Sunday, April 18, 2021

The Beatles: Penny Lane

When I was 13 I coveted the two Beatles compilations 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 but could not afford them. Since then my enthusiasm for the loveable moptops has waned.

I have been choosing these Sunday music videos since 2007, yet The Beatles have been represented only by two cover versions (from Laibach and The Jam)  and the atypical While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which was written by George Harrison and features Eric Clapton on guitar.

My problem with The Beatles is rather like my problem with Mozart in the classical sphere: I can see they are good, but there are half a dozen Sixties bands that I find at least as interesting.

And I do remember The Beatles from their first time around. Born in 1960, I cannot recall a time when I did not know She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand, though I doubt if I remember them from 1963 when they both topped the charts.

I certainly remember liking Eleanor Rigby and Penny Lane, which were in the charts when I was six.

And the record that reminds me of the first Summer of Love, alongside Up, Up and Away by the Johnny Mann Singers, is All You Need is Love.

So here is Penny Lane. It still sounds good, but maybe not quite as good as I hoped.

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