Song #125: "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles

Date: Dec 26, 1964
Weeks: 3

This is definitely nowhere near as good a song as "Can't Buy Me Love" (#106). In fact, the Beatles had 6 No. 1s just in 1964, and this one is easily the least of them. I have heard it before, but it doesn't get played nearly as much as a lot of their other songs. Despite all that, this is still a good song.

The sound isn't nearly as full as a lot of other Beatles songs, but the relatively sparse sound doesn't seem to be intended for effect. And yet, the sound that is present is very good. The vocal harmonies are good. And all the guitar stuff is good. The recurring lead guitar theme stands out as the best part of the best. It's a great riff, and it varies just enough to prevent it from grating on you.

The lyrics are kind of weak on this one. They're not terribly creative. "I'm in love with her and I feel fine." I'm happy, I'm in love, everything's good. And that's all that's going on. There's no trick or twist or clever message. Even for the Beatles, whose lyrics I find often get caught up in the cliche-vs-classic debate, these lyrics are a bit cliched. I suppose it's nice to have a straightforward love song that you can dedicate to your significant other without having to deal with the unintended meaning of extraneous lyrics.

This is also a really short song. I guess I'm glad it's not any longer than it needs to be, but by the time you've gotten into it, it's over. I feel like if I had bought this as a single, I'd feel like it was a little bit lacking in value.

My verdict: Like it. Despite all the nitpicks, and even though this isn't one of their better songs, this is still an excellent example of the Beatles' early work, and it's certainly a pleasant song to listen to. I'm not saying the Beatles can do no wrong, but they haven't done wrong enough here to make me not like this song.