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Dear Prudence: The Sun Is Up, The Sky is Blue by Bob Lefsetz The sales phenomenon of the Christmas season (and beyond!) was the Beatles' 1. What was it, 27 No. 1 hits on a single CD? They're great. I don't want to take anything away from these songs. But would this album have been such a big seller if it weren't for what SURROUNDED them? There WAS a hit on The White Album. But it wasn't the version listeners were used to from the radio. No, this wasn't Jewel, who entices you with stellar slick versions on the airwaves, and subjects you to homey acoustic numbers on the album. It's just that the Beatles didn't want the jazzed-up "Revolution" on the album. That was made for pop radio. Running so fast that the message was submerged. The White Album version was slowed down. It waltzed instead of ran. And now, 30-odd years later, which version does everybody know, which version does everybody think of, which version does everybody play? The slowed-down ALBUM version. The exact OPPOSITE of what's happening today. The opening track on The White Album was a tribute record. Today all the rich rock stars deign to leave their houses in the hills for an afternoon to cut execrable versions of famous tracks that are part of major-label marketing plans. Highlighting the work of songwriters way past their peak. There's not a lot of thought involved. I dare say more time is spent on the logistics of making it happen than the actual recording. The Beatles had their favorites, too. But instead of doing an outright cover, they wrote their OWN song in the style of Brian Wilson. I won't say "Back in the U.S.S.R." is as good as "California Girls," but it evokes some of the same mood ... with a wink of the eye and a sense of HUMOR, something absent from Janet Jackson, queen of the week, and all our other best sellers. And the Beatles' album tracks were SO good, other artists COVERED them. Used to be you were a fan of all music. The entire landscape. Now everybody's a specialist. Listening to one, or only two genres, at best. In the 1970s, you were exposed to stuff you didn't want to buy in principle, but you went for because it was so damn good. One of those tracks was John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High." Forget how bogus the guy was. That was a killer track. So you purchased the album. And found a cover of "Mother Nature's Son." It wasn't quite as rich as the original. But as one listened, one imagined John Denver, or maybe oneself, whipping through it in a campground outside of Vail. Yup, we used to get together and sing Beatles songs. Get together and sing Destiny's Child... And that was just the beginning of an archaeological project. One had to get behind and UNDER The White Album's songs. To find out what they were really about. What the band was REALLY saying. One learned that "Martha My Dear" was about a dog. That "Julia" was about John Lennon's mother. On this same side of the album, No. 2, there was "Blackbird." Which Stephen Stills tried to make his own. Which every baby boomer can sing. And when they get to that lyric. "Blackbird fly..." They raise their chin, their head, in reverie. How can there be anything wrong in the world with music like this? And two songs later probably the second-most-memorable track in the whole package. "Rocky Raccoon." It felt like McCabe and Mrs. Miller (which had yet to be released). As if you were deep in the woods, peeking in on somebody else's life. And in the middle, when the song suddenly starts to race. It was reminiscent of "A Day in the Life." A complete change. From meaningful to pure pleasure and then back again. Just like real life. But the best song, my FAVORITE song off The White Album, is "Dear Prudence." It segues straight from "Back in the U.S.S.R." The jet lands. And then there's this guitar sound. With the richness lacking from contemporary stuff like Matchbox Twenty's Mad Season. Just an electric guitar and you. In a big room. No distortion. No wild effects. Just the richness of the sound, and the richness of the vocal that kicks in shortly thereafter. "The sun is up, the sky is blue It's beautiful and so are you Dear Prudence won't you come out to play?" There's not a cloud in the sky. I want to go out and EMBRACE the world. But still, there's a slight bittersweet taste. I've got plans for later this evening. But right now, it's only me. At least it WAS this way. Before I put on "Dear Prudence." Now I've got companionship. As good as it gets. |
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