With retrospect, it's clear that George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh is one of the pivotal moments in rock history. It's not only because this was the first benefit concert of such a size, with such a cast of musicians, but that it provided another way forward for rock and roll: altruism. And with each passing year, it's become not only common for rockers to be involved in causes - it's almost expected.

Anyone who hasn't seen the film of the concert has something great to look forward to. From Harrison's down-to-earth explanation of the reasons for his involvement to the backstage shots of the legendary musicians preparing to go on - from Ravi Shankar's fascinating performance of "Bangla Dhun" (with Harrison kindly asking the crowd to recognize the seriousness of the performers) to the mighty rock and roll show to follow: it's a delight not to be missed. It's hard to believe that Harrison has been gone for almost nine years, and watching him in this footage as he fills the spotlight as a performer, musician and great man is an emotional experience. We were lucky to have him, and his legacy is gigantic. Thanks. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqogkD7nCQc&feature=related)

Eddie Cochran's "Something Else" is one of the all-time great story-songs. It features a narrator who is deeply impressed with two things: a girl and a car. In the end, we find that he has compromised on one (the latter), but not the other. Without hitting us over the head, the song asks the listener to consider the nature of compromise - where it matters and where it doesn't. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW34W67ZYG0, and lyrics:

A look a-there, here she comes

There comes that girl again

Wanted to date her since I don't know when

But she don't notice me when I pass

She goes with all the guys from outta my class

But that can't stop me from a-thinkin' to myself

She's sure fine lookin' man, she's something else

Hey, look a-there, across the street

There's a car made just for me

To own that car would be a luxury

But my dollar can't afford the gas

A brand new convertible is outa my class

But that can't stop me from a—thinkin' to myself

That car's fine lookin' man, it's something else

Hey, look a—here, just wait and see

Worked hard and saved my dough

I'll buy that car that I been wanting so

Get me that girl and we'll go ridin' around

We'll look real sharp with the flight top down

I keep right on a-dreamin' and a-thinkin' to myself

When it all comes true man, wow, that's something else

Look a-there, what's all this

Never thought I'd do this before

But here I am a-knockin' on her door

My car's out front and it's all mine

Just a forty-one Ford, not a fifty-nine

I got that girl an' I'm a-thinkin' to myself

She's sure fine lookin' man, wow, she's something else

I mentioned yesterday that I feel that McCartney is primarily a narrative-driven songwriter, influenced by Chuck Berry and Cochran, and that Lennon was more concerned with the emotional content (from humour to despair) found in the work of Presley. Abbey Road, which contains their final work together, is a place where this divergence is pretty clear. Here's the list of the Lennon songs: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", "Come Together", and "Because". And here are McCartney's: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Oh! Darling", and the side-two medley that begins with "You Never Give Me Your Money" and ends with "The End" - with the exception of "Polythene Pam", which was Lennon's.

Lennon was influenced by Presley in terms of performing style as well. His stage demeanor - feet apart, head up high, humourous expression - is clearly an extension of Elvis'. One could do worse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU5xxh5UX4U

Other than having played bass for two of the most famous of English rock groups, Paul McCartney and Sid Vicious don't have a lot in common. But there is one other thing: Eddie Cochran, the great rock and roll singer and guitarist who died at the age of twenty-one in a traffic accident in England (and for which the taxi driver was found criminally responsible). In his short career he accomplished a lot, and his influence on rock has been profound. Musicians as disparate as the two bassists mentioned above have covered, and learned from his songs. To them add Marc Bolan (from T. Rex), Pete Townshend and the rest of the Who (whose version of "Summertime Blues" on Live at Leeds has become almost as iconic as the original), Led Zeppelin, the New York Dolls, the Stones, the Beach Boys, and many more. An impressive list, to say the least. By the way, it was seeing Nowhere Boy that brought him to mind: the film shows (correctly) that the song that the fifteen-year-old McCartney played when first introduced to Lennon on June 29, 1957 was Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock". I'm going to write about the influence of Cochran and Elvis Presley on McCartney and Lennon, respectively, tomorrow. For the moment, here's a link (and the lyrics) for "Summertime Blues": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWC59FJqGc

I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler

About a workin' all summer just to try to earn a dollar

Every time I call my baby, and try to get a date

My boss says, "No dice son, you gotta work late"

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do

But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

Well my mom and pop told me, "Son you gotta make some money,

If you want to use the car to go ridin' next Sunday"

Well I didn't go to work, told the boss I was sick

"Well you can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick"

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do

But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

I'm gonna take two weeks, gonna have a fine vacation

I'm gonna take my problem to the United Nations

Well I called my congressman and he said Quote:

"I'd like to help you son but you're too young to vote"

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do

But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

The role of the bass in a band, in music in general, is crucial. The bass part is similar to a planet - in that it exerts a gravitational pull on the other parts, which can perhaps leap or even occasionally fly, but not escape. In fact, one of the elements that gives music its powerful emotional force is the gravitational or magnetic attraction between the bass and the rest of the instrumentation. Therefore, it is not a surprise that, like Motown with James Jamerson, the best player in the Beatles was the bassist. Ringo Starr once called Paul McCartney the most melodic of bass players, which is succinct and true; his playing always has a singing quality (cf. Duke Ellington who used to ask his band, after they had played something new, if everyone liked their parts). It was an irreplaceable element of the Beatles' music, in whatever style they explored. The two most notable tracks on Starr's recent release, Y Not (2010), both feature McCartney: one as a singer and the other as a bassist. On the former, "Walk with You", it is interesting to hear him in a duet with Ringo. The Beatles rarely used this device, in the sense where more than one singer can be clearly identified as singing from their own personality. Usually, there was a lead vocal performance with the identity of the singer easy to hear, and the others providing backing with the singers much harder to pinpoint. It was amazing, and I don't know how they did it. But on this track, it's clearly Ringo and Paul singing together (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c68v6WIZeRI). The other track is called "Peace Dream", and it's a wonderful treat to hear the great rhythm section together again. Also, check out the very cool references to Lennon and Harrison, via both lyrical and guitar allusions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE7ju4lU2W0

John Lennon's first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) is usually considered to be his best. I'm not entirely sure about that, but it is a very powerful record. On the musical side, Ringo Starr's drumming is a big reason. His listening ability is what sets him apart from the pack. Like the r&b guitarist Steve Cropper, his technical prowess is not based on velocity or the number of notes, but rather feel and placement. Only great listeners can do it. An analogy could be drawn to the world of team sports, where there are certain players who are concerned with personal statistics and getting attention, and there are others who play only to benefit the team and who have the ability to make those around them perform better. If Starr were an athlete, he would be of the latter type. I'll be writing about some of his solo work tomorrow.

Lennon's instrumental contributions are equally brilliant. It's very interesting to hear him away from the other Beatles, and to be able to clearly distinguish his style and touch. For example, his guitar sound contains a very cool fifties reference through the use of tremolo. A good tune on which to hear it is "Hold On": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLOTD7wrbtQ&feature=related. (Note the Sesame Street reference.)

One aspect of his writing that has always interested me is how much he gets out of chords. Many of his most beautiful melodies come from very spare harmonic settings. He doesn't change chords just for the sake of it, in other words. His melodies, therefore, have the quality of being necessary, called for. This also is the result of advanced listening. Lyrically, the album was at the beginning of a long run of ultra-honest writing. In fact it could be argued that the most telling characteristic of his solo career was its honesty, which some found off-putting at times with its renderings of emotional and marital intimacy as well as his uncompromising political views. Fair enough, he wasn't asking for our permission anyway. But I remember something one of my teachers said once. An artist must do two things: 1. Be honest. 2. Develop the technical means to communicate that honesty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkybcZ_stAk&feature=related

I'll be returning to post-Beatle solo music tomorrow - I'm still catching up on my listening. But today, since I mentioned the rhyming of "rock show" and "Concertgebouw" in yesterday's post, I wanted to give a couple of examples of the use of what some poets and songwriters call "forced" or "contrived" rhyme. In poetry it's used mainly in light verse, for the purpose of humour - think of Ogden Nash, In fact, here's a link to "The Eel": http://www.ogdennash.org/poems/the_eel.htm.

And a song that is known for it is Queen's "I'm in Love with My Car", which features lines such as, "Told my girl I'd have to forget her/ Rather buy me a new carburretor". As in the poem above, liberties are taken with spelling and pronunciation - that's the point, actually. Give it a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTu9vx-laY, and when you do, notice Brian May's rendering of automotive sounds with the use of guitar overdubs. The song is a lot of fun in every way. I'm sure the Beach Boys, who no doubt inspired it, would approve.

OK, I listened to some more post-Beatle solo music today, and really enjoyed it. I wonder if these albums will be more and more appreciated as the years pass, because I can't think of any reason that they shouldn't be. Much of their solo work suffered by comparison with the Beatles output, but what doesn't? There are very few rock groups that don't sound sound diminished when played right after them, so to compare the albums of the individuals to albums made by all four is unrealistic. The two albums that I listened to today were pure delights, and nobody will convince me otherwise. (I'm referring here to the surprisingly poor reviews these recordings got at the time.)

George Harrison's self-titled 1979 album, his first for his Dark Horse label, features his beautiful legato singing on ten well played and well produced tracks. Here's a link to the remastered version of "Blow Away": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaA7TVenPXA&feature=related (And check out the early video. By the way, the promotional clips that the Beatles did for such tracks as "Rain" and "Paperback Writer" are often credited with starting music videos. Here's a link to the latter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH3TvSxT288&feature=related)

Venus and Mars (1975), the fourth album by Paul McCartney and Wings was great to hear again as well. I'll always love "Rock Show" for its great rhyme of the title with "Concertgebouw", and for mentioning Jimmy Page. More songs should do that. "Listen to What the Man Said" ranks with his best singles - and he's had a few good ones, you'll agree. Here's a link to another remastered version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw1lmCS11A8&feature=related