Only The Beatles could inspire a book like The Beatles Through Headphones, and not
just because their name is right there in the title. They’re the only band that
has been scrutinized at such a minute level over thousands of books, articles,
and posts. Ted Montgomery’s book gets downright microscopic, noting hundreds of
little squeaks, clicks, mumbled and shouted asides, gaffes, flaws, and guffaws
that can only be detected by listening to their music (in stereo and in mono!) with strict attention
through a good set of headphones.
The Beatles Through
Headphones really earns its existence when Montgomery challenges common
assumptions based on his close listens. He has convinced me that only Paul’s
voice can be heard on “Eleanor Rigby”, that George is the sole singer of “You
Like Me Too Much”, and Ringo the one voice of “Act Naturally” (all in multiple
overdubs, of course). He is not always completely convincing, as when he
matter-of-factly declares the fuzz bass on “Think for Yourself” “a regular bass
played through a blown amp” when other theories are much more persistent
(Paul’s playing his Epiphone Casino, not his bass; he’s running his
Rickenbacker bass through a fuzz pedal) and there’s really no way to reach that
conclusion from a mere headphone listen. More surprisingly, Montgomery misses some
things that have been extensively detailed elsewhere, like the bits of feedback
and instrumental drop outs on “I’m Looking Through You” and the fact that the
mono mix of “Love You To” is noticeably longer than the stereo one. He says he
cannot discern a bass in “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, apparently not realizing Lennon
was playing a six-string bass with a more trebly tone than McCartney’s usual
Hofner and Rickenbacker. And I’ve often read that Lennon mumbles something
naughty on “Good Day Sunshine”, but have never encountered a writer willing to
reveal just what he says. I was expecting Montgomery to be that writer, but he
isn’t.
Montgomery ‘s swift, no-frills writing keeps the book moving
(each album is allotted about six or seven pages), which is important because
there occasionally isn’t much to say about these songs other than where the
voices and instruments are placed in the stereo mixes. Smartly he augments his
minutia with mostly astute critiques of their music, but a lot of those little
details he points out can go in one eye and out the other when consuming the
book cover to cover. So the best way to approach it is as a reference guide:
read one of his brief entries, then listen to the song it discusses. That way
you’ll make the most of its unique purpose.
I’ve really been binging on The Beatles since the recent
release of their Mono box set and have been planning on taking a bit of a
break. Alas, The Beatles Through
Headphones makes me want to listen to those albums all over again.
