The Beatles: Note By Note

• EP067 - The Beatles' Story ft. Dr. Richard Driver

  This episode steps outside the usual track-by-track format to explore The Beatles’ Story, Capitol Records’ 1964 double-LP “documentary” about the band. With historian Dr. Richard Driver, we look at how this release tried to define the Beatles for the American audience—mixing interviews, narration, and orchestral renditions with facts that were sometimes inaccurate. We trace the record’s place alongside other interview albums of the era, and how it fit into Capitol’s rush to issue product when a planned Hollywood Bowl live album fell through. The discussion reaches beyond the LP itself into questions of myth-making: how early biographies, liner notes, and media portrayals created an official story of the Beatles, and what was left out. Along the way, we connect these myths to later scholarship and even to Peter Jackson’s Get Back, asking what it means for fans and historians to keep retelling the Beatles’ story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• EP066 - I Don't Want To See You Again

  Peter and Gordon are back, and not just on the charts. This episode dives into “I Don’t Want to See You Again,” the third McCartney-penned single given to the duo. While it barely made a dent in the UK, it charted at #16 in the US and even got them a spot on Ed Sullivan. But how does the song hold up?Kenyon and Peter talk about how the song plays with breakup themes we usually hear from Lennon and why it may have confused people into thinking John wrote it. We also break down the strange classical solo in the middle (maybe oboes, maybe not) and how the production differs from what the Beatles were doing at the time. There’s also a bit of storytime about fan mania, odd American press tactics, and what Paul may have been trying to prove with these “work songs” he kept passing off to friends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• EP066 - I Don't Want To See You Again - Lecture Series (bonus)

  In this lecture we take a closer look at I Don’t Want to See You Again, a Paul McCartney composition performed by Peter and Gordon. Unlike Paul’s more optimistic breakup songs, this one flips the perspective. He’s not the one leaving, but the one being left behind. The lyrics trace that experience with a mix of disbelief, sorrow, and reflection, shifting from the immediate pain of rejection to the memory of hearing those words echoed long after.Musically, the song reveals some unusual choices. Its opening sonority sets a distinctive mood, while the arpeggiated melodic shapes tie it to other McCartney works given to Peter and Gordon. The rhythmic feel, punctuated by triplet figures and off-beat entries, gives it a subtle momentum, and the middle section plays with pentatonic patterns in a way that anticipates techniques Paul would return to with greater confidence later. Balanced and polished, the piece shows McCartney working within a conventional form yet finding inventive touches that hint at broader possibilities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• EP065 - It's For You

  We step out of A Hard Day’s Night and into the Beatles’ songwriter-for-hire mode with “It’s for You,” written for Cilla Black. We trace why Cilla wasn’t a favor but a first-call vocalist in the NEMS orbit, how George Martin chose material for her, and why Paul aimed a new song at her after “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” We cover the 1964 session with Paul at the piano, John in the room offering ideas, and Cilla shaping the take. You’ll hear how the waltz feel, key moves, and that G vs E minor tug sit alongside familiar McCartney “DNA,” yet point away from the guitar-group box. We talk chart results in the UK and US, the brief Paul demo acetate that surfaced years later, and what the song demands from a singer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1:02:37

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• LS065 - It's For You - Lecture Series (bonus)

  Kenyon examines “It’s For You,” McCartney’s song tailored for Cilla Black’s cabaret lane. The talk explores how Paul steps into lounge tradition while keeping a youthful, pop viewpoint. The lyric voice dreams of a one-true-love future, creating a gentle tension between sophisticated stage polish and teenage fantasy. The focus lands on the middle eight: the recurring “they said love was a lie” idea, the witty internal rhymes, and the quick pivots in cadence. He shows how the refrain’s promise, “It’s for you,” reframes passivity into intention, and how the closing line “no one knows that I do” opens new readings, from secret crush to secret commitment. Along the way, the lecture maps echoes across McCartney’s giveaway catalog versus his Beatles work, highlighting a distinct vocabulary. Rhythm and form shifts are noted for how they refresh the narrative without showboating and phrasing. A compact, rigorous listen for anyone studying lyric architecture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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