Thursday, June 30, 2011

Album Summary: Beatles for Sale

Overall, Beatles for Sale was a fantastic album. We're finally getting into the good stuff, in my opinion; the guys are slowly moving away from the classic rock-and-roll and rockabilly songs and migrating towards their own original material. Of course we've already seen a lot of great original stuff, but this album is much more autobiographical, making it better musically, lyrically, and stylistically.

My favorite tracks were "I'm a Loser", "I'll Follow the Sun", "Mr. Moonlight", and "Eight Days a Week". These songs really stuck out to me and my personal tastes. :) I could listen to "I'll Follow the Sun" over and over--the guitar's amazing. And of course, "Eight Days a Week" will forever be a classic and never fails to remind me of how quirky Ringo was (and is).

One particular thing I like about this album that doesn't have much to do with the songs themselves is actually the photo used for the album cover. Wikipedia says, "The downbeat mood of the songs on Beatles for Sale was reflected in the album cover, which shows the unsmiling, weary-looking Beatles in an autumn scene photographed at Hyde Park, London." They do indeed look exhausted; it's as if their somber faces foreshadow the turmoil that will come in the next several years (and decades). Very good photo. :)


That's all for Beatles for Sale... it was a good one! I'll see you tomorrow as we check out a couple songs from the next album, Beatles '65. :)

Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby

Today's song is "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby". Originally by Rex Griffin and performed later by Carl Perkins, The Beatles' version (which is inspired by Perkins' version because the guys didn't know his wasn't the original) features George on vocals. His vocals were processed using the STEED effect, or "send/single tape echo echo delay", which caused the echoes.

To be honest, it's that echoing that put me off the song a bit--it's more difficult to understand the lyrics, and it makes it sound like you're listening to the song at a concert from the nosebleed section. Not really my most favorite thing ever, but oh well. The lyrics are generic, cheerful rock-and-roll fare--the singer's got so much game, even he doesn't know what to do with it all. :P

Coming up is the album summary for Beatles for Sale so I'll keep this post short--luckily I don't have anything else to say about it anyway. :) 


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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 66

What You're Doing

"What You're Doing" is one of my favorites from this album, I can tell you that already. :) The confrontational lyrics are directed towards a wayward lover from a singer who asks what she thinks she's doing. Paul wrote the song, and was probably influenced by his deteriorating relationship with Jane Asher. 
Between McCartney and Lennon, McCartney had typically been the more optimistic of the two when it came to songwriting. However, with this song he is expressing feelings of loneliness and doubt in his relationship, a theme he would be forced to develop more over time as his relationship soured...
There are several facets of this song that make it rather unique stylistically and musically. It starts off with a drum intro, instead of guitar or vocals. There's no chorus, just repetitions of "Look, what you're doing / I'm feeling blue and lonely / Would it be too much to ask of you / What you're doing to me?" The rhyming pattern is also unusual and syncopated. "McCartney adds to the rhyme scheme by combining a single, two-syllable word with two one-syllable words (i.e. 'Look what you're doing, I'm feeling blue and lonely...You got me runnin', and there's no fun in it...')". Also, for this song, George played a 12-string guitar, which is just awesome. :P

That's all for today... See you tomorrow, for the last song on Beatles for Sale and the subsequent album summary. :)


Note: Sorry this post is late... I tried to put it up last night, but Blogger seemed to be buggy and it wouldn't let me post it. So here it is!




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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 65

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" is a wonderfully depressing song. The singer is at a party, but removes himself so his dark mood doesn't affect the other party-goers. He's bummed out because he's waited and waited for his girl to show up, but she fails to, and after a few sips of liquid courage, he decides to go out for a walk to look for her.

Lennon was the primary author of the song, and we can see that "the lyrics revisit Lennon's familiar themes of alienation and inner pain." The sheer disappointed woe spelled out in this tune really makes you feel bad for John, who was capable of such great love and such great sorrow. This song, along with many of his others, give us a glimpse into the constantly-battling dichotomy of light and dark that raged in him. Pretty dramatic, I know, but then again he was a pretty dramatic guy.

I'm fond of this song--it shows us a sentiment many of us can relate to, a feeling of being nothing without that other person. I'm sure most of us have experienced that, making "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" a song filled with vital human emotions.

That's all for today... See you tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 64

Monday, June 27, 2011

Every Little Thing

"Every Little Thing" is a love song written by Paul, but primarily sung by John, a rarity in the Beatles' repertoire (another example, with the roles reversed, is "Day Tripper"). Paul wrote the song while living at his girlfriend Jane Asher's house, so the song is most likely about her. He'd wanted it to be a single, but evidently the tune "didn't have quite what was required".

I like this one; Ringo's timpani-playing adds some real depth and a unique sound. Apparently the boys had a great deal of fun recording this song, nevermind its "depth". Recording it took them two days, and according to Wikipedia, "The Beatles were enjoying themselves on the second night; take six was aborted due to McCartney burping his vocals, and take seven was finished but ended in loud laughter." I would have liked to hear those takes, for sure. :P

That's all for today... See you tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 63

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Honey Don't

"Honey Don't", a rock-and-roll / rockabilly jam originally written and performed by Carl Perkins, was covered by The Beatles; it was one of the last songs they recorded for Beatles for Sale. One of the best parts about this song is Ringo's two quick spoken parts:
Although John Lennon had previously sung the song live, Ringo Starr performed it for the album, his requisite one lead vocal per album. During the song, he makes self-referential remarks leading into Harrison's guitar riffs, saying, "Rock on George, one time for me!" and then "Rock on, George, for Ringo one time!"
As a Ringo song, this one's got style. George's excellent guitar work paired with Perkins' unusual choice of chord progression makes "Honey Don't" really stand out to me. Normally I'm not too into the rockabilly songs, but this one definitely caught my interest. :) It must have interested the guys as well, because not only did they cover it as The Beatles, but Ringo and John both covered it individually later on in their careers.

Alright, that's all for now... See you guys later. :)


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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 62

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Words of Love

Today's song, "Words of Love", is a cover of a song by Buddy Holly and features some twangy guitar work (no doubt George's doing). Since John and Paul were great fans of Holly's original, they stuck as close as possible with their harmonies and musical style. Wikipedia tells us that since McCartney actually owns the rights to this song (as well as Holly's entire catalog), it's the only song on Beatles for Sale owned by a Beatle. 

[Note: Who actually owns The Beatles' music is rather confusing, so I looked it up. There's a difference between publishing rights and songwriting rights; Michael Jackson and Sony owned most of the publishing rights (MJ owned most of it at one point, purchasing the rights for $47 million and "trumping a joint bid by McCartney and Yoko Ono", but sold it to Sony to finance his ruinous lifestyle). EMI (The Beatles' distributor) and Apple Corps, Ltd. (The Beatles' own company) own the actual recordings. The guys (or whoever owns/controls their estates) own songwriting rights to the music and are compensated whenever a song is licensed--about 50% of the profit. Also, some individual songs are owned by the Beatle that wrote them; for example, George owned "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Ringo owns "Don't Pass Me By" through his company, Startling Music. See? Very confusing. That's just the short version. You can check out the long version here, under "Song Catalog".]

Back to the song... "Words of Love" is a good contrast to the previous song, "Eight Days a Week". They're both love songs, but they exist in entirely different realms. "Words of Love" is ironically quite concise--there are only two verses, with no real chorus to speak of--unless you want to consider the verses as choruses, in which case there are two repetitions of the chorus and no verses. Either way, it's short. 

My favorite part is the clapping sound, which was actually Ringo playing a packing case to more closely mimic the sound of Holly's original. I actually listened to the original, to see how close the guys got--I think it's spot on. I think for this cover, they weren't trying to exert their own musical influence so much as pay homage to Buddy Holly's. In that light, it's a job very well done. :)

That's all for today. Hope you enjoyed the song! See you guys tomorrow.


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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 61

Friday, June 24, 2011

Eight Days a Week

To kick off the B-side of Beatles for Sale, we have a classic song today... one of my favorites for sure. :) "Eight Days a Week" is a cheerful love song. Wikipedia gives us a good quote about the reputed source(s) of the title.
The inspiration of the song has been attributed to at least two different sources by Paul McCartney. In a 1984 interview with Playboy, he credited the title to Ringo Starr, who was noted for his malapropisms, which are credited as the source of other song titles (such as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Tomorrow Never Knows")... However, he has also credited the title to an actual chauffeur who once drove him to Lennon's house in Weybridge.
The guys' stories of how songs began were always changing, so I'm going to say both versions are true. :P

The lyrics are pretty adorable and romantic. The singer has dedicated his time--more than all of it--to loving his partner. Despite the cuteness, apparently the boys weren't altogether charmed by their own song (John called it "lousy") but it was hugely popular in the States and remains so today.

That's it--see you guys tomorrow!

[As a note, I think it's supremely fitting that this is the 8th song on my Heard It Tally. :P ]



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Heard It Tally: 8
Songs Completed: 60

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

Today's double feature gives us two rhythm and blues gems: "Kansas City" and "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!".

"Kansas City" was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" was written and performed by Little Richard, who was the first to combine it with "Kansas City" during performances. When The Beatles covered the two songs for Beatles for Sale, these two jams were already part of the famous rhythm and blues repertoire. 

Wikipedia's dearth of information regarding The Beatles' version of these songs (which they combined into one for their album, like Little Richard did) drove me to BeatlesEBooks.com. There I found the page for this song, as well as a great quote from Paul.
"In our imaginations back then, John was Buddy (Holly) and I was Little Richard...You're always someone when you start."  This was how Paul McCartney described who Lennon and himself aspired to in their teenage years.  Paul acquired the knack to imitate Little Richard's screaming vocals, which he was proud to display among his peers even before there were Beatles.
It's a great song to tap your foot to, or to get up and dance along with. The lyrics are the basic bluesy type, nothing too deep, but the talented singing and musicianship showcased in the tune are more than worth a good listen. :)

That's it for today... See you tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 7
Songs Completed: 59

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Mr. Moonlight

Just as yesterday's song was sad and about the sun, today's song, "Mr. Moonlight", provides a fitting contrast. The singer praises the moon (traditionally portrayed as female but in this song, referred to as "mister"), claiming the moonlight shining down on himself and his lady helped him seal the deal, as it were. He implores the moon to shine again soon, to send him more good juju and help him with his game. This happens to be the first time I've ever heard a singer using the moon as his wingman. :P

Written by Roy Lee Johnson, "Mr. Moonlight" pairs John's vocals with Ringo's, giving the song a slightly unusual sound, and contains percussion with a distinctly Latin flavor. I first heard this song on the radio just a few weeks ago, and the harmonies during the chorus, when they sing, "Mr. Moonlight", are particularly intriguing. 

Speaking of the vocals, I did find one very interesting quote from The Beatles Bible: "Despite a blistering vocal from John Lennon, Mr Moonlight is held by many Beatles fans as one of the least successful songs in their catalogue." Maybe Beatles fans disliked the group's happier songs, who knows. ;)

That's all for today! See you guys tomorrow. 


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Heard It Tally: 7
Songs Completed: 58

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I'll Follow the Sun

Today's song is "I'll Follow the Sun". It couldn't have fallen on a better day--it suits my mood perfectly. Sure, it's a bit depressing and melancholy--the singer's leaving his unappreciative lover, albeit sadly--but not every day can be about butterflies and happiness, as the boys knew well. Paul wrote and sang this one; he may have been going through a rough time, or was just inspired by unpleasant memories (one former fiancée had a miscarriage, causing their breakup; also, his girlfriend from around this time, Jane Asher, broke up with him after he cheated on her). However, it's a bit unlikely he had quite as much drama happening as John always seemed to have. 

Personally, the part that resonated most with me is the aspect of losing a loved one, something we all struggle with unless we're very, very lucky. In particular, the line "But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun" really sticks with me. It seems to say that there's no reason to stick around in the rain when sunshine's just around the corner. The storm could symbolize a bad relationship or even just a bad mood--whatever gets you down. 

Another line, "One day, you'll look to see I've gone", prompts me to embrace a slightly different reading of the lyrics. The reluctance on the part of the singer expands into the fundamental message of the song; he doesn't want to leave, but he's following the sun--at the risk of sounding religious, he's going on to better things. It's bittersweet, and wistfully hopeful at the same time, encouraging us to appreciate the people we love and let them know we care about them while we have the chance.

Maybe if I'd heard this song on a different day, I'd be all about the traditional reading... just not today. At the same time I'm glad it was today's song. It's my therapy. :) See you guys tomorrow.


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Heard It Tally: 6
Songs Completed: 57

Monday, June 20, 2011

Rock and Roll Music

"Rock and Roll Music" is a great Chuck Berry song that's been covered not only by The Beatles, but by REO Speedwagon and The Beach Boys as well, among others. It's a classic rock-and-roll jam, and Wikipedia gives us a quote that shows us a some of The Beatles' experience with the song and why they chose to cover it:
In late 1964, exhausted from non-stop touring and recording and short of original material, they decided to record several of their old rock and rhythm and blues favorites to fill out their LP release Beatles for Sale. Among these was a version of Berry's tune that eventually became as well-known as the original. The lead vocal in The Beatles' version was performed by John Lennon. In contrast to Berry's even-toned rendition, Lennon sang it as loudly and dynamically as his voice would permit.
If you listen to the song, you'll definitely notice that last part--John's singing at the top of his lungs, really making an extra effort to project the song and the lyrics out there. John's voice and the others' talented instrument playing (including George Martin on piano) really shows us the guys' passion for rock-and-roll, and in turn gives us a song that's actually worth rocking out to at that wedding reception. ;)

Alright, that's all for today. Hope you enjoyed these songs as much as I did, and I'll see you tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 6
Songs Completed: 56

Baby's in Black

Sorry for missing a post yesterday! I'll be doing two today to make up for it. :)

Yesterday's song was "Baby's in Black", a mournful tune co-written by John and Paul. It's about a girl grieving for her lost lover, making the singer sad for her. The guys had a real-life inspiration for this song; their friend and photographer Astrid Kirchherr was engaged to Stuart Sutcliffe, artist and original bass player for The Beatles (another fifth Beatle... I'll have to start keeping track). However, Sutcliffe died of an aneurysm before he and Kirchherr could marry, leaving her bereft and prompting the boys to write a song about her grief. Sutcliffe had been great friends with The Beatles, and later on, "Yoko Ono remembered that Lennon mentioned Sutcliffe's name very often, saying that he was '[My] alter ego ... a spirit in his world ... a guiding force'".

The guys often performed this song during their live shows, and Wikipedia gives us a little quote from Paul about it:
McCartney said they introduced the song by saying, "'And now for something different.' ... We used to put that in there, and think, 'Well, they won't know quite what to make of this, but it's cool.'"
As one of their most morose and depressing songs, I'm sure they were often concerned about an audience's reaction to it. However, the song clearly meant a lot to them, so they took that risk--I believe in order to honor their friends.

That's it for this song... now for today's! :)


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Heard It Tally: 6
Songs Completed: 55

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I'm a Loser

"I'm a Loser" was written by John Lennon, who sang a remarkably low G considering his range (he was a tenor, whereas the low G is generally solely the realm of baritones and bass singers). The song is about a guy who strikes out with a girl, and tries to put on a brave face even though he's pretty broken up about it.

With this song, we also get another glimpse into John's psyche when he wrote it. "In his 1980 Playboy interview, Lennon said the song was 'me in my Dylan period' and added, 'Part of me suspects I'm a loser and part of me thinks I'm God Almighty. [Laughs.]'" That feeling of having a dual nature is common to many musicians and artists (as well as politicians, I'm sure :P ). Here again we see that Bob Dylan had a powerful influence on John, an influence that went both ways. 

However, another side to that loser vs. God conflict is revealed in a quote from Paul:
Looking back on it I think songs like 'I'm a Loser' and 'Nowhere Man' were John's cries for help. We used to listen to quite a lot of country and western songs and they are all about sadness and 'I lost my truck' so it was quite acceptable to sing 'I'm a loser' ... It's only later you think, God! I think it was brave of John.
John's personal issues--his marriage to Cynthia was deteriorating (Cynthia claimed caused by his use of LSD); he was physically abusive and actually pretty violent, not only towards his wife but also other people; he was always on the road and rarely saw his wife or his son, Julian, born the previous year; etc.--really bleed through into his music at this point.
According to music critic Richie Unterberger, while the lyrics tell a story of romantic rejection, "I'm a Loser" is one of the first Beatles compositions that "goes beyond young love" including "the hypocrisy of keeping up a happy face when your world's falling down".
So, it's truly with "I'm a Loser" that we get a first (or second) look into John's persona at the time. We'll see more of that later.

That's it for today... Today's song was kind of a Debbie Downer so I'm going to leave you with a couple links for stuff that should cheer you up. :) See you tomorrow.


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Heard It Tally: 6
Songs Completed: 54

Friday, June 17, 2011

No Reply

Today's song is the first on the next album, Beatles for Sale. Wikipedia sums it up pretty nicely: "The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of Lennon and McCartney as lyricists, John Lennon particularly now showing interest in composing songs of a more autobiographical nature." We'll get to see plenty evidence of that statement as we explore this album. :)

I've actually heard "No Reply" recently, on the radio. It's about a young guy who knocks on his girlfriend's door, knowing she's there and that she's been unfaithful, but she doesn't answer. You can really hear the difference with this song; it really marks a new age in the guys' lyrics as well as their music. Another Wikipedia quote describes the effect this song had on music critic Ian McDonald:
In his book, "Revolution in the Head", Ian MacDonald remarks that the middle eight ("If I were you, I'd realize that I love you more than any other guy; and I'd forgive the lies that I heard before, when you gave me no reply") was the most powerful phrase featured in any Beatles song thus far.
I agree, kinda-sorta. It's certainly a bold leap into the heart-wrenching and brutally honest, and it only gets better. :)

Well, finally my Tally is going up... by one song, but that's okay! Maybe I'll have heard tomorrow's song as well, who knows? See you then!


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Heard It Tally: 6
Songs Completed: 53

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Komme, Gib Mir Deine Hand

Special post today... It's the enormously popular German version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"! This version is pretty much exactly the same as the English version, except in German. Great way to learn some German vocab, actually, and it's neat to see just how much you recognize--English is (mostly) a Germanic language, after all. :)

This jam and "Sie Liebt Dich" ("She Loves You") were the two songs The Beatles re-recorded in German, under the assumption that they had to sing in German to win over fans in that country. They later realized it probably wasn't necessary, but it still left us with some great non-English Beatles songs. :) This recording session was also the guys' only one outside of the UK during their career.

Tomorrow we start the next album, Beatles for Sale. Excited! I'm skipping doing an album summary for Something New since there was a notable dearth of new material. So, I'll see you tomorrow!

Note: For the Heard It Tally, I'm counting "Komme, Gib Mir Deine Hand" but not "Sie Liebt Dich" since I only listened to the former; I feel the two songs should count as one song anyway since they're basically only covers of themselves.


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 52

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Matchbox

"Matchbox" gave me a similar feeling that "Slow Down" did--that it belongs more in the early Beatles repertoire. Again, that's not to say it's not a fun rock-and-roll cover. :) Originally by American rockabillyCarl Perkins, "Matchbox" was sung by Ringo and included George Martin on piano. [I hope we're familiar enough with George M. to not need a link to his Wikipedia page. :P ] musician

The lyrics are definitely classic rock-and-roll. The song is about "a lovelorn 'poor boy' with limited prospects", a well-used and reliable theme in many genres of music. I'm not overly fond of rockabilly; to my confessedly untrained ears it sounds repetitive and I soon tire of the lyrics as well as the music. I love a good guitar solo as much as anyone else, but I just don't usually hear anything that stands out to me. No doubt plenty of people will find this outrageous, but I'm a product of my times, and not every song or genre of music can interest everyone all the time. :)

That's all I've got for today. Til tomorrow!


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 51

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Slow Down

The next few songs will be from the ironically-titled Beatles album Something New. Most of the songs have already appeared on A Hard Day's Night (hence the irony) so we'll be covering only two or three songs from this album. 

The first new song is "Slow Down". Originally by Larry Williams (talented musician and BFF of Little Richard), it's been covered by several artists (including Led Zeppelin) over time. It's got that classic 50's rock-and-roll sound and it actually kind of reminds me of Back to the Future (you know the scene I mean).

The lyrics aren't overly remarkable or new; the singer wants his girl to be faithful and dump her other boyfriend. Overall this one's not terrible but it didn't really capture my attention the way some of their other songs have done. It definitely harks back to the early Beatles days, when they were listening to Motown and rock-and-roll and doing great covers of great songs. I feel like this one belongs in those early albums; we're starting to move into The Beatles' next era and a song like "Slow Down" almost feels out of place, despite it being a pretty decent song and very well-played/sung. 

That's it for today... Hope you enjoyed the movie review (just below this post) as well as today's song. :) See you tomorrow!


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 50

Movie Review: A Hard Day's Night

Just finished watching A Hard Day's Night, the motion picture. It was fantastic. Most of it was downright hilarious, with John's bathtub capers, Ringo's last-minute walkabout, Paul's warning that his grandfather is an untrustworthy "mixer", and George's displacement of the fashionable "resident teenager". :P

There were plenty more great moments that I really enjoyed. I particularly liked the conversation between John and a lady who almost recognizes him, saying that he looks "just like him" but neither of them mention Lennon's name. Finally, when she decides he in fact looks nothing like him, John, offended and muttering, walks away in a huff, and pulls his cap down low over his eyes. 

My other favorite John moment was, as I mentioned above, while he was playing with a submarine in the bathtub. He disappears underwater, and when his manager pulls the plug and the water drains away, John appears to have been Raptured away. He comes in a moment later, in a bathrobe, scolding his manager for dilly-dallying. :P

I've said this before (after watching the segment of the video for "If I Fell") but my favorite quote was by George, noting Ringo's obsessiveness when it comes to his instruments: "He's very fussy about his drums, you know. They loom large in his legend." 

During the concert scene, though, with the incessant screaming and sobbing of the fans, I couldn't help but see how tired, sweaty, and almost bored the guys looked from time to time--they were acting and lip-syncing, but it must have gotten old in real life to be constantly hounded. Overall, the movie was well worth watching. It was entertaining, and it gave a somewhat fictionalized glimpse into John, Paul, George, and Ringo's lives as The Beatles. So, if I were a movie critic, I'd give it two thumbs up, five stars, A+, whatever you want to call it. :)

Monday, June 13, 2011

Album Summary: A Hard Day's Night

This has been a pretty great album. I actually have a lot of favorites from this one--"A Hard Day's Night", "If I Fell", "Can't Buy Me Love", etc., most of them from the first side. This album marked a new page for The Beatles--they were growing as musicians and songwriters, trying out new ideas, being innovative and daring with their music, and growing exponentially more popular. I agree with the statement that A Hard Day's Night represented the idea of Beatlemania--I can definitely imagine how psychotic those crowds of screeching teenagers were (it's not difficult to picture it, considering the modern-day examples we have now).

I'll end this summary with a quote from music critic Richie Unterberger:
George Harrison's resonant 12-string electric guitar leads were hugely influential; the movie helped persuade The Byrds, then folksingers, to plunge all out into rock & roll, and the Beatles would be hugely influential on the folk-rock explosion of 1965. The Beatles' success, too, had begun to open the US market for fellow Brits like the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks, and inspired young American groups like the Beau Brummels, Lovin' Spoonful, and others to mount a challenge of their own with self-penned material that owed a great debt to Lennon-McCartney.

I'll Be Back

The next song is technically "You Can't Do That" but we've already covered that one, so today's song is now "I'll Be Back". This mopey tune features a singer with no self-respect or independence, who runs back to his girl every time she breaks his heart. Poor guy. It's much more hilarious, however, if you picture the Terminator singing instead ("I'll be back!"). Takes on a whole new dimension of meaning. :P

Wikipedia has a bunch of neat facts about "I'll Be Back":
With its poignant lyric and flamenco style acoustic guitars, "I'll Be Back" possess a tragic air. Unusually for a pop song it oscillates between major and minor keys, appears to have two different bridges and completely lacks a chorus. The fade-out ending is unexpectedly sudden, seeming to arrive half a verse prematurely.
I did notice the song ended quite suddenly; for a minute I thought the YouTube video I chose was incomplete. Wikipedia also includes an interesting quote from music journalist Robert Sandall, who wrote in Mojo Magazine:
"'I'll Be Back' was the early Beatles at their most prophetic. This grasp of how to colour arrangements in darker or more muted tones foreshadowed an inner journey they eventually undertook in three albums' time, on Rubber Soul"
That's something we'll find out in a few albums' time. :D For now, though, I've finished A Hard Day's Night so I'll be doing an album summary. I'll also watch the movie either today or tomorrow and post a review of it right afterward. I'll see you then!


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 49

Sunday, June 12, 2011

When I Get Home

Like "Any Time At All", today's song starts off with a bang, so it made perfect sense when I read that the guys recorded one right after the other. "When I Get Home" is a Lennon composition and a cheerful song that follows a traveling theme. Similar to a "writing a letter" theme (used often in The Beatles' music as well as by Motown artists), or a "my girl cheated and now I'm sad" theme, a "traveling" theme is another popular one that songwriters use in their lyrics.

It's a pretty romantic song. The singer has no time to chit-chat; his lady's waiting for him at home, and he's got a lot he wants to tell her. Whether he actually wants to convey his message verbally is unclear, and none of our business. One part of the song gives me the impression he's being detained by another woman: "Come on, let me through / I've got so many things I've got to do / I've got no business being here with you / This way". I'm pretty confident that he's no cheater, though, since he's in such a rush to be with his love. Besides, the lyrics right before that section, which say: "I bet I'll love her more / Till I walk out that door again" lead me to believe he travels for his job (John channeling his personal life and emotions again, no doubt).

I do have one complaint: the "whoa-ah" was really grating on my ears for some reason. It sounded like disjointed shouting or mismatched harmonies, one or the other. I enjoyed the verses, but the choruses had me turning the volume down to see if that would improve the sound. Very strange. 

Well that's all for now. I'll be back tomorrow. See you then! :)


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 48

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Things We Said Today

Today's song is rather morose. Paul wrote "Things We Said Today" while sailing the Caribbean with his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher, on a yacht named, (in)appropriately named Happy Days. I wonder how he wrote this song while taking that idyllic-sounding vacation--or did any work on vacation, really. :P Wikipedia gives us a quote from music critic Ian MacDonald: "The sombre lyric—provoked by the frustrating interruptions of a relationship between two career people—matches the lowering gloom of the music." I wonder if Paul's personal life bled into his music the way John's often did.

The lyrics are about something Paul labeled "future nostalgia": "I wrote this on acoustic. It was a slightly nostalgic thing already, a future nostalgia. We’ll remember the things we said today, sometime in the future, so the song projects itself into the future." I've experienced that sort of thing before, when I'm having a particularly good time and, although I don't want it to end, I know it will, and I end up imagining how much I'll miss it when it's over. It's honestly pretty silly to get lost in future nostalgia, because then you'll miss out on enjoying the present moment.

For me, "Things We Said Today" suits my lugubrious mood. That said, it's not my favorite from this album, but I can tell it's a great rainy day song, something to chill out to while you're watching the rain from your window. That sort of song. :P

Alright, that's it for now... See you later!


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 47

Friday, June 10, 2011

I'll Cry Instead

Today's song is another good one by John. "I'll Cry Instead" is an emo sort of tune. The singer says he could make his ex angry or upset, and someday he'll be a real heart-breaker with all the ladies to get revenge, but right now he's just too busy sitting a dark corner and crying (but just you wait). 

Appropriately, the song has a country flavor; apparently The Beatles, particularly Ringo, really enjoyed playing country & western tunes. They're just a few adjectives and a country twang away from singing about how their wife left 'em, their dog died, and their truck broke down. :P

As we heard Paul suggest a while back, a lot of the lyrics John was writing at this point in time represented actual feelings he was having about his private life. Lennon's wife, Cynthia, even described "I'll Cry Instead" as a cry for help. She stated, "It reflects the frustration he [John Lennon] felt at that time. He was the idol of millions, but the freedom and fun of the early days had gone." This time, even John himself admitted to his personal pain. "John Lennon later said the line 'A chip on my shoulder that's bigger than my feet' was an accurate indication of his feelings at the time." We'll see more and more of this--the guys' personal feelings about things emerging in their lyrics and music--as time goes on.

As a last little bit of trivia, today's jam was covered by Joe Cocker, the famous British musician who not only did a number of great Beatles covers, but also appeared in Across the Universe for several cameos (notably singing "Come Together"). "I'll Cry Instead" was Cocker's first single.


That's it for today! See ya later.


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 46

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Any Time At All

"Any Time At All" starts off with a bang--well, more a shout, really, but it's wonderfully startling--and only gets better. John describes the song as "an effort at writing 'It Won't Be Long'. Same ilk: C to A minor, C to A minor—with me shouting." I found myself kind of bouncing around while listening to this one; it's romantic without being too sappy, and it's fun without being too shallow. 

John couldn't hit the high notes, so Paul sang the second "Any time at all" in each chorus. Generally, it seems George could hit the highest notes, followed by Paul. Ringo mostly kept to his drums but was a decent singer, and John was the screamer, for sure. Listening to their early stuff actually cured me of the misconception that all early '60s music was fluffy, easy-listening, and family-friendly. Some of it sounded more like the early '60s had gotten into a minor altercation with some '80s heavy metal. :PWaahhhhh!

Speaking of Ringo, according to BeatlesEBooks.com, 
This was his last day with the group before going into the hospital with tonsillitis.  "It was miserable," Ringo remembers.  "My throat was so sore, and I was trying to live on jelly and ice-cream.  I was a smoker in those days, too.  That was pretty rough."
Poor Ringo! John, his wife Cynthia, George, and George's new girlfriend Patti Boyd (an {in}famous lady we'll learn more about later!) had all just come back from a vacation in Tahiti, too, so this no doubt screwed up their schedule even more.

Well kids, that's it for today. Sorry the post was so late! See you tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 45

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Can't Buy Me Love

Classic song today, and definitely one I've heard before. "Can't Buy Me Love" was the only song in English that The Beatles recorded outside of the UK (they recorded most of it in Paris), and it also "became the first single the Beatles released without their characteristic background harmonies", after the guys decided they didn't need them.

Although there are many interpretations of this song, the most obvious is a clear anti-materialism message. Paul, who wrote the song, stated to American journalists in 1966: 
"I think you can put any interpretation you want on anything, but when someone suggests that 'Can't Buy Me Love' is about a prostitute, I draw the line." He went on to say: "The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won't buy me what I really want."
I have to agree with him; I can't think of too many other ways the lyrics can be twisted to mean something else. It's interesting, the choice of words he uses to address the person he's speaking to in the song; instead of saying "my love" or "my dear", terms that would more strongly suggest a female listener, he says, "my friend". It's an interesting change--one that removes gender from the equation and gives the song a less specific audience. I'm guessing that's where other interpretations come in. Perhaps the singer is speaking to a female lover, or to a male lover, or even to a male (or female) friend. Granted, diamond rings are generally purchased for partners, not for friends, but the "love" in the song could just as easily be platonic as romantic. 

Ultimately, perhaps Paul changed his mind about money's inability to purchase happiness. "...He was to later comment: 'It should have been 'Can Buy Me Love' ' when reflecting on the perks that money and fame had brought him." Oh, Paul. :P

That's it for the A-side... I'll soon be watching the film A Hard Day's Night and putting up a review. Tomorrow we'll see that, as well as continue with the B-side of the album. See you then. :)


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Heard It Tally: 5
Songs Completed: 44

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Tell Me Why

"Tell Me Why" is a really interesting song--it's rather sad and tense (the singer asks why his partner lied to him), but instead of being slow and solemn, it's a brave vocal assault. Its sound kind of mimics the way someone might confront their loved one when they're desperate for answers, getting right in their face. 

Though credited to Lennon/McCartney, John apparently wrote it himself. Paul later gave some insight into John's mindset during this period in his life. From Wikipedia: "I think a lot of these [Lennon's] songs like "Tell Me Why" may have been based in real experiences or affairs John was having, or arguments with Cynthia [Lennon’s wife] or whatever, but it never occurred to us until later to put that slant on it all." Lennon himself didn't mention that aspect; instead he simply likened the tune to "a black New York girl-group song". Music critic Ian MacDonald said that the structure of the song and doo-wop chord changes "creates an illusion of sincerity through its sheer attack." 

It's a song with attitude, but it's also meant to be suspenseful and a bit anxious. The questions, strong words that lend imagery to the song ("lied", "tears", "beg", "pleas", etc.), and the barrage of voices coming at us (John's singing was accompanied by the harmony vocals of both Paul and George) all keep us on edge and trying to figure out just what happened between the two characters. The lyrics can take on new meanings when you listen to them from different perspectives (e.g. the singer cheated on his partner; the partner cheated on the singer; the partner is/was pregnant; etc.). The fact that we as listeners can assume an omniscient role--we can know something the singer does not (or at least pretend to)--serves to further draw us into the drama... And who doesn't enjoy listening to other people's drama? ;)

That's about it for today... Tomorrow is the last song from the A-side, so I'll be watching the movie at some point thereafter and reviewing it here. :)


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Heard It Tally: 4
Songs Completed: 43

Monday, June 6, 2011

And I Love Her

"And I Love Her" is the next song on A Hard Day's Night. It was performed only once outside of Abbey Road Studios, on July 14, 1964 for an episode of the BBC radio show Top Gear (no relation to the TV show about cars). It reached #12 on the Billboard charts. According to Wikipedia, "this song was one of the first ballads with a title that starts in mid-sentence." 

BeatlesEBooks.com has some great quotes from Paul about his experience writing this song. He talks about the conception of the guys within The Beatles as stereotyped personalities; he says, "It's funny, the myth developed that I was the melodic, soft one and John was the hard, acerbic one.  There was some surface truth to that." McCartney was beyond doubt the balladeer of the group, penning most of the band's ballads and softer songs throughout the years. That's not to say he didn't break out of that stereotype--he did write "Helter Skelter" later on, as well as many others. 

Paul also mentioned in interviews how proud he was of his accomplishment with "And I Love Her". 
"It was the first ballad I impressed myself with," Paul explained in his book 'Many Years From Now.'  "It's got nice chords in it, 'Bright are the stars that shine, dark is the sky...'  I like the imagery of the stars and the sky.  It was a love song really.  The 'And' in the title was an important thing, 'And I Love Her', it came right out of left field, you were right up to speed the minute you heard it.... Having the title start in mid-sentence, I thought that was clever...it was a nice tune, that one.  I still like it."
I really liked this song. It's slow, with a kind of Latin feel to it (Ringo's bongo-playing and George's excellent guitar work definitely contribute to that). Overall, it's a perfect slow-dance song. :)

Despite the amount of love I'm in with this album, I'm almost eager to be done with the first side, because as soon as I am I'll get to watch the movie, and I'll post a review of it here. :) Something I'm looking forward to, for sure. 

Also, I know lately I've been doing a lot more history than opinion here, so I'm going to start trying to let my own voice show through more. When I first thought of doing this blog, I knew I wouldn't be able to write solely my opinions--that would be pretentious on my part and boring for you, and there would be no context for the people like myself who were hearing (and reading about) these songs for the first time. I think managing a balance is a little difficult, because I find myself writing the same things about every song ("I enjoyed it", "it's a fun song", etc.). I'll just have to bust out the creativity from now on... which shouldn't be too hard, since the songs are getting better as we go. :)

Alright, that's all for today! See you guys tomorrow. :)


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Heard It Tally: 4
Songs Completed: 42

Sunday, June 5, 2011

I'm Happy Just to Dance with You

"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" was written by Lennon/McCartney and given to Harrison to sing "at a time when he lacked the confidence to compose his own material. Years later, McCartney described it as a 'formula song', and Lennon said, 'I would never have sung it myself.'" It was a song that was meant to please the fans, not a work they were incredibly proud of or that they felt reflected their skills as songwriters and artists. However, George did an admirable job singing it, and the song contains some complicated and "hectic Bo Diddley rhythm and busy banjo style guitar".  

Rybaczewski at BeatlesEBooks.com explains a bit more why Paul and John weren't interested in singing "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" themselves:
McCartney explains why:  "We wouldn't have actually wanted to sing it because it was a bit...The ones that pandered to the fans in truth were our least favorite songs but they were good.  They were good for the time."  Both Lennon and McCartney were progressing passed [sic] lyric writing specifically designed for teenage girl fans as they were before, such as "From Me To You," "Thank You Girl" and "P.S. I Love You."  But for the sake of cranking out another song needed for the movie, and to give George one to sing, they reverted back to this practice sometime in February of 1964 for one of the last times in their career. As for their opinion of the song, McCartney states:  "The nice thing about it was to actually pull a song off on a slim little premise like that.  A simple little idea.  It was songwriting practice."
Today's song was one of only two that Paul and John gave to George to sing; later on he would develop his own completely unique style, one that grew and changed over the years. At the time of the film, however, George was still struggling to find his own rhythm. BeatlesEBooks.com gives us a quote: "In a 1965 interview George confessed this about his songwriting: 'It will probably take me about three months before I finish one song.  I'm so lazy it's ridiculous.'" A sentiment that I can fully relate to. :P

Both Wikipedia and BeatlesEBooks.com mention that "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios on a Sunday, the first time the guys had done so in their career, but not the last. Why this is remarkable is beyond me, but then again, I'm not fully entrenched in Beatles trivia (yet). :P 

Well, that's it for today... See you tomorrow!


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Heard It Tally: 4
Songs Completed: 41

Saturday, June 4, 2011

If I Fell

I'd never heard the Beatles' version of this song, just Evan Rachel Wood's Across the Universe version, which was slowed down with much softer instrumentals (just a guitar and maybe violins as far as I can tell). The video on YouTube for "If I Fell" is pretty great; it's a clip from the movie (of course). My favorite quote happens in the beginning, when Ringo severely scolds someone for casually playing his drum set. George warns the guy who did it, "He's very fussy about his drums, you know. They loom large in his legend."

According to Wikipedia, "If I Fell" 
is notable for its unusual structure, which includes an unrepeated introductory section sung by Lennon, followed by sequential verse sections, each having a slightly expanded form, but with no obvious chorus or bridge section... The remainder of the song features a two-part harmony, sung by Lennon and McCartney together into a single microphone at their suggestion, with Lennon singing the lower harmony while McCartney sings the higher one.
An interesting fact from Wikipedia was that, "according to Robert Fontenont of About.com, this was Kurt Cobain's favourite Beatles song, and was played by Nirvana whenever there were technical problems at their concerts." I tried to find a video but there weren't any on YouTube of Cobain himself singing the song. Too bad. I'm sure it was an interesting experience for concert-goers to hear Cobain, the original grunge rocker, singing a Beatles song; it definitely makes me curious as to how he sang/arranged it, whether he was faithful to the original or if he inserted his own style. If anyone's heard it, feel free to comment on the similarities and/or differences. :)

Despite the song's rather somber nature (a man warning a woman not to hurt him the way his last lover did--not the usual love song fare), it was apparently a source of much amusement for the guys. They often sang it during their live shows. 
The group typically performed the song faster than the studio version, and Lennon and McCartney often sang it with barely suppressed laughter. On more than one occasion it was introduced as "If I Fell Over".
This cracks me up. :P It's easy to see in the video, despite the fact they're acting, the kind of teasing camaraderie they had together at this point. It'll be interesting and, I'm sure, bittersweet to see what happens to them over time. 

So that's all for today. See you tomorrow!


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Heard It Tally: 4
Songs Completed: 40