It's All Too Much

Today's song is a Harrison creation. "It's All Too Much" starts with a spoken dedication "to your mother" (a la Mark Wahlberg) and continues on a journey complete with guitar, trumpet, organ, and even a cowbell. 

We can almost hear the Indian influence that George was so inspired by in previous songs. The multitude of instruments, some playing just out of sync with one another, and the repetitive chanting all feel reminiscent of some of his other songs, like "Within You Without You". "It's All Too Much" is still at least an ocean away from that exact sound (missing, as it is, the unmistakable sitar), but I can't help but feel that there is a connection, and that it was intentional.

There are actually at least two versions of this song; the version I heard first was six and a half minutes long, while the unreleased (but often bootlegged) version clocks in at a lengthy 8:10. The lyrics also remind me of Harrison's Indian influence; in particular, the lines "When I look into your eyes, your love is there for me / And the more I go inside, the more there is to see" somehow put me in mind of that sort of experimental and soul-searching exploration.

That's it for now. See you tomorrow--I'll be starting Abbey Road. :)

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Heard It Tally: 39

Songs Completed: 171

Hey Bulldog

According to music engineer Geoff Emerick, "Hey Bulldog" was the last song that the Beatles recorded as an enthusiastic and willing team. The title was inspired during the recording of the song, when McCartney started randomly barking. The next lines were then changed from "Hey, bullfrog" to "Hey, bulldog", and the title was born. Paul credits the song to John, adding that he helped a bit as well. He said, in 1994:

I remember (it) as being one of John's songs and I helped him finish it off in the studio, but it's mainly his vibe. There's a little rap at the end between John and I, we went into a crazy little thing at the end. We always tried to make every song different because we figured, 'Why write something like the last one? We've done that.' We were on a ladder so there was never any sense of stepping down a rung, or even staying on the same rung, it was better to move one rung ahead.

This song is pretty unique and interesting. I recognized the last two lines of the first verse ("Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles / What makes you think you're something special when you smile?"); I'd read them somewhere before and thought they were neat. When I looked them up to see where they came from, I found out about "Hey Bulldog" but I didn't listen to it. 

As one of the few Beatles songs to center around a piano riff (the riff from this song is very similar, though in a different key, to the one from the single "Lady Madonna"), with strange lyrics and a wicked guitar accompanied by barking dogs (and a barking Paul), "Hey Bulldog" is definitely a song you need to listen to more than once to get the full effect--particularly of what Paul called the "rapping" near the end. :P

That's all for now... see you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 39

Songs Completed: 170

All Together Now

"All Together Now" was written by Paul, and, like "Yellow Submarine", has the feel of a children's song:

McCartney described the song as a children's sing-along with the title phrase inspired by the music hall tradition of asking the audience to join in. He also described a "subcurrent" in the song, a dual-meaning where "we are all together now.

The good news is that I recognized this song. The bad news is that I'd never known it was a Beatles song since I'd heard it first in a Sprint commercial. I'd always disliked the song in the commercial; however, now that I know it's a Beatles song and have heard the original, I find I prefer it over the cover. I dislike the commercial even more now. :P

The lyrics, disregarding the line about taking a friend to bed (which I find odd and out of place), provide a perfect sing-along style tune for kids to enjoy. So, of course, I enjoy it as well, since I'm still very much a kid. :)

That's all for today! See you tomorrow.

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Heard It Tally: 39

Songs Completed: 169

Only a Northern Song

Today we start listening to Yellow Submarine, which was released in January of 1969 and provided the soundtrack for the film of the same name. Interestingly, only the first side of the album features songs by the Beatles; the B-side was all original instrumental compositions by George Martin. Additionally, two of the six songs on the Beatles side had been previously released (including "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need is Love", which we've already covered here). 

Really the best way to sum up Yellow Submarine as an album is to show you what Wikipedia says about its reception:

In contrast to how the film was received, Yellow Submarine is usually considered The Beatles' weakest release. It was one of the few Beatles releases not to top the charts on either side of the Atlantic. Its highest position was #2 in the US, kept from the top by their own The Beatles, which had been released two months before. The Beatles themselves did not consider it a proper studio album, since they had little involvement in the project, and the four previously unreleased tracks on it were taken hodge-podge fashion from various sessions in 1967 and early 1968.

So, skipping the first track ("Yellow Submarine"), we arrive at "Only a Northern Song", which was written by George Harrison and recorded in 1967, originally for the Sgt. Pepper album. It's described as being his criticism of the Beatles' music publishing business, Northern Songs Ltd. Since Lennon and McCartney each owned 15% of the company's public shares, and Harrison, being considered a songwriting "contractor", owned a mere 0.8%, Lennon and McCartney earned more from Harrison's songs than Harrison himself.

That of course explains the bitter-sounding lyrics, such as "It doesn't really matter what chords I play / What words I say or time of day it is / As it's only a Northern song." The distorted music (including a glockenspiel and a trumpet) adds to the tension and an almost subconscious sense of discomfort the song produces in the listener. The audience, if we know the history behind the lyrics, can definitely understand George's anger and resentment. Following from the tense tradition of the White Album"the song also suggests that, at this time, Harrison "had yet to recover his enthusiasm for being a Beatle", Harrison having threatened to leave the group six months earlier, following their final live concert at Candlestick Park." sessions,

That's all for today! See you tomorrow.

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Heard It Tally: 39

Songs Completed: 168