The Beatles' Songs

All I've Got To Do

2012-01-11T02:12:00.000-08:00

I love the assuredness of this song. A young group, knowing they are onto a good thing, knowing they ARE good and just knocking out this little gem in a day just to fill their second album, 'With The Beatles'. Delving a little more into the history of this song I realised that The Beatles in fact only performed this once! Well, this version took 15 takes, the 15th being some overdubs, BUT they played this song ONCE!!!! Never before the recording session and NEVER after the recording session! This is crazy. Any band worth their salt would realise that this song is a cracker and we are going to flog it for years (how many times have U2 played 'With Or Without You'?). Not The Beatles though. They had far too much on and far too many other majestic creations to create!Legend has it that John had this song floating in his head for sometime and when it came for The Beatles to produce another song for the upcoming album he put this one up and the other three Beatles learnt their part there and then on the day and ..... that was it! Never to be played again!!!! The harmonies, the drumming, the guitars..... and THE VOICE! BRILLIANT.

Good Morning, Good Morning

2011-11-30T04:13:00.001-08:00

What a cacophonous pleasure delight this song is! Brilliantly constructed but more startling than that is the brilliant playing in the song. I never knew that it was Paul who played that wicked guitar solo! Just put your headphones on and LISTEN to it! He just smashes the song from pillar to post and elevates it to such an exciting level. Ringo's playing on this is manic as he somehow manages to switch between 4/4 to 3/4 to 5/4 ... and that's just the verses!!!! This song fits brilliantly before the penultimate track of Sgt. Pepper, that being Sgt. Pepper's reprise.

Eight Days A Week

2011-04-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

A song of sheer joy and happiness. This is The Beatles at their effortless best! Again a slight twist to The Beatles formula in that it is not just a 'pop' song, it has a swagger of 'blues' infused into it... the faded intro to the faded ending was another milestone of song presentation. The hand-claps, the voices, the guitar that 'picks' along and just the confidence of this song has always made me a massive fan of this song.
And to THINK they didn't bother to release it as a single!!!! Just an album track for this masterpiece!!!!

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

2011-03-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

Oh this is a very, very classy song. I just love the feel to this song beginning with the 'ey up' vocal from John after 'Bungalow Bill'.... George's vocal in this song is sublime and Paul's harmony is brilliant. You get the feeling that Paul really helped George out in this song... almost a collaboration in much the same way as he and John worked.... After all this was perhaps only the second George song (after 'Taxman') that either John or Paul took a real interest in!!!!
It also teases you in that if you think if The Beatles had have continued on after Abbey Road, then George's flurry of songs (ie. 'All Things Must Pass' album) would have had that 'Beatle' touch and The Beatles brilliant legacy would have continued in a slightly different, but no less brilliant, vein due to a lower out put from John, the continued red-hot form from Paul and the genuine emergence of George as a 'heavy-weight' in The Beatles' song-writing department!

Two Of Us

2011-03-16T05:02:00.000-07:00

'The two of us riding nowhere...' Ah such a sweet, sweet gentle song.... Has been and always will be one of my most adored songs of The Beatles' catalog. From the introduction, to the opening duet vocals, the solo Paul vocal, the 'rolling' drums of Ringo and just the beautiful, beautiful atmosphere to this song makes it one of their best.
I love how this opens up 'Let It Be'... The Beatle formula of opening up with a rocker takes a twist here...

You Won't See Me

2011-01-02T03:57:00.000-08:00

Ah this song is seriously one of the 'magical' lost Beatle songs.... You know it, you play it, you enjoy it and then.... BOOM.... it hit's you right between the eyes (and the ears) about just how bloody great this song is!!!!
It really comes back to those beautiful harmonies... those voices just blending into one that support the laconic lead vocal... I've always had the thought that Paul was doing his best to do a 'John' vocal on this song.... like his famed 'Little Richard' vocal on 'Drive My Car' or 'I'm Down'....
This is also one of those songs that can just sit in your head for a whole day.... it doesn't leave you.... and you just hum along to it in your own little world!!!!

The Night Before

2010-12-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Picture this... I'm at work... then this song came into my head... I HAD to play it!!!!! And of course I do!!!! It is unbelievably therapeutic!!! Just listen to the backing vocals and how they swoon up and down as an extension of the 'the night before' refrain... this is such a beautifully crafted song and I believe it is hugely under-rated in The Beatles' canon...

Long Long Long

2010-12-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Seriously, seriously under-rated song... this is an AMAZING song.... the delivery is spot on but it is the mood conveyed where George nails this beauty.... Long Long Long makes me crumble at the knee with it's sheer gentleness... the highlight of the middle bit (so many tears) is actually heightened by the 'come down' of the third verse... if that makes sense!!!!!

I'm So Tired

2010-12-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

John's voice drips of 'cool' in this song.... but the excitement at 0.42 is an incredible display of his vocal abilities... which peculiarly tried to cover in this late Beatle period... its one reason why the White Album is loved so much because John actually does very little to hide or change his voice!!!!! Paul's backing vocal is VERY understated too....

Golden Slumbers

2010-12-07T04:45:00.001-08:00

Oh how I adore this song... the song I play when I need a lift when I am so exhausted...

Can you EVER tire of Paul's voice at 0.43 when he screams / pleads / sings 'smiles awake' .... UNBELIEVABLE... He was at the top of his game at this point in time I believe with his song writing and sense of song...

AND the ENTRY of the strings at 0.06.... delicious....

Oh! Darling

2010-12-07T04:34:00.000-08:00

Great, great song... listen for that aggressive piano as the 'When I told you...' lyric nears it's climax!!!! Brilliant... as if Paul was SSSSOOO excited about being on such a good thing with this song that he just couldn't contain himself!!!
Oh and that bit just near the end when Paul sings for the final time 'Oh darling, please believe me...' Ugh my lordy... LOVE IT!!!!

The Beatles Songs.....

2010-12-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

I was walking back from a run tonight and the song 'Oh! Darling' came on... now I love this song... have so for many, many years BUT it occurred to me that there is a really 'aggressive' piano playing in that song and it struck me kind of funny!!! Like I have heard this song over 1,000 times, and have loved this song over 1,000 times BUT this was the first time that I REALLY heard that aggressive piano on it and I thought... 'That's brilliant'... and it IS!!!!
And so that moment has inspired me to write about EVERY Beatle song ever released just to tell the world about it and if any Beatles loving nut comes across this blog, well they may just tap into it and agree with me... or disagree... or point out something I have missed!!! So here goes... not sure HOW the order will occur or the rationale for it will be but let's get started....