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.

A mini Beatles Bible

I finally got around to reading Rolling Stone's "The Beatles: The Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide." I strongly recommend it. As a source of facts and analysis, it's thorough, insightful, witty and entertaining (albeit slavishly laudatory). Every album from the band's official canon is profiled in detail, and every track (including non-album singles and b-sides) is given a blurb-length treatment. Just don't bother with the musician testimonials; most of them range from dull and forgettable to vapid and incomprehensible.

Below is a smattering of facts, quotes and historical tid-bits that I found worthy of note:

- Paul on the spoils of success: "A Liverpool boy with this tanned beauty in my MG going out to dinner. It should have been 'Can Buy Me Love,' actually."

- I wasn't aware of this gender-modified cover of "And I Love Her." It's smokier and more textured than the original.

- In the chapter on A Hard Day's Night, Douglas Wolk posits that the album only has 13 tracks (as opposed to the early standard of 14) because, before the last recording session, Ringo came down with tonsillitis and pharyngitis, resulting in a schedule change. The band left for a tour shortly afterward, with Jimmy Nicol filling in for Ringo.

- "The Beatles covered more songs by Carl Perkins than by any other songwriter."

- "Ticket to Ride" was the first Beatles song to hit the three-minute mark. It was also their first song "built track-by-track rather than recorded live."

- According to Paul, George Martin's initial assessment of "Tomorrow Never Knows" took this form: "Rather interesting, John. Jolly Interesting." Ever the decorous, unfazed gentleman.

- The "Kinfauns demos" = "possibly the greatest 'unplugged' session in pop-music history."

- "Back in the U.S.S.R" was recorded just days after the Soviets and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia and thwarted the Prague Spring.

- "Our relationship was platonic, believe me" - Paul wryly commenting on his English sheepdog Martha, who apparently wasn't the eponymous lass in "Martha My Dear."

- "Julia" was John's "only solo vocal performance on a Beatles recording."

My favorite Beatles song right now

The honor goes to pleasant and perky, harmonica-driven "I Should Have Known Better," the second track off A Hard Day's Night. What elevates it from good to great is John's vocal on the bridge. In a Roy Orbison-like fashion, it seems to keep unfurling, never settling on a firm melody but always flowing smoothly. Moments like it were the small, unheralded building blocks of The Beatles' greatness.

"I Should Have Known Better":


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"Isn't that fantastic!?!"

For your Saturday morning pleasure:


To learn more, go here. If the video is removed, go here.

"A Hard Day's Night" ...

... in haiku form.

1) "A Hard Day's Night"
2) "I Should Have Known Better"
3) "If I Fell"
4) "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You"
5) "And I Love Her"
6) "Tell Me Why"
7) "Can't Buy Me Love"
8) "Any Time at All"
9) "I'll Cry Instead"
10) "Things We Said Today"
11) "When I Get Home"
12) "You Can't Do That"
13) "I'll Be Back"

Monday haiku - "I'll Be Back"

A downcast closer,
"Back" finds John ditching his pride
and bowing to love.

Sunday haiku - "You Can't Do That"

The guitars stand out:
George worked his brand new twelve-string,
and John played the lead.

Saturday haiku - "When I Get Home"

John wrote this coy romp,
showcasing his Motown bent
and his impatience.

Friday haiku - "Things We Said Today"

"Love is here to stay",
pledges Paul to his girlfriend,
actress Jane Asher.

Thursday haiku - "I'll Cry Instead"

A country-kissed tune,
"Cry" airs one of John's chief faults:
his male chauvinism.

Tuesday haiku - "Any Time at All"

According to John,
"Time" hatched from "It Won't Be Long";
both are punchy songs.

Monday haiku - "Can't Buy Me Love"

Paul's message is clear:
money can get you a lot,
but it can't buy love.

Saturday haiku - "Tell Me Why"

John's girl lied to him,
leaving him nearly in tears
and without answers.

Wednesday haiku - "And I Love Her"

A romantic ode
from Paul to a dear lover,
"Her" glows with passion.

Tuesday haiku - "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You"

By dint of one dance,
George expects to fall in love;
happily, he does.

Monday haiku - "If I Fell"

John's first true ballad,
"Fell" lays bare his need for love
and his fear of loss.

Sunday haiku - "I Should Have Known Better"

The key to "Better":
John's harmonica section,
which is Dylanesque.

Friday haiku - "A Hard Day's Night"

Ringo used the phrase
to describe a long day's work,
and the song followed.

Best three songs in a row - Pt. 3

(For an explanation, go here; for the previous entry, go here).

Album: A Hard Day's Night
Three songs: "A Hard Day's Night," "I Should Have Known Better," and "If I Fell"
Comments: As happened the last time around, I've given the prize to the opening trio of songs. Most pop albums, and certainly those by The Beatles, are deliberately organized to make a strong showing at the outset, so my selection shouldn't be much of a surprise. Taking the songs in order... The jaunty, fleet, and iconically introduced pleasures of the title track have rightfully elevated it to the status of a classic; "I Should Have Known Better" flows by with an ease and happy-faced charm that compellingly belies the lack of certainty implicit in its lyric; finally, in addition to being a disarming ballad with graceful harmonies and a unique structure, "If I Fell" also provides a revealing glimpse of John in Vulnerable Mode, something the hardened rock 'n' roller could go into with stunning effect. These three songs are among the best that A Hard Day's Night has to offer; at the very least, they form a higher quality contingent than the other three-song stretch that caught my eye (but only briefly) - "And I Love Her," "Tell Me Why," and "Can't Buy Me Love."

"A Hard Day's Night of the Living Dead"

God bless YouTube and the creative minds who take advantage of it.

The Beatles vs. zombies:



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