h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Why did I think that 'Eight Days a Week' and 'I'll Follow the Sun' were singles? Aren't they on the recent cash-in compilation '1'? Were they only released in the US? (Are these enough questions?)

'John Wesley Harding' was the first of Bob Dylan's 'country' albums. Supposedly in the detail of the tree in the background is a picture of the Beatles, I think from the 'Beatles for Sale' album cover or 'With the Beatles'. I can't see it personally.

Not a bad article. Where and when was the album recorded? Who sang which songs?

>>multi-racking<<

Should be tracking surely.

>>'I Feel Fine', and its B-side was 'She&#8217;s a Woman'<<

Technically i understand this was their first Double A side -though i'd need to check on that.

>>Help, to follow in 1965, was almost the same<<

Act Naturally AND Dizzy Miss Lizzy are covers on this LP. And "Oldies But Goldies" accepted by EMI as the second lp of 1966 contained one new track - a cover Larry Williams "Bad Boy".


I think that the tierd bit is right, they'd had their busyest year and a hell of a schedule and were certainly not used to it yet, so the re was little time for song writing, and they were too tired anyhow. The covers sound so good because they were the song that a) the boys loved, but also b) the songs they'd played thousands of time in hamburg, the songs that made them a unit, made the the Beatles - 6 of the 7 tracks appear on the Star Club tapes. Obviously this stock of songs was an obvious sorce for quality album filler. However perhaps it's not just the tiredness and the schedule that made them fill this album with covers, perhaps, like the Get Back / Let it Be album, this was bookmarking album, they knew it was the end of an era, and wanted to get back to their roots one last time before moving on.

Eight Days a Week, and many of the other singles on the '1' compilation were indeed only singles in the US. I would rather concentrate solely on UK releases.

Actually, there were some fairly country-ish tracks on The Basement Tapes (Dylan and the Band), and of course Blonde on Blonde was largely recorded in Nashville. But the example of Nashville Skyline is given, especially as it was only really the last couple of tracks on John Wesley Harding that sounded very "Country." To see the Beatles on the album cover you had to be on drugs.

There is plenty of information on the web on the minutiae of Beatles recording sessions, and a short article like this is not the place for them. As a matter of interest, it's quite surprising from this distance in time how many of the tracks had John as the lead singer. John was the early leader of the band, and this is reflected most clearly on "For Sale." It may be because they were recording songs they used to do live in the very early days; or perhaps Paul's voice was the less robust, and wasn't up to the task.

I Feel Fine is listed as an A side in most discographies. My collection of Beatles singles also makes no mention of it being a double A. In any event, since I Feel Fine got the bulk of the airplay I think the point is moot.

My point about Ringo singing Act Naturally was rhetorical. I believe the original text of my article was something like "Bar the odd cover sung by Ringo" meaning that covers on "Help" were less prominent.

One Double A side of course was Strawb Fields/Penny Lane, but Strawb doesn't make it onto "1", which would be a travesty, except it didn't get to #1 in the UK chart.