We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 3

"I Want To Tell You" v. "Nowhere Man" v. "Eleanor Rigby" v. "What Goes On"

Things haven't been looking too good for George Harrison lately, even though I do consider him my favorite Beatle pre-competition. I still have faith in him though; he's a dark horse, the kind that will charge from behind. He's not ready to do it here, though. "I Want To Tell You" is a great song, but the competition is heady. John and Paul wrote excellent songs this round and both "What Goes On" and "Nowhere Man" feature better lead guitar playing.

"Eleanor Rigby" doesn't have guitar playing, but its so expertly put together that it is hard to imagine George wouldn't have played better on it under Paul's arrangement. "Yesterday" is usually lauded as par excellence, and I've often seen it cited as the first mix of pop and chamber music. Both claims are less than true. "Eleanor Rigby" is a thousand times more poignant, mysterious and beautiful than "Yesterday;" it is the true achievement. (In terms of being first, Buddy Holly used strings for his recording of the eerily transcendent, and perhaps superior to both Beatles songs, "True Love Ways.") What is with those crazy lyrics like "keeping her face in a jar by the door"? Who is that for? Decidedly, however, these lyrical peculiarities only deepen the listener's curiosity.

"Nowhere Man" features a great band performance and introspective lyric. It is one of the finest songs ever, dealing with the turmoil of one man's desire to shut himself off from the world. This song was a major move forward for Lennon and remains a standout track. While, "Nowhere Man" recreates one man's alienation, however, "Eleanor Rigby" is able to create a whole community's alienation.

Ringo's first composer credit, co-credited in this case with Lennon/McCartney, is a driving pop tune that nearly foreshadows "Don't Pass Me By." "What Goes On" features great playing by all four Beatles and a really upbeat tempo and melody that underscore the lyric, a Beatled-up (or Beatled-down, depending on how you want to look at it) version of one of Bob Dylan's famous put-down songs. Not the greatest piece of work ever, but an overlooked gem that Ringo should get more credit for.

Scores thus far:

John - 8
Paul - 12
George - 4
Ringo - 6