By Patrick J. Miller | Observer Contributor
In each “Shorthand,” I will cover multiple songs and talk briefly about each of them, all tied to a theme. This month’s theme is “Early Beatles Edition.”
“Love Me Do”
Lennon/McCartney – Non-Album Single [17 (UK)/1 (US)] – 1962.10.05 [UK]/1964.04.27 [US]
“Love Me Do” works as a really simple song that does not need any sort of encryption in order to find a deeper meaning but it would be overshadowed by almost everything else The Beatles would release in the future. [5/10]
“I Want to Hold Your Hand”
Lennon/McCartney – Non-Album Single [1 (UK & US)] – 1963.11.29 [UK]/1963.12.26 [US]
By a year’s time, The Beatles were able to start growing up as an artist, and it is reflected both in this song, and “Thank You Girl.” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” in comparison to “Love Me Do,” has not only a much more defined bridge between verses two and three, but also a much catchier tune. It was selected as the band’s breakout US single for a reason. [8/10]
“Thank You Girl”
Lennon/McCartney – Non-Album Single [35 (US)] – 1963.04.11 [UK]/1963.05.27 [US]
This is the B-Side to “From Me To You,” and I feel that it could survive as a headlining single all by itself. The song serves as a love letter to the then-small fan base as the band was starting to really take off. The lyrics are simple, but nice, and the composition was smooth and effective in delivering the bands’ thanks. I would definitely recommend it. [8/10]
Mistakes
I have made two major mistakes in a few of my previous articles:
1) In my “Heroes and Villains” review, I mentioned that there is a stereo mix on the vinyl edition of The Smile Sessions. No such unique version exists on vinyl, but a stereo mix is available on the CD version.
2) I have been informed by an outsider that an “editorial” is an opinion piece, not an “about” article. All future articles will be information-based as well as opinion-based and will be filed under a new name.
-Patrick J. Miller, music reviewer [2015.12.15]
Notes
1) “BEATLES | Artist”. Official Charts. [http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/10363/beatles/] [UK charting – Love Me Do]
2) “The Beatles – Awards”. AllMusic. [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/awards] [US charting – Love Me Do]
3) Gambaccini 1991, pp. 27. [UK charting – I Want to Hold Your Hand]
4) Harry 1985, pp. 66. [US charting – I Want to Hold Your Hand]
5) Billboard Hot 100 [http://www.billboard.com/artist/383540/beatles/chart?page=5&f=379] [US charting – Thank You Girl]
Comments are closed.