Friday, June 01, 2007

"somebody spoke and I went into a dream ..."

The Beatles' album "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released 40 years ago today. WDRV just played the vinyl album from start to finish. It was recorded at Abbey Road on a four-track recorder. The sound is amazing. It drove Brian Wilson further down. The echo-y harmony on "Lovely Rita" is classic pop. A "Day in the Life" is one of my favorites.


Of course, many Beatles' tunes bring back memories. It was Steven Duckinew's Beatles belt buckle in 6th grade that made a real impression on me. He loved the Beatles! Then there's Mom's ultimate story of seeing the Beatles play at Comiskey Park in August, 1965. (You noticed I wrote "seeing" rather than "hearing" because the screams of the teenage girls drowned out the music from their little amps. The tickets were $4.50 each). I am still blamed to this day for losing her ticket stub on one of my attic souvenir searches. Dancing with Imo to "Twist and Shout" at the Jukebox Saturday Night stage at Taste of Chicago. A boy who I shared a class with in college who sang to me "Please Please Me" along with his acoustic guitar. But, nothing tops taking my mom and the girls with me to see Paul McCartney during the "Driving Rain" tour. The look on my mom's face said it all. It was surreal ... from the opening of "Hello Goodbye", to the story behind "Blackbird", "Band on the Run" and all the way through to "The End".
Paul even played the Hofner bass. This was Caitlyn & Alexandra's first concert ... we set the bar high.


"There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all"

In My Life (Lennon, McCartney)