Paperback Writer backed with Rain (single)
The Beatles spring single was hardly the giant leap forward that “Eight Miles High” was, and to pretend any differently would be do a great disservice to a great band (the Byrds), not to mention to rewrite history. But one of the unique things about the Beatles is the subtlety of so many of their innovations. And because of this early subtlety, the Beatles maintained their popularity up to and including their most extreme explorations of non-pop / rock music (to come later). They established themselves in the world and then, once there, proceeded to do whatever they wanted. When they began to really break down barriers and conventions, their audience wasn’t all that surprised, having been treated to a forward progression in terms of composition, arrangement and recording for years. These two songs on this spring release are notable for droning – to an extent – for having lyrics that do not discuss love - or cars...or surfing - and for being at completely opposite tempos from each other: the Aside is one of the fastest Beatles songs ever and the B-side one of the slowest.
“Paperback Writer” is notable for a number of reasons, in addition to having been yet another huge hit. It featured the loudest bass of any Beatles song up until that time and the loudest bass sound of any of their songs overall; the bass had been recorded using a loud speaker and the single was mastered using new technology. This was a British attempt at capturing an American sound - derived from soul in this case - but without the American technology; more evidence that the Beatles overcame their technological limitations to do more with less - and by the way an argument for having some kind of restrictions in recording - or in any kind of art medium - as an impetus to help force creativity. “Paperback Writer” is also notable for its non-traditional lyrics - about a wannabe novelist but with backing lyrics that are a nursery rhyme, which are sung backwards at the end - and for the fact that it is almost all one chord. Though it is hardly psychedelic, the song is still very progressive, louder than the contemporary norm and it certainly doesn’t belong to “folk rock” in the way that, say, “Nowhere Man” does - released in the United States three months earlier as a single.
“Rain” was significantly more forward-thinking, or at least it was far less subtle in its forward-thinking-ness. First, it was recorded at a speeded-up tempo, and then played back at a slower, more normal speed so it sounds “off,” which would become a common staple effect of psychedelic rock and pop. Lennon’s vocal, on the other hand, was recorded the other way around: slower, then sped up to match the backing track. And the song is one of the first pop / rock songs ever to feature backwards tapes - and certainly the first song contained on a single to do so - as the last verse is backwards - called backmasking. Lennon claimed credit for the backwards tape idea and so did Martin. Lennon’s lyrics, like McCartney’s on the A-side, have moved completely away from love. The song was a major step forward for popular music - though not as major as “Eight Miles High” in my opinion, it still is about as progressive as it gets - and it no doubt opened up Lennon's eyes to new possibilities in recording, which he would soon explore to a greater extent than nearly any other pop rock musician of his day - save Frank Zappa.
