Davey Moore

THE BEATLES

The Beatles are, without a doubt, my favorite band. Earlier, I said I planned on writing reviews for every album by The Beatles. Well, I've sort of slacked off. I plan on finishing what I started. I've decided to start a thread where I just post my reviews in, so as to not clutter the forum with a bunch of different reviews.

These are some links to the other reviews I did in the past:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Revolver
Magical Mystery Tour

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

Davey Moore

Rubber Soul

Rubber Soul is one of the albums that came along sparked the musical revolution of the 60s. Famous for it's reputation as their "turning point", that its used as an analogy whenever a band makes an album that breaks the mold of their previous albums stylistically, saying "It's their Rubber Soul." The reputation isn't given without warrant either. The Beatles really branch out in terms of subject matter and provide a glimpse of the genius that is to come.

Drive My Car is a great way to start off an album that moves like a hurricane. This album never fails to get my head bobbing and this song is no exception. The Beatles were known for having a great beat, and well, this album is a great example of why. I've always found that the beats from those early 50s rock songs were some of the best in popular music, and The Beatles emulate that style they so revered perfectly. An interesting tidbit, McCartney says that "Drive My Car" is a euphemism for sex.
YouTube - The Beatles - Drive My Car

Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is a song mostly written by John Lennon, detailing a secret affair he had, it drove him so crazy that finally he had to write a song about it, writing it in a semi-cryptic fashion because he didn't want his wife to know about it. It sort of seems silly in retrospect, I mean, how could Cynthia Lennon NOT have known that John was cheating on her? In Liverpool Art College, where they met, John was the only person on campus who would have casual sex. Most of the students there were just rich white kids, who wanted to be hip, but John was the real deal. In fact, their whole relationship really is a perfect example of the old adage, "opposites attract."

It features the first time a sitar is used during a pop song. When listening to this song, the influence of Bob Dylan on The Beatles becomes apparent. This song seems to almost be an homage to the sort of playful, cryptic lyrics that were Dylan's signature at that time.
Album Version of Norwegian Wood: YouTube - The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
And for all those interested, alternative version from The Beatles Anthology: YouTube - The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Anthology

You Won't See Me is another great demonstration of The Beatles great beat, and of their expanding musicianship. In this point in his life, Paul was having a crisis with his then girlfriend, Jane Asher. She wasn't returning any of his phone calls and for once in his life, he was the vulnerable one in a romantic relationship. This accounts for the bitter feel of this song. I personally love the backing vocals by George and John, this song has such a nice flow, I find it's one of their more underrated songs.

YouTube - You Won't See Me - The Beatles

The next song is a classic of theirs, and in my opinion its one of their best vocal performances. John wrote the lyrics to Nowhere Man in fifteen minutes, and though I hate to keep repeating myself, is another example of their great beat and their expanding song writing capabilities. This is a surprisingly introspective song written by John, and is an earlier indicator that John has a really introspective, cynical and hard edge side to him. My favorite parts of this song are two sort of subtle moments. In the video link of the song, my first favorite part is about 1:38 in, where they repeat the lyrics "Doesn't have a point of view...", its an example of the beat I was talking about, and is something that is sort of missing from their later albums. Besides Sgt. Pepper, which has it's own style of beat, even though The Beatles go leaps and bounds as musicians, these earlier-mid 60s songs are the best songs just to let loose and dance to. For instance, I think in songs like Ticket To Ride and I Saw Her Standing There they have that classic, fun rhythm(though in Ticket To Ride, it gets a little funky.) My second favorite part is near the end, in the video it's around 2:35, where Paul's voice jumps higher than the others in the harmony at the lyric "Making all his nowhere plans for nobody." It puts the cap on a great song, and one of my favorites of theirs.

YouTube - The Beatles - Nowhere Man

In Think For Yourself, the boys get political. Well, namely, George does. This is one of George's earlier inclusions on their albums. I don't think it's George's best song by far, but I think it is quite a good song for someone who hasn't been writing songs for that long and has to compete with the dynamo that is Lennon-McCartney. We start to see George developing his own style on this song.

YouTube - The Beatles - Think For Yourself
The boys rehearsing the song, banter, for those interested: YouTube - The Beatles- Think For Yourself (Vocal Rehearsal)

Have you heard about The Word? OK, so I admit that I just saw Family Guy a couple of days ago and had to make that reference. This song is great for demonstrating that killer beat. Notice the maracas, and the great guitar part. It's one of the first songs of theirs where they talk about love, not about the act of love or being in love, but the abstract concept of love itself. It would end up being a defining theme(love that is, not the song, but it is a really good song) in the latter part of their careers, but also of the 60s as a whole.

YouTube - The Beatles - The Word

Michelle is quite a nice song with really good backing vocals in my opinion. I always find it interesting when songwriters include random words in foreign languages, and Michelle draws on Paul's late teen years when he would go to hip college parties and would pretend to be French in order to pick up girls. It usually worked.

YouTube - The Beatles 'Michelle'

What Goes On is a song where I don't know which way to lean. I think it's sort of catchy. Sometimes I listen through the whole thing. Sometimes I just skip over it. It's the first song Ringo wrote that is on an album. Mediocre at best.

YouTube - The Beatles - What Goes On

Girl. John Lennon's flight into his mind, and him detailing, almost painfully, his fantasy woman. Later on, he will find that woman. I think it's the only Beatles song where the chorus is one word and a sigh. It may hold the record for shortest chorus in length for a pop song, but someone should check my facts on that one. I like the guitar during the chorus, how the sort of whimsical guitar strumming.

YouTube - The Beatles - Girl

I'm Looking Through You is the best demonstration on the album of the beat I was talking about. It is the most underrated song on the album. I love the acoustic guitar opening. The song is about Paul's dissatisfaction with his relationship with Jane Asher. I love the parts of the song where it sounds like someone is clapping sort of fast, it is so catchy.

YouTube - The Beatles "I'm Looking Through You" 1965 (video montage)
Anthology version:YouTube - The Beatles - Anthology 2 - I'm Looking Through You

In My Life was the first Beatles song I heard. My dad played it for me. It's been in my memories for so long, that it sort of seems old to me. I know it's beautiful, I know it's one of John's best lyrical jobs, but for some reason I can't get into it like I was, and I used to be obsessed with it. I still think it's one of the best songs they've written though, if I look at it from an objective, critical stand point.

YouTube - John Lennon Tribute In My Life

Wait is another one of those underrated songs I think. The beat is absolutely infectous in my mind. This is some of my favorite drumming by Ringo, and I really like the exchange between the guitar and the drums at certain points. It is a very solid pop song that for some reason gets looked over. I don't find it mediocre at all.

YouTube - The Beatles - Wait

If I Needed Someone is George's second song on the album. He admits that this song is heavily influenced by The Byrds. This is the only song of Harrison's that The Beatles sang on stage, the only other songs that Harrison sang on stage were cover songs. One of my favorite parts is when Paul backs up George with a really high voice in the harmony. I find it quite good. The guitar part is quite 60s.

YouTube - The Beatles - If I Needed Someone

Run For Your Life is a mystery, I don't know why this song is so catchy considering the subject matter. As I'm listening, I notice that the harmony during the chorus is actually quite cool. Lennon said this song was just one of those songs you write for the sake of writing it and getting it out of the way. I sort of agree, it's nice and catchy but it definitely isn't a stand out.

YouTube - The Beatles - Run For You Life


9.5/10

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

Davey Moore

Abbey Road

Abbey Road's album cover is one of the iconic photos in popular culture. In my mind, it's their crowning achievement. In a way, they saved the best for last. Although it isn't their last album in order of release, it is their last chronologically. It was the end of the biggest part of all their lives, and to be frank, they were all glad it was over. They were in, in the truest sense of the term, brothers. You need to move away from your family if you want to grow up. And so they did.

After the disastrous "Get Back" sessions(which would later be salvaged and turned into the album Let It Be), the group took a break. Finally, they all got back together, and in the spirit of their shared legacy, wanted to create one more great album. It's their cleanest album, and though it doesn't have much of their great raw energy, in terms of quality, none of their albums really come close.

Come Together was originally written as the campaign song for Timothy Leary's presidential campaign in 1968. Common sense finally got Leary arrested and John decided to use this song on Abbey Road. Thank god too, because it's one of John's coolest songs. Probably the best bass in a Beatles song.
YouTube - Beatles Come Together
Anthology version: YouTube - Come Together (Take 1, Anthology 3) - The Beatles

Frank Sinatra called Something the greatest love song ever written. Very high praise from a legend. The first line is based off of a song written by James Taylor, who actually got discovered by The Beatles' record company, Apple.
YouTube - The Beatles - Something
Anthology version(quite beautiful, just George with his guitar): YouTube - The Beatles-Something

Maxwell's Silver Hammer is one of Paul's wierder songs. That being said, it still has all the marks of a Paul song, great melodies and pretty good lyrics. I like the nice added touch of the hammer effects whenever Paul says "bang, bang"
YouTube - "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

Oh! Darling is one of Paul's best vocal performances. It sounds like one of those 50s crooner love songs, slightly tweaked. The backing vocals are really smooth. It's unbelievable how high Paul's voice can get on this song. John never forgave Paul for not letting him taking the lead on this song, even though Paul primarily wrote it, which is weird.
YouTube - The Beatles "Oh! Darling"

Octopus's Garden is one of those polarizing songs. I've met people who think it's the best song on the album, while there are others who hate it. I think it's basically of the same quality as all the other Ringo songs, which is mediocre, but not Beatles caliber.
YouTube - Octopus's Garden

I have to admit, at first I wasn't the biggest fan of I Want You(She's So Heavy), but it's a song that has definitely grown on me. It's a really raw, signature style Lennon song. The song is probably Lennon's best on the album. There is something that happens in the song that is such a Lennonish experimental thing, the part where it goes "She's so" and then the guitar plays for about two measures and then they yell "heavvvvvvvyyyyy!". It isn't that big of a thing, but its my favorite part of the song.
YouTube - The Beatles-I Want You (She's So Heavy)

Here Comes The Sun is the second Beatles song I've ever heard. As a result, I've heard this song ALOT during my life, and have grown tired of it. I know it's a beautiful song, but personally, I think it isn't Harrison's best. It isn't his best on the album as far as I'm concerned. But some people absolutely love it, and I can respect that.

Without a doubt, Because is their best vocal performance. The lyrics are a poem written by Yoko, one where she really plays around with puns and double meanings. My favorite song of the album, I think it's absolutely beautiful.
YouTube - "because"-"the beatles" video clip

The Medley

Abbey Road has a section of songs where they all connect together. The Beatles had all these semi-finished songs, so instead of dumping them, they put them into one giant medley. If you include Because, it's, in my mind, the best section of an album in the history of pop music. The thing deserves to be listened to as a whole, so here are the youtube links to the whole thing:
Part 1: YouTube - Abbey Road Medley part1
Part 2: YouTube - Abbey Road Medley part2

You Never Give Me Your Money is one of those really great and really underrated songs by The Beatles. It's the longest song of the medley, though it contains lots of different sections. Mainly a Paul song. Shows off Paul's talent for writing catchy songs with different sections, which would show up later with Band on the Run and Live and Let Die.

Sun King is probably the weakest section of the medley. It's a great song, but in my mind slows down the flow of the thing considerably. It's in reference to Louis XIV I believe, who was called The Sun King. Also features The Beatles in their "stringing together incomprehensible foreign words" mode.

Mean Mr. Mustard A really nice song, very catchy, too short for any real analysis.

Polythene Pam Good song, for some reason I've always liked the line "Yeah you could say she's attractively built." Notice the backing vocals, they are pretty good.

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is the second best song on the medley and in my eyes, third best song on the album. I really like the chorus. It's very clever story telling by Paul, about the teenage girls who would break into his house. He wrote this song as a tribute to one of them who he actually became friends with. Lucky girl.

Golden Slumbers is the best lullaby song ever written. It is my second favorite song on the album, and is the best song in the medley. The chorus is so Paul, it's him at his sappy best. I absolutely f*cking love it.

Carry That Weight is the token song where it seems like everyone is singing along to a really catchy line and it sort of sounds disorganized but sounds really raw and emotional. You hear it a lot in rock opera concept albums, especially how it sort of reprises a part from You Never Give Me Your Money. Such a great song.

The End is well...the end. It's the only Beatles song that features a drum solo. John, Paul and George each get a turn to do a solo. The final lines really sum up the whole Beatles philosophy:

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

You thought that was the end? Well you'd be wrong. Actually, the last track is Her Majesty. It was supposed to be in between Polythene Pam and Mean Mr. Mustard, around that area, but it didn't flow right. The sound engineer was instructed never to throw away something by The Beatles. Not knowing what to do, he stuck it at the end of the album. It's a sort of unexpected thing, and the boys liked it. I can play it on guitar, it's pretty simple. It's a nice song.

This is my favorite Beatles album. 10/10

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

Davey Moore

The White Album, Part I

After The Beatles came back from their retreat to India, they all felt refreshed and were in a big period of creativity. With The White Album you sort of see a return to basics in some areas, there are a lot more straight up rock songs on this album than their post-Revolver peers(with the possible exception of Let It Be). This is also The Beatles first and only double album. On top of that, it's also one of the most iconic album covers of all time. This album really is the beginning of the end for the band. In this period of time, Yoko and John were a pair. That caused tension in the band. George started to make leaps and bounds in his songwriting, although John and Paul were still treating him like a little brother. Ringo was so unhappy he quit the band for a short period, and acutally, on the first song, Paul plays the drums. Paul gets tired of John's sort of withdrawal into himself and his isolation from the band. John is unhappy with Paul, and is intimidated, because he perceives Paul as trying to take control of the band. While everything was falling apart, they still managed to make a legendary album.

Back In The USSR is a weird thing for me. I see it a pretty good song, but nothing too great. Others see differently, there are people who I know in which this is their favorite song on the album. To each his own.Dear Prudence was written in India, about Mia Farrow's reclusive sister, Prudence. Prudence would spend hours upon hours in isolation, depply meditating. John and Paul would visit her and try and keep her entertained. They would try and make her laugh, try and get any emotion out of her, almost like a tourist does in London to those palace guards who are trained to stand perfectly still. This is a John song, and I find it to be beautiful.

In Glass Onion, John gets self referential on our asses. In this song, he basically talks about all the other songs the band has done. It's a cool sounding sort of song, and references a lot of their hits. It's a rough sounding song. The whole album has a rough sort of tone to it. The next song has given me a pretty good mantra in life. I really like the song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. I think it's one of the best songs on the album and is up there in contention for possibly the best Beatles chorus. It's packed full of joy, energy and just a sort of free sounding spirit. Life goes on, brah.

People give Wild Honey Pie crap for being short, stupid and formless but I give credit to the guys for having the balls to include something like this on the album. It was basically Paul improving while the rest of the guys were on vacation in Greece. It was going to be cut, but Pattie Boyd liked it so they kept it. The Continuing Story Of Bugalow Bill is quite a weird song, and is signature Lennon. It's basically about this hunter that they met in India. It's the only song by The Beatles where there is a line solely performed by a female vocalist, who is Yoko Ono. Ringo's wife is singing in the background and is the other female voice in the song. It's really good, and is close to great, but there's some thing about it that keeps it from being great. Maybe it just depends on mood.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps is Harrison's crowning acheivement of the album. Lyrics are taken from the Tibetan Book of The Dead. It's quite a wise song, and has a solo by Eric Clapton. George was frusturated because John and Paul didn't put much effort into a song that he thought was really great. So he invited Eric to play on it, thinking that since an outsider was invited in, it would help break tensions and everyone wouldn't get as mad at each other. It worked. It's such a great song. The next song is Happiness Is A Warm Gun, which is one of my favorites by John. The rhythm and the structure of the song are such a radical departure from anything The Beatles did previously. Infact, it's sort of hard to believe that this is the same band that wrote Love Me Do and shook their heads and made all the girls scream. Notice the backing vocals, they are pretty great. I love this song.

I have a feeling that people like to overlook Martha My Dear, but as I listen to it, I don't see why. I think this is a really cool song, and it really is totally up Paul's alley. I like the use of horns. Paul is great at these types of melodies. I like how instruments are gradually introduced throughout the song. The next song is another Lennon classic, I'm So Tired, I personally love this song. As I write this, I sympathize with the song, because I am pretty tired right now. It's sort of schizophrenic in nautre, it gets really low key, then it gets manic. Lennon is pretty angry in this song.

Blackbird is a simple inspirational song, an ode to all those who are repressed and yearn to spread their wings in freedom. Originally, it had to do with the civil rights movements and such, and was named Black Girl, but Paul decided to change the name to make it more of a universal song that can give hope to all. Paul is really good at those sorts of inspiring songs. Nobody really writes them like him. I like the lo-fi quality to this song, how the only sound effects on this song, in an album laden with sound effects, is the soft twittering of birds.

The next song, Piggies is a weird little song by George that, unfortunately, is tainted by history. It was one of the songs that Charlie Manson interpreted as The Beatles prophesizing the downfall of America. When Sharon Tate and others were murdered, they were stabbed with forks and knives, similar to this song. Other than that brutal history, this siong is sort of nice. The instrumental parts are really nice I think.

I sort of see Rocky Raccoon as a parody of country songs. That's how it starts anyway. But there are some parts where the lyrics are actually quite good. I think the whole line "His rival it seems, had broken his dreams, by stealing the girl of his fancy. Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lill, but everyone knew her as Nancy." Even though I have no basis for this, I somehow imagine Paul sitting there for about a half-hour trying to think of a rhyme to get himself out of the hole he put himself in. Finally he must have been like, "and everyone knew her as Nancy!" Don't Pas Me By is ironically one of the few Ringo songs I like, mainly because it has a good beat. I find it funny that his others had a lame beat to them. Also I like the instrumental parts in this song.

Paul's greatest vocal performance is in the song Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, and if you doubt me, find it on youtube and tell me that isn't his best performance. In my mind, it's in the top five rock and roll. The next song, I Will is a nice and sensitive song by Paul. I quite like it. It isn't great, but it isn't mediocre. I think the lyrics are really nice. Julia is really quite a touching song. It is John's tribute to his mother, who tragically got struck by a drunk driver when John was fifteen. Had to go to the hospital and identify the body since his Aunt was too shocked to go and do it. That image must have stayed with him his whole life. John's mother is the one that introduced him to music.

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

Davey Moore

The White Album, Part II

The first song, Birthday is a straight up raw rock song that really makes you want to move. Coincidentally, my mother shares a birthday with Lennon, so whenever she heard this song, she pretended they were singing right to her. I like the piano part in the section where it says "I would like you dance." The next song, Yer Blues is one in a line of those self critical Lennon songs. It's sort of a parody to a stereotypical blues song, but it still somehow remains catchy and powerful.

Mother Nature's Son is probably my favorite song on this part of the album. It was written by Paul when they were all at the Maharishi's retreat in India. I quite like the guitar in this song, and the tapping sound in the background, it sounds like someone's foot. The horn is a nice addition, but the song is still beautiful and great without it. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey takes the cake as The Beatles song with the longest name. Interestingly enough, this is a John song, but it is a joyous song which is more up Paul's alley. The lyrics are total John though, but the opening melody seems to be like something Paul might have written. Nobody knows if he did. Lennon said he took the lyrics directly from things that the Maharishi said, except for the monkey part. A lot of people love Sexy Sadie and find it to be their favorite song on the album. For me, that's not the case, I think it is a really good song. but not a great song.

Some people call Helter Skelter the first metal song in the history of music. I don't know if it's the first, but even by today's standards it still rocks, which is quite an acheivement. Paul wrote it as a response to a song by The Who that he heard on the radio. He was intriguied by the sound and wanted to do them one better. Unfortunately, like Piggies, Helter Skelter is mired in unfortunate history. If Woodstock was the crowning acheivement of the hippies, then the Manson murders were the darkside and one of the many factors that lead to the downfall of the utopian thinking in the 60s. Leary and all of those goons were destroying the minds of a whole generation, and people were promoting the benefits of LSD and acid. They were saying a new society could be built. But then the Manson murders. Manson was one of them. He used LSD to control people and commit horrible acts of murder. And who did he say inspired him to do such acts? Well, the posterboys of the revolution, The Beatles. Manson singlehandedly helped bring about the crushing cynicism of the 70s.Long, Long, Long is one of George's most underrated songs. I love the guitar in this song. It is George singing softly and beautifully about his discovery of God and the hinduism philosophies. George needed to fill a void, and spirituality and religion would be the answers.

I think this si quite a nice version of Revolution 1, although I love the single version better. Some interesting parts in this half-acoustic version are the "shooby doo wop"s by Geroge and Paul in the background. Also, John seems like he hasn't made up his mind, with the lines "Don't you know you can count me out..in". Sort of ambiguous for someone who would so adamently be for peace in his later years. Honey Pie is a nice little catchy song by Paul, that is sort of sad and funny. I like it, and how it randomly goes from good sounding vocals, to the stereo hiss of some recording from the 20s. Another underrated song of George's is Savoy Truffle a catchy song about candy. He wrote it as a tribute to one of his friends who had a notorious sweet tooth, Eric Clapton.

Cry Baby Cry is probably my favorite John song on this part of the album, and is my second favorite on this part of the album overall. Depending on my mood, I sometimes like it better than Mother Nature's Son. The chorus was originally "Cry baby cry, make your mother buy, she's old enough to know better, so cry baby cry." I love the surreal and stream of consciousness lyrics. I love the sad mood of the song. Also, the guitar part at the end from Paul is nice: "Can you take me back where I came from, can you take me back."

Am I the only person who likes Revolution 9? I think it is a fabulous experiment with sound, and there are a lot of parts I like. "Financial Imbalance....the watusi.....the twist..." Also, I like the part "Riiiiiiiiiide." I find it to be quite a hypnotizing song. "Take this brother, may it serve you well...." And finally, there's Good Night another sort of kids song by The Beatles, sung by Ringo, it's a lullaby and it is a nice send off of a groundbreaking and innovative album.

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

Davey Moore

Please Please Me

Please Please Me is the boys' first studio album. I want you to look at the album cover for a second. Look at Ringo's hair. This is so early, they don't even have the moptop look pinned down. But before too long, the world will fall in love with them, and a global hysteria will break out over these four young men that the world had never seen before, and probably will never again. At least in the original magnitude of Beatlemania.

I Saw Her Standing There is the perfect example of why the early Beatles were so good. This is, in my mind, one of the greatest straight up pop songs ever written. It sounds sort of raw, it's fast and makes you move, the chorus is great, and there are random claps to really emphasize the thing. I find it great. The next song, Misery is a Lennon-McCartney song that sort of has a deeper meaning I think, that Lennon and McCartney might not have realized. Lennon and McCartney had a sort of unspoken bond with each other. Both of them had tragically lost their mothers at young, young ages. Paul's mom died of cancer when he was 14. John's mom died when he was 17. After Lennon's mother died, he sort of went into himself, and Paul was the only one who could reach him. In those days, John and Paul would skip school and spend hours in a tiny room with each other writing songs. They would do this four or five times a week. They had one of the most intensely close relationships in rock history between two band members.

Anna (Go to Him) is a song written by Arthur Alexander. Their version of the song is really quite good, this is one of the first times I am hearing this osng, and I really like Lennon's performance, he almost sounds like he's in pain. And I like the melody and hook, it's great songwriting. Good job Arthur Alexander, whoever you are. The next song is also a cover, Chains, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was a minor song. The Beatles really liked to cover obscure tracks by artists that they loved, especially in these early days. This album is actually The Beatles playing a regular set they would play, they just suggested songs to each other in the studio and they played them. That sort of process, interestingly enough, reminds me of the first album of another monumental artist in the 60s, Bob Dylan. In the documentary No Direction Home, he explains that he just played songs as they came to him. I find it interesting how their debut album's process of recording was so similar, since they would come to mutually inspire each other, Dylan influenced by The Beatles to be electric and expand musically and The Beatles influenced by Dylan to expand conceptually and lyrically. The next song is also a cover and it's sung by Ringo, Boys. I find this song really infectious, it sounds like the stereotypical rock and roll song from the 50s. Ringo does a good job.

Ask Me Why is the typical sappy Beatles love song. It isn't bad, but it isn't really great. The best part is the melody when they sing "I can't believe, it's happened to me." I feel like I've heard something like that in a lot of pop songs. Their next song, Please Please Me is quite the catchy little pop song. At first, their producer George Martin(I think of as the fifth Beatle) didn't have confidence in their songwriting abilities. The boys convinced him to let them play a song they wrote. When they were finished, George Martin said "Congratulations Boys, you've just written you're first number 1.", and he was right, it went number 1 on the British charts.Love Me Do was the first song they recorded that got onto the British charts. It's a nice little pop song, and the harmonica is a nice touch. P.S. I Love You is well...it's uh. It's not very good. Moving on, I don't even want to talk about it.

Baby It's You sounds like a song that should be played at a slow moving 50s high school dance. It's OK, but not better than OK. Just OK. I just realized they didn't write it, so I 'll cut the guys some slack. Do You Want To Know A Secret is a totally different story. The first chord sounds like the beginning of some D.ick Dale surf song. The lyrics are boring, but the instruments and the beat are actually sort of interesting. It's also the first song on their albums that is sung by George, but he didn't write it. I like how his voice gets rough and ragged at some places. A Taste of Honey is also another of those weird songs. The lyrics really are bland, but the beat and the melodies and the music are really interesting. They didn't write it, it's an old pop standard.

There's A Place is probably the most overlooked song on the album. I REALLY think this is a good song, excellent songwriting by Lennon and McCartney. I love their voices, since this album was recorded in one session, you hear their voices are all harmonizing and are all sort of rough and soar in the same exact places in the song. I find it great. Listen to Paul's voice, it goes up highest, he's really going at it during some spots. And then, the immortal cover version of Twist and Shout, perhaps best ever recorded vocals. His voice was one take away from being completely gone, so there was a sort of tension while recording it. They all knew they only had one try. It was the last song of the session and he was sort of sick. That totally screwed his voice. I love this version of the song, one of the best covers in rock history, all due to a soar voice.

7/10

__________________
Praised be man, he is existing in milk
and living in lillies-
And his violin music takes place in milk
and creamy emptiness-
Praised be the unfolded inside petal
flesh of tend'rest thought-
Praised be delusion, the ripple-
Praised be the Holy Ocean of Eternity-
Praised be I, writing, dead already &
dead again-

4ZZZ

Great reviews Davey. I have to admit to not playing The Beatles in years now. I may have to get around to them again one day soon.

I am with you. I remember when I first heard Revolution 9 thinking it was an amazing soundscape. I have never read it anywhere but it has to be influenced by say the John Cage/Terry Riley's of this world. These people where using prepared instruments, tape looping and using found sounds, sampling in today's language, long before anyone else. Also as early as the 1940's there was a movement called Musique concrète.

Funnily enough I was playing Terry Riley's Music For The Gift this morning and the earliest piece on this set is the suite called Mescalin Mix, dated 1960 - 1962 and consists, according to the cover notes, of only tape manipulation and assemblage and is worth a listen just out of curiosities sake alone. Lennon and Ono being of an Avant Garde bent had to have been very aware of this type work.

kevingreen

The Beatles is the most classic all time.That's a unforgettable memory.

ProggyMan

Glad to see someone else doesn't like In My Life all that much.

__________________


Shut the fuck up and recognize what you holding ain't really broken.
-Ian Bavitz

If Noah had the benefit of hindsight on his ship he coulda' snatched two unicorns and left behind the mother fuckin' pigs.
-Ian Bavitz
I <3:

Crowquill is cool. Sorta. I hate the Fall Of Troy. And Joy Division. And West Side Story.

Whatsitoosit

such an underrated band.

__________________
"It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile,
but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face."