The Beatles
Since we were driving out to Table Rock weekly we needed a project. So we undertook to listen to all the Beatles albums, in their entirety, in order.
Amy has observed that while you still hear the Rolling Stones all the time on the radio or in movie soundtracks, the Beatles, for all their vaunted stature, don’t really get played that much. The most-played Beatles song is “Here Comes the Sun”, which interestingly is a George Harrison composition. “Twist & Shout” got a season in the sun because of Ferris Bueller. But that was, like, 35 years ago. JoJo Rabbit made the German version of “I want to hold your hand” (“Komm gib mir Deine Hand”) a thing for about six weeks.
Random observations and notes:
- “Paperback Writer” and “Lady Madonna” don’t appear on any of their albums, until later “Greatest Hits” compilations; they were just released as singles.
- The above is strange, since the long-ass White Album has a bunch of crap on it, to fill out the double-album, that no one would ever want to listen to. “Revolution #9”, we’re looking at you! Why not put your fun, catchy songs there, and release the stupid avant-garde noise-nonsense as a single, for the seven pretentious people who might want to hear it?
- At their best, the Beatles were first a great pop band, then a great country band.
- George can play any style, and it was a pleasure to listen to him, the baby of the bunch, develop as an artist.
- Ringo is Chris’ favorite Beatle. No drama, just solid talent and a willingness to put up with his band-mates weird nonsense.
- John was probably legitimately mentally ill, sick, mean, and nasty. We learned to identify “John-songs” because they were hateful and violent. “Run for Your Life” comes to mind. Also, “I am the Walrus.” Not… healthy.
- “Sgt. Pepper” is a strangely conservative album. The only “love song” is “Lovely Rita, Meter Maid”, which paints a scene of a “date-night” on a couch with Rita’s sisters, presumably drinking tea or Pimm’s Cup or something, and watching the BBC. Most of the songs are nostalgic for a domestic life that was being blown up by the 1960s. “She’s Leaving Home” is as sympathetic to the parents as to the rebellious girl.
- Chris likes the Sitar-stuff more than Amy does.
- “The Long and Winding Road” is terrible, and they deserved to break up after letting that out into the world.
- Ringo has a “seafaring” thing. Submarines, octopusses. Makes us like him even more.
- George Martin was trully the “Fifth Beatle”. We learned to identify his rollicking honkey-tonk piano.
- Amy observes that George Martin couldn’t be an official “Beatle” because he was 20 years older than the other four, and no one wanted to see a middle-aged man playing the piano in Shea Stadium.
- Chris’ list of best albums: “Beatles for Sale”, “Rubber Soul”, “Revolver”. They lost the script starting with “Sgt. Pepper”. After that, it was three guys working on their future solo careers, with Ringo just coming to the studio, dropping a rigorously solid beat, always appropriate for the song (those tom-toms on “Come Together”!!!!), and getting paid.
