Here's a link to more than you ever wanted to know about "I Feel Fine". I'm not sure who does the solo, but the opening guitar is Lennon. |
I remember reading a long time ago that other musicians would occasionally sit-in and record with the Beatles; but never got mentioned. Clapton was one of them. Harrison would sit-in on other bands recording session and would never be mentioned, except when he used the name Angelo Mysteriouso (something like that). But in 1964, who knows? The lead guitar sounds more "seasoned" than what Lennon was capable of at that time. |
In LA,Ca we have 2 Beatles shows on the fm dial at the same time. Both Sun.am one is.8 to 1pm on 97.1 and then over on 101.1 8 to 10. They both have so much of this discussion stuff. I've heard so many stories about the wives the breakup the legal issues. All is interesting. Mostly I listen to the music;and switch stations constantlly. That is my Sunday am on FM. |
A little tip about the Beatles. Although both their names (L and M) are on Beatles songs as the composers, they usually wrote their own songs. Whoever sings the lead, in a song, was the writer. A Day in the Life, for instance, needed something, so Paul added his little bit, and sung it, as well. Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my hair....that part.. just a little fwiw. peace, warren |
4yanx: nope, simply addressing the question who plays lead guitar. Check out this Perkins link: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/CarlPerkins.html It cites Perkins touring England in 1964. Did George Martin use him on some sessions? It wouldn't surprise me. In any event Harrison was a great admirer of Perkins. The picking on I Feel Fine bears some resemblance to the more countryfied feel of the Perkins tunes covered by the boys during the same period. I doubt frontman Lennon could have been bothered to learn the intricate patterns on I Feel Fine: interferes with me singin' don't ya see? |
With respect to Sunshine: Rosstaman is correct-Bruce sings the first and third phrase in each verse, Clapton the second. Even on my lousy Zenith record player you could hear the different timbres of the voices, and that's how they sang it in concert as well. With respect to the lead guitar in I Feel Fine, I had always thought it was George as well, but the part was not that hard to play for a rhythm guitarist (I know, cuz I was able to play it), so it could have been John, at least the opening riff. Certainly not the guitar solo in the middle, though--that would be a lead guitar part, as stated on the album. |
Here is review from the AMG site: AMG REVIEW: "I Feel Fine" was a typically first-class 1964 Beatles single, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was distinguished from its predecessors by a more complex guitar sound, particularly in its introduction, a sustained plucked electric note that after a few seconds swelled in volume and buzzed like an electric razor. This was the very first use of feedback on a rock record. It's been claimed that others (such as the Who, the Yardbirds, and Creation guitarist Eddie Phillips) had developed guitar feedback, or something approximating it, live before the Beatles did "I Feel Fine." It seems inarguable, however, that the Beatles were the first to use it on disc; probably no other group had the clout to get away with that experiment in late 1964. Anyway, the brief feedback was but a preamble to a bubbly Beatles song paced by a brilliantly active and difficult George Harrison guitar riff, inspired perhaps by a similar line in obscure soul singer Bobby Parker's 1961 single "Watch Your Step." Ringo Starr deserves commendation himself for the series of four urgent drum beats that kicks off both the first verse (after Harrison has gone through the principal riff) and the return to the verse after the instrumental break. The singing, as usual, was John and Paul's show primarily, with particularly sumptuous harmonies counterpointing John's lead in the bridge. Rather than coming to a cold stop after the last chorus, an unaccompanied electric guitar continues to noodle as Lennon wordlessly scats, while the Beatles faintly bark (like dogs, yes) in the background another imaginative ending from a group that used them often. Lennon, the more prominent songwriter than McCartney on "I Feel Fine," has rightly been noted as having the more doubtful and pessimistic view of the pair in his lyrics, even in the early days. There's no trace of doubt or pessimism, however, in "I Feel Fine," which certainly is one of his most positive and optimistic musical statements. Richie Unterberger |
