Recorded - April 13 and 14, 1966
Released - May 30, 1966 (US), June 10, 1966 (UK)
#1 for weeks of June 25 and July 9, 1966.
The Beatles spent the first three months of 1966 taking a much needed break from touring, interviews, and recording. It was a good thing they finally had a breather as they would spend much of the following three months working on sixteen monumental new songs. Fourteen of those sixteen went on their groundbreaking classic album, Revolver. The other two, "Paperback Writer" and "Rain", were released as standalone singles, and it was the former which went to number one in both countries. Yet, "Paperback Writer" isn't merely the next step in the Beatles songwriting, in fact, it's more of a quantum leap.
The Revolver album was The Beatles first truly psychedelic LP, with songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "She Said She Said" sounding light years ahead of "She Loves You" or "I Want To Hold Your Hand". "Paperback Writer" continues this more artistically progressive aesthetic by featuring some of the heaviest rock The Beatles ever put on record.
One of the more subtle differences between "Paperback Writer" and all of The Beatles' previous songs is that Paul started using a Rickenbacker bass as opposed to his classic Hofner violin bass. The more obvious differences would be the aforementioned heavier tone. There are a number of guitar parts that John and George added onto the recording and all of these guitars are loud, distorted, and add extra power to the song.
Even the vocals sound much more progressive and "Hip". Prior to each time the song's name is sung acapella, the preceding vocals have a very psychedelic and trippy effect. It is as if the listener is getting sucked in and out of this dreamworld which is created in the instrumentation and vocal arrangement. Finally, Paul's lead vocal performance is of course top notch.
In the UK, the following single release, the double A-sided "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby", reached #1. However, perhaps due to the ridiculous overreaction in the US to one of John's, taken out of context, statements, the singles only reached numbers 2 and 11 respectively. "Eleanor Rigby" in particular shows such an even more groundbreaking maturation in the group's sound, and I could write a whole essay about how good that song is.
The Beatles summer '66 tour was a disaster. From being attacked in the Philippines, to fearing for their lives in the American South, all four finally agreed to cease touring. After playing at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29, 1966, The Beatles, as a touring band, were no more. They would spend three months pursuing other activities alone amidst speculation of a breakup. Nobody, not even The Beatles themselves, could have predicted the massive success that would follow...
Final Verdict - "Paperback Writer" displays a much heavier side of The Beatles. It has a strong riff, a great vocal arrangement, and enough rock power to appeal to all rock music fans. I, for one, always enjoy a listen.
Coming Up Next - "Strangers In The Night" by Frank Sinatra.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock saying, Dear sirs or madams, won't you read my blog?
No comments:
Post a Comment