February
9th marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed
Sullivan Show--which also was their first performance in America. It was watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23
million households,] or 34 percent of the American
population. Unless you happened to be
there in front of a TV set, it is next to impossible to describe the electrical
lightening storm that rolled across the nation from those few minutes. The following day, the critical consensus
was mostly negative--objecting to The Beatles' haircuts and much as their
music. The blessed William F Buckley Jr.
(an avid devotee of J.S. Bach) summed up his impressions thus:
The Beatles are not merely awful; I would
consider it sacrilegious to say anything less than that they are god awful.
They are so unbelievably horribly, so appallingly unmusical, so dogmatically
insensitive to the magic of the art that they qualify as crowned heads of
anti-music, even as the imposter popes went down in history as
"anti-popes."
So really, Bill,
don't hold back. Tell us what you really
think.
The more mainstream
Newsweek Magazine was only slightly more tempered:
"Musically they are a near disaster,
guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary
rhythms, harmony and melody."
Buckley never
really ameliorated his opinion. The rest
of the media came around--if only years after The Beatles were no more. They're role as principals (villains?) in the
tempestuous cultural cascade of the sixties many times overshadowed their
music: marijuana, LSD, the dreaded Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and even longer hair
thwarted their many attempts to greet the larger public with a friendly
face. It was only with the release of Rubber Soul in 1965 their abilities as songwriters and
musicians began to be taken seriously.
Today, The Beatles
are accorded near reverent accord. Most
today were not even born until after 1971 when The Beatles broke up. All kind of slips out of focus at this
remove. You can scarcely find a baby-boomer
who won't claim to have been a fan during those heady years of 1963-1971. Many in the succeeding generations frequently
speak as if they were there at the creation.
Others, while perhaps loving the music, have become sick of listening to
the Boomers gushing and waxing poetic over John, Paul, George and Ringo. Perhaps we boomers should grant we have
pushed their forbearance a little too far.
All the same, we
loved them. They were the band which
launched thousands of bands all around the world. If you loved Rock, they were
indispensible. If you were one who
suffered under the ravages of adolescence, The Beatles were a friendly face in
a world that seemed not to like you very much.
Adults were sharply critical if not condemnatory. The War loamed and might soon take you into
its clutches. Civil rights battles, racial
tensions, riots and burning cities , the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert
F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King--all made the world a unsympathetic and hostile
place.
Through all these
things, The Beatles were a light in the darkness. We shared a fantastic belief that music could
really change the world into a loving and peaceful place. Looking back, it was a silly notion. Still, to an adolescent, one had the sense
The Beatles were in your corner. They
got you. And they liked you.
One can wax poetic
and delve into as much cultural anthropology and history as you can wish; but,
as true as these investigation may be, it is easy to miss the most salient
attractions about The Beatles: they were
fun and the music was phenomenal.
So on this
anniversary, I present a short list of thirty of my favorite Beatles tunes. This list purposely skips over the songs that
are almost universally recognized as their best. Everyone can cite I Want To Hold Your Hand, Help,
Yellow Submarine, Something, Here Comes The Sun, Octopus's
Garden or Hey Jude right off the
top of their heads. There is no denying
they are the very best. My list on the other hand is about those songs which do
not come immediately to mind but are also great and memorable these years
hence.
Quite unintentionally,
it turns out the list is pretty evenly divided between John's compositions and
Paul's. Fifteen from John and fourteen
from Paul. George Harrison's one
selection rounds out the list. Still, all
in fun.
So…..
Across the Universe (Lennon)
The most gentle and transcendental song Lennon ever wrote. First available to most on the Let It Be album. The better, less gussied up version appears
on Anthology 2.
Any Time at All (Lennon)
Was incomplete when The Beatles took it to studio. The middle eight is just a series of chords
with the intension of adding lyrics latter--which never occurred as time ran
out. The final product was put on A Hard Day's Night in that form.
The result was a pretty rocking frolic. I particularly like
Starr's sharp snaps on the drums.
Back In The U.S.S.R./ Dear Prudence
(McCartney/Lennon) OK. A bit of cheat. These are two separate songs. But, as the Back In The U.S.S.R. fades almost seamlessly into Dear Prudence on the White Album, it is difficult to think
of one without the other. Back In The U.S.S.R. is a romping
combination Elvis/Beach boys send up while Dear
Prudence is a deceptively simple song--simple until one tries to do it
himself
Can't Buy Me Love (McCartney) Written
under pressure to follow up I
Want to Hold Your Hand.
One of the examples of the Beatles using a twelve bar blues
structure.
Come Together
(Lennon) OK.
Not such an unusual choice. One
of the very best Lennon ever wrote. The
first time I heard it I hated it.
Several years later, it had grown on me to the point it one of very
favorites. Everything Lennon wrote
afterward pales in comparison. Chuck
Berry heard it and wanted a cut from the royalties. Details of the settlement have never been
disclosed; but ole' Chuck walked away happy.
Still, stolen or not, one cool tune.
Do You Want To Know A Secret (Lennon) Written
with George Harrison's limited vocal range in mind. Both Lennon and McCartney thought the song
itself wasn't up to their standards. How
wrong can you be? Sweet and
romantic.
Eight Days A Week (McCartney) Based on one of Ringo Starr's dogberryisms. Released as a single
only in America. Lennon thought Eight Days A Week was a
lousy song and The Beatles never performed in concert. Shame.
It was a huge hit in America.
McCartney thought it was just an average song at best and didn't
understand its appeal. Years latter he
concluded that, while it was only a middling tune, he supposed it was the
performance which carried it over the top.
Just so!
Every Little Thing (McCartney) One of
the few Beatle occasions when the composer (McCartney in his case) but came to
be sung by another Beatle (Lennon here).
McCartney has a reputation an emotional lightweight lyrically. This is one piece of evidence of deep
poignancy.
Good Day Sunshine (McCartney) Influenced
by The Lovin' Spoonful: the
song's "old-timey vaudevillian feel" partially recalls the Spoonful's
hit Daydream, to which "Good Day
Sunshine" bears some harmonic resemblance.
Leonard Bernstein (bless his heart) praised the song for its
construction. Those looking for deep
thoughts on the meaning of life: seek ye
not here.
Got To Get You Into My Life (McCartney) McCartney
doin' a Motown thing. Even during those
years in the seventies when Lennon and McCartney were in the middle of their
acrimonious, bitter feud, Lennon said he still loved this one.
Hello, Goodbye (McCartney) Just a
song of opposites that comes together in a joyous gestalt. Lennon hated this one; but he was wrong about
a lot of things.
Here, There And Everywhere (McCartney) Inspired
by the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album. McCartney says this is one of the very
favorites. An ode to his then
girlfriend, Jane Asher.
I Saw Her Standing There (McCartney) A
feverish potboiler with a baseline lifted from Chuck Berry. George Martin produced the song to create
the effect of a live performance.
I Should’a Known Better (Lennon) Allegedly
inspired by The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. I'd have
to take their word for it; but Dylan never wrote like this. I like how the rhythm guitar weaves in and
out between the lyrics.
I'll Follow The Sun (McCartney) A
melancholy ballad about an eminent breakup.
Girl seems to take the boy for granted for which he promises he'll leave
(someday) if thing go on as they are.
One of those "we have to talk" conversations one usually
associates with the female of the species.
Perhaps because it is a reversal of roles which in part explains the
attraction of this song.
In My Life (Lennon) Even old
folk who hated The Beatles loved this song.
Lennon at one his most tender and loving introspections.
It's All Too Much (Harrison) Harrison at his psychedelic best. Clearly Hendrix influenced. A song to his wife, Patty (your long
blond hair and eyes of blue).
Written about the time of George, Patty, and Eric Clapton love mêlée was
just starting. Even so, if you love the
psychedelica of the time, one of the most aggressive and assessable of its
kind. Substantially unlike anything
Harrison had done before or afterward.
I've Got A Feeling (McCartney) The
standout from the "concert on the roof" segment of the film Let It Be aside from Get Back itself. Love the repeating riff
throughout the song.
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Lennon) Lennon's
opulent daydream in nursery rhyme surrealism. One of the classic songs of all psychedelica.
Magical Mystery Tour (McCartney) A
pleasant tune full of surreal effects with a horn section fanfare and
overdubs. As was the want of those
years, many thought Magical Mystery Tour was
replete with explicit
references to drugs and the Tibetan Book
of the Dead. Be that as it may, it
is the title track to the much underappreciated album of the same name.
Please Please Me (Lennon)
Originally Lennon's attempt to write a Roy Orbison song. The result was a rather dreary, bluesy,
slow tempo arrangement. The final version was strongly shaped by
George Martin their producer--thank the Lord.
Written as a follow,up to Love Me
Do after Martin suggested they do a cover version of How Do You Do
It? which the boys rejected. In the end,
Martin was happier with Please Please Me than How Do You Do
It? Certainly more exciting.
Revolution
(Lennon) The lowly B-Side to Hey Jude. The original later
known as Revolution #1 was a slower
acoustic affair which doesn't hold a candle to its hard rockin' version. The gnarly guitar sound Lennon found for Revolution was latter copied by
thousands of guitarists for years afterward.
She Loves You
(McCartney) Personally I'd prefer She Loves You over I
Want to Hold Your Hand any day of the week. The
song starts with the refrain, has no bridge, and each chorus pounds the hook
into your brain. Energetic, optimistic,
and each refrain ends the last "Yeah" on a flat.
Tell Me Why
(Lennon) A closest The Beatles ever came to having a
jazzy feel. Basic structure is simple
doo-wop chord changes over a walking bass.
Sincerity through aggression.
The Night Before (McCartney) Often
regarded as a minor McCartney composition.
Yet it is memorable and a favorite of many from the album Help!. Apparently Paul had a problem
with girls who were loving at night and cool to him the next day. The film has The Beatles recording The Night Before in an open field
surrounded by tanks in the shadow of Stonehenge--and why not?
Ticket To Ride (Lennon) The chiming
guitar lick (stolen from The Byrds) drives this whole track. Surprisingly (at least at this remove) many
in EMI's management and staff thought Ticket
To Ride was uncommercial and a bad choice for a single--an opinion seconded
by popular music critics. The public
bought it anyway; although Ticket To Ride
was pushed off the charts by the Beach Boy's Help Me Rhonda after a mere week.
We Can Work It Out (McCartney)
Although Paul's song, it's dramatic instinct was largely from Lennon's
influence. Based on Paul's touchy
relationship with his girlfriend, Jane Asher, an optimistic and chiding admonition
that all can be repaired.
With A Little Help From My Friends (Lennon) The
second song on Sgt. Pepper and a
staple in Starr's All Stars concerts. As
with everything else from Sgt. Pepper,
never released as a single. Charming as
only Ringo could make it.
You're Going To Lose That Girl (Lennon) A biting
tune in which the singer warns an unnamed other that if he didn't straighten up
and treat her right he was bound to lose his girl. Of course, the singer hopes his advice won't
be taken so he can take the girl for himself.
Not an unfamiliar circumstance many a guy has hoped to take advantage.
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Lennon) Strong
Dylan influences. Done purely as an
acoustic and a highlight of the film Help!. Said to be Lennon's frustration with being
told by all concerned that he had to keep his extramarital adventures out of
sight. Lennon not being one to let his
marriage to stand between him and the next naked female nonetheless bitterly follows
orders in real life as well as in the song.
That is until Yoko Ono comes along.
Of course, the public didn't know that what the song was about at the
time. Most thought it was about loving
someone from the wrong side of the tracks--which is how I prefer to hear it. Reads more like a folksong than rock and
roll. Proved that The Beatles could
plays in styles other than Love Me Do.
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