New Beatle Disc Is A Revolution

January 23, 1969

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of a two part article concerning the Beatles' new album. It was prepared by the Capitol Record Company.

Side three of "The Beatles" is a rock showcase.

BIRTHDAY is the hard rock of the 1960s. YER BLUES is good Cream about which George slyly comments, "You never knew we were really from Chicago, did you? We learned all the basic blues rhythms and patterns when we were young lads living there, so we thought we'd get back into it for a bit."

"MOTHER NATURE'S SON is Paul singing about himself and EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME AND MY MONKEY is John Lennon singing about himself," says George.

SEXY SADIE is seen in the same almost wistful light as Lovely Rita. It's followed by HELTER SKELTER, which comes on like hard acid rock and sounds like this description by George: "Do you have helter skelters here, things in fun fairs that you get on a mat and slide 'round and 'round? You start at the top and come down--and then go back up."

The final cut is an example of what's best in folk rock.

One of the real sleepers in this collection is by Geroge and titled LONG, LONG, LONG.

The fourth and last side begins with REVOLUTION NO. 1 which George says: " . . . was recorded before the other side of HEY JUDE, has less attack, not as much of a revolution, more the Glen Miller version."

HONEY PIE is the kind of ragtime nostalgia Tiny Tim might choose to do. SAVOY TRUFFLE sounds like something that would have been used in those marathon dances, but George says that it's " . . . probably a box of chocolates, or a chocolate."

CRY BABY CRY could be about the "she" in SHE'S LEAVING HOME. Of it George says "It's all in the mind, really."

REVOLUTION NO. 9 is an electronic experience. George said "I don't know what the meaning is, but the effects came from live effects we created ourselves or things we already found on tape by editing (these) tapes and making loops of tapes; and we built the whole thing out of that. We got a lot just from the tape library; we cut sounds out of old records."

After that, there could only come the end. It's called GOOD NIGHT. It works in the same way that A DAY IN THE LIFE worked for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

George, when asked about the use of different musical styles in this collection, summed up the impact of these 93 minutes. "I suppose because we're influenced by a lot of different types of music, then the influence must show in the stuff we write."