Music Blog

Feb Fab Faux Four #7

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

© Misky

We’re closing out Week 1 of Feb Fab Faux Four with a beautifully intricate Beatles song written while they were in India.

I was in my car one day and, as usual, the radio was tuned to The Beatles Channel. There was a guest host talking about and playing his four favorite Beatles songs and this was one of them. Whoever the guy was, he drew me in with his description of the song, breaking down all the nuances I’d never picked up on; he spoke so eloquently that I had to pull over and listen.

This song is so involved yet so subtle, we don’t realize that each one of the three Beatles is actually playing his own individual song. No one outshines the other and it all comes together quite seamlessly and very beautifully. And, yes …. you read correctly. I wrote three Beatles; Ringo was not at this recording session in 1968. He had temporarily left the group out of protest at Paul’s non-stop criticism of his drumming on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Ringo walked out and Paul sat behind the kit for this song.

As you can imagine, in Ringo’s absence the Beatles had to play even more instruments than usual for this song and there were numerous takes. The breakdown of who did what goes like this: John sang lead vocals, backing vocals and played rhythm guitars; Paul sang harmony and backing vocals, played drums, bass guitar, piano and tambourine; George sang harmony and backing vocals, played rhythm guitar, lead guitars and tambourine while contributing personnel Mal Evans and Jackie Lomax did backing vocals, hand claps and additional percussion.

For an amazing experience, listen to today’s original through headphones, if you can; it’s mind-blowing.

Here’s the gorgeous “Dear Prudence” by the Beatles. Listen to those layers of music!

🪲

It’s time to bring in the ladies again, at least as lead singer. Doing their own unique version of “Dear Prudence”, here’s Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The Times called Siouxsie and the Banshees “one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era.” Well, they certainly were on this cover song! Do we have any Siouxsie and the Banshees fans out there? What are your thoughts about this version?

For me, there’s absolutely no comparison to the original.

We’re going to a bluesy bar tomorrow for a very interesting tune. Bring your ID, kids!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

22 thoughts on “Feb Fab Faux Four #7”

    1. Oh, I’m so glad, Dale!

      Try listening to the Beatles with headphones …. even little earbuds will suffice …. and be prepared to have your mind blown. I appreciate this song so much more after having heard that radio show. It’s a masterpiece.

      Such talented boys, my Beatles. 😊

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  5. Yes I’m a fan. Siouxsie & The Banshees also did a cover of The Beatles’ Helter Skelter. They did a whole album of cover versions on their Through The Looking Glass album. It didn’t get a lot of praise. …But I liked it 🙂

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  6. I loved the original, which sounded great even on our mono record player. Siouxsie and the Banshees weren’t really my thing. I quite liked their first single, Hong Kong Garden, but not much else that they did. Including this cover, which somehow made #3 in our singles chart.

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