#57: Baby's In Black

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Released: December 4, 1964
Appears on: Beatles For Sale
Lead vocal: John, Paul & George

Harmony exercises were usually kept to B-Sides for the Beatles, but for the final part of John's opening trilogy, they chose to use probably their best three-part harmony as the closer. It's probably one of the most melancholy songs in the Beatles' catalog (aside from the song that proceeds it), but it certainly is a thing of beauty. Aside from the vocals on the track, put your ear's attention to George's clunky, sorrowful guitar, especially during the solo. It definitely optimizes the sadness that John's lyrics show. My favorite part is the bridge sequence. Sure, Paul sounds like he's straining his voice when they sing "Oh, how long will it take?", but the fact is that it shows the Beatles at the height of their harmonic powers.

The Beatles' harmonies in their early period is one of the reasons why I prefer to this time period to the latter years. The Beatles' three-part harmonies would get just two more great showcases, so I can't write an obituary for it just yet.

Where else can you find "Baby's In Black"? Well, as one of the best Beatles songs, it's surprising to know that the only release of the song, aside from it's appearance on Beatles For Sale, was on Capitol's Beatles '65. A live take was issued on the "Real Love" CD single, but that's it. Oh well...I don't need alternate versions to prove that this is one of the Beatles' best songs.

#56: I'm A Loser

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: December 4, 1964
Appears on: Beatles For Sale
Lead vocal: John

It's kind of difficult to think that one of the most successful (and rich) men in the world at the time would call himself a loser, but that's exactly what John does with "I'm A Loser".

The song is the first instance of John's "Dylania", as Tony Barrow called it on the sleeve note for the Beatles For Sale EP. As we all know, Dylan was a huge influence on the Beatles, particularly John and George. However, at this point if you were told that one of the Beatles would be in a group with Dylan, you probably would guess John would be the one.

The two wrote remarkably similar love songs, even before the two finally met during the Beatles' first US tour. Both wrote songs about rejection and it's easy to see the parallels between "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)" and "You Can't Do That", where both singers deal with wild girls who can't seem to control themselves within set boundaries.

With "I'm A Loser", though, John touches on the psyche, looking inwards to find reasons why a girl would be so mean to him. It's kind of like "It Ain't Me Babe", except in John's song, he admits to trying to be able to impress, but fails. In Dylan's song, the singer doesn't even make an attempt. He just brushes the girl away..."...But it ain't me babe. No, no, no, it ain't me you're lookin' for babe!" John's "I'm A Loser" features a guy who wants the girl, even though he knows that she'll just put him down. He knows that it ain't me, but he still goes after her, almost getting a high out of being turned down (OK, maybe that's going a little far, but you can see where I get that...I hope).

I always find part twos of any good trilogy to be the best parts and "I'm A Loser" is certainly the best of the opening trilogy.

#55: No Reply

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: December 4, 1964
Appears on: Beatles For Sale
Lead vocal: John

"This happened once before

When I came to your door...

No reply..."

And thus begins the most powerful trilogy of songs to open an album. The needle drops on the first band and there is no introduction, nothing. Just John..."This happened once before..."

"No Reply" is not just another John song where he seeks our pity because he knows he has lost his girl. He goes even further - revealing that he has been stalking this girl and has found out that she is seeing another man. In fact, this is a complete story. The singer realizes that the relationship is over by the end of the song. The last verse is most telling to this idea. He is in so much pain that he sings "I nearly died! I nearly died/'Cause you walked hand in hand/With another man/In my place!"

The song not only reveals that the Beatles are looking far more inward than any other pop/rock group did in 1964, but also that their recording techniques had taken leaps and bounds in the just-over-a-year time period between "Love Me Do" and Beatles For Sale. John's vocal is double-tracked throughout the entire song. John and George play acoustic guitars. George Martin adds piano. Paul adds the higher harmony parts. Ringo's drumming is getting more unconventional ("No reply!" CRASH! "No reply!" BANG!).

The Beatles are getting better and "No Reply", the opening song on Beatles For Sale, is one hell of a way to show it.

#54: She's A Woman

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: November 27, 1964
Appears on: Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: Paul

Remember back when I said Little Richard was a huge influence on the Beatles? That might have been an understatement.

"She's A Woman", which was the B-Side to "I Feel Fine", was Paul's first 'Little Richard' song. It's definitely a fun song, with a pretty basic tune and lyrics. It is the first appearance of "turn me on" in a song, but Paul uses the phrase so innocently, that the drug reference might have slipped. You know, somehow "Turn me on when I get lonely" is OK, but "I'd love turn you on" is a no-no, but that's neither here nor there.

This is also a song that proves that Paul could do a knock-out rock vocal just as well as John on his own song. John wasn't the only one who wrote rockers, and "She's A Woman" certainly proves it.

"She's A Woman" was performed during the '65 tour. It appeared on Beatles '65 in the US, but didn't appear on a UK album until 1978's Rarities.

Next up: Beatles For Sale!

#53: I Feel Fine

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: November 27, 1964
Appears on: Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: John

Vvvvveeeerrrrroooowwwwwmmmm......

"I Feel Fine" has another one of those out-of-left-field openings. This is three years before Jimi Hendrix would explode onto the stage, toying with guitar feedback as if it was just another noise a guitar was supposed to make.

Of course, nobody had put that sound on record, that is, until "I Feel Fine". The feedback intro isn't the only great thing about the song, though. It really is a wonderful track, filled with a lot of energy that makes it the perfect single. Sure, it's driven by a single guitar riff by John (meaning that he's actually the dominant guitar on this song), but there's something good about hearing a happy, straight-up love song from John.

Another thing about "I Feel Fine" is that it truly needed to be released as a single only. It really wouldn't fit on Beatles For Sale, whose originals are much more personal than this joyous track. "Eight Days A Week" was going to be the Christmas single, but "I Feel Fine" came out of nowhere. How do make the decision of "Eight Days A Week" or "I Feel Fine"? Personally, I like the decision. The song is a totally different beat than anything on Beatles For Sale and would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

#52: I'll Be Back

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

A Hard Day's Night ends with the most obvious promise the Beatles could give: that they'll be back.

"I'll Be Back", which on the surface is just a song about a guy who assures his love that he'll be back even if she breaks his heart, seems to be a lot more than that. I think it's an important part of Beatles history because it really proves that these guys were thinking in terms of albums already, at a time when everything was just singles. Albums were supposed to be just a random collection of songs, with hardly any structure. Here, though, on their first 100% original record*, they care about the sequence. You can't tell me with a straight face that the group for once thought that "I'll Be Back" would not be the end of the album.

"I'll Be Back" is the Beatles being prophetic in that they will be back and they'll be sticking around. Of course, the immediate truth is that they'd be back in three months time with another fantastic single and in four months with an LP more introspective than a pop group in 1964 had any right to be.

*I haven't mentioned this before, but A Hard Day's Night really is the first album by a pop group to be fully written by members of the band. It was virtually inconceivable in 1964 for an album to actually read "WORDS & MUSIC BY JOHN LENNON & PAUL McCARTNEY".

Next is, of course, "I Feel Fine" b/w "She's A Woman" and Beatles For Sale and, in case you're wondering, here is "You Can't Do That".

#51: When I Get Home

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

I guess when I said that with the beatles was the last appearance of that 'girl-group' infatuation...I lied.

"When I Get Home" is essentially a girl-group song, written by John. Personally, this is the one song on the album I really don't like. Sure, it's not on the level of "Hold Me Tight", but it's certainly not one of the group's finer moments.

I've always thought the lyrics were kind of interesting. For example, John uses the word "trivialities" in the second verse, which goes:

Come on, if you please,
I got no time for trivialities;

I've got a girl who's waiting home for me tonight!

I'm sorry, but who uses that word in a pop song?

Anyway, the song does feature some fantastic group harmonies, but as I noted before, it's not that great. "When I Get Home" is definitely the most forgettable moment on A Hard Day's Night.