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

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

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

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

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

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

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