Post by gremashlo on Aug 5, 2009 7:43:42 GMT -5
Good evening, and welcome to Slaggers!
Ah, the games Beatles play...
After the Beatles announced they were breaking up, their long-dormant "Let It Be" album (patched together with bandaids and Popsicle sticks by Phil Spector) was released...and its signature single was the album's title track. A contemplative tune that dwells on the passage time and the pain and redemption of loss, it quickly went to #1 throughout the world.
Savvy record buyers noticed that the "B" side, "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" was NOT on the album, and suspected a hidden jem, perhaps like "I'm Down" or "The Inner Light"...but got this instead--
Oddly enough, this insane cut (the title is a warped reworking of a logo on a British telephone book) actually has a strong root in Beatle history--it began in 1966 as a Four Tops-styled song, but attempts to get anything past the title failed. So, the tapes were abandoned...
Until three years later. As the Beatles began to crumble, John Lennon retrieved the session tape and decided to make a "comedy" record, similar to the groups manic Christmas recordings for their fan club. Added were a parody of a lounge singer and little old ladies as well as the only saxophone solo by Brian Jones in recorded history.
"You Know My Name" was supposed to have been released as a legitimate single by the Plastic Ono Band (a press release promoting it was even released), but wound up as the flipside to "Let It Be" for unclear reasons.
What shines about the track is its total insanity. It starts out rather intense, with a solid groove, then leaps into Monty Python-styled lunacy. I cannot hear the "blues" singer without cracking a smile every single time. i consider it as an antidote for Spector's over-production of the album.
Paul McCartney has said that this is one of his favorite Beatles songs--not because of the music, but because of the fond memories he has of making it with Lennon. Praise enough for me.
Ah, the games Beatles play...
After the Beatles announced they were breaking up, their long-dormant "Let It Be" album (patched together with bandaids and Popsicle sticks by Phil Spector) was released...and its signature single was the album's title track. A contemplative tune that dwells on the passage time and the pain and redemption of loss, it quickly went to #1 throughout the world.
Savvy record buyers noticed that the "B" side, "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" was NOT on the album, and suspected a hidden jem, perhaps like "I'm Down" or "The Inner Light"...but got this instead--
Oddly enough, this insane cut (the title is a warped reworking of a logo on a British telephone book) actually has a strong root in Beatle history--it began in 1966 as a Four Tops-styled song, but attempts to get anything past the title failed. So, the tapes were abandoned...
Until three years later. As the Beatles began to crumble, John Lennon retrieved the session tape and decided to make a "comedy" record, similar to the groups manic Christmas recordings for their fan club. Added were a parody of a lounge singer and little old ladies as well as the only saxophone solo by Brian Jones in recorded history.
"You Know My Name" was supposed to have been released as a legitimate single by the Plastic Ono Band (a press release promoting it was even released), but wound up as the flipside to "Let It Be" for unclear reasons.
What shines about the track is its total insanity. It starts out rather intense, with a solid groove, then leaps into Monty Python-styled lunacy. I cannot hear the "blues" singer without cracking a smile every single time. i consider it as an antidote for Spector's over-production of the album.
Paul McCartney has said that this is one of his favorite Beatles songs--not because of the music, but because of the fond memories he has of making it with Lennon. Praise enough for me.
My collecting methodology involved songs, not records, so once I bought the album, I was no longer looking for the 45.
