Tag Archives: the beatles

#571: The Beatles – I Feel Fine

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Despite the positive connotations of the song title, there have been two distinct occasions in my life when ‘I Feel Fine’ was in my head and I was struck by a sudden unlucky situation. The first was on a beautiful day; the sun was shining, I was walking out of McDonald’s and it was about the third week into sixth form after successful GCSE results. Things were great. I was feeling fine. I was humming it along the road. It all suddenly dawned on me that my YouTube account that I had used for about three years up to that point may have been terminated whilst I was at school.

You probably laugh, though I was miserable. In fact, I probably spent most of my time for the next two years trying to get it back instead of revising for my A-levels but to no avail. It was like a whole part of my life had just vanished. To be fair, I probably shouldn’t have uploaded official BBC footage on there. But damn, it hit me hard. So two years of sixth form passed, I wasn’t very happy at school – it dawned on me that I had been studying subjects that I didn’t necessarily want to do…. It all affected my performance in my exams.

So on the way to school on A-Level results day, I began to sing ‘I Feel Fine’ again. Just with the hope that my results wouldn’t be too bad. They weren’t fortunately. They coulda been a lot better….. though had they been I probably wouldn’t have got to know the great people I’ve met in the last four years. Funny how things work out.

You don’t wanna know all that though, I’m sure. It’s all about the song. ‘I Feel Fine’ was recorded by The Beatles during the making of their fourth album Beatles for Sale, an LP made during a hectic time where the lives of the four guys were basically small amounts of studio time and large bouts of live performances and touring. It didn’t make it on the album, and was instead released as the precedent single with fellow track ‘She’s a Woman’ as its B-side. It is notable for being one of the first pop songs to include guitar feedback, in this case produced by John Lennon’s guitar as it leaned against Paul McCartney’s bass amp. Lennon was very much proud of this feat. There’s a video which has him talking about it out there somewhere….

For me, I think it’s one of their best singles. It only lasts for two and a bit minutes as a lot of their early ‘moptop’ period singles did…. it’s all about the lyrical melody really. Lennon’s voice sounds fantastic – double tracked with a bit of grit to it. George Harrison and McCartney’s vocal harmonies are on point… I always feel good listening to this one. And that’s what you want from any good song with good vibes.

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.