Hancock radically re-worked the tune, combining elements of funk , for the album Head Hunters Hancock wrote the piece to help sell his debut album as a leader , Takin' Off , on Blue Note Records ; it was the first piece of music he had ever composed with a commercial goal in mind. Hancock did not feel the composition was a sellout however, describing that structurally, it was one of his strongest pieces due to its almost mathematical balance.

The form is a sixteen bar blues. Recalling the piece, Hancock said, "I remember the cry of the watermelon man making the rounds through the back streets and alleys of Chicago. The wheels of his wagon beat out the rhythm on the cobblestones. Hancock re-recorded the tune for Head Hunters , combining synthesizers with a Sly Stone and James Brown funk influence, [13] adding an eight-bar section.

Hancock described his composition " Chameleon ", also from Head Hunters , to Down Beat magazine in "In the popular forms of funk, which I've been trying to get into, the attention is on the rhythmic interplay between different instruments. Album Reviews Song Reviews. Song Lyrics. Review: RIFF-it. RIFF-it good. Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 2, December 22, GfK Entertainment. Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on January 17, Retrieved September 15, British Phonographic Industry.

Retrieved November 13, Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 August Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 January Retrieved 20 December Official Charts. Retrieved 24 November Retrieved 27 November Australian Chart Book — Turramurra, N.

Kent Music Report peaks pre-May were back-calculated, and were not published at the time. Australian Chart Book — Illustrated ed. St Ives, N. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April Australia's Music Charts — Archived from the original on Retrieved It was played by Beatles producer George Martin at half-speed then speeded up when the Beatles weren't around. They liked it, so it stuck. We Can Work it Out. One of the best pairings of John and Paul lyrics.

Paul wrote the verse, John the middle eight "Life is very short George came up with doing the middle eight in waltz time. Nowhere Man. Great vocal harmonies. And John makes it universal with his line "Isn't he a bit like you and me? This one could have been seriously messed up. Listen to the Beatles attempt on "Anthology 2. This is fantastic. It was apparently by Paul about marijuana.

Works great as a love song too. Paperback Writer. At one point this was my favorite Beatles song of them all. I still thrill to the three part harmony, the guitar riff and the bass-line. I also still get a kick out of the Frere Jacques backing vocal. I no longer have one single favorite Beatles song. It's like asking which Ben and Jerry's Ice cream is best.

It's a mood thing. Eleanor Rigby. Paul was on fire with his writing during the "Revolver" sessions. This is when he wrote many of his very best songs. The harmony on "Ahh, look at all the lonely people" is gorgeous.

This is probably the best song about loneliness. This one really is poetry. Here, There and Everywhere. Likely Paul's most perfect ballad. And he's done a few. Although I could argue for his later solo effort "Maybe I'm Amazed" as well. Strawberry Fields Forever.

This song backed by "Penny Lane" has to be the strongest single ever. Another song of John's that doesn't make a lot of sense and yet incredibly does. The music is amazing. The fact that the Beatles would think this strange song would be a hit is a testament to their egos, the fact that it is this incredible is a testament to their talent.

I can now always hear the join between the two different takes, but I don't mind. Who could imagine it would be kept from the No. And how did they ever think that bit of jamming at the end would be essential to the song Penny Lane. Suburban remembrances for Paul. There are at least four piano tracks playing on this one Growing up, I thought the line that said, "the banker sits waiting for a trim" actually was "the banker sits waiting for a trend" I still think I would have preferred the trumpet ending that was only on the Promo single release.

I will never know why the Beatles went for the shimmery cymbal ending. A Day in the Life. The big one on "Sgt. I am The Walrus.