Act Naturally

Ringo sings Buck O! (see Feb 3 blog entry on Buck) Just like a drummer that can play in the back end of the pocket but never actually slow down, Ringo can sing flat but somehow make it work. His personality comes through. George channels Carl Perkins, and this is his best playing on the album. Note on the digital remaster; I swear I can hear foot stomping in the bridge rhythm guitar track “I can play the part so well”. Beautiful cover.

It’s Only Love

The boys always did this schmaltzy take on “latin” rhythms, Besame Mucho, Mr Moonlight, etc. and here John does his usual wink and nod toward that form, extending the joke with fake tongue rolls, bizarre rhyme scheme, etc. Yet something real comes through in his voice and slays me. George adds a weird tremolo hook, under 2 minutes and out.

You Like Me Too Much

George song. A little bit weak sauce, the lyric hook itself is awkward, but that’s its charm. What the lyric describes is subtly horrific. I will be a bastard, but if you dare leave me, I will catch you and put you back in the nest. I can, cause I’m a damn Beatle. The solo break is a piano-guitar trade off old timey chromatic ascend-descend thing that I hate from the sixties. It spells “good times” in a way I find depressing.

Tell Me What You See

Kind of a throwaway by John and Paul. Lyrically starting down that slightly gurujy path of spiritual-sounding nonsense. Things go blandly along until the bridge, then they open up with beautiful three part harmony, then they kill, gorgeous. Like crawling in the desert for days, stopping for the best cool water ever, then crawling on.

I’ve Just Seen a Face

Paul’s. Catchy, hooky, uptempo. Beautiful little simple acoustic parts dovetail together, and the words describe innocent new love and euphoric rush. What’s not to like? And if it’s too happy for you, it’s only 2 minutes.

Yesterday

Way too much has been written about this song. One of Paul’s great strengths, and paradoxically, great weaknesses is his uncanny ability to write, play and sing things that sound like they should be hooky and eternal, but don’t stand up to much scrutiny. This song has a pleading, yearning quality that hits me over the head and boxes my ears, not pleasant. Yet if I could write a song half this good, I would be ecstatic. And probably rich. Paul’s input to George Martin on recording the string quartet (close-miked, with bowing noises intact, and less vibrato than traditionally used at the EMI sessions) has had a huge impact on recording classical ensembles.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

John closes with a barnburner cover, like on the first record with Twist and Shout. He rips his voice out, like the last set on a Saturday night. George plays the same clunky bendy riff all the way through, and it gets irritating. I’m not buying this one. I think this was the last of the Beatle cover songs, and it shows. Hamburg days are truly over.

Next: Back to the album.