Songs 11-20

 It's certainly a fitting end to their career...everyone gets a solo.  First Ringo had to be persuaded to do his solo and then Paul, George, and John (in that order) do their guitar solos.  Ringo's solo sounds easy until you try to play it.  He puts just enough off balance fills into it to make it worthy of The End.  I can't really picture the three guitarist standing in a room together playing this lead, something about the way it's played makes them seem miles apart...which they were.  Nonetheless, it's a brilliant end to a stellar body of work.  It's interesting that Paul doesn't even play a bass line on the final 30 seconds.  Thank God he followed it up with Her Majesty and the final hanging chord so we knew there was more to come.  As I now understand it, the addition of Her Majesty was a bit of a mistake by the engineer who put the final master together.  It seems that originally Her Majesty was part of the medley (you can hear the opening chord to what was to be placed before Polythene Pam, and the final chord of Her Majesty was to segue into Polythene Pam)  well anyway, the engineer was told "never through away any recorded Beatles song and for some reason he put it at the very end of the album as an afterthought.  It's a brilliant mistake because that final chord of Her Majesty never resolves to the final E.  The way I interpreted  it, is that the Beatles careers were not over...there was more to come.  Paul really seemed to know what he was doing on Abbey Road.  The final lyric, all Paul, the love you take is equal to the love you make is not to be discounted as perfect.

Ringo's drumming, after his solo is steller.  His high hat screams energy. Paul was certainly in charge of the Abbey Road sessions in every way and he, and George Martin got their wish of a medley. 

The FAST one...the single.  2:20 minutes of power.  This song is truly underrated...it's not played on Sirius (except The Beatles channel) and I feel it's been forgotten by the average fan.   I get the sense that John couldn't figure out how to get the message of this song across because we have the slow version on the White Album and this song as well.  Obviously, the distorted guitar and vocal make the song.  It's all John.  The lyrics are spot on.  He says everything he wanted in this short song.  No need for overdubs or  complicated harmonies here.  He says it all in a way that only John could.  As much as this song is distorted, it's a really clean mix.  There's very little else going on except for drums, bass, guitars and vocals.  I wish his solo stuff could have this same sound but then he'd have to fire Phil Spector to get this great sound.  My Epiphone never sounded like John's here.

I recall an interview with John where he said how much he hated the stereo version of this song because it sounded "tame" (my word, not his).  I have to agree, the guitar pushed to one side of the mix takes away the power and impact of the awesome distorted sound.  Just because stereo was a thing doesn't make it better...

I don't know who did the keyboard solo, most likely John.  So is every lead  guitar part.  There's promo video of them doing this song which is worth finding...hey, I'll attach it below.  This performance video shows them on stage and it's the closest we get to seeing them perform live and what's remarkable is they seem so happy doing it.  There was something special when they got on a stage!

 This is an easy song to like.  The catchy guitar and bass riff is pretty easy to play and sounds so good.  There's lots of treble on George's guitar and Paul plays the bass up an octave to match the guitar notes.  This is much harder to play on the bass.  The lyrics could be used in a blues song...they're that straight forward.  Even the chord progression is bluesy at its core, but the song rocks because of the vocals.  The harmonies are terrific and natural.  There's nothing too complicated about this song until we get to the solo and even then it carries the same melody.  Ringo's drumming is superb as is the tambourine.  Technically speaking, Ringo's drumming is about as good as it's been.  Paul and George however miss a few notes but it's all good.  George misses a note at the 1:50 and 2:33 mark and Paul loses it on the fade out.  Perfection was not what the Beatles songs were all about.  The songs were so strong that a few mistakes could easily be overlooked.  Having said that, I've always wondered why George Martin didn't make them redo some of these mistakes.

I am fascinated that The Beatles singles were often kept off of their albums.  Especially during this middle period with songs like "We Can Work It Out", "I Feel Fine", and "Day Tripper" not appearing on their current albums.  To say that they were prolific is an understatement.
 

 Everybody's prom song from the 70's.  The stereo on Rubber Soul is so interesting.  Just about every song separates the vocals from the music and it's so fun to listen to the different "sides".  I often have more fun listening to only one side...whether just the vocals or the music.   Such a simple sounding guitar kicks this song off with a soft bass line too.  For me, the drums are some of the most interesting that we've ever heard Ringo play.  The strong harmony is amazing...Paul at his best.  I'll make the point here that I believe The Beatles were the best backup singers of all time.  How's that for finding yet another reason why they were the best.  Paul put a lot of effort into the bass line and I love his use of the double stop at 12 1/2 seconds.  For those of you who don't know a double stop on bass is merely playing two notes at the same time.  It's not done very often and Paul inserts this technique very nicely here and throughout the song.

We all know the story about how it's George Martin playing the lead on the harpsichord.  The story goes that he had to play it at half speed and an octave down.  When speeded up to real time it fits perfectly.  The only time that I can hear some notes that just sound a little off due to the speed is at the very end of his solo...right around the 1:46 mark it just sounds unplayable.  Not a big deal.  What I do think is a big deal is that John left the lead up to his producer.  I would have loved to hear the discussion about what to do for the lead.  In my mind, I think John didn't know what to do and left it unfinished.   George Martin had an opening and wanted to impress the boys and contribute in a more meaningful way.  He probably worked very hard on that lead and it shows.
 

Of course the reason this is such a great song is because of the lyrics.  It's the perfect prom song or even a wedding song but there is something sad about it at the same time.  John seems to be bidding farewell to Cynthia.  "I know I'll never lose affection" seems to be a bit of a send off.  It doesn't really seem as if there's love here....just affection.  Even though he says "I'll love you more", what does that really mean?  If you think too hard about this lyric it stops making sense and even seems a bit insincere.  So this beautiful love song has "see ya later" attitude which again makes it the perfect prom song for leaving your high school mates behind.

It cracks me up that the final guitar note by George buzzes as he lifts off the neck.  Again, I'll say it that these little mistakes were never corrected and it does surprise me.  Below you'll see a link to an AI video montage of In My Life.  It's actually very well done even if the version of the song is altered from the original a bit.  

 God, I love this song.  Why is this song not recognized as one of the early bests.  I think this is the first time I heard a cowbell in a song.  So George starts this song on his 12 string Rickenbacker playing a very simple but compelling riff.  This opening riff explains why George's part in these early songs is not appreciated.  What I mean is that he came up with this opening riff and it makes the song.  BTW, he also came up with the opening riff to "And I Love Her".  

John's voice is terrific and very commanding....don't mess with John, and that's the point of the song...don't mess with me and it comes across perfectly.  There are so many people that don't know this song and it's a shame.  Paul does nothing on the bass but his, and Georges', backup vocals are superb.  One of my favorite parts of this song is John's lead guitar part.  Yes, it's John on lead guitar.  It's really just a lead/rhythm guitar but it has such energy!  I've also got to complement producer George Martin.  He does a great job mixing and integrating the background vocals.  All in a day's work I suppose.  Without the cowbell this song is not as good.  I'll bet it was added as an afterthought but man it works well here.  In fact if you listen to the drum part, there's no way that Ringo is playing the cowbell on the first take...its an overdub.  That's where George Martin comes in with stuff like this to strengthen the song.  Something tells me that Paul suggested the cowbell.  To this day, I still listen closely to the ending notes.  There is perfect timing between George and Paul as they slide higher together.  It's just a feeling that they know when to slide and I think it comes down to the 10,000 hours of playing together.  The video below is another example of what a great live band The Beatles were.   

Not a pop song, nothing like it ever before.  Geoff Emerick did a great job recording the strings: making them sound urgent and frustrated at the same time.  The story goes that he put the microphones very close to the string players so as to make them sound a bit edgy.  Well the musicians hated the microphones being so close to the instruments because it make their slight mistakes more noticeable.  Revolver is the first album that Geoff Emerick worked on. 

It's hard to believe that this song is less than two years removed from "And I Love Her".  So the first thing that always hits me in this song is the overdubbed stereo during the chorus, at 32 seconds it explodes with ambient vocals.  How good is that?!  And Ringo's drumming....just kidding.  So I guess George Martin scored the strings and we start to see how brilliant he is/was.  Nothing like this song was ever recorded (by anyone) and it remains a true masterpiece.  Will it survive the ages?  I don't know but it surely can go down as a cult favorite for generations to come.  I'll say again that it is remarkable that this song is only two years removed from "A Hard Day's Night".  And for that progression, I am in awe.

"Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door"....That line is poignant, clear, telling, and beautiful all at the same time.  And written by a 23 year old PM!  The song "For No One" seems written in the same vain.  Both about lonely people living alone.  Paul seemed to write about and make up stories about other people while John wrote about himself in the likes of "Nowhere Man" and "Help".  It seems to me that with all their fame and fortune, the mid sixties were difficult for both John and Paul.  For some reason I think that losing their mothers 8 years prior somehow comes out in these songs.  They're both famous to the point of being lonely.

"Died in the church and was buried along with her name"  This song contains snippets of a story...there's beginnings (the wedding) and endings (death) and lonely in between.  Such a sad but beautiful song.

 Writing music came so easy to these guys.  Here we have what John called a throw away song that sounds great.  This song is all about the music.  You've got a bass line that's brilliant.  The song builds off that riff and basically goes nowhere.  But the music is so strong that you don't need a story or a catchy lyric.  The sound is all you need to make this a great song.  The lyrics don't make sense but there are snippets that are worthwhile...."some kind of innocence is measured out in years".  George plays an awesome lead...was it Paul?  I say that because it sounds a lot like Paul's lead on Taxman....a similar style.  From what I recall, this is the first look inside the studio at a recording session that is ad-libbed and was recorded for posterity.  They're having fun and it's nice to hear.  No really, many things on other contiguous albums seemed a little strained and it's a relief to hear the fun of recording again.  It's a throwback to the early years!  This song is a joy to listen to.  "You think you know me but you haven't got a clue" is one of those John lines that endears yet insults all at the same time.  That's John for you.  This song always seems to fit more with the Revolver sessions than Yellow Submarine.  I don't quite know the order of this recording but I'll bet that this was first laid down before Sargent Pepper.

Ringo's drumming gets blended in to the riff so well that it's seamless.  Again, they double track a snare drum around the 2:22 mark to keep the beat strong and that's fine.  Ringo's snare sometimes gets lost and needs reinforcement.  The dog sounds are reminiscent of the end of "I Feel Fine" 

 This song makes me smile every time I hear it.  Something just brings pure joy to me...maybe I always reflect on John singing this song in "A Hard Day's Night" with a grin.  I truly believe that this song does not receive that praise that it deserves.  Such a simple G7th to C chord alternating during the verse keeps the background interesting but the real catch is the lyric on top.  Think of this as a short story that begins, "I should have known better with a girl like you".  That's charming and certainly worth a grin.  How coy, simple, definitive, revealing, honest, and clear.  That's one of the Beatles endearing qualities...their songs were usually clear (at least in the early days) and straight forward but behind it all was a deeper thought process.  The double tracked vocal wavers but works perfectly well.  Oh, how John hated to double track his vocals and it shows in this song...he wasn't very good at duplicating a performance; every effort was unique and not to be duplicated.  Think of that for a second.  How many amazing performances by John have only been heard by a few.

Another thing I think about during this song is George's relaxed performance.  In the video that I recall (again during AHDN), he dances on stage during his easy part.  This might be the easiest guitar part that George has ever played.  His lead on the 12 string Rickenbacker is just a reiteration of the melody.  I don't know if there might have been something better that he could have come up with but the songs were churning out so quickly during AHDN and the early years that George seems relaxed to play without worrying about screwing up the lead.  It's a relaxed song that makes me smile.  It's sort of like a "girl next door" song that is endearing.

The link below is to the "train scene" in the movie "A Hard Day's Night".  I don't really like the music mix but the video is fun.  BTW, the blond is Patty Boyd, George's first wife...they met on the set.