Tag Archives: the beatles

My iPod #520: The Beatles – Hey Bulldog

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If the terms ‘overlooked’ or ‘underrated’ had to be applied to only one Beatles song for some unexplainable reason, I would think that we would all happily agree on “Hey Bulldog” being a strong contender. The most passionate of Beatles fans will already know of the song’s impressive strengths, but it is one that really doesn’t get that worldwide recognition that a lot of other Beatles songs claim. I may as well try and attempt to tell you why it should.

The song was recorded during somewhat of a blank period in The Beatles timeline. After what was arguably their most successful year in 1967, recording Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, the group began work again in early 1968 – not with any intent of making another LP, but to lay down some tracks that could be possibly be the next single. “Lady Madonna” ended up being that track with Harrison’s composition “The Inner Light” as the B-Side; “Hey Bulldog” was left on the shelf until it was chosen to be released on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album almost a year later.

Led by a funky piano riff, a powerful drum performance by Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney’s bass which seems to have a life of its own, “Hey Bulldog” is a groovy number about someone who feels unappreciated/depressed. Well, that’s how I feel anyway. The random situations and silly phrases that appear in the lyrics may make you think I am looking to deep into it.

The song was noted by the engineer Geoff Emerick as being the last one in which all four members approached recording with a real enthusiasm; you can really tell when listening to it and watching the making of it in the video above. Lennon and McCartney’s spontaneous exchange at the tail-end never fails to raise a smile, and Ringo’s cheeky ‘yeah?’ after the lyric ‘big man’ is sang is priceless.

There are many highlights here; I could go on forever about them, but you should hear the song for yourself.

My iPod #519: The Beatles – Here, There and Everywhere

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Speaking of The Beach Boys and Pet Sounds, “Here, There and Everywhere” was a track by The Beatles that was very much influenced by the sound the former were able to achieve on that album. Left in amazement by the song “God Only Knows“, Paul McCartney was inspired to write something that was able to match the emotional impact and lightness in execution, resulting in a song that would be placed fifth in the tracklisting of Revolver, released in the summer of 1966.

In contrast to the rich and plentiful instrumentation that is present throughout Pet Sounds, “Here, There and Everywhere” incorporates a more minimalistic approach. Apart from the usual band setup are only percussive finger-clicks and smooth ‘oohing’ backing vocals that add to the song’s close and intimate feel.

Paul sings about wanting his partner to be wherever he is, appreciating the small things she does that seem to make his life that bit much better. He promises that he will always stand by her side in return. The track is a tender love song, able to depict that perfect moment one feels when they have found their perfect match.

My iPod #516: The Beatles – Here Comes the Sun

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Skiving from a tedious Apple meeting on a sunny day in April, George decided to chill at good friend Eric Clapton’s house. The joy of being there and not at work inspired him to pick up an acoustic guitar and write “Here Comes the Sun”, a song that would become one of his, and the group’s, most beloved songs. Only he, Paul, and Ringo play on the song as John was in the hospital recovering from a motorcycle accident, but every Beatles fan will know that not all of them were needed to make sweet music.

As the listener ponders on what they’ve heard during the abrupt ending to “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)“, George’s acoustic guitar peeks into the soundscape like a beam of light amidst the darkness and begins to deliver the song’s delightful introductory riff before being further joined by a soothing Moog synthesizer and orchestra when Harrison starts his vocal take. It is not long after that that Paul and Ringo give the track its driving rhythm and provide a solid backbone to the track’s cheerfulness and optimism. Filled to the brim with sweet melodies provided by almost instrument bar drums, “Here Comes the Sun” is a perfect example of a three-minute wonder. A great pop rock song if ever there was one.

It took much longer than it should have, but it was during the making of Abbey Road that John Lennon and Paul McCartney finally realised that George Harrison was not as below them in terms of songwriting as they had regarded him to be during the years they were together. At long last. The damage had already been done by that point, though it was fitting that on their last recorded material, George really showed what he was about.

My iPod #513: The Beatles – Helter Skelter

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After reading a magazine in which Pete Townshend of The Who described the band’s most recent single “I Can See for Miles” as the ‘loudest, and dirtiest track [they’d] ever done’, Paul McCartney took it upon himself to listen to it and decide whether the track lived up to the adjectives. For him, it did not. Finding it too ‘straight’ and ‘sophisticated’, he wrote a song in response that would really get the people going and to also hush the critics who only saw him as the one who wrote the ballads and sillier songs in The Beatles. The result? “Helter Skelter”, possibly the most manic track the group committed to tape and found on the group’s self-titled album from 1968.

The four men from Liverpool give it to you raw for the four and a half minutes the song lasts for. Whilst Ringo pounds on the crash cymbals and provides regular drum fills here and there for the track’s duration, John provides an ugly, murky sounding but appropriate bassline with George and Paul play feedback-laden rhythm guitars present but which also take a backseat in the song’s mix. Really, the highlight of the track is McCartney’s wild vocals; he melodically shouts and howls throughout, falling into fits of laughter at some points as he fails to control himself. The production is that unpolished that subtle things that would be left out on any other track are left in, such as Paul’s random utterances (2:57-3:09) and John randomly shouting and chanting “Fanny Craddock” before baaing like a sheep (2:37-2:55). They’re very strange, but only add to its chaotic atmosphere.

The version you hear on the album was the last of a staggering eighteen takes, and even if they wanted to try it one more time the chance that they would get it as perfect as they did would be quite slim. Plus, the blisters on Ringo’s fingers would have hindered him from trying one more time anyway.

My iPod #511: The Beatles – Hello, Goodbye

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Only a few months after their success with “All You Need Is Love“, The Beatles were back in the studio in order to record what would become their next hit single. The result was “Hello, Goodbye”, a track written by Paul McCartney based on the ‘deep theme of duality in the universe’. Really it is a light, simple, and sugary tune which incorporates a lot of opposites within the lyrics and isn’t about anything very important. But you need those types of songs sometimes. I do think the pitch of the song on Magical Mystery Tour is a bit too high; the video seems to play it at the original recorded pitch and it sounds just as good to me.

John Lennon wasn’t a great fan of it and argued for his new song “I Am the Walrus” to be the next single; listening to one after the other you can see why Paul won this round. Not saying that John didn’t have an ear for melody, but you could always rely on Paul to make one that would always get you singing along to it. Mix the melody with very simple lyrics; you can’t fail. The track, with “I Am the Walrus” as the B-Side, went straight to number one in many countries.

I’ve always felt that the song sounds much better when viewed along with its video as seen above. The four guys are donned in their Sgt. Pepper costumes and do little silly things that will get you smiling, especially during the last minute of the song’s ‘heba-hello-ah’ coda. It is a promotional film that has aged very well and looks like it was only filmed the other day, let alone almost fifty years ago.