The Beatles (1 Viewer)

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own. This is one of those songs that have kind of gotten lost in the Beatles' catalog, but those early covers were as essential IMO to Beatlemania as their originals. Many of them had already been hits and were composed by some of the finest writers working, giving the Beatles' versions a built-in familiarity that they added their own touch to.

Another great cover is this little ditty, which features John's best vocal ever. He must've been hoarse for a week after cutting it. For a blast of pure rock and roll, it's got it all.

 

[saintsfan]

Wanted to give you Beatle fans an update on something I've been working on. I am in the bass player in a Christian band. We play at the 7 PM Mass every week. We decided we wanted to do a fundraiser for the parish. One of the guys in the band knows Randy Jackson from Zebra. Make a long story short, we are doing a show with Randy paying tribute to, you guessed it, the Music of the Beatles. We are doing a set, then Randy's doing a set, then we are going to finish the show together. It's taking place next Saturday, March 27th.

One thing I've realized while playing these Beatles songs for 8 months. These songs are in some ways simple, in some ways very unconventional and difficult. I've heard that said, but I don't know that I fully realized what that meant until I've slept with these songs for the last 8 months

Vocal harmonies are VERY complex and quite frankly difficult. Very hard songs to sing. The Beach Boys would probably be tougher, but I think the Beatles might be more unconventional. Can't think of another rock band other than those two that would be this hard to sing. The vocal buildup on Day Tripper is VERY difficult. It's not like Twist and Shout where the voices build on each other. They actually go up the scale. Very hard to sing. We ended up playing that part on the keyboard because it sounded like crap when we tried it. On Help, the background vocals are difficult, but very beautiful. If you just focus on the background, it's very pretty in what is a fast rock song. It's almost a counter melody. Very complex. Really, all of them are hard. We did they best we could and dropped those parts we couldn't do. If I Fell is being sung by Randy because none of us could sing it. Forget the low harmony. Didn't even try it. Nobody could quite do it right.

Strange chords in places you don't expect. More than once, somebody said "What key is this song in?" and it's difficult to tell sometimes. If I Fell, for example. I think it's D Major, but because of that opening part, which isn't in D Major and isn't repeated, who knows. The opening chord in A Hard Day's Night?? Took us a bit to get that one because Paul's not playing the root on the bass, so the chord that's written isn't really the full chord.

The ending of Ticket To Ride and Drive My Car seem to be kind of free for alls. Play anything you want in the key of D or A and sing over it. They did this with a lot of songs. Hello Goodbye is another one, that they do that ending part where the song almost ends and they tack on something at the end. Almost like a different song. Actually, most of their songs are like that. Middle eights often sound like it's a completely different song.

Rhythm. For all the Ringo haters out there, but more than once our drummer and I had problems. One of the songs (All My Loving, I think) has Ringo hitting 16th notes on the hi hat. He had difficulty with that at first. I still don't know that he's playing 16th notes. We had to work on it for awhile. Ticket To Ride, the rhythm is very unconventional and it took us a bit to get it right. Not to mention, strange time signatures. Drive My Car has a measure of 9/8 right at the beginning which we never did get quite right. We had to change it a bit. Revolution has a measure of 2/2 right in the middle of 4/4. Keeps it from being just a conventional blues progression.

So if possible, this Beatle nut for the past 30 years comes away even MORE impressed with their music than I was before. Pretty cool.

 

[saintsfan]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own. This is one of those songs that have kind of gotten lost in the Beatles' catalog, but those early covers were as essential IMO to Beatlemania as their originals. Many of them had already been hits and were composed by some of the finest writers working, giving the Beatles' versions a built-in familiarity that they added their own touch to.

Another great cover is this little ditty, which features John's best vocal ever. He must've been hoarse for a week after cutting it. For a blast of pure rock and roll, it's got it all.

Yeah, that's why I always laugh when people talk about the Beatles as being a "pop" band, whatever that means. NOBODY can sing it or play it like that, with that much energy. Every bit as much energy if not more than you've heard on any Ramones record, but with better musicianship. I've heard hundreds of bands cover Twist and Shout. I've never heard the power that's on that record. Like you said, John probably couldn't talk for a week. Just because their song writing was a bit more varied than the blues riff, three chords, and no harmony approach that most bands take, the Beatles get labeled as a "pop" band. Complete crap and the biggest reason why I hate the way people categorize music.

 

[remote controller]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own. This is one of those songs that have kind of gotten lost in the Beatles' catalog, but those early covers were as essential IMO to Beatlemania as their originals. Many of them had already been hits and were composed by some of the finest writers working, giving the Beatles' versions a built-in familiarity that they added their own touch to.

Another great cover is this little ditty, which features John's best vocal ever. He must've been hoarse for a week after cutting it. For a blast of pure rock and roll, it's got it all.

Yeah, that's why I always laugh when people talk about the Beatles as being a "pop" band, whatever that means. NOBODY can sing it or play it like that, with that much energy. Every bit as much energy if not more than you've heard on any Ramones record, but with better musicianship. I've heard hundreds of bands cover Twist and Shout. I've never heard the power that's on that record. Like you said, John probably couldn't talk for a week. Just because their song writing was a bit more varied than the blues riff, three chords, and no harmony approach that most bands take, the Beatles get labeled as a "pop" band. Complete crap and the biggest reason why I hate the way people categorize music.

How a band went from "Love Me Do" to the brilliant medley of songs that graced "Abbey Road" in less than 10 years amazes me. They have left a mark on music that will never be removed and no other group or individual will ever have the same impact. I am a huge Beatle Finatic and am fascinated with all ot the "Paul is dead" trivia. Album covers, song lyric, musical credits, and much more.

 

[Bodeine]

Rhythm. For all the Ringo haters out there, but more than once our drummer and I had problems. One of the songs (All My Loving, I think) has Ringo hitting 16th notes on the hi hat. He had difficulty with that at first. I still don't know that he's playing 16th notes. We had to work on it for awhile. Ticket To Ride, the rhythm is very unconventional and it took us a bit to get it right. Not to mention, strange time signatures. Drive My Car has a measure of 9/8 right at the beginning which we never did get quite right. We had to change it a bit. Revolution has a measure of 2/2 right in the middle of 4/4. Keeps it from being just a conventional blues progression.

Last summer, I attended a concert at Lincoln Center by a NYC group that call themselves The Bubbles Do The Beatles, http://www.bubbleland.com/beatles/ . They covered the entire Sgt. Peppers album and then some. Very entertaining. Anyway, I met a guy who's been in radio for over forty years and he shared that, once, he got to interview John Lennon. He stated that Lennon told him, the one perception he felt that people had of the band which ticked him off the most was that Ringo was a poor drummer. Lennon said he was tremendously talented.

Thanks to all the musicians on this thread who have spelled out exactly why The Beatles are, as I have always expressed in my circles, the greatest rock band ever. I always knew there was a unique complexity to their music but, being a layperson, couldn't always spell out why. I also felt that they have been one of the most influential musical contributors of all time.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own. This is one of those songs that have kind of gotten lost in the Beatles' catalog, but those early covers were as essential IMO to Beatlemania as their originals. Many of them had already been hits and were composed by some of the finest writers working, giving the Beatles' versions a built-in familiarity that they added their own touch to.

Another great cover is this little ditty, which features John's best vocal ever. He must've been hoarse for a week after cutting it. For a blast of pure rock and roll, it's got it all.

Yeah, that's why I always laugh when people talk about the Beatles as being a "pop" band, whatever that means. NOBODY can sing it or play it like that, with that much energy. Every bit as much energy if not more than you've heard on any Ramones record, but with better musicianship. I've heard hundreds of bands cover Twist and Shout. I've never heard the power that's on that record. Like you said, John probably couldn't talk for a week. Just because their song writing was a bit more varied than the blues riff, three chords, and no harmony approach that most bands take, the Beatles get labeled as a "pop" band. Complete crap and the biggest reason why I hate the way people categorize music.

Greil Marcus:"Unlike the Stones or Dylan, the Beatles came up through rock; as they went on, extending (if not deepening) their mastery, they defined rock, to the degree that it made sense to speak of "Yesterday", a ballad accompanied only by acoustic guitar and strings, as "rock and roll" simply because it was credited to the Beatles. And unlike Dylan, and possibly the Stones, at least until 1966, the Beatles had no fall-back position. They were rock & roll or they were nothing. As such, they were, at their best, the best."

This is why I think it's impossible to classify "rock and roll" as anything more finite than the music that came out of the Presley/Berry/Penniman/Lewis/Haley/Coasters mid-50s. There are too many exceptions. "Yesterday", if done by Dean Martin, would've never been "rock and roll". I'd rather just make it easy on myself and look at sources, which means that hip-hop, metal, r&b, roots, disco, and most of the other forms of popular music of the last 5+ decades is all "rock" to me.

In regards to remote controller's comments about the Beatles' growth, I'm not so sure. Listen to those early songs in tandem with other contemporary records. The more I listen, the more I think the Beatles were at their most radical in 1964. I mean, listen to a song as Beatles-average as "Eight Days A Week". There was nothing that sounded like that in 1964. Sure "Strawberry Fields" or "A Day In The Life" were ground-breaking, but others (like Brian Wilson) were at least on the same planet as the Beatles in '67. "Eight Days" (not to mention top-shelf stuff like "She Loves You", "I Feel Fine", etc..) were much more alien-sounding than the more ornate, later recordings.

 

[jwb]

Wanted to give you Beatle fans an update on something I've been working on. I am in the bass player in a Christian band. We play at the 7 PM Mass every week. We decided we wanted to do a fundraiser for the parish. One of the guys in the band knows Randy Jackson from Zebra. Make a long story short, we are doing a show with Randy paying tribute to, you guessed it, the Music of the Beatles. We are doing a set, then Randy's doing a set, then we are going to finish the show together. It's taking place next Saturday, March 27th.

Beyond cool.Love the Beatles, love Zebra. Any chance this gets recorded and sold?

 

[saintsfan]

Wanted to give you Beatle fans an update on something I've been working on. I am in the bass player in a Christian band. We play at the 7 PM Mass every week. We decided we wanted to do a fundraiser for the parish. One of the guys in the band knows Randy Jackson from Zebra. Make a long story short, we are doing a show with Randy paying tribute to, you guessed it, the Music of the Beatles. We are doing a set, then Randy's doing a set, then we are going to finish the show together. It's taking place next Saturday, March 27th.

Beyond cool.Love the Beatles, love Zebra. Any chance this gets recorded and sold?

We are selling a DVD, but I'm not sure what the sound quality is going to be like. It's not going to be professionally recorded or anything, but I'll post back when the show is over and I get the DVD and listen to it.

 

[saintsfan]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own. This is one of those songs that have kind of gotten lost in the Beatles' catalog, but those early covers were as essential IMO to Beatlemania as their originals. Many of them had already been hits and were composed by some of the finest writers working, giving the Beatles' versions a built-in familiarity that they added their own touch to.

Another great cover is this little ditty, which features John's best vocal ever. He must've been hoarse for a week after cutting it. For a blast of pure rock and roll, it's got it all.

Yeah, that's why I always laugh when people talk about the Beatles as being a "pop" band, whatever that means. NOBODY can sing it or play it like that, with that much energy. Every bit as much energy if not more than you've heard on any Ramones record, but with better musicianship. I've heard hundreds of bands cover Twist and Shout. I've never heard the power that's on that record. Like you said, John probably couldn't talk for a week. Just because their song writing was a bit more varied than the blues riff, three chords, and no harmony approach that most bands take, the Beatles get labeled as a "pop" band. Complete crap and the biggest reason why I hate the way people categorize music.

Greil Marcus:"Unlike the Stones or Dylan, the Beatles came up through rock; as they went on, extending (if not deepening) their mastery, they defined rock, to the degree that it made sense to speak of "Yesterday", a ballad accompanied only by acoustic guitar and strings, as "rock and roll" simply because it was credited to the Beatles. And unlike Dylan, and possibly the Stones, at least until 1966, the Beatles had no fall-back position. They were rock & roll or they were nothing. As such, they were, at their best, the best."

This is why I think it's impossible to classify "rock and roll" as anything more finite than the music that came out of the Presley/Berry/Penniman/Lewis/Haley/Coasters mid-50s. There are too many exceptions. "Yesterday", if done by Dean Martin, would've never been "rock and roll". I'd rather just make it easy on myself and look at sources, which means that hip-hop, metal, r&b, roots, disco, and most of the other forms of popular music of the last 5+ decades is all "rock" to me.

In regards to remote controller's comments about the Beatles' growth, I'm not so sure. Listen to those early songs in tandem with other contemporary records. The more I listen, the more I think the Beatles were at their most radical in 1964. I mean, listen to a song as Beatles-average as "Eight Days A Week". There was nothing that sounded like that in 1964. Sure "Strawberry Fields" or "A Day In The Life" were ground-breaking, but others (like Brian Wilson) were at least on the same planet as the Beatles in '67. "Eight Days" (not to mention top-shelf stuff like "She Loves You", "I Feel Fine", etc..) were much more alien-sounding than the more ornate, later recordings.

Yeah, the early Beatles don't get the credit they deserve.For example, supposedly the difference between the Stones and the Beatles can be summed up with comparing Satisfaction to I Want To Hold Your Hand. It goes that I Want To Hold Your Hand is the conventional bubble gum song and Satisfaction is the unconventional height of rebellion, therefore, a more worthy song.

Now, don't get me wrong, Satisfaction is a great record, but it's as conventional a piece of blues rock that you'll ever find. Fast forward several years and it's Smoke On The Water. A very simple riff and 3 chords. Hand is a far more sophisticated song. 50 years later, the Stones aren't capable of writing that melody and those harmonies, not to mention the chord progression, which is very unconventional, certainly for that time. Writing the harmony is difficult enough. Singing it is even more difficult. IMO, She Loves You is even MORE out there.

If you think those two songs are bubble gum crap, try performing them. Any decent bar band can do Satisfaction and if you can do that one, you can do Jumping Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women, ect.

I'll give you another one that sounds out there. Ticket To Ride was released a month before Satisfaction. Ticket To Ride is a very unusual record, certainly for that time. The guitar tone was unusual. The rhythm of it is unusual. It's like a combination of pre metal and techno with Indian style droning. So far ahead of where the Stones were at that time it's not even funny.

 

[remote controller]

http://www.aboutthebeatles.com/paulisdeadclues.php

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

http://www.aboutthebeatles.com/paulisdeadclues.php

This is a good one, too.http://digilander.libero.it/jamespaul/index.html

 

[saintsfan]

Something which probably should have been in the original thread, but I forgot to put in, the Beatles and Stones "Rivalry". I thought of this because in my last post, it might have come across me attacking the Stones. In reality, I love the Stones. On their worst day, they were better than 98% of all bands. Anyway, here it is:

The Beatles and Rolling Stones "Rivalry"

In 1964, the Beatles dominance was complete. The top 5 hits and the top two albums on the charts in April. A hit movie that was also critically praised. Appearances on Ed Sullivan and huge success in America, which made them ever bigger stars than they were in 1963. They were the biggest musical phenomenon since Elvis.

Enter **** Rowe, the same **** Rowe who turned down the Beatles at Decca. Kicking himself for turning down the biggest band in the history of the planet, he saw George Harrison at a party or something and he asked George if he knew any good English groups he could sign. Immediately, George told him to look in London for a group called the Rolling Stones. **** goes out and signs the Stones.

At the time, the Stones were a heavy blues band, much more into blues than any of the Liverpool bands. **** signed them and their early career met with limited success. The blues numbers they were doing were good, but only reached a limited audience. Mick and Keith, who up until this time hadn't really thought about writing songs, saw Lennon and McCartney at a club. They asked if John and Paul had a song they could use. John said they had one that they had started for Ringo that was in the Stones style. So, John and Paul go over in the corner for about 10 minutes and come out with a song called "I Wanna Be Your Man." Now, the first thing you should know is that the song became the first hit for the Rolling Stones. The second thing you should know is that Mick and Keith were FLOORED that they just went into the corner and wrote a hit song in about 10 minutes. After seeing this, it encouraged Mick and Keith to start writing their own songs.

So, now to the rivalry. Well, the rivalry was really a press thing. The Stones management wanted to present the Stones as the bad boy alternative to the Beatles and that's what they did. It's very smart marketing. Capture the part of the market that thinks the Beatles are a bit too clean. The Beatles were neither as clean as their image suggested, nor were the Stones as bad as their image suggested. It was all marketing. As far as the relationship between the bands, as suggested above, the Beatles helped the Stones get discovered and wrote a hit song for them. Mick talks about a show they were doing in London in the early days and he looks out into the crowd and sees the "4 headed monster" as the Beatles were sometimes referred to in those days, watching their show.

In addition, they were on each other's recordings, uncredited of course. In those days, you couldn't just appear on somebody's record. However, Mick was at the recording session for All You Need Is Love and for the Revolver album. Brian Jones played saxophone on You Know My Name(Look Up The Number). John and Paul are very clearly and obviously singing background vocals on the Stones song We Love You. The words Welcome

To The Rolling Stones appears on the cover of Sgt Pepper and a picture of the Beatles appears on Their Satantic Magesties Request. John appeared in the Stones film Rock and Roll Circus playing in a band with Keith Richards on bass.

Anyway, so my final thought is that there was no rivalry. The only rivalry might have been a musical rivalry, similar to the rivalry the Beatles had for a bit with Brian Wilson. The Beatles and the Stones certainly tried to one up each other musically, but it wasn't a rivarly with any bad blood. In reality, they were friends.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7izkZcJj3I

Paul nodding at John is just awesome.

 

[saintsfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7izkZcJj3I

Paul nodding at John is just awesome.

So much charisma.Check this one out. These are the ones that always amaze me. Whenever Paul plays ANY of the early Beatles songs, people in tears in the audience after 40+ years is just unreal.

 

[saintsfan]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

We had a crowd of about 300 people. I think I more hoped for 450 people, but it was our first show so perhaps I expected too much. Everyone who has done things like this for a local parish that I have talked to says 300 people is very successful for a first show, so I guess I am pleased.

The crowd was REALLY into the show. Applause was very enthusiastic. I had to say "thank you" several times before they would stop, so I think they enjoyed it. Talking to people after the show, everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Some of which asked us what we are going to do next time.

We did 14 songs, with videos of the CYO kids acting in various little skits, just to break up the show a bit. We were on for about 45-50 minutes. Then, we took a break and Randy played for an hour. Randy was UNREAL. So friggin' talented and as nice a guy as you ever want to meet. Then we played 3 songs with Randy including Who's Behind The Door. It was a thrill playing Door with Randy. First, he is so friggin good you know it's going to sound good. Second, he's so gracious, he makes you feel like you are doing great even if you think you aren't. He had nothing but praise for us, which made all of us feel great.

After the show, Randy and I were talking about the Beatles. He's a huge fan. Said he saw them at City Park in 1964 and that event caused him to want to be a musician. Really cool.

Anyway, in a couple weeks we should have some DVDs that I'm anxious to see because when you are playing in the show, you don't really get to watch the show. You're too busy making sure you are singing the right notes and playing the right notes. I want to hear the overall sound.

 

[wildbill]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

What did Randy say about Paula Abdul?

 

[saintsfan]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

Set list was as followsA Hard Days NightCome TogetherEight Days A WeekAll My LovingThings We Said TodayTicket To RideLet It BeRevolutionCan't Buy Me LoveDrive My CarLucy In The Sky With DiamondsDay TripperHelp!Encore with RandyYou've Got To Hide Your Love AwayIf I FellWho's Behind The DoorTwist And ShoutFavorite: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. The kid who sang lead has the perfect dreamy voice for it. What they did with the lighting was fantasic and I LOVE playing that bass line. It's like I played lead guitar on that one playing that bass line. I also loved singing the harmonies on Ticket To Ride. Likewise, singing a duet on Things We Said Today was cool. Always been one of my favorite obscure Beatles song (if there's a such thing).Hardest: Not counting If I Fell, which Randy thankfully sung for us, I would have to say it took us awhile to get the background vocals on Help right. Lots of stuff going on, almost an alternate melody which is sung quite sweetly and beautiful by Paul and George. Also, the intro has those very loud shouts of HELP, which you have to sing the right notes on or it sounds bad. Also, the intro to Drive My Car is quite hard because it's in a 9/8 time signature. We ended up doing our own version of it. Also, I was very nervous doing Who's Behind The Door because I didn't want to mess up Randy's song in front of Randy.

 

[Godsbrother]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7izkZcJj3I

Paul nodding at John is just awesome.

So much charisma.Check this one out. These are the ones that always amaze me. Whenever Paul plays ANY of the early Beatles songs, people in tears in the audience after 40+ years is just unreal.

Agreed though this is a pet peeve of mine regarding almost every McCartney live video made in the last 20 years -- there are wayyy too many shots of the crowd and they bounce around like crazy. It is hard for my eyes to even get focused on one shot before they are switching to another.I realize they are trying show the enthusiam of the crowd and how much the music means to them but they go overboard. No one is buying the video to watch their neighbor sing. If you want to show the crowd show them before and after the song.

 

[Godsbrother]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

Set list was as followsA Hard Days NightCome TogetherEight Days A WeekAll My LovingThings We Said TodayTicket To RideLet It BeRevolutionCan't Buy Me LoveDrive My CarLucy In The Sky With DiamondsDay TripperHelp!Encore with RandyYou've Got To Hide Your Love AwayIf I FellWho's Behind The DoorTwist And Shout

VERY cool, saintsfan. Let us know if you upload any of the video on youtube.

 

[saintsfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7izkZcJj3I

Paul nodding at John is just awesome.

So much charisma.Check this one out. These are the ones that always amaze me. Whenever Paul plays ANY of the early Beatles songs, people in tears in the audience after 40+ years is just unreal.

It kind of drives me, as well. Still, the real good ones, of kids singing along or mom and daughter with mom crying like a baby are pretty cool.They do too much of it, though. I agree there.

 

[saintsfan]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

Set list was as followsA Hard Days NightCome TogetherEight Days A WeekAll My LovingThings We Said TodayTicket To RideLet It BeRevolutionCan't Buy Me LoveDrive My CarLucy In The Sky With DiamondsDay TripperHelp!Encore with RandyYou've Got To Hide Your Love AwayIf I FellWho's Behind The DoorTwist And Shout

VERY cool, saintsfan. Let us know if you upload any of the video on youtube.

I probably will once I make sure it really sounded as good as everybody's telling me it was.

 

[jwb]

OK, so I'll give you an update on the Beatles tribute show we played with Randy Jackson on Saturday.

What was your set list? What was your favorite song to play? What was the toughest?

Set list was as followsA Hard Days NightCome TogetherEight Days A WeekAll My LovingThings We Said TodayTicket To RideLet It BeRevolutionCan't Buy Me LoveDrive My CarLucy In The Sky With DiamondsDay TripperHelp!Encore with RandyYou've Got To Hide Your Love AwayIf I FellWho's Behind The DoorTwist And Shout

VERY cool, saintsfan. Let us know if you upload any of the video on youtube.

I probably will once I make sure it really sounded as good as everybody's telling me it was.

I will buy a DVD for sure.

 

[Third]

Really when it came to playing instruments Paul was the most talented of all the Beatles.

Paul would've been the best drummer, keyboardist, bassist, rhythm, or lead. And he was the best singer too.

For the most part I agree with you, except the singing. Paul has the best voice in a conventional manner, but something about John's voice... I don't know. It just goes through you. There are moments on record with John singing that give me chills in a way that Paul doesn't.I think the beginning of A Day In The Life has the most chilling vocal in rock and roll. Just goes straight through you. Most of John's best vocals affect me that way. I've heard great cover versions of McCartney songs, most of them not as good as McCartney, but good none the less. I haven't heard too many good of Lennon songs, however because they are missing the key ingredient, namely, Lennon himself. His presence is SO strong. Something like Imagine just sounds ridiculous in any one else's voice.

Maybe it's because Lennon's voice is so unique. Really, who else sounds like him??

Missed this the first time around, but I agree with this completely. It is hard to pinpoint but John's vocals just have something special about them. When I think about the Beatles vocals I like the best, probably 3/4 of them are John's songs...Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields, Revolution, Tomorrow Never Knows, Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam, Dig a Pony...He didn't have a "pretty" voice like Paul, but there is definitely something unique about the quality of his voice.

 

[Godsbrother]

Really when it came to playing instruments Paul was the most talented of all the Beatles.

Paul would've been the best drummer, keyboardist, bassist, rhythm, or lead. And he was the best singer too.

For the most part I agree with you, except the singing. Paul has the best voice in a conventional manner, but something about John's voice... I don't know. It just goes through you. There are moments on record with John singing that give me chills in a way that Paul doesn't.I think the beginning of A Day In The Life has the most chilling vocal in rock and roll. Just goes straight through you. Most of John's best vocals affect me that way. I've heard great cover versions of McCartney songs, most of them not as good as McCartney, but good none the less. I haven't heard too many good of Lennon songs, however because they are missing the key ingredient, namely, Lennon himself. His presence is SO strong. Something like Imagine just sounds ridiculous in any one else's voice.

Maybe it's because Lennon's voice is so unique. Really, who else sounds like him??

Missed this the first time around, but I agree with this completely. It is hard to pinpoint but John's vocals just have something special about them. When I think about the Beatles vocals I like the best, probably 3/4 of them are John's songs...Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields, Revolution, Tomorrow Never Knows, Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam, Dig a Pony...He didn't have a "pretty" voice like Paul, but there is definitely something unique about the quality of his voice.

They were both great singers and were awesome together. George wasn't a slouch either.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

I just read an article about John Lennon's comment about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus.

A brief snippet of the press conference in Chicago is on youtube:

It's strange to see John so chastened; he always seemed supremely confident. And boy does Paul look uncomfortable.

 

[Sebowski]

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Those songs are great, not silly.

Does anyone like "Boys"?

It's a Ringo song, but not something silly like "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus Garden" or "A Little Help From My Friends".

It's a fast paced rock song.

I think it's great.

(Love how Ringo calls out George at about the 1:00 mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vn2TrfK2I

Ringo didn't have the lung power Paul or John did (though he was a better singer than George) for these types of songs but he holds his own.

Harrison was an amazing singer. He just came into his own after The Beatles. (whereas Ringo did the opposite)

Yeah, that's why I always laugh when people talk about the Beatles as being a "pop" band, whatever that means. NOBODY can sing it or play it like that, with that much energy. Every bit as much energy if not more than you've heard on any Ramones record, but with better musicianship. I've heard hundreds of bands cover Twist and Shout. I've never heard the power that's on that record. Like you said, John probably couldn't talk for a week.

Just because their song writing was a bit more varied than the blues riff, three chords, and no harmony approach that most bands take, the Beatles get labeled as a "pop" band. Complete crap and the biggest reason why I hate the way people categorize music.

Take it easy. Love The Beatles, but there are a hundred bands that match or exceed their energy with the same or greater skill level.

Yeah, the early Beatles don't get the credit they deserve.

For example, supposedly the difference between the Stones and the Beatles can be summed up with comparing Satisfaction to I Want To Hold Your Hand. It goes that I Want To Hold Your Hand is the conventional bubble gum song and Satisfaction is the unconventional height of rebellion, therefore, a more worthy song.

Now, don't get me wrong, Satisfaction is a great record, but it's as conventional a piece of blues rock that you'll ever find. Fast forward several years and it's Smoke On The Water. A very simple riff and 3 chords. Hand is a far more sophisticated song. 50 years later, the Stones aren't capable of writing that melody and those harmonies, not to mention the chord progression, which is very unconventional, certainly for that time. Writing the harmony is difficult enough. Singing it is even more difficult. IMO, She Loves You is even MORE out there.

If you think those two songs are bubble gum crap, try performing them. Any decent bar band can do Satisfaction and if you can do that one, you can do Jumping Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women, ect.

I'll give you another one that sounds out there. Ticket To Ride was released a month before Satisfaction. Ticket To Ride is a very unusual record, certainly for that time. The guitar tone was unusual. The rhythm of it is unusual. It's like a combination of pre metal and techno with Indian style droning. So far ahead of where the Stones were at that time it's not even funny.

Couple problems with this one. I assume you know Satisfaction isn't a Stones song. so the 50 years later thing has nothing to do with it. Stone wrote much better songs than that cover. Also, don't give me the "try performing them" crap unless you are a gigantic Yanni fan. Just because it's hard to play doesn;t make it good. Think McCartney can cover an Emminem album? Does that mean Emminem is a better vocalist?

 

[saintsfan]

Satisfaction was written by Jagger/Richards so I have no clue what you are talking about. It's not a cover. A simple wiki before posting would have told you that.

In terms of hundreds of bands with greater skill and energy. First, I was talking about that particular song. I haven't heard anybody play Twist and Shout with that level of energy and I've heard that song covered by everyone under the sun. It's mostly because nobody can sing like that. Lennon's vocal practically makes the earth move on that song. Second, hundreds of bands with greater energy and skill?? I think that's a bit much. The Beatles were very skilled and their early records were mostly remembered because of energy level.

 

[Sebowski]

Satisfaction was written by Jagger/Richards so I have no clue what you are talking about. It's not a cover. A simple wiki before posting would have told you that.In terms of hundreds of bands with greater skill and energy. First, I was talking about that particular song. I haven't heard anybody play Twist and Shout with that level of energy and I've heard that song covered by everyone under the sun. It's mostly because nobody can sing like that. Lennon's vocal practically makes the earth move on that song. Second, hundreds of bands with greater energy and skill?? I think that's a bit much. The Beatles were very skilled and their early records were mostly remembered because of energy level.

Huh. I always thought it was an Ottis Redding song. My bad. Still think it is not close to the Stones best song. Street Fighting Man, Gimmie Shelter, Miss You, Beast of Burden, Paint it Black, Mother's Little Helper, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Sympathy For The Devil..... All better than Satisfaction and all favorably comparaple to any Beatles songs (I do prefer the Beatles much more than The Stones though).Agreed on the Twist and Shout. Thought you meant in general.

 

[saintsfan]

Satisfaction was written by Jagger/Richards so I have no clue what you are talking about. It's not a cover. A simple wiki before posting would have told you that.In terms of hundreds of bands with greater skill and energy. First, I was talking about that particular song. I haven't heard anybody play Twist and Shout with that level of energy and I've heard that song covered by everyone under the sun. It's mostly because nobody can sing like that. Lennon's vocal practically makes the earth move on that song. Second, hundreds of bands with greater energy and skill?? I think that's a bit much. The Beatles were very skilled and their early records were mostly remembered because of energy level.

Huh. I always thought it was an Ottis Redding song. My bad. Still think it is not close to the Stones best song. Street Fighting Man, Gimmie Shelter, Miss You, Beast of Burden, Paint it Black, Mother's Little Helper, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Sympathy For The Devil..... All better than Satisfaction and all favorably comparaple to any Beatles songs (I do prefer the Beatles much more than The Stones though).Agreed on the Twist and Shout. Thought you meant in general.

You're thinking of Respect which was written by Redding, but done more famously by Aretha Franklin.Otis DID cover Satisfaction, but it is a Stones song.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Satisfaction was written by Jagger/Richards so I have no clue what you are talking about. It's not a cover.

Huh. I always thought it was an Ottis Redding song. My bad.

It is best known as a Britney Spears song, but it was originally written by Jagger & Richards.

 

[saintsfan]

Satisfaction was written by Jagger/Richards so I have no clue what you are talking about. It's not a cover.

Huh. I always thought it was an Ottis Redding song. My bad.

It is best known as a Britney Spears song, but it was originally written by Jagger & Richards.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Paul playing for President Obama:

 

[saintsfan]

Paul playing for President Obama:

I saw this. It was a good show. My fav was Dave Grohl doing Band On The Run.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Ringo's 70th birthday.

With a special guest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2EMiENxZI...feature=related

 

[saintsfan]

Ringo's 70th birthday.

With a special guest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2EMiENxZI...feature=related

Wow. The building was shaking when they announced McCartney.

 

[saintsfan]

I'm the guy standing behind Randy playing the Hofner bass

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I'm the guy standing behind Randy playing the Hofner bass

Looks like the wig was bothering you

 

[saintsfan]

I'm the guy standing behind Randy playing the Hofner bass

Yeah. Hated it.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Today is the 70th anniversary of John's birth.

Google News has....six thousand links to it.

It's just amazing how him and the band remain such a strong presence in the culture.

 

[saintsfan]

I was in the mood to talk a little more Beatles, so I thought I'd add something in.

Something that I don't touch much on with the original articles is the Beatles solo careers. I have quite a bit of the solo stuff, but IMO, their solo material often sounded a bit uneven to me. I guess when you've got such talented writers and Lennon and McCartney, and throw in George, the albums are going to sound a bit fuller. Make no mistake. Each of these guys are HOFers as solo artists as well, so I wouldn't mind exploring the solo catalogue a bit. Not so much the story of the solo career as the music they released. I'm going to start with John since he was the first one that died.

John Lennon Early Singles.

When the Beatles broke up, John had already done some work outside the Beatles. He had formed Plastic Ono Band, which was really kind of conceptual band with John and Yoko being really the only two permanent members. They recorded some avant garde stuff early on, but I don't own it and considering how much I dislike Revolution #9, I never will. He released three singles before the Beatles officially (in the press anyway) broke up. I'll start by discussing these.

So, I'll start with the first single by the "Plastic Ono Band" called Give Peace a Chance (GPAC). Give Peace a Chance was credited to Lennon/McCartney because at this time, John was still living under the agreement that he and Paul had made as teenagers. On GPAC, John continued his trend with the Beatles of wanting less. Less production. More simplicity, ect. GPAC was as simple as you can get. Simple instrumentation and a simple song which had a simple message, basically, give peace a chance. Not one of my favorite John songs, actually. Not a bad song and a very sing a long type thing, but seemed to be simple for simple sake.

Then, there was two songs which would sort of point the way to his first and most acclaimed solo album, Plastic Ono Band. The first, was called Cold Turkey. Cold Turkey was a loud rock and roll song with distorted guitar and and howling vocals, kind of predating the Primal Scream stuff on Plastic Ono Band. Second, is Instant Karma, which has a great message and is a great song, but the mix is so raw that you wonder what the song would sound like had it actually been done professionally. That was probably John's point. He wanted the message to come across without the other stuff interfering with it.

Personally, I love these songs, however, the screaming at the end of Cold Turkey goes on too long and is kind of uncomfortable, which I'm sure was John's point. Both of these songs perfectly captures the "problem" with Lennon's solo career. I say "problem" only because I'm comparing it to the Beatles catalogue. If John hadn't been in the Beatles, his solo career wouldn't have been a problem at all.

John was an artist and there were times that he made art just for arts sake, like Revolution #9. I don't want to say that he didn't write songs intended to be hits, that would be kind of untrue, but sometimes, his solo catalogue is a little TOO lacking in humor and a little TOO uncomfortable to listen to at times. It makes for great art, but it's not something that you can often tap your toes to. You have to be in a certain mood to experience it. Also, right after the Beatles, and even during the end of the Beatles, I think subconsciously, John was trying to sabotage his Beatles legacy by making songs that might not be as palatable to the public's tastes. Just me playing amateur psychiatrist. It wasn't until his last solo album, IMO that we saw the humor in John's music that was on full display with the Beatles. Sometimes he misses the lightness and musicality that McCartney provided. Because he's in charge, he sometimes misses the attention to detail George Martin had when presenting his music.

Nothing highlights this more than his first solo album, Plastic Ono Band...next

 

[saintsfan]

Plastic Ono Band

The great thing about the Beatles is the balance. You know, for every loud or quirky or strange song on an album, there'd be thumping rocker or a beautiful melody. For every bare bones song, there would be a great sonic marvel. The albums and their catalogue as a whole, is incredibly balanced. Something for everyone. That's one of the reasons they remain so popular to this day. People who like Metallica and people who like Streisand can find something in the Beatles catalogue to like.

So, you can imagine the shock when in 1970 shortly after the Beatles officially broke up, John Lennon, the leader of the Beatles came out with an album so raw emotionally and sonically that it's hard to believe that it was even the same John Lennon that was in the Beatles. I mean, sure, we had seen glimpses of it on the White Album, but this was something altogether more shocking and raw.

I'm talking about his first solo album called Plastic Ono Band. First, a little background, John and Yoko went through this Primal Scream Therapy which was supposed to strip you of all the layers of hurt in your life and reveal your true self. Well, John being John, of course, he brought this to an album. So, all the issues that John had, death of his mom, abandonment of him during childhood, pressures of society, his time in the Beatles, all of it, came out on one album. If you wanted to know what was wrong with John Lennon, you could experience it in 11 songs in 1970.

The album at the time was hailed by most critics as a masterpiece, however, the public didn't get it, for the most part. I don't know how many copies it sold. It probably sold pretty good being a former Beatle, but I'm sure it didn't sell as well as All Things Must Pass or McCartney.

First thing is the album is about as minimally produced an album as any major label artist has ever recorded. It's mostly guitar, bass, drums, and the occasional piano. Even what the musicians play is very bare and raw. Not a lot of pretense. Just the songs and John's voice. In many ways, it's the anti Pepper or the anti Abbey Road and I'm sure that was no accident. John was in full "disavow the Beatles" mode at this time (even though John had Ringo playing drums and Klaus Voohrman playing bass). .

As far as the songs. There are several that stand out. In the first place, Love stands out because it is the oddball song on this album. It would have fit perfectly on Imagine a year later or on Double Fantasy in 1980, but on this album it sounds out of place because in the middle of all of this pain, you have maybe the tenderest and most beautiful Love song John ever wrote. I've always thought he put it in the middle of the album to give the listener a break. Kind of an oasis.

Then you have Mother, which is probably the most painful song on the album. "Mother, you had me, but I never had you" or "Father, you left me, but I never left you." I could print all the lyrics and they are all about the same. John at times singing the lyrics like he was barely containing his tears and at other times screaming like he was picking at a sore or something. The song ends with John screaming louder and louder "Momma don't go. Daddy come home." I gotta be honest, if you have kids and you hear that and don't get a bit choked up, you might be dead. Stunning in it's emotion and rawness and unlike anything on any Beatles album in terms of pain and torment.

God is a song about John basically disavowing what he called "gurus" of all kinds. So, he starts the song about God being a concept by which we measure our pain. Then goes through a list of things he doesn't "believe" in. Some of the things like Elvis and Kennedy are there, but so is Jesus and at the end, "I don't believe in Beatles." The music stops and then John starts singing again telling us what he does believe in (Yoko and himself) and telling us the dream is over. The lines where he sings the "dream is over" is some of the most beautiful in the history of rock music. Just light and dreamy and airy. John was never one to back away from controversy and he had to know calling a song God where he proclaims he doesn't believe in Jesus and Beatles would be shocking. As a Christian, the song doesn't really offend me because John is under no obligation to make songs that I agree with. Anyway, I think the song should be read at a deeper level than just assuming that John literally meant "I don't believe in Jesus." I think John was just expressing that he needed to count on himself and he could no longer hide behind the Beatle John persona. Here I am, playing amateur psychiatrist again.

Working Class Hero is just John and an acoustic guitar talking about the pressure society put on you with some of the first profanity on any album. Certainly one of the first on a main stream artist album. Look At Me is John questioning who he is. I Found Out is about the pitfalls of organized religion. My Mummy's Dead is the last song on the album and just kind of sums up the album, IMO.

All in all, a stunning album and, the punks are going to freak, but as angry an album as I have ever heard. Every bit as angry as anything put out by the Sex Pistols or anybody else. You don't have to play or sing fast to be pissed.

Next...John sugar coats the message a bit and the result is Imagine

 

[saintsfan]

Imagine

It was hard to believe that John would release a song in 1972 that would be probably more identified with him than anything he recorded with the Beatles, but it happened in the form of a song called Imagine.

The message of the song, and the accompanying album, is what John called "chocolate covered" to make it go down easier. I don't know if this was on purpose because of the harshness of Plastic Ono Band or because of John's unwillingness to repeat himself, but the arrangements on Imagine were fuller and lighter than on Plastic Ono Band. The song selection was a bit more varied, but not too much. Two love songs this time and the idealism of Imagine kind of offset the political and personal soul searching. This album was better received by the public, mostly on the strength of Imagine.

Imagine is by far the most popular anti religion, anti capitalism, anti countries song in the history of rock. The bottom line message about living as one and peace are similar to Give Peace A Chance, but strings in the arrangement give it a more anthemic quality. So much has been written about these lyrics, it's hard to say how far John wants to take "Imagine there's no heaven", "Imagine no possessions." I've always thought of it as a song that's not as "anti" as some have made it out to be. It just seems to me John is listing things he thinks that divide people and wondering what would happen if people decided to not let those things divide them. When seen in that light, I don't believe it's necessarily an athiestic, communist manifesto as much as it's a call for man to live together in peace. After all, John wasn't that opposed to capitalism. He was rich beyond a doubt, but always contributed to causes. I think that's what he meant.

The rest of the album is similar to Plastic Ono Band, except, in a more tidy package. mostly Gimme Some Truth and It's So Hard are kind of harsh, but not like Plastic Ono Band. Oh Yoko and Oh My Love are love songs to Yoko. How? asks similar questions as Look At Me, but it's got a fuller arrangement. Jealous Guy is about John's past as an abusive man and it's confessional, but once again, the arrangement takes the edge off of the message.

The angriest song is the one he wrote to Paul called "How Do You Sleep?" In a 3 minute song, he tells Paul his songs are Musak, says the only thing he's ever done is Yesterday, says they were right when they said he was dead, all with a chorus asking Paul how he sleeps at night?? I guess Paul pissed in John's corn flakes or something. It's pretty vicious, actually. The response was to Paul having a picture of two beetles...ahem..."getting it on" on the back cover of Paul's solo album Ram. The back cover of Imagine has John with a pig, while Paul's has Paul with a Ram. Yeah, all was not good in Beatledom at this point. What's funny is that both Ringo and George played on Imagine. They were all pissed at Paul.

Imagine is the commercial peak of John's solo career and he has other good songs in future albums, but never again does he put the total package together the way he does with Plastic Ono Band and Imagine.

Next...The Lost Weekend

 

[davidwb]

I've just stumbled into this thread -- and it is just fantastic. I was 9 when the Beatles first played on Ed Sullivan, and my family and I were glued to our little B&W TV to watch them. Living in the DC area, I had friends whose older brothers or sisters went to the first concert at the DC Coliseum, but I was too young. Never did see of them in the few tapes of the concert I've seen.

Thanks for the detailed history lesson, saintsfan -- even having grown up during their era and following them closely, I have learned a lot from this thread.

Keep it up!

 

[saintsfan]

The Lost Weekend

Long story short, Yoko and John are having some issues, so Yoko tells John to leave, but sends an attractive Asian woman, May Pang, to accompany John. And they say Yoko was a #####... Anyway, John who was single for the first time since his early 20's views it as a huge party and goes off and drinks and parties. During this time, he parties with anyone and everyone, including a one night reunion with Paul McCartney. Having heard the tape, they were pretty drunk.

Before the official start of the Lost Weekend, Sometime In New York City is released and it is not well received. Very political album. Critics and fans hate it. I don't have a lot to say about it because, to me, it's a bad John Lennon album.

During this time, we have 3 other albums. Mind Games, Walls and Bridges, and Rock and Roll. All of them have their moments, but as I said above, not like Plastic Ono Band or Imagine.

Mind Games was well received by the public and the track Mind Games is a Lennon classic. There are some other solid tracks, but nothing that is considered a vital part of the Lennon cannon.

Walls and Bridges has the classic Lennon tracks #9 Dream which evokes a very dream like state. Whatever Get's You Through The Night was done with Elton John and was John's only #1 song as a solo artist during his lifetime. An interesting story about Whatever Get's You Through The Night. Elton John bet Lennon that the song would go to #1. Lennon says no way and says that if it does, John would appear on stage with Elton John and do the song. Elton John is right and John appears in New York City on stage with Elton. They do Whatever Gets You Through The Night, Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds and "a song by an estranged fiancee of mine, Paul" I Saw Her Standing There. Elton John said the building shook when he introduced John. It would be John's last live concert appearance. After the show, he reunited with Yoko.

The other album from this period was Rock and Roll, which was more famous for the drunken state John was in during most of it, than the songs on the album. Stand By Me, not surprisingly, was by far the best track on this album. Not surprisingly because John always seemed to be able to summon those moments when he was singing a cover song that perfectly summed up his feelings at that moment. Obviously missing Yoko, he literally meant, Stand By Me.

And that's all the world would hear from John Lennon musically for the next 5 years. Sean is born and John quits the music business to raise him.

Next... Double Fantasy

 

[jwb]

good stuff, Saintsfan. Really enjoying this solo addendum.

 

[saintsfan]

Double Fantasy

So, John sits around baking bread and raising Sean for five years. Is that what he was really doing?? Well, some books have suggested no, but the point is, musically, John Lennon is gone for 5 years. Not recording, not writing (we know he wrote some, but not at the pace he had before). Sometime around 1980 or so, John started getting the itch. He wrote a bunch of songs while sailing to Bermuda on a small boat. To summarize his own words, he wrote when he felt like it, not because he had to, and the songs came pouring out of him. He wrote enough songs for almost two albums. He booked some studio time under an assumed name, I'm sure, and gathered some musicians and started work on what would become his final album, Double Fantasy.

Opinion is pretty split on Double Fantasy. Some people don't like it because it is too poppy (whatever that means. It's pop music, what else should it be?). Some people don't like it because half of the songs are Yoko's. Some people have called it a career reawakening and a sign of great things to come from John, had he lived. I kind of come down in the middle. I don't like Yoko's songs and don't even have them on my iPod. John's songs are poppier than on most of John's other solo albums, but to me, it sounds like the reawakening of Beatle John. The songs, in general, are more optimistic and have more of a sense of humor, like John when he was in the Beatles, and I think this is a good thing. What John would have done in the future, unfortunately for us and for the rest of the world, we will never know.

His songs are mostly about love. Just Like Starting Over is about he and Yoko and is very optimistic. Woman is a ballad about Yoko where John is apologizing to Yoko and telling her what she means to him. Watching The Wheels is about John's house husband era and how he was watching it all go by. Beautful Boy is about Sean with perhaps my favorite Lennon quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." That's the big 4 off of this album.

The follow up to Double Fantasy was to be called Milk and Honey and it was released a few years later. The most interesting songs are Nobody Told Me, which sounds finished and sounds like it should have been on Double Fantasy and Grow Old With Me, a beautful song that John only recorded in demo form. If John had lived and finished this song, it might have been the wedding anthem of all time. I know my wife and I wanted to dance to it at ours, but it's such a rough demo. George Martin added strings to it and such a few years later and it sounded a bit closer to what it might have sounded like finished. What a loss.

Well, we know what happened next and I would prefer not to go over that. Needless to say, whatever your opinion of John the man, we lost a great songwriter and performer. Who knows what he would have done. Who knows what other songs he would have written. Who knows what the 1995 Beatles reunion would have been like had John been there.

Next... George Harrison after the Beatles

 

[Godsbrother]

Then, there was two songs which would sort of point the way to his first and most acclaimed solo album, Plastic Ono Band. The first, was called Cold Turkey. Cold Turkey was a loud rock and roll song with distorted guitar and and howling vocals, kind of predating the Primal Scream stuff on Plastic Ono Band. Second, is Instant Karma, which has a great message and is a great song, but the mix is so raw that you wonder what the song would sound like had it actually been done professionally. That was probably John's point. He wanted the message to come across without the other stuff interfering with it.

John composed a song called "What's the New Mary Jane" that he recorded with George and Yoko with the idea that it would be the next Beatles single (Apple went so far as to issue a catalog number for it). Paul rejected the song as a consideration a single because it was too far out and knew it would never sell. Next John proposed "Cold Turkey" but Paul and George both rejected it as well.At that point John decided that he would record it with the Plastic Ono Band and put it out as a single. The record got a fair amount of airplay on FM stations but AM stations pretty much ignored it. Instant Karma! is interesting because it was written and recorded on the same day and in stores in less than 2 weeks.I like both songs but think Instant Karma! is far superior.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Have you guys seen the movie "Nowhere Boy"? I thought it was pretty well done because it is so hard to do a movie about the Beatles and not redo everything that has already been done. I recommend it, but Im interested in your thoughts saintsfan and Godsbrother.