“The Songs of John Lennon--The Beatles Years”
by John Stevens, (Berklee Press, 300 pages, $24.95) BUY NOW

Book Review By: Shelley Germeaux
West Coast Correspondent, Daytrippin
Longer Version than previously Published in Daytrippin’ Magazine, Issue 21

“The Songs of John Lennon, The Beatles Years” by John Stevens, intimately examines twenty-five of John Lennon’s Beatle songs between 1964-1969. In this book, the secrets of John’s songwriting craft are revealed as though Toto were pulling open the curtain on John’s mind. But it’s more than simply a handbook on John’s technique; it shines enormous light on John’s ability to create masterpieces that broke former songwriting formats, and revolutionized popular music-- without the benefit of any formal training.

Stevens has been a songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts since 1976. He has taught a popular course he created called “The Music of John Lennon” for more than twenty years. He created the course after John died in order to celebrate John’s music. This book covers the course’s first semester, or the Beatles years, while Lennon’s solo years are covered in the second. (Is there a sequel in the near future?) A Beatle fan himself, he is also a musician in an all-Beatles band called the Blue Meanies, doing all of Lennon’s vocals and guitar work.

This is unlike any other book you’ve seen on Beatles music. The closest comparison would be “The Beatles” ( Allan Kozinn 1995), an interesting, conversational analysis of all the Beatles work. “The Songs of John Lennon” conversely is an in-depth critique from a music professor’s point of view of Lennon’s songs only. It is an honest tribute which offers “technical proof” of John’s true genius as a composer.

In the introduction there is a short biography on John, followed by an outline of how the book is organized. John’s technique underwent major transformation in the middle of 1964 and two chapters are devoted to that year alone. It was the year of Beatlemania, and the output from the band was prolific. The intro in each chapter summarizes the year for John, and how his songwriting developed and changed.

Within each chapter, several songs from that year are analyzed. Each song is reviewed in four sections: Background, or history behind the song; Structure, or it’s form, including the lyric content; Phrasing, or melody and chord expression; and Prosody, or how all the parts integrate to enhance the song’s impact; and a Summary. There is also a primer chapter for those with little or no music training.

The book is definitely easier to read if you do have some background in music theory. Otherwise the scores and discussions of chord progressions, (the chords that support the melody), harmonic rythym, (the rate at which chords move), and whether the chords are tonic or dominant or subdominant (stable or unstable) will lose you completely. It did me! My advice is to give up on trying to absorb it all, and just go with the flow of the discussion, getting the gist of how John molded the song and taking in the author’s comments and reactions. I guarantee you will learn a great deal!

The fact that John himself never had formal training in music literally freezes you in your tracks as you read the complex structures in which John created his songs! It seems to be almost an impossibility. How did he do it?

In fact we can be fairly sure, based on his report cards, that if John Lennon had signed up for this course himself, he would have been the cackling kid in the back of the classroom shooting spitwads at the back of the professor’s head. He would have no doubt failed the class miserably. Then he would have sauntered home----and written a masterpiece that would later be covered in the class.

The author shows over and over that John was right on the mark, intuitively matching the emotions in the lyrics to, for example, the notes he hit, (“stable or unstable”) the speed of the music, and whether the melody rises or descends during happy or sad lyrics. He seemed to simply have an innate understanding, a natural gift, from deep within, to express himself musically—as if it was his soul’s natural language.

As John developed as a songwriter, he began to brazenly “break the rules” with changing time signatures, landing a key word in the “wrong” bar, stuck choruses where they “weren’t supposed to be”, and refused to rhyme where there “should” be a rhyme, but rhymed suddenly in an unexpected place. I sensed the amazement of the author himself, as he declares that these are the very things that make the song so exciting, refreshing, and so popular. No doubt that Lennon’s songs would have sent “trained” musicians into a tailspin.

Here are some brief examples of John’s inherent songwriting wisdom that are revealed in the book. The first song Stevens covers is “You Can’t Do That”, written early in 1964. John matched his intended emotions in the lyrics to the F sharp in the line “they’d laugh in my face!” F sharp is known by music students as being an “unstable” note. This parallels the emotional instability, the fear of being ridiculed by his friends should they see his girl hanging out with another guy. Seemingly a tiny detail, but look how effective it was. Even at that early stage, John’s true understanding of music is evident.

In “I Call Your Name”, John lyrically emphasises the idea of being abandoned with a “lonely wolf” type phrasing, drawing out the lyrics. But in the second section, where he speeds up with “don’t ya know I can’t take it?”, the phrasing creates a restless motion, highlighting his desperation, and the hope for resolution with his gal. John also made the melody rise in the verse two full notes along with the questioning lyric, showing his grasp on musical and lyrical technique.

In contrast, “Baby’s in Black” illustrates the depressive theme by the fact that John’s vocal part descends a full octave over the six bars of the chorus.

An example of how John emphasized significant words in unexpected places is in “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”. The word “love” curiously is not emphasised in the melody, but “hide” and “away”! Very subtle---but effective in bringing forth the true message of the song.

I especially enjoyed the discussions from 1965 on, as John’s experimentation and development as a songwriter expands into uncharted territory. The ambiguity and open-ended structure of “Norwegian Wood” matches John’s uncertainty about the affair he was having and his marriage. The vieiled lyrics succeeded in keeping the relationship secret from his wife. The secret of “In My Life” is pure simplicity in form and melody.

In 1966, John’s exciting discovery of backwards tapes and creation of tape loops opened a new door for him in the song “Rain”, as he reflects on the “backwards thinking” of a society that runs and hides from rain, but “slip into the shade” when the sun shines. All the Beatles had a special part in creating the “chanting monks” sound for “Tomorrow Never Knows”, and the fixation of his guitar on a C chord steadily holds the listener in a meditative state throughout the song. The technique for creating the psychodelic daydream quality in “Strawberry Fields” is discussed. In 1967 the live recording of “All You Need is Love” shows it’s simple message while embracing a sophisticated orchestral background. “I Am The Walrus” keeps music students up at night. It was a tongue-in-cheek attempt by John to befuddle the music professors and students at his old school, who had created a class about Beatles music, as well as keep his fans, who were constantly analyzing his music for hidden clues, very busy. The true meaning of “semolina pilchard” is hilarious. In 1968, the reference to Kahlil Gibran’s poetry in the making of “Julia” is profoundly intriguing.

Most of us would not have expected to see the chaotic “Revolution 9” tackled. But the author’s take will blow you away. In a stunning revelation, there is order and precision to it that resembles work done by the most famous classical composers of all time!

This book is an excellent reference book and should be on the shelf of any dedicated Beatles fan or Lennon fan, as well as music students. But I would also suggest it for those who discount the impact John Lennon had on music. It will surprise and enchant all who read it.

http://www.lennonworld.com