"I've Just Seen a Face" was released in the U.S. in 1965 on the Beatles' album Rubber Soul (it was on Help in the UK). It was written and sung by Paul, who also played guitar -- there was no bass on the cut.
McCartney called it a "skiffle" song (see below) although the original cut (at the bottom of the post) had a decidedly non-skiffle introduction. It has since been covered mostly as a bluegrass or C&W song. There are no live clips of it by the Beatles, but Paul performed it often with Wings. I don't know if left-handed Paul played the 12-string on the album, but he sometimes played one with Wings.
Who knew Arlo Guthrie could play banjo:
Maybe it's common, but I've never seen a harmonica rack on the microphone:
Here is a rare version that isn't up tempo:
Included only for historical reasons:
[UPDATE] h/t Jeff Rice; music begins at 1:20
Skiffle and 12-string:
Audio only:
One of my faves, Steve! It’s partly why I think that Rubber Soul and Revolver are the two best Beatles albums, followed by Abbey Road and Please Please Me. That makes me an apostate among the “Sgt Pepper is the best album ever” crowd, but there it is. So thanks for this post!
Posted by: Ian Holloway | June 14, 2024 at 10:42 PM
OMG! Rubber Soul and Revolver are the best, followed by Abbey Road and Please Please Me?
The FL is scandalized, but abuzz with foaming controversy. These claims are so relevant to everything at stake today in the world of legal academia!
Thousands of avid fans of Lubet's Lounge are posting and discussing and, dare we say it, being impolite to one another. The censors are working overtime to delete any utterance that might stray into something that we might actually think about!
Yet, passions run high when events nearly SIXTY YEARS AGO are at stake and some accommodation to "Free Thinking" must be made.
Even if it is as if Ian spit on the very values that we all hold so dear, it is his RIGHT TO SAY IT! So, we believe here in the FL. We may dwell, every day, on the ponderous value judgments he so callously renders, but we respect his opinion.
For one, I can't believe that one would, in this FL, defile the purpose and value of this blog in this manner.
But, then again, we all have had to endure this banality and almost pathological stubbornness behind censoring all meaningful discussion and high jacking this blog to serve as a vehicle for one person to reminisce about the 1960s for so long now: the multitudes, one senses, really no longer care.
Posted by: anon | June 15, 2024 at 12:28 AM
Interesting series, though none as good as the Beatles' original, with the original intro. This is best understood as a country song, which to me is what it is.
Posted by: Richard Zitrin | June 16, 2024 at 05:18 PM
As for Rubber Soul and Revolver, for me, Revolver shines as arguably the best Beatles album. But as Steve notes, in the UK, it was not on Rubber Soul. RS was a nice prelude to the extraordinary Revolver.
Posted by: Richard Zitrin | June 16, 2024 at 05:22 PM