Let Us Now Praise... The Beatles@BeatlesPraise
"I heard Joni Mitchell say, 'Everybody's a songwriter, even people who shouldn't be.' It's true. It was as true in 1963 as it is today. People heard the Beatles and said, 'Oh, I could do that!' Actually, no, you couldn't. You couldn't write 'She Loves You,' let alone 'For No One' or 'Girl.' It's the same today. A lot of people who can sort of write songs screw up their ears and tell themselves it's something special. But it's not really.
"Lennon, McCartney and Harrison had stunningly high standards as writers. Imagine releasing a song like 'Ask Me Why' or 'Things We Said Today' as a B side. They made such fantastic records as 'Penny Lane' b/w 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and only put them out as singles! These records were events, and not just advance notice of an album release.
"You can’t really put onto the page what is great about 'And Your Bird Can Sing' or 'Paperback Writer' or even a great overlooked hard rock Beatles cut like 'Hey Bulldog.' Ok, you can break it down to this remarkable guitar part, those weirdly tracked, overlapping vocal harmonies or Lennon’s insanely intense delivery of an almost throwaway cut and even remark that the piano part is a relative of 'Lady Madonna.' But this doesn’t begin to explain how these records make me feel. That is beyond words."
--#ElvisCostello
#Songwriter #TheAttractions @ElvisCostello #Grammys #ASCAP #BAFTA #HallOfFame #TheBeatles #Influence #GOAT
