The Beatles, It’s Only Love - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction / Excerpts
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- #thebeatles #johnlennon #paulmccartney #georgeharrison #ringostarr
Well! So Lennon hated it! Okay, I understand it’s not neither profoundly deep or cheekily clever, but it really does have some great musical moments. You can’t even hate on the lyrics too much once you start noticing their musical-poetic elements.
Here’s the link to the original song by The Beatles:
• It's Only Love (Remast...
0:00 UA-cam Disclaimer
0:56 Song Information
4:51 First Listen
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by The Beatles
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I really enjoyed your reaction. I always love how much you enjoy and appreciate these Beatles songs, always finding interesting things to say about them. A good observation on the poetic flow of the lyrics rooted in the "I" sound. I really liked and appreciated how you broke the song down for us on your piano at the end. I agree with you Amy, I like the song, I think John was being overly harsh on it.
John Lennon was the worst judge of his own songs.
Yep.
He was still angry to anything related to Beatles… today he would be more calm and lovely as always .. definitely he would have another opinion of their songs
He once said he thought all his sons were atrocious except Help because he said that song was real. Absolutely stunning he thought of his genius in that way. I think most genius's are strange in some way..lol.
This is one of my favorite Beatles songs and was one of the first songs I learned on the piano. I think John was always hard on himself. Any artist would love to write a beautiful song like this. I'd also bet they would not dislike it either.
I really enjoy your reviews.
I've always been fascinated by two meanings I read into the line "It's only love, and that is all":
1. Playing it down sarcastically: it's just love, that's all, nothing big, nothing earth shattering;
2. Making it big and important: only love counts, and love is all, nothing else matters, only love.
The follow up lines fit #1. ("Why should I feel the way I do?" and "But it's so hard loving you."). They don't fit #2 at all.
Interesting take. In light of things to come (The Word). I'll go with option 2.
I mean I get what senecakw is saying, but these kind of thoughts don't just spring fully formed from a 25 year old's brain....usually. Even if it was subconscious, it was a lead-up to things to come.
@@schmittelt I don't mean to be repetitious but my main point is that the sentences just don't make sense using meaning #2. The second response begins with "but". That means that the thought is in contrast to the preceding thought, ie it's only love (not a big deal) but despite that, it's still painful loving you.
I think John took Love seriously even if he acted tough at times throughout his life. He was pretty vulnerable and shy around girls as he admitted.
@@senecakwJohn could and did sometimes express dual meanings and of course there's always the subliminal! With Lennon complexity and/or veiled confusion is natural. 🤡
since I was a child I say that's my favourite song of the Help! album. The poetric quality of the music spoke to me way more than the lyrics because I'm brazilian, and at the time I didn't speak english yet. It's lovely and grown on me more and more as the time passed. It's an underspoken gem and it's nice to see that you were caught by its magic, too.
I hope you get to do “Yes It Is”.
I second that! Great song.
Rubbish song. Don't raise expectations for it.
This is one of the songs that taught me never to care what an artist thinks about their own work... I've always loved it, and I read John's negative take on it and was dumbfounded. .. the line "why am I so shy when I'm beside you" described perfectly how I felt for about half of my adolescence! Another song like that is the Rolling Stones "Get Off My Cloud"... I've always loved it, but Keith Richards has said very negative tings about it... doesn't matter to me. I still love both songs no matter what the creators think of them.
Even with pedestrian lyrics, the melody and the quality of the vocal delivery render this a beautiful song. Sir George Martin noted that there was a special magic when the four performed together; the magic is there even on lesser songs.
We're getting close to Yesterday!
@@DayGloClam Ah, but the question is: has sheltered Amy heard Yesterday before? 🙂
My favorite song from this period. Magical. The lyrics were exactly right for me, and 8th grader, in 1965. And still are right.
Thank you! As a musician....I have for many years thought this song was one of the most beautiful melodies Lennon and McCartney composed...I really appreciated you took the time to play the melody on the piano...it's so lovely...and I can read music and love you shared the music...I'm a new fan of your vids...Thank You!!!
Something about this song I always loved, one of my favorites. The melody is just great, I never thought the lyrics hurt the song.
I think John's favorite self-penned Beatles songs were all somewhat ground-breaking or complex...I found an interview in which he was asked about his favorite Beatles tunes, and his answer was, "...I like Revolution #9..." Asked to name more, he picks I am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life, and Rain. For him, I suspect this lovely tune was just a throwaway from his perspective, but I've always enjoyed it. He was also always critical of his own voice, so I'll take his self-criticisms with a grain of salt.
My Favorite Group and my Favorite Channel! Peace
Things like moving to the Bb chord on "(It's only) LOVE" is a typical Beatles touch, and to me it's genius.
I have always loved this song, and many of the songs from this middle period. I think at this point the Beatles were just firing on all cylinders; they had honed their craft to perfection in terms of putting together unbeatable pop songs, and I think they kept it interesting for themselves by throwing in any new musical effects they had gotten their hands on. As Amy points out, advances in recording technology played a part in their evolution as well. It was all grist for their mill... and very soon comes the big leap into psychedelia. A splendid time is guaranteed for all 💥
I'm enjoying your reaction to this song which I always loved. Beautiful sound, and you point out the beauty of the sound so well.
Interesting comparison with the classical piece you mentioned. And all the "I's" are really poetical, I love how you mentioned that 👍😃
The "bright" part I always found amusing, done on purpose of course 👍😉
And you playing at the end on piano and explaning the chord progression I love very much, really awesome 👌😀
I'm looking very much forward to your next reaction to a Beatles song 🤞😊
I love this song, and consider it a classic example of The Beatles' hidden gems .. As you say Amy, it has a really beautiful feel and melody, despite what people's opinions are regarding the lyrics .. For me, the chorus lyrics are quite lovely with a sense of angst and pain about the relationship involved .. Yes, the verse lyrics are a bit bland, and I would have liked them to have been a little more interesting .. If that had been the case, this gorgeous number would have gone to an even higher level in my ratings .. And it's already one of my faves !
Vlad, idea for cover since Amy talked about the guitar in the right hands. Cause we've ended as lovers, Stevie Wonder then Jeff Beck
Yes I'm waiting for Amy to listen to Jeff Beck as well as anything by Stevie Wonder
Gosh that really stinks that we can't listen to the song in greater chunks, darn UA-cam!, but your commentary is refreshing and interesting. Your anecdotes about John and Paul's opinions were something I did not know and I have been a great fan for almost 50 years now. I can see you and Vlad work hard putting these videos together, and for you, Amy isn't this similar to a performance on the harp or piano? You have to put feelings and thoughts out to the viewers-listeners and hope that it all had meaning or maybe moved someone, somewhere? Well, I enjoyed your performance very much. Thank you!
The most distinctive chord in the verse section is that augmented F chord on "my oh my". That movement from a major chord to it's augmented version became a recurring Lennon signature move - see it also in "Starting Over" from his solo era.
I think John was being a little disingenuous about this song. We all know that when Bob Dylan heard I Want To Hold Your Hand, he thought "I can't hide" was "I get high." But in 1965 very few people knew that, outside of the circles of Bob Dylan and The Beatles (as Dylan was apparently put straight on the lyric by Lennon himself). So the opening line of this song was surely a secret nod from Lennon to Dylan. Lennon's impression of Dylan's vocal style is in full effect on the song. The song's working title ("That's A Nice Hat") was probably an acknowledgement of the song's inspiration (Lennon took to wearing Dylan-style caps in 1964). Even the falsetto towards the end is not a million miles from Dylan's yodel on All I Really Want To Do.
In the US, this song was left off Help! and didn't appear there until the end of 1965 on the US version of Rubber Soul. So it's possible Dylan didn't hear it until then. By February 1966, Dylan was recording Fourth Time Around, a song not so politely hinting that Lennon should stop copying Dylan's style. Dylan even played an acetate of the song privately to Lennon, asking him what he thought, and leaving Lennon feeling very embarrassed. The Dylan impressions stopped.
While Fourth Time Around is clearly a parody of Norwegian Wood from Rubber Soul, it's unlikely that that was the only song that inspired it. It's Only Love does have some clunky lyrics (I'm sure John is openly mocking them when he sings, "Very brrright"), but it remains a beautiful song and one of Lennon's best tunes. I think his embarrassment had more to do with Bob Dylan than the quality of the song itself.
I think the husky vocals of the verses harken back to You've Got To Hide Your Love Away with Bob Dylan influences. I can tell you I always enjoyed singing this one. And I also thought it was quite beautiful. I don't care if John wasn't impressed with himself. You're your own worst critic.
Thank you Amy ! With every video I have seen of yours , the thing that impacts me most - is the joy you radiate for life itself ! I am in no way
diminishing your musical insights - you are clearly gifted there.. You have truly found your happy place , Thank you for sharing it with us , Gregory.
The cello is my favourite classical instrument
Suggestion: Adding a chapter marker to skip the prerecorded "excerpt" explanation would be helpful.
👍
It's such a beautiful song...thank you for 'unpacking' the layers of the song...felllow musician here...cheers :)
“Take Good Care of My Baby” is a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and made famous by Bobby Vee, when it was released in 1961. It quickly became popular, reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September. The song is noted for being incredibly similar in musical structure to “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” by Neil Sedaka.
The song was covered by The Beatles during their audition at Decca Records on January 1, 1962 (with Paul McCartney playing bass and provided backing vocals); but was not included on Anthology 1 like other songs from this audition, and remained unreleased.
Beautiful love song.
I remember reading about several of John's songs that he didn't like for one reason or another. To me, they were some of his best works. Such as this song. Great reaction.
9:00 It's interesting to say that the "advancement of technology and techniques" was due to the Beatles
Even though this was recorded for the Help album, here in the states it was on Rubber Soul. As much as I've gotten used to the EMI releases I'll always think of this and 'I've Just Seen A Face' as Rubber Soul songs, since that's where I heard them until the 1990's. For the Capitol version they didn't include 'What Goes On', 'Drive My Car', 'Nowhere Man' or 'If I Needed Someone', and they added this and 'I've Just Seen A Face'. Those changes gave the album a more 'acoustic' feel to it. John hated the lyrics, he considered it a 'throwaway'. They're nothing special, but musically it more than makes up for that for me. I always loved this song, and it's a really fun song to play and sing.
The single best compilation by the Capitol folks, (whilst otherwise shredding the catalog).
Fantastic reaction and analysis.
I really love this song particularly the alternate take which uses basically just the 12 string. It gave it a whole new sound .
I do think you will grow to like this song! This is a wonderful song, kind of a sleeper song on the album.. I only heard it recently after many years when I went listened to Help album in full . I do love the refrain and John's voice is so wonderful.
It may have been a filler song and John may have hated the lyrics but I love the song.
It’s a gorgeous piece of music.
You can hear John almost laughing as he repeats "very brrright". George shines with the inventive tremolo guitar tone. Yes! If the Beatles only recorded love songs that would be enough far me too, maybe Strawberry Fields was a type of love song.
I do concur, Ann. I like it too.
Try Steely Dan - Do It Again. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were meticulous studio musicians who preferred that work to touring. I just think the depth of the music might interest you. Peace.
You and your team are delivering such a high-quality content! Well done! Given that you do love cellos, please, could you react to the U2 song "With or without you", the original version by U2, and then, the cover made by 2Cellos?
John Lennon - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitars (1964 Framus Hootenanny 5/024 acoustic 12-string and 1964 Rickenbacker 325)
George Harrison - Lead Guitar (1963 Gretsch 6119 Tennessean), Rhythm Guitar (1962 Gibson J-160E)
Paul McCartney - Bass Guitar (1963 Hofner 500/1)
Ringo Starr - Drums (1964 Ludwig Super Classic Black Oyster Pearl), tambourine
I enjoy your Beatles reactions. I wait for the next one like when as a child I waited the whole week to watch a new Kung Fu episode
For richly layered sounds from a surprising variety of instruments, you really ought to listen to The Beach Boys songs God Only Knows and Good Vibrations. Their arrangements are masterful and the same goes for their famous multipart vocal harmonies and counterpoint. They were contemporaries of The Beatles and both bands were a massive influence on each other. They are a key part of the development of contemporary popular music.
Almost a self parody in that the vocals sound slightly sarcastic. Most bands don’t make it past this point. The Beatles rallied and push it all up a notch or a few notches. It’s still a good song. Ringo in his bossa nova phase and the chords and melody are fun to play. It’s kind of a weird song. Loved the dive into this song. People pass this one up but I’ve always liked it. It’s funny in a way. Thanks
I felt it was a return to classic rock roots - eg the opening chord progression Major to Minor.
I always liked the Gary U.S. Bonds cover.
It's like he did for this song what Wilson Pickett did for Hey Jude.
I always liked this song. It meant a lot to a teenage boy
The Beatles were at their peak right here
I always liked this song, and now I understand why. John was worrying too much about lyrical meaning. I never used to pay much attention to what they meant - it's only a pop song after all; I just enjoyed their sound and the flavour of individual words, which is what I think good pop lyrics should be about.
You must hear the comment of George Martin when he met John in N.Y. after a decade and he asked John which Beatles songs he would re-do if he got the chance.
John answered: all of them
-really? Strawberry fields too?
-Speecially Strawberry fields he said.
It's got the feel of what was then the "girl group" songs. Phil Spector, the Ronettes. Play some of those alongside it and it's pretty immediately there!
By contrast.... the melodic material is reworked into one of Lennon's greatest songs about two years later with "A Day In The Life". Almost the same melody/ harmony, but slowed and put to an entirely different purpose.
The Beatles were masters of avoiding musical cliches. They wrote an incredible amount of inspired compositions that work like cathedrals for me - they´re so substantial and three-dimensional, you can enter them and regenerate your soul. In this case, I agree with Lennon for once. Only difference is, I don´t really care about the lyrics as long as I find the music satisfying. This one to me feels dull and manufactured, and always has.
True, he never would roll an R when singing, but often did when talking
Don't forget the Beatles singles that weren't included on the albums. Coming up you have day tripper/we can work it out, paperback writer/rain, and penny lane.
I’ve always wondered why John had so much distaste for this song. The melody is beautiful, and John’s vocals, as always are incredible. And frankly the lyrics are both sweet and bittersweet.
It's such a pretty song. John misjudged it. Thanks for the reaction. You always pick out things I don't notice.
Always one of my favourites (but most of them were).
Watching the last bit, an interesting variation in the chorus might to play John's part first:
Dm7 G7 C Am and then the second time switch to
Dm9 E Am A
Dm7 G7 C Am
Dm7-5 E Am Am6 to finish the song with.
This is similar to the beginning of "Petite Etude" by Rik Emmett of Triumph.
The Beatles were at their peak right here, you can't believe Lennon he always contradict himself in 1974 he said: "of course i'm a big beatles fan too"
Capitol Records in America moved this song to 'Rubber Soul', and it's one of the few times where I agree with them! IMO it syncs better with the 'turtleneck folk rock' sound on 'Rubber Soul'. I don't mind the lyrics -- they're typical for the times. I DO mind that overly tremolo'd guitar lead. It sticks out a bit too much, IMO.
I really enjoy your reaction, although I don't understand much of what you say. Still I really enjoy the validation of songs I've loved most of my life. I bit disappointed you haven't reacted to more The Who. Try the live performance of Young Man Blues from the Isie of Wight show 1970 if you'd like to see blues and jazz involving into heavy rock and heavy metal right in front of you.
The rolled R on the word bright is part of his Liverpool accent, if you listen carefully you can hear the odd word sung in a Scouse accent on quite a few tracks.
I think Lennon is overly hard on this song, but I have to think that maybe he juxtaposed against the other songs on this album and thought it wasn't quite as good, or he wasn't pushing the envelope enough with it. It sort of has a sound as if it belongs on "Beatles for Sale", which is funny, because in the US it ended up on "Rubber Soul", where it really sounds out of place.
The guy in America working for Capitol records really butchered the Beatles artistry by editing albums to 12 songs vs. 14 in order to meet with industry standards.
That chord you couldn't get is actually a G+
It's not hard to play something that sounds good in the guitar, but to sound great takes years of practice. With a violin, it takes years to learn to play reasonably in tune.
I do like the switching of the B-flats and B naturals. Not my favorite of the songs on the album, though.
John approving of the lyrics is not a prerequisite for a song making the 150, apparently!
I always liked "It's Only Love." John was never shy about dishing out criticism, and that certainly included self-criticism -- I think that created a tendency to be too harsh on his own work.
THE NIGHT BEFORE please Amy and Vlad. !!
Vlad if you are going to do a Rocker from 1965 please do ‘I’m Down’ and ‘Bad Boy’ but not Dizzy Miss Lizzy as it really isn’t as good as either of those two.
They are both from the Help sessions.
Regards from Chelsea in London.
Nah they chose DML as the better Larry Williams song though I wish McCartney had put Yesterday as the flip of Help! and kept it for Rubber Soul instead of that misplaced Wait! Bad Boy is cute but I never cared for I'm Down. Your tastes are askew as usual but that's okay - an improvement on being a troll for sure! 🤡
@@johnbyrnes7912 You are just a nasty piece of work who cannot stop making rude and disparaging comments. Here is one of my own for you. Go forth and multiply.
Is Vlad including the non-album singles in this list? If they are just doing album tracks, they're missing most of the songs the Beatles and George Martin themselves thought were their best, because they were the ones they released as stand-alone singles and typically put more effort into.
I'm hoping I'll be the one to turn you on to Dimash... I have the best links to most of his early work (from 2017 through 2021).
Interesting that you would choose this song after what they said about it 😂
The chord you were struggling to identify was probably G+
What comes to mind after hearing this: 1- John must have been ashamed of his own feelings. 2- John judges his songs from the lyrics. 3- John has immense respect for rock music. 4- Paul has little respect for rock music.
I thought it was one of their better ones. Lennon's voice was perfect for it. Lennon was a bit of a moody chap. Tended to hate something if he was feeling a bit cranky. Then changing his mind later. Clever though.
I don't think John liked anything any of the Beatles did, ever.
Alliteration.
Any other singer-song writer would have given to have written this song but yet John dismissed it.
You only have 150 Beatles songs to cover as your stated goal. When you see how much more they have to offer, you'll kick yourself asking why did I waste time with this? Mark my words
My friend and I made a "Worst of the Beatles" playlist a number of years back: this was easily in the bottom 5. 🙃
no mention of Harrison. He was the superior musician of the group.
I realize I will be in the minority here, but I have to agree with John, not a huge fan, I don't hate it, but it is the most filler track on the 'Help!' Album, I would have much preferred "I've Just Seen A Face' or 'Tell Me What You See' or even George's 'You Like Me Too Much', sorry everyone.
Don’t read Lennon’s comments. He was a goofball. An unparalleled artist and singer. But a goofball.
Brando was the best actor of his generation. But a goofball. Just like Lennon. He spoke of acting the way Lennon describes his own work.
Bobby Fisher chess genius. Another goofball.
I admire all of them. But, let’s get real here.
This list could go on and on.
Well David we romantics prefer "complex" to " goofball" ! 🤡
@@johnbyrnes7912 complex goofball. And, as John earnestly described himself, a genius.
You definitely can play more of the song under the fair usage law on copyrights,please ...DON'T BE SO AFFRAID....!!!!!
Надо кверху задрать глаза и запрыгать как коза
Some of Vlad's choices make me nervous. There are only 150 slots, and there are at least 150 great Beatles songs. Every time an unremarkable pot-boiler like this one (even by Lennon's own estimation) gets a slot, thats another classic that isn't going to make the cut.
You have a knack for overanalizing music that is mediocre
I agree with John - this is the worst Beatles song I've heard hehehehe
I don't have 20 minutes to hear you explain alot of nothing get a real job
What do people find so enthralling about possibly the most UN tallented gang ever to try and make music Beatles scuse me while i puke
I don't understand WHY the You Tube copyright management system, as U refer to it, seems to be sooo unevenly enforced ??
Of all the music reaction channels we see/hear on You Tube, WE WOULD EXPECT YOUR CHANNEL would be among the LAST of those who are targeted in the way it is.
What am I referring to? The FRUSTRATING way U seem to be forced to play a scant few seconds of music at a time, instead of being able to play a minimum of 30 or 45 second bits, mixed with commentary or analysis.
THIS METHOD I find very dissatisfying.😐
It's a shame, because you are a serious commentator and analyzer, worthy of consideration by the decision makers, the gatekeepers at You Tube. AND The Beatles are iconic. THEY HAVE MADE THEIR MONEY -- and two of them are deceased. So why should either their legal representatives and/or You Tube be so user UNFRIENDLY ?? 😐
I've got to be honest. I can't promise I can be of a mindset where I would be patient enough to play an entire reaction video of yours EVERY TIME I happen upon one. HONESTLY, while I appreciate your contributions, I come to You Tube reaction channels as much for the music itself, as for reactions ALONGSIDE.
PLEEEEZE do what U have to do, in the way of an appeals process to the You Tube gatekeepers, to fix these unfair restrictions of your reaction channel. MAYBE enlist the assistance of your fans/followers/subscribers to pressure You Tube to relax their STRANGLEHOLD over YOUR creative process ??
much thanks
4/16/2024