The Beatles Backyard

Started by George, May 01, 2007, 06:20:08 PM

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What are your 3 favorite Beatles Albums?

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
Yellow Submarine
The Beatles (White Album)
Let It Be
Abbey Road
Past Masters, Vol 1
Past Masters, Vol 2

SimonNZ

Just saw this on the Esquire site while looking for something else:

The Best Beatles Song Is a 23-Second Track That Almost Didn't Exist
Thinking about the genius of "Her Majesty" on the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road.


"I'm going to keep this short, because there's beauty in brevity, which The Beatles taught me on "Her Majesty." It's a 23-second-long-song (26 if you look at Spotify) that almost didn't exist. In fact, "Her Majesty" is something of a joke, with nonsensical nursery rhyme lyrics and a sloppy, out of place first note. It's strange, fleeting, and beautiful. It's 23 seconds I've never been able to get out of my head since the first time I heard it—since it surprised me uncredited at the end of Abbey Road, where it came and went like I'd imagined it. I've fallen in love during those 26 seconds (my now-partner and I sharing Cadbury Eggs years ago listening to the back half of Abbey Road in a parking lot in my busted Chevy Blazer). I've drunkenly sang the song. I've played it in one sitting on repeat, dozens of times, fascinated.

"Her Majesty" was recorded in three takes on July 2, 1969. As the story goes, the song was originally intended to be placed in a medley between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam." But, according to the engineer there that day, John Kurlander, Paul McCartney (who is the only one who performs on the track) heard "Her Majesty" in that spot and decided it didn't fit. Kurlander was told to cut the song and throw it away. But, as Kurlander later explained:

"I'd been told never to throw anything away, so after he left I picked it up off the floor, put about 20 seconds of red leader tape before it and stuck it onto the end of the edit tape."

The next day, when McCartney heard the song placed randomly at the end of Abbey Road, he loved it, and decided it should remain there on the final cut of the album. That weird blast of a note at the beginning is actually the final chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard." Because of its placement, and because "Her Majesty" didn't appear on the Abbey Road tracklist, it's often considered the first-ever hidden track on an album.

When I was younger, probably because of my personal experiences with "Her Majesty," I always thought of it as a love song—a song about awkwardness around a crush whom you respect enough to refer to as "her majesty." I might have been at once projecting and overthinking it, because, in reality, the song is something of a joke about the British ruling family. These are the only lyrics:

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / But she doesn't have a lot to say / Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / But she changes from day to day / I want to tell her that I love her a lot / But I gotta get a bellyful of wine / Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / Someday I'm going to make her mine, oh yeah, / Someday I'm going to make her mine.

As McCartney later explained, there's something anti-authority about these lyrics:

"It was quite funny because it's basically monarchist, with a mildly disrespectful tone, but it's very tongue in cheek. It's almost like a love song to the Queen."

This is honestly better than my reading of the song, anyway. "Her Majesty" is punk rock. It's kind of a middle-finger to the establishment, fitting with the scrappy way the song came to be, and how it has survived.

The Beatles are rightfully considered the greatest band to ever exist. Their catalog is immortalized among every fan, musician, and critic still today. Their hits are known in every corner of the world—"Across the Universe" has been launched into space for intelligent life to hear one day. We all can sing "Hey Jude," and "Here Comes the Sun," and "Let it Be" and dozens of others. Each of these songs persevere because of the craft and songwriting genius that it took to create them. But what I love about "Her Majesty" is it could not and will not ever be a famous Beatles song. It's an accident. It's a moment of spontaneity, of playful musicianship stuck in time, of Paul McCartney not trying to do anything more than mess about. Yet here it remains. Here I am writing about it and listening to it and thinking about it. It's a song that only exists today because of luck and the charm of its eight lines and silly little melody. And for that I love it a lot. "Her Majesty" is a pretty nice song, and I feel like I've made it mine.

vandermolen

Quote from: SimonNZ on October 04, 2019, 05:31:42 PM
Just saw this on the Esquire site while looking for something else:

The Best Beatles Song Is a 23-Second Track That Almost Didn't Exist
Thinking about the genius of "Her Majesty" on the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road.


"I'm going to keep this short, because there's beauty in brevity, which The Beatles taught me on "Her Majesty." It's a 23-second-long-song (26 if you look at Spotify) that almost didn't exist. In fact, "Her Majesty" is something of a joke, with nonsensical nursery rhyme lyrics and a sloppy, out of place first note. It's strange, fleeting, and beautiful. It's 23 seconds I've never been able to get out of my head since the first time I heard it—since it surprised me uncredited at the end of Abbey Road, where it came and went like I'd imagined it. I've fallen in love during those 26 seconds (my now-partner and I sharing Cadbury Eggs years ago listening to the back half of Abbey Road in a parking lot in my busted Chevy Blazer). I've drunkenly sang the song. I've played it in one sitting on repeat, dozens of times, fascinated.

"Her Majesty" was recorded in three takes on July 2, 1969. As the story goes, the song was originally intended to be placed in a medley between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam." But, according to the engineer there that day, John Kurlander, Paul McCartney (who is the only one who performs on the track) heard "Her Majesty" in that spot and decided it didn't fit. Kurlander was told to cut the song and throw it away. But, as Kurlander later explained:

"I'd been told never to throw anything away, so after he left I picked it up off the floor, put about 20 seconds of red leader tape before it and stuck it onto the end of the edit tape."

The next day, when McCartney heard the song placed randomly at the end of Abbey Road, he loved it, and decided it should remain there on the final cut of the album. That weird blast of a note at the beginning is actually the final chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard." Because of its placement, and because "Her Majesty" didn't appear on the Abbey Road tracklist, it's often considered the first-ever hidden track on an album.

When I was younger, probably because of my personal experiences with "Her Majesty," I always thought of it as a love song—a song about awkwardness around a crush whom you respect enough to refer to as "her majesty." I might have been at once projecting and overthinking it, because, in reality, the song is something of a joke about the British ruling family. These are the only lyrics:

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / But she doesn't have a lot to say / Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / But she changes from day to day / I want to tell her that I love her a lot / But I gotta get a bellyful of wine / Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl / Someday I'm going to make her mine, oh yeah, / Someday I'm going to make her mine.

As McCartney later explained, there's something anti-authority about these lyrics:

"It was quite funny because it's basically monarchist, with a mildly disrespectful tone, but it's very tongue in cheek. It's almost like a love song to the Queen."

This is honestly better than my reading of the song, anyway. "Her Majesty" is punk rock. It's kind of a middle-finger to the establishment, fitting with the scrappy way the song came to be, and how it has survived.

The Beatles are rightfully considered the greatest band to ever exist. Their catalog is immortalized among every fan, musician, and critic still today. Their hits are known in every corner of the world—"Across the Universe" has been launched into space for intelligent life to hear one day. We all can sing "Hey Jude," and "Here Comes the Sun," and "Let it Be" and dozens of others. Each of these songs persevere because of the craft and songwriting genius that it took to create them. But what I love about "Her Majesty" is it could not and will not ever be a famous Beatles song. It's an accident. It's a moment of spontaneity, of playful musicianship stuck in time, of Paul McCartney not trying to do anything more than mess about. Yet here it remains. Here I am writing about it and listening to it and thinking about it. It's a song that only exists today because of luck and the charm of its eight lines and silly little melody. And for that I love it a lot. "Her Majesty" is a pretty nice song, and I feel like I've made it mine.
Very interesting. 'Her Majesty' always makes me smile. It is paradoxically disrespectful and affectionate.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Marc

Quote from: vandermolen on October 04, 2019, 11:14:30 AM
Abbey Road is back on top of the album charts here. The first time since 1970!

I read the same about the Netherlands 2 days ago... good music rules!

vandermolen

Quote from: Marc on October 05, 2019, 02:18:33 AM
I read the same about the Netherlands 2 days ago... good music rules!
Definitely!  :)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

San Antone

A song I should have included in my list of favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/v/bJ_OMbWJ46g

vandermolen

I never knew before that Abbey Road was the Beatles last album, because although 'Let it Be' was released after Abbey Road it was actually recorded before it.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

My Favorite Beatles songs:

She Said She Said
Yes It Is
Hey Bulldog
Revolution
Octopus Garden
Tomorrow Never Knows
Dear Prudence
Here Comes the Sun
Only a Northern Song
Good Morning Good Morning

Karl Henning

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on August 14, 2020, 06:40:01 AM
My Favorite Beatles songs:

She Said She Said
Yes It Is
Hey Bulldog
Revolution
Octopus Garden
Tomorrow Never Knows
Dear Prudence
Here Comes the Sun
Only a Northern Song
Good Morning Good Morning

Very interesting to see "Only a Northern Song" in there.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Just a back-of-the-envelope list of ten faves:

Old Brown Shoe
And Your Bird Can Sing
Long, Long, Long
Penny Lane
I Am the Walrus
All My Loving
A Day in the Life
Cry, Baby, Cry
Day Tripper
Dr Robert

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 14, 2020, 06:53:03 AM
Very interesting to see "Only a Northern Song" in there.

It is one of the uniquest songs among the Beatles numbers. It is like Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett rather than the Beatles. Not crazy about the bridge though.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 14, 2020, 07:00:24 AM
Just a back-of-the-envelope list of ten faves:

Old Brown Shoe
And Your Bird Can Sing
Long, Long, Long
Penny Lane
I Am the Walrus
All My Loving
A Day in the Life
Cry, Baby, Cry
Day Tripper
Dr Robert

I like them except Tripper and Walrus. I really like Old Brown Shoe.
The link below is a list of Paul's songs John liked.

http://rockandrollgarage.com/9-paul-mccartneys-beatles-songs-that-john-lennon-liked/

The new erato

Walrus, Strawberry Fields, A Day in the life, Tomorrow Never knows and Long and Winding Road definitelly belongs in my list. Beyond those, there are so many and my list would change from day to day. Several from Karl Hennings List could appear.

Pohjolas Daughter

Rubber Soul and The White Album were pretty easy picks....but the third one?  I ended up picking Help [These 'evil' polls!].

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Karl Henning

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on August 14, 2020, 07:01:29 AM
It is one of the uniquest songs among the Beatles numbers. It is like Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett rather than the Beatles. Not crazy about the bridge though.

That's fair.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

Hmmm...among my favorites (off the top of my head):

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Old Brown Shoe
Dear Prudence
In My Life
Back in the USSR
Octopus's Garden
A Day in the Life
Here Comes the Sun
Penny Lane
Blackbird
Pohjolas Daughter

Karl Henning

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 14, 2020, 07:32:42 AM
Rubber Soul and The White Album were pretty easy picks....but the third one?  I ended up picking Help [These 'evil' polls!].

PD

(* chortle *)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 14, 2020, 11:11:50 AM
Hmmm...among my favorites (off the top of my head):

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Old Brown Shoe
Dear Prudence
In My Life
Back in the USSR
Octopus's Garden
A Day in the Life
Here Comes the Sun
Penny Lane
Blackbird

Nice, too!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

How could I have forgotten Eleanor Rigby?!   ???

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 14, 2020, 11:57:09 AM
How could I have forgotten Eleanor Rigby?!   ???

PD

That is one of the songs I don't dig much. It is just a personal preference and I am not questioning the quality of song. Others include Shes leaving home, 64, she loves you, its only love, Here there, I should have known better, your mother should know, Run for your life, etc.

Re: Penny Lane. Some people are advocating a name change of the street because is is possibly the name of a slave trader. Regardless of the fact, Paul may decide not to sing the song.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on August 14, 2020, 11:11:50 AM
Hmmm...among my favorites (off the top of my head):

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Old Brown Shoe
Dear Prudence
In My Life
Back in the USSR
Octopus's Garden
A Day in the Life
Here Comes the Sun
Penny Lane
Blackbird

Great list!