Another great UK group – I rank them in my own favorites for the Sixties. There's a lot to be said for being there that the younger contributors to this thread cannot appreciate. What an amazing respite from the time's turmoil Gerry provided. To the esteemed Vinyl Man, I never even thought to compare G&P to Herman.
Proud owner of the original 45, complete with the proclamation that it's from the never-made movie, Eight Arms to Hold You. Love the energy on this one, along with the incongruity of the sad lyrics against the driving beat. Always was among my favorites of the pre-Revolver era. Interesting that this comes up now while we've got that other thread about the disputes between John and Paul over who wrote what, as this is one of the most-disputed ones. It's usually credited mostly or entirely to John, but Paul has claimed to also have been involved (at one point saying "give [John] 60 percent of it". In the 1980 interviews, John said Paul's contribution was about as significant as the way Ringo chose to play drums on any given song (which in itself means very different things depending on whether John or Paul was in the driver's seat). Paul says the title is a pun referring to the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight (to get to the island, one had to buy a Ticket to Ryde), while John said it referred to a clean bill of health carried by the prostitutes in Hamburg. Great song, in any event. I always liked "Yes it Is," too, the way it leaves so much to the imagination as to just what the narrator's ex did do him while wearing red.
Here was the first clue things were changing for The Fabs. Ringo's pattern, was carefully learned by every drummer I knew. George's 12 string opening commanded you to listen. John plays on top of George, during the verses along with a perfect vocal from Lennon. The harmonies with Paul are rock solid Beatles issue. The double time at the end, makes for a perfect ending. Even the B side "Yes It Is" was a fine update of "This Boy," Every time I hear this song, I marvel on how contemporary and fresh it still sounds. How can anyone hear this, and claim they don't like The Beatles? There was genius at work here, and it was only going to get better. What a great song.
"Ticket To Ride" was the one Beatles song that I really took notice of as a Beatles song at the age of two! My older sister denied it, but she had the 45 of it, and I remember her playing it on the record player. It was the only Capitol Records 45 RPM label we had in the house. It's is one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs ever.
Another stunning intro, and a good antidote to a few weeks of novelty tunes at the top of the charts. Once again, the Fabs were pushing the sound of the '60s forward, and leaving most of their contemporaries - let alone their sad little imitators - in the dust.
It's from the Magic Garden album which is superb. Actually, Ticket To Ride is not a stylistic fit for the rest of the lp which was written by Jimmy Webb. If you've got the time, here it is in it's entirety. Billy Davis Jr. comes into his own on this lp.
I'd never heard The Beatles version throughout the tail end of the sixties, but first heard the song as performed by Carpenters and fell in love with that version. This is the original promotional video footage married to the 1973 remix of the song for THE SINGLES 1969-1973. (Sorry the poster of the video fattened up the picture.)
Make the time. A seriously great album. I discovered it a few years ago through this forum and it became an instant favorite. If you get the original LP and the original CDs, "Ticket To Ride" concludes the first side of the album. On the Rev-Ola reissue, they removed it and relegated it to the end. I personally think it works better as part of the "story" that unfolds in THE MAGIC GARDEN. As for Billy Davis, his devastatingly haunting rendition of "Requiem: 820 Latham" is a highlight of the album for sure. As for The Beatles, their "remake" of "Ticket To Ride" isn't too bad. (I know they were the original, but from my perspective, they had the remake!)
Not one of my favorite Beach Boys hits. Kinda annoying. It feels like the formula was starting to wear a little thin here. Brian Wilson was about to shake things up quite a bit, though...
I agree. Of course, I don't like the Beach Boys as you all know... BUT this one to me is even more unlistenable. This time period in 1965 was kind of scant for good stuff, IMO.. besides Motown and Petula Clark, there were only a few things I really loved during the April/May period.. Glen Yarborough's "Baby The Rain Must Fall" is one... and this wonderful angelic voice from Australia was lurking in the top 10, peaking at # 4.
"I'll never find another you" is fantastic - "Help me Rhonda" is not. I really dislike it, it has everything I dislike about the Beach boys rolled into one song, and none of the things I do like. Does anyone know the origin of the Seekers' clip? Was this shot just as a promo for the song? It certainly looks very expensive/high quality, as if it could have been pulled from a big studio 35mm feature film. That little bit at the front with a telephone makes it seem as if there is some sort of story/plot going on in the clip, like it's part of a longer film?
That is from their 1968 Australian TV special World Of the Seekers. Beautifully filmed in color, although Australia would not broadcast in color until March 1975. It was filmed in color for the benefit of being shown abroad, and in Australia they showed the color version in movie theatres (It was shot in 35 MM). This is my favorite segment from it... you can get it on DVD, it's worth every penny (It's PAL region 0, so you must have a machine that will play such fare)
It's funny you say April/May of 1965 at Motown was good, because I can only think of three singles I really like, not one of them a big hit: the obscure B-side "Tell Me" by the Vows, "Lonely Lonely Girl Am I" by the Velvelettes, and another B-side "Tune Up" by Jr. Walker and the All Stars. It seems almost everyone in the music business was stuck in the doldrums for April/May of 1965.
