10 Greatest Beatles Classic Rock Songs
4. I Feel Fine
“I’ve written this song but it’s lousy.” Those were John Lennon’s words to Ringo Starr before presenting the group with I Feel Fine. You’d never guess he had any doubts about this supremely catchy track. From the opening squall of feedback to Lennon’s throaty rasp of a vocal, The Beatles' sound was brimming with confidence as they continued their unstoppable creative progression.
Built around Lennon’s twanging guitar riff and augmented with drums inspired by Ray Charles' track "What'd I Say", the brief bit of feedback that announces the record is its most distinctive feature. The Kinks, The Who and Jimi Hendrix had all experimented with feedback live but John would later boast that The Beatles were the first to deliberately use the effect on vinyl. Once again they were opening a door for the rock music of tomorrow to swagger through.