Won't you come out and play?

I think I've probably mentioned in this here blog before that I was a major late-comer to the music of the Beatles.  I mean I remember hearing all of the early hits - "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "Twist And Shout", "She Loves You", "I Saw Her Standing There" (I thought they did a really great job covering that classic Tiffany song!).  I never really heard a whole lot from them, though - Ma was classically trained, so the extent of her Beatles knowledge was "Eleanor Rigby" (which is, however, one of my all-time favorite songs, period), and Randy, who loved both kinds of music: country and western (with the occasional 50s and 60s rock thrown in).  Because of this, I was only exposed to whatever I heard on the radio, whether it be the top 40 hits of the day, or whatever "classic rock" they happened to play.  They never really delved that deeply into any albums, though, so I never heard anything else.

When I got to college I started hearing a few things here and there.  I used to sit out in the hall with a buddy of mine who was a couple of years older and play guitar.  He was the first person that I heard play "Dear Prudence" (as well as "The Weight", but that's a whole other blog). 

It wasn't until several years later that I started getting really interested in these (formerly) Mop Topped Dudes.  As the guys in my old band, Rocket Park, would often joke about, I learned most of my Beatles songs off of commercials (one in particular was for a Philips electronics commercial, which used "Getting Better").  I guess getting made fun of kind of facilitated my "yearnin' for learnin'" about the Fab Four.

I just started borrowing albums from people, and from the library, and - when finances allowed - just blindly buying albums that I figured were "must-have" albums: "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", and the album we listened to in class this evening, "The Beatles", otherwise known as "The White Album". 

It was really great to listen to that album again, this evening, really - I just don't dig that album out nearly enough.  A lot of people shy away from that album, not because of "Blackbird", "Birthday", or "Back In The USSR", but because of the more experimental stuff, such as "Piggies", "Honey Pie", and "Revolution 9".  What can I say - there may or may not have been some illegal substances in the general vicinity of Abbey Road studios in the summer of 1968!

Well, throughout the years I've listened to all of the albums and I'm definitely in the "Abbey Road" camp.  I just think it's a brilliant album cover to cover - yes, even the Ringo stuff!  I think that the second side (for those of you who actually remember "vinyl albums") beginning with "Here Comes The Sun" and ending with "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End / Her Majesty " , is probably the most brilliant 22 minutes in all of rock and roll.  No, really.  Check it out if you don't know!

Tonight's stroke is white, for that amazing album with all of that crazy crap on it!  And don't worry, Paul is, contrary to popular belief (40+ years ago) very much alive.  #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. #9. (ad infinitum)