Time for another episode of Mike Solof's investigations into
all things Beatles and Beatles-related, and for this episode he is
concentrating on one of the things that the band are best known for - their
exquisite harmonies. A lot of the Beatles’ songs followed standard triadic
three-part harmony, with John taking the main melody, Paul the higher (a third
above John) and George below John, or sometimes in between John and Paul. Paul,
being the group’s most natural tenor, took the highest line almost without exception.
Some songs, and parts of songs, can include strikingly non-standard harmonies,
purposeful clashing or with more complex tonality, including 'Yes It Is', 'I
Want To Tell You', and Paul and George’s backing in 'You Can't Do That', and in this episode Mike takes an overview of the band's harmonic highlights, from 1963's 'Ask Me
Why', to the sumptuous 'Because' from 1969.
Track listing
01 Episode 69 - The Beatles In Harmony
The Fabs harmonies are some of my favorites... I actually devoted a few of my shows to those aspects of the group... and occasionally went Off the Beatle Track by focusing on Barbershop quartet tributes to the Beatles and other interesting versions examining the Beatles harmonies. Hope you enjoy the above collection... but PJ where the heck are you getting the Years that you are putting next to each... they are Solof... I mean sooooo off lol!
ReplyDeleteI used the notes that you first sent me to work out a timeline, as you said that in 1988 you discovered Beatles bootlegs at the record store, which led to finding out about Beatles-A-Rama. After listening to it for a couple of years you contacted Pat, so I put that around 1991, and then assumed that you made a show a week for two years or so . How far out am I?
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