Thirteen Albums, 26 Sparks of Magic

Please Please Me (1963) Hit: “Twist and Shout”. Lennon’s voice was shredded, and it was recorded in one take at the end of the session. Deep: “There’s a Place”. An early, introspective Lennon song driven by harmonica.

With the Beatles (1963) Hit: “All My Loving”. McCartney’s song is propelled by Lennon’s rapid triplet guitar. Deep: “Not a Second Time”. A Times critic famously praised its “Aeolian cadences”.

A Hard Day’s Night (1964) Hit: “A Hard Day’s Night”. That opening chord is still debated. Deep: “I’ll Be Back”. A wistful closer that slips between minor and major.

Beatles for Sale (1964) Hit: “Eight Days a Week”. It was a rare fade-in opening. Deep: “I’m a Loser”. It shows Dylan’s influence and Lennon’s first real self-doubt on record.

Help! (1965) Hit: “Help!”. It’s a cry for help disguised as a pop single. Deep: “I’ve Just Seen a Face”. Breathless acoustic folk-country.

Rubber Soul (1965) Hit: “In My Life”. It features a harpsichord-like piano solo, sped up. Deep: “Girl”. Its weary sighs and sharp intakes of breath…

Revolver (1966) Hit: “Eleanor Rigby”. A string octet and no Beatle instruments at all. Deep: “And Your Bird Can Sing”. Its twin harmonised guitar lines are glorious.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Hit: “A Day in the Life”. The orchestral crescendo ends in the longest piano chord. Deep: “Good Morning Good Morning”. Shifting time signatures, a farmyard of animals, and a cereal advert origin.

Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Hit: “I Am the Walrus”. Surreal wordplay with a radio broadcast of King Lear mixed in. Deep: “Blue Jay Way”. Harrison waiting in a fog-bound Los Angeles house.

The Beatles (White Album, 1968) Hit: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Clapton plays an uncredited solo. Deep: “Long, Long, Long”. A hushed Harrison hymn, and a wine bottle rattles on the Leslie speaker.

Yellow Submarine (1969) Hit: “Yellow Submarine”. Ringo’s singalong is full of sound effects. Deep: “Hey Bulldog”. A pounding piano riff, cut during a promo film shoot.

Abbey Road (1969) Hit: “Here Comes the Sun”. Harrison wrote it while in Clapton’s garden. Deep: “Because”. Three voices are triple-tracked into nine, inspired by Beethoven played backwards.

Let It Be (1970) Hit: “Let It Be”. McCartney’s hymn was prompted by a dream of his mother. Deep: “Two of Us”. A gentle acoustic duet with Lennon and McCartney sharing one microphone again.

TL; DR 4

How to Stay Fit in Mind, Body and Soul

Your body is organic. Organic things grow wonderfully but also decay, so the rule is simple: use it or lose it.

For the body, start with cardio and weights. Add mobility, flexibility and occasional explosiveness (e.g a jump).

Seven mindsets help:

  1. Start moving today.
  2. Seek effort; comfort does not demand, and without demand muscles atrophy and bones weaken.
  3. Seek variety to keep the body surprised, ready and alive.
  4. Make it the norm, like brushing your teeth.
  5. Rest, because the body rebuilds in recovery.
  6. Take care: obsession ends in injury and embedded fatigue.
  7. Keep a record: what gets measured gets done.

For the mind, the rule is the same: keep learning and demanding of your mind with fresh ideas.

I walk everywhere. People find it odd, but it is the simplest route to health for mind, body and, consequently, soul.

TL;DR 3: Presenting

Presenting is not PowerPoint. A good presentation might use it, but it is never made of it.

I have always been a presenter: I started in the classroom as a secondary school chemistry teacher. No child wants PowerPoint decks; they seek enthusiasm, clarity of explanation and relevant stories to reinforce. A decade later, my audiences at Microsoft, Google and corporations around the world were no different.

PowerPoint tempts you to let one deck do three different jobs: notes (for you), visuals (for them) and takeaways (for them). But putting your notes on a slide is crazy: the audience reads ahead of you, faster than you can speak. The smart ones will ask, why are we all in this room or on this call? This could have been sent in an email or delivered by an AI!

Plus, PowerPoint doesn’t do energy. And it will not ask for the decision at the end.

Losing PowerPoint liberates you. I have never used PowerPoint in training or consulting. My audiences love that, and, importantly, it allows me to be me. PowerPoint, if not used with care, removes the soul of your presentation.