A Day in the Life – On this day………

Wednesday June 14th 1967

On this day in 1967 The Beatles started to record what was to become the song that most embodied the summer of 1967, ‘All you Need is Love.’ 

On the 18^th of May 1967 it was announced that the Beatles had agreed to be one of the two British representatives in a television programme set for live world-wide broadcast during the evening (UK time) of Sunday 25^th June, the first ever global satellite link up. They had agreed to be shown in the studio, recording a song composed especially for the occasion.

The first 33 takes of ‘All you Need is love’ – the basic rhythm track and a little vocal work – were taped between 10.30pm and 3.00am this night at the Olympic Studio in Barnes, with George Martin producing and Eddie Kramer as balance engineer.    

In his book,’ Revolution in the Head,’ Ian MacDonald discusses the structure and the substance of  the song.  He mentions that it is ,’One of the Beatles less deserving hits,’ and believes that The Beatles were ,’now doing substandard work: paying little attention to musical values and settling for lyric, first thoughts on the principle that everything no matter how haphazard, meant something and if it didn’t- so what?’ He argues that their attention to detail so evident during the recording of ‘Sergeant Pepper,’ had most evidently been left behind in the recording of this song.  His criticism of the song continues when he mentions,’drug sodden laziness,’ and that the song represented, ‘the rot setting in.’ 

Whilst MacDonald’s review is interesting what he fails to mention is that this song was written primarily for the satellite link up and also that it was a representation of all the philosophical good feeling that flower power and the sixties embodied.  The phrase, ’All you need is Love,’ has become an iconic statement representing a global acknowledgement of almost religious significance.  In post Christian western society the song symbolises a humanistic hymn to positivity and love.  In my opinion Lennon’s lyrics are cleverly ambivalent creating the desired atmosphere of celebration and optimism that the recording was attempting to achieve.  Certainly the carnival atmosphere in Studio One, Abbey Road, on the 25^th of June is evident when The Beatles revealed the song to a global audience.  See below. 

Whilst it certainly could be argued that after Sergeant Pepper the Beatles lost the discipline and harmony that they achieved during this ground breaking album, there can be no doubt that the Beatles still produced revolutionary recordings to follow. Not long after John Lennon and The Beatles recorded the superb ‘I am a Walrus‘ another wonderful contribution to the psychedelic canon that was changing music on a day by day basis in the late 1960’s.  1968 brought us the incredibly diverse album ‘The Beatles’ better known as ‘The White Album’ and whilst the discipline and ‘laziness’ in the studio was definitely palpable the Beatles still continued to record records that are still part of our culture some 40 odd years later.  Judge for yourselves.

High Fidelity Corner – With Mark Ellen, Editor of The Word Magazine

Here’s my new feature.  It’s called ‘High Fidelity Corner,’ based on the novel by Nick Hornby in which the chief protagonist Rob Fleming uses his Generation X habit of making Top 5 lists to explain the breakup of his relationships, his favourite records, his favourite films, his five dream jobs etc., etc.  The feature will therefore be asking people who I know as well as people I admire what are their Top 5 favourite

• Songs
• Albums
• Gigs Attended
• Films

To start the feature off with an incredibly large bang I have contacted the editor of ‘The Word’ magazine Mark Ellen and asked him to provide me with his answers to the above.  He has very kindly responded.

Mark Ellen is the Editor of Word Magazine. He has written for the Record Mirror, the NME and Time Out before signing up as Features Editor of Smash Hits in 1981. He became editor in 1983, then edited the first 52 issues of Q Magazine from 1986, the first 15 editions of the revamped Select, and was then the launch managing editor of MOJO. He was the Editor in Chief of EMAP Metro and has won the PPA’s Magazine of the Year award for Q Magazine as well as the Mark Boxer Award in 2003 and the Editors Editor Award in 2005.

His broadcast experience includes long periods as writer/presenter at BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test and VH1’s Talk Music and he’s now a contributor to Radios 2 and 4. He was one of the presenters of Live Aid in 1985. His journalism can be found in Marie Claire, Saga, the Financial Times, The Observer, GQ, Radio Times and the New Statesman.  The Word Magazine, under his tenure has won the ,‘Music Magazine of the Year Award’ in 2007 and 2008.  He is in short at the vanguard of music journalism, a man whose musical knowledge spans from the 1960’s to the present and a thoroughly decent bloke.

So what answers did Mark give, remembering that this man has seen thousands of gigs, listened and reviewed hundreds and thousands of records and watched a plethora of films during his succesful journalistic career.  The answers are really interesting and probably as expected extremely eclectic considering his vast experience. As Mark said in our correspondence, ‘These are my favourites today but tomorrow they’d be different.’

 

Top 5 favourite songs of all time

Oops (Oh My) by Tweet

Baltimore by Randy Newman

Heart Like A Wheel by Kate & Anna McGarrigle

Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz

Me And My Uncle by The Grateful Dead

5 favourite albums of all time

Moondog Matinee by The Band

The Hazards Of Love by The Decemberists

Musketeer by Larsen B

Flat Baroque And Berserk by Roy Harper

CB 200 by Dillinger

 5 favourite gigs attended

Gorillaz at the Roundhouse 2010

Bob Marley & The Wailers at Crystal Palace 1980

Little Feat somewhere in Victoria 1975

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Glastonbury 2009

Chemical Brothers at the Roundhouse 2010

5 favourite films

Some Like It Hot

Waiting For Guffman

Fargo

Anchorman

The Italian Job

Mark Ellen on the left, John Simms, middle and David Hepworth, right

So as expected a real mix, particularly in his music taste, from R&B, Hip hop, traditional folk, to obscure dub and indie.  It is interesting that Gorillaz feature a couple of times in his choice with,’Feel Good Inc.’ and their recent appearance at the Roundhouse in London, a band that virtually epitomises the word eclectic.  It is also relevant, although not totally suprising, that there are references to his passion for 1970’s music with the album choices of Roy Harper, The Band, Little Feat, Bruce Springsteen and Randy Newman.  As the Editor of a music magazine it is also no suprise that he has to keep his ears and eyes attuned to the latest sounds so the inclusion of The Decemberists, Larsen B and Tweet are also interesting selections.

Mark’s choice of gigs is also fascinating and it has to be said an envious list.  The gig that sticks out for me is Bob Marley and the Wailers at Crystal Palace in 1980 a band that at this time must have been at their zenith.

Having read accounts of the gig on the internet it must have been an amazing experiennce seeing Marley and his band at the top of their game just before he discovered his illness.  It also seems The Roundhouse is a venue that has recently been revamped and has subsequently inspired Ellen to enjoy both The Chemical Brothers and Gorillaz.  Springsteen’s Glastonbury gig in 2009 is also mentioned and it would be interesting to ask Mark why this Springsteen gig, has he been to any others and why this particular one stands out? Which could further lead on to discussions about venue, atmosphere, circumstance and reasons for attending. 

Looking through Mark’s choices has been a really interesting and educational experience.  I have listened to Tweet for the first time, Randy Newman’s ‘Baltimore’, Larsen B and Dillinger.  It is the first time I have heard Little Feat but having fired up Spotify I really have enjoyed some of their stuff and will explore further.

If you have ever had the pleasure of listening to ‘The Word,’ podcast (www.wordmagazine.co.uk/podcast or subscribe on itunes), you will have enjoyed Ellen’s joyous and witty humour with his real sense of the absurd.  This also reflects in the choice of some of his films such as,’Some Like it Hot,”Fargo,’ and ‘Anchorman.’  I also have not seen,’Waiting for Guffman,’ which from it’s description looks like a must see and another funny film, which again would seem to reflect Mark Ellen’s personality.

The High Fidelity game is a great ice breaker at parties but as you can see your musical and film tastes can give a real pointer to who you are and how you tick. Mark Ellen’s eclectic and varied tastes reflect a man who has been at the cole face of modern music over the last thirty years.  This is not just a job however, it is also his raison d’etre and he is in the fortunate position of earning a living out of something he so palpably loves. He is, it has to be said, a lucky git, but a very cool one at that. 

I will be asking other media personalities their favourites in the months to come and if and when I get a response it will be interesting to see what their choices are.  In the meantime I may also ask some of you what your Top 5’s are so watch this space and it could be you.