Written by Lennon-McCartney, “If You’ve Got Trouble” was meant to be included on Help! the song didn’t pass muster and was ultimately shelved until it was dusted off for Anthology. This was meant to be Ringo’s vocal turn on the album, but feeling it didn’t quite work out the band would later go on to record “Act Naturally” (A Carl Perkins cover) for Ringo to sing on the album.
Both songs have a bit of a “woe is me” feel to them, helping to cement the self-depreciating humor of Ringo. The thing is, “If You’ve Got Trouble” isn’t as bad, at least in my opinion, as you might initially think. The thing is, the song isn’t finished. Sure, the song as it stands is fully recorded and mixed, but it’s not complete in that it feels like there needs to be more background vocals and some of the lyrics need some tweaking. Instrumentally the bones are there and with just a little bit more work would rival many other songs in The Beatles catalog. No, it wouldn’t be a single, but certainly could have been saved from being relegated to unreleased status.
I don’t know if I can completely and accurately convey what going to Boston to see The Mighty Mighty Bosstones means to me.
This is a band that has meant a lot to me, and increasingly so over the years.
The thing is, I don’t know what else to say about The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, because I have said almost everything I can think of, from Hometown Throwdown recaps to an overview of my history with the band to this past summer’s experience of sharing the band perform live with a couple of my kids.
Having gushed over and about the band for so long about the only thing there is left for me to do is an album by album analysis similar to what I did with Lou Reed a while back, and now I have a new project for the coming year lined up.
Longtime and probably even casual readers of my blog will undoubtedly get tired of reading these words, but the thing is, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is a band that has a very special place near and dear to my heart. Coming to Boston to participate in the Hometown Throwdown is a special event, something I cherish each time. If I have trouble, this band helps to alleviate that.