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IFLTS: 'I've Got a Feeling,' The Beatles

'I've Got a Feeling,' The Beatles
From 1969's 'Let It Be'

Now, I'm not trying to pick a lesser-known track just to seem cool or anything -- 'I've Got a Feeling' just happens to bring me back to the age when the Beatles became a meaningful part of my life. Being the child of parents who grew up in the '60s, I could always name all four band members as far back as I can remember, but it wasn't until I was 12 or 13 that I actually sought out any of their albums. Prior to that, my adolescence consisted of whatever was popular among people my age, ranging from, Alvin and the Chipmunks to Def Leppard to Kris Kross to Dr. Dre to Pearl Jam to Green Day.

But after an obsession with Jimi Hendrix got me into classic rock, I decided to dig through my parents' music collection and see what all this Beatles fuss was about. Unfortunately, some older cousins had raided the collection years earlier and the only album available to me was 'Let It Be.' I didn't recognize any song titles, but I dove in headfirst, listening to the album over and over on my Walkman on the bus to school, during free periods and when I went to sleep.

After the beauty of the title track and the bizarre interludes of 'Dig It' and 'Maggie Mae,' the song that spoke to me was 'I've Got a Feeling.' Between the lightly distorted opening riff, the great groove throughout and the rapturous crescendo, I was hooked immediately. Music aside, the song was the first time I was able to tell Paul McCartney's and John Lennon's voices apart, thanks to my parents pointing out the difference. Both sections are equally great -- McCartney's upbeat, affectionate main verses and Lennon's bitter yet playful 'everybody had a hard year' bridge -- and it wasn't until later that I learned they were initially separate songs that John and Paul fused together.

When I've told experienced Beatles fans how much I loved the album, I'd get a lot of responses along the lines of "Their other albums are much better" or "That's when they were ready to break up -- it's depressing." Sure, it was a dark period in terms of the band, but I never get that sense listening to this song. No matter what the Beatles were going through, what the lyrics mean or how it "compares" to their other work, 'I've Got a Feeling' gives me a special, well, feeling that nothing will change. When it comes to any song, I think that's the way it should be.

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Ken Rathbun

Dan:
Anyone who is a longtime Beatles fan becomes aware after awhile of the Hierarchy of Beatle Albums and the almost inevitable relegation of this particular album to the very bottom of that heap- pointed out by the very fact of your cousins leaving this,and only this, one behind!
Because of that fact, it's always fun to hear abut someone 'discovering' what an enjoyable album it really is.
I remember hearing it for the first time at a friend's house and thinking it a rather unremarkable piece of vinyl,especially when compared alongside Abbey Road, Revolver or Sgt. Pepper's.
It doesn't take long, however, for the album to burrow its way under your skin.What I most enjoy about it is the overall loose feel of it; some of the studio albums begin to acquire that hermetically-sealed feeling after a few listens, but not this one. I think some of those seemingly throw-away songs you mentioned help contribute to this off-the-cuff vibe, as well as the chatter sprinkled in-between(and sometimes right in the middle of!)the twelve tracks.
In short, this is an album that I keep coming back to again and again, and I want to thank you for the story of your own discovery of "Let It Be" and the many unexpected gems that lie within.

April 09 2010 at 11:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply