• Listening to a lot of Beatles songs since I joined a Beatles cover band a few weeks ago. This far every song gives me this: "Oh I know that one from memory...Wait, what? That's what they play in the backing track???" Beatles songs aren't as easy as memory tries to make them 8o

  • Listening to a lot of Beatles songs since I joined a Beatles cover band a few weeks ago. This far every song gives me this: "Oh I know that one from memory...Wait, what? That's what they play in the backing track???" Beatles songs aren't as easy as memory tries to make them 8o

    Agree that they can be trickier than one might think. It is one thing to strum one casually hanging out with friends. It is more challenging to try to replicate them in a faithful way.

  • Listening to a lot of Beatles songs since I joined a Beatles cover band a few weeks ago. This far every song gives me this: "Oh I know that one from memory...Wait, what? That's what they play in the backing track???" Beatles songs aren't as easy as memory tries to make them 8o

    Agree that they can be trickier than one might think. It is one thing to strum one casually hanging out with friends. It is more challenging to try to replicate them in a faithful way.

    Plus of course, depending on which phase of their work, some of it wasn't designed to be played live. Once they became studio-bound and started getting more innovative with their sounds and production they made music that was too far ahead of the then-currrent live capabilities. Their layering, bouncing-down, tape-looping etc gave weight, colour, substance to their work that was near impossible to reproduce live. So when we come to play the songs we're so familiar with that are embedded in our minds we're wrong-footed by what's actually going on in those originals!


    Schrottrocker what's in your cover band's setlist currently?

    Abandon all reason

  • The set list is mixed, this far we have been practising mostly later songs though:

    Let it be

    Happiness is a warm gun

    Get back

    Come together

    Oh Darling

    Money (That's what I want)

    I've got a feeling

    Don't let me down

    I want you (She's so heavy)

    Here comes the sun

    While my guitar gently weeps


    I saw the set list includes earlier stuff too, A Hard Day's Night, Norwegian Wood, You've got to hide your love away etc.

  • Cool list. Happiness is a Warm Gun is a good example of a song that can be tricky, because of the time signature changes. Same with Here Comes the Sun.


    Another one I have always found trickier than it seems initially is She Said, She Said. The switch to the bridge section particularly can mess me up.

  • Good stuff there (though I'm not keen on the Harrison ones), agree with Dr. John about Happiness and its metrically labyrinthine structure so yes quite a challenge, vocally too along with Oh Darling so you must have a hell of a singer. In Happiness Lennon goes through virtually his entire range - terrific song.

    Another one I have always found trickier than it seems initially is She Said, She Said. The switch to the bridge section particularly can mess me up.

    Again, that classic thing where Beatles songs turn out to be far more complex than you'd think. They were pretty damn good weren't they? This is a real favourite of mine on an album that's packed with strong songs. Like so many Lennon songs, based on a real incident - Lennon getting angry with Peter Fonda going on about a supposed near-death experience to the extent he had Fonda thrown out. The final track recorded for Revolver, as a trio as McCartney had stormed out following an argument (Harrison's on bass).

    Abandon all reason

  • A twitter exchange this morning has led me into a hunt for female-voiced Beatles covers. I've always loved the Banshees' Dear Prudence but I didn't previously know most of these:


    Fanny (early 70s) doing Hey Bulldog - their obvious enjoyment is so good to see


    Less keen on this, Charlotte Dada version of Don't Let Me Down but it's interesting if rather unvarying.


    I had seen this before, the Carpenters performing Help - I love that they got their trademark "aaaaaaaaaaah" in there


    I was really pleased to find Throwing Muses doing Cry Baby Cry as I love them and love the song but had never heard this. It's ok but I'm still pleased to hear them doing it, shame they didn't incorporate that slightly creepy "Brother can you take me back" segment though.

    Abandon all reason

  • The Carpenters also did Ticket To Ride (and Please Mr Postman, buit that of course was also covered by the Beatles). As Ticket To Ride is one of my favourite Beatles songs I have never taken to the Carpenters' version. But Help! was right for her, and how great to see her playing drums in it.