Did John break the Beatles?
Last week I heard "I'll Follow The Sun" on XM.
I loved "Beatles '65". It coincided with seventh grade, bar mitzvah parties and my addiction to skiing.
Actually, I got the album for Hanukkah. Not that I needed a special occasion to acquire it. I would have scraped together the $2.52 from my bookcase to buy the album at Korvette's, you see you NEEDED the Beatle albums, EVERYBODY had them. If you went to somebody's house and they didn't own each and every record, you judged them negatively, they were completely OUT OF IT!
But there were two I ultimately never bought. Until I was in my thirties. Because they just weren't good values.
One was "Something New". Which seemed redundant since I already owned "A Hard Day's Night".
The other was "Beatles VI". I mean I already owned the single of "Eight Days A Week".
But, it turns out that "Beatles VI" has my favorite Beatle song ever, "Every Little Thing".
What a perfect confection. The intro ALONE! Never mind the acoustic guitar, Ringo's steady drumbeat and the bass. But the reason I melt every time I hear it is John Lennon's voice. He's not just singing the words, he feels them, he means them.
You know how it is when your best friend knocks on your door in the middle of night, bursting with the story of meeting a girl? THAT'S what "Every Little Thing" sounds like.
"Every Little Thing" appears on the English equivalent of "Beatles '65", "Beatles For Sale". It's the CD of theirs I play most.
It's got that other gem from "Beatles VI", "What You're Doing", with another heartfelt, no, EMOTIONAL, vocal from John.
And "No Reply" and "I'm A Loser" from "Beatles '65".
We watched John Lennon grow up. It's hard to believe the guy singing for peace only half a decade later could have even WRITTEN "Every Little Thing". But as you grow older you see things, you gain experience, and nothing ages you more quickly than traveling the world in a constantly glaring spotlight.
And all these years later, it's the latter-day John Lennon that is the icon. The guy who revealed his inner pain, and stood up for what he thought was right.
But listen to the early records. It's fascinating. The conundrum. A cynical man who believed in the power of music. You've seen the footage. Even from '64. Lennon was cheeky. Challenging interviewers. He had no patience for ignorance and just by being himself he could piss people off. Hell, remember the controversy he sparked by saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus? Which, in an era when "Time" asked if God was dead on its cover, was true. But this same guy, he could sing directly from his heart. In elation. As an opened wound. There was no filter. It's this John Lennon who hooked us. Who broke the Beatles.
Oh, I don't want to denigrate Paul McCartney's talent. But we didn't BELIEVE in Paul. He was cute, you could fall in love with him, but you didn't think he'd understand you, that you could truly BE him.
Not that I formulated this theory until yesterday.
I was on the floor in Felice's house, doing my back exercises, and "Please Please Me" came over XM's Sixties on 6 being broadcast via her iMac.
Oh, I know every nuance, but it was never one of my favorites. Then I heard "Come on"... There's this way John sang gutturally. From deep down inside himself. An honest wink to the audience's heart. On the surface it was just a pop song. But in reality, it was much more. It was another human being TESTIFYING!
Then again, "Please Please Me" wasn't the first American hit. That was "I Want To Hold Your Hand". Then I thought of the exact same part. An element of that song that ENRAPTURED US! That made us true believers. It's the bridge...
"And when I touch you I feel happy insideIt's such a feeling that my love I CAN'T HIDE, I CAN'T HIDE, I CAN'T HIDE!"
Actually, my ten year old sensibility filtered through the speaker in the dash of my mother's Falcon told me the lyric was "I get HIVES!", but it didn't make a difference. Frankie Valli was singing with power, but this guy MEANT IT in a way that nobody else on the radio did.
By time John goes back into the verse, we're sold, we're on the bus. It's like the coolest guy you've ever known has opened up his heart and invited you to be a member of his club. I'd say why the fuck not, but the truth is this sound, the way he sang "I can't hide", the same way he sang "Come on", which we heard AFTER, it was IRRESISTIBLE!
Subscribe to Feed
