The Beatles, Lovely Rita - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Analysis / Excerpts

[@bertram2505]

I love watching such a musically literate and wonderfully articulate connoisseur of great music discover for the first time, the incredible music of the Beatles - Amy does such a terrific job explaining why I've loved their music for the last 60 years.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

The Alberti pattern seems like what finger picking a guitar,would be, what we call the thumb pattern . Very cool, thanks Amy. I love this song. The levels of innuendo and humor in Beatle songs is beyond human comprehension. Very naughty boys. Thanks Virgin Rock.

[@davidrauh8118]

One of the interesting things about Sgt. Pepper, is that the Beatles were no longer in the news everyday. They had stopped touring; John was in Spain filming a movie, George went to India, Paul was in America, and Ringo took a holiday to the Greek Isles. It took them 6 months to record Sgt. Pepper, which lead people to believe that maybe they had broken up. That they had become has-beens now. Even the record company was getting nervous and demanded a new single. Which forced George Martin to release the first two songs recorded for the album. Meanwhile, Paul in particular was secretly brimming with excitement thinking, just wait until people hear what we've been up to. It will blow their minds. And it did.

[@stevewturnbull]

It's one of my favourite Beatles songs. Epitomises their playfulness and wit. Typically melodic and harmonic too.

[@julessabio]

Yes, it's great. I can't unedrstand that it is one of the songs, along with "When I'm 64", most normally chosen when people talks about what to take out to put SFF or PL- Silly.

[@Beatles4Sale.]

George and John filling in with the harmonies on this song sound so good! I love John’s harmony on this song. They blend so well. I love it.

[@phila3884]

Yes, sublime and dream-like. Which kinda describes Lennon's vibe on all his vocals on this album.

[@richardfehlmann4593]

It's so great to hear your statements about the vivid pictures the Beatles paint so often in their songs. Also a great observation about real life experiences as snippets out of newspapers in the songs on this album. That's also true in particular for A Day in the Life. The short piano solo there is so fantastic, just the right part there, I also wonder if that was George Martin 🤔 The chord progression: creative, logical, unexpected ... so well said for Beatles chord progressions in general 👌😃 Thank you for this super reaction again and I'm looking forward to the next one for this album 🤞😀

[@tonyschakel5052]

Thank you. I really enjoy your interpretations of the Beatles music. You have given me some new perspective into there music and I have learned so much along the journey about music in general

[@samguberman2288]

This intro to lovely Rita is my mobile ringtone, the paino followed by those heavenly aaaaaaaahs, no one can touch Beatles harmonies. Great info on the song, as youve found out on your Beatles journey, there are so many great back stories to their songs

[@strathman7501]

Re GM's piano break, not doubled in speed but your ear was correct, it was sped up about 12%

[@ziggystardog]

Been hyped for this since “When I’m Sixty-Four”. The transition between these is such that I can’t think of them separately.

[@bobtaylor170]

Very interesting. I wouldn't have made that connection, but with the basic, simple arrangement of "When I'm 64," it would have been more obviously music hall.

[@RobTaylor-cs3bz]

Enjoy your reactions. Some Paul McCartney solo work, with Wings especially, would be cool.

[@jamessomers8808]

I suspect that the meter maid probably came from 1950s America. Actually, I remember a meter maid in the 1980s and she had that job until she retired. I wish I could remember her name.❤ she had her own little tiny golf cart.

[@Bassman2353]

Thank you, Amy. I always considered this song a trifle due to the lyrics (though my appreciation increased with the 50th Anniversary remix, as the better mix of Ringo's fabulous drumming revealed a more muscular song than the original mix). You highlighted aspects of both the composition and the arrangement I had not fully appreciated. I am very much a fan of your journey.

[@tomtompkins7546]

My favorite channel on KZbin.

[@hifijohn]

Love the ending with the breathing, Im sure most get what that means.

[@flyingardilla143]

My neighbor's name is Rita. Seeing her brings this song to mind immediately.

[@daneng3641]

I never met a Rita. But I used to harass the poor Michelles in my life.

[@adlermeni]

Thank you Amy for another great one. The kazoo-sound is actually a comb-and-paper! "... Rather than knock out a horn arrangement and hire session musicians, a simpler idea came to the fore: why not just hum the part. Instead of shelling out for some brass, why not just use a kazoo. It fit the loopy atmosphere of the song they were recording, ‘Lovely Rita’. The only problem was that there were no kazoos. Instead, a makeshift instrument that the band members had remembered from their childhood was used instead. By placing a piece of paper in between a comb, a kazoo-like sound could be produced by humming into the contraption. Four paper and combs were created, one for each band member to hum into"

[@michavandam]

Yes, the piano solo was played by George Martin, and yes, he did play it an octave lower and recorded it on half speed. Well heard, Amy!

[@garrycroft4215]

You hit the nail on the head their lyrics paint a picture of real places and real life. Take for instance “Penny Lane” “Strawberry Fields” “Eleanor Rigby” etc. etc.

[@WendyDarling1974]

You seem to have missed the mark in responding to people asking you to comment on Paul’s voice and the way it changes from song to song. You talk about the changes being made in post production, but that is a minor thing held against the fact that Paul actually does have a lot of different voices that he uses - hard rock or music or blues or ballads. The same person who can do “I’m Down” does “Yesterday” and “Helter Skelter” (wait till you get to that!) and “Get Back.” He goes high, he goes low, he goes full throated, he goes crooner. That has nothing to do with post production.

[@bobtaylor170]

Ringo talked about "Paul's voices" in an interview years ago. He said of "Oh, Darling," "That's his Elvis voice."

[@ansibarius4633]

I don't know which of the earlier Beatles songs exactly she has reacted to (Paul has a couple of remarkable ones on the earlier records), but I think that those contrasts in the way he uses his voice start to become more evident in 1968-69, with the heavier songs that he did on the White Album. I think there may be some degree of talking from hindsight here for us, because we are able to trace the development back from these later vocal 'coups de force' that we are already familiar with.

[@richardfehlmann4593]

❤ I love this song, so I'm very excited to watch the reaction now 👍😊

[@julessabio]

What a nice analysis! I have always really loved this song. I can't explain why but I love it. I know nobody gives it much credit. George Martin didn't like it either. He tought it was silly and intrascendental. This is one of the songs that most people want out to replace it for "Strawberry Field Forevers" and "Penny Lane". But why? This song is great.

[@ifandwhen-kl2cr]

Imagine Rita and Good Morning replaced by Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane

[@julessabio]

@@ifandwhen-kl2cr I would miss "Lovely Rita", sorry, hahah. I know someone would kill me, but in any case I'd leave out "SFF". I like very much "SFF" but I like "PL" and "Lovely Rita" much more. I's a question of taste. I know that "SFF" has a lot of technical issues that are great and the melody is also wonderful, but anyway I prefer the other two.

[@julessabio]

@@ifandwhen-kl2cr haha I came back to put some sense to what I said. No, I couldn't leave out "SFF" just because I like "Lovely Rita" best. I would take oui "When I'm 64" (algough I love it) instead of "Lovely Rita" and then yes, I would add "SFF". It's very important to leave it out just because I like "Lovely Rita" 🙃

[@stevencherny]

@@ifandwhen-kl2cr I love this song. I would have been sad to have it replaced.

[@MOLLOYALLOY]

Good Morning is great. Replace Getting Better imo

[@dannuserectus]

You were spot on on your assessment of the piano solo. On another note I read somewhere that the 'kazoo' sound was just a comb and " tissue' paper, sorry I don't remember where I read/saw .

[@papikito]

Indeed, Paul was always the "one thousand voices man" in the Beatles Song History ....Thanks for your reaction!!

[@gillescoin2374]

Lovely Rita and Lady Madonna, those returns to old Rock 'n roll, but with strange feelings that linger...

[@stevenboettcher4796]

I know I'm a ahead of myself, but I am so interested in seeing what will be done with Revolution 9. Love these analysis.

[@johndef5075]

One of my favorite Beatles songs. The opening is so pretty too.

[@strathman7501]

The Meta Davis story is probably apocryphal. She dates her encounter to a day in "Spring" but Paul had written the song by mid February (they recorded it on Feb 23), and his earliest recollection was that it was "not based on a real person". He called the Davis story "coincidence" - he did get a ticket, but as regards the song "it didn't happen like that." A few decades later he's started incorporating the Davis incident as a trigger, but I think frankly this is because the phony story has been repeated so long and so often that even he has started to believe it! I do actually recall seeing an image online of the original 1966 newspaper story referring to "meter maids" but it was a while ago and i can't reference it now. Does anyone else remember seeing this?

[@fernandodeleon7466]

What about that outro? Not only unespected, but when the rythm gets intense, it's the seed of some techno rythms from the 80's. 😮

[@Guitarrazo]

i love your channel Amy,, thanks for all ..from chile south america

[@manu_val]

Otro más? XD

[@MaD-gs9qx]

Many songs are named after women: Penny, Lucy, Rita, Eleanor, Prudence (you'll get to that one later), the list goes on. Thanks! :)

[@nationaltrails9585]

Growing up, I didn't know what a meter maid was and I finally saw one in a larger city, a uniformed woman riding around in a cart checking parking meters. So again, it was a song that gave a glimpse into what I thought to be British life done in a particular musical style. It also gave notion to an archetype of any woman having a public occupation ... maybe even a harpist! :)

[@TheUnknownSophy]

Oh yes, in SoCal we had plenty of Meter Maids and they seemed to be EVERYWHERE! And if there was no coin meter they marked your tire with chalk to keep track of how long you were parked in a zoned space. Must have been lucrative for the city cuz you always saw them writing tickets.

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

Yes, ‘windshield’ and ‘windscreen’ share the same definition. As a linguist, I have a lot of fun noting the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary for various English dialects. One thing I’ll add is that Britain and Ireland emphasise the ‘t’ in ‘metre’, whereas North America and most Australians articulate a flapped ‘r’ sound for the ‘t’ between two vowels.

[@TheNosferatu666]

The Wings , Album's with his wife, were also Fun!

[@stevemorse108]

Did you know that the chess genius Bobby fisher said that he regretted having dedicated his career to playing chess and further said that he would have preferred to have written pop songs which he said had the potentially to profoundly mark people’s minds.

[@rb9628]

Hey Amy, since you're almost at the end of the album I wonder if you are going to cover "Penny Lane?" Like Lennon's "Strawberry Fields" "Penny Lane" is McCartney's reminiscing about his childhood in Liverpool. Both "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" were released before Sgt. Peppers, because it was thought that too much time had passed between Revolver and the release of Sgt. Peppers without any songs being produced by The Beatles. In my opinion this was a mistake. Sgt . Peppers would have been better if they had included these two songs on the album. You also mention that The Beatles included bits of naughtiness in their songs. In "Penny Lane" there is a phrase that is very suggestive, but seems to have gotten by the censors. I'm not going to spoil the surprise, but it would be interesting if you picked up on it . Lastly, as you have noticed The Beatles were experimenting with different instruments, and in "Penny Lane" there is a piccolo trumpet solo in the middle of the song. Anyway, "Penny Lane" is one of McCartney's signature songs. It would be a shame if it was skipped.

[@EddieReischl]

Funny what you said about most British accents. It's not only that words ending in "r" sound like they end in "a", words ending in "a" have a soft "r" at the end of them. When my stepmother (born in St. Albans, England) would say a word like pizza, it sounded more like "pete zur", so "Rita" and "meter" rhyme perfectly for them.

[@Cbcw76]

I think the Piano + Acoustic Guitar is a fantastic, percussive sound. The acoustic is overshadowed by the electric's percussiveness, but the combination of a piano+acoustic remains so powerfully associated with the Beatles.

[@2trainsrunning]

Yes, used to great effect in Day in the Life especially. Talking percussion, Rita has this wonderful rhythmic creaking sound (something like mattress springs) that I can’t, after almost 58 years, quite identify: the sound of a pick on steel guitar strings maybe, or Ringo’s squeaky bass drum pedal? Love the jam on the outro. Rita sounds a lot like their Christmas record for ‘67, too - Christmas Time is Here Again.

[@Cbcw76]

@@2trainsrunning Oh boy - talk about a can o' worms - their Christmas-song singles! I need to search to see if YT has a comprehensive review of those-!

[@2trainsrunning]

@@Cbcw76 well worth a listen. Apple put out the ‘67 band track stripped of all the gags, with Free as a Bird. The originals are around though, bootleg’d for decades.

[@Cbcw76]

@@2trainsrunning I meant to mention that my conversations with younger composers is always a rant that THEY preserve different 'takes' to build their own anthologies.

[@CuimhnighArLuimneach]

Can't wait for your review of "Good Morning, Good Morning" - a personal favourite!

[@phila3884]

Here's what I hear (after 1000 listens). Lennon has transcended to a higher consciousness on this album. His vocals are all eeerily dream-like, like he's singing from a different plane. McCartney tries the Lennon vocal mix on this song, and he succeeds in levitating a bit, too.

[@philiphawkins751]

An expert analysis of this iconic band! Another group worthy of analysing is the British band ’Squeeze’ who have been likened to Lennon and McCartney by many…

[@zedxxx9]

I've watched so many Sgt Pepper reaction and many of them are full song reactions to the entire album. I wonder why you can't include more. I would enjoy watching these so much more if we got to hear more of the music. Strange that you have decided that you can't get away with more, since you can.

[@joebloggs396]

30:33 In the US longer sounds are often used for vowels, whereas in much of the UK shorter sounding vowels are common. This can make melodies punchier and music either be more to the point or have more energy.

[@thomassharmer7127]

For Paul's best picture-painting songwriting (also with a bit of sneakily covert naughtiness) , and one of The Beatles most iconic tracks, you really need to listen to Penny Lane. It is not on any album, but was released together with Strawberry Fields as a double sided single.

[@DaveR-j5m]

Vlad - just heard a track and a realised it's a unique opportunity to test a theory ... I don't think Amy's yet listened to Fleetwood Mac, so why not start her off on Man of the World from the Peter Green era? Reason: the guitar plays a few notes of melody at 0:46 & 1:16 which foreshadows a later lyric. Once you've heard the lyric, I don't think you can ever listen to the song again without mentally inserting it over those guitar notes. What an opportunity! Given Amy almost certainly will never have heard it before, can she guess what that lyric will be ? Given the other lyrics and song mood, I wouldn't be surprised if she did, but then, I, like everyone else, have heard the lyric ...

[@ROLISTUBE]

Your reactions are great. I wish you can react to Bee Gees again. For me Odessa is a masterpiece, or songs like House of lords 😊

[@kentroskelley1389]

Meter Maids would check parking meters and ticket cars if meter parking expired. They wore uniforms. They still may be active in big cities where there are parking meters everywhere.

[@yes_head]

This is a pure slice of psych pop. It's sort of filler compared to other songs on the album, but it's still forward looking in terms of the writing and production. The sexual frustration in the lyrics is probably the best thing about it, and I remember even back when I was a kid first hearing this song you couldn't mistake it (I'm guessing John was the behind the orgasmic outro!) But it just goes to show how quickly culture was evolving back then. I was born in the mid 60's, and even by the time I was old enough to be aware of 'meter maids', that term had already passed out of general use.

[@Vitorasso]

Hi, I love your videos ❤ I really think you're going to like listening to stray kids, a k-pop group, I would suggest the songs "La La La", "god's menu" and "thunderous" (this songs have both Korean and English lyrics), but if you want to listen to their vocal ability "lose my breath" is the one (this song is fully in English). They have English subtitles so you will understand the lyrics.

[@neilfraser1235]

I always assumed Paul got it on with Rita and the “sisters” 😘

[@steveleblanc7983]

The maracas sound is actually done with the 4 Beatles playing comb and paper.

[@TheNosferatu666]

You should also take a listen to "Revolver" and or "The white album". 😅

[@seanmcmichael2551]

We've had several instances of the Beatles making songs .... or I should say, lyrics .... out of "nothing". Sure, they're not Dylan or Cohen, but I don't mean less by that. Just different kinds of creative juices. I recall watching Michael Jackson's documentary films for Get Back and being astonished (and delighted) that we got to witness Paul, almost in real time, write that song from just an initial guitar strum.

[@michavandam]

*Peter

[@z0n0ph0ne]

That "WHOOP " sound is a simple tissue paper on a comb! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZyqqImFa7Cog6s Lovely reaction.

[@chrisallen8250]

Regarding the outro to Rita, while it's possible it may not have been meant to be intended as overtly sexual, the heavy breathing, the long moan at the end, tend to signal otherwise. I wouldn't be surprised if Led Zeppelin took their que from Rita for the instrumental break in Whole Lotta Love where the song's "climax" takes on a double meaning.

[@aaronjohnson60mx]

You need to listen to a brother sister Duo called Carpenters. Check out their song called Superstar. Or Sing. Or We've Only Just Begun. Or Rainy Days and Mondays. .. you're going to love the vocals of Karen Carpenter, and the arrangement of Richard Carpenter. It's truly amazing !!!

[@katznkittens]

FACT: Lovely Rita is the only Beatles song with a kazoo.

[@JamesLachowsky]

I thought for a long time that Lady Madonna had kazoos but found out it was their voices.

[@markriney5223]

Reportedly (by Paul, I think,) a lot of the spirit of Sgt. Pepper was born from the Beatles' love for Frank Zappa & the Mothers' debut, the double l.p. 'Freak Out' That fascination is clearest in the way the Lovely Rita coda mimics the crazy satirical pseudo-sexual grunting that runs through Return of the Son of Monster Magnet.

[@TonyFarnam]

I do like your channel and your reactions and your classically trained take on contemporary music that you're unfamiliar with. With all due respect, I have to say that equating lovely Rita with a taxation song, is a bit of a stretch. That would be a bit like saying "I Am The Walrus" was a taxation song because he says "pretty little policemen in a row". Or "Penny Lane" due to the "fireman" rushing in from the pouring rain. Sorry no offense intended, I just thought that was a funny leap to make. But then again, perhaps that's part of your charm. 😊

[@JeffBernhardt-f2b]

17:03 "look at me with my American accent ..."

[@julessabio]

The piano is GM. I don't know if Paul thought it (most probably that was the case), but he wasn't able to play like that "A second piano, played by Martin and processed electromechanically to wobble in and out of tune,[citation needed] was added for the solo on 21 March" "McCartney recorded his lead vocal with the tape speed reduced, so that his voice sounded at a higher pitch when the speed was corrected." (Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. Gotham Books. p. 171.) "According to Martin, "Lovely Rita" and "When I'm Sixty Four" were the songs that would have been cut from Sgt. Pepper had the Beatles not been pressured into issuing "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" as a non-album single in advance of the album's release." (Hertsgaard 1996, p. 219) (sad) "In the opinion of music critic Richie Unterberger, "Lovely Rita" is "one of the more lighthearted songs on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and consequently one of the more critically overlooked".[Unterberger, Ritchie. "The Beatles 'Lovely Rita'". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2020.]

[@bobtaylor170]

I love stuff like this, and take special delight in the "wobbling piano." I'd never paid attention to it as specifically that, but it certainly is! The Beatles and George Martin had a mainline to the world's subconscious.

[@gettingkilt]

Circle of fifths progressions all in major are probably why the genre is listed as "Music-Hall". That and the kazoo and whoops.

[@gettingkilt]

You notice that Paul's other Music-Hall "granny music" is also based heavily in all-major Circle of Fifths bits. Check in Your Mother Should Know and Maxwells Silver Hammer

[@bobtaylor170]

​@@gettingkilt, have you noticed how close "Good Day, Sunshine" is to music hall? He just could not come up with an appropriate second part.

[@gettingkilt]

Also listen for Circle of Fourths in George's Here Comes the Sun!

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Tissue and comb is that Kazoo sound.

[@RoderickCairns]

"Rita" and "metre/meter" are perfect rhymes in non-rhotic dialects of English like Australian, New Zealand, South African, some old-school East Coast US accents originating in New England, New York and the South, some dialects of African American Vernacular English, and the English spoken in Wales and in most of England. The two words DON'T rhyme for most of the US, the Irish, Scots, Canadians, and a dwindling number of older West Country people in England who haven't quite lost their traditional rhoticity yet.

[@phoebus007]

Interesting that you picked up on the British rhyming of "Rita" with "meter" and then refer to "this era", rhyming "era" wìth "error". In British English, "era" rhymes with "nearer".

[@labajadaman]

…and coming next, a cornflakes TV commercial, going to see a movie, and newspaper articles about a fatal car crash and potholes 5:25

[@salipander6570]

Indeed a bit longer sound snippets of the Beatles songs gives the viewer/listener more involvement, because this is too much self-sensorship, me thinks. I often don't watch the whole video any more, which I still did some time ago because I enjoyed it (and still do with the non Beatles songs), but now it has faded away...

[@newremote]

I don't know why they play such tiny snippets of Beatles tracks. I too find Amy's Beatles reactions hard to listen to for this reason, which is a pity. There are very good and long established reaction channels, Airplay Beats for example, that play entire Beatles tracks almost without interruption and have had no problems with it for years.

[@joebloggs396]

McCartney did more with his voice in the 70s and probably experimented more.

[@paololopez4957]

No George Harrison songs yet? Something, Here comes the sun! My Sweet Lord

[@richardfehlmann4593]

She proceeds in order of time and is now at Sgt Pepper. Within You Without You by Harrison has just been treated recently ... and before that the 3 Harrison songs from Revolver too 😊

[@ansibarius4633]

I can't help but feel that someone should make a cover version of Lovely Rita with your cooing of "aaahh, lovely Reetaah, lovely Reetaah" at 19:11 as its backing vocal played in a continuous loop throughout the song. Now that would be an interesting experience. 🤪

[@the60sfanatic87]

I couldn’t finish this one. The pauses were too jarring. :(

[@VestigeV47]

React to angels and airwaves the adventure

[@timrussell9869]

Would have liked to hear the song right through before you pulled it apart, or at least longer parts of it. Hard to follow when you were so quick with the interruptions.

[@edwardkennelly677]

QUEEN: MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN

[@XFLexiconMatt]

Probably, my least favorite on the album, but i appreciate folks who are fans of it. The song just felt slight for me, but the Piano solo with that orchestral reverb was very cool.

[@wayne_twentyfive]

▪Love you analysis Amy, but can you possibly make your musical snatches just a few seconds longer ?? .. Or if you can't, please start them at the point where it plays what you are actually talking about .. Lots of them only include the lead-up to the section you are discussing, but stop short of the actual part you are referring to .. It's very frustrating to watch.😣

[@Robert-gb7ex]

Give Dave Mason a try, I suggest We Just Disagree

[@itzfast]

These reactions don’t work if we can’t hear what she is reacting to.

[@vim_usr2753]

Could you please do a newer Zach Bryan song off of his latest album, “The Great American Bar Scene”? Thank you so much for your amazing musical insight.

[@n1knunya903]

Ok now I'm super confused. First off I love this channel it's an intresting take on a diverse slice of music, but. Have you been living in a cult? How is it you've been in this music vacuum and yet we're a musician? So you only ever listened to classical. No surfing the radio no friends like omg, you have to here this song! Or if they did it was some obscure fifteenth century symphony. You've never heard lovely Rita? How can you have not ever listened to Sgt peppers album? Again I love the channel but I've gotta admit the veracity of these taless is....something.

[@richardfehlmann4593]

She said she grew up in an Amish community, so no radio, tv, etc. ....

[@bobtaylor170]

​@@richardfehlmann4593Amish! That explains it, as well as the accent.

[@richardfehlmann4593]

​@@bobtaylor170😊👋

[@n1knunya903]

@richardfehlmann4593 oooh ok.

[@Jaxy451]

This is a filler song - my least liked song on this album. This album would have been better without this. It lets the album down. Its even worse than Obladi Oblada.

[@DarylNorthrop]

Overrated

[@bobtaylor170]

And with this one, we see how much better a lyricist than John Paul was.