So here is the last of the three John Lennon songs that open Beatles For Sale. Baby's In Black has a happy country-tinged atmosphere that belies the downright depressing subject matter. The singer is pining after a girl who cannot get over the death of her lover. Though I do not find it quite as wonderful as the two songs that preceded it, it does have a lovely middle eight in which McCartney leaps into the upper atmosphere, and the John and Paul harmonies are quite wonderful and remain from start to finish. George furnishes a short twangy guitar solo with some unexpected leaps and slides that I only wish were longer. And Ringo has some simple yet perfect fills, but you must listen carefully to hear them as they are not prominent in the mix.
I'm A Loser is the second in the John Lennon trifecta that lead off Beatles For Sale. And the blue mood started with No Reply just digs itself a deeper hole. This album is the turning point where John's lyrics become more introspective, and consequently more real.
Just a few of my many favorite moments:
John and Paul's exquisite harmonies in the intro
The jangle of John's acoustic guitar, followed by Paul's bass entrance
The first three songs on Beatles For Sale may be my favorite opening trio on any Beatles LP. All three were written by John Lennon, and they capture him at his early peak. His songwriting would evolve over the course of the next three years, but these sad melancholy love songs from late 1964 are just my cuppa tea. John was still fully invested in the Beatles and their future at this point, and for at least a couple of more albums he would lead the way with his amazing songwriting talent.
No Reply was a brave choice for the opening cut. Of course Paul McCartney's fingerprints are all over this song, from the great harmony work (in tandem with George) to the uptempo middle eight. But it is John's glorious sense of melody and the emotional explosion with "I Saw The Light..." that just sends this over the top. His singing turns raw and anguished, and it hits me right in gut. The acoustic strumming and Ringo's sublime syncopation just add to the atmosphere.
When I was eight years old, I took on extra chores around the house so that my parents would give me enough money to buy tickets to the Enid, OK premier of A Hard Day's Night at the Chief Theater. I was thrilled to be there at the premier and of course I loved the movie and the music, but was a bit too young to really understand what a great film it is. Furthermore I did not see the gigantic song writing step forward by Lennon and McCartney. For years I was a bit torn about the US LP by that name because it contained a generous portion of George Martin orchestrated instrumental versions of some of the songs. I also purchased their Capitol LP Something New, which was really a scatter shot collection of songs left off the US AHDN album, plus some singles and b-sides. And in some way I preferred that record because it had some amazing songs like Things We Said Today, Any Time at All, When I Get Home, And I Love Her, and If I Fell.
Then during my early college years in the mid-70s I acquired the British version of the LP. And immediately I realized that Capitol records (and United Arists) had done us a great disservice. The "real" A Hard Day's Night is perhaps the first true Beatles' masterpiece. Even the running order is important to the experience of listening to these songs, and now I immediately know what will come next.
Tucked away at the very end of the LP is a song that just hits me like a ton of bricks every time I listen. I'll Be Back is John Lennon at his early peak. Not the upbeat closer that one would expect, but rather a thoughtful and beautiful exploration of how tenuous love can be. The acoustic guitar work is just amazing, what with the three-against-four rhythms. John sings it with a compassion that perfectly fits the lyrics. A real hidden gem on an album full of first class song writing.
The first Yardbirds single in the previous post was a flop. It failed to chart in either the UK or the US. In October 1964 a second single was released in the UK only. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl is definitely an improvement, with a red hot Clapton guitar solo about midway through, and the ratio of harmonica time is greatly reduced. The old blues standard was first recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson, and the Yardbirds based their take on an updated version created by Don Level and Bob Love in 1961.
The Clapton era of the Yardbirds is about to end, and the next single will take off in a completely different direction. Though blues tunes would remain in their repetoire, no further singles would be based on it with one amazing exception.
So here is the deal - I have been revisiting the music of the Yardbirds and have come to the conclusion that they were perhaps the most innnovative 60s band in terms of musical style and guitar work. That said, their best work can be found on their 45rpm singles. Their official LPs (ignoring the USA releases which cobble together singles, live takes, etc). are sadly lacking. But not only are their singles much superior, they had a strange dual personality in that some singles were major rock'n'roll revelations into uncharted territory, while others were little pop tunes foisted on them from outside writers. But more often than not, the pop stuff is quite good. While the self-penned songs are sonic brick bats that pummel you into submission.
So I plan to write a post about each of their UK singles, in chronological order. You will note massive changes as the lead guitarist moves from Eric Clapton to Jeff Beck, and then again when Jimmy Page takes over the reigns
Starting off then with I Wish Your Would from May 1964. Mr. Clapton keeps a lid on the guitar sound, letting lead singer Keith Relf fill the space with harmonica spasms. This single is totally authentic to its time but frankly does not give a hint to what is just around the corner in 1965.
The folks at Reprise Records in the USA were a crafty bunch. They figured out how to multiply two 12" LPs into four. By shuffling a few tracks across LPs, reducing the track count by two or three, and adding non-LP single A and B sides, they succeeded in creating twice as much Kinks product as their counterpart Pye in the UK.
In the US that meant the first LP - known as You Really Got Me - would have only 11 tracks compared to 14 on Kinks. I Took My Baby Home had already been released on the B-Side of The Kinks initial Long Tall Sally single on the Cameo label. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter and the instrumental Revenge would be moved to the next LP. Given the high percentage of covers already on the record, it does not take away from the overall feel to miss these tracks. In fact it makes the listening time just about right.
Of course the real deals here are that harbinger of metal You Really Got Me, and Stop Your Sobbing which would be covered by the Pretenders early in their career. The remaining songs are rough around the edges and yet there is a real joy in the performances. Mr. Quaife lays out some awesome bass lines. Dave's solos on the two Chuck Berry covers are wild and wooly in the best possible way. I will go out on a limb here and state that for me the early Kinks were a much more fun R&B band than the Rolling Stones at this stage of their careers. Yeah I know - the accepted opinion is that the Stones were hands down the best at covering American R&B - but the fact is I never listen to anything they released before Satisfaction. I will take Ray Davies' more natural attempt at blues vocals over Mick Jagger's exagerated cotton-balls-in-mouth slurry any day of the week. If you think I speak blasphemy - well, sue me.
Case in point - dig Ray's performance on this clip of The Kinks covering Got Love If You Want It. No need for any further words from me. It speaks for itself.
Just a quick thought here... I have been immersed in all things Beatles related recently, and have been wondering about songs that could have been/should have been 45rpm singles. Then I came across a comment on the following YouTube video that Paul McCartney had orginally hoped that Every Little Thing would be released as a single. I believe this to be one of the least heard Beatles songs, and for the life of me I do not know why. Great melody, killer descending piano chords, and Ringo playing the friggin' timpani!
