Re: John Lennon - Mandolinist?!?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not so sure John was as interested in playing as writing. Paul and George seemed to have been more adventurous in this area. I lament The Beatles' overlooking the mandolin, while The Rolling Stones included it memorably a couple of times. That is indeed one way The Stones were better than The Beatles (ducks to avoid a flung can of worms). Even so, that mandolin was not played by a Rolling Stone, but by hired hand Ry Cooder.
There were those rare dalliances mentioned above by former Beatles. Doesn't seem to have been a big thing for them. I read that Paul picked up a mandolin one day and, fooling around with it, came up with the main general idea for "Dance Tonight" - much the same way that Steve Earle had done with "Copperhead Road." Paul seems to have been the most adventurous instrumentalist of the Fab Four, even with George sorting out the sitar, quite a challenge. I knew of George's fondness for ukulele long ago, during his lifetime. I only learned about him playing mandolin a few years ago.
PS: The first time I heard a Beatles song get the bluegrass treatment it was "From Me To You." "I've Just Seen A Face" may be the most often bluegrass-ized Beatles song. The original version was pretty darned close in the first place.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Bookmarks