Cry for a Shadow
Album: Anthology 1
Written by: George and John
The Anthology discs are full of fascinating bits and pieces of the side of the Beatles’ legend left untold by the tidy finished products of their albums and singles. Outtakes, early demos, and interview snippets all help to fill in some of the blanks in the story of the creative process and musical evolution of the greatest band that ever was. If you’re a Beatles nerd like me, you’ve listened through it all. If you’re a peripheral fan, you probably haven’t done more than dip your toes into the dozens and dozens of thought-provoking tracks it has to offer. Well friend, if that’s you, I’m here to tell you you’re missing out.
Track 12 on Anthology 1, “Cry for a Shadow”, is a simple little ditty; an instrumental tune thrown together by John and George in the Hamburg days and intended as a b-side for a Tony Sheridan track they had recorded. Upon its release in June 1961, it became the first ever original recording by the Beatles to be offered to the masses, making it a lot more important than it’s generally given credit for. It isn’t too particularly special in terms of structure or performance, but it is a damn catchy tune with a nice bit of guitar playing from Lennon and Harrison.
For me personally, it evokes a monochrome early 60s dance scene. Girls in plaid skirts and boys with fresh haircuts, smiling and grooving along to the devil’s music, blissfully unaware of the titanic cultural revolution that lay just ahead. Simpler times.
The Beatles, blissfully unaware themselves, would go on to spearhead that cultural revolution on the back of these exciting electric sounds and become global icons for peace, love, and wonderful music. It’s just sort of cool to hear “Cry for a Shadow,” a naïve little time capsule from before the flower bomb was dropped on us all.
