Forgive the skiing at the advent.  That’s necessary to explain how I discovered the band.  Then again, if you want to know what I’m talking about, go to:  Mad River Glen.  Mountains don’t look steep in photographs, and the steepest parts of Mad River are not as much of a free-fall as those at Stowe, but the pitch is sustained, there are no flat spots, and the trails are narrow and ungroomed, the rocks and terrain changes have been left in.  If you want to get even a FULLER flavor, go to: Mad River Glen Movies and watch some movies.

And now comes the spoiler…

I have a favorite Beatles track.  And, it’s not "All You Need Is Love".  Or "Hey Jude".  A casual fan might not even know it.  It appeared on "Beatles VI" in the U.S.A.  It’s entitled "Every Little Thing".

When I’m walking beside her
People tell me I’m lucky
Yes, I know I’m a lucky guy

Only to have John Lennon alive today.  To hear that VOICE!  Singing songs from somewhere deep inside that nothing in society seems to touch.  THAT’S the power of music.  No movie, no television, no VIDEO GAME can reach that spot.  Which is why all that b.s. about competition for the entertainment dollar is bullshit.  Great music trumps EVERYTHING!  Get infected by a song and you’ve got to OWN IT!  Which is why rental will never work.  It’s kind of like getting married.  You can live together, but you want that ring, as evidence of the COMMITMENT!  You don’t want "Every Little Thing" to VANISH, you want to be able to COUNT ON IT!

Then again, John Lennon wouldn’t sing "Every Little Thing".  He didn’t believe in nostalgia.  You can bet he’d never do what Paul McCartney’s doing.  Oh, he’d go on Conan O’Brien and borrow a guitar and play a classic Beatle track, but it wouldn’t be something you could PLAN for, set your TiVo for, buy a ticket for.  It would be spur of the moment, off the cuff.

Then again, John is dead.  What would Jim Morrison be like if he were alive today.  John’s long since left a connection with the man.  He’s like Jesus.  He’s been infused with all our hopes and dreams.  It’s what he REPRESENTS that counts.  Along with his music.

If you listen to the podcast, you’ll find out my DENTIST turned me on to "Every Little Thing".  On a ski trip.  To Mad River Glen.  In February of 1970.

But it wasn’t the Beatles’ version, but the cover by YES!

Oh, don’t stop reading.  Don’t think of overblown solos played by prima donnas.  This was the FIRST Yes album.  When the band was still in control.  Before Jon Anderson donned caftans, before "prog rock" became a pejorative.

You’ve probably never heard the first Yes album.  Let me take you to a land decades back, when the world was much BIGGER!  When everybody wasn’t hooked into the Internet, when you felt isolated, when albums were sold hand to hand and bands were broken on the road.  When you went to see acts no one else had ever heard of and MARVELED at the sheer greatness of their performance and told everybody about them.

Hype’s out of control today.  There’s a layer of media between you and the act.  But listening to the very first Yes album you can hear the DESIRE of the musicians.  The desire to create something great, that will move them from their hometowns in England around the WORLD!

Well, even if you don’t buy all that, listen to at least the 5:15 mark to hear "Every Little Thing".  Musicologist that you are, I know you’ll enjoy it.

You can subscribe to the podcast in the iTunes Music Store.  Just search for Rhino, click on "Podcasts" and it will come up.