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Beginning in the early 1980s out of their home base in Charlotte NC, The Spongetones<\/strong><\/a> offered up what was then a new and unique concept: new and original songs, written in the style of The Beatles<\/strong>. Though they’d later expand upon their sound and develop a style they could call their own, on early records (most notably the album Beat Music<\/em> and the Torn Apart<\/em> EP) The Spongetones cleverly wrote and performed songs that sounded like hidden gems from the Lennon\/McCartney<\/strong> songwriting team.<\/p>\n These days The Spongetones gather for the occasional live gig, while their songwriting efforts are manifested in the steady output of two members, Jamie Hoover<\/strong><\/a> and Steve Stoeckel<\/strong><\/a>; they do business as Jamie & Steve<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n So who remains to carry the banner taken up by The Spongetones (and, before them \u2013 and to varying degrees — The Bee Gees<\/strong>, Badfinger<\/strong><\/a>, Electric Light Orchestra<\/strong>, Klaatu<\/strong>, The Rutles<\/strong><\/a>, and for a moment, Utopia<\/strong>)? The answer seems to be The Weeklings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Featuring (unsurprisingly enough) four guys who unashamedly describe their music as \u201cBeatles-inspired power pop,\u201d The Weeklings have released their twelve-track, self-titled debut. And while as a just-plain-listen it’s quite enjoyable, its contents deserve a bit of unpacking.<\/p>\n The disc kicks off with an original tune, \u201cLittle Tease,\u201d that is packed to the breaking point with Beatleisms. Keen listeners will spot chord progressions from \u201cI Saw Her Standing There,\u201d as well as guitar licks and tambourine flourishes that call to mind specific moments in other Beatles tunes. But beyond that, \u201cLittle Tease\u201d is a song worthy of the term Beatlesque. From the bop-shoo-wop baking vocals to the way that John \u201cRocky\u201d Merjave<\/strong> slows down the tail-end of his guitar solo (a la George Harrison<\/strong><\/a>), it’s a true gem. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve spun this tune in the last few days. And while it’s not the equal of the infectious opener, \u201cLeave Me With My Pride\u201d is a solid number in the 1964-65 Beatles mold.<\/p>\n \u201cOne and One is Two\u201d was a lesser Lennon-McCartney original quickly written and given away to The Strangers with Mike Shannon<\/strong>. Most people will have never heard the song (nor anything by The Strangers, for that matter). The Weekings’ cover version re-imagines the tune with all the power and nuance of a Beatles version. What previously sounded like a throwaway now sounds like \u2013 if not a hit single \u2013 a very good album track circa The Beatles’ Second Album<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m in Love\u201d was a Lennon composition, though like everything from the Beatles days, it was credited to both him and Paul. The Fourmost<\/strong> did a decent enough version of it, and for their trouble were rewarded with a respectable #17 showing on the UK charts. (The Fourmosts’s first single, another Lennon\/McCartney number called \u201cHello Little Girl,\u201d reached #9 on the charts, but The Weeklings skipped that one, presumably because the fab four cut their own version at their ill-fated Decca audition.) Hardcore Beatles fans know \u201cI’m in Love\u201d from the poorly recorded informal Lennon demo version. (Aside: my own theory is that Lennon’s demo does not represent a 1963-4 recording; I am convinced that it’s a mid 1970s \u201cself-cover\u201d done as part of the work on the planned \u2013 but never completed \u2013 musical retrospective he was writing, a project called The Ballad of John & Yoko<\/em>. But it’s just a theory.) The Weeklings’ version of \u201cI’m in Love\u201d does a good job of taking the tune to its logical proper end as a Beatles tune.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s For You\u201d was first cut by Cilla Black<\/strong> (UK #7, US #79), but it was also covered by Three Dog Night<\/strong> on their 1968 debut (and again on their 1969 Captured Live at the Forum<\/em> LP). There’s only so much one could be expected to do with this slight number, and while The Weeklings’ version is more interesting than Black’s or Three Dog Night’s readings, it’s still no great shakes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/weeklings2.jpg\")
<\/center>From here, things get really interesting. What, you might ask yourself, would it sound like if some songs that have previously existed only as Beatles demos (or versions tackled by other artists) were rendered in true Beatles style? The Weeklings are here to help answer that question. George Harrison’s early solo composition \u201cYou Know What to Do\u201d is unique as one of the very few demos showcased on the Anthology<\/em> series that had not leaked to rabid fans before release of the retrospective sets. Harrison’s solo performance of the tune is pleasant enough, but nothing special beyond its historical value. The Weeklings, however, give the song a full Beatles-style arrangement, and the results do indeed sound a lot like what the Beatles probably would have done with it.<\/p>\n