a real peak at “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “This Boy.” It is no surprise that IWTHYH broke the band HUGE in America. Give this a try if you tend to cast aside the early Beatles and let me know what you think!
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All My Loving and It Won't Be Long are the bright spots on With the Beatles for me. I Wanna Be Your Man is kind of a cute, quirky tune.
It's with "Help!" (1965) that their brilliant period started IMHO.
Completely agreed, but A Hard Day's Night had some good stuff on it too.
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All My Loving and It Won't Be Long are the bright spots on With the Beatles for me.
Yeah those are my two favourites as well.
Regarding the singles, I've got all of those mentioned on vinyl (my dad bought them at the time). The first Beatles song I ever heard was his copy of She Loves You when I was about 8 - right then and there I knew that this was the band for me. Since then they've been my #1 band of all time, no band has ever come close.
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I've pretty much been "listening" to The Beatles since I was in the womb - both my folks are HUGE fans, and even though they'd pretty much broken up by the time I was born, they were still all over the radio enough that I just picked up on it from repeated listens.
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Fun album. It Won't Be Long and All My Loving are classic, and the cover songs are well done. The album cover is iconic as well.
Those singles are pretty great too. The band was on a roll.
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The album is good, but the debut is still slightly better. As others have said, songs like "It Won't Be Long" and "All My Loving" are at the top of the album, but it's the Singles that really show the band's true strengths.
-Marc.
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This has to be my least favorite album by The Beatles, although it's far from being bad. All my loving is a classic, I wanna be your man is a great rocker, and I adore the chord progression in It won't be long. The covers are hit and miss on this album, but I'd pick Devil in her heart as the winner in the bunch, it's truly a lovely song.
The singles from this era are fantastic, especially She loves you, I want to hold your hand and This boy. It's a shame it wasn't popular back in the day to include the singles in the album, because the band could have easily got rid of some weaker covers and replaced them with incredible songs of their own.
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In those days, singles were a lot more common, since bands could release a single without having an album contract. It was seen as something of a rip-off to include singles on your album, because a lot of people will have already purchased them. Sometimes the album version would be different from the single version.
Obviously, the attitude today is different, since people will pay for the single on iTunes or whatever, then still buy the album when it comes out a month later.
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Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. :tup
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The album is good, but the debut is still slightly better. As others have said, songs like "It Won't Be Long" and "All My Loving" are at the top of the album, but it's the Singles that really show the band's true strengths.
-Marc.
Totally agreed.
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I'm not really a Beatles fan, but I've got a computer and love music / band history so I figured what the fuck.
Following
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So, are we still doing this? ;D
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Be patient with me folks... work needs to take its priority for me.
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Over music?! :omg:
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Over music?! :omg:
No, I don't think I'll ever get over music. Those memories... run pretty deep.
-Marc.
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Over music?! :omg:
As a professional musician, I lol'd... but yes...
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Wow, times are tough. When regular decent people have to put work ahead of music, you know things are bad.
We will wait, patiently. Some of us will wait impatiently.
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I'll be a lot more active in this thread once we get to Help! and the material after that.
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I really don't think side 2 of Please Please Me is actually that bad. A Taste of Honey is actually quite fun to sing to, I sing it in the car to my girlfriend all the time.
I would also like to take this time to complain about people who excuse themselves of not liking the Beatles because they've only heard the songs from the first half of their career, from around Please Please Me to Beatles for Sale, and write it off as boring and old-fashioned. That's well over half the music they're missing out on, and almost all of the most interesting stuff they dabbled in. At least don't knock it until you try the psychedelic stuff.
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I agree. The Beatles changed a lot over their relatively short career, taking us from early rock into the beginnings of 70's classic rock and pretty much all of its offshoots. Their catalogue has a huge variety to it. Huge.
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Which is why I think it's a crime that a lot of people write them off for supposedly only ever sounding like I Want to Hold Your Hand and All My Loving.
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Oh definitely. I Want to Hold Your Hand is a far cry from Helter Skelter or Hey Jude or Come Together, but to many, it's all Beatles, too easy to just lump it all together. In a way, it's a shame that The Beatles self-destructed right on the verge of the real 70's music. Who knows what could've happened? But in their own way, they led us there.
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No, I think it needed to happen. They were all growing in different directions, and I think their career would have actually gone on a downward slope if it was forced to compete with Zeppelin or Floyd, or one of the others. Of course they've sold better than either of them, but imagine trying to write new material to compete with that.
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Yeah, that's true. But while The Beatles had much more depth than nearly every contemporary of theirs, what they always did well was write solid pop music. Sure, it evolved into rock, or proto-metal, or whatever we might call it now with the benefit of hindsight, but at the time it was just massively popular music that actually survived scrutiny. When you bought a Beatles album, you found more than what you'd expected. At the time, it was still far more common for bands to have one or two hits, and then fill out an album with crap, hence the term "filler".
I don't know if it "needed" to happen, but if you mean that it was pretty much inevitable, then yeah I agree. But even if you knew what was going on behind the scenes on those last few albums, even if you knew the individual styles well enough to know when it's a "John song" or a "Paul song", what's amazing is how cohesive the finished product was. Rock solid music, cover to cover. I would've loved to hear what they could have done if they'd continued into the 70's. They could've gotten their individual rocks off on solo albums, then every couple of years put their differences aside and come togther (!) and make a Beatles album that blew everyone's minds. I just saying damn, I wish that could've happened.
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What I meant by that was, yeah, it was inevitable. That said, if they'd continued into the '70s, I think they would've seen a steady decline in their popularity and their relevance. A lot of bands like Manfred Mann and The Moody Blues quickly outpaced them in that decade. By the time 1980 hit, I think they would've been viewed as too old-fashioned to keep up, and I think that would've diminished how we look at their legacy today, rather than how they went out with a bang.
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Which is why I think it's a crime that a lot of people write them off for supposedly only ever sounding like I Want to Hold Your Hand and All My Loving.
By the same token, I don't like it when people who like the later stuff quickly dismiss the early material. Music doesn't have to be edgy and LSD-fuelled to have merit. A simple, catchy 2:30 pop song can be really difficult to write.
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Agreed, but my issue was more that there are a lot of people who won't even try them at all because of those earlier poppier tunes, like they think that's all the Beatles were about, was radio friendly pop.
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if they'd continued into the '70s, I think they would've seen a steady decline in their popularity and their relevance. A lot of bands like Manfred Mann and The Moody Blues quickly outpaced them in that decade. By the time 1980 hit, I think they would've been viewed as too old-fashioned to keep up
I don't see any of that as a given. The Beatles were always ahead of the curve with everything they did, musically as well as technically, and I don't see why we should assume that they wouldn't continue to push themselves and each other. All four of them had successful solo careers, at least for a while. John and George continued to break new ground in their own ways, and Paul never lost the ability to write a great, memorable melody. Like any great band, they were more than the sum of their parts.
I just saying we don't know, because it never happened. They never regrouped. To assume that they would've stagnated and become less and less relevant is no more or less valid than presuming that they would continue to push each other and continue to change the face of rock. If they'd stayed together, or gotten together every so often, I wouldn't have been surprised if they kept pushing things. I wouldn't have been surprised if it played out as you've described either, I suppose. We'll never know.
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A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964)
Toward the end of 1963 and the beginning of 1964, the Beatles were more popular than ever. Having several number one singles under their belt and having played in Scandinavia and France, the Fabs finally made it big in the United States (watch The First U.S. Visit for delightful footage of a memorable trip). Upon return to the UK, they were set to star in their first feature film; and to top it all off, a large-scale world tour was looming for the summer months.
Amidst even wider popularity and a bigger schedule, now the band had to submit songs for a film soundtrack, the screenplay not even written yet! If With the Beatles had to be written and recorded quickly and under pressure, A Hard Day’s Night had to have been even more so. However, the comparisons end there. A Hard Day’s Night consists of 13 original Lennon/McCartney songs, all of them stellar. No longer were covers needed to pad out the album (at least for now…)!!
“A Hard Day’s Night” begins the album with a bang…. literally. The sound of Harrison’s recently-acquired 12-string Rickenbacker begins to dominate the sound of the band. “I Should Have Known Better” adds the familiar harmonica back into the mix, and “If I Fell” is a surprisingly tender ballad by Lennon. “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” gives George a lead vocal, but these first four tracks all penned by Lennon easily represent his finest songwriting to date.
McCartney adds his classic ballad “And I Love Her,” an all-acoustic performance except for the bass. “Tell Me Why” shows off some fine 3-part harmonies (odd that I think this, since a number of the harmony parts on their early records are quite a bit out of tune!). Side A closes with the classic “Can’t Buy Me Love,” featured several times in the film.
Side B (songs NOT included in the soundtrack for the movie) consists of lesser-known tracks, but all are every bit as strong as side A. “Any Time At All” features some complimentary piano played by George Martin, and “I’ll Cry Instead” is a frenzied rockabilly acoustic number originally intended for the film but dropped last-minute. McCartney contributes his final track to the album with “Things We Said Today” (performed to great effect on their 1965 American tour). Lennon closes the album with 3 more songs: the frenzied rocker “When I Get Home,” the rootsy-but-all-Fab “You Can’t Do That”, and the harmonically strong “I’ll Be Back.”
It is often remarked here how manic Beatles fans are quick to praise EVERYTHING the band ever did simply by virtue of it being the Beatles. As a long-time fan and amateur scholar, I can attest that this album is the first Beatles album to rank anywhere near 5/5 stars in my opinion. The debut is a solid 3, and WTB 2 or 2.5. But this one is a real winner… I believe it is a landmark of 60’s rock music and a yardstick to compare other artists to. Again, the fact that these are all original songs lend the record TONS of credibility. John Lennon, the primary author of 10 out of 13 songs, truly shines.
(Several singles were issued from this album in different parts of the world… “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Things We Said Today,” “I Should have Known Better,” “I’ll Cry Instead,” “I’m Happy Just to Dance…” “And I Love Her,” “If I Fell” were A- or B- sides. That’s over half the album!)
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I agree, this is where The Beatles really began to hit their stride. Their songwriting had already matured noticeably, and their sound was really starting to gel. This is the first Beatles album that I can listen to cover-to-cover and really not feel the impulse to reach for the Skip button. Every song is at least good, and most are great.
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And I Love Her is simply a gorgeous song; that has long been one of my favorites by the band.
Other favorites are I Should Have Known Better, When I Get Home and I'll Be Back.
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Great album, this is where things start to get done
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I know very little of the beatles but I think I'm going to follow along with this thread and listen to the albums, get my history lesson in.
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And I Love Her is a classic.
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The title song is probably my favorite song of theirs pre-Rubber Soul, or their "pop" era, as I like to refer to it
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I love the two-part harmony on "If I Fell". Great challenge there to pick out both parts.
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Wow, I honestly forgot how incredible this album actually is. A Hard day's night features some of the catchiest tunes I've heard in my entire life, hands down. Some of my favorites include I'll be back, I should have known better, If I fell, I'm happy just to dance with you, Any time at all, I'll cry instead, And I love her, You can't do that, title track... Wait a minute, did I just pretty much list all of the songs? It's a huge improvement over their first two albums and probably my favorite record from their early days, although I'm yet to re-listen to Help. I love that one too, but this one is probably better...
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The album is quite stellar, and the movie is VERY hilarious. I also agree that this is where they really started to hit their stride.
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One of my favorite Beatles albums. Classic stuff. Predictably, the title track is my favorite song on it. Also, the movie is really funny.
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It's great to hear a near-consensus about this album. I'd like to hear from those who are just spinning this album for the first time (or those who have put aside the early Beatles in favor of the later era). What are your thoughts?
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I'll tell you when I get there, I just finished Please Please me and I enjoyed it, not something that I would go out of my way to listen to but not something I shut off. A lot of songs I've heard on the radio before so very little was new. I don't know any beatles stuff really so I'll compare it as I listen to other albums.
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I watched the movie for my second date with my current girlfriend. She had her first kiss while we were watching.
As for remarks about the album itself, I think it's my favorite of the pop era, as has been said (I don't consider Beatles for Sale or Help! as part of that era). I think it's the tightest of that era in terms of writing. I still often find myself humming Things We Said Today or singing I'll Cry Instead without really being aware of it. :laugh:
There was something else I wanted to say about it, but I forgot. Dammit.
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I agree with you all - A Hard Day's Night is where they took a big step up in quality from their earlier stuff. Great songs all around, and my favourites include the title track, Things We Said Today, And I Love Her, and Can't Buy Me Love. The movie is great as well, probably the first "rock music-movie" ever (and a precursor to the music video format), but I think "Help!" is the better movie.
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“Long Tall Sally” EP (UK only, 1964)
I include this EP (and ignore many other ones) since it features music that was previously unavailable in the UK upon its release (some of the tracks were issued on The Beatles’ Second Album in the US). It is also significant since I consider it to the end of an era, of sorts. This is the last music that contains the “mop-top” energy of their early recordings. One (underrated!) original is included in “I Call Your Name,” and the rest of the tunes are high-energy covers: “Long Tall Sally” (a one-take wonder!), “Slow Down” and “Matchbox.” Never again would their music sound quite so youthful and energetic. They were obviously still riding the wave of recently-found fame – quickly they would become irreversibly tired of the constant touring. I don’t LOVE any of these songs, but they are important to be considered here before we go on…
Beatles for Sale (1964)
Enter a brand-new phase. By the end of 1964, the band had literally been around the world and back again… weariness was setting in. On tours, rarely could audiences hear any of the music due to the constant screaming of teenage fans. Live musicianship would start to deteriorate… listen to most live bootlegs or watch concert footage for evidence of that.
The new music would begin to take on a different direction… quite a bit more subdued and mellow in many cases. Weariness is one factor, in addition to their introduction to Bob Dylan’s music and marijuana. Listen for a significant folk influence in many of the original songs on this album. After the all-original brilliance of the last album, the band again needed to turn to cover versions (many of them half-hearted at best) to fill out the album at 14 tracks. Another factor resulting in so many covers was EMI’s desire to issue the new album for the Christmas market… the prolific Lennon/McCartney couldn’t keep up.
Side A begins strong enough with some originals: the subdued “No Reply,” Dylan-esque “I’m a Loser,” and 3/4 time “Baby’s in Black.” The more relaxed, laid-back feel is immediately apparent to new listeners. A GREAT cover of Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music” follows, and McCartney’s “I’ll Follow the Sun” is then resurrected from the ashes of VERY early Beatles demos (circa 1960!).
Then we have “Mr. Moonlight,” which is possibly my LEAST favorite Beatles track. It’s a good enough song to cover, but the performance is just plodding. And the organ solo… PLEASE!!! /rant
The side concludes with another one-take wonder, “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey.” Overall, the album is not BAD so far, but nowhere near as cohesive as its predecessor.
Side B begins strong with the classic “Eight Days a Week,” but I find the rest of the album mediocre (aside from another great folky original, “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party”). “Words of Love” is a Buddy Holly cover, again not particularly energetic. Ringo sings “Honey Don’t,” simply because he needed something to sing (Lennon sang this live early in the band’s career). “Every Little Thing” is an OK original. “What You’re Doing” is the same… kind of lousy considering the quality of original material on AHDN!! Harrison finishes the album with a rockabilly cover of “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby.” Nothing much to say about it…
Overall, this record is probably my least favorite of the Beatles’ canon. Looking at and typing the song titles, I’m surprised that I hold that opinion. Individual songs aren’t bad at all. But I think it’s the album as a whole that brings me down. After the brilliant AHDN album, this one just sounds tired and sluggish. Occasionally I’ll have a phase where I listen to Beatles for Sale and really enjoy it, but those time are few and far beween.
“I Feel Fine” b/w “She’s A Woman”
And finally, we top off 1964 with a classic single. Here we can discuss one of the first intentional uses of feedback on a record! I think someone lately tried telling me that it WASN’T, but I can’t recall… And “She’s a Woman” includes one of the Beatles’ first blatant drug references, “turn me on when I get lonely.” Compare this single with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” b/w “This Boy” from 12 months earlier… the difference is staggering.
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You might have to turn your Beatlemaniac title over to me, since I seem to like every album more than you do. ;) (except Revolver I'm guessing, which I never understood the praise for)
I like Beatles for Sale a lot and find it pretty underrated. It has an interesting transitional feel. Not as many famous songs, but they're still mostly worthy. Eight Days a Week is one of their coolest tracks, and I freakin' love Honey Don't even though nobody else does. Mr. Moonlight sucks, though.
As for I Feel Fine, it's a classic. She's a Woman gets on my nerves.
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Was I'll Get You covered? Because it might just have the most hilarious bridge of all time.
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Was I'll Get You covered? Because it might just have the most hilarious bridge of all time.
B-side to "She Loves You", on pg 1.
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Duly noted.
Well, there's gonna be a time,
When I'm gonna change your mind.
So you might as well resign yourself to me, oh yeah.
:zydar:
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Oh yeah, that's one awesome verse. Used to sing it in a cover band I'm playing in, had to change the lyrics a little bit, except for that part of course. ;D
Anyway, I've known the songs from Long tall Sally from various compilations and I've always enjoyed I call your name, that's a fantastic song. As for the single, I feel fine is great, a gorgeous happy love tune. The album is highly enjoyable overall, although some covers can get boring. I absolutely adore Mr. Moonlight, probably because of that major chord that appears where you don't expect it. That's a usual thing, though, but The Beatles can pull it off and make it sound insanely catchy and warm. Other favorites include Eight days a week, I'm a loser, Baby's in black and I don't want to spoil the party.
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Which is why I think it's a crime that a lot of people write them off for supposedly only ever sounding like I Want to Hold Your Hand and All My Loving.
Oh dear god I loathe that song like no one I know. Anyways, I'll be back when Revolver is up. The only one of their albums I think is more than just good. ;)
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Which is why I think it's a crime that a lot of people write them off for supposedly only ever sounding like I Want to Hold Your Hand and All My Loving.
Oh dear god I loathe that song like no one I know. Anyways, I'll be back when Revolver is up. The only one of their albums I think is more than just good. ;)
That's fair. My remark was more in reference to people who've only heard the hits.
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Only songs I like from For Sale are No Reply, and Eight Days of course
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I like Beatles for Sale a lot and find it pretty underrated. It has an interesting transitional feel. Not as many famous songs, but they're still mostly worthy. Eight Days a Week is one of their coolest tracks, and I freakin' love Honey Don't even though nobody else does. Mr. Moonlight sucks, though.
Completely agreed.
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I kinda like I'm a Loser. I think the album isn't nearly as great as the albums that come after it, but it's not that bad.
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I'm really looking forward to when we get to the albums that everyone knows and likes. I'm learning a lot about my own tastes by writing these blurbs...
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I kinda like I'm a Loser. I think the album isn't nearly as great as the albums that come after it, but it's not that bad.
:iagree:
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Think it's time to move on now
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:bump: ?
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Update coming soon, friends. Sorry for the delays... I have ZERO intentions of abandoning this project.
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Help! (1965)
B-sides: “Yes it Is” and “I’m Down”
On the previous album, the Beatles took a large but uncertain step in developing a new sound. The ideas were there to some extent, but they were not yet fully realized. This next album, the soundtrack for their second film, takes another step toward this new sound. The band’s creativity was back in full swing amidst an even busier schedule. How did the results fare?
-----------------------------
The classic title track opens Side 1 (the soundtrack side of the UK album). According to Lennon, it was originally a slow ballad and a desperate cry for help. Perhaps to be rescued from the prison of their own fame? No one noticed the desperation… it was another huge hit record!
McCartney then gives us a mature rocker, “The Night Before.” Notice the prominent electric piano, an early introduction of a new sound that will take us away from the strict guitars-bass-drums format.
John Lennon then gives us the VERY Dylan-esque “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” Whenever I hear this, I can’t help but picture the performance scene from the movie with the villain wearing a manhole-cover hat!
George Harrison then furthers his compositional resume with “I Need You.” Anybody remember the Transatlantic cover? It’s a highly-regarded early Harrison tune that fits in well with the mold of the album.
Paul follows with “Another Girl.” Nothing too special about this song, but I do enjoy it quite a bit. That’s Paul playing lead guitar.
What follows is one of THE underrated songs from this band… “You’re Going to Lose That Girl.” The production is layered with piano and auxiliary percussion, along with classic 2-part harmony from Paul and George complimenting/answering John’s lead. My favorite part about this song is the modulation of sorts from E major (the chorus and verses) to G major (the middle-eight).
Side A is bookended by another classic, “Ticket to Ride.” A guitar-heavy piece, I’ve actually grown a little tired of this one. But it is still a great ending to a solid album side… perhaps the band’s finest since side A of A Hard Day’s Night.
Unfortunately, side B is erratic at best. Amongst some outstanding moments (IMO, in “Yesterday,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “Act Naturally”) are a bunch of clunkers that never really get going. I’m not too keen on “It’s Only Love,” although many disagree. “You Like Me Too Much” isn’t George’s best. “Tell Me What You See” is LOUSY, and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” is a tired and uninspired cover that belongs on the previous album. But to focus on the good, “Yesterday” needs no introduction… and Paul shows off his creativity with “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” Just listen to the brief passage that introduces the song… that must be 3 or 4 acoustic guitars layered perfectly together.
Also belonging to this period are two B-sides:
--“Yes it Is” backed “Ticket to Ride”… I think it has a pretty melody and 3-part harmony singing, but some have noted that it is something of an attempt to rewrite “This Boy” from the previous year.
--“I’m Down” backed “Help!.” It is a scorching rock song, featuring some of Paul’s wildest singing. It’s remarkable to think that this song was recorded in the same session as “Yesterday” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” What polar opposites!
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Not bad, but I like Hard Day's Night just a wee bit more
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Finally, someone who likes Act Naturally! Ah, I think that's a rare great for Ringo personally.
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Finally, someone who likes Act Naturally! Ah, I think that's a rare great for Ringo personally.
I can't describe to you what it is I like, but I LOVE it. My favorite performance is the one from "Blackpool Night Out" in 1965.
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This is the one that I put on and dig a lot, and then sometime in the second half, I'm reminded that I don't know every single Beatles song inside and out. It's weird because I do know every song until that point, mostly from watching the movie countless times. I don't know if the second half is weaker, or I'm just not as familiar with it. Most Beatles songs are pretty great.
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I agree that Side 1 of Help! is fantastic, while Side 2 leaves a bit to be desired. But Side 1 is soooooo good.
I think Yesterday is still the most played song in the history of FM radio.
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Help! is a really good album. I especially love the title track; it's one of their best songs, easily. Other highlights are Yesterday (obviously) and I've Just Seen a Face. I never gave much attention to I Need You until I heard the Transatlantic version, and now I realize it's an overlooked gem.
The only track I don't like is Dizzy Miss Lizzy, although it almost seems like John was intentionally trying to ruin the mood created by Yesterday. :lol
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DML to me is like a worse Lovely Rita (I love Rita ftr).
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Help! is my favorite Beatles album from their early period. Side 1 is fantastic. But oh my the stuff the comes next . . . :omg:
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It's weird because I do know every song until that point, mostly from watching the movie countless times.
KAIILEEEEEEEEEE!!
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:lol
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Quite a step up from Beatles for sale. Side A is absolutely flawless and I love every single song. Side B has some great songs like Yesterday, I've just seen a face and It's only love, but I don't really care about the remaining four. I find the covers especially boring. I agree that Dizzy Miss Lizzy kills the mood after the beautiful Yesterday. The two B-sides should have been on the album instead of the covers. Yes it is, what a cute song. :smiley:
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It's weird because I do know every song until that point, mostly from watching the movie countless times.
KAIILEEEEEEEEEE!!
GO.......TO.........DA WINDOW.....
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Rubber Soul (1965)
The Beatles’ 1965 itinerary had included the making of another film, receiving the coveted MBE awards, and another extensive tour of America… a schedule busier than ever. In October 1965, the band entered the studio with an actual block of time OFF, a first in their career. Sessions were no longer squeezed in only when there was time between tours. However, the band still had to work under a tight deadline… the album had to be completed in only a month’s time in order to be finished for the Christmas market.
How stunning is it, then, that working under pressure they were able to complete such a daring, experimental album! Perhaps it is not as groundbreaking as Sgt. Pepper, but all the elements of a new-found studio-centric direction are all there. Let’s examine song-by-song:
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You’ve heard me sing praises for “Drive My Car” here in the past. When it begins, the listener immediately knows that something new is afoot; the carefully doubled bass and guitar lines and tasteful piano licks are the first sign of studio mastery in the production.
We then are hit with an early use of Indian-flavored sounds in pop music with “Norwegian Wood.” George’s use of the sitar is an intriguing accompaniment to delightful lyrics referring to an affair of Lennon’s.
“You Won’t See Me” is an enjoyable McCartney tune, the longest Beatles track to date.
The outstanding “Nowhere Man” is one of the first Beatles songs to NOT be about boy-meets-girl love, a real taste of things to come. The 3-part harmony in this tune is particularly great (and VERY difficult for the boys to replicate in concert…)
George Harrison’s composition “Think For Yourself” continues his trend of fine songs that began with “I Need You” on the previous album. It is most notable for Paul double-tracked basses: one normal and one played through a fuzz box. The effect is quite unique!
“The Word” is another hint of things to come… a shift to more philosophical lyrics (this time looking at love in the abstract). Some call it a precursor to “All You Need is Love.”
Another very unique song closes out side A… “Michelle.” French lyrics and a complex harmonic structure make it memorable. (Personally, the version that I always remember as definitive version was performed by McCartney during his 1993 tour, which I watched at age 6 and thereafter became infatuated with the Beatles).
Side B begins with Ringo’s vocal for the album, “What Goes On” (uniquely credited to Lennon/McCartney/Starkey)! It is a fine homage to rockabilly.
“Girl” is another song entirely unique in the Beatles’ catalog. For lack of any better words, it has Greek-esque influences?? Can anyone describe it with better words?
“I’m Looking Through You” is a fine song, but I GREATLY prefer the version issued on Anthology 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3z5aNGt6bE). The album version was a remake, but unfortunately I have a hard time finding faults in the original version.
Perhaps the highlight of the album, “In My Life” features introspective lyrics, an outstanding melody, sparse but appropriate instrumentation, and a studio-tricked piano solo by George Martin. It might be the finest Beatles song up until 1965… I don’t remember how I ranked it when I did my top 50 songs.
It is followed by the album’s only clunker, “Wait.” The song was a leftover from Help!, and was polished off only because the new album was one song short and under a tough deadline. I have very little to comment on…
“If I Needed Someone” is another fine effort from Harrison. It features extensive use of variants on the D major guitar chord played higher up the fretboard with a capo. Interestingly enough, I just learned that this was the ONLY Harrison composition that was performed live by the Beatles (the rest of George’s live vocals were covers!).
The album closes with one of my favorites on the record, John’s “Run For Your Life.” Lennon apparently was not proud of the song at all, but I find it upbeat and enjoyable.
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Rubber Soul is one of those albums that I need to be in the right mood in order to listen without skipping any tracks. Nonetheless, I regard it as one of the better Beatles albums. While working on this write-up, I realized that the album’s most identifying feature is the fact that most of the songs sound ENTIRELY unique in the Beatles’ catalog. They are unlike anything written and recorded before, and everything afterwards drew upon this bold songwriting and early studio experimentation. It is truly a special album and understandably highly regarded by many (even non-Beatles fans). It is the album where many “haters” of the early Beatles begin to take notice.
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This and Abbey Road are my two favorite Beatles albums. Not sure which one I prefer.
And I love Wait.
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Great album. Norwegian Wood is one of the greatest short songs of all time
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This is my all-time favorite Beatles album. Nothing not to be enjoyed here.
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I should really give this album a spin before commenting, but I almost feel like I don't need to. I know every one of those songs, except for "Wait" which for some reason doesn't ring a bell. Interesting then that you point it out as the only clunker on the album. That's apparently why I don't remember it.
Anyway, another great album full of great songs. I could sing every one of them, except "Wait".
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Rubber Soul is their 3rd best album (After Revolver and Abbey Road) for me. I love everything about it - the folky stuff, the rockers, even the obligatory Ringo track is good.
And Wait is a great track, not a clunker at all.
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LOVE this album, and I dig "Wait." The only thing I don't love is "Run for Your Life," which is one of the worst songs I think they ever made. The lyrics make me uncomfortable to hear, even though it's kinda catchy.
"Girl" is probably my favorite, followed by "Norwegian Wood" and "Michelle" :heart :heart :heart
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Rubber Soul is awesome, my 2nd or 3rd favorite with Abbey Road #1 and this one fighting with Sgt Pepper. One of my absolute favorite Beatle vocal melodies is the last time Lennon sings the word "My".
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Yeah, regardless of the melodies, I just can't dig "Run For Your Life" at all.
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Okay, I just listened to "Wait". It sounds familiar, with the unusual two-part harmony during the refrain, but seems like a bit of a Beatles-by-numbers song otherwise. Not a bad song, just not particularly memorable.
I mean, compare that to some of the other songs on this album. "Drive My Car" with the tri-tone harmony "beep beeps" emulated a car horn. "Norwegian Wood" with sitar, acoustic guitar, and no drums. "Nowhere Man" with the a capella intro. Even "You Won't See Me" with the double meaning of the title is pretty clever, I've always thought (she won't see him, so fine, he'll just walk away, and she won't see him anymore).
I've been re-reading this book (see below) which I mentioned in another thread, and one thing I love about it is that it's not just fan raving. They completely dissect the songs, both the music and lyrics, provide detailed notes of the writing and recording sessions (who wrote the verses or the chorus, who played what instrument, including studio musicians, how many takes and overdubs), and point out things about the songs themselves that are unusual or groundbreaking, most of which most people won't even realize. In other words, they justify why each song is ranked the way it is. Recommended reading for any Beatles fan. My appreciation for The Beatles, which was already pretty high, has done nothing but increase, the more I learn about what they did to advance the art form. It was only 1965, but The Beatles were literally inventing new ways to make music.
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dFVuq5s6L.jpg) (https://www.amazon.com/100-Best-Beatles-Songs-Passionate/dp/1579128424#_)
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Terrific album. This is when the Beatles went from being good to great, IMO, as it is their first album that is consistently great from start to finish. This is one of those albums that can you just turn on and let play uninterrupted and the whole thing sounds great. And the number of catchy melodies is just obscene!
If I had to pick favorite songs from it, I'd probably go with In My Life (obviously), Think for Yourself and Norwegian Wood.
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(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dFVuq5s6L.jpg) (https://www.amazon.com/100-Best-Beatles-Songs-Passionate/dp/1579128424#_)
Yes, this is a very good book!
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Going back to Help! real quick - I about wore out my cassette tape of the US version of the soundtrack when I was about 8 or 9 (possibly older?). LOVED it. Still do, and the UK version is tops. Oh, and I also dig "Act Naturally". :biggrin:
Now, to Rubber Soul... there is just so much to love about it. "Nowhere Man" is one of my favorite John songs (and I love most of them), and so is "Girl" and "In My Life". "Norwegian Wood" is a bit overplayed these days, but still a really good song. REALLY dig "I'm Looking Through You" - one of my favorite Paul songs. Like I said... there's so much to love about this one.
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The lyrics of Run For Your Life are rather cringeworthy.
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Yeah, I've never really liked the lyrics for "Run for Your Life". The message is pretty sick, really. John Lennon definitely had a dark side to him, even back then.
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I believe he said in some interview in the 70s that it's one of his least favourites of his songs.
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Do remember if he said why? I'm always curious about that.
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Rubber soul is not just a Beatles classic, but also one of my favorite albums of all time. Everybody is at the top of their game, there is a lot more experimentation (although not as much as on the subsequent albums, but it's still a sign of things to come), and the songs rock as much as they deliver some adorable melodies. My favorites include In my life (well, duh!), Nowhere man, Michelle, Girl and Think for yourself, which is one of my favorite Harrison tunes, quite unusual. Run for your life is also a great songs, and the lyrics can be very humorous and fun if you don't take them too seriously. The two lesser good songs are The Word and What goes on, but I still enjoy them every now and then.
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Do remember if he said why? I'm always curious about that.
This is the only info I've found about it:
https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/run-for-your-life/ (https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/run-for-your-life/)
Lennon later expressed his dislike of the song, saying he "always hated" Run For Your Life. In 1973 he described it as his "least favourite Beatles song", although he did claim that it was one of George Harrison's favourites.
"Just a sort of throwaway song of mine that I never thought much of, but it was always a favourite of George's."
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Weird. I was just wondering if it was because he realized how sadistic and controlling and generally sick the lyrics are, but oh well.
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Do remember if he said why? I'm always curious about that.
I imagine it has to do with the misogynistic, violent tone of the lyrics. Lennon was later quite remorseful about how he treated women (see: "Getting Better" ).
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I agree, that's what I would've hoped he meant. But he didn't actually say.
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Yeah, I imagine that was why. Or, as my friend Angel says, because "Yoko made him say that" :lol
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A lot has been said about Yoko Ono and her effect on The Beatles as a group, but she definitely had a huge impact on John personally. He always talked about how he felt so complete and at peace and fulfilled when he was with her. He was so totally, completely in love with her that it's almost easy to be cynical about it, either out of jealousy or simply not understanding how lost one person can be in another. John stated more than once that when they got together, they were no longer two people, but one new entity.
I hadn't really put the two together until now, but it seems quite possible, even likely, that the pessimistic, misogynistic John became the hippie-peace-love-freak John because of her. He went from "I'd rather see you dead" to "imagine" and "free as a bird".
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Good points!
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Am I the only one who isn't taking the lyrics in Run for your life that seriously?
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I suppose you could say that it's just the lyrics to a song, the point of view of some fictitious character. This is how he feels about his girl, he loves her so much that he would rather see her dead than with someone else, and if it came to that, he'd kill her himself. But you have to admit, to even come up with a hypothetical mentality like that requires a kind of thinking that most of us don't have. And then to place it into such a happy, upbeat sounding song just seems twisted.
Pat Travers wrote a similar song years later called "I'd Rather See You Dead", which had a similar theme. The difference was that Pat's song had a heavy, tragic tone to it. The guy was genuinely saddened, agonized, that it had come to this. Also, I don't think he ever said he'd kill her himself.
Hmm, I guess I do take lyrics pretty seriously. So that's a Yes.
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I think the issue is that the lyrics aren't from the point of view from some character, but rather the thoughts of Lennon. Yeah, the '60s were a different time, but that doesn't make it any easier to enjoy the song.
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Yeah :|
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Hey friends, would somebody be willing to take this over for me? Since it's right before Easter I am SWAMPED at work, and I don't want this thread to die and everyone to lose interest in this band. I've been trying to do a write-up for Revolver but nothing worthwhile is coming of it. Any takers?
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I can try one. I just listened to Revolver today, and know most of the songs pretty well anyway, so I'm up for blabbing about them. It'll have to be tonight, though. I leave in about an hour for a meeting.
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Go ahead!
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The Beatles: Revolver (1966)
(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/208041_4625543518525_1723598693_n.jpg) (https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/28143_4625554238793_327007972_n.jpg)
(I had to include both front and back covers, because that back cover photo is just so cool)
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
I'm Only Sleeping
Love You To
Here, There and Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
She Said She Said
Good Day Sunshine
And Your Bird Can Sing
For No One
Doctor Robert
I Want to Tell You
Got to Get You into My Life
Tomorrow Never Knows
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The Beatles have been called the first prog rock band. Not everyone agrees with this, and obviously it would ultimately depend on your definition of prog, although nobody ever seems to agree on that, either. But most definitions include the idea of pushing the boundaries of rock and roll, the incorporation of other genres, unconventional song structures, and unusual instrumentation. Revolver has all of this, and more. The Beatles started pushing the limits with Rubber Soul, but they burst them wide open here.
Everyone knows that most Beatles songs were written by Lennon & McCartney, but Revolver opens with a George Harrison song, the first and only time that this would happen. And it's a good one. "Taxman". A great, catchy beat; Paul and Ringo playing tightly off of each other, wicked lyrics, and an even more wicked lead guitar. I used to think that "one for you, nineteen for me" was hyperbole, but The Beatles were in the 95.6% tax bracket! We have nothing even close to that in the United States. George's songs have a very different sound to them, and leading off the album with one of his three songs let listeners know right away that yes, they should continue to expect the unexpected from The Beatles.
Speaking of which... how about three voices and a double string quartet? "Eleanor Rigby" has no drums, guitars, or keyboards. Instead, we have Paul singing lead, John and George singing backgrounds, and four violins, two violas, and two cellos providing the backdrop. At barely two minutes, it is an amazing tour de force, an example of The Beatles doing what had never been done before, or since, and even scoring a hit single with it.
"I'm Only Sleeping" is the first "regular" Lennon-McCartney song on the album, but we're three songs in and we still haven't heard a single song about love or girls or relationships. It's a song about wanting to stay in bed and sleep, and even though we've all been there, what in the heck is going on here? This is The Beatles, right? Where's "Love Me Do" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand"?
"Love You To". Ah, a love song, finally. Except... what's this? Sitar, tambura, tabla, hand drums? The second George Harrison song on the album is a direct reflection of his fascination with Indian music. The droning, the monotonic feel. I don't particularly like this song, but I admire the guts it took for them to put it on their album.
"Here, There, and Everywhere" is the fifth song on the album, and the first Lennon-McCartney love song. It is a beautiful ballad by Paul. (It's no secret that many of the songs credited to Lennon & McCartney were in fact mostly or entirely written by one or the other.) Acoustic and electric guitar, no bass, and drums played with brushes, this is the mellowest song on the album.
Something The Beatles didn't shy away from was good old English whimsy. "Yellow Submarine", sung by Ringo, is a silly song about living in a submarine, but it has a great, sing-a-long chorus and was yet another hit.
"She Said She Said" is a John Lennon composition, written after an acid trip, about a conversation with someone who said she knows what it's like to be dead. It has an odd meter and beat to it, but Ringo and Paul keep things bouncing along, John and George have some awesome harmonies, and it's another great, catchy song. And if you're listening on vinyl, this is the end of Side One.
Paul's "Good Day Sunshine" opens Side Two with a song about being in love, and it's a sunny day. Happy and upbeat almost to the point of being cheesy, it's hard to listen to this one and not tap your feet anyway. No guitars, just piano (played by George Martin), bass and drums, so we're over halfway through now and still no "regular" Beatles love song.
Okay fine, there's no point in keeping up the charade any further. There are no "regular" Beatles love songs on this album. This is Revolver. The Beatles were halfway through their career by now and they were not some teenybopper boy band. They had matured as musicians and writers and were looking for different challenges, and they dared their audience to keep up with them.
"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a John Lennon song that he didn't actually like very much. He considered it a throwaway, but it's a great, catchy song. It's also one of the few songs on this album with standard, guitars, bass, and drums for instrumentation. As such, Paul and Ringo are their usual psychic-linked rhythm section, John and George's guitars sound great, and the vocal harmonies are tight, as always. What's not to love?
"For No One" is an upbeat song with deceptively meloncholy lyrics. It's a Paul song, another one of his experiments (or indulgences), with him singing and playing piano, bass, and clavichord. Ringo provides the drums and percussion, hired gun Alan Civil takes the French horn solo, and John and George sat this one out.
To put it bluntly, "Doctor Robert" is the guy who makes you feel better, and he does this by providing whatever drug(s) you need. This was the 60's, after all. Beatles scholars and others who hung out with The Beatles at the time all agree that Doctor Robert was a real man, Dr. Robert Freymann, who had a prescription pad and wasn't afraid to use it, as long as you had the cash. John Lennon claimed in interviews that he himself was "Doctor Robert" and he wrote the song. So who knows?
"I Want to Tell You" is George's third contribution to Revolver, and it's another good one. It bangs along, it's catchy, and it's got some really weird chords. I love Paul's piano work on this one. His dissonant sevenths really drive this one.
"Got to Get You into My Life" is one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs. There's a rhythm guitar, but what really moves the song along are the horns. The horns open the song and provide the chordal structure throughout. Yes, we have bass and drums as well, and the aforementioned rhythm guitar, but even when the guitar takes the break just before the final reprise, it's still just echoing the horn part that opened the song. What a great song.
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is the other song with a strong Indian influence, but this one's from John. It's not quite purely in the Indian format; the songs drones in C but there's a definite subtonic (B-flat) shift halfway through the verse, even though the bass stays on C. After George, John seemed to embrace the Indian music and culture the most. It's an unusual song, but as has been pointed out a few times, there aren't a lot of regular songs on this album.
Revolver really pushed things, far. When people talk about The Beatles' influence on popular music, some might be thinking about that great medley on Abbey Road or the amazing songwriting on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but the first thing I think of is this album. 14 songs, all in the two-to-three-minute range, but look at the variety. String quartet, horns, sitar and tambura, French horn, piano and no guitars, songs based entirely on a single chord, or with odd, run-on cadences. It's almost not even a rock and roll album, but somehow it is still most definitely a rock and roll album. That was the genius of The Beatles. Rubber Soul had a sitar on one song, and some unusual structures, but Revolver makes it and every other rock album before it (and many that have come after it) look tame by comparison. This album is, quite simply, a masterpiece.
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Orbert, I'd have to agree with your assessment of "Love You To". I dig that George had the stones to do that one, but I think he accomplished what he was trying to do MUCH better with "Within You Without You" (one of my all-time favorite Beatles' songs, but I don't want to jump TOO far ahead yet ;) ).
I also agree that Revolver is the start of their pushing the limit - with great success, I may add. "I'm Only Sleeping" is fantastic, as well as "Good Day Sunshine", "Doctor Robert". "I Want To Tell You" and "Tomorrow Never Knows".
It's not my favorite of the more experimental Beatles albums, but it's by no means bad at all.
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Fucking perfect album.
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Even though I do not like Taxman, this is still an album that is beyond awesome. Song after song after song after song of just killer and infectious melodies, and like Orbert said, experimentation all over the place. Personal favorites are Here, There and Everywhere, For No One, Doctor Robert (their best bridge ever?), And Your Bird Can Sing, Tomorrow Never Knows, etc. Hell, all of them (except Taxman)!!!
What's amazing is that Tomorrow Never Knows was so ahead of its time, it could be a new song today and still sound ahead of its time.
In short, :hefdaddy :hefdaddy to Revolver.
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I love Taxman. :(
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Me too. :(
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I have no idea why that song has never been to my liking, but oh well; sometimes, a song, for whatever reason, doesn't resonate with you. And I like, no make that LOVE, most of Harrison's other songwriting efforts in The Beatles, so it is mystifying, even to me, why I don't like Taxman.
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Taxman isn't bad... but I think my favorites are She Said She Said and Got to Get You into My Life. Such a wonderful album :D
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I've always been baffled by Revolver and the love it gets. This is probably one of my most unusual music opinions, but Revolver is my least favorite Beatles album. I know it's considered their best by most people, and its widely considered the best album of all time.
As a big Beatles fan, I don't know how my opinion on this can be so different from other Beatles fans. There are just too many songs that I think are mediocre or poor: I'm Only Sleeping, Love You To, She Said She Said, Doctor Robert, I Want to Tell You. It doesn't help that I have a personal reason to not like the song Eleanor Rigby. My favorite songs are Taxman, Yellow Submarine (which is usually considered the WORST song on the album), and For No One.
I don't even like Tomorrow Never Knows, since it gives me a really bad vibe. It's like the band couldn't handle their newfound LSD intake on the album, so the songs seem weird and transitional to me. They found their way again with Sgt. Pepper.
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It's the only Beatles album I don't get bored of personally. I wouldn't really consider myself a Beatles fan at all. But I really love this album. It just hits all the right spots for me.
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"I'm Only Sleeping" is a top 15 or maybe top 10 Beatles song for me. It's quite wonderful.
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It seems like I always forget the significance of Revolver when it comes to its originality compared to Rubber soul and earlier albums. It's probably because it's overshadowed by Sgt. Pepper, which is an extremely massive departure, being that it contains even more diversity. I usually put Revolver alongside Rubber soul as one of the two The Beatles albums that marked the transition in the sound.
Nevertheless, this album is simply breathtaking. It doesn't have the diversity of Sgt. Pepper because some songs still have a similar vibe, but most of the songs are timeless classics. She said she said is less good than the others, and I honestly don't care for Yellow submarine - the rest of the album, however, is tremendous. My favorite has to be Tomorrow never knows, it's top 5 material. Other highlights include: Here, there and everywhere, Eleanor Rigby, Love you to, Doctor Robert, And your bird can sing (what a bridge!), Got to get you into my life, Good day sunshine... Once again, I pretty much listed all of the songs. :lol
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I think the Beatles must have sold their souls to the devil. This album is a masterpiece and any lover of rock music (or music in general really) who doesn't have this in their collection does not deserve to call themselves music lovers
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I think I have a soft spot for Here, There, and Everywhere because we do a beautiful rendition of it in the school jazz band.
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Hey, Sir Bradford! Are we gonna do this thing or what?
Seriously though, are you back from your hiatus?