The Big
Four: The Beatles
Photo: Robert Freeman
Article by Matthew Anthony Allair
There’s a good argument, that is yearly made, that the Beatles remain
the most relevant band out there, just about everything that came out since
their end in 1970 as far as bands and solo acts, are just variations on the
ground they broke. It’s almost impossible to ignore their work, even with acts
that don’t cite them as an influence, there’s often some musical element that
can be traced back to them. I would argue that every period of the band is
important. Their evolution from 1963 until late 1965 is startling, to compare,
only a few bands saw as much growth as the Beatles. They were blessed with
several miracles, first, there is the fact four that super talented men
happened to converge from Liverpool near the end of the 50s. Most musicians
have a difficult time finding other musicians they are in sync with, forming
bands that gel is not an easy task.
The other miracle is that they found a manager with Brian Epstein who
was so well intended, and protective, the rock scene is littered with less than
honest managers who don’t protect their artists. For example, let’s compare The
Beach Boys to the Beatles. The Beach Boys and the Wilson brothers were saddled
with a tyrant of a manager and father with Murry Wilson, who also acted as
their Producer until Brian Wilson took over. The Beach Boys were also plagued
with a record label, Capitol, that were content to just have them follow the
formula that was set up in 1963. Brian had to fight to evolve the music and it
wore him down. The Beatles were blessed with Producer George Martin, that while
he may have been strict in the beginning around 1962, Martin recognized their
growth early on and didn’t inhibit them, and became a creative partner. Thus,
allowing them to expand and redefine the decade. It also helped that Brian
Epstein accepted their decision to stop touring and just record after 1966. He
very easily could have insisted, as much as the decision was detrimental to
him, Brian gave The Beatles the space to create. We have already covered Revolver and Magical Mystery Tour here.
Much of
the early work from 1963 till 1965 had magical moments, they had massive hits,
but it is the work from 1966 onward that is now seen as important. The UK Help
album showed real growth with “Ticket To Ride,” the flutes on “You’ve Got To
Hide Your Love Away”, and the string section on “Yesterday”, or “Help!, The
Night Before, You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” or “I’ve Just Seen A Face”. All
of which hinted at what was about to unfold in the second half of 1965. As they
started to meet their contract obligations with the first two films, and their
touring schedule, they had the clout to grow. If The Beatles had been an
American band and on Capitol Records, they probably wouldn’t been allowed to develop
in the fashion they did. With Parlophone, they could do anything and the next
few years would prove that.
Photo: Robert Freeman
Rubber Soul (1965)
Rubber
Soul is often described as the ‘wood and smoke’ album, it may not have featured
outside musicians, but with the advent of the sitar, or Martin’s use of a
slowed down and speed up piano, giving at least one track an Elizabethan harpsicord
feel, or the much more present use of acoustic guitars, electric, and more
exotic instruments, the album was the fusion between rock, folk rock, soul,
baroque, and proto-psychedelia. The Beatles served notice that the full album
as art had arrived. The influence of Bob Dylan was already self-evident on the Help!
album, but it’s even more so here. While the instrumentation isn’t all that
different on Rubber Soul, it feels different. There’s an added complexity on
various numbers to be found here, argumentatively, there’s only two weak
numbers on the album, but there’s a vitality to the rest of the material that
one can’t ignore. One should note the singles recorded during the sessions,
John’s riff rock on “Day Tripper”, and Paul and John’s folk optimism of “We Can
Work It Out”, both hinted at what was on the way.
On one level, the opening number “Drive My Car”, which was a big hit for
them, feels like a typical electric number, but there’s notable shifts.
George’s twang guitar would be imitated by countless players at the end of 65
and through 66, the interplay between John’s single line guitar and Paul’s
piano reveals an added growth. As well as playfulness with Ringo’s drumming and
tambourine. John’s “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” shows incredible
development with John’s acoustic guitar, and George’s first dalliance with the
Sitar, an instrument that had been used as source material in western music,
Lyrically, John’s narrative about a dalliance with a woman. Paul brings in the
soul and RNB with “You Won’t See Me”, a piano anchors the number along with
counter point melodies, another one of his songs about Jane Asher. John’s
“Nowhere Man” is another marvel, and another hit. One should not ignore that
the Beatles were not using standard chord voicings on the album, but
inversions, therefore there’s an added depth and complexity here. The three-part
harmonies enhance John’s lyric, and George’s bright lead guitar lines give it
an extra shimmer. George’s “Think For Yourself” show’s more hints of growth,
aside from Paul’s standard bass playing, there’s his added fuzz bass, which
gives this a slight edge. More piano drives John and Paul’s “The Word”, a
clever slogan for more than romantic love, the added harmonium is a nice touch.
Paul’s “Michelle” has become iconic, the background vocals give The Beach Boys
a run for their money, George’s tasteful jazz tone guitar solo seems so apt.
The second half opener, the country flavored “What Goes On” is a
showcase for Ringo, and some country shuffles from Ringo, and George is allowed
bring out his rockabilly fills, but probably the weaker number on the album. John’s
“Girl” feels like a Russian folk tune or dirge with some vivid lyrical content
and a dose of John’s philosophical edge. John had a history of depression
filled moments. Paul’s “I’m Looking Through You” is probably one of his most
scathing numbers, one is hit with that lead guitar and organ accent, the sad
realization when a person you know had been hiding who they are, another Jane
related number. John’s “In My Life” has become one of his most enduring numbers,
even George covered it on his 1974 Dark Horse tour. George Martin’s speed up
piano managed a harpsicord quality, and Bach sensibility. John’s “Wait” manages
some volume guitar from George, more a true co-written number with Paul’s
bridge and vocal. Probably one of Harrison’s first great numbers “If I Needed
Someone” and his 12-string work had a huge impact on countless players, The
Byrd’s would lean into that sound, decades later you could still hear the
stylistic influence, for example, on Queen’s “Long Away”. John’s “Run For Your
Life” is probably the weakest number, despite its blue’s country feel attempts.
Years later. John admittedly dismissed the number. Nevertheless, 12 of the
numbers are real gems, and many took on an iconic status.
Cover: Peter Blake
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Yes, I
admit, Sgt. Pepper isn’t my favorite album of theirs, that honor goes
towards Revolver and one other title in this article. But Sgt. Pepper
is a significant album, and a real game changer for them. For those paying
attention to the importance of Revolver, there were clues that they were
developing, and this album in some ways felt inevitable. It broke ground in
many ways, the arrangements, the production, the use of the gatefold and
printed lyrics, and the added inserts. It wasn’t really a concept album, but
thematically, it pulled the audience in as though you are at a public square or
Galizio, and you were being presented with a musical fantasy, just ignore the psychedelic
embellishes, and you get an entertaining diversion that is brought back to
reality with the final number. The album is awash with Pianos, Organs,
Harmoniums, mellotrons, a swarmandel, sitars, various percussion, tape loops, and
their guitars.
It also feels futile to describe these iconic numbers, so I will offer
the highlights. The band had already used audio source material before with Revolver,
but the clever crowd sounds set the tone, the trio of acid guitars of “Sgt.
Pepper Lonely Heart’s Club Band”, and punch of Ringo’s drums state what the
listener will hear. Ringo’s showcase on “With A Little Help From My Friends”,
is one of the rare Lennon / McCartney collaborations, something we’d see less
of. John’s surreal fable on “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was simply inspired
by a child’s drawing, and Lewis Carol. Paul with John’s “Getting Better” has an
optimistic yet dark edge to it. Paul’s “Fixing A Hole” feels like an appeal to
focus less on trivial people, and what matter’s. George Martin was too busy to
work on it, so Paul had someone else work on the strings for “She’s Leaving
Home”, a number where John has a sympathetic read. John’s “For The Benefit Of
Mr. Kite” has a carnival or fairgrounds feel, and some incredible tape loops
from Martin and engineer Emerick.
With side two’s opener, George wasn’t about to let himself be outdone,
so he brought in the exotic philosophy of “Within You, Without You”, a piece
that has grown with stature over time, his second number with Indian
instrumentation. Paul’s “When I’m Sixty-Four” was an old number he dusted off,
the music hall, or vaudeville quality of the number, it offers a fresh contrast
to the rest of the material. “Lovely Rita” is probably one of the slighter Paul
numbers, but George Martin’s piano solo with that unusual delay gives it an
orchestral quality. John’s “Good Morning Good Morning” is the other slight
number, but the overdriven horn section gives it an extra bite, and that fuzz
guitar lead has a vibrancy to it. The animal segway is enormously clever. The
“Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)” leans into a greater edge with the guitar work, the
number gently guides the audience back into real life. The masterful “A Day In
The Life” is the ‘reality song’, this is after you have exited the movie
theatre, or leave the circus tent, or fairgrounds, and are back in the parking
lot and facing the daily grind again, hence why ‘Day’ is the ‘reality’ number,
and leave it to John to bring some grounding to the proceedings. Few had heard
experimental orchestrations like it on a commercial record, but I think
everyone knew we had reached the Rubicon due to the album – nothing would be
the same again in pop or rock music.
Design: Richard Hamilton
The
Beatles (White Album)
(1968)
The second half of 1967 was taken up with the Magical Mystery Tour
TV film and the album / EP, but the Beatles seem to have intuitively known they
had to get back to basics. Of course a big part of this album’s origin was the
Rishikesh, India sojourn to see the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s meditation ‘guide
course’, but only half the band stayed for two months, nevertheless, the outing
was highly productive, much of the material on their eponymous album was
written there and then demoed at Harrison’s home in Esher. They were so
productive that other material would be used for Abbey Road, a little for Let
It Be, and even a few songs would appear on McCartney’s and Lennon’s early solo
albums. Released as a double album, The Beatles might be their most audacious
release and my second favorite album, the album just about encompassed every
style of music imaginable, short of funk music that is, but there’s a lot to
digest with the album. This is the closet to the Beatles producing themselves,
with George Martin coming and going through the process. This was the first
time that future producer Chris Thomas was given a notable role during the
sessions.
The first clues about the album were Paul’s iconic “Hey Jude” and John’s
proto metal with the “Revolution” single. There was also Paul’s “Lady Madonna”
and George’s Bi side last Indian flavored, as singles. “The Inner Light”. The
band decided to strip things down after all of the ornamentation of the prior year’s
psychedelic experimentation. But the white album is a fascinating work, I admit
uneven, not all of it works, but the highlights outweigh the drawbacks. The
minimalist album design was another clue this was less elaborate. Nevertheless,
there are still psychedelic elements within. After the audio effects, Paul’s
“Back In The U.S.S.R.” is a kind of humorous nod to the Beach Boys, and offers
a clever twist. John’s “Dear Prudence” is a Travis picked wonder, a haunting
number that build’s in dynamics. John’s “Glass Onion” is another word play nod
to recent songs, he was already spoofing the over analysis of the band’s
lyrics. Paul’s “Ob La Di, Ob La Da” is a playful, fantasy narrative of a Caribbean
life. Paul’s other throwaway is the acoustic “Wild Honey Pie”, a Spanish
flamingo leads into John’s “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” features a
few mellotrons, and a big crowd chorus, including the first cameo of Yoko Ono,
a satire about animal hunting. Then there’s the iconic “While My Guitar Gently
Weeps” by George, with a little help from Eric Clapton’s electric lead, John
plays organ, and Paul gallops on Piano. The first side is all rounded up with
John’s “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”, one of his more adventurous numbers with four
sections and a good dose of his whit.
Paul’s “Martha My Dear” opens side two, one of his most dexterous piano
pieces with Martin’s sympathetic scores. John’s “I’m So Tired” and it’s langued
pace matches the lyrics, even John’s random numbles ease into the next number.
Paul’s “Blackbird”, an acoustic, baroque ballad has a lingering power after the
decades. George’s satirical “Piggies” is a clever comment on class warfare.
Paul’s “Rocky Raccoon” is a western parody with some nice old saloon tack piano,
all of which segways into the Ringo original “Don’t Pass Me By”, a country
number and it is fitting that Ringo would write it, considering his affinity
for that genre, he would release a country album at the start of his solo
career. Paul’s “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” was just about a one man show,
John was later disappointed he wasn’t involved. Paul follows it with his lovely
ballad “I Will”, a bossa nova where John and Ringo helped with percussion. The
side two closer, John’s “Julia” is a wonder, another intricate acoustic guitar
piece from him, that is a touching tribute to his mother.
Side three
opens with Paul bringing back the whole band for “Birthday”, one of the more
rousing rocker’s in the set. John’s full band number, “Yer Blues” is a satire
on the genre, and while Clapton does not play on it, the lead work does capture
the feel of Clapton, hence why people were confused over if Eric was involved. Paul’s
“Mother Nature’s Son” is another touch acoustic number with tasteful horns
arranged my Martin. John’s “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except for Me and
My Monkey” is one of the more unabashed rockers on the album with an abrasive
tone and manic vocals from John, the track was slightly speed up in the final
mix. John’s sardonic “Sexy Sadie” was a satirical
dig at the Maharishi, where the guitars have a strange quality to them. Paul
was able to match John’s energy with the heavy “Helter Skelter”, a rocker about
a British playground spiral slide, where manages to capture the hyperkinetic
joy of childhood. George’s “Long Long Long” is a hymn to God, with an eerie
organ, manages to close out the side.
Side four
is probably the most problematic. The energy of the album flags at this point.
John’s “Revolution” is great, and I prefer the ‘soulful album version’ to the
faster single release. After “Wild”, Paul’s “Honey Pie” is significantly better
number, another music hall, vaudeville number with a nice little jazz guitar
solo from John. Of the four Harrison number’s, “Savoy Truffle” is probably the
weakest, but a fun number, with some meaty, and distorted horns. George’s lead
and the horns have a nice interplay. John’s “Cry Baby Cry” is a folk flavored
number with nice dynamics between the piano, harmonium and organ, John’s vocal
has a relaxed, soulful quality to it. Paul’s “Can You Take Me Back” leads into
the infamous “Revolution 9” a musique concrete piece that manages to have some
brief interesting musical ideas within the strangeness and humor, and manages
to still be a stronger result than John and Yoko’s three other experimental
records at the end of the sixties. John’s “Good Night” with a lead vocal by
Ringo and a lush orchestration and choir from Martin, is a welcome balance to
the side and to close out the album.
There was
a lot of tension during the making of the album, in spite of the many full band
performances, often they would work in pairs on various numbers, or work solo.
They were simply growing up and apart, but the public didn’t know that. Still
The Beatles album is a high watermark of their catalogue.
Photo: Iain Macmillian
Abbey Road (1969)
The last half of 1968 saw the release of the animated Yellow
Submarine film and album that would soon be released in early 69. Paul
tried to unify the band to play as an actual band again, the Get Back film,
which would later be retitled Let It Be in 1970, was an attempt to film
them rehearsing with the plan to do a live concert at a special event. Their
productivity through January of 1969, from the rehearsal to session recordings,
but the project was shelved by the start of February, Two non-album singles
were released, Paul’s “Get Back”, which would appear on the 1970 album, and
John’s “Don’t Let Me Down”. There’s was George’s “Old Brown Shoe”, a great
number with a vibrant guitar solo that was released as a double A side, and
John’s “The Ballad Of John & Yoko”, which would feature John and Paul
playing everything when the lads were away. The album that would become Abbey
Road was something of a compromise, but with George Martin having a more
predominant role, engineer Geoff Emerick would have an important role, and
would deliver a sonically impressive, and a young Alan Parsons, whom would be a
major force through the seventies, was the assistant engineer.
A number of material from the 68 India sojourn would be featured on the
album, much of it had been rehearsed during the Get Back project, Paul talked
John and George to be more fully involved, this would be to George’s great
benefit as he would deliver the best songs and his two iconic singles. Even
Ringo would write a song that would be a future single. There’s a feeling and
Paul and John finally appreciated the value of George and Ringo enough to give
them a fair shake. Aside from Martin’s musical keyboard contributions, Billy
Preston acted as nearly a fifth Beatle with his Organ work. John’s “Come
Together” which began as another non-sense words type of piece was helped by
Paul’s swampy bass, and the harmonized guitars. George’s “Something” is masterful,
with great playing from Paul and Preston’s organ. George’s guitar solo channels
a trace of Clapton’s melody, yet it is his own. Paul’s “Maxwell’s Silver
Hammer” has a musical hall quality, some dark humor, and odd feel. Paul’s nod
to blues “Oh Darling” features one of his best vocals and has taken on a
certain stature over the years. Ringo’s “Octopus’s Garden” had a little help
from George, has remained one of their more endearing songs and fitting was it would
be another country number. John’s “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” remains groundbreaking, a cross between a proto metal number, and a lounge blues jazz number,
its white noise build up near the end, and the abrupt edit is jarring at first
listen but highly effective.
George opens the second half with his iconic other number, “Here Comes
The Sun”, the instrumentation is so perfectly balanced between George’s
intricate guitar, Martin’s orchestration and tasteful keyboard flourishes George
reached his first peak – but it wouldn’t be the last. The reverse Beethoven of
John’s “Because” would the last time anyone would see their complex three part
harmony, which was done with multiple passes. ‘The medley’ as it would become known
began with Paul’s “You Never Give Me Your Money” was the first hint to the
public that this was the end, but it also featured the acknowledgement of great
freedom looming. John’s “Sun King” was inspired by the feel of Fleetwood Mac’s
“Albatross”. John’s “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam” were more numbers
from India. “Mustard” represented John’s musical hall take, and “Pam” was a nod
to his early Rock N Roll influence. Paul’s “She Came In Through The Bathroom
Window” would be one of his more durable numbers and covered by other, and
dress up here with a rockabilly feel. There’s a brief reprieve before the
remainder of the Medley finished it out. With’s Paul’s final trio, “Golden
Slumber’s, Carry That Weight” – based on a 17th Century poem - and
“The End”, where Paul manages a great vocal out of “Slumbers”, and “Weight” manages to tie
back “You Never Give Me”, the dynamism of “The End” is nearly legendary.
There’s an exuberance to Ringo’s drum solo, and the dueling guitars between
Paul, George and John., and the band’s closing statement, which Paul described
as a ‘couplet’, summed up the spirit of the band - the love they made was
indeed equal to what the public took from them. The Beatles even managed a
‘bonus track’ before anyone thought of it with Paul’s “Her Majesty”.
Ultimately,
Abbey Road was a master class in song writing, arranging, performance and
recording, The Beatles had said everything they needed to say, there would be
one more posthumous album, but this was their final goodbye, and they just
about went out with a bang.
Post Beatles, most bands would try to emulate what they did, but nearly
all of them just couldn’t match it. There was an magical chemistry as players
by them that others just couldn’t define. Many people have tried to sound the
notes without playing the music. In the end, the Beatles were not overhyped but
represented the best of the sixties.
