Don't Let Me Down is one of the most simple songs ever written. It is also one of the most beautiful songs ever sung. Recorded in 1969, towards the end of the Beatles rule, this song was dedicated to Yoko Ono, from John Lennon. A sense of vulnerability permeates the whole song. It is that of a man who loves his woman unconditionally. Theirs is a love that lasts forever, a love that has no past. And he asks the woman, who loves him like nobody's ever loved him, to never let him down. Such was the intensity of the "Don't Let Me Down" scream that Lennon actually asked Ringo Starr to bang the cymbals hard enough for him to muster the courage to let it out.
What makes this song even more special is the cover version done by the Welsh band, The Stereophonics-one of the most underrated contemporary rock bands. Rarely does a cover surpass the original, but the Stereophonics have absorbed the anguish and the essence of the original and sung it like it belongs to them. The slower pace, the strained vocal solos and the honesty in the voice of the singer induces the listener with passion, helplessness, nostalgia, warmth and hope-all at the same time. And the alternation of the soft, sincere singing and the painful, primal screams are sure to take you on an emotional roller-coaster, and leave your eyes moist. If you disbelieve me, do listen to their rendition of the one of most brilliant songs ever.
I promise you, it won't let you down.
No comments:
Post a Comment