Yesterday I looked at how Bob Dylan shaped my musical tastes for decades. Today I’m paying tribute to the other important formative band of my adolescence — The Beatles.
I got into The Beatles a year or two after I discovered Dylan, when I was around 17. I spent a ridiculous amount of time that summer typing out the lyrics to all of the band’s songs on an electric typewriter (the sort of story I can tell my kids to explain how unplugged we were “back in the day”).
The Beatles are so well known for the songs they wrote than it’s easy to dismiss their early cover work. On three of their first four albums, covers make up about half of the track lists, with the Fab Four trying their hand at everything from rock to country to show tunes.
A few of those covers are so successful that they’ve become Beatles classics in their own right. ‘Baby It’s You,’ ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ and ‘Devil in Her Heart’ are three that jump to mind. Today and tomorrow I’ll highlight the two that really rise to the top.
I consider With The Beatles more of a John Lennon album than a Paul McCartney one — in addition to yesterday’s SOTD, Lennon contributed highlights ‘It Won’t Be Long’ and ‘Not a Second Time’ and sang lead vocals on the excellent covers ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me’ and ‘Please Mister Postman.’
I’ve slowed down my purchases of the Beatles reissues in recent weeks, not wanting to break the bank for (as my loved ones keep reminding me) music I already own. But when I have a little extra cash in my pocket and I happen to find myself at a Best Buy on my lunch break (how does that happen??), I’ll grab another one.
The latest was With The Beatles, the band’s second album. And once again it has been an eye- (and ear-) opening experience.
I consider With The Beatles the worst album by the Fab Four (though it does sport the second most-famous of their album covers). Now, admittedly, saying “this is the worst Beatles album” is kind of like saying “this is the worst nude photo of Eva Mendes.” But I’m big on lists, so there you have it.
The album’s best-known song is ‘All My Loving,’ which is a great song indeed. Their excellent take on ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’ is another classic, while Paul’s take on the showtune ‘Till There Was You’ is a little corny for my taste. The rest is a mix of cover tunes and simple Beatles rockers.
Meet Me In Montauk 