Post by mrmustard on Apr 21, 2014 21:57:07 GMT
Even by Beatles standards there is a massive leap from their preceding album to Rubber Soul. No covers, no singles released off the album and all original material. No one was producing albums of this quality at this time. The Who and the Stones were pretty much just singles with their albums at this time lacking clarity, identity or cohesion and often muddied affairs in terms of clarity of sound. In stark contrast, Beatles albums recorded at EMI had distinct clarity, punch and separation, largely due to the quality of the training of their engineers and quality of microphones, compressors and other studio gear. The Beatles where undisputed world leaders in the album format. George Martins input can never be overstated. What he contributes in terms of arrangements, instrumentation and just overall understanding about how a given song should be presented, easily makes him '5th Beatle' above anyone - if such a term is really necessary.
It's interesting to note that in 1965, George Martin was no longer a salaried EMI employee. He had started his own independent recording company, AIR, and freelanced back to EMI. Even though at probably considerably more cost than when was on salary, even EMI weren't that pig headed to realise that this was a partnership that must be. Incidentally, this was also Norman Smiths final album with The Beatles. He felt they weren't the happy family they once where. May be he sensed the rot beginning to set in even at this stage or may be he had delusions of being a pop star himself!
It's amazing how by just removing two songs from the UK release, putting in two cuts from Help! and bit of jiggery-pockery with the sequencing, America is presented with folk rock Beatles. It's also astounding to realise that even after all The Beatles success on both sides of the Atlantic thus far, that Capitol had the audacity to meddle with the album so much to what they thought would be a better album in America.
To me, the album certainly has its folk elements but its much than a folk rock album - the UK version is anyway.
Drive My Car
This is so not folk! It's a killer opener to the album, a new direction and demonstrates perfect execution. George Harrison deserves a lot of credit on this song and really should have got a songwriting credit - but that was never going to happen. Largely McCartney's song with lyrics reworked with Lennon (the phrase Drive My Car supposedly a euphemism for sex), it was Harrison who came in up with the unison guitar/bass line that he got off Otis Reddings Respect. It's this that drives the song and gives it it's distinct soul feel. McCartney and Harrison play the parts in unison. McCartney does a decent job on the opening guitar part and solo but again I am left wondering why he had to muscle in on Harrison. McCartney is also credited with piano but I wouldn't be surprised if it was George Martin. Starr's playing is sensational. He really captures the soulful feel of the song with startling accuracy in his playing. His off beat snares during "but I've found a driver and that's a start" sections are so good. He leads the band into a tremendously tight performance that is on a par with those session players who would back the likes of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding etc. Great use of cowbell and tambourine which only accentuates the deliberate nod to soul. McCartney delivers a fantastic raspy, soul, R'n'B vocal but Lennon is sublime here with his harmony duet. Really they are both singing lead vocal, Lennon isn't really singing a backing harmony here, but McCartney is the more prominent in verses. It is a seriously great duet. Harrison joins the harmony at the end of each verse and during the chorus. A brilliant start to a brilliant album.
Norwegian Wood
"I was just trying to write about an affair I had without letting me wife find out". Allegedly it was with Robert Freeman's wife whom also had a flat in the same building as John and Cynthia. Anyway who am I to tittle tattle!
A simple yet very effective Lennon song. A totally original melody. Beautifully recorded acoustic guitars. The verses are upbeat in a major key with the middle eight going into a minor key and darker sounding. Quite like a reverse of the effect in Things We Said Today. McCartney adds a functional bass guitar that works very well with just the acoustic guitars and percussion. He also adds the harmony vocal in the middle eight which gives the song a great dynamic. The use of sitar by Harrison was more important for the fact that he was responsible for introducing Indian classical music into mainstream Western popular culture that the quality of what he played. Clearly only getting to grips with the instrument, he still manages to pull off the perfect accompaniment to a great Lennon song. Lennon's vocal delivery is perfection for the story telling lyric and pastoral folk setting. A sublime song.
You Won't See Me
In all honesty I never used to like this song much but it's a grower. Another of McCartney's songs that has a dig at Jane Asher. A bit nasty really. Lennon was always sited as the 'Nasty' one but there is no way he would have written a song like this about his woman. If you can ignore the nastiness about Jane Asher, then the song hangs together quite well lyrically. Piano led, played by McCartney, it follows a similar feel to Drive My Car. There's some great overdubbed hi hat work from Starr throughout the track and some nicely placed fills that breaks up the drum part. If he had played a straight beat the song would be encroaching on Drive My Car too much. Harrison plays some effective guitar up strokes that give the song it's distinctive sound. McCartney's bass playing here is exceptional. Melodic, inventive and prominent and presumably played on his newly acquired Rickenbacker 4001. His bass playing really starts to come into its own around 1965, without doubt the most innovative bass player in the world at this time and for a few years to come. Overdubbed after the basic song was recorded and probably given its own track, this would become the norm for the bass in many of their recordings. Vocally its all going on too. McCartney turns in a great double tracked lead vocal with a totally original melody. however its the ingenious backing vocals Lennon and Harrison that take the honours here, The Beatles where never a band to shy away from the obvious if it fitted - ooh La La indeed! Mal Evans plays plays a single organ note from the last verse to the end of of the song. In all honesty this song could have done with an instrumental break. It does come across as rather repetitive.
Great strident piano playing from McCartney, he now begins to dominate piano parts over George Martin. In fact, Lennon's complete dominance in terms of songs per album is over from Rubber Soul onwards. This album is a much more balanced affair. Still, its about time McCartney pulled his finger out instead of Lennon doing all the work.
Nowhere Man
Lennon said this was written out of frustration of his inability to create a song one day while sitting at home in Weybridge. He thought of himself as a Nowhere man and then the song just flowed out of him. Some glorious three part harmonies start the song and continue throughout the track with some inventive backing vocals by McCartney and Harrison reminiscent of the Lennon and Harrison backing vocals in You Don't See Me. Lennon and Harrison but their newly acquired Fender Stratocasters to good use in a very trebly setting with Lennon underpinning this with acoustic guitar. Harrison plays a glorious solo on his Sonic blue strat with extra treble and gain to boot. It's interesting that the solo is unusually early. Was this an attempt to avoid repetitiveness like in You Won't See Me? Another outstanding bass line from McCartney again performed on his Rickenbacker. Nowhere Man was incorporated into their set. It's a shame he didn't use his Rickenbacker live as he had it in tour with him. Starr keeps a perfect tempo throughout and plays what's needed. It's all about Lennon's voice, his delivery and timbre of his voice resulting in yet another forever memorable and career defining vocal.
Think For Yourself
Harrison's 4th officially released song and a definite improvement on his Help! contributions but for my money not as good as Don't Bother Me. Lyrically, Harrison begins to move into social comment territory even this early in his songwriting career, rather than playing safe with a love song. Musically sparse, Starr plays half time in the verses so the effect of the chorus when he plays straight 4/4 is a good dynamic shift. Instrumentally McCartney's all over this song. He plays a good bass line but conventional sounding bass tone. Then he overdubs an alternative bass line through a fuzz box that plays off each vocal line Harrison sings. It's very effective but dominates the song far too much, so much so that there is very little room for Harrison to do anything except strum his electric guitar. The lead vocal is a good one, confident and up in the mix. Excellent harmonies from Lennon and McCartney giving the song a much needed lift. It's a good song but could have been developed better without the McCartney dominance on his fuzzy bass.
The Word
Clearly marijuana influenced in its creation but not to its detriment. It's a great song. Obviously Lennon's original idea but clearly him and McCartney worked on it together. It's a tremendous driving rhythm and another in the mould of Drive My Car in that respect. McCartney delivers yet another totally bass-world shattering performance. Clearly influenced by James Jamerson whom McCartney helped to bring much deserved prominence to. The rhythm section of Starr and McCartney here is truly world class and up there with the Motown session guys in my view. Another clear influence on them at this stage was Booker T. And MG's. Great strident guitar chops from Lennon and Harrison accentuate the funky groove. Nice lead work from Harrison on the link pieces and outro which offer a good contrast from the funk rhythm. Good piano work from McCartney with George Martin playing the harmonium solo. It's another tremendous Lennon vocal, full of conviction, feel and passion. You totally believe him that the only thing that matters is Love! Excellent backing vocals and harmonies from McCartney and Harrison. An absolute gem of a Beatle song. An almost hidden classic. Easily could have been a no.1 single and another example of the depth and quality of writing that left every other band way behind.
Michelle
One McCartney had knocking about in the late 50's until Lennon reminded him about it for Rubber Soul and they re-worked it. Ivan Vaughan's wife helped McCartney with the French translation. Lennon came up with the I Love You, I Love You, I Love You etc bits. Ian Macdonald suggests McCartney may have been playing every instrument with series of overdubs, but that's clearly nonsense. A descending guitar and bass riff opens the song in, what is, quite a sparse line up of just drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitars yet somehow they manage to find a perfect arrangement that sounds more heavily orchestrated than it actually is. More importantly, it sounds French! Harrison plays an exquisite guitar solo and is yet another example of how great a guitarist he truly was. Working purely within the song and for the song, not exploiting himself for a few seconds of glory. McCartney sings this song beautifully. Another classic and completely original melody, cementing himself in musical history as the master of the love song. The backing vocals are, as ever, perfection. The quality of the Beatles as backing vocalists is another aspect of their strengths that put them way beyond nearly every other band that's existed.
What Goes On
Starr's first writing credit on a previously discarded Lennon song. It's a nice enough country song that's well played but clearly a weak point on the album when put into the context of the other songs. Ringo needed a song to sing for the album, so here it is! A country song that is so out of place on Rubber Soul. It would have fitted Beatles For Sale or even the B side of A Hard Days Night but a mistake on here. An unrequired filler.
Girl
First French influences and now Greek! Another classic Lennon song that is very sparsely instrumented but very complex in structure, owing a debt to the song Zorba The Greek. Great lyrics that McCartney laid claim to some of but that was denied by Lennon citing opposition to Christianity as the reason behind them. The instrumentation is pure Greek from the first note. The rhythm section is everything you hear when you go to Greece on your holidays and instead of playing bouzouki's
Lennon and Harrison play capo'd acoustic guitars. Lennon's vocal is pure Lennon and not a hint of Demis Roussos in sight! Another perfect vocal delivery in which Lennon engages the listener right into the story which you ultimately believe. Once again tremendous backing vocals with nearly enough tits and heavy breathing to warrant a censorship off the BBC. George Harrison's guitar playing, is again, nothing short of superb. He plays the solo at the end on a 12 string acoustic and captures the Greek mood perfectly. A triumph of a song and potentially the best on the album, along with most of the others!
I'm Looking Through You
Another nasty dig at Jane Asher - no wonder she left McCartney in the end! It's a good acoustic rocker though with a great McCartney vocal switching from wistful balladeer to full on rock singing in the space of about 5 seconds. A jaunty acoustic guitar starts the song and keeps the tempo. Starr holds down the beat fine and McCartney produces a solid bass line. Lennon plays acoustic rhythm - although this could have easily been McCartney especially on the style of the intro. Starr amazingly plays a two-note Hammond organ phrase off which Harrison plays a single string trill which is vey effective. McCartney turns in a great double tracked lead vocal with some nice low harmonies from Lennon. All in all its a good song but someone seems a out of place in this album that is seeing a new direction emerge from the band. It would have suited Help much better.
In My Life
If ever Lennon was hoping to write something to rival McCartney's Yesterday, he found it and with bells on! As great as Yesterday is, it's failing is it goes straight into the standard bracket. In My Life does not. There is also a longstanding dispute as to McCartney's contribution to the song. He claims he put Lennon's lyrics to melody. Lennon denies this saying the only thing McCartney contributed in terms of the songs melody was the harmony part in the middle eight. It's highly unlikely had no melody in mind at all and McCartney does have a history of laying claim to a number of Lennon songs in the most unlikely of scenarios.
All concerned excel here and contribute something special. Starr's hi hat work is tremendous and give the verses an off beat feel that adds to the songs melancholy. It gives an impressive dynamic when Starr switches to four to the bar on his ride cymbal for the chorus. A relatively simple bass line by McCartney's standards at this time but definitely less is more in this song. Harrison plays the most delicate, vignette of a guitar part that totally distinguishes the song. Lennon plays some gentle electric rhythm guitar that compliments Harrison's work. It's yet another example of what the band can achieve in a basic track of 2 guitars, bass and drums. Where it would have been predictable to throw strings and woodwind at it, by keeping it simple only adds to the majesty of the piece. George Martins contribution is absolute perfection. Supposedly while The Beatles where having their lunch break, he slows down what they had recorded so far and overdubs a baroque style piano piece in the section they left free for the instrumental solo. By returning the track to its normal speed, the piano piece is faster and higher in pitch giving it an unusual sound reminiscent of a harpsichord. One would have hoped that Lennon would have graciously thanked Martin die this. Lennon's double tracked vocal is truly remarkable. So much feel and poignancy in his voice that you are indeed drawn into his own memories of his life. Clearly talking about Stuart Sutcliffe, this song sees Lennon starting to totally bear his soul in his lyrics. McCartney produces a magnificent harmony in what is yet another career defining moment for Lennon and The Beatles. A timeless triumph.
Wait
A left over from Help! dusted off and given overdubs. A joint effort from Lennon and McCartney allegedly written with fellow Liverpudlian in mind to cover. He did ultimately cover the song but it did nothing. The defining feature of the song is Harrison's volume pedal. Lennon sings the verses, McCartney sings the middle eight and they both sing the chorus which they all sing very well. It's a great song on any other bands album but mediocre to good by Beatle standards and would have fitted better on the Help! album.
If I Needed Someone
Harrison's best song since Don't Bother Me. It's a stand out song on the album and its from here on in he begins to push Lennon and McCartney in terms of quality of songwriting. Playing his 12 string Rickenbacker capo'd, he pulls of a seminal guitar part influenced partly by The Byrd's The Bells of Rhymney so much so that Harrison sent Roger McGuinn a copy of the song before releasing it to show he had used the song as a template. In fairness, McGuinn based his entire career on Harrison. It's another great group effort. In addition to Harrison's highly infective and influential playing, the three part harmonies by Harrison, Lennon and McCartney are stunning. Very difficult to execute as can be witnessed in their live performances of the song during 1966. More ground breaking bass playing from McCartney that locks in perfectly with Starr. Given had no partner to work with and he was basically isolated as a songwriter, this song is a triumph. For any other band this would have been the stand out track on the album. For The Beatles, its just another great song.
Run For Your Life
Lennon hated it. Well Lennon slagged off a lot of his songs. In itself, it's a good song but like a few others on the album its somewhat out of place with the new direction. That said, Lennon gives another great Rock 'n' Roll vocal performance. The first line he lifted from Elvis's Baby Lets Play House. Harrison turns in some great rockabilly guitar playing. An there are some nice backing vocals from McCartney and Harrison. In the end though, a slightly lame finish to a near masterpiece.
It's interesting to note that in 1965, George Martin was no longer a salaried EMI employee. He had started his own independent recording company, AIR, and freelanced back to EMI. Even though at probably considerably more cost than when was on salary, even EMI weren't that pig headed to realise that this was a partnership that must be. Incidentally, this was also Norman Smiths final album with The Beatles. He felt they weren't the happy family they once where. May be he sensed the rot beginning to set in even at this stage or may be he had delusions of being a pop star himself!
It's amazing how by just removing two songs from the UK release, putting in two cuts from Help! and bit of jiggery-pockery with the sequencing, America is presented with folk rock Beatles. It's also astounding to realise that even after all The Beatles success on both sides of the Atlantic thus far, that Capitol had the audacity to meddle with the album so much to what they thought would be a better album in America.
To me, the album certainly has its folk elements but its much than a folk rock album - the UK version is anyway.
Drive My Car
This is so not folk! It's a killer opener to the album, a new direction and demonstrates perfect execution. George Harrison deserves a lot of credit on this song and really should have got a songwriting credit - but that was never going to happen. Largely McCartney's song with lyrics reworked with Lennon (the phrase Drive My Car supposedly a euphemism for sex), it was Harrison who came in up with the unison guitar/bass line that he got off Otis Reddings Respect. It's this that drives the song and gives it it's distinct soul feel. McCartney and Harrison play the parts in unison. McCartney does a decent job on the opening guitar part and solo but again I am left wondering why he had to muscle in on Harrison. McCartney is also credited with piano but I wouldn't be surprised if it was George Martin. Starr's playing is sensational. He really captures the soulful feel of the song with startling accuracy in his playing. His off beat snares during "but I've found a driver and that's a start" sections are so good. He leads the band into a tremendously tight performance that is on a par with those session players who would back the likes of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding etc. Great use of cowbell and tambourine which only accentuates the deliberate nod to soul. McCartney delivers a fantastic raspy, soul, R'n'B vocal but Lennon is sublime here with his harmony duet. Really they are both singing lead vocal, Lennon isn't really singing a backing harmony here, but McCartney is the more prominent in verses. It is a seriously great duet. Harrison joins the harmony at the end of each verse and during the chorus. A brilliant start to a brilliant album.
Norwegian Wood
"I was just trying to write about an affair I had without letting me wife find out". Allegedly it was with Robert Freeman's wife whom also had a flat in the same building as John and Cynthia. Anyway who am I to tittle tattle!
A simple yet very effective Lennon song. A totally original melody. Beautifully recorded acoustic guitars. The verses are upbeat in a major key with the middle eight going into a minor key and darker sounding. Quite like a reverse of the effect in Things We Said Today. McCartney adds a functional bass guitar that works very well with just the acoustic guitars and percussion. He also adds the harmony vocal in the middle eight which gives the song a great dynamic. The use of sitar by Harrison was more important for the fact that he was responsible for introducing Indian classical music into mainstream Western popular culture that the quality of what he played. Clearly only getting to grips with the instrument, he still manages to pull off the perfect accompaniment to a great Lennon song. Lennon's vocal delivery is perfection for the story telling lyric and pastoral folk setting. A sublime song.
You Won't See Me
In all honesty I never used to like this song much but it's a grower. Another of McCartney's songs that has a dig at Jane Asher. A bit nasty really. Lennon was always sited as the 'Nasty' one but there is no way he would have written a song like this about his woman. If you can ignore the nastiness about Jane Asher, then the song hangs together quite well lyrically. Piano led, played by McCartney, it follows a similar feel to Drive My Car. There's some great overdubbed hi hat work from Starr throughout the track and some nicely placed fills that breaks up the drum part. If he had played a straight beat the song would be encroaching on Drive My Car too much. Harrison plays some effective guitar up strokes that give the song it's distinctive sound. McCartney's bass playing here is exceptional. Melodic, inventive and prominent and presumably played on his newly acquired Rickenbacker 4001. His bass playing really starts to come into its own around 1965, without doubt the most innovative bass player in the world at this time and for a few years to come. Overdubbed after the basic song was recorded and probably given its own track, this would become the norm for the bass in many of their recordings. Vocally its all going on too. McCartney turns in a great double tracked lead vocal with a totally original melody. however its the ingenious backing vocals Lennon and Harrison that take the honours here, The Beatles where never a band to shy away from the obvious if it fitted - ooh La La indeed! Mal Evans plays plays a single organ note from the last verse to the end of of the song. In all honesty this song could have done with an instrumental break. It does come across as rather repetitive.
Great strident piano playing from McCartney, he now begins to dominate piano parts over George Martin. In fact, Lennon's complete dominance in terms of songs per album is over from Rubber Soul onwards. This album is a much more balanced affair. Still, its about time McCartney pulled his finger out instead of Lennon doing all the work.
Nowhere Man
Lennon said this was written out of frustration of his inability to create a song one day while sitting at home in Weybridge. He thought of himself as a Nowhere man and then the song just flowed out of him. Some glorious three part harmonies start the song and continue throughout the track with some inventive backing vocals by McCartney and Harrison reminiscent of the Lennon and Harrison backing vocals in You Don't See Me. Lennon and Harrison but their newly acquired Fender Stratocasters to good use in a very trebly setting with Lennon underpinning this with acoustic guitar. Harrison plays a glorious solo on his Sonic blue strat with extra treble and gain to boot. It's interesting that the solo is unusually early. Was this an attempt to avoid repetitiveness like in You Won't See Me? Another outstanding bass line from McCartney again performed on his Rickenbacker. Nowhere Man was incorporated into their set. It's a shame he didn't use his Rickenbacker live as he had it in tour with him. Starr keeps a perfect tempo throughout and plays what's needed. It's all about Lennon's voice, his delivery and timbre of his voice resulting in yet another forever memorable and career defining vocal.
Think For Yourself
Harrison's 4th officially released song and a definite improvement on his Help! contributions but for my money not as good as Don't Bother Me. Lyrically, Harrison begins to move into social comment territory even this early in his songwriting career, rather than playing safe with a love song. Musically sparse, Starr plays half time in the verses so the effect of the chorus when he plays straight 4/4 is a good dynamic shift. Instrumentally McCartney's all over this song. He plays a good bass line but conventional sounding bass tone. Then he overdubs an alternative bass line through a fuzz box that plays off each vocal line Harrison sings. It's very effective but dominates the song far too much, so much so that there is very little room for Harrison to do anything except strum his electric guitar. The lead vocal is a good one, confident and up in the mix. Excellent harmonies from Lennon and McCartney giving the song a much needed lift. It's a good song but could have been developed better without the McCartney dominance on his fuzzy bass.
The Word
Clearly marijuana influenced in its creation but not to its detriment. It's a great song. Obviously Lennon's original idea but clearly him and McCartney worked on it together. It's a tremendous driving rhythm and another in the mould of Drive My Car in that respect. McCartney delivers yet another totally bass-world shattering performance. Clearly influenced by James Jamerson whom McCartney helped to bring much deserved prominence to. The rhythm section of Starr and McCartney here is truly world class and up there with the Motown session guys in my view. Another clear influence on them at this stage was Booker T. And MG's. Great strident guitar chops from Lennon and Harrison accentuate the funky groove. Nice lead work from Harrison on the link pieces and outro which offer a good contrast from the funk rhythm. Good piano work from McCartney with George Martin playing the harmonium solo. It's another tremendous Lennon vocal, full of conviction, feel and passion. You totally believe him that the only thing that matters is Love! Excellent backing vocals and harmonies from McCartney and Harrison. An absolute gem of a Beatle song. An almost hidden classic. Easily could have been a no.1 single and another example of the depth and quality of writing that left every other band way behind.
Michelle
One McCartney had knocking about in the late 50's until Lennon reminded him about it for Rubber Soul and they re-worked it. Ivan Vaughan's wife helped McCartney with the French translation. Lennon came up with the I Love You, I Love You, I Love You etc bits. Ian Macdonald suggests McCartney may have been playing every instrument with series of overdubs, but that's clearly nonsense. A descending guitar and bass riff opens the song in, what is, quite a sparse line up of just drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitars yet somehow they manage to find a perfect arrangement that sounds more heavily orchestrated than it actually is. More importantly, it sounds French! Harrison plays an exquisite guitar solo and is yet another example of how great a guitarist he truly was. Working purely within the song and for the song, not exploiting himself for a few seconds of glory. McCartney sings this song beautifully. Another classic and completely original melody, cementing himself in musical history as the master of the love song. The backing vocals are, as ever, perfection. The quality of the Beatles as backing vocalists is another aspect of their strengths that put them way beyond nearly every other band that's existed.
What Goes On
Starr's first writing credit on a previously discarded Lennon song. It's a nice enough country song that's well played but clearly a weak point on the album when put into the context of the other songs. Ringo needed a song to sing for the album, so here it is! A country song that is so out of place on Rubber Soul. It would have fitted Beatles For Sale or even the B side of A Hard Days Night but a mistake on here. An unrequired filler.
Girl
First French influences and now Greek! Another classic Lennon song that is very sparsely instrumented but very complex in structure, owing a debt to the song Zorba The Greek. Great lyrics that McCartney laid claim to some of but that was denied by Lennon citing opposition to Christianity as the reason behind them. The instrumentation is pure Greek from the first note. The rhythm section is everything you hear when you go to Greece on your holidays and instead of playing bouzouki's
Lennon and Harrison play capo'd acoustic guitars. Lennon's vocal is pure Lennon and not a hint of Demis Roussos in sight! Another perfect vocal delivery in which Lennon engages the listener right into the story which you ultimately believe. Once again tremendous backing vocals with nearly enough tits and heavy breathing to warrant a censorship off the BBC. George Harrison's guitar playing, is again, nothing short of superb. He plays the solo at the end on a 12 string acoustic and captures the Greek mood perfectly. A triumph of a song and potentially the best on the album, along with most of the others!
I'm Looking Through You
Another nasty dig at Jane Asher - no wonder she left McCartney in the end! It's a good acoustic rocker though with a great McCartney vocal switching from wistful balladeer to full on rock singing in the space of about 5 seconds. A jaunty acoustic guitar starts the song and keeps the tempo. Starr holds down the beat fine and McCartney produces a solid bass line. Lennon plays acoustic rhythm - although this could have easily been McCartney especially on the style of the intro. Starr amazingly plays a two-note Hammond organ phrase off which Harrison plays a single string trill which is vey effective. McCartney turns in a great double tracked lead vocal with some nice low harmonies from Lennon. All in all its a good song but someone seems a out of place in this album that is seeing a new direction emerge from the band. It would have suited Help much better.
In My Life
If ever Lennon was hoping to write something to rival McCartney's Yesterday, he found it and with bells on! As great as Yesterday is, it's failing is it goes straight into the standard bracket. In My Life does not. There is also a longstanding dispute as to McCartney's contribution to the song. He claims he put Lennon's lyrics to melody. Lennon denies this saying the only thing McCartney contributed in terms of the songs melody was the harmony part in the middle eight. It's highly unlikely had no melody in mind at all and McCartney does have a history of laying claim to a number of Lennon songs in the most unlikely of scenarios.
All concerned excel here and contribute something special. Starr's hi hat work is tremendous and give the verses an off beat feel that adds to the songs melancholy. It gives an impressive dynamic when Starr switches to four to the bar on his ride cymbal for the chorus. A relatively simple bass line by McCartney's standards at this time but definitely less is more in this song. Harrison plays the most delicate, vignette of a guitar part that totally distinguishes the song. Lennon plays some gentle electric rhythm guitar that compliments Harrison's work. It's yet another example of what the band can achieve in a basic track of 2 guitars, bass and drums. Where it would have been predictable to throw strings and woodwind at it, by keeping it simple only adds to the majesty of the piece. George Martins contribution is absolute perfection. Supposedly while The Beatles where having their lunch break, he slows down what they had recorded so far and overdubs a baroque style piano piece in the section they left free for the instrumental solo. By returning the track to its normal speed, the piano piece is faster and higher in pitch giving it an unusual sound reminiscent of a harpsichord. One would have hoped that Lennon would have graciously thanked Martin die this. Lennon's double tracked vocal is truly remarkable. So much feel and poignancy in his voice that you are indeed drawn into his own memories of his life. Clearly talking about Stuart Sutcliffe, this song sees Lennon starting to totally bear his soul in his lyrics. McCartney produces a magnificent harmony in what is yet another career defining moment for Lennon and The Beatles. A timeless triumph.
Wait
A left over from Help! dusted off and given overdubs. A joint effort from Lennon and McCartney allegedly written with fellow Liverpudlian in mind to cover. He did ultimately cover the song but it did nothing. The defining feature of the song is Harrison's volume pedal. Lennon sings the verses, McCartney sings the middle eight and they both sing the chorus which they all sing very well. It's a great song on any other bands album but mediocre to good by Beatle standards and would have fitted better on the Help! album.
If I Needed Someone
Harrison's best song since Don't Bother Me. It's a stand out song on the album and its from here on in he begins to push Lennon and McCartney in terms of quality of songwriting. Playing his 12 string Rickenbacker capo'd, he pulls of a seminal guitar part influenced partly by The Byrd's The Bells of Rhymney so much so that Harrison sent Roger McGuinn a copy of the song before releasing it to show he had used the song as a template. In fairness, McGuinn based his entire career on Harrison. It's another great group effort. In addition to Harrison's highly infective and influential playing, the three part harmonies by Harrison, Lennon and McCartney are stunning. Very difficult to execute as can be witnessed in their live performances of the song during 1966. More ground breaking bass playing from McCartney that locks in perfectly with Starr. Given had no partner to work with and he was basically isolated as a songwriter, this song is a triumph. For any other band this would have been the stand out track on the album. For The Beatles, its just another great song.
Run For Your Life
Lennon hated it. Well Lennon slagged off a lot of his songs. In itself, it's a good song but like a few others on the album its somewhat out of place with the new direction. That said, Lennon gives another great Rock 'n' Roll vocal performance. The first line he lifted from Elvis's Baby Lets Play House. Harrison turns in some great rockabilly guitar playing. An there are some nice backing vocals from McCartney and Harrison. In the end though, a slightly lame finish to a near masterpiece.