The Rewind Button: The Beatles

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

The Beatles The White AlbumHenrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House explores the notion of individuality, namely the process of figuring out who you are so that you can become that person completely. Considered controversial at the time of its premier and publication, today the play is a dramatic classic.

The Beatles (a.k.a. “The White Album”) was slated to be named A Doll’s House after the Ibsen play. It’s a fitting title, because it too is representative of a group trying to figure out who they are and who they will become. (I wish they would have stayed with that title, because I love seeing works tethered to each other across genres and ages.)

Based on previous Rewind Button reviews, it’s no secret that I love The Beatles.  To paraphrase the character Bob Slydell from the movie Office Space: I’ll be honest with you, I love their music. I do. I’m a Beatles fan. For my money, I don’t know if it gets any better than when they sing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Because of its eclecticism, it’s the perfect primer for someone who has never heard The Beatles’ music. Put this album on at a party, and you’ll have at least one song that will appeal to individual listeners.

We’re back at that word: individual. This is the album that starts the group’s third act, the one that leads to their denouement. They’ve figured out that they don’t need each other to write great songs, they have the strength to be on their own without carrying the weight of a group name so entrenched in the collective mind of society, which can appear quite rigid and unforgiving.

Maybe not naming the album was for the best. A lack of artwork and proper name lends to the notion of new beginnings, a clean slate, a slam of the door on the past and the white light at the end of a tunnel.

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The Rewind Button: Blonde on Blonde

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

Blonde on Blonde by Bob DylanI’ll admit that I had every intention on writing this review earlier in the day. Life happened, though, and I found myself relaxing on the couch and reading a book at the end of the night. Pausing to rest my eyes, the song “I Want You” popped into my head. And then it hit me–I forgot to write the review.

But maybe I didn’t forget. Maybe I procrastinated because Blonde on Blonde is another album in this series that, while good, just doesn’t inspire me to rush out and exclaim its virtues. I do like it better than Highway 61 Revisited, primarily because of its pop qualities. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” reminds me of the opening music to a big-top circus performance. (Cue obvious note of the song influencing how The Beatles opened Sgt. Pepper’s.)

All the other songs on the album are good, yes, but as I write this review, they don’t come to mind as easily as “I Want You” or “Rainy Day Women.” I readily admit that I’m a sucker for a good pop hook, and perhaps that is what is throwing me off with this album. I may be focusing too heavily on those songs that are obvious singles for radio play. There’s nothing wrong with loving singles, but this is supposed to be a review of an entire album, a critique of how the individual parts work toward a superb achievement.

Tonight is not that night, though. Tonight is about pouring a big glass of Sangiovese wine, sliding on some headphones, and locking a song on repeat. I don’t think Dylan would mind. He wanted to be the voice of the common man, and for every individual, that voice comes through one song. Tonight, that song for me is “I Want You.”

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The Rewind Button: London Calling

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

The Clash London CallingLondon Calling
33-year-old male
London, England
seeking males and females, 17-64

Have Kids: No

Want Kids: No

Ethnicity: White

Body Type: Skinny

Height: Tall

Religion: No comment

Smoke: All the time

Drink: All the time

Favorite Hot Spots: The Black Swan, Dingwalls, various pubs around London

Favorite Things: Rockabilly, ska, reggae, punk music, drugs, football, talking politics

Last Book Read: I read newspapers all the time, more so than books.

For Fun: I love to rebel-rouse. All my friends would call me the life of the party. And music. Oh my god, music is my life. Well, that, and playing football. When I’m out at the pub–I go there a lot–people say I’m pretty surly. I’m not really. I just come across that way because, you know, there’s so much wrong in the world and I feel people should do more to correct it. I seem to just take it upon myself, and that makes me a little sour toward people. I think people should be allowed to be themselves, but society constantly pushes them into the cubes and tries to form them into blocks that they can stack one on top of the other. I’m want to topple that stack. I want to throw a beanbag into and bring it all down. That’s how I know I’m winning in this world, that’s how I know I’m somebody. But, man, it’s so hard. So most of the time, I just chill in my room with beers and friends and we listen to some music. We don’t care what kind. If we enjoy it, we listen to it. That’s why people call me a punk, because I don’t give a fuck. But I do in a way. It’s weird, I only care because I want to care, not because someone tells me to care. That’s what’s fun to me. Doing things my way and not boxing myself in. If you’re cool with that, write me.

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The Rewind Button: Rubber Soul

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

Rubber SoulNow we come to my favorite Beatles’ album, and I have to figure out a way to explain why it’s my favorite. Won’t you let me get away with just saying it’s great, go listen, then end? I didn’t think so.

Here’s where I start: This is the first Beatles’ album that included no covers and included all four members as composers. When I listen to Rubber Soul, I feel like I’m listening to an album and not a compilation of singles. I feel like there was a real purpose to the overall production.

Another aspect that appeals to me is that it’s a turning point in The Beatles’ career. It’s their turn-the-corner moment. The recordings look to the past and future, sometimes within a single song. For example, take out the sitar in “Norwegian Wood” and you still have a good song, but one that could have fit on previous Beatles’ albums or featured on another artist’s album in that time period. But The Beatles added the sitar, an instrument that is usually classified as a world music instrument.

In 1965, attitudes about the world were changing, people were openly embracing other cultures and experimenting with ways of how to better inhabit this planet. For the world’s most popular band at the time to contribute to that attitude, well, that’s a pretty big deal. They didn’t need to sing political songs; they expressed their views with instrument choices, recording practices, and art direction.

Just look at the album cover and name, for example. The group photo is in focus, but slightly stretched. This aligns with the name Rubber Soul, in that the world and humans are getting pulled. The world is warped, there’s something new afoot.

And consider this new direction for the band: the song “Run for Your Life.” Sure, The Beatles had written sad songs in the past, but never one which expresses outright anger and wishful hurting. This is Rubber Soul‘s last song, and it’s a prescient one knowing what we do now of how the summercruxe of love ended in Altamont.

Because I’m fascinated and drawn to the cruxes in life, that is why Rubber Soul is my favorite Beatles album. It’s a perfectly balanced affair that, in my list, ranks far above Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s.

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The Rewind Button: Highway 61 Revisited

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

Highway 61 RevisitedJonah Lehrer shares a great story in his latest book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, about Bob Dylan. Lehrer tells us that after months of grueling touring, Dylan vows to give up making and playing music. He leaves for upstate New York to relax and write a book. However, once he’s away from all life’s pressures, a sense of urgency comes over him to write. He immediately dictates what comes to mind, later claiming it was like word vomiting. After writing for hours, he had “Like a Rolling Stone” completed. A few days later, he’s back in New York, recording the song quickly and cementing his status as America’s premier troubadour.

Listening to Highway 61 Revisited is like attending a fun party. I feel like I’ve stepped sober into a room full of people dancing, smoking, drinking and fondling. It’s how I image the late 1960s were for free-spirited individuals. The energy is attractive, and even if I don’t quite understand the party’s whys or whats, I’m willing to stay until the end.

Listening to this album is also like taking a road trip. Yes, maybe the title is playing a bit into that feeling, but it’s the rolling aspect of the music that lends itself to this feeling. Most of the songs are bluesy stomps touching on America’s current collective psych in 1965. It’s interesting that the top five albums on Rolling Stone‘s list were all released between 1965 and 1969. Does that mean the late 1960s were rock and pop music’s golden age? Highway 61 Revisited makes a compelling argument that yes it was.

You have Dylan releasing this album, followed later in the year by The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, then Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys in response to Rubber Soul, followed by Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, then the one-two punch of Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s. If the 1960s weren’t the golden age, it was at least a time of great conversation among artists, framed in musical responses. This is something sorely lacking in today’s musical landscape (well, actually, hip-hop is carrying on this tradition).

Dylan’s genius was instigating this one-upmanship, and he achieved this by not settling for the status quo. Sure, he could have carried on the folk path, playing sold-out shows night after night. But he realized that his art (and his physical and mental health) was suffering because of this. He had to break free, get away, and just chill out for a bit. And by doing so, he gifted so many other artists.

Maybe I’m giving Dylan too much credit. Perhaps he just wanted to relax and not try so hard. Maybe he just wanted to rock out for once. Either way, purposeful or by accident, Highway 61 Revisited started a musical movement we have yet to witness on the same depth and intellect again.

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The Rewind Button: Revolver

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

The Beatles RevolverThe Beatles’ Revolver album is like a middle child, in that it’s often overshadowed by its siblings immediately older and younger than it. I admit that I keep forgetting about the album. When reaching for some Beatles to listen to, I’m more apt to grab Rubber Soul (the older sibling) or Sgt. Pepper’s (the younger). Shame on me, because Revolver holds its own quite well.

This album should appeal more to me, because it features three tracks by George Harrison (my favorite Beatle), but I prefer Paul McCartney’s songs the best. “Here, There and Everywhere” is the perfect definition of a song that will melt me every time. The ohs and ahs and harmony and that little guitar run at 1:05 in the track make me want to close my eyes and forget every bad thing in the world. Then you have “Eleanor Rigby,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “For No One,” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.” McCartney was at the top of is craft on Revolver.

My biggest criticism–and it’s a subjective one–with Revolver is the actual cover. The line drawings and collage look amateurish, and perhaps that’s why I keep forgetting about this album. I’ve blocked the ugliness from my mind. I realize that we’re primarily reviewing the songs. However, “greatest albums” should include packaging. An album is a piece of art work (or they used to be). All elements should point to greatness.

Revolver is No. 3 on Rolling Stone‘s “Top 40 Albums of All-Time” list. It should definitely be higher than Pet Sounds, because of the variety of voice and styles it offers. But dammit, a picture of goats is preferable to line drawings. Remember that, kids. Animals trump humans.

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The Rewind Button: Pet Sounds

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday.

Pet SoundsI know a bit about Pet Sounds‘ history, but not a lot. And for this edition of the Rewind Button, I decided to forgo any research about it and give it a pure listen. I wanted to hear the songs as someone would for the first time in 1966, without Internet access.

Okay, so if I picked up this album at my local record retailer in 1966, I’d probably be all like, “Whoa, the Beach Boys are trippin’, man!” I’d turn to my friend and say, “Harold, put down that Simon & Garfunkel album. This one has sound effects.” And Harold would cock his ear toward it–he can tell I’m serious, because I’m speaking in italics–and chime in with a “it’s groovy man. The Beatles better watch their back.”

Alas, it’s 2012 and we know how this story ends. The Beatles counter with Sgt. Pepper’s and Brian Wilson goes mad.

For its time, though, it was good (maybe great on certain days). However, it doesn’t hold up for me. For this review, I listened to Pet Sounds about 10 times over the last two days. I often found myself looking at the track list to see how many more songs were left before it ended. Several times I found the music flourishes frustrating and unnecessary.

“After listening to it twice in a row one day, I couldn’t help but notice that I was feeling annoyed and sad,” wrote Dave Lefebvre, another Rewind Button reviewer, on Musicqwest. “It’s funny how something so light sounding can make you want to slit your wrists.”

Lefebvre raises the point that the lyrics are to blame for the annoyance. It’s true, Wilson’s lyrics trend toward the unhappy side of life. And just like with Sgt. Pepper’s music/lyric dichotomy, I appreciate this element on Pet Sounds. I also appreciate the use of call backs on the album. The most predominant one is “I Know There’s an Answer” and “Hang On To Your Ego.” Another one is “You Still Believe In Me” and “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.” While not as overt as “Answer”/”Ego”, there is the same melodic movement in both.

It’s as if Wilson wanted to write an opera, reusing music and lyrics throughout for an overall theme. I’m not an opera fan. I often find it tedious, melodramatic and too ornate. Maybe that’s why Pet Sounds doesn’t sit well with me.

In an attempt to one-up The Beatles, Wilson goes over the top. He tries to pull listeners over to his side of the world. However, I prefer a little restraint with my madness, a little balance to my world. Pet Sounds is too much for me. It overwhelms in its effort to prove its genius.

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