I think I remember being about 13 or so. I was asleep, but partially awake. This song came on the radio, and pushed into my sub-conscious state. It was so beautiful, and sad, and sunk in deep. I woke up in tears, and have loved the song ever since.
Thank you for this! I'm a huge huge Beatles fan since I discovered them when I was around 13 years old in the early 70s. Your take, insight, and comments on the group and their music is spot-on! I love the details you offer into the music and its arrangement, this is sort of classroom lecture for me and I love it... to learn so much more about the music I grew-up with and love so much just enhances it for me aaaallll the more! Thank you once again. I hope you do an individual reaction/reflection of each of the Beatles in the future of their solo years... Pauls no doubt will be a task in just his own McCartney solo works, his band Wings, and other genres he has tackled in his vast career, including that of classic pieces he wrote and play on as well. Until next time... Keep up the Awesome work guys!
Thank you Amy for your work. I'm learning a lot about how to appreciate (or analyze) music. I am 70 years old and I have liked The Beatles for a long time. In fact, after all these years of hearing a lot of different styles of music, they still are the best for me in rock/pop music. And this song is, probably in my top 20.
I really enjoyed that reaction, Amy. The Beatles are so hardwired into my synapses at this point that I almost take that part of my musical background for granted. Revisiting them through your ears and hearing you filter them through your knowledge of and experience with music is really making the Beatles experience fresh again for me. Many thanks for that.
Great to see the Beatles series continuing. I really enjoyed the full analysis on Patreon, and thanks for providing the excerpts here on YT. Hopefully their blocking policy will change soon and you will be able to release the full versions here on YT. An interesting and informative breakdown of the harmonic structure and chord construction. Looking forward to more songs from this album and subsequent albums.
Hello Amy and Vlad. Thank you for reviewing this, one of my favourites. I have very fond memories of sitting in my dining room, listening to the song over and over on the turntable and being confounded by the chords. My mother (who was a very good folk singer/guitarist) had a phenomonal ear, came into the room and in a few minutes, had figured out all the chords. She then remarked about something I think you may have missed or glossed over - the key change after the intro. Key changes usually happen near the end of the song, almost never near the beginning. Genius. But there's another common but subtle Lennon/McCartney trick which my mother pointed out: which is the melody and which is the harmony? John wrote the song and sings lead vocal so I would assume that what he's singing throughout the song is the melody. But, after the intro when Paul joins, singing above John, now John's singing sounds like a lower harmony and Paul's singing (above John) sounds like the melody. Which is which? When most people sing the "melody", they sing Paul's part. So, it begs the question: did Paul sing a higher melody that perhaps John couldn't reach and John just added a harmony below Paul's voice or is John singing "melody" the whole time? Listen carefully to "I Saw Her Standing There". When John joins in to sing harmony on "I'll never dance with another, when I saw her standing there." he's singing a harmony lower than Paul's melody. It's rare to do that, sounds very cool and is difficult to perform live. But when the Beatles do it, it sounds perfect. And don't even get me started on "This Boy."
Thank you Amy and Vlad. I've been enjoying your Beatles journey and was waiting for you to review "If I Fell". This is one of my favorite John songs and I can see and hear your joy in hearing this song. I listened to the song before watching your reaction and appreciated your opinion and your sheer joy in the music. I look forward to the next step in your journey.
Thank you for this interesting analysis of this beautiful Beatles song. Its harmonies are intricate, fantastic and you present that very well. It is one of my Beatles favourites. If you are wondering about the lyrics ... in my understanding he feels to be rejected or hurt by a girl that he was with before and now found a new one ... and thinks if he fell for this new one and she would give him more, the other one would cry. So he just wants the new love to make the old one jealous. In other words he is still hung on the old love 😂 I also love the "I would love to love you" , a typical Lennonism 😉
This is a perfect way to give us your reactions to the Beatles, Amy! It saves me a lot of time, since I know the songs by heart anyweay and know all the musical bits you're refering to. Please give us all your Beatles reactions like this, here on TH-cam.
Such a truly phenomenal melody. Lennon was really embraced by the Muse that day. Pretty good for a guy who understood precious little about music theory & couldn't even read music! 🤯💥
@@gettinhungrig8806 As Daniel Dennett probably would say. He was competent, but he didn´t comprehend. A lion is a competent hunter, but the lion doesn´t understand why its a great hunter. It´s missing the comprehension part. Lennon was a true genius, and intuitevely found these progressions and melodies, but he probably didn´t have great comprehension of musical theory.
This is the first Beatles reaction of yours I have watched. This song is a real standout on their catalog and I enjoyed it very much! It was interesting to hear John's comments. Forgive me if this was discussed elsewhere but there is a little known fact that helps explain how The Beatles became such skilled songwriters. When the Beatles played in Berlin, bands had to play 5 sets of music every night. Back then, bands were like jukeboxes, and the drunken crowds expected to hear the current hits of the day. Most bands would learn one set and play it 5 times a night. When they would learn a song they would drop another. Not the Beatles. They played 5 different sets each night. I am a musician who has played more covers than originals over the years. When you cover a song, it takes on a special kind of familiarity. You learn all its tricks - the turnarounds, the middle 8, key changes, etc. By playing so many different songs, they developed a kind of songwriting dictionary which served them very well once they started composing. Whenever stuck, one of them could suggest workarounds like "why dont you try an intro similar to what Smokey Robinson did in..." This is not to say they did not have oodles of talent. But they were smart to develop an extensive arsenal of musical examples to draw from whenever needed.
Your video`s are becoming a must watch , they are so entertaining and insightful. You must make sure your not blocked !! i would be heart broken . Lennon`s genius is simplicity. Quite often in music the more simple it is , the more beautiful it is . Satie`s Gymnopedie 1 or Beethoven`s Moonlight sonata are wonderful examples of this. I have been to many classical piano concerts which were boring because they were so complicated. Some bands trying to be avant garde end up making machine noise , when what people just want is a beautiful melody, like this one.
Glad you got a chance to listen to this. This was my dad's favorite Beatle song, he being normally a Joe Pass/Barney Kessel (as well as others) jazz guitar music lover. Probably mine too, at least top ten. John and Paul basically take turns singing the melody while the other is either singing higher or lower harmony. I would have loved to be in the room with them while they were figuring out each of their singing parts. This song really didn't need a lot of accompaniment, it could very easily have been written for a harp or piano. Henry Mancini does a wonderful job on it in a special with the Beatles, playing with the tempo in spots, leaving notes to linger, giving it a Debussy feel. The "Across the Universe" soundtrack has another great version, albeit they dropped the last verse, probably because a female was singing, but a woman can sing the first two verses, and it still makes sense, but gives the song a different meaning. My only criticism is I wished the Beatles had slowed the tempo a little more, but they were young guys and probably playing it as slow as they could. It's more effective, I think, if slowed down enough to make it last 3 to 3.5 minutes, and better on a piano. I see this song as a standard, it absolutely is a perfect song for a musical, occupying a place similar to songs like "Autumn Leaves", "Summertime", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", songs like that.
Putting the emphasis on the harmonic structure of a song is more educational and satisfactory. When you play just the chords on the harp I love how the harmony brings out the melody without hearing it. Please play more harp or piano in your videos, the sound of an acoustic instrument is just so gorgeous.
I saw a jazz musician talk talk about rythm, melody and harmony. He said rythm is about the body, the melody is about emotion, and the harmony is about intelligence. I found that categorization interesting, because as everyone who plays music knows, understanding all the harmonic options is and endless task. It´s so complicated. Lennon being a rare genius had a natural intuition for interesting chord progressions.
Great breakdown. I think this song can be seen as the breaking point for Beatles, when there´s strong indications that they´re not just a "boy band" that write simple rock´n roll songs. This is the first musical sign Lennon is a genius (there are other signs when you see him talk). But I think 'If I Fell' is the first real sign there´s more to the Beatles than silly rock´n roll songs.
I love the work you do! And I appreciate the dilemma TH-cam is presenting you with here. It's really unfortunate. I think for this approach to work, though, we may need more time stamps relating to what part of the song you are referring to and more illustrations with the harp, voice, or piano. Maybe for the Beatles project, rather than a first reaction, an analysis would work better so you would be able to insert these.
I think I may know Beatles music way too well. Although I can't hear the music I know exactly where you are and your breaking down of everything is fascinating! I knew way back in 1964 at the ripe old age of six that this music was incredible and had never heard the likes of before. Back then you I couldn't wait for thr next hit on the radio and to get the new singles and Lp's when they came out. I've known for decades now that they're by far the greatest most creative band in history. My ears told me that but I never knew how to analyze their music which you do incredibly well and you just add another layer onto my life long Beatles journey which I didn't think was possible so Thank You for that. This in my opinion along with "I'll Be Back" which closes out the Lp are the best two tracks on the album. I guess I'll have to also include Paul's "And I Love Her" a beautiful song. I hope you do "I'll Be Back" another John track that closes out the Lp. The first song where you really began to hear John starting to mature as a writer, it just sounds so different than anything else on the record. You know what's amazing is that John wrote 10 of the 13 tracks on this Lp. You're about to see on your Beatles journey that it wasn't until their "Revolver" Lp released in 1966 that Paul begin to reach John's level as a songwriter and after this record Paul never looked back, he was incredible. Every Lp from "Please Please Me" through "Rubber Soul" John was the man. When you get to the next Lp I would surely hope that you're doing the first two tracks on that record "No Reply" and "I'm A Loser" this track has Dylan's DNA all over it and George's Carl Perkins influenced rockabilly guitar work is great. His guitar solo is incredible and John's Dylan like harmonica is great. These two tracks will show you how quickly John was maturing as a songwriter. Take my word on this that it's no coincidence that after The Beatles met Dylan and he turned them onto marijuana for the first time that just 3 months later that it didn't have a profound influence on John's songwriting. Sorry for my Beatles Babble but I Love Me Some Beatles. The GOAT'S Peace ❤
Even though I do not have any serious musical training, I have played guitar for over 50 years, playing mostly pop and rock, but a little bit of classical and flamenco thrown in. This was a fantastic review and evaluation of one of the first songs I ever learned all the way through, around 1968? I consider both Lennon and McCartney and also George Harrison brilliant songwriters. They had a gift, from my perspective. According to Beatles FAQ website oh, they have sold an estimated 2.7 billion records worldwide. That figure will never be reached Again by any individual artist or musical group. Back in the sixties, the conductor Leonard Bernstein was strongly ridiculed for saying that the Beatles wrote some great music. He is now seen as being way ahead of his time. Thank you so much for posting this, I learned a great deal.
Amy, it's interesting that John Lennon used the term "silly love song", because Paul McCartney wrote a song after the Beatles broke up with his follow up band Wings called "Silly Love Songs".
I’ve seen elsewhere similar educational presentations where short examples are presented quite legally so it’s not necessary to remove totally everything!🤔👌
@@ristovirtanen6396 Well, I can give you my own example. I have nearly 100 Beatles tracks that have been "deconstructed," i.e. through various means, the full mix-down recording is separated into its individual tracks (drums, guitar, vocals, etc.) and I STILL get lots of grief from UMG even though what I present is "segmented" both vertically and horizontally. My playlist, if you care to check it out: SPLIT IMAGE 137 - PL5of9 - Isolated Tracks (aka deconstructed;deconstruction) of Beatles songs: th-cam.com/play/PLv0meLhTzGIlik7lRa8ltVGL4d2fkmXaI.html
This is another one that is top 5 for me. The vocal harmonies are to die for. As for the lyrics: The interplay between the words "To, Two, and Too" is clever.
Thanks for discussing and sharing. Great tune. I hope you get to see "A Hard Day's Night" -- my favorite film. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular
George Harrison also wrote a “silly love song” if we can’t hear the original the version by Brian May and Kerry Ellis is wonderful. Lennon’s mature love song is simply Woman
The Beatles have often referenced older songs in their back catalogue.For example, Glass Onion not only references 'The fool on the hill',but also references 'I am the walrus'.
Glass Onion is a song all about past song references. When I took a Beatles class in college one assignment was to find all of them and there were about 20.
Lennon called McCartneys music ‘silly love songs’ as well which prompted Paul to write the classic disco hit ‘Silly love songs’ . Well worth your time listening to ‘Silly love songs’ as well. Thank you for the video
That whole album is a killer from the very first (iconic) chord right up until they fade away after singing "I'll be back again." From start to finish the energy and commitment are through the roof, and the sounds are ecstatic. It's such a pity that copyright restrictions designed to protect the musicians are preventing us hearing the musicians and so discovering their worth. Very counterproductive. (As if Paul wasn't rich enough!). Not a problem for me, though. I was sitting in the cinema when the film came out, and the album was the first one I ever bought. Ah, 1964! What a year! Incidentally, in the chorus John is double-tracked but Paul is single-tracked. Not sure why.
These short videos are still very enjoyable even though you had to work around copyright issues. Maybe you could time stamp the moment in the song when you pause there to talk about it? So we could follow along with the actual song?
I'm sorry Amy but reaction videos don't work without the music. It's like going to a restaurant and not having anything to eat. I know it is available on other chargeable platforms but I don't do them. Shame on you TH-cam, you make so much from adverts you could pay the copyright fees.
In the States, we were introduced to the music of A Hard Day's Night (1964) from the United Artist film soundtrack album (those songs appeared on the Something New Capitol album). IMO, two of their best songs/ballads ever are from this project, If I Fell and And I Love Her (more to say about And I Love Her when you listen and react to it). The film, if I may be so bold as to say, you should do a film reaction to it or at least view it (believe it or not, most popular film reactors have no idea it exists). There were many Rock and Roll films made in the in the latter 50's and 60's, but as you might suspect, A Hard Day's Night is an absolute standout! :)
So on my birthday they always sing to me … happy birthday … let’s sit back and listen and talk afterwards ….. Wow … what an experience that was. First of all straight off the bat- it surrounded me …HAPPY BIRTHDAY …there was no escaping it. So immersive and so inclusive and it brought me right into the moment. After the verse of “happy birthday to you” they went to the chorus “happy birthday dear….” Here we get the fantastic key change from G to C. Let me play that on me wee harp here… hear that??? Wow- such melodies it’s hard to know what is what- I’ll tell I what is what - absolute nonsense out out his one
It has been said that when Paul McCartney wrote "Silly Little Love Songs", it was referring to the attitude Lennon had about some of Paul's songs, and was sort of a defense of them - so here Lennon was admitting to having done the same thing. (Though I don't know the date of the quote).
HENRY MANCINNI DIDN'T CHOOSE THE SONG ACCIDENTALLY WHEN HE APPEARED WITH McCARTNEY IN TV(1964) AND PLAYED IT ON PIANO IN HIS OWN INSTRUMENTAL VERSION.THAT SONG HAD SOMETHING!
Nice job, as always. You noticed lyric maturity from songs insisting wanting to hold hands, to this tune recognizing love is more than hand holding. The Beatles could get treacly at times, but understand, they changed the arc of popular Rock music; an amazing accomplishment.
I discovered Virgin Rock about a year ago and I was thrilled by Amy's ability to post Beatles' music in YT and I asked "how long can she get away with it?" Amy wins the YT Beatles award which includes anything you want. Johnny's first ballad, go figure.
I've been waiting for the return of this series! This might be controversial but A Hard Day's Night is one of my favorite Beatles albums. Every song is by Lennon/McCartney and an excellent example of their early style before they started to expand their influences (not that that's a bad thing, but I really love the early style).
McCartney said the opening to “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, was completely genius. You should look into The Beach Boys. They COMPLETELY underrated musicians and their harmonies are tip top.
On 1965's "Rubber Soul" LP John Lennon's song "Girl" has this lyric: "Was she told when she was young that fame would lead to pleasure -- Did she understand it when they said: That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure -- Will she understand it when he's dead?" Maturity. And an insight into traditional sex roles five years before the Women's Movement.
If I Fell was masterful and innovative from a “rock” perspective, including its chord patterns and harmonies. The song was also indicative of the Beatles’ early and lasting preeminence in music-labeled as a “rock” genre then but is now interpreted across genres. Your analysis focuses on other aspects that to my mind are less interesting or relevant. I also agree that there are numerous TH-cam analyses where the original music is presented in substantive snippets or even as a whole without blocking.
I rarely comment on TH-cam videos, but I love your videos and analysis. I think you should try to get in contact with the John Lennon estate. They're really in-touch with fans and they love such reaction/analysis content. Perhaps they could try to help you with copyrights issues.
As with much of their work, there is tug of war between lead melody and harmony vocal as well. John often sang lower harmonies to Paul on Paul's songs. Occasionally, in John's songs, he switches from lead vocal to a lower harmony allowing Paul's higher range to take a line or phrase. I noticed it much more in their earlier work.
I would love to see you break down the song Diary of a Madman by Ozzy Osbourne. Randy Rhodes does a great job blurring the lines between classical and rock.
Please, please Amy keep reacting to The Beatles, I wish you could play the whole songs but I know how much they enforce the copyrights. I can't wait to see you reacting to Revolver and later albums
I cant think in any situation that can fit more as "fair use" of a piece of music the treatment you actually do to it. Its really unfortunate you are forced to apply this clipped format to the Beatles music. Said that, Im happy to see a new Beatles reaction, been them my favorite band ever. (Excuse me if at some point im not clear, because i speak spanish, i always see your videos with subtitles😅)
The Beatles had to record at breakneck speed for their first three albums, so they didn't have time for many takes. Also, one of the things that makes their recordings so interesting is that they often leave little mistakes in the recordings to give them some flavor and humanity. That's not always true: McCartney just about drove the other Beatles crazy with take after take of some songs to get them perfect (e.g., lots and lots of rehearsals of the vocal harmonies for "Because"). So, sometimes the Beatles were perfectionists in later recordings, and sometimes they were looser.
The Beatles did not supervise the mixing of the stereo releases until around 1967 or 68. As noted, the mono version of the song does not have the vocal flub. They would not have included it in the stereo version if they had been involved. (This is not the only stereo version with issues in their catalog.) I am hoping that eventually a remixed version of this album will come out and they’ll correct this.
@@moitoi2547 That makes it even weirder. It means there was a good take and somebody somehow got the takes mixed up and used the wrong one when mixing the stereo version. The bizarre thing is that they didn’t immediately notice their error.
@@makeadifference4all I’m sorry, but nobody left that goof in to instil humanity and flavour. That only happens because somebody fucked up and either (a) didn’t notice it at the time, or (b) were so pressed for time they had no choice. Somebody said that the mono version doesn’t include it. If that’s true, it’s even worse. It means some mixing engineer used the wrong take, and Martin didn’t notice.
Its a weird chord/key change on the intro that even the Beatles had a tough time with live. And, while i’m sure they’ve nailed it live at some point, I’ve yet to find a footage of John nailing the harmony on the notorious “HER” note correctly. Its a tough one.
One of myfave vocal record moments.☮️ I would call this a ballad. Vocally, I don't think it's particularly an effortless one for any singer. Lennon was a rocknroll fan. He didn't really like jazz, classical or folk music, until Dylan @64/65. Before that he considered it weak. McCartney is somewhat in the mix vocally in the back.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but after 50 years doesn't the copyright lapse and then the music enters the public domain? I'm guessing if the owners renew the copyright for another period then copyright is still valid, but my understanding was that copyright on music lapsed after 50 years. I know that from 1978 onwards the copyright is for the life of the author + 70. From an online source titled Copyrights 101: "There are a variety of defenses to copyright infringement. One defense is that the subsequent use is a “fair use” and does not infringe any of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. Such exempted “fair uses” may include ones for educational purposes, for comment or criticism on a particular work, for news reporting on a work, and for parody of an existing work.". Perhaps you could open each review with a note onscreen citing the relevant fair use rules.
So sorry this got blocked, but not a huge surprise. JL referring to "If I Fell" as a "silly love song" was actually a backhanded complement to his former writing partner, Paul McCartney. John knew that Paul was a master ballad writer, who around that time was having to defend himself against critics saying "silly love songs" was all Paul was good at or interested in. So Paul dealt with the criticism by stepping up and not only owning it, but also asking the question "What's so wrong about writing or singing love songs? Couldn't the world use more of it?" By saying what he said, John was essentially saying that "If I Fell" was as good a love song as anything McCartney wrote, which is pretty spot on.
McCartneys voice did indeed 'break' but it was because they were laughing in the studios....you should hear the outtakes where they're basically all laughing their heads off.
Thanks for all the videos you've made! You've listened to some Metallica, but you should look up Master of Puppets. It has an interesting structure, too. One of the best metal pieces ever!
So I guess you're having trouble with TH-cam, but I simply can't understand why your videos wouldn't count as educational content (for which copyright rules make exceptions). I think of this lovely song--one of my very favorite Beatles tunes--as an interior monologue. These aren't the sort of thoughts you share, let alone the person you are falling (have fallen?) in love with. There's a woefully neglected film called "Shoot The Moon" starring Diane Keaton and Albert Finney as a married couple blown apart by Finney's infidelity. There's a scene of Keaton in the bathtub, at her most emotionally devastated, suddenly singing a snippet of this song and it's... worth seeing. As is the whole film, if you can find it.
i never got what's the difference, are there some groups that allow fair use of their copyright material and others don't ? You even frequently interrupt a song to comment, it's not that we don't have any other place to listen to it for free
So ....either listen to a musical reaction ... without music .....OR pay for something which was free - as a result of a ridiculous copyright situation.....!! Entirely unsatisfactory in every respect, sadly....
This review, song included, was never free - although briefly, other Beatles songs were. Everyone knows the reason why, and it isn't Amy. Her brilliant music accompanied reviews are worth every penny of the very modest charge, and the effort involved in posting a reaction without music is truly above and beyond, and demonstrates her dedication and good will to all listeners.
I think I remember being about 13 or so. I was asleep, but partially awake. This song came on the radio, and pushed into my sub-conscious state. It was so beautiful, and sad, and sunk in deep. I woke up in tears, and have loved the song ever since.
So nice to wake up on johns birthday to this video! Loved it very much
A Gershwin esque chord progression. Beatles really expanded on this album. Great insights and analysis. Thanks Virgin Rock.
Thank you for this! I'm a huge huge Beatles fan since I discovered them when I was around 13 years old in the early 70s. Your take, insight, and comments on the group and their music is spot-on! I love the details you offer into the music and its arrangement, this is sort of classroom lecture for me and I love it... to learn so much more about the music I grew-up with and love so much just enhances it for me aaaallll the more! Thank you once again. I hope you do an individual reaction/reflection of each of the Beatles in the future of their solo years... Pauls no doubt will be a task in just his own McCartney solo works, his band Wings, and other genres he has tackled in his vast career, including that of classic pieces he wrote and play on as well. Until next time... Keep up the Awesome work guys!
Thank you Amy for your work. I'm learning a lot about how to appreciate (or analyze) music. I am 70 years old and I have liked The Beatles for a long time. In fact, after all these years of hearing a lot of different styles of music, they still are the best for me in rock/pop music. And this song is, probably in my top 20.
I really enjoyed that reaction, Amy. The Beatles are so hardwired into my synapses at this point that I almost take that part of my musical background for granted. Revisiting them through your ears and hearing you filter them through your knowledge of and experience with music is really making the Beatles experience fresh again for me. Many thanks for that.
Great to see the Beatles series continuing. I really enjoyed the full analysis on Patreon, and thanks for providing the excerpts here on YT. Hopefully their blocking policy will change soon and you will be able to release the full versions here on YT. An interesting and informative breakdown of the harmonic structure and chord construction. Looking forward to more songs from this album and subsequent albums.
Hello Amy and Vlad. Thank you for reviewing this, one of my favourites. I have very fond memories of sitting in my dining room, listening to the song over and over on the turntable and being confounded by the chords. My mother (who was a very good folk singer/guitarist) had a phenomonal ear, came into the room and in a few minutes, had figured out all the chords. She then remarked about something I think you may have missed or glossed over - the key change after the intro. Key changes usually happen near the end of the song, almost never near the beginning. Genius. But there's another common but subtle Lennon/McCartney trick which my mother pointed out: which is the melody and which is the harmony? John wrote the song and sings lead vocal so I would assume that what he's singing throughout the song is the melody. But, after the intro when Paul joins, singing above John, now John's singing sounds like a lower harmony and Paul's singing (above John) sounds like the melody. Which is which? When most people sing the "melody", they sing Paul's part. So, it begs the question: did Paul sing a higher melody that perhaps John couldn't reach and John just added a harmony below Paul's voice or is John singing "melody" the whole time? Listen carefully to "I Saw Her Standing There". When John joins in to sing harmony on "I'll never dance with another, when I saw her standing there." he's singing a harmony lower than Paul's melody. It's rare to do that, sounds very cool and is difficult to perform live. But when the Beatles do it, it sounds perfect. And don't even get me started on "This Boy."
Thank you Amy - as always you do a wonderful job breaking down and explaining music to the masses, and we appreciate it!!
Thank you Amy and Vlad. I've been enjoying your Beatles journey and was waiting for you to review "If I Fell". This is one of my favorite John songs and I can see and hear your joy in hearing this song. I listened to the song before watching your reaction and appreciated your opinion and your sheer joy in the music. I look forward to the next step in your journey.
This is one of the songs that we always put a new musician through. If they could sing these harmonies and this lead, then they probably would fit in.
Nope
What is your band called, and where are you from ?
@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN nope what?
Thank you for this interesting analysis of this beautiful Beatles song. Its harmonies are intricate, fantastic and you present that very well. It is one of my Beatles favourites.
If you are wondering about the lyrics ... in my understanding he feels to be rejected or hurt by a girl that he was with before and now found a new one ... and thinks if he fell for this new one and she would give him more, the other one would cry. So he just wants the new love to make the old one jealous. In other words he is still hung on the old love 😂
I also love the "I would love to love you" , a typical Lennonism 😉
Amy. Ive been waiting for you to analyse this song as I've always been amazed at the vocal harmony interplay between Lennon and McCartney.
I love Amy's harp instruction style, so vivid and simple up and down the strings.
This is a perfect way to give us your reactions to the Beatles, Amy! It saves me a lot of time, since I know the songs by heart anyweay and know all the musical bits you're refering to.
Please give us all your Beatles reactions like this, here on TH-cam.
A truly lovely song ❤
Such a truly phenomenal melody. Lennon was really embraced by the Muse that day. Pretty good for a guy who understood precious little about music theory & couldn't even read music! 🤯💥
He knew music theory alright just not in a conventional sense.
@@gettinhungrig8806 As Daniel Dennett probably would say. He was competent, but he didn´t comprehend. A lion is a competent hunter, but the lion doesn´t understand why its a great hunter. It´s missing the comprehension part. Lennon was a true genius, and intuitevely found these progressions and melodies, but he probably didn´t have great comprehension of musical theory.
@@comedyriff5231Agree !
Always thought how beautiful this song is. Even after 50 years or so still has that greatness about it.
Sixty years, and isn't that shocking?
These may become the world's standard analyses of the Beatles catalog.
This is the first Beatles reaction of yours I have watched. This song is a real standout on their catalog and I enjoyed it very much! It was interesting to hear John's comments.
Forgive me if this was discussed elsewhere but there is a little known fact that helps explain how The Beatles became such skilled songwriters.
When the Beatles played in Berlin, bands had to play 5 sets of music every night. Back then, bands were like jukeboxes, and the drunken crowds expected to hear the current hits of the day. Most bands would learn one set and play it 5 times a night. When they would learn a song they would drop another. Not the Beatles. They played 5 different sets each night.
I am a musician who has played more covers than originals over the years. When you cover a song, it takes on a special kind of familiarity. You learn all its tricks - the turnarounds, the middle 8, key changes, etc. By playing so many different songs, they developed a kind of songwriting dictionary which served them very well once they started composing. Whenever stuck, one of them could suggest workarounds like "why dont you try an intro similar to what Smokey Robinson did in..."
This is not to say they did not have oodles of talent. But they were smart to develop an extensive arsenal of musical examples to draw from whenever needed.
Your video`s are becoming a must watch , they are so entertaining and insightful. You must make sure your not blocked !! i would be heart broken . Lennon`s genius is simplicity. Quite often in music the more simple it is , the more beautiful it is . Satie`s Gymnopedie 1 or Beethoven`s Moonlight sonata are wonderful examples of this. I have been to many classical piano concerts which were boring because they were so complicated. Some bands trying to be avant garde end up making machine noise , when what people just want is a beautiful melody, like this one.
Glad you got a chance to listen to this. This was my dad's favorite Beatle song, he being normally a Joe Pass/Barney Kessel (as well as others) jazz guitar music lover. Probably mine too, at least top ten.
John and Paul basically take turns singing the melody while the other is either singing higher or lower harmony. I would have loved to be in the room with them while they were figuring out each of their singing parts. This song really didn't need a lot of accompaniment, it could very easily have been written for a harp or piano.
Henry Mancini does a wonderful job on it in a special with the Beatles, playing with the tempo in spots, leaving notes to linger, giving it a Debussy feel.
The "Across the Universe" soundtrack has another great version, albeit they dropped the last verse, probably because a female was singing, but a woman can sing the first two verses, and it still makes sense, but gives the song a different meaning.
My only criticism is I wished the Beatles had slowed the tempo a little more, but they were young guys and probably playing it as slow as they could. It's more effective, I think, if slowed down enough to make it last 3 to 3.5 minutes, and better on a piano. I see this song as a standard, it absolutely is a perfect song for a musical, occupying a place similar to songs like "Autumn Leaves", "Summertime", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", songs like that.
Putting the emphasis on the harmonic structure of a song is more educational and satisfactory. When you play just the chords on the harp I love how the harmony brings out the melody without hearing it. Please play more harp or piano in your videos, the sound of an acoustic instrument is just so gorgeous.
I saw a jazz musician talk talk about rythm, melody and harmony. He said rythm is about the body, the melody is about emotion, and the harmony is about intelligence. I found that categorization interesting, because as everyone who plays music knows, understanding all the harmonic options is and endless task. It´s so complicated. Lennon being a rare genius had a natural intuition for interesting chord progressions.
Great breakdown. I think this song can be seen as the breaking point for Beatles, when there´s strong indications that they´re not just a "boy band" that write simple rock´n roll songs. This is the first musical sign Lennon is a genius (there are other signs when you see him talk). But I think 'If I Fell' is the first real sign there´s more to the Beatles than silly rock´n roll songs.
I love the work you do! And I appreciate the dilemma TH-cam is presenting you with here. It's really unfortunate. I think for this approach to work, though, we may need more time stamps relating to what part of the song you are referring to and more illustrations with the harp, voice, or piano. Maybe for the Beatles project, rather than a first reaction, an analysis would work better so you would be able to insert these.
I think I may know Beatles music way too well. Although I can't hear the music I know exactly where you are and your breaking down of everything is fascinating! I knew way back in 1964 at the ripe old age of six that this music was incredible and had never heard the likes of before. Back then you I couldn't wait for thr next hit on the radio and to get the new singles and Lp's when they came out. I've known for decades now that they're by far the greatest most creative band in history. My ears told me that but I never knew how to analyze their music which you do incredibly well and you just add another layer onto my life long Beatles journey which I didn't think was possible so Thank You for that. This in my opinion along with "I'll Be Back" which closes out the Lp are the best two tracks on the album. I guess I'll have to also include Paul's "And I Love Her" a beautiful song. I hope you do "I'll Be Back" another John track that closes out the Lp.
The first song where you really began to hear John starting to mature as a writer, it just sounds so different than anything else on the record. You know what's amazing is that John wrote 10 of the 13 tracks on this Lp. You're about to see on your Beatles journey that it wasn't until their "Revolver" Lp released in 1966 that Paul begin to reach John's level as a songwriter and after this record Paul never looked back, he was incredible.
Every Lp from "Please Please Me" through "Rubber Soul" John was the man. When you get to the next Lp I would surely hope that you're doing the first two tracks on that record "No Reply" and "I'm A Loser" this track has Dylan's DNA all over it and George's Carl Perkins influenced rockabilly guitar work is great. His guitar solo is incredible and John's Dylan like harmonica is great.
These two tracks will show you how quickly John was maturing as a songwriter. Take my word on this that it's no coincidence that after The Beatles met Dylan and he turned them onto marijuana for the first time that just 3 months later that it didn't have a profound influence on John's songwriting.
Sorry for my Beatles Babble but I Love Me Some Beatles.
The GOAT'S
Peace ❤
I hope you got to see the movie now that you've heard the music. It really is a classic and absolutely hilarious.
Another great episode, keep up the great work !
Even though I do not have any serious musical training, I have played guitar for over 50 years, playing mostly pop and rock, but a little bit of classical and flamenco thrown in.
This was a fantastic review and evaluation of one of the first songs I ever learned all the way through, around 1968? I consider both Lennon and McCartney and also George Harrison brilliant songwriters. They had a gift, from my perspective. According to Beatles FAQ website oh, they have sold an estimated 2.7 billion records worldwide. That figure will never be reached Again by any individual artist or musical group. Back in the sixties, the conductor Leonard Bernstein was strongly ridiculed for saying that the Beatles wrote some great music. He is now seen as being way ahead of his time. Thank you so much for posting this, I learned a great deal.
Amy, it's interesting that John Lennon used the term "silly love song", because Paul McCartney wrote a song after the Beatles broke up with his follow up band Wings called "Silly Love Songs".
Amy said it was a 1980 interview so John was definitely referencing Paul’s song.
The whole version of this video is quite good.
I’ve seen elsewhere similar educational presentations where short examples are presented quite legally so it’s not necessary to remove totally everything!🤔👌
@@ristovirtanen6396 Well, I can give you my own example. I have nearly 100 Beatles tracks that have been "deconstructed," i.e. through various means, the full mix-down recording is separated into its individual tracks (drums, guitar, vocals, etc.) and I STILL get lots of grief from UMG even though what I present is "segmented" both vertically and horizontally. My playlist, if you care to check it out:
SPLIT IMAGE 137 - PL5of9 - Isolated Tracks (aka deconstructed;deconstruction) of Beatles songs:
th-cam.com/play/PLv0meLhTzGIlik7lRa8ltVGL4d2fkmXaI.html
This is another one that is top 5 for me. The vocal harmonies are to die for. As for the lyrics: The interplay between the words "To, Two, and Too" is clever.
Thanks for discussing and sharing. Great tune. I hope you get to see "A Hard Day's Night" -- my favorite film. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular
with The Beatles, it's something new with (almost) every song
I'm excited to watch this before it's inexplicably taken down in a few minutes.
Today is a John's birthday 🎆🎉
While not one of my favorite Beatles tunes, I do very much appreciate the chord progression--and enjoy playing it on guitar.
George Harrison also wrote a “silly love song” if we can’t hear the original the version by Brian May and Kerry Ellis is wonderful. Lennon’s mature love song is simply Woman
This song was when I was Young my favourite song of the Beatles.
So Nice Harmony.
Close your Eyes and I Kiss you, Tomorrow I miss you, was probably their Touring fase😉❤
The Beatles have often referenced older songs in their back catalogue.For example, Glass Onion not only references 'The fool on the hill',but also references 'I am the walrus'.
Glass Onion is a song all about past song references. When I took a Beatles class in college one assignment was to find all of them and there were about 20.
Amy already knows one reference in Glass Onion: “I told you ‘bout Strawberry Fields / You know the place where nothing is real…”
@redgoals5701 if by "often" you mean "a handful of times out of hundreds of recordings."
Lennon called McCartneys music ‘silly love songs’ as well which prompted Paul to write the classic disco hit ‘Silly love songs’ . Well worth your time listening to ‘Silly love songs’ as well. Thank you for the video
That whole album is a killer from the very first (iconic) chord right up until they fade away after singing "I'll be back again." From start to finish the energy and commitment are through the roof, and the sounds are ecstatic. It's such a pity that copyright restrictions designed to protect the musicians are preventing us hearing the musicians and so discovering their worth. Very counterproductive. (As if Paul wasn't rich enough!). Not a problem for me, though. I was sitting in the cinema when the film came out, and the album was the first one I ever bought. Ah, 1964! What a year! Incidentally, in the chorus John is double-tracked but Paul is single-tracked. Not sure why.
Because john was insecure about his singing and insisted that George Martin do so.
These short videos are still very enjoyable even though you had to work around copyright issues. Maybe you could time stamp the moment in the song when you pause there to talk about it? So we could follow along with the actual song?
I'm sorry Amy but reaction videos don't work without the music. It's like going to a restaurant and not having anything to eat. I know it is available on other chargeable platforms but I don't do them. Shame on you TH-cam, you make so much from adverts you could pay the copyright fees.
In the States, we were introduced to the music of A Hard Day's Night (1964) from the United Artist film soundtrack album (those songs appeared on the Something New Capitol album). IMO, two of their best songs/ballads ever are from this project, If I Fell and And I Love Her (more to say about And I Love Her when you listen and react to it). The film, if I may be so bold as to say, you should do a film reaction to it or at least view it (believe it or not, most popular film reactors have no idea it exists). There were many Rock and Roll films made in the in the latter 50's and 60's, but as you might suspect, A Hard Day's Night is an absolute standout! :)
Wow. One of my favorite music
So on my birthday they always sing to me … happy birthday … let’s sit back and listen and talk afterwards …..
Wow … what an experience that was. First of all straight off the bat- it surrounded me …HAPPY BIRTHDAY …there was no escaping it. So immersive and so inclusive and it brought me right into the moment.
After the verse of “happy birthday to you” they went to the chorus “happy birthday dear….” Here we get the fantastic key change from G to C.
Let me play that on me wee harp here… hear that???
Wow- such melodies it’s hard to know what is what- I’ll tell I what is what - absolute nonsense out out his one
John was brilliant at writing raw emotion
One of the Beatles greatest ballads
It has been said that when Paul McCartney wrote "Silly Little Love Songs", it was referring to the attitude Lennon had about some of Paul's songs, and was sort of a defense of them - so here Lennon was admitting to having done the same thing. (Though I don't know the date of the quote).
HENRY MANCINNI DIDN'T CHOOSE THE SONG ACCIDENTALLY WHEN HE APPEARED WITH McCARTNEY IN TV(1964) AND PLAYED IT ON PIANO IN HIS OWN INSTRUMENTAL VERSION.THAT SONG HAD SOMETHING!
Nice job, as always. You noticed lyric maturity from songs insisting wanting to hold hands, to this tune recognizing love is more than hand holding. The Beatles could get treacly at times, but understand, they changed the arc of popular Rock music; an amazing accomplishment.
What a buffoon
First ballad. My brain melts.
My favorite channel! Peace
I like how the opening gives little indication of the rest of the song, including the actual key.
I discovered Virgin Rock about a year ago and I was thrilled by Amy's ability to post Beatles' music in YT and I asked "how long can she get away with it?" Amy wins the YT Beatles award which includes anything you want. Johnny's first ballad, go figure.
I've been waiting for the return of this series! This might be controversial but A Hard Day's Night is one of my favorite Beatles albums. Every song is by Lennon/McCartney and an excellent example of their early style before they started to expand their influences (not that that's a bad thing, but I really love the early style).
McCartney said the opening to
“God Only Knows” by
The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, was completely genius.
You should look into The Beach Boys.
They COMPLETELY underrated musicians and their harmonies are tip top.
Analyze Ask Me Why from the first album, it has amazing vocal harmonies and a jazzy vibe
My sister had this 45 and played it on repeat.
My favorite
Thank you for doing this editing job Amy and Vlad.
Welcome back!
On 1965's "Rubber Soul" LP John Lennon's song "Girl" has this lyric:
"Was she told when she was young that fame would lead to pleasure --
Did she understand it when they said:
That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure --
Will she understand it when he's dead?"
Maturity.
And an insight into traditional sex roles five years before the Women's Movement.
I remember the discussions with my English teacher about whether it was "to trust someone" or "to trust in somebody" 😅
If I Fell was masterful and innovative from a “rock” perspective, including its chord patterns and harmonies. The song was also indicative of the Beatles’ early and lasting preeminence in music-labeled as a “rock” genre then but is now interpreted across genres. Your analysis focuses on other aspects that to my mind are less interesting or relevant. I also agree that there are numerous TH-cam analyses where the original music is presented in substantive snippets or even as a whole without blocking.
Did you know that Paul sings the part, "If I give my heart to you..."? And that was Paul's voice that cracked at "was in vain". Thank you.
I rarely comment on TH-cam videos, but I love your videos and analysis. I think you should try to get in contact with the John Lennon estate. They're really in-touch with fans and they love such reaction/analysis content. Perhaps they could try to help you with copyrights issues.
Has anyone ever noticed tha the intro vocals are sung using the same notes as the harmony once the main song kicks in.....
As with much of their work, there is tug of war between lead melody and harmony vocal as well. John often sang lower harmonies to Paul on Paul's songs. Occasionally, in John's songs, he switches from lead vocal to a lower harmony allowing Paul's higher range to take a line or phrase. I noticed it much more in their earlier work.
I would love to see you break down the song Diary of a Madman by Ozzy Osbourne. Randy Rhodes does a great job blurring the lines between classical and rock.
Please, please Amy keep reacting to The Beatles, I wish you could play the whole songs but I know how much they enforce the copyrights. I can't wait to see you reacting to Revolver and later albums
I cant think in any situation that can fit more as "fair use" of a piece of music the treatment you actually do to it. Its really unfortunate you are forced to apply this clipped format to the Beatles music.
Said that, Im happy to see a new Beatles reaction, been them my favorite band ever. (Excuse me if at some point im not clear, because i speak spanish, i always see your videos with subtitles😅)
I just listened to the song and it’s the first time I’ve noticed Paul’s voice failing on the word “vain”. So odd that they left that take in.
The Beatles had to record at breakneck speed for their first three albums, so they didn't have time for many takes. Also, one of the things that makes their recordings so interesting is that they often leave little mistakes in the recordings to give them some flavor and humanity. That's not always true: McCartney just about drove the other Beatles crazy with take after take of some songs to get them perfect (e.g., lots and lots of rehearsals of the vocal harmonies for "Because"). So, sometimes the Beatles were perfectionists in later recordings, and sometimes they were looser.
His voice doesn't crack in the mono version which was the most important version at the time.
The Beatles did not supervise the mixing of the stereo releases until around 1967 or 68. As noted, the mono version of the song does not have the vocal flub. They would not have included it in the stereo version if they had been involved. (This is not the only stereo version with issues in their catalog.) I am hoping that eventually a remixed version of this album will come out and they’ll correct this.
@@moitoi2547 That makes it even weirder. It means there was a good take and somebody somehow got the takes mixed up and used the wrong one when mixing the stereo version. The bizarre thing is that they didn’t immediately notice their error.
@@makeadifference4all I’m sorry, but nobody left that goof in to instil humanity and flavour. That only happens because somebody fucked up and either (a) didn’t notice it at the time, or (b) were so pressed for time they had no choice. Somebody said that the mono version doesn’t include it. If that’s true, it’s even worse. It means some mixing engineer used the wrong take, and Martin didn’t notice.
Its a weird chord/key change on the intro that even the Beatles had a tough time with live. And, while i’m sure they’ve nailed it live at some point, I’ve yet to find a footage of John nailing the harmony on the notorious “HER” note correctly. Its a tough one.
BEATLEMANIA !!!!
Could you do a reaction to the Purest Form cover please? As much as I love the original, this cover is what made my childhood ❤
That's amazing! Let's stay in touch.
Think about doing a video on 'Silly love songs' by McCartney 😊
No, please don't.
This song sounds so serious I could not imagine calling it silly.
Surely there are other platforms where you can post without charging people?
I can't understand about this copyright issue? There are lots of Beatles songs reaction videos on TH-cam.
Well now THEY know about her...
@@adamfindlay7091 but there are reaction video channels that keep repeating their reactions to Beatles songs, that are NOT removed on TH-cam!
Would rumble be better for you?
One of myfave vocal record moments.☮️ I would call this a ballad. Vocally, I don't think it's particularly an effortless one for any singer. Lennon was a rocknroll fan. He didn't really like jazz, classical or folk music, until Dylan @64/65. Before that he considered it weak. McCartney is somewhat in the mix vocally in the back.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but after 50 years doesn't the copyright lapse and then the music enters the public domain? I'm guessing if the owners renew the copyright for another period then copyright is still valid, but my understanding was that copyright on music lapsed after 50 years. I know that from 1978 onwards the copyright is for the life of the author + 70. From an online source titled Copyrights 101: "There are a variety of defenses to copyright infringement. One defense is that the subsequent use is a “fair use” and does not infringe any of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. Such exempted “fair uses” may include ones for educational purposes, for comment or criticism on a particular work, for news reporting on a work, and for parody of an existing work.". Perhaps you could open each review with a note onscreen citing the relevant fair use rules.
what about vera?
10:17 Did you hear that? Eh, nö.
😊
Great reaction given the circumstances 🫡👍
So sorry this got blocked, but not a huge surprise. JL referring to "If I Fell" as a "silly love song" was actually a backhanded complement to his former writing partner, Paul McCartney. John knew that Paul was a master ballad writer, who around that time was having to defend himself against critics saying "silly love songs" was all Paul was good at or interested in. So Paul dealt with the criticism by stepping up and not only owning it, but also asking the question "What's so wrong about writing or singing love songs? Couldn't the world use more of it?" By saying what he said, John was essentially saying that "If I Fell" was as good a love song as anything McCartney wrote, which is pretty spot on.
Kurt Cobain really loved this song
The Beatles channel has official reaction videos for reactors.
McCartneys voice did indeed 'break' but it was because they were laughing in the studios....you should hear the outtakes where they're basically all laughing their heads off.
Thanks for all the videos you've made! You've listened to some Metallica, but you should look up Master of Puppets. It has an interesting structure, too. One of the best metal pieces ever!
Please make the beatles' videos available "one-off" ko-fi supporters (after they've been published in TH-cam of course). They are supporters too!
Lennon wants the ex to cry when he sings "when she learns we are two". That implies feelings for the ex and creates tension.
Hard to follow your explanations without hearing the song
It is time to do "Crime Of The Century" - Supertramp a Masterpiece Please Victor is Here🙃
So I guess you're having trouble with TH-cam, but I simply can't understand why your videos wouldn't count as educational content (for which copyright rules make exceptions).
I think of this lovely song--one of my very favorite Beatles tunes--as an interior monologue. These aren't the sort of thoughts you share, let alone the person you are falling (have fallen?) in love with.
There's a woefully neglected film called "Shoot The Moon" starring Diane Keaton and Albert Finney as a married couple blown apart by Finney's infidelity. There's a scene of Keaton in the bathtub, at her most emotionally devastated, suddenly singing a snippet of this song and it's... worth seeing. As is the whole film, if you can find it.
i never got what's the difference, are there some groups that allow fair use of their copyright material and others don't ? You even frequently interrupt a song to comment, it's not that we don't have any other place to listen to it for free
I have to say it. Definitely you are the serxies woman alive. 😚
So ....either listen to a musical reaction ... without music .....OR pay for something which was free - as a result of a ridiculous copyright situation.....!!
Entirely unsatisfactory in every respect, sadly....
Simple, watch their video first.
This review, song included, was never free - although briefly, other Beatles songs were. Everyone knows the reason why, and it isn't Amy.
Her brilliant music accompanied reviews are worth every penny of the very modest charge, and the effort involved in posting a reaction without music is truly above and beyond, and demonstrates her dedication and good will to all listeners.