Music: All Things Subjective
What Author Tim Riley Says About The Beatles . . .
by Ross Vick
It was with head shaking interest that I read Tim Riley's account of his interpretation of the Paul McCartney composition: "Blackbird."
The opening acoustic guitar riff is probably the second most recognized trail of notes assembled in Rock music history, perhaps only behind: "Stairway to Heaven." We have a running commentary in our band about songwriters and singers, performers and players. When we discuss the Beatles in general and the individual songwriters in particular, the word: "Greatness" always seems to appear somewhere in the conversation.
Not long ago, I brought a "ditty" I was working on to rehearsal and the musicians in the group immediately thought I was playing the opening riff to "Blackbird." I assured them it was different in many ways, but they insisted and I have been content to let that idea dissolve into the ether. For now.
As I was re-reading Tim Riley's book "Tell Me Why, The Beatles: album by album, song by song, the sixties and after" I came upon his narrative about "Blackbird." Here's what he says on page 272 of his book:
" 'Blackbird' hasn't worn as well as some other Paul ballads, even though the simple elegance of the guitar writing rescues the extreme images of the words ("Into the light of the dark black night . . ."). It doesn't sound as imitative as "Mother Nature's Son" or "Rocky Raccoon"; but, as with "Michelle" there's a conceit at work that seems forced. A wounded bird, like a fool on a hill, is an easy target for sympathy, and Paul's double-tracked voice (center) sounds tentative for the "leap of faith" sentiment he's offering up. Compared with "Julia" 's "windy smile" and "seashell eyes," "Blackbird" 's "broken wings" and "sunken eyes" sound uninspired. Crosby, Stills and Nash tried to make it their own at one of their perpetual reunion concerts, confirming it's generic quality as a song best left for others to sing."
Huh? Maybe he'd prefer the Kenny Rankin version from his Silver Morning LP. It's a masterpiece.
I don't believe in music sacred cows. And while I don't agree at all with Tim's account of "Blackbird" it is interesting to see that his pop music sensibilities seem to have been influenced by his infatuation with the popular notion that Lennon's writing when compared with McCartney's somehow offers a more mature, sophisticated and completed view of the world. What reality in fact is.
So, as I continue to carve away at the various layers of my complicated self, exposing the strata for the world to hear, judge, (enjoy?) it is fascinating to see that critics can find fault with a song as delightful or pleasing as "Blackbird" as if there was something to find irritating about "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." When music and songs with lyrics in particular can be enjoyed for the entire template offered instead of taking the canvas apart one thread at a time and examining each fiber under a microscope the divine reason for the existence of this form of expression can be truly enjoyed.
I propose the following hypothesis. When a song is heard for the first time, for most listeners, words perform the function as a place holder for notes. Most humans respond to the sound of another human's voice. Therefore, it is the timbre and tone of that voice that the ear first processes. If it sounds pleasing or familiar, the listener then changes gear and begins to not only listen to the notes being sung, but the words attached to those notes. In the meanwhile, and all of this data is being processed instantaneously, the beat, tempo, harmony and instrumentation are given values by the listener and if all of that comes together in a pleasing way the song will be played again. The words will be evaluated for meaning and how they apply to the listener's experience at that point in time.
One of the best examples of this "location" phenomenon happened to me several years ago. A song performed by Lee Ann Womack "I Hope You Dance" had been on the radio for several weeks. I had heard it, but I had never really listened to it. It was pleasant enough. However, when my dear friend David met me in Key West for a weekend of golf and relaxation, he picked me up at the Key West Airport. David is a Presbyterian Minister and has always been a rock for my mental instability to lean upon. His family is a messed up as mine, and as I've later come to realize, "who's isn't" and he "gets" me without judgment.
So, to make a long story longer, David meets me at the gate, I toss my guitar and grip into the back of the rental car and he hands me a CD. It's the Lee Ann Womack CD. As I listened to the song again as we're driving to our hotel, I started reading the lyrics on the liner and listening to them on the recording. I thought that David was giving me that song for a specific reason. Truth is, I tend to hold on pretty tight and I thought David was telling me to enjoy the ride and sharing that song at the outset of our holiday was his way of creating a more positive mind set.
Funny, I've never talked with David about that and just have been content to play that little movie in my minds eye. In the years since that Key West holiday, I've changed my life dramatically, leaving a solid career to begin another in music.
We're all that Blackbird. We all have issues, some small and irritating and some large and life changing. We can't un hear the songs we've heard, or "un read the words we've already read." So if Tim was missing his mother at the time he wrote his critique of "Blackbird" versus "Julia", he'd probably be inclined to have deeper connection with the latter. Either way, I hope he and we all do indeed join the dance.
