Beatles Album #4: Beatles For Sale
Beatles For Sale was the last album the Beatles released in 1964, capping off the year in which they conquered America. The Beatles, of course, had continued to develop musically, and they also met Bob Dylan for the first time in August of 1964. Many say that this album begins to show that Dylan influence, and the songs are certainly much less purely optimistic or at least innocent as they used to be. I think this one ranks just above Please Please Me in my ranking of Beatles albums so far. It doesn't contain as many of the truly classic Beatles tunes as their first album, but it is overall simply a stronger album (again, they were just improving all the time).
1. "No Reply" (Lennon/McCartney)
Ah, the Beatles are at it again! Expecting a fast, upbeat rocker to start things off? Not exactly. Instead, the Beatles take the opportunity to display their further musical development. The verses are fairly typical Beatles, with Lennon singing the lead throughout, although a little up and down movement at the end of each verse is a bit of dark hinting. The chorus continues the darkness powerfully, with cymbal crashes and a great harmony from McCartney. Topping things off, Ringo's drumming is fantastic, including some neat rhythms, and the guitar chords, especially at the chorus, are great. Takes a couple listens, but this is a little gem.
2. "I'm A Loser" (Lennon/McCartney)
Musically, this one is a lot closer to some earlier Beatles songs, but of course the lyrics are much different. Again sung in the lead by Lennon, John goes to the lower registers of his vocal range at times, which sounds pretty cool. I really like the verses as sung by John, although the harmony in the chorus isn't my favorite. Paul's bass is the most notable instrumental in this one, bouncing along and giving the song good energy. I'm not a big fan of this one, but I suppose it gives Lennon fanatics material to obsess over his various transformations.
3. "Baby's In Black" (Lennon/McCartney)
Well, the Beatles sure make up for the mediocre harmonies in the last song with this track. The John-Paul harmony, found throughout this bluesy song, is just fantastic. I really like this one, and I think, along with the high quality vocal harmony, everything just fits together well. OK, and I'm also a sucker for that 6/8 or 3/4 rhythm. The instruments stay appropriately subordinate to the vocals here, but they still provide a great underlying tempo and energy. And when they drop out for a few bars except for a drum beat, the toes really get a-tapping (albeit a slow tap). Another gem.
4. "Rock And Roll Music" (Berry)
The Beatles could play some cool new music, but they also still liked the old stuff. This one by rock legend Chuck Berry is quite aptly named, as you can get much closer to the core of the genre than this one. Lennon gives a good vocal here, although it still pales compared to his "Twist and Shout". The instruments help give it great energy, aided by a nifty piano part. It's hard not to like this one at least a little bit if you like rock and roll (which, if you're listening to The Beatles, I imagine you do), but it's also not earth-shattering.
5. "I'll Follow The Sun" (Lennon/McCartney)
Hmmmm. Bit of a let down here. To be honest, up until recently I thought this was another quiet ballad covered by The Beatles - but actually, Paul wrote it. But, he did write it four years earlier, which is why it strangely sounds like some of their earliest material. It's not a *bad* song, but it's significantly weaker than most of the other songs here, and doesn't really fit in with the more mature feel (relatively speaking) of the rest of the album.
6. "Mr. Moonlight" (Johnson)
Fortunately, this one I can blame on another artist for writing. It's just tacky composition. However, I will say that Lennon gives some searing vocals here, particularly in the intro, and the harmonies are pretty cool. But that organ or whatever it is in the middle eight just accentuates the overall tackiness. It's my Dad's least favorite Beatles song, and I can't blame him. On the other hand, as I'll say again, The Beatles just continued to give stronger and more consistent performances on all their tracks, even some of these crappy songs they covered.
7. "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" (Leiber, et. al.)
Ah... if listening to the last two songs was like waking up on a cold winter morning and feeling a little stiff, when this one comes on it's like getting into a nice hot shower. Completely turns the direction of the album around with one of the Beatles' strongest covers yet. Sure, a large part of it is that this is simply a better song than "Mr. Moonlight". But man, Paul gives a phenomenal vocal performance here. He was perfectly suited to this song, and shows yet again that he could rip out a rocker just as well as he could a quiet ballad. The Beatles show their usual knack for choosing the right tempo, too, keeping it under control with a blues-tinged beat. The instruments again stomp along steadily, and the vocals, lead and backup let loose in the "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" section. Probably my favorite on the album.
8. "Eight Days A Week" (Lennon/McCartney)
Now they follow up a fantastic cover with the one song on the album that probably a majority of the public would recognize as one of their classics. It's not my favorite classic, but I like how it keeps the old strains of Beatles rock with added touches of things they'd picked up recently. For example: the fading-in guitar intro is a new, more complex touch for The Beatles, while the basic structure of the verses and chorus are similar to past hits (perhaps a little too similar, which is why it's not one of my favorites). Still, the harmonies are pitch-perfect, the guitar part is minimal but well-suited, and the bass is bouncing along. A classic is a classic.
9. "Words Of Love" (Holly)
More cool harmonies here in this Buddy Holly cover. But it's a considerably different kind of harmony for John and Paul, going to very low pitches, like John did in "I'm A Loser". The high-pitched guitar part is a good counter to that vocal, I suppose, but it plays a little longer than is welcome I think. Plus, there's not a lot else going on, other than hand-clapping. I suppose in light of it being a cover, it's alright, but certainly not one of my favorites on this album.
10. "Honey Don't" (Perkins)
Now for Ringo's obligatory song of the album! The Beatles definitely gave him good material for this album, perhaps the best yet (of course, covering Carl Perkins is a good way to do that). This one has a country feel to it, which seemed to be what Ringo liked; at the very least, he did it pretty darn well. I actually really like his vocal in this one. Is it perfect? No, but it doesn't need to be here. Just a nice, laid back song, with instruments that stay in the background, and a couple little guitar solos. You rock on, Ringo!
11. "Every Little Thing" (Lennon/McCartney)
Here's a pretty cool little song. I'll admit up front that the Beatles clearly put less effort into this one than most of the others - at this point, they were still forced into pretty tight deadlines to get their albums out, and I guess this track suffered the consequences. However, this one is saved by some impressive composition from Paul. Plus, the John-Paul harmonies are again working well here (all the more impressive when you consider this one is more standard fare and the aforementioned lack of superior effort), especially in the chorus. Plus, the Beatles found a few instrumental parts that work quite well here, including a deep bass piano part, and even a timpani part from Ringo. Maybe it was considered a throwaway, but I kinda like this one.
12. "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party" (Lennon/McCartney)
This one also seems to be kind of average early-Beatles fare early on; typical Lennon verses, standard instrumentals (although much more energetic than in "Every Little Thing"). Which isn't a bad thing, but it seems kind of mediocre at first (except for some nice backing vocal). Then the chorus comes in, and Paul takes off with his harmony with an energy that takes you by surprise. Credit also goes to Lennon (perhaps Paul, too, I don't know) for changing things up with the composition. The instrumentals even seem spurred on by Paul's vocal. Perhaps not my favorite, but it surpasses expectations.
13. "What You're Doing" (Lennon/McCartney)
This is sort of like the "Things We Said" of the album, in that McCartney again shows a spurt of composition development that is a sign of things to come. In fact, the instrumentals and backing vocals almost sound obsolete in this song that seems as if it were meant for Rubber Soul. I really like Paul's vocal here, and like his composition, it shows a maturity pointing to future growth. The guitar part, unfortunately, really sticks out here, and not in a good way. I'm not sure what either John or George was thinking there; the backing vocals are also shockingly anemic. I do like the percussion opening and the piano part here though. If they had worked a little harder on this one, it could have been fantastic; as it is, still one of the album's stronger tracks.
14. "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" (Perkins)
The Beatles packed a good bit into the final track of the album: it's George's first and only lead vocal on the album, yet the second Carl Perkins cover on the album. I do like the decision to use George and Ringo's less-familiar vocal styles on Perkins' songs. George sings quite well in his lone leading role, and whether or not it was intentional, the echoing effect on the track is neat. The Beatles left their fans to wonder with this as the final track, have they really grown out of their early period of music? Well, maybe not completely yet, but while everyone was still trying to be like the Beatles, they were having enough of holding your hand.
Essentials: "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey", "Eight Days A Week", "Baby's In Black", "No Reply"
Weak(er) Songs: "I'll Follow The Sun", "Mr. Moonlight", "Words Of Love"
My Rank of The Beatles' Albums So Far:
1. A Hard Day's Night
2. Beatles For Sale
3. Please Please Me
4. With The Beatles
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