One year with The Beatles (part 6)

Is there anybody going to listen to my story…”

Their sixth album is the first for which the boys took a real break, a month in the studio with no hassle, just work closely related to the new release. And to say that "it’s hearable" is an understatement. We probably already defined Help! the turning point album, but thinking about it, and thinking about what we will analyze in the coming months, Rubber Soul may be considered a true bridge between the Beatles "before " and "after", a link between the first part of their musical life and the second, which will lead them straight to notes’ Olympus.

So little time had passed since the fifth album they didn’t even have time to release the usual single before the sixth LP, the 45 came out the same day of the album but they let it out of it, as always, so today two absolute masterpieces like "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out " are not on any Beatles album!

Those who followed us up here know that we are about to launch in the usual game, let’s see how one of the most important recordings in pop’s history would be if the left out single was in the tracklist (we wanted to leave out "Run For Your Life", a song John Lennon said he hated, but we couldn’t, do it yourself):

1. Day Tripper
2. Drive My Car
3. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
4. You Won't See Me
5. Nowhere Man
6. The Word
7. Michelle   
8. What Goes On (Lennon/McCartney/Starkey)
9. Think for Yourself (George Harrison)
10. Girl
11. We Can Work It Out
12. I'm Looking Through You
13. In My Life
14. Wait
15. If I Needed Someone (George Harrison)
16. Run for Your Life

Here's an LP that has been placed among the top 10 or 40 or 100 most important records of ‘900 (depending on who compiled the rankings),  becomes even more beautiful.

  Games aside, we are here to reflect on the work of the band, especially on a disk that was a turning point, not only in their careers, but for pop music as a whole.

Even if in fact we realize that these words might be used for each future release of the band, everyone was a swerve and a significant breakthrough. Not to mention the quality.

What is certain is that the lyrics, even before the music and the arrangements, show that Lennon and McCartney are growing, artistically and humanly, they are no longer kids and their need to say different things, encouraged by the musical world surrounding them, can be clearly heard.

So "Norwegian Wood" and "Girl" talk about a love gone wrong, "In My Life" is a wonderful and nostalgic reflection on the past (made by a 25 year old!) and "Nowhere Man" introduces an entirely new type of character, apparently unrelated to their world.

The sound is more mature, choices  are more rational, we start to hear that recording is no longer a way to fix things already existing but to create new, unexpected. So the sitar makes an appearance on "Norwegian Wood" and become a characteristic sound of the '60s and rock and roll that followed them from the beginning is, for the first time, virtually absent.

Not to mention the two wonderful Lennon ballads, "In My Life" and "Girl": the first topped by a superb George Martin solo on piano, played at half speed and then sped up in the mix, the second with an interesting feature: Lennon’s breath (inspiring and inspired) following the line "Oh, Girl" on the chorus is innovative and brave at the same time, could potentially make ridiculous a very intense verse, so it was not.

Only for Laster

The guitar gains more and more space, not that was absent before, but every note is in the right place: although it was written "on commission", "Drive My Car" is perfect from first to last note, Paul’s guitar – it was him, confirmed by George in an interview - plays a solo measured with no flaws, the voices blend in better and better.

"Nowhere Man" features another one of those perfect solos, this applies also for "Michelle", a track on which George’s electric seems to sing more than play; on "Think For Yourself" we actually find a distorted bass, we don’t know whether it is the first in history, but shouldn’t there be many others before!

And what about the riff of "Day Tripper", gone straight into history and honored by the Police on "O My God" on their final album Synchronicity, or the brief Michelle's acoustic introduction performed by Paul and followed by that masterpiece of a song?

Last gem is an Atkins-style part played by Harrison on Ringo ‘s "What Goes On", his fingerpicked Gretsch provides a touch of class to a piece of country flavor.

Compositions are always more sophisticated, there are continuous but never invasive modulations, everything is serving the piece, the two composers were becoming real masters. Harrison himself was always more convincing.

I leave you to the writing of Davide Canazza which will get into the details of all the guitar parts in his "Winston’s Thoughts".

(read the rest on Fingerpicking.net)

Winston's Thoughts

by Davide Canazza

On the back cover of the first Beatles album was clearly written what was the role of each member of the band and what kind of musical instrument each one did play: John on rhythm guitar, George on the lead, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums.

With Rubber Soul cards are mixed and finally the "Fab four" became completely interchangeable, if we consider that even Ringo is credited to play Hammond organ on "I'm looking through you".

This LP is a real turning point, a border between the first and second Beatles period. And I must admit that this is also one of my favorites! Listening this album, the atmosphere you can find is predominantly American, and the soubd is typical of the rhythm and blues! Infact is called Rubber Soul! McCartney himself, in an old interview, had described it as "their tribute to the Motown!".

The arrangements are rich and varied, they used such different instruments that it becomes impossible to reproduce live the most of the songs. In live shows that will follow the Beatles
will perform live only two tracks off this album: "Nowhere Man" and "If I Needed Someone" in addition to the single tracks "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".

In the studio they mainly played Hammond organ (an RT3 with a Leslie amp), harmonium, the Vox Continental Organ, the Hohner Pianet and two acoustic pianos, a Steinway grancoda and a Challen upright.

Meanwhile it ends the hegemony of Vox amplifiers. In the summer of 1965 a '63 blond Fender Bassman arrives at Abbey Road (a head and stack model, better known as piggieback). Initially reserved for Paul, soon it will become Harrison's favorite amp and he will use it with the guitar throughout his career for most of his recordings.

Only for Laster

The record begins with "Drive My Car" guitar intro played by McCartney with his Epiphone Casino. He plays the solo too, played in a mixed style with fingers and slide! George plays the riff in the background with his new Gibson ES345TD, a guitar part inspired by the accompaniment of Otis Redding's "Respect".

Here we can listen a bit of tremolo: we can deduce that he could have used an old AC30, the only amp in the Beatles' gear that has this kind of effect!

Harrison uses the 345 for the solo of "Michelle" and for the electrical parts on "The Word" and "I'm looking through you". On "What Goes On" and "In My Life" George returns instead to his "old" Gretsch Tennessean.

In "Nowhere Man" the guitar solo is played by Harrison and Lennon together with their Stratocaster guitar. The acoustic rhythm guitar is played by John with the capo at the second fret.

On "Think for yourself" there's only the rhythmic guitar - a Strat - played by George, while there are two bass lines: a standard one and one filtered through a Vox Tone Bender fuzz, both of them played by McCartney. The riff is very similar to the White Stripes' one on "Seven Nation Army".

On the other Harrison's composition, "If I Needed Someone," he plays the riff with his new Rickenbacker 360/12 while the rhythm guitar is the Strat played by Lennon.

On "Day Tripper" George plays the riff and the background descending scale in the central bridge with his ES345 while John plays the solo with the Stratocaster. Lennon is also the author of "Day Tripper" riff, even if he is played by his colleague.

(read the rest on Fingerpicking.net)

I Saw The Beatles Live

By Dennis Conroy

I had to tell the lovely Clare Kennedy that I hadn’t seen this group she was talking about while trying to maintain the coolness that my position as lead guitarist in The Premiers warranted.
I urged her to tell me all about them; did they have a lead singer like Elvis or Cliff? Did the play instrumentals like The Shadows? When she answered no to both questions I realised I had to check out this group with the strange name.

It is now almost fifty years since I took my first tentative steps into The Cavern and into the world down in that cellar which was ruled by The Beatles.  I never kept diaries of when or how many times I saw The Beatles, or what they played on specific performances, so all I can give is my memory of random events, songs and happenings that I still hold dear of five guys who changed not only my life in music but my life.

Coming out of the rain in Mathew Street, that much I do remember about my first visit on what was probably a Wednesday lunchtime, into entrance of the Cavern, I was struck by the feeling of expectation.  Even now can I recall that feeling. I was with our bass guitarist, Alan Walton. We made our way down the steep, poorly lit slippery stone stairway to The Cavern and about halfway down, we heard them.

It was a sound, the likes of which I’d never heard before. The brick walls of The Cavern seemed to take hold of the sound of this yet unseen group (we called bands groups in those days) and bounced it around its corners and up the stairway to greet us. I distinctly remember the harsh clanking sound of dry guitars (NO echo chambers) and drums hiding a muffled vocal.

As we waited in line to pay, I think our one shilling and sixpence (about eight pence today) we could hear everything much clearer. I am pretty certain the group we playing, Red Hot (My Girl Is).  Eventually after what seemed an age but was probably only the length of the groups opening number, we set eyes on The Beatles.

As we looked at the stage, to our left stood George with Paul in the centre, John to the right in front of a stand up piano and Pete on the drums behind. Amplifiers were on chairs behind John and George, with Pauls “coffin” bass speaker on the raised drum section. The Beatles flouted the expected dress sense of the day for such performers by wearing a various assortment of shirts, jeans and Cuban heeled boots.

At the time their hair seemed quite long but, looking back at ‘photo’s  of that period they wore their hair quite short in comparison to what it would become.

This image of the four Beatles on stage was, to us secondary to the music that was coming off the stage. Over the two year period I saw The Beatles at The Cavern that music was a mixture of the rockingest rock n roll you could ever imagine, some of the greatest Tamla/Motown tracks ever and songs as diverse as Falling In Love Again, A Taste Of Honey, Henry The Eight as well as  their own compositions, PS I Love You, Love Me Do and The Tip Of My Tongue.

What I took away from that first visit to The Cavern to see The Beatles was a burning desire to change my whole attitude to the music I played and what I wanted out of music in my life. It was a life changing moment.

When Alan and I played our next gig, which was at the Chinese No1 Berry Street Liverpool, the group ties (our group’s “stage clothes”) were left off and our shirt sleeves were rolled up. My echo chamber was only switched on for instrumentals.

Next. What they played, how they played, who the played with, what they said.

Daniele Bazzani