They got it covered

Need a fix of recent Beatles/solo-Fab covers?

- Here's Arctic Monkeys' take on "All My Loving." It's a slowed down, less anxious version. Only several steps removed from a Roy Orbison-style torch song (though not so hopeless, and with a fuzzy-squeal solo lodged in the middle). The Monkeys played this cover at MSG almost 50 years to the day after The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.

- Here's the War on Drugs, an indie rock act from Philadelphia, revealing something that perhaps should've been obvious long ago: John's "Mind Games" was always a jammy Southern-rock anthem waiting to happen.

- Finally, here's Broken Bells (that is, the duo of Danger Mouse and Shins leadman/professional Kevin Spacey-lookalike, James Mercer) with a starry electro-pop revamp of "And I Love Her." Kudos for the clever "guest spot" by Ringo and the expertly placed sample of "I Am the Walrus." In my view, this is a perfect Beatles cover: an homage that artfully tinkers with the original but retains the core intentions and core emotions.

"With The Beatles" ...

... in haiku form.

1) "It Won't Be Long"
2) "All I've Got to Do"
3) "All My Loving"
4) "Don't Bother Me"
5) "Little Child"
6) "Till There Was You"
7) "Please Mister Postman"
8) "Roll Over Beethoven"
9) "Hold Me Tight"
10) "You Really Got a Hold on Me"
11) "I Wanna Be Your Man"
12) "Devil in Her Heart"
13) "Not a Second Time"
14) "Money (That's What I Want)"

Tuesday haiku - "Money (That's What I Want)"

As with "Twist and Shout",
this Motown cover draws life
from John's robust voice.

Monday haiku - "Not a Second Time"

Jilted once before,
John won't let this girl woo him -
"Not a second time".

Sunday haiku - "Devil in Her Heart"

On this light cover,
George blinds himself to the truth:
his girl is no good.

Saturday haiku - "I Wanna Be Your Man"

A bouncy come-on,
"Man" quickly became a hit...
for the Rolling Stones.

Friday haiku - "You Really Got a Hold on Me"

By the Miracles,
"Hold" puts John in his dream role:
a Motown crooner.

Thursday haiku - "Hold Me Tight"

Paul sings about sex -
"Making love to only you" -
which was rare for him.

Wednesday haiku - "Roll Over Beethoven"

A Chuck Berry hit
and a Beatles favorite,
"Roll" pairs the acts well.

Tuesday haiku - "Please Mister Postman"

On With The Beatles,
there are three Motown covers,
starting with "Postman".

Monday haiku - "Till There Was You"

A schmaltzy ballad
borrowed from The Music Man,
"Till" appealed to Paul.

Sunday haiku - "Little Child"

It's a rowdy tune
driven by John's mouth organ
and Paul's piano.

Saturday haiku - "Don't Bother Me"

The first song George wrote,
"Bother" has a peevish tone
that feels out of place.

Thursday haiku - "All My Loving"

A tuneful pop gem,
"Loving" conveys Paul's sweet charm:
"I'll always be true".

Wednesday haiku - "All I've Got to Do"

The muse behind "All":
Motown's Smokey Robinson,
whom John idolized.

Tuesday haiku - "It Won't Be Long"

Through their cries of "yeah" -
an early band signature -
the Fabs cast a spell.

"the sooner, the better!"

In a post from last week, I called attention to John's lack of confidence in his own voice and pointed out that there was no rational basis for such anxiety. He saw it differently, though, and it's obvious why: John was a man consumed by self-doubt, so much so that he didn't trust one of his two or three top skills. (He probably didn't trust any of them, in fact.) Thus, just because John sometimes heard a different, less alluring voice than most of us hear doesn't mean we should view the situation with bewilderment. He had his reasons, and we need to be understanding. Right. And then after trying to convince yourself of this, your ears are visited by John tearing through "Please Mister Postman" (one of three Motown covers on With The Beatles), and you take in all of that playful soul, all of that smirking but sinewy conviction ("Check it and see/One more time for me!"), and you think, "John, you were out of your mind." Such was my experience earlier today.

Best three songs in a row - Pt. 2

To continue my discussion of the best three-song stretch on a Beatles album, I devoted some time to With The Beatles and arrived at the conclusion below. You'll find that I didn't struggle to nail down my choice for the album's contribution to the larger pool of contenders. Unlike Please Please Me, With The Beatles presents one three-song set that I see as clearly superior to the rest.

Album: With The Beatles
Three songs: "It Won't Be Long," "All I've Got to Do," and "All My Loving"
Comments: I don't think there are any other viable options. With The Beatles is a mostly rewarding album, but, with the exception of "It Won't Be Long," its high points aren't as strong as those on Please Please Me. And the same is true of its second-tier songs ("Don't Bother Me," "Please Mister Postman," "Money," etc.). Which is to say, it's a lesser album than its predecessor and has fewer opportunities for consistent excellence. However, coming out of the gate, it delivers mightily. "It Won't Be Long," (which I've swooned about on several occasions) overflows with zealous emotion and sonic thrills; "All I've Got to Do" is a masterpiece of tension and sex-dripped affection; and "All My Loving" showcases how charming and guileless Paul could be when expressing love. The choice strikes me as a no-brainer.

Thoughts on "Little Child"

Plainly put, "Little Child" is not a very good song. Paul has said that he wrote it as album filler for With The Beatles, and the lack of care and interest shows. Despite its thick, sloppy energy - buoyed by John's limber harmonica part, Paul's bustling go on the piano, and Ringo's perky percussion - "Little Child" ends up being something of a nonstarter. In other words, it's a bit boring, a bit routine, and the main culprits are the lyric and the lead vocals. Going in order, the lyric smacks of the kind of safe, predictable, and perhaps hastily completed songwriting that yielded singles for much less inspired acts during those early years of pop. "I'm so sad and lonely/Baby take a chance with me," sings John as he tries to move in on an evidently unconvinced girl. This line typifies the paint-by-numbers vibe of the song. And the vocals can't undo it (neither can the music itself, for that matter). No, The Beatles weren't able to reproduce the trick they accomplished with, say, "Love Me Do:" through memorable song-craft and execution, make a magnetic or even just interesting song around a lyric that leaves something to be desired. Specifically, John's vocal (which appears to be doubled, even though Paul is listed as sharing the lead) is too flat and clipped at times; it feels like a rush-job. And furthermore, there isn't much range to it, undoubtedly due to the fact that the song was originally intended for Ringo. I don't think Mr. Starr would've been a better choice, but it's not as if John made a great song out of it. "Little Child" was likely to be a dud either way.

I'll close with two questions: 1) Am I wrong to find it kind of unsettling that the song's addressee is someone referred to as "little child?" Other parts - "When you're by my side/You're the only one/Don't you run and hide/Just come on come on" - could also rub some the wrong way here in 2010. 2) When John sings "Baby take a chance with me," doesn't it sound just like the melody for the line, "If you want to dance with me," from Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" (which The Beatles of course covered on Beatles For Sale)?

Thoughts on "Don't Bother Me"

Though he was "the quiet Beatle" and later the "spiritual" member of the Fab Four, George wrote some of the most salty, ill-tempered, and accusatory songs in The Beatles' celebrated catalogue. There are plenty of examples: the cynical "Think for Yourself," the anti-tax screed "Taxman," "Piggies," which was a rebuke of upper-class greed and indifference, "Only a Northern Song," George's "personal denunciation of the Beatles' music publishing business," and "I Me Mine" (and there are likely more). If George had an ax to grind, he didn't shy away from venting; if he was pissed off, he didn't let his status as "the quiet Beatle" muzzle him.

Perhaps it's appropriate then that the first song George wrote for a Beatles album finds him in a bitter mood. "Don't Bother Me," which George composed while sick and on-tour in the summer of 1963, is an expression of loss and sharp frustration. He's smarting over a recent breakup - she was the "only girl" for him - and he can't be bothered to talk about it with anyone: "Don't come around/Leave me alone/Don't bother me." Basically, George just wants to brood in private. How very Lennon-esque (indeed, these are jaded sentiments that John would've likely spouted following a breakup). In any event, George is more than convincing. His voice, with its subtle, dark-eyed edge, works well with the mood of the lyric. I especially like how he sings the chorus in such understated fashion, which gives his hot emotions a sense of control and purpose. At the very least, George comes off more engaged on "Don't Bother Me" than he did on his two previous lead-vocal outings - "Chains" and "Do You Want to Know a Secret."

All told, "Don't Bother Me" is a solid track (this despite George's characterization of it as a "fairly crappy" and perfunctory attempt to just write something). Noteworthy details: its misleadingly chipper intro, Ringo's busy drumming, which is part of an almost Latin rhythm, and (once again) the song's overall angry mood, which puts it at odds with the rest of The Beatles' music through that point in time. By this I mean, on their previous songs, the Fabs had tackled a variety of moods and emotions: lovelorn, contented, ecstatic, yearning, and even horny. But not angry. Thus, "Don't Bother Me," like "There's a Place" for its introspection, represents an outlier in The Beatles' early oeuvre. As later songs would show, George was the right catalyst for this deviation.