And thanks ,Chris, for the additional Paul songs/characters… I knew there were more.

‘Dr. Robert’ is John, though.

We also have ” Mean Mr. Mustard” , “Sgt. Pepper”, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ” and the list goes on , so I am sure not all the remaining were created by Lennon….

ANd all of that reminded me of a Halloween party that I threw once where everyone had to come as a character from the Beatles. We had all of the above plus ” a barber showing photographs ( of his wife ! )”, a midddle east sheik ( ” Baby Your A Rich Man ” ) , a giant Strawberry ( fields ) , Desmond with His barrow , Mr. Kite etc etc…

A truly memorable bash , if I could remember it all…it was in the 70’s….

Brian in Canada

In Mojo’s recent listing of the band’s 100 best songs, either Dan Penn or Spooner Oldham noted that a handful of their late recordings managed a surprising mastery of the Southern soul idiom, this being the first to do so. I think this is one aspect of the song that still makes it sound strange as a Beatles single. I remember when it came out that hearing the piano as the lead instrument on a Beatles single was jarring, as well. And, as a nine-year old in a small Ohio town, hearing the word “breast” on Top 40 radio was a shock.

Nobody’s mentioned it, so I’ll close by saying I’ve always liked Ringo’s drumming on this. Good light swinging feel to it - I don’t know if he played with brushes, but in my memory, that’s how it sounds.

Well, remember, by this point the CIA had assassinated Paul and replaced him with a double.

…I’ve always found this to be, at the least, ambiguous. Not so for the producers of US single-mom sitcom Grace Under Fire, who used Aretha Franklin’s version as a sometime theme. Jools Holland did a version too, so there must be some muso-appeal which escapes me, and others include Tom Jones, Booker T & The MGs, The Crystalites, Caetano Veloso and Kingmaker — as well as Fats and Wings as mentioned above.

Yes, Kingmaker.

According to IMac’s account, the recording was so thrown together that Macca hired a horn section (Brit jazz, old school, Premier League) without bothering to write an arrangement for them. Lead saxman Ronnie Scott ranted at him about being “unprofessional” and then rattled off one of the most audibly pissed-off sax solos on any pop record (rivalled only by the one-note sax solo on Tommy Steele’s “Rock With The Caveman” - also played by Our Ronnie).

The rhythm track was an acknowledged lift from Humphrey Lyttleton’s “Badpenny Blues,” a top 20 hit from ‘57 (produced by Joe Meek).

I’m in agreement with most of the others, this is a bit of a water-treading time-marker for the Fabs. Supposedly based on something called Bad Penny Blues.

The “will this do” atmosphere is especially odd given that this was recorded after their time in India with the Marharishi when the three principle songwriters supposedly wrote hundreds of new songs between them. (Lennon in particular getting songwriters diahorrea in the midst of two dry spells).

It is a strange choice of single I agree - one of those not-quite-finished, lets-get-something-out-then releases (it reminds me weirdly of The Smiths’ “Shakespear’s Sister”, I think because of this slightness).

But I do really like it! I think it’s good pop, in fact I think the more celebrated records they made after this are all worse.

I think Tom has put his finger on the problem–the recording itself projects a sense of irritation. And, yes, there’s something snide about the whole thing–it gives the appearance of making a social commentary, but like most of McCartney’s attempts at social/political statements, it winds up being pretty indefinite or ambiguous. It’s as if to tell a mother on the dole that it’s really just too bad that she’s poor and possibly to imply that it’s her own bloody fault for having all those kids. That’s easy enough to say when one is rich, of course. (”Did you think that money was heaven-sent?” No, did you, Paul?)

The cynical backing vocals of “Paperback Writer” are back, and can a kazoo–a freaking KAZOO!–be anything but mocking?

What’s evident in retrospect is the extent to which they all sound so tired–of each other, of being the Beatles. Implosion isn’t pretty.

I heard a lot of this on that French Exchange. (I seem to remember hearing a lot over there of The Who’s I Can See For Miles too, also Nights In White Satin, The Days of Pearly Spencer and Judy In Disguise by John Fred and his Playboy Band)

I didn’t like it much at the time. It seemed trite, as if even I could tell The Beathles were a busted flush by now. I like it much more now. I like its playfulness, which is so characteristically Beatles. The repeated “see how they run” can still raise a chuckle.

Rosie