The Great Beatles Songs: In My Life

We continue on to the top five on the great Beatles songs list. Number five is In My Life, John Lennon's great musical memoir from Rubber Soul. It was the first real soul-searching, reflective song that John wrote about his past.

It started out as a list of places he loved and remembered but that was not too compelling musically so it was adjusted to become just about the love in his life and where he had been and was at now. To this day it remains a great memories song.

The George Martin-contributed piano solo is also very interesting to me. The Beatles could not speak the language when it came to musical terminology. They did not have any formal training and could not read a note. But George Martin could and they developed a rapport, a language free of that theory jargon that would throw them off. "Give it color here," or "Make it punchier" would be what they would tell Martin. Who would then determine what they meant and make it happen.

With In My Life John had written an instrumental bridge between the verses. John told Martin to "play it like Bach." John wanted something "baroque-sounding." Martin wrote out a Bach two-part invention for piano. It was too fast for Martin to play it normally so he lowered the speed of the tape to half speed and then speeded it back up on playback. It was an engineering trick that allowed him to simulate a harpsichord.

In My Life stands out today as a premier song on a wonderful album. Rubber Soul was and is my favorite album of all time. It may not be the best (it is not Pepper or Revolver) but it is the most influential. Without Rubber Soul there wouldn't have been Pet Sounds by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. Without Pet Sounds there is no Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. So Rubber Soul stands as a classic rock album. One more song from the album appears later here at #2.

Give In My Life a listen today. It may be the finest Lennon composition on wax. Either that or number 4.