Yellow Submarine--The Sgt. Pepper's Hangover Continues

In a review on the Magical Mystery Tour album, I posed the idea that perhaps the Beatles suffered from a post-Pepper burnout, and this led to a couple of albums which weren't up to their impressive standards. While Magical Mystery Tour had some redeeming songs, they are far and few between on Yellow Submarine. By the time it was released, the Beatles had obviously tired of the "concept" album, even though Yellow Submarine led to a movie, which in turn led to money, money, and more money.

This album marks the lowest point in the short career of the Beatles as a group. It's ironic that, with one exception, some of the strongest tracks on the album were composed and arranged by George Martin, with a minimum of Beatle involvement.

The songs on the album, and my impression of each, are as follows:

1. Yellow Submarine--The title tune is sung by Ringo Starr in his inimitable unaffected style. The effects on the song are unusual, with the waves, voices, bells and horns lending the song a rather sloppy feel.
The only electric instrument on this song is the bass guitar, with the acoustic guitar providing the main instrumental ingredient. This is probably a good tune for children.

2. Only A Northern Song--This song refers to Northern Songs, the record company formed by the Beatles. George Harrison seems to say that it doesn't matter what chords he plays, the music of the Beatles will still be critically acclaimed and more importantly, purchased by the consumer. The affect of the song is rather melancholy, and it makes you wonder why it didn't make it on the Magical Mystery Tour album. The song disintegrates into a collage of sound that is at best confusing, and it leaves me wondering why they even bothered to record it.

3. All Together Now--A peppy acoustic guitar opens this nonsensical song written and sung by Paul McCartney. The lyrics are pure throwaway,and the song seems more suited for a very young audience, which is I guess is who it targeted, considering the cartoon movie and all. The song gets a little more interesting musically when it speeds up at the end, but it doesn't change the overall feel.

4. Hey Bulldog--The only saving grace on the album. A driving piano and wicked guitar lick push this rocker, and John Lennon turns in one of his best Beatle vocal efforts. Paul McCartney handles the low harmonies with aplomb. I would guess that John Lennon plays the guitar solo; it features the block chords and rhythmic figures that were his trademark. The dogs barking at the end are funny.

5. It's All Too Much--A fiery guitar lick opens this George Harrison song, which is somewhat sonorous. It sounds a lot like Blue Jay Way from Magical Mystery Tour, and you can identify the Indian influences which are still working on George.

6. All You Need I Love--See my review on Magical Mystery Tour.

7.-13. Pepperland, Sea of Time, Sea of Holes, Sea of Monsters, March of the Meanies, Pepperland Laid Waste, Yellow Submarine in Pepperland--All of these songs were composed and arranged by George Martin, except for track 13, which was composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The songs feature beautiful orchestration, and demonstrate the genius of George Martin. As far as the Beatles are concerned, these tracks contribute nothing to their development as a group. The music did, however, become the soundtrack to the movie, so I guess it had something to do with the artistic development of the Beatles.

When I was a youngster, Yellow Submarine was probably the most disappointing album I had ever heard. I realize now that The Beatles were only biding their time while they were focussed on one of the masterpieces of rock n' roll music, the White Album. This is no excuse for the quality of Yellow Submarine, but at least it's an explanation.