I love this analysis. This is such a great idea - taking a song and discussing the period. Plenty of mileage too, with about another 250 Beatles songs left. Keep going!
The "Gretty chord", as the Beatles called it is 1 3 3 2 4 4 (F7#9) and it is a proper chord, not one that Paul made up. In Michelle, with capo on 5th fret, the chord is a Bb7#9. It is not the first time that the Beatles used this chord in this fingering, George used it in his solo for Till There Was You, an F#7#9.
“Michelle” is another great example of John masterfully completing Paul’s unfinished songs like “We can Work it Out” and “She’s Leaving Home” with the perfect chorus or bridge
I see Revolution in the Head on the table - what a book. I learned to much about the Beatles songs from that, how they were made, what they meant etc. This is a great idea for a channel, the interactive analysis of each song.
When I was a little kid, I had no idea it was in French. In my mind, the words were “Sunday morn we both play piano songs.” I grew up in the 80s, and was well aware of the song Ebony and Ivory. I mean, it’s the same guy in both songs, so it just made sense to me that two people would be playing on a piano together. It wasn’t till much later when I figured out I was way off on the lyrics.
Dave Bennett is way off when he suggests Lennon just “stumbled” onto F Minor accidentally. He knew exactly what he was doing. He did it hundreds of times. John and Paul didn’t need to know theory, they were beyond that.
John simply suggested that Paul use the “I love you” idea that he heard on a Nina Simone record. Paul then incorporated those words into the musical section he had that needed lyrics. So co- write to Nina but still primarily a Paul song. John’s bigger contribution was reminding Paul of his old French number and suggesting that Paul finish it. They had only 30 days to write and record Rubber Soul plus a double A side single so they both were desperate for anything they could pull out. Of course they pulled out mainly great songs.
@@dan2050 we know that John wrote the bridge because it has a different musical structure, a bluesy sound that takes the listener completely by surprise. Its like reading handwriting you can tell that different people were involved.
@@owenstunes5804 So a song that has a shift towards a different musical style means more than one songwriter? Both John and Paul as well as many others have tons of songs that they wrote alone with a change in style, key, tempo etc. It’s a songwriting solution well known to both of them. We weren’t there so we are just guessing as to authorship. My guess is based on John’s interview where he said he suggested to Paul using a more direct lyric by saying straight out “I love you” ala Simone might be cool. Also, Paul in his interviews claims Michele as his own with John adding just that one lyrical idea. Paul often had melodies but struggled with the lyrics and would ask John, George, Donovan or whoever was around for words. But we won’t know with certainty unless someone asks Paul.
If George Martin did compose the guitar lead for this song that would mean he composed two of the Beatles most iconic leads and on the same album as his piano solo on in my life makes that song a classic along with johns haunting vocals including his beautiful falsetto at the end. I go back and forth but I think rubber soul has the most soul of any Beatles record (no pun intended) and to me it marks the end of an era as John as leader of the band to handing it over to Paul later and shows just how much johns lyrical and musical leap on this album was as instrumental as Paul’s conceptual and musical leap on pepper that made them known as the pioneers of songwriting they were. This album is just as important to me in the Beatles canon as revolver and pepper.
l think it's not so much that Paul is seen as a balladeer and John as a rocker, but that Paul is seen as more traditional whereas John is the musical pioneer (which is true to some extent). But Paul's skills for mimicry should not be overlooked. You guys hit the nail when you mentioned that Paul would often create his own interpretation of a certain genre and bring it to the Beatles. There's countless examples of this, like Michelle, Rocky Raccoon, Honey Pie, I've Just Seen A Face, She's Leaving Home, Oh Darling, etc.
True, Paul is the more traditional Tin Pan Alley melodic writer whereas John was the more innovative outside the box composer/songwriter. Together they covered all grounds
I remember Paul in an interview mentioning how he would hear someone else do something, he said he would think, "Oh, that's good, I'm going to do my version of that". Interesting that he didn't say that he imitated whatever it was, but that he did his "version" of it.
The best part of the song is the chord right after the F minor, the G sharp 7th. Which was John's idea. That turns michelle from being just another nice Paul ballad into a classic.
‘That’ chord was shown to them by someone called Gretty in Liverpool, so Paul deliberately put that chord into the song. It’s slightly different to how you’re playing it, in that the little finger is over both the top E and B strings.
Yes you're right about how the chord is played, but l think David here is merely trying to explain how you can play the melody and strum at the same time.
"The smelly French one". That's how I always think of it since hearing Paul telling the story. :D I wish Paul would re-release the song in it's original name.
The second acoustic was punched in on the same track as the backing vocals - or vice versa. That’s why you don’t hear the BVs and second guitar at the same time. The guitar is only doubled for that descending line. It’s just one guitar wherever there’s BVs. The 2009 stereo remaster shows that, as the individual four tracks haven’t been de-mixed.
5:27 When I first watched this I thought, "here goes David (Bennett) again, imagining things that aren't there, such as in his Yesterday analysis or his Imagine analysis". But you're actually right this time, DB, as Paul does in fact play that weird B flat major raised 9 chord, although I wasn't aware of it. So thanks for pointing this out. I must say, though, that chord sounds good and bad at the same time. Totally weird!
If I remember correctly, some older generation MBE's returned theirs because they disagreed with 'long-haired pop singers' getting such an award from the Queen!
I find it interesting that this keeps being referred to as a McCartney song. Obviously that's how it started but Paul's melody is just 12 bars or so repeated several times and Lennon's section (bridge?) is as long and the part that lifts the song. It's a true Lennon and McCartney and do people still question whether John could write ballads and Paul rockers? Come on. they were both capable of anything and everything
Well I guess like most people think of A Day in the Life as a Lennon song. Most people are aware that especially in the early days they usually helped each other finish their songs, oftentimes by providing a middle section. But even John and Paul tended to think of most of their songs as belonging to one or the other.
Jajaja this would be his best of those but I wouldn’t include this one with When I’m 64, Obladi, Honey Pie, etc… Michelle is actually great and John’s bridge is perfect for it too
I love this analysis. This is such a great idea - taking a song and discussing the period. Plenty of mileage too, with about another 250 Beatles songs left. Keep going!
The "Gretty chord", as the Beatles called it is 1 3 3 2 4 4 (F7#9) and it is a proper chord, not one that Paul made up. In Michelle, with capo on 5th fret, the chord is a Bb7#9. It is not the first time that the Beatles used this chord in this fingering, George used it in his solo for Till There Was You, an F#7#9.
Do you mean F7? Not F#7?
@ yeah, I had Till There Was You on my mind. I’ll fix it.
“Michelle” is another great example of John masterfully completing Paul’s unfinished songs like “We can Work it Out” and “She’s Leaving Home” with the perfect chorus or bridge
Good to see David Stark back!
Brilliant show tonight. Should say even better than usual. I didn’t stop 😂. Love you guys and gals.
I see Revolution in the Head on the table - what a book. I learned to much about the Beatles songs from that, how they were made, what they meant etc. This is a great idea for a channel, the interactive analysis of each song.
A good read, but not particularly accurate in how they recorded and who plays what.
When I was a little kid, I had no idea it was in French. In my mind, the words were “Sunday morn we both play piano songs.” I grew up in the 80s, and was well aware of the song Ebony and Ivory. I mean, it’s the same guy in both songs, so it just made sense to me that two people would be playing on a piano together. It wasn’t till much later when I figured out I was way off on the lyrics.
Excellent episode. Thanks.
I think you could do an episode based on the same premise about the song And I Love Her.
Dave Bennett is way off when he suggests Lennon just “stumbled” onto F Minor accidentally. He knew exactly what he was doing. He did it hundreds of times. John and Paul didn’t need to know theory, they were beyond that.
They had great instincts
Another good-hearted and informative episode. Thank you
Thank you!
Michelle was a collaboration , paul wrote the verses and john wrote the i love you part
Paul wrote the verses, John wrote the bridge
John simply suggested that Paul use the “I love you” idea that he heard on a Nina Simone record. Paul then incorporated those words into the musical section he had that needed lyrics. So co- write to Nina but still primarily a Paul song. John’s bigger contribution was reminding Paul of his old French number and suggesting that Paul finish it. They had only 30 days to write and record Rubber Soul plus a double A side single so they both were desperate for anything they could pull out. Of course they pulled out mainly great songs.
@@dan2050 John came up with that whole section, not just made a suggestion. It's a co-write.
@@dan2050 we know that John wrote the bridge because it has a different musical structure, a bluesy sound that takes the listener completely by surprise. Its like reading handwriting you can tell that different people were involved.
@@owenstunes5804 So a song that has a shift towards a different musical style means more than one songwriter? Both John and Paul as well as many others have tons of songs that they wrote alone with a change in style, key, tempo etc. It’s a songwriting solution well known to both of them. We weren’t there so we are just guessing as to authorship. My guess is based on John’s interview where he said he suggested to Paul using a more direct lyric by saying straight out “I love you” ala Simone might be cool. Also, Paul in his interviews claims Michele as his own with John adding just that one lyrical idea. Paul often had melodies but struggled with the lyrics and would ask John, George, Donovan or whoever was around for words. But we won’t know with certainty unless someone asks Paul.
Michelle was a UK number one in early 66 for The Overlanders
If George Martin did compose the guitar lead for this song that would mean he composed two of the Beatles most iconic leads and on the same album as his piano solo on in my life makes that song a classic along with johns haunting vocals including his beautiful falsetto at the end. I go back and forth but I think rubber soul has the most soul of any Beatles record (no pun intended) and to me it marks the end of an era as John as leader of the band to handing it over to Paul later and shows just how much johns lyrical and musical leap on this album was as instrumental as Paul’s conceptual and musical leap on pepper that made them known as the pioneers of songwriting they were. This album is just as important to me in the Beatles canon as revolver and pepper.
l think it's not so much that Paul is seen as a balladeer and John as a rocker, but that Paul is seen as more traditional whereas John is the musical pioneer (which is true to some extent). But Paul's skills for mimicry should not be overlooked. You guys hit the nail when you mentioned that Paul would often create his own interpretation of a certain genre and bring it to the Beatles. There's countless examples of this, like Michelle, Rocky Raccoon, Honey Pie, I've Just Seen A Face, She's Leaving Home, Oh Darling, etc.
True, Paul is the more traditional Tin Pan Alley melodic writer whereas John was the more innovative outside the box composer/songwriter. Together they covered all grounds
Fantastic episode, BTW.
Thanks 😊
Happy to have big David back in the mix
In every episode David Stark uses the word iconic.
Also plenty of “really” at the end of a sentence
I remember Paul in an interview mentioning how he would hear someone else do something, he said he would think, "Oh, that's good, I'm going to do my version of that". Interesting that he didn't say that he imitated whatever it was, but that he did his "version" of it.
The best part of the song is the chord right after the F minor, the G sharp 7th. Which was John's idea. That turns michelle from being just another nice Paul ballad into a classic.
David - I didn't believe Paul played that major sharp 9 chord until I went and listened to the isolated guitar track. Who knew?
‘That’ chord was shown to them by someone called Gretty in Liverpool, so Paul deliberately put that chord into the song. It’s slightly different to how you’re playing it, in that the little finger is over both the top E and B strings.
Yes you're right about how the chord is played, but l think David here is merely trying to explain how you can play the melody and strum at the same time.
@@ric8248ah, I get it. Thank you.
@@ric8248 Judging by his playing of Dear Prudence, I'm not so sure.
Correct and it's not the first time the Beatles used it. George plays an F#7#9 chord in his Till There Was You solo
Superb channel
Thanks a lot
"The smelly French one". That's how I always think of it since hearing Paul telling the story. :D
I wish Paul would re-release the song in it's original name.
The second acoustic was punched in on the same track as the backing vocals - or vice versa. That’s why you don’t hear the BVs and second guitar at the same time. The guitar is only doubled for that descending line. It’s just one guitar wherever there’s BVs. The 2009 stereo remaster shows that, as the individual four tracks haven’t been de-mixed.
5:27 When I first watched this I thought, "here goes David (Bennett) again, imagining things that aren't there, such as in his Yesterday analysis or his Imagine analysis". But you're actually right this time, DB, as Paul does in fact play that weird B flat major raised 9 chord, although I wasn't aware of it. So thanks for pointing this out. I must say, though, that chord sounds good and bad at the same time. Totally weird!
Can't wait for the Revolution 9 episode
YES PLEASE REVOLUTION 9 EPISODE 🤯🤯🔥
These guys will still get it wrong.
We need a live to episode!!
Thanks all
Apparently, George M. played the solo on piano away from the mic to have George H. follow along on his guitar mic'd.
They received the MBEs not for services to music. It was for their contributions to British income!
If I remember correctly, some older generation MBE's returned theirs because they disagreed with 'long-haired pop singers' getting such an award from the Queen!
David, you probably are already aware of this but be careful when using a capo. Sounded like removing it made the guitar go out of tune.
I've often wondered who's idea it was for the guitar tone on the solo, the tone control rolled back to sound nearly off.
jazz
From photos from the session, it appears the solo is done on a Strat, capo on 5 like the acoustics and bass. I'd say middle p/u tone rolled off.
I find it interesting that this keeps being referred to as a McCartney song. Obviously that's how it started but Paul's melody is just 12 bars or so repeated several times and Lennon's section (bridge?) is as long and the part that lifts the song. It's a true Lennon and McCartney and do people still question whether John could write ballads and Paul rockers? Come on. they were both capable of anything and everything
Well I guess like most people think of A Day in the Life as a Lennon song. Most people are aware that especially in the early days they usually helped each other finish their songs, oftentimes by providing a middle section. But even John and Paul tended to think of most of their songs as belonging to one or the other.
Back up a bit dude, Yesterday was the Beatles crossroads. Great song though..
Cap-o? It's Kay-po.
It’s capo, like bottle cap. Comes from the same Latin root, meaning “head” or “top” 😊
@@DavidBennettPiano Same rules as taper / tapper.
Nah, it's Cah-po, not Kay-po.
There’s quite a possibility that Paul played all the parts except the drums.
more of Paul's granny shit
Jajaja this would be his best of those but I wouldn’t include this one with When I’m 64, Obladi, Honey Pie, etc… Michelle is actually great and John’s bridge is perfect for it too
Michelle is cool? This is new information to me.
Better late than never. Wake up 💤.