I Feel Fine – The Perfect Pop Song
By WTJU Rock
An Appreciation by Christopher Pickles
I Feel Fine is the perfect pop song! With ‘pop’ being a thing of the past it must remain as one of the all-time greatest expressions of popular music. It was virtually the last of the “I, Me, She, Him” songs that launched the Beatles and gave them enough momentum to switch a few gears and create the greatest art of the 20th Century.
The liner notes on Beatles For Sale are fascinating. ‘This isn’t just anything-will-do-for-Christmas’ says the writer, who went on to expound the quality of songs such as ‘Eight Days a Week’, ‘No Reply’ and ‘I’m a Loser’, any of which might have been the Christmas Number One single, had John not popped up with I Feel Fine.
The track famously starts with some accidental feedback on a bed of velvet bass and then launches into the interplay of John and George on that unforgettable riff, woven beautifully and sparingly with attenuated notes of luscious tone. This immaculately integrated duet is embellished with an alert drum and cymbal line and then comes John, backed by George and Paul harmonizing the triumph and fulfilment that ‘she said so.’ She had told her friends that she was in love!
John, however, ignores the slight banality of the lyrics and gives the vocal a serious rock treatment, mixed back and measured, but loaded with mighty presence.
The production is masterful, with minimalist treatment of the guitars contrasting with the rich studio echo on the double tracked vocals. The solo is bursting with restraint and my favourite part of the song comes after the solo has dropped back into the main groove and Ringo announces the recommencement of the song with a gloriously authoritative crashing backbeat and away we go again.
Those diamond rings that weren’t buying love earlier in the year were buying a lot of love now! Then there’s a kind of sarcastic fade out with ooh and oohs and a bit of yelping as the galloped off for Christmas wondering what 1965 would bring.
Christopher Pickles listens to WTJU from his home in Ugborough, England.
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