#161 – I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party with Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett (author, scholar, historian, musician)

After 3 albums where he comes off as the alpha male/leader of the gang, John Lennon seems to be dealing with a crisis of confidence on the band’s fourth album, Beatles For Sale. For the first time, his self-penned songs seem to fully embrace his emotions in a way they hadn’t previously. The self-consciousness on display in “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” shows a guy who, while we may have seen him as the life of the party, maybe has been hiding his own fears behind the loud, confident, cocky persona we’ve gotten to know so far. Maybe it’s Dylan’s influence, or maybe he’s just not adjusting to the fame, John’s allowing himself to be incredibly vulnerable on the songs on this record, and definitely on this song. A great Lennon vocal (and self-harmony) shines through a song that’s still memorable, despite having no chorus. George falls prey to the riff-between-each-line move that, while sometimes effective, here kind of takes away my focus from the lyric. But it’s still a super memorable, catchy song, and part of John’s transition from pop-writer-John to introspective-John.

Joining us this week is Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett. A scholar, author, and Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University, Australia, her new book, “A Women’s History of the Beatles” is a brilliant look at the influence the band has had on women. From their earliest fans at the Cavern, girls who went headstrong into promoting the band, starting and running fan clubs, and became true friends of the band, to women who were inspired to start their own bands, or allow their love of the band to route their lives to England, to modern generations of fans who continue to reinvent the essence of fandom and keeping the band in the cultural zeitgeist. The book is available in hardback now, with paperback coming in the new year. Its a fantastic read, and sheds light on parts of the Beatles story that haven’t had the light shone on them they deserve.

Be sure to follow Christine on Twitter @feldmanbarrett, and pick up her book!!

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