• Was "Oh, Darling" Written For =?UTF-8?B?Sm9obj8=?=

    From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 24 11:39:50 2025
    I had always accepted the default interpretation of "Oh, Darling," i.e.,
    that it is sung to a woman friend Paul feared was on the brink of
    leaving him. In fact, he was in a stable relationship with Linda at the
    time. There's an argument making the rounds that the song is actually
    about McCartney's awareness that his *creative partnership" with John
    was coming to an end. I was skeptical at first; now I am inclined to
    accept this alternate take on the song.

    In one of the verses, McCartney appears to start with "Oh, Johnnie."
    Anyone else hear this?

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 24 14:17:45 2025
    I didn't like it at first because it's a 50s rock & roll pastiche. I
    like it today because the chords are interesting, as are the changes in
    feel between the verses, pre-choruses and choruses. I like McCartney's
    chewing of the scenery with his vocal.

    No, my ire for McCartney's Abbey Road contributions is directed at --
    surprise -- "Maxell's Silver Hammer."

    It's the Side 2 medley, however, on which Paul really shines.

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 24 16:04:24 2025
    Also, there is a beautifully stabbing quality to the guitar in the
    verses. George was at his best on Abbey Road.

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 30 09:27:41 2025
    Those quotes are from John's Playboy interview. Lennon's criticisms of
    Paul's vocal on "Oh! Darling" are strange. He says that Paul didn't
    perform the vocal too well an that he (John) could have done it better.
    Perhaps as a younger man John could have rivalled Paul's performance,
    but there is no way he could approached it in hi post-acid phase. John
    had lost the power in his singing. Yes, there's screaming on Plastic
    Ono Band, but he sounds more pathetic than compelling.

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 30 09:22:43 2025
    Fourth verse, at about 2:48. Tellingly, Paul continues: also sings:
    "Please believe me/I'll never LET YOU DOWN." He's alluding to John's
    song of that title; he is *singing to John*.

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jul 5 10:04:55 2025
    The young, pre-LSD & Yoko John might have rivalled McCartney's vocal on
    "Oh! Darling," but -- in spite of John's comments to Playboy's David
    Sheff -- McCartney did an amazing, unforgettable job on the vocal.

    Speaking of David Sheff, I was told many years ago that Yoko had agreed
    to let Sheff write her autobiography in exchange for his ludicrous
    article in Playboy, "The Betrayal of John Lennon." Guess what? The bio
    is out.

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  • From Norbert@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jul 5 14:46:20 2025
    It's titled: Yoko: A Biography, by David Sheff.

    I browsed it and found that it says what Yoko would want him to say -- a
    lot of nonsense about how famous Yoko supposedly was before she met
    John, etc.

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