I Feel Fine by The Beatles on AllMusic

"I Feel Fine" was a typically first-class 1964 Beatles single, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was distinguished from its predecessors by a more complex guitar sound, particularly in its introduction, a sustained plucked electric note that after a few seconds swelled in volume and buzzed like an electric razor. This was the very first use of feedback on a rock record. It's been claimed that others (such as the Who, the Yardbirds, and Creation guitarist Eddie Phillips) had developed guitar feedback, or something approximating it, live before the Beatles did "I Feel Fine." It seems inarguable, however, that the Beatles were the first to use it on disc; probably no other group had the clout to get away with that experiment in late 1964. Anyway, the brief feedback was but a preamble to a bubbly Beatles song paced by a brilliantly active and difficult George Harrison guitar riff, inspired perhaps by a similar line in obscure soul singer Bobby Parker's 1961 single "Watch Your Step." Ringo Starr deserves commendation himself for the series of four urgent drum beats that kicks off both the first verse (after Harrison has gone through the principal riff) and the return to the verse after the instrumental break. The singing, as usual, was John and Paul's show primarily, with particularly sumptuous harmonies counterpointing John's lead in the bridge. Rather than coming to a cold stop after the last chorus, an unaccompanied electric guitar continues to noodle as Lennon wordlessly scats, while the Beatles faintly bark (like dogs, yes) in the background -- another imaginative ending from a group that used them often. Lennon, the more prominent songwriter than McCartney on "I Feel Fine," has rightly been noted as having the more doubtful and pessimistic view of the pair in his lyrics, even in the early days. There's no trace of doubt or pessimism, however, in "I Feel Fine," which certainly is one of his most positive and optimistic musical statements.