The Beatles Anthology 1 Disc 2, All My Loving live from Ed Sullivan.
You can actually hear Paul McCartney smiling. It’s infectious.
Summer after 8th grade is when I heard this for the first time and it blew me away.
But it was earlier in my 8th grade year when my friend Emily Goff let me borrow The Beatles Past Masters Vol. 2 cd that I started down the path. (I don’t think I ever returned it to her. Sorry, Emily)
Hey Jude was on that cd.
I had no idea every single part of a song could be that good. I had no idea the notes of a melody could be put together in such a beautiful way. I had no idea that in the key of F you could play an Eb chord before going to a Bb….the 1 7 4 progression in the Na-Na part.
Totally amazed.
And finally the clincher was Strawberry Fields Forever, the first track on “The Blue” album. That mellotron intro, John’s voice and the drum fill. So mysterious and inviting.
I love remembering getting into The Beatles because I fell hard. So many amazing songs, so much evolution, revolution and romance.
Remembering makes me feel like I’m a kid in 8th grade again.
Being able to thumb through Spotify or Apple Music today for and go from one Beatles smash to another brings with it that semblance of discovery all over again.
It’s good to be a kid again every once and a while, even in two and a half minute increments.
Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.
I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com