Comments on: Slow Down

By: seamyth

seamyth — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:13:49 +0000

The solo is straight out shit and I don’t care who’s playing it. Poor management by George Martin who should’ve grabbed Harrison and locked him in the studio till he got it perfect. Same goes for I’ll follow the Sun a few months later.

By: EchoNov

EchoNov — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 09:19:39 +0000

The Beatles made very great cover versions of three Larry Williams songs. Larry Williams’ original versions are great. The Beatles’ coverversions are greater than the originals. This is my personal opinion.

By: James Price

James Price — Thu, 31 May 2018 02:11:25 +0000

Loved reading all of the comments here…….

Slow Down has always been a fav of mine, ever since being a kid. It just pounds along and doesn’t give you a moment to catch your breath! Martin’s piano really added a nice dimension to the sound, which makes it better than the live/BBC versions.

What can you say about John and his vocals that hasn’t been said already? Lennon at his finest…and perhaps already tampering with lyrics for fun (Actually when I was playing it for years, I misheard the lyrics too…or did I? I listened a few times just now and some of John’s lyrics can’t be pinned down, like Louie Louie, lol).

The solo: Totally a Gretsch….I used to play a Country Gentleman and had a Tennessean…and Rick 320 and 330…there is no way the Rickys could roll out that bold twangy solo. It has George’s feel all over it. Actually, I put this solo right up there with the one from “I Saw Her Standing There”. Well though out, raunchy but with some twists of sophistication…uses a lot of the Gretsch tonal range in just one solo (not pickup changes either).

Larry Williams original kicked serious ass for 1958 and gave the Beatles a lot to work with….and in their hands they tipped one helluva hat to the original. Lennon’s vocals show why he is rated among the best of all time….pure rock n roll as only John could do. Kudos to Ringo as well for the perfect fills and backbeat to the song. I think Paul just sat back and played his usual polished bass on this one and let the others shine. Slow Down tends to get overlooked, but in my opinion, it’s one of their best cover songs.

By: ginny white

ginny white — Sat, 26 May 2018 15:31:17 +0000

I love the piano. seems like we are the only two who liked the song oh well

By: Bruce E. Corigliano

Bruce E. Corigliano — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 16:40:17 +0000

I’m really nonplussed by the negative comments about this song. What’s not to like?
Fast moving sure and confident rhythm section.
Vocals are great – over dubbed John Lenon at his best with that Twist and Shout scream at the break.
Some really good points about the lead are made here. I always assumed it was George. You guys made me rethink that and I’ll still have to come down as George. His playing was Country Western influenced and that shows in this solo. Bends and twangs and that screech-G7. John was coming into his own as a lead guitarist but wasn’t prominent until “I Feel Fine” . I think, by the time they reached Abbey Road John had passed George as a lead guitar player, leading to some of the rancor that eventually lead to the dissolution of the group.

By: Bruce E. Corigliano

Bruce E. Corigliano — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 16:01:11 +0000

Ask any 60’s garage band lead singer that tried. Impossible. John developed a distinctive soulful sound.

By: Carspiv

Carspiv — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 01:14:45 +0000

The greatest Lennon scream EVER.

By: JFrench

JFrench — Sat, 25 Nov 2017 22:09:24 +0000

I always thought the line mentioned a diamond ring and that was when I first heard it when i was 12 years old so glad to hear you mention that.

By: Damon

Damon — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:37:08 +0000

I read that the Larry Williams lyric originally had “….and now you got a fella with a diamond ring”. But this Beatles Slow Down is another example where Lennon (for all his verbal talents) gets his lyric confused and misdelivered.

By: James Cobern

James Cobern — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 04:43:51 +0000

George is playing the solo which i believe is double tracked. And it`s one of his better thought out leads in my opinion.

By: Donny

Donny — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 15:27:03 +0000

That’s definitely George on lead for this one. John wouldn’t have played that many notes.

By: Fraser

Fraser — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 00:09:39 +0000

Man, I loved that solo also!!

By: oldFartBassPlayer Walt

oldFartBassPlayer Walt — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 23:31:56 +0000

Here’s another vote for fantastic solo. Don’t think some folk get it when they call it meandering.
In the early parts, It builds up tension , with slow bends, getting more and more heated, until
that octave climb screams in release, while still continues frantically, not letting up the intensity.
Then John’s screaming vocal comes back and continues the heat.

The solo seems thought out, when to build, when to lay on the steam. John did not have the
discipline to do this, nor could he play it- when he get excited, he starts double bending notes,
and distorting the sound. THe note play is too well executed to be John.

AND as mentioned, the guitar sound definitely is George, not John.

By: jennifur Sun

jennifur Sun — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 09:38:17 +0000

and i too like the song. love the piano it makes the tune for me

By: JSR

JSR — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 17:07:31 +0000

There is a nice sort of symmetry between the out of control nature of the recording and the song’s lyrical content. I think it works. Slow down!!! (We’re losing it here, it’s all out of control!!) The instruments, vocals, and lyrics all reflect this. Lennon’s vocal sound is brilliant. It would have been great to hear this live in 1962.It’s a better cut than it is given credit for. Early punk….

By: Fabio Parente

Fabio Parente — Sat, 29 Aug 2015 13:19:03 +0000

In the version for the POP GO THE BEATLES show in mid 1963 John sings “well I used to walk you home baby after school, carry your books home too. But now you don’t care a damn for me, baby what you’re trying to do?” In the official version John’s voice is double-tracked, and while the background vocal track (the less prominent) sings the same line as above, the vocal track in the foreground has “But now you got a boyfriend down the street” as the third of those lines. The resulf is that you can hear both sets of lyrics sung at the same time. So I ask: Why did they keep both versions, sung one above the other?

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:32:06 +0000

It’s a shame because by the end of his career with the Beatles, John was becoming a very capable lead guitarist. Just look at the work he put out on Get Back, I Want You, and You Never Give Me Your Money. It’s funny to realize how the Beatles were all individually hitting their strides as musicians, but never really reached their potential in their respective solo careers. They just no longer had the mutual drive to keep getting better.

By: Jones

Jones — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 01:49:35 +0000

Is that REALLY John playing? Doesn’t even sound like his guitar… it’s a raw sound is it not… more characteristic of the Gretsch and there’s almost NO chords in it… it’s all notes and sliding around playing riffs or attempts at riffs. Lennon was sloppy but he wasn’t known to bite off more than he could chew… like a typist going a bit too fast and increasing the error rate it sounds like George. The notes bend a bit too … that’s got to be George. That’s his guitar sound isn’t it?

By: Jones

Jones — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 01:46:42 +0000

Ironically… while the Beatle’s sloppier solo breaks it is probably among George’s most freewheeling showcases as lead guitarist in the Beatles… certainly during the early years before McCartney did so many of the big solos.

You can hear what George is TRYING to do… lots of great bits there that he can’t quite pull off. I wish I could play guitar because there are so many bits here like early in the solo where he’s repeating that figure before the chord change… it’s the same sort of bit that Ed King(?) does flawlessly in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s They Call Me The Breeze… If they’d gone back and let George have at it till he had it right in overdubs it would have been quite an impressive little solo.

By: johnlennonsrhythmguitar

johnlennonsrhythmguitar — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 03:57:09 +0000

Another brilliant John vocal. And it’s funny to see the hate people have for John’s guitar playing. It’s not even John playing the solo ( which isn’t half bad ), it’s George. The man made “rhythm guitar” a cool instrument for teens. Have some respect.