First off I'd like to say thanks to all who have made comments in the past few weeks regarding my postings. While many of you had differing opinions I must say they were executed eloquently. Much obliged.
That said...I listened to WITH THE BEATLES a few days ago and it reminded me of something I read close to thirty years ago in Roy Carr and Tony Tyler's THE BEATLES: AN ILLUSTRATED RECORD (the first "Beatles Bible" I ever read...and reread...and reread...). Not having the book in front of me at the moment I hope you'll forgive me for paraphrasing: "and now, some ten years after its release, it still sounds as fresh as the day it was released." [I'm sure the actual quote is more articulate!] Today, some 40+ years after its release (11/22/63 in the U.K.), I couldn't agree more.
From the opening blast of "It Won't Be Long" - which has a great lick, one that George rearranged seven years later for "What Is Life" - to the leave-'em-beggin'-for-more closer "Money" I think one would be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable pop album in the Beatles oeuvre. Let's take a quick look at the other tracks:
- "All I've Got To Do" - powerful Lennon vocal with some great harmonies from Paul and George;
- "All My Loving" - great guitar work!
- "Don't Bother Me" - a bit awkward, but still a George keeper;
- "Little Child" - suffers from a bad edit (two of 'em actually) but has some great piano and harmonica;
- "Till There Was You" - great guitar courtesy of George, and not a one-off either (they played it many times in concert and he handled it adroitly);
- "Please Mr. Postman" - one of their best cover songs ever, with some tremendous cymbals work from Ringo;
- "Roll Over Beethoven" - one of the top 10 covers of a Chuck Berry song ever (a darn shame the Fabs never recorded CB's "Memphis" cuz the BBC versions are killer);
- "Hold Me Tight" - a chugging guitar riff throughout, but I like it!
- "You Really Got A Hold On Me" - another great Lennon vocal;
- "I Wanna Be Your Man" - sure they gave it to the Stones, but it's a great one for Ringo to sing;
- "Devil In Her Heart" - would have fit perfectly on the PLEASE PLEASE ME lp (and that's not a complaint);
- "Not A Second Time" - great Lennon tune, but ever since Robert Palmer recorded it and wrote a second verse I can't help but think how much the Beatles version could have used one.
That's it. A killer album. I love it.
As always, comments welcome.
Jeremy Boob
That said...I listened to WITH THE BEATLES a few days ago and it reminded me of something I read close to thirty years ago in Roy Carr and Tony Tyler's THE BEATLES: AN ILLUSTRATED RECORD (the first "Beatles Bible" I ever read...and reread...and reread...). Not having the book in front of me at the moment I hope you'll forgive me for paraphrasing: "and now, some ten years after its release, it still sounds as fresh as the day it was released." [I'm sure the actual quote is more articulate!] Today, some 40+ years after its release (11/22/63 in the U.K.), I couldn't agree more.
From the opening blast of "It Won't Be Long" - which has a great lick, one that George rearranged seven years later for "What Is Life" - to the leave-'em-beggin'-for-more closer "Money" I think one would be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable pop album in the Beatles oeuvre. Let's take a quick look at the other tracks:
- "All I've Got To Do" - powerful Lennon vocal with some great harmonies from Paul and George;
- "All My Loving" - great guitar work!
- "Don't Bother Me" - a bit awkward, but still a George keeper;
- "Little Child" - suffers from a bad edit (two of 'em actually) but has some great piano and harmonica;
- "Till There Was You" - great guitar courtesy of George, and not a one-off either (they played it many times in concert and he handled it adroitly);
- "Please Mr. Postman" - one of their best cover songs ever, with some tremendous cymbals work from Ringo;
- "Roll Over Beethoven" - one of the top 10 covers of a Chuck Berry song ever (a darn shame the Fabs never recorded CB's "Memphis" cuz the BBC versions are killer);
- "Hold Me Tight" - a chugging guitar riff throughout, but I like it!
- "You Really Got A Hold On Me" - another great Lennon vocal;
- "I Wanna Be Your Man" - sure they gave it to the Stones, but it's a great one for Ringo to sing;
- "Devil In Her Heart" - would have fit perfectly on the PLEASE PLEASE ME lp (and that's not a complaint);
- "Not A Second Time" - great Lennon tune, but ever since Robert Palmer recorded it and wrote a second verse I can't help but think how much the Beatles version could have used one.
That's it. A killer album. I love it.
As always, comments welcome.
Jeremy Boob
No comments:
Post a Comment