After an unintended, Hurricane-induced hiatus, we're back in action! And what better way to get the party started back up than by talking about... "Good Night" ? The Ringo-sung, John-penned closer to the White Album has always been somewhat of a polarizing song in the Beatles' cannon. Some love it, some loathe it. Yet, like so many moments in the band's catalog, there's so much more at play here. Where else could a song this saccharine fit than after the audio soundtrack of a revolution? Who els...
Oct 12, 2021•1 hr 52 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The Beatles needed a song for George Harrison to sing in their first film, A Hard Day’s Night . After producing his first self-composed song on the band’s previous album, the still-emerging writer didn’t have one of his own yet to offer up, so John and Paul wrote the uptempo “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You.” A many-chorded, clanging rocker with an incredibly propulsive rhythm guitar part, the song presents an interesting side of the band that’s even less threatening to parents and teenage girl...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 3Ep. 5
After 3 albums where he comes off as the alpha male/leader of the gang, John Lennon seems to be dealing with a crisis of confidence on the band’s fourth album, Beatles For Sale. For the first time, his self-penned songs seem to fully embrace his emotions in a way they hadn’t previously. The self-consciousness on display in “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” shows a guy who, while we may have seen him as the life of the party, maybe has been hiding his own fears behind the loud, confident, cocky p...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 4
It's easy to overlook a song like " Another Girl, " as it sits on an album ( Help! ) with multiple major Beatles classics, and is featured in a film (also Help! )that's usually given the short straw when discussing the Fabs celluloid catalog. However, for something tossed off on a holiday, then captured basically in one take, it's a really fun, breezy pop rock tune. Musically (and visually in the film), it's essentially the blueprint for what The Monkees would come out with: an easy-bop-along po...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Season 3Ep. 3
This 1963 album Please Please Me album track is a great example of the Beatles understanding the value in digging through record store racks for songs other bands weren't playing. "Chains," a Goffin/King song gave G eorge Harrison a vocal spotlight on the Beatles' debut album, and a place for their impeccable three part harmonies to have a home. There's a great innocence to this track, as the band's love of R&B and girl groups shines through on this song. Maybe it's a lightweight track, but ...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 2
This 1963 John song often gets overlooked these days as album filler. However, this With The Beatles track can be seen as one of the songs responsible for writers and critics viewing The Beatles as actual artists. In a 1963 article, critic William Mann called John and Paul the greatest British songwriters of the year, but also heaped praise upon the band's "lugubrious" music and "pandiatonic clusters, and "the Aeolian cadence of ' Not A Second Time.' " John viewed this as nonsense, but the resul...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Happy 1 year birthday to us! Thanks to everyone who's joined us on this ride so far! We're releasing this episode 1 year + a day on from our first episode, and we couldn't be more chuffed to have made it this far. We're so glad you're all here with us! Paul's made no bones about his admiration for the music of his parents' generation, the music hall numbers his family loved that must've filled the Macca home, either on record or when dad Jim played during family gatherings. He claimed to have wr...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 23
After having his mind perm-blown by acid in the spring of 65, George's songwriting changed its' trajectory, both in quality (upwards) and in subject matter. Gone were the boy/girl-romance songs, and in came a more thoughtful, world-weary young man, the same almost dour man we met just 2 years earlier holding the pen for "Don't Bother Me." With Rubber Soul 's "Think For Yourself," George seems to be delivering a memo of caution regarding the peril of being stuck in traditional ways of living and ...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 22
It's our 50th Episode! Thanks to everyone who's been along for the ride so far. We're so glad you're here! On to this week! Paul McCartney sometimes is (unfairly) criticized for not bearing himself in his songs in the more upfront ways John often did. While he usually wraps his emotions in bigger stories and concepts, there have been times he's been extremely candid about his life in song. Late 65-66 saw him bearing his thoughts on the struggles of his relationship with Jane Asher in a handful o...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Though the Beatles recorded an annual holiday record for their fan club, it took them until 1967 to finally put an actual real Christmas song on one of them. The very last thing the Beatles recorded together in 1967, "Christmastime Is Here Again" is almost a mantra, a repetitive sing-a-long, filled with all the fun and personality you'd want from the Fab Four, capturing a festive holiday spirit while avoiding virtually any cliche or normal hint of traditional Christmas music. It's interesting th...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 2Ep. 20
The Beatles 3rd single, and their first bonafide #1 hit, is a sub-2 minute blast of all the early hallmarks of early Beatlemania: John & Paul singing together, a super catchy hook, and chord progressions more complex than just about any of their peers were pulling off. And of course, a mop-shaking "wooooo!" The band always viewed this song as a major leap in their songwriting ability and quality, and in learning how to add in complex changes and arrangements, an early and encouraging signal ...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 19
A quintessential Paul McCartney track, "The Fool On The Hill" lands in a dreamy haze on Magical Mystery Tour, the tale of someone who lives with their head in the cloud, not a care in the word, inspire of the worries of those who think they're....a fool. Is the song about the Maharishi? About John? Paul himself? Or maybe all of us? Paul's never quite owned up to the truth on it, but it doesn't detract from the fact that this is a beautiful song. But what DOES detract is the peculiar choice of a ...
May 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Written at the end of 1967 and finding a home later the following year on the back end of the White Album , "Cry Baby Cry" serves as several different significant markers. It's John's last real psychedelic track, marking the end of his acid-haze word play and the start of writing as reporting on real life. It's the last track engineer Geoff Emerick works on with the band, quitting mid-session due to ongoing tensions. And it's also the start of what Jonathan refers to as "the creepiest 11 and a h...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 38 min•Season 2Ep. 17
As one of several songs Paul wrote at the end of 1965 during a rough patch with Jane Asher, "You Won't See Me" provides a glimpse into the real-life on-goings of Paul McCartney, something listeners only ever get careful, glancing views of. With this piano-driven, Motown influenced track, buoyed by an incredibly strong vocal, the lads create something that sounds fresh even today. Recorded on the last day of Rubber Soul sessions, the song showcases a Paul who's hurt, a bit angry and salty, but al...
Apr 27, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 16
The affection The Beatles had for Carl Perkins' music is no secret. "Matchbox" was a longtime part of the band's early live show, first sung by John, then by Pete Best, then again by John. Starting in '63, Ringo took it over for a few BBC sessions, then in studio in June of '64, with Perkins himself hanging in the studio with them. Their cover is a swinging, sloppy, rollicking fun mess. Ringo fumbles lyrics and melodies all over the place, but, in Jonathan's opinion, it's a fun, fast tune showin...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 15
The second track on the band's debut LP, "Misery" was actually the first time John and Paul wrote a song with the intent of shopping it to another artist, Helen Shapiro. When she passed on the song, it gained a spot on the Please Please Me album, being one of the only really "new" songs put to tape on the album, most everything else being songs that had long been in their live set. Compared to a lot of the rest of the album, the song sounds quite grown-up production-wise, even if the lyric is ki...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Leave it to Paul and the lads to come up with a classic song from conception to mix in just under 12 hours. That's the story of "Birthday," the storming rocker that kicks off side 2 of The White Album . Inspired by the rock and roll of their youth, courtesy of the 1957 rock film "The Girl Can't Help It," the Beatles put together an absolute barn burner of a rock tune, and captured a track that shows just how great a rock and roll band they could still be, at a time when working individually was ...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Written in Feb 1963 just after their marathon recording session for the Please Please Me album, "Thank You Girl" started it’s life as the Beatles’ attempt at their next single, another early example of tunes John and Paul wrote together sitting eye-to-eye. By the time they hit studio to record it, it'd become the b-side of "From Me To You," but it found a home in their live set for a little while and on some BBC sessions. It's a track that finds the band continuing to learn who they are and what...
Mar 30, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 12
The morning of Oct 8, 1964, Paul came up with a song idea he was so excited about, he had the band work on it at their recording session that day. He saw it as a Little Richard-esque r&b rock tune, something they hadn't been able to write yet. The track, "She's A Woman," became the b-side for "I Feel Fine," but the band must've had a soft spot for it. It became a staple of their live show from the time of release until their final live tour date at Candlestick Park in 1966. It's certainly go...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Sometimes, all it takes to write a signature song is...quitting your band. During a sabbatical from the tense White Album sessions of 1968, a trip on Peter Sellers' boat gave Ringo the inspiration for "Octopus's Garden." With a little help from his friends, George in particular, he was able to put together something that's incredibly charming and fun, and the last example of the band all pulling together to support their beloved drummer; it's a stellar performance all around, and a sonic gem, al...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 10
One of the most divisive tracks in the Beatles' catalog is another classic example of Paul McCartney being able to invent stories out of thin air, wrap them in insanely catchy melodies and arrangement, and somehow draw the ire of all of his band mates, and like, 50% of the general population. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" gets a bad rap...if his bandmates hadn't literally trashed it in the press upon release (and on through the 2010s), or had it been recorded a couple of years earlier, would it be a...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 46 min•Season 2Ep. 9
You can really chart the band's early growth with all the different versions of this Carl Perkins' tune. "Honey Don't" appeared in the band's live set in 1962, and found a home on the Beatles for Sale album. It made multiple appearances over the years on BBC sessions, and each time, it's done a bit different. The band's growth from rough and ready, garage rock band to seasoned, attentive recording artists can be tracked over these versions. And while Jonathan may find that interesting, Julia isn...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In early 1968, the Beatles journeyed to Rishikesh to seek the fulfillment they realized they weren't finding in fame, drugs, money, and success. While the results of the trip on the group are debatable, there's no denying it provided them with tremendous inspiration for songs. One fellow student, and his mother, provided the inspiration for this Saturday morning cartoon adventure, "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." The song joins "Rocky Raccoon" and "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" in the category of s...
Feb 23, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Even though the Fabs had shown some affinity for country, it's on the White Album where they dive headfirst. Paul's turn at spinning a country story comes via "Rocky Raccoon," one of the numerous songs written by the band in India early in 1968. Leaning on a cheeky, twangy vocal, the tale of Rocky, Dan, and Lil has a bit of everything: a love triangle, a shootout, a drunk doctor who doesn't appear to actually help Rocky with his gunshot wound. Thankfully, he finds a Bible in his room and then......
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Season 2Ep. 7
As the opening track on Rubber Soul , "Drive My Car" represents the line in the sand in which The Beatles shake off their beat-group roots, and firmly enter a smokey, hazy world, influenced by the world they've conquered and toured, and made in their image. Their continuing love of R&B manifests itself in the bass driven tune, propelling a story of a would-be star persuading the narrator to be her "chauffeur" (nudge nudge wink wink say no more) before she even has a car. A great example of a...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 55 min•Season 2Ep. 6
To finish the break-neck recording sessions for Rubber Soul , the band dug back into the archives for the song "Wait," originally recorded and shelved during the Help! album soundtrack. A new overdubs, and voila! A fine album track, it's a great performance from all parties, but it also has a hint of the beat-group that the band had outgrown by this album, so it's got an interesting vibe of being a Help song in a Rubber Soul costume. One wonders if late 65 Beatles would've recorded this in the s...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 2Ep. 5
This week's song is an "all-Paul" track (writing-wise, at least John says it is) that found a home on the Help! film and soundtrack. On celluloid, the boys craft "The Night Before" in a field, surrounded by tanks and assailed by wind. In real life, they knocked it out in 2 takes in Abbey Road in February of 65, the track marking the first time we hear Lennon on keys, and a key part that drives the entire song. It's a fun, upbeat song that gives Paul a place to shine in the film, while the latin-...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 4
There's an old joke...What was the last thing the drummer said before getting fired? "I've written a song..." Ringo first brought "Don't Pass Me By" to the Beatles when he joined the band in 1962. Not until the free-for-all spirit of The White Album in 1968 did the band agree to take up his jolly country tune, and when we say the band, we mean just Paul. Dueling sources place both Beatles behind the drum kit, strangely, and we're frankly not sure who it is because while it's messy enough to be P...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 2Ep. 3
The Beatles kicked off sessions for Rubber Soul with a song John wrote based off a lyric lifted from an Elvis song. It's an interesting case that on a record where they tap into the idea that "the word is 'Love'" but close that record out with "Run For Your Life," perhaps the most aggressive and threatening song Lennon ever wrote. The lyrical content being at odds with all things "fab," it's a shame that a band so known for bringing joy and happiness never took the time to second guess what they...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 2Ep. 2
John & Paul often talk about some songs as being "work songs"....tunes they knocked out for other artists, or George and Ringo, or tracks to fill out the album. They often referred to #188, "Little Child," as one of those songs. It's a fairly simple, uptempo rocker intended for Ringo's vocal spotlight on With The Beatles , though John eventually handles the vocal on it. Simple as it may be, it's part of a period where the band starts realizing they're not beholden to the standard pop song ar...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Season 2Ep. 1
