I've Just Seen a Face
| "I've Just Seen a Face" | |
|---|---|
| File:Ive just seen a face.PNG B-side of 1996 "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" jukebox single | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album Help! | |
| Released | 6 August 1965 |
| Recorded | 14 June 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Country,[1] Skiffle[2] |
| Length | 2:07 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"I've Just Seen a Face" is the first fully acoustic song by the English rock band the Beatles.[2] It was written by Paul McCartney[3][4] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and features McCartney on vocals. The song appeared on their 1965 United Kingdom album Help! and in the United States on the Capitol Records version of the Rubber Soul album.[5] The song was recorded by the Beatles on 14 June 1965 at EMI Studios in London in the same session as "Yesterday" and "I'm Down".[6]
Composition
Before its recording, the song was briefly titled "Auntie Gin's Theme" after McCartney's father's youngest sister, because it was one of her favourites.[7][8] It is one of very few Beatles songs that lacks a bass track.[2] The song was written around the time that McCartney and Lennon were both members of the skiffle band, the Quarrymen. McCartney has cited the song as being a form of skiffle.[2]
McCartney has also stated, "It was slightly country and western from my point of view... it was faster, though, it was a strange uptempo thing. I was quite pleased with it. The lyric works; it keeps dragging you forward, it keeps pulling you to the next line, there's an insistent quality to it that I liked."[2] Its lyrics sound effortless and conversational, but they also contain a complex sequence of cascading rhymes ("I have never known/The like of this/I've been alone/And I have missed") that is responsible for the song's irresistible propulsion.[9] According to music critic Richie Unterberger of AllMusic, "Several songs on 1964's Beatles for Sale, as well as "I'll Cry Instead" from A Hard Day's Night, had leaned in a country and western direction. But 'I've Just Seen a Face' was almost pure country, taken at such a fast tempo that it might have been bluegrass if not for the absence of banjo and fiddle."[1]
Music critic Ian MacDonald said the up tempo song "lifted the later stages of the Help! album with its quickfire freshness."[10] Capitol Records chose it as the lead track for the US edition of Rubber Soul with the intent of giving the album a stronger acoustic feel, in step with the then-current folk-rock movement.[2]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – lead vocal, harmony vocal, acoustic lead guitar
- John Lennon – acoustic rhythm guitar
- George Harrison – acoustic lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – brushed snare, maracas
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[8]
McCartney live versions
The song has remained a favourite of McCartney's, as indicated by live performances during his solo career. It was one of only five Beatles numbers performed on his Wings Over America Tour in 1976.[2] It was most recently played on his 2019 Freshen Up tour.
Post-Beatles live versions appear on the 1976 album Wings over America, on the 1991 album Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) and on the 2005 DVD Paul McCartney in Red Square.[2]
McCartney played a snippet of the song, with Paul Simon, during the opening monologue sequence of the 2015 Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special.[11]
Cover versions
- American group Charles River Valley Boys recorded a bluegrass version on their 1966 Beatle Country album.
- The Dillards recorded a bluegrass version on their 1968 album, Wheatstraw Suite.
- The View recorded a version on their The Don / Skag Trendy CD single [12]
- Johnny Rivers performed a country version on his 1974 live album Last Boogie in Paris.
- Calamity Jane, a country music band, charted in 1982 with a cover that went to number 44 on Hot Country Songs.[13]
- American jazz-funk saxophonist Hank Crawford covered the song as sax-led instrumental on his 1976 album Tico Rico released on Kudu Records later CTI label.
- David Lee Roth played the song live on his 1988 Skyscraper tour.
- The Forester Sisters led off their 1988 Sincerely album with the song.
- Gray Matter covered the song on their 1992 album Thog.[14]
- Australian band Things of Stone and Wood covered the song on their 1995 album The Man with the Perfect Hair.
- Canadian jazz singer Holly Cole covers the song on her 1997 album Dark Dear Heart.
- Canadian folk music group The Paperboys covered the song on their 1997 album Molinos.
- John Pizzarelli covered the song on his 1999 album John Pizzarelli Meets The Beatles.
- Slovak singer Peter Lipa covered the song on his 2003 album Beatles in Blue(s).
- Tyler Hilton performed the song on the TV Show American Dreams in 2004.
- The song was also covered by Jim Sturgess in the 2007 movie Across the Universe.
- Beatallica, a parody of both the Beatles and Metallica, recorded a parody titled "I'll Just Bleed Your Face", on their 2009 album Masterful Mystery Tour.
- Australian indie folk duo The April Maze covered the song on their 2012 album Two.
- Arlo Guthrie covered the song on his 1978 album One Night.
- Austin-based folk duo Dawn and Hawkes performed the song during their blind audition on the TV show The Voice in 2014.
- American alternative country and folk rock singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile has performed the song in concerts.
- British singer Steve Harley recorded the song for his 2020 album Uncovered.[15]
References
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "The Beatles 'I've Just Seen a Face'". Archived from the original on 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
almost pure country
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rybaczewski, Dave. "I've Just Seen A Face". Beatles Music History. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company. p. 200. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 195. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Album review of "Help!"". allmusic. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
{{cite web}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 59. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing. p. 559. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2005, p. 155.
- ^ "58 - 'I've Just Seen a Face'". 100 Greatest Beatles Singles. Rolling Stone. 2011-09-19. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 156. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (2015-02-15). "Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Paul Simon Captivate at 'SNL 40'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ^ "The View (2) - The Don / Skag Trendy". Discogs.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ "Gray Matter (2) - Thog". Discogs.
- ^ "Uncovered - Steve Harley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
External links
