February 26, 1970 - Hey Jude

Just 5 months after "Abbey Road", the Beatles released a compilation album of non-album singles and B-sides on February 26, 1970 titled "Hey Jude". This would include songs from throughout their career, and I only have 2 songs from this album in my library: the title track, which was released as a single in 1968, and "Revolution", which is a different, much faster-paced version of "Revolution 1" from the White Album. This song closes out side 1 of the album and was written specifically for release as a single. The electric guitar sounds really great and John Lennon sings lead with the same lyrics as "Revolution 1", but delivered with more urgency in the hard rock song, as opposed to the slow blues of the other version. Guest musician Nicky Hopkins plays electric piano and it sounds amazing. The piano and guitar going off together sounds great and I think this version is way way better than the blues-ier "Revolution 1". "Hey Jude" opens up side 2, with Paul McCartney on piano and lead vocals. It's about taking a negative and turning it into a positive, and to always be open to love. It features Lennon on acoustic guitar and George Harrison on electric guitar. The backing vocals of Lennon and Harrison is similar to their older work and the piano sounds great as McCartney delivers the song very nicely. The last four minutes of the song are one big "na-na-na-na" section that is hard not to sing along to. I love McCartney's yells and antics while the rest of the band sings the chorus. There is some really great stuff in there and despite this part going on for a long time, the Beatles keep it interesting throughout and it is a great 7 plus minute song. Both these songs are quite excellent and I'm more than happy to include them alongside the studio albums. See you "next month" for more new music!

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