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(Archive April 2016) Shorthand 03: The Beatles & Beach Boys Edition

“Eight Days a Week”
Lennon-McCartney – Beatles for Sale – 1964.12.04

It’s definitely a good song, even if the band isn’t too fond of it. It’s the ‘dark-horse’ of The Beatles’ fourth UK album, with its brighter composition in comparison to the rest of the original compositions’ darker overtones, as well as the possible double-meanings that are present. All of that makes this one a favorite of mine. [8/10]

“A Day in the Life (Anthology Edit)”
Lennon-McCartney – Anthology 2 – 1996.03.18

My inner purist would like to disregard this track completely, but I feel like the producers mean no malice when this ‘Frankenstein’ mix was created. They wanted to tell what they felt was ‘the best way’ to tell the story of one of the biggest bands in history. It could’ve benefited from the ‘multiple tracks to represent separate outtakes’ approach that was done to several tracks previously, but I’m content with what we have in the meantime. [5/10]

“California Girls”
Wilson-Love – Summer Days [and Summer Nights!!]/Single [#3, US] – 1965.07.12

This song basically does what it intends to do: make a checklist of how each kind of girl is awesome in its own right, and not butcher it. This would be a major turning point for The Beach Boys, and especially for co-writer Brian Wilson. [8/10]

“Summer of Love”
Love-Melcher –Summer in Paradise – 1992.08.03

I don’t know if this song represents the very concept of a personal hell, or a poor rendition of one. I don’t even know if it actually represents any sort of musical value, or anything else at all. Whatever the hell it is, “Summer of Love” represents the worst kind of creative sterility: one that sucks all of the soul and happiness out of a track and replaces it with artificial elements with the sole intention of maximizing profit. [na/10]

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