Going through a huge Beatles re-visit. Been at it for the past few weeks. Genius. Listening to their entire catalogue – really doing my head in. What’s surprised me so far, is I’m not gravitating to a favourite era. Loving the early & later material with the same intensity – though they were so different. It’s a strange thing to go back & listen with ‘fresh ears’ to a band whose songs I’ve been playing all my life. It feels like discovering them for the first time (hairs standing up, lump in my throat, waking with their songs in my head). Totally loving it. Here’s something from very early on…
Fires out.
December 2nd, 2013 on 8:12 pm
I’ve been doing the same thing recently. It’s amazing how songs and whole albums recorded nearly 50 years ago still stand up today.
And what a great rock voice Paul had! These days he’s thought of as a bit of a sentimental ballad bloke but back in the day he was much more of a rocker than even John!
December 3rd, 2013 on 3:55 pm
I agree about Paul’s voice Mat. There are songs where he lets loose and it’s spine-tingling. Growing up in the Wings era – he was kind of a quirky pop guy, familiar & nice-voiced (eg. songs like Coming Up, Band On The Run, With A Little Luck).
Tricky question for you. If you absolutely had to, which Beatles album would you pick as your favourite?
December 3rd, 2013 on 9:12 pm
Easy – Abbey Road.
It’s a great final album showcasing the strengths of the fab foursome and their range from kid pleasing singalongs (Octopus’s Garden, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer) to classic rockers (Come Together, Oh Darling), a weird trip of song fragments that work together beautifully (Mean Mr Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window), one of the most beautiful ballads ever written (Something) and a perfect finale to the Beatles era itself (The End).
And don’t knock Wings – they knew how to rock.
Check this out: http://youtu.be/JzL7DcEFFC0
December 5th, 2013 on 6:57 am
Abby Road certainly stuck out straight away. Pretty amazing that the first 7 or 8 songs in a row were all hits. I’ve been pounding the first 4 or 5 albums over the past week. When I jumped in a few weeks ago, I went right through, start to finish. It actually had an emotional effect doing it that way. Felt really edgy & agitated for a couple of days. Like too much information way too quickly.
I’ll have a re-visit of the Wings era as soon as I can get my head together. They did do some great stuff. Not knocking them – those ‘quirky’ songs I remembered pretty fondly.