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Waful House
Rediscovering the Beatles
by Jeff Waful - waful@unclesammy.com

I still remember when John Lennon was shot and killed. My dad immediately started making a tape of all of his favorite Lennon compositions. The next day we all went to Nauset Beach for a vigil. Everyone stood around in a big circle by the ocean and listened to Beatles songs as a flock of seagulls curiously looked on. A lot of people cried, while some just had solemn looks on their faces. I was just a young boy and didn't quite understand what was going on. I knew who the Beatles were, but I was having trouble understanding why everyone was crying over a man they had never met. I just kept quiet and listened to the music.

After that day at the beach, I took the tape, labeled "John Lennon - Vigil" and started listening it - a lot. It was comprised mostly of Beatles songs with a couple John Lennon solo tunes on it as well. I had heard this music before when my parents had played Beatles records around the house, but I had never really concentrated on their music. Hell, I was only six. I didn't even know how to spell their name. I became obsessed with the music. When I was ten, I recorded my own version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on a four-track. I transcribed all the parts and even sang the harmonies. (In my pre-pubescent years I could actually hit the high notes). The Beatles became the soundtrack to my life, especially during the summer.

As time went on, I started listening to other types of music. The sounds of Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead took over my life. Years later, I discovered Phish and became severely addicted to their music. I listened to Phish so much, that I was jonesing to hear more when I awoke each day. As one of my friends put it, I saw the world through a Phish-eyed lens. The other bands that I listened to were all jam bands. Not until about a year ago, did I start to realize how naïve I had been. Phish is great, but I needed to broaden my horizons. So, I started branching out and listening to other types of music. It was very refreshing.

Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Miles Davis, Neil Young, Michael Jackson, and a slew of other albums started seeing heavy rotation at my apartment. Then my roommate, Max put on an old Beatles record one night. I still remember the magical feeling I got when he put on "I am the Walrus". I had this goofy smile on my face and started singing along at the top of my lungs. It had been years since I had really listened to the Beatles. Their songs have a way of sticking with you. I probably hadn't heard the song in 5 years, yet I knew every word. I can't remember what I did last week, but when it comes to "sitting in an English garden..." it's just embedded in my brain. We stayed up until dawn that morning listening to the Beatles and remarking on how brilliant their work is. It was such an amazing sensation to be engulfed by music other than Phish for a change. (Although Tweezer Reprise sounds suspiciously similar to the end of "'I am the Walrus"). The whole time we were listening, I had this special child-like nostalgia that the music brought out in me. It made me feel like I was back on the beaches of Cape Cod without a care in the world, playing in the surf.

Not longer after that night of rediscovering the Beatles, I made the upgrade to digital. I bought a few Beatles CDs to study the production on the albums. I know producer George Martin is an absolute genius, but all of my recordings of the Beatles were either hissy old analog tapes with sand in them or scratchy records. Once I put on those headphones and heard the digitally re-mastered tracks, a whole new world was opened to me. It was an aspect of the Beatles that I had never heard before. Their songs are truly masterpieces. The music is three dimensional, with subtle effects reverberating from left to right. The amazing thing is that the technology that was used for the recordings was inferior by today's standards. Certain tracks sound as if they're rolled in on tape, although it sounds earthy and authentic. I guess that's the word that is best to describe the production - authentic. There was no such thing as synthesizers or sampling when these albums were recorded. If they wanted a cello sound, they hired the best cellist they could find. If they wanted the sound of a tugboat, they found a tugboat and recorded it. I found myself listening to these parts over and over again because I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing. Take the song "Hello Goodbye". It never really stood out to me before. However, once I heard it through the headphones I was blown away. Try it sometime, if you haven't already. Martin weaves a tangled web of strings, shakers and vocal lines that have a beautiful subtly to them. During the first chorus, there is a simple major scale being played by George Harrison on electric guitar. During the second chorus however, the same scale is sung with the words "hello, hello, hello goodbye". It's so simple, but for some reason it's the one of the coolest thing I've ever heard on an album.

Take the album, Abbey Road: it's absolutely one of the greatest albums of all time. The continuity to it is breath taking. Who would have thought to cut off a song abruptly? The end of Lennon's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" lulls you into a trance-like state with a repetitive hook and then just pulls the rug out from underneath you. Before you can even notice what's hit you, Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" peaks around the corner with a soft lullaby-like melody that says, "everything's gonna be alright". One second you're trapped in the downward, evil spiral of "I Want You" in a minor key. Then instantly, you're transformed to the most beautiful sunrise of your life, and the major progression of "Here Comes the Sun". The contrast is perfect. Dark to light. Night to Day. Minor to major. The fifth member of the Beatles was George Martin. He's the man. Peter who?

The irony in all of this is that I'm a live music fan. I live for spontaneity. I live for virtuosos like Victor Wooten or Jimmy Herring who have super-human finger speed. I live for 58- minute versions of "Run Away Jim." The Beatles are the complete opposite of the jam bands genre. They never improvised, they barely toured, and their average song was less than five minutes. (Not to mention that their vocal harmonies are beautiful. You and I both know that jam bands aren't exactly known for their singing). The Beatles were a studio band, pure and simple. After the "early years", they didn't write songs with the intent of playing them live. They used the studio to their advantage. They created music the way Monet painted.

I feel very fortunate to have had this reawakening of sorts. If you haven't sat and down and really experienced the Beatles lately - do it. Listening to them on the radio or in the dentist's office doesn't count. Sit down one night, close your eyes and get lost in their world. I can't get enough of the Beatles right now. They never fail to amaze me and put a smile on my face. Every time I listen, I hear something new, whether it's technical or musical (or spiritual). I now understand why my parents and their friends were crying that day at the beach. They had just lost a dear friend who had touched all of their lives.

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Jeff Waful is Jambands.com columnist and manages the band Uncle Sammy.