People frequently discuss The Beatles’ experimentation, particularly their latter times and their journey into psychedelics on albums such as Sgt: Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album. But for the band, the adventurous attitude began much earlier.
Rubber Soul, the group’s sixth album, marked the beginning of their stranger journey and more expansive sounds. It was a significant departure from their previous ventures’ classic rock and roll sounds. The Fab Four were instrumental in introducing the genre to the United Kingdom. They brought the sounds of American rock and blues to a new audience. But it appeared that they were ready to proceed.
The album instantly changes. ‘Norwegian Wood‘ incorporates more folk sounds, whilst ‘Drive My Car‘ is slightly stronger and bigger than their previous tunes. For the group, however, ‘Michelle’ marked a new age of innovation.
From the dazzling beginning riff to the French lyric, ‘Michelle‘ represents a sophisticated stride for the band. It moves away from Merseyside and typical boyish rock songs like ‘I Saw Her Standing There‘. In terms of style, sound, and substance, it feels much more mature.
When it came to crafting the song, The Beatles had to try new things as they wanted to do something no rock act had done before. Paul McCartney had begun experimenting with a different style of guitar playing. He drew inspiration from jazz and country musicians, widening his musical horizons.
“‘Michelle’ was a song that I wrote in Chet Atkins’ finger-picking manner. “He wrote a song called ‘Trambone‘ with a repetitive top line and played a bass line while playing a melody,” McCartney explained. “I wanted to write something with a melody and a bass line based on Atkins’ ‘Trambone’, so I did. I only had it as an instrumental in C.”
The Beatles’ willingness to attempt something new and widen their musical horizons at this early stage appeared to anticipate their future. It served as an early indication that they would always evolve. ‘Michelle‘ sounds like a beginning step in that direction, as they abandon any notion of genre or what rock should sound like in favor of doing whatever they want. McCartney stated about the song, “This was an innovation for us; even though classical guitarists had played it, no rock ‘n’ roll guitarists had.”
McCartney had always been willing to explore new things with his instrument. He learned to play on a right-handed guitar while being left-handed, which required him to learn all of his chords upside down. His refusal to give up demonstrates his will to succeed. His subsequent attempts at something fresh on ‘Michelle‘ reveal his ambition to be great.
The song was written on his Zenith guitar, the first one he had purchased and learned to play on. “All my first songs…were written on the Zenith; songs like ‘Michelle’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There‘,” he stated. “It was on this guitar that I learned ‘Twenty Flight Rock‘, the song that later got me into the group The Quarrymen.” That one guitar, which may be considered one of the most iconic in history, gave the world so many hits.
