Beatles '65

After the initial frenetic rush of Beatlemania subsided by the fall of 1964 and before the "new era" Beatles were launched with the release of Rubber Soul in December of 1965, the boys concentrated on putting out some classic pop songs.  It was a period when Lennon and McCartney seemed like they could churn this stuff out easily song after song.

In December 1964 the band released Beatles For Sale (but only in the UK) while in the same month Capitol Records released Beatles '65 for the American audience which included only 8 of the 14 songs from the UK release while adding a song from A Hard Day's Night as well as the recent single I Feel Fine/She's A Woman.

In February 1965 the Beatles released Eight Days A Week in the U.S only backed by I Don't Want To Spoil The Party which appeared on Beatles For Sale.

In April came the worldwide release of Ticket To Ride from the upcoming movie Help! with Yes It Is as the B-side.

You can read more about Beatles singles in this post.

In June 1965 Capitol released Beatles VI containing the other six tracks from Beatles For Sale, two songs from the soon to be released movie Help!, two covers (Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Bad Boy) recorded specifically for the American market along with Yes It Is.

Finally in August of that year the soundtrack from Help! was released.

It was during this period that gems like No Reply, I'll Follow The Sun, Every Little Thing, What You're Doing, Help!, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and You're Going to Lose That Girl were released.

Here are two particular favorites, the B-sides to the two singles.  Below are both followed by a video showing how the gorgeous harmonies were done featuring Galeazzo Frudua, half of Two Guys in a Bar in Bologna featured previously on THC.  Galeazzo gives some interesting background on both tunes.

I Don't Want To Spoil The Party

I don't want to spoil the party so I'll go
I would hate my disappointment to show
There's nothing for me here so I will disappear
If she turns up while I'm gone please let me know

I've had a drink or two and I don't care
There's no fun in what I do if she's not there
I wonder what went wrong I've waited far too long
I think I'll take a walk and look for her


Yes It Is 

Please don't wear red tonight
This is what I said tonight
For red is the color that will make me blue
In spite of you, it's true
Yes it is, it's true
Yes it is

Beatles/Stones Face Off Part 2

Reviewing the rules:


Dates of single release in the U.S. are shown in (parens).

Singles reaching #1 on the Billboard Charts are shown in boldface.

Singles not reaching #1 but charting in the Top 5 are underlined.

Singles peaking between #6 and #10 are in italics.
 

As Tears Go By (12/18/65):   The Stones show their “sensitive” side as they try to imitate Yesterday. Strings on a Stones song??

19^th Nervous Breakdown (2/4/66):   Stones quickly decide to “man up”. Another surprising choice of topic and lyric.  "You better stop, and look around".   And you have the bass thing at the end.

Nowhere Man (2/15/66):  Not released as single in the UK. One of my least favorite Beatles singles but great sounding guitar and soaring harmonies.

Paint It Black (5/7/66):  Awesome, unusual, brooding, dark.  One of my favorite Stones singles.

Paperback Writer/Rain (5/30/66):  Definitely the first song ever about paperback writers! First Beatles single where you could hear the bass on the AM radio. Rain was the first single about whatever it was about as the Beatles began their drift away from reality. The backwards ending was a first.  This is the promo video for Rain:

Mothers’ Little Helper (7/2/66):   First single about housewives pill popping, for whatever it’s worth. About as “snappy” as the Stones got.

Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby (8/8/66): Although I don’t like it, Yellow Submarine had a unique sound but is way too silly for me. Eleanor Rigby: poignant, succinct and perfect pop.

Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadows? (9/24/66):  Is this just bad production or did the Stones do it on purpose? It sounds like every once in a while there are some horns and a drum on the track but all I can really hear is that THUNDERING bass.  I really liked this when it came out; loved the chaos.  Here's what the mess sounded like:

  
Ruby Tuesday/Let’s Spend the Night Together (1/14/67): After a long (for the 60s) hiatus the Stones hit the top again. This single is much better produced than earlier Stones singles – although on Ruby Tuesday it sounds like Charlie is playing the drums down the street. Let’s Spend the Night was a #3 hit in the UK.

Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever (2/13/67): After a six month hiatus (and four months before Sgt Pepper is released) the new era starts. This was the most avidly awaited Beatles single ever because of the lengthy silence from the band.  Everyone knows both songs.  They are embedded in our brains.  I still prefer Strawberry Fields ("no one I think is in my tree").

With that both bands were on to new territory but the great hit singles competition was over.  The Stones got diverted into trying to imitate the Beatles with His Satanic Majesty's Request and then jumping on the "Summer of Love" fad with Flowers but it just wasn't them. They didn’t have another major U.S. hit till the summer of 1968 (Jumpin’ Jack Flash) when they came to their senses and realized they needed to stop dabbling in that psychedelic peace stuff and get back to the basics; rebelliousness, dissolute behavior and girls.  They only had one other hit single, though it was a huge smash, Honky Tonk Women (summer 1969) before The Beatles dissolved in 1970.

As for The Beatles during this same period (spring 67 to spring 70) they released nine more singles of which seven hit #1, including their best selling single ever, Hey Jude, and the other two made it to the Top 5.

Final scorecard (Nov 64 - Feb 67)

Beatles:  10 Singles, 9 #1, 1 Top 5, 2 B sides Top 5, 2 B sides Top 10

Stones:  10 Singles, 4 #1, 1 Top 5, 4 Top 10

Beatles/Stones Face Off Part 1

Let's take a look back at that surprisingly brief period (certainly shorter than I remembered) when The Beatles and The Rolling Stones went head to head releasing singles in the U.S.  It only lasted from November 1964 to February 1967, twenty eight months in which the two groups released 20 singles, some of which were double-sided hits (all but one by The Beatles).  Part 1 covers the first 14 months, to the end of 1965 while Part 2 covers the remainder of this period.

Until late 1964 there was simply no competition.  The Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show in February, in March 60% of all singles sold in the States were by John, Paul, George and Ringo and in early April they had 13 of the top 100 Billboard singles. There was a deluge of Beatles singles as various labels put out tracks to capitalize on the band's insane popularity and order was not restored till late summer.  Meanwhile, the first Stones singles barely charted in the US with only Time Is On My Side barely making the Top 10. 

Some notes before we start the review:

Dates of single release in the U.S. are shown in (parens).

Singles reaching #1 on the Billboard Charts are shown in boldface.

Singles not reaching #1 but charting in the Top 5 are underlined.

Singles peaking between #6 and #10 are in italics.

Okay, now we're ready:

I Feel Fine/ She’s A Woman (11/23/64):  The Beatles kick things off with the first single to use guitar feedback. Great riff and nice break with Ringo on the drums.

Heart of Stone (12/19/64):  The Stones were, along with The Animals, the leading “black” sounding British invasion band and this song reflects it although it also has an odd country overlay in parts. Second Stones song to hit the Top 20.

Eight Days a Week (2/15/65):  Not released as single in the UK. The last early period Beatlesque single. They could have gone writing stuff like this forever but they would have lost their relevancy.

The Last Time (3/13/65):  Neat, and simple, riff. Second Stones song to reach the Top 10.  Murky production.

Ticket to Ride (4/19/65):  Listen to the off kilter drumming! First use of British slang in Beatles single.

Satisfaction (5/27/65):  The Rolling Stones become THE STONES. One of the best known riffs in rock history, great lyric and beat along with “hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say”. First single to ever combine mocking consumerism with sexual suggestiveness (actually, it’s more than suggested). The bad boys become badder.

Help (7/19/65):  Unusual opening and ending. The first introspective lyric in a Beatles hit.

Yesterday (9/13/65):  Whaa? Jaw dropping when it came out. Another first for The Beatles -  kids and the DJs agreed, never heard anything like it before - some liked it, some hated it. Hey, where’d John, George and Ringo go?

Get Off of My Cloud (9/25/65):  What’s Mick saying? What's it about? Doesn’t sound like a love (or even lust) song. It's all jumbled up but it's very cool and the Stones keep the momentum going from Satisfaction.

We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper (12/6/65):  The Beatles use unusual instrumentation (including a harmonium) and song structure and the lyrics sound like they start in the middle of a conversation. A beautifully constructed pop single. Day Tripper has another memorable riff and big use of British slang.

The count so far:

Beatles:  6 Singles all of which were #1 and 2 B side Top 5s.

Stones:   4 Singles, 2 #1 and 1 Top 10.