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9.46pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
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Last night, while reading Revolution In The Head, I read the section on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ – can’t get it out of my cranium.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
5.10am
8 November 2012
Offline Zig said
Last night, while reading Revolution In The Head, I read the section on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ – can’t get it out of my cranium.
Isn’t that a great section? My library loan’s almost up, and I’m so reluctant to return my copy.
parlance
7.55am
4 April 2013
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1.21pm
3 May 2012
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‘In My Life ‘, as much as I like it, is one of those Beatles songs that I don’t listen to very often. I suppose I’m worried that if I listen to it constantly (even if I want to), I’ll end up liking it a little less.
Today I’ve got Etta James’ cover of ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You’ in my head 
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
2.04pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
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Zig said
Last night, while reading Revolution In The Head, I read the section on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ – can’t get it out of my cranium.
Funny you mention that book, I’m currently 2/3 of the way through it, re-reading it for the zillionth time (but the first time in probably 10 years). It’s actually frustrating me more than it ever used to!
For me, Sexy Sadie (the unedited version on the Peter Sellers Tape) and I’ve Got A Feeling are the 2 songs I’m on a major kick with right now.
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
Please Visit My Website, The Rock and Roll Chemist
Twitter: @rocknrollchem
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3.55pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline DrBeatle said
Zig said
Last night, while reading Revolution In The Head, I read the section on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ – can’t get it out of my cranium.Funny you mention that book, I’m currently 2/3 of the way through it, re-reading it for the zillionth time (but the first time in probably 10 years). It’s actually frustrating me more than it ever used to!
This is my first time through it. After I finish reading it for the first time, I’d like to go through it again and listen to each song as I read the descriptions. Sounds like a good vacation project.
parlance said
Isn’t that a great section? My library loan’s almost up, and I’m so reluctant to return my copy.
Will your local library accept the excuse “my dog ate it”?
Another one rattling around in my brain lately has been The Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
4.46pm
8 November 2012
Offline DrBeatle said
Funny you mention that book, I’m currently 2/3 of the way through it, re-reading it for the zillionth time (but the first time in probably 10 years). It’s actually frustrating me more than it ever used to!
Why is that?
parlance
5.45pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline parlance said
Zig said
Last night, while reading Revolution In The Head, I read the section on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ – can’t get it out of my cranium.Isn’t that a great section? My library loan’s almost up, and I’m so reluctant to return my copy.
parlance
Are you not allowed to renew the lease or was it on a special order?
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
7.59pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline parlance said
DrBeatle said
Funny you mention that book, I’m currently 2/3 of the way through it, re-reading it for the zillionth time (but the first time in probably 10 years). It’s actually frustrating me more than it ever used to!Why is that?
parlance
Part of it is because I had forgotten how humorless and joyless his analysis is…he judges every song almost solely on its musical merits and seems to not grasp the concept that a song can be throwaway and still enjoyable/catchy. For instance, he slates songs like All Together Now , When I’m 64, etc as rubbish and sneers how they don’t stand up to A Day In The Life , Come Together , etc. But the Beatles surely knew that and weren’t trying to make masterpieces EVERY time. He also has a SERIOUS bias against any “heavy” songs (like Yer Blues , Sexy Sadie , While My Guitar Gently Weeps , etc), at one point even calling the Beatles “petulant brats” trying to imitate the big boys (Who, Hendrix, Cream) in his description for the song Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He also get some facts flat out wrong and he contradicts himself a ton (for instance, when he writes up Within You Without You , he sneers how the song has been slagged from day 1 and quotes how the song is a “blot on an otherwise flawless LP” and then wraps up his review by saying it’s an essential song on the album and the emotional “conscience” of the album….so which is it?)
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book although I don’t like it as much at age 33 as I did when I was 14 and first got it…but it’s too clinical and analytical and very joyless (did he even *like* the Beatles when he wrote this? I ask tongue-in-cheek). Too dispassionate for me. He brings up a LOT of good points but it takes a lot of the fun out of the songs when they get deconstructed down to their cadences and chord sequences. I’m a musician myself so I understand what he’s saying, but he takes the human element out of the songs, and to me that’s the magic of music in general and the Beatles in particular.
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
Please Visit My Website, The Rock and Roll Chemist
Twitter: @rocknrollchem
Facebook: rnrchemist
10.40pm
21 November 2012
Offline Well that sounds disappointing. And I was planning on borrowing it from the library soon. Should I?
I sort of do agree with him on Within You Without You though. It’s not exactly the strongest song on SPLHB.
Oh and songs I’ve got stuck in my head all the time lately: I Want To Hold Your Hand (I haven’t listened to that in aaaaaages so it sounds fresh now), Across The Universe and Tomorrow Never Knows .
11.47pm
1 November 2012
Offline Linde said
Oh and songs I’ve got stuck in my head all the time lately: I Want To Hold Your Hand (I haven’t listened to that in aaaaaages so it sounds fresh now)
Try the German version, Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand — so much better, I think. It’s what the song should have been…
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
11.49pm
1 November 2012
Offline DrBeatle said
Part of it is because I had forgotten how humorless and joyless his analysis is…he judges every song almost solely on its musical merits and seems to not grasp the concept that a song can be throwaway and still enjoyable/catchy. For instance, he slates songs like All Together Now , When I’m 64, etc as rubbish and sneers how they don’t stand up to A Day In The Life , Come Together , etc.
I think All Together Now and Good Morning, Good Morning are two marvelous songs, flashes of genius.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
11.54pm
1 November 2012
Offline Back on topic, I hope this doesn’t sound navel-gazingly narcissistic, but the song I’ve had running in my head for 2 weeks now is one of my own songs — one I have been writing (called Cherry Pie). In my song-writing process, I keep singing it to myself over and over again to iron out all the wrinkles and kinks, and over time and repetition, shape it into whatever I think is best, melody-wise, and chord-wise. Sometimes I do this just in my head, or singing aloud, and sometimes accompanying myself on guitar. The lyrics are often the hardest part.
I finally pretty much finished it a couple of days ago.
Now I can go back to listening to actual music.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
4.30am
8 November 2012
Offline Linde said
Well that sounds disappointing. And I was planning on borrowing it from the library soon. Should I?
I think you should. Sure, he gets muso-y, but I honestly believe he was an ardent Beatle fan. His description of what it was like to hear the Sgt. Pepper album for the first time – the portrayal of students sitting in a hallway quietly in awe – made me fall in love with the book. He was there, and I’ve never read a more vivid and passionate picture of the collective experience of being a Beatle fan in the 60s. And he gave my favorite description of “Penny Lane ” ever – how it captured the spirit of ’67, the feeling of just being thrilled to be alive. I think of MacDonald’s analysis every time I listen to the song now.
Just know he was also a classical music critic, and he took music sometimes a little too seriously. Maybe because I was forced to listen to classical music when I was a kid, I’m more sympathetic to his perspective. But I think the love was there. Parts of the book are downright exhilarating. Honestly, the book is still seeping in, or I would have posted my thoughts on it by now. I don’t use “mindblowing” often, but it’s best way I have to describe the experience of reading this book.
parlance
12.34pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline DrBeatle said
Part of it is because I had forgotten how humorless and joyless his analysis is…
he takes the human element out of the songs, and to me that’s the magic of music in general and the Beatles in particular.
I’m feeling the same way about the book and I’m only halfway through the Revolver tracks. I also share your (maybe not so tongue in cheek) view that perhaps he did not even like The Beatles. So far, I get the impression he definitely did not care for George. I’m not looking for someone to write a book that paints a picture of them walking on water, but in my view this guy leaned toward the polar opposite.
Oh well, sorry for the continuance of the derail. I will slap myself with a…
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
4.17pm
8 November 2012
Offline Another reason I love the book is that he explained in detail why he believed pop music of the 60s far surpasses anything put out today. I don’t necessarily agree with the assessment on a personal level, I liked that he didn’t just crab about music today in a cranky get-off-my-lawn sort of way, but explained how music technology and the industry drove artists to higher standards of craftsmanship. I was born in ’71, and I felt for the first time as though I understood 60s music in its historical, cultural and political context, rather than something that exploded randomly. I also appreciated that he applied the same meticulous scholarship to bridge the historical gap between 60s rock and the 90s Britpop it influenced.
I think he was too dismissive of George, but not entirely; he gives George his due with his latter songs, and I think many, if not most people are under the impression that George didn’t truly come into his own until ’68/’69 (me, I’m a fan of “Don’t Bother Me ,” so I don’t share the opinion). Anyway, he wasn’t anomalous in that assessment, and I stand firmly in my belief that while he wasn’t in love with their entire catalog, MacDonald held The Beatles in great reverence.
parlance
6.16pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline Linde, I’d still read it if I were you…it’s still a good book and you may have a different opinion than all of us.
Right now I’m on a big Sgt. Pepper kick, the whole album in general, especially the mono mix.
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
Please Visit My Website, The Rock and Roll Chemist
Twitter: @rocknrollchem
Facebook: rnrchemist
4.05am
8 November 2012
Offline I agree, Linde. Form your own opinion. I’d just hate to see you miss out on book you might like – or at the very least will get you arguing. 
And sorry, I’d missed the posts asking about my library loans. We’re allowed to renew 3 times, and I’ve reached the limit. But my professor just told me he’d lend me more after spring break. 
parlance
8.52am
1 November 2012
Offline You know what would be cool — if Paul McCartney took one day off of his busy schedule to just sit down with Beatles historians for like 8 solid hours (he could take a couple of breaks to have a veggie lunch and snack) and talk it all out. Let them ask all the questions they want. Have an in-depth discussion lasting 8 solid hours. And of course videotape it all.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
5.04pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Funny Paper said
You know what would be cool — if Paul McCartney took one day off of his busy schedule to just sit down with Beatles historians for like 8 solid hours (he could take a couple of breaks to have a veggie lunch and snack) and talk it all out. Let them ask all the questions they want. Have an in-depth discussion lasting 8 solid hours. And of course videotape it all.
I’d agree adding the provisions that a) they cannot ask the same bog standard questions that always seem to come up like how did Pepper come about?, what was John really like?, what do you remember about writing yesterday? and b) who sings those damn ahhs on ADITL? is asked with the historians doing a Paxman until a suitable answer is given.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
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