On Wednesday, January 29, 1964, for the first and only time during their career, the Beatles recorded in France, at the studios of EMI Pathé Marconi in Boulogne-Billancourt, at 62 rue de Sèvres. Norman Smith did not like this place, where “[There] was absolutely no atmosphere!”4 Nevertheless, they managed to record the unforgettable German versions of two of their songs (“Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand”—“I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Sie Liebt Dich”—“She Loves You”) before tackling the latest composition by Paul, “Can’t Buy Me Love.” George Martin had a brilliant idea: “We need an intro, something that catches the ear immediately. So let’s start with the chorus.”5 The Beatles followed his advice and only needed four takes to be satisfied. The first two takes had a rhythm & blues feel: Paul was looking for a black intonation in his voice, while John and George answered him with very “girl group” choruses. The third take was close to the definitive version when the choruses were dropped. The fourth take was the best one. Paul then recorded his voice on a free track, while George performed a solo on his Gretsch Country Gentleman. On February 25, the Beatles returned to Abbey Road to finalize “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Meanwhile, the group left to conquer America: the Liverpool four were seen by 73 million television viewers and shook hands with Cassius Clay. Paul doubled his vocal and George rerecorded a new solo, this time on his new twelve-string Rickenbacker. But you could hear behind his solo traces of a previous take coming from a recording made in Paris! The very next day, Martin and Smith proceeded with the mono mix. On March 10, a first stereo mix was completed. But the definitive stereo mix came from the marathon day on June 22. “Can’t Buy Me Love” became a colossal success. The single appeared in the United States on March 16, four days before it came out in Great Britain. As soon as it did, it was immediately a golden record. In less than a week, Capitol sold over 2 million copies of it. On British soil, preorders went beyond a million singles. It was also the first song in the history of records to go directly from twenty-seventh to first place within a week. America went crazy. In the April 11, 1964 edition of Billboard, no less than fourteen Beatles songs were rated among the Hot 100. This record has never been broken.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
In his memoirs, Geoff Emerick revealed a rather surprising anecdote. When the tape that had been recorded in Paris arrived at Abbey Road, Norman Smith noticed that it had a ripple in it because it had been spooled incorrectly. As a result, there was a partial loss of treble on Ringo’s hi-hat cymbal. Because the group was absent, there was only one solution: Norman set himself up in the studio and replayed the faulty hi-hat parts himself! As for the Beatles, they never realized it. This revelation casts light on a document found in 1991 in the EMI archives: an unknown drummer had been paid £5.15 ($7.20 U.S.) for a session on March 10, 1964. Sure enough, it was Norman. Q.E.D.!
Any Time At All
Lennon-McCartney / 2:10
1964
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: bass, piano, backing vocals
George: lead guitar, classical rhythm guitar
Ringo: drums, cowbell
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 2, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 11
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 4, 1964 (Studio Two) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick
Genesis
It is extraordinary to realize that, despite a surrealistic year and schedule, John managed to write or cowrite ten songs out of thirteen on the album. “Any Time at All” may be underestimated, but it nevertheless had undeniable power and charm, with a remarkable vocal performance by its author. But John thought this song was only an attempt to compose something along the lines of “It Won’t Be Long”: “C to A minor, C to A minor—with me shouting,”1 he said. He completed it shortly before the recording session.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
If you listen carefully, you can make out an extra voice in the solo part at exactly 1:32. Another amusing detail is that John forgot to double his voice (or it got deleted) on the word Any at 1:59.
Production
On Tuesday, June 2, the Beatles began the last recording day of A Hard Day’s Night. The first song the group worked on was “Any Time at All.” They recorded the basic track in seven takes, including John’s voice. Everyone played their usual instruments, George adding a nylon string classical rhythm guitar and Ringo a cowbell (which was essentially buried in the mix). There was still a bridge missing in the song, so they decided to return to it later. After a break of an hour and a half, which they used to write the bridge, they redid the song after having recorded “When I Get Home.” A rarity for the Beatles, the bridge was entirely instrumental: Paul performed it on piano, doubled by George’s twelve-string Rickenbacker. Their unfailing efficiency and creativity were obvious here. The eleventh take was the best one. On June 3, there were some additional overdubs. Martin and his team completed two mono mixes, the first on June 4 and a second one, which became the final mix, on June 22, the same day as the stereo mix. The final chord, no doubt, came from the editing of a different take.
I’ll Cry Instead
Lennon-McCartney / 1:44
1964
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: bass
George: lead guitar
Ringo: drums, tambourine
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 1, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 8
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 4, 1964 (Studio Two) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick
Genesis
Paul believed that “I’ll Cry Instead” was one of John’s songs that consciously or not referred to his marital problems with Cynthia. On the other hand, John explained that this song, like “Tell Me Why” and “Any Time at All,” reflected his frustration with success. Worshipped by millions of fans, John felt alone in his gilded cage. He thought his freedom and joie de vivre had vanished—the price of fame, so to speak. The dark lyrics were in contrast with this rather light imitation of country and western music. John was gradually leaving the world of teenage love affairs and plunging into a less serene realism. There was even some violence behind his words. “I’ll Cry Instead” was initially planned for the scene in the movie where the Beatles were fooling around in a playground, but Richard Lester chose otherwise. In 1980, John said, “I wrote that for A Hard Day’s Night, but Dick Lester didn’t even want it. He resurrected ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ for that sequence instead.”1 It seemed apparent that John was hurt because of this. He admitted later that he especially liked the bridge of this song.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
The mono version of “I’ll Cry Instead,” which also came out as a single in the United States, lasted 2:09 instead of 1:44. The song was extended by inserting a copy of the first verse prior to the repeat of the bridge.
Production
Recorded on June 1, “I’ll Cry Instead” was unusual in that it was recorded in two parts that were combined afterwards. The reason for this remains mysterious, especially since the song did not involve any special difficulty. Section A required six takes, and section B two takes. Everyone played their usual instruments: John doubled his voice and Ringo added a tambourine. The country flavor of the song was perfect for George’s guitar: he delivered a very Chet Atkins type of accompaniment. The qualities of “I’ll Cry Instead” meant it was remade several times, and sometimes better than the Beatles’ version (including by Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Johnny Rivers,
The Shooters). The mono mix was done on June 4, the stereo on June 22, and, just like the recording, they were done piecemeal, before being combined.
Things We Said Today
Lennon-McCartney / 2:35
1964
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, rhythm guitar (?)
John: rhythm guitar, piano
George: lead guitar, rhythm guitar (?)
Ringo: drums, tambourine
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 2–3, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 3
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 9, 1964 (Studio Three) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Geoff Emerick
Genesis
On May 2, a painting exhibition in Liverpool opened, dedicated to Stuart Sutcliffe, a musician-turned-artist many of the Beatles had originally played with. The Beatles, meanwhile, took off for some real holidays. John, Cynthia, George, and Pattie chose to go to Honolulu; Paul, Jane, Ringo, and Maureen preferred St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. On the Happy Days, a yacht made available to them, Paul isolated himself in a cabin that smelled like oil and began to write “Things We Said Today.” He ended the song on the deck, at the stern of the boat, far from the smell! His subject matter evoked in a very direct manner his relationship with actress Jane Asher. Because of their respective schedules, Paul and Jane began to drift apart. “The song projects itself into the future and then is nostalgic about the moment we’re living in now, which is quite a good trick,”1 Paul explained. Composing it on an acoustic guitar, Paul especially liked the chord changes of the piece. “It goes C, F, which is all normal, then the normal thing might be to go to F minor, but to go to the B flat was quite good. It was a sophisticated little tune.”2 John recognized this later on: “Good song!”3 he said.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Paul was not always precise when doubling himself. At 1:27, he was slightly off when pronouncing the word on, which produced a funny repetition: We’ll go on and on on …
Production
Three takes were enough to record “Things We Said Today” on Tuesday, June 2. Paul was on bass, John on acoustic guitar, George on electric guitar, and Ringo on drums. The second take, which was considered satisfactory, was used as the basis for the overdubs: Paul doubled his voice, Ringo added tambourines, John was on piano, and George (or Paul? John?) played a riff on acoustic guitar. The mono mix was carried out on June 9. But according to Mark Lewisohn, the decision was made to eliminate the piano. Since the instrument had been recorded by itself on one of the four tracks, this was not supposed to cause any problem. But the sound of piano had leaked into the other microphones. The stereo mix was done on June 22.
Technical Details
Norman Smith advised Ringo to put a tea towel over his snare drum to create a thicker and shorter snare sound. This practice was widely used throughout the Beatles’ career.
When I Get Home
Lennon-McCartney / 2:15
1964
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
George: lead guitar, backing vocals
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 2, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 11
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 4, 1964 (Studio Two) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM,
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Geoff Emerick
Genesis
“When I Get Home” is not among the Beatles’ masterpieces. Written by John, probably to complete the album, it clearly lacked inspiration. Even though he tried to produce a Motown sound and was inspired by Wilson Pickett, the Stax recording artist, the results did not meet his expectations. The dynamics of this song are aggressive and the rhythm catchy, but you would want more magic. As for the lyrics, they certainly had something to do with his guilt towards Cynthia, from whom he was absent for long periods of time. As Paul suggested, “When I Get Home” was one of John’s songs dealing with his relationship problems.
Production
This song was the last one to be recorded for A Hard Day’s Night (“Any Time at All” being the very last song to be finalized). The Beatles, who had been in the studio on Tuesday, June 2 since 2:30 P.M., started working on “When I Get Home” at 7:00 P.M. Eleven takes were required for its production, which did not involve any major difficulty. Everyone played their usual instruments. Ringo was full of energy and played the cymbals wholeheartedly. John doubled his vocal and Paul, along with George, harmonized the choruses. On the other hand, Paul’s voice definitely went off track on the whoaaaa at 0:36, and it could easily be heard in the stereo version on the right channel! The final mono and stereo mixes come from the session of June 22.
You Can’t Do That
Lennon-McCartney / 2:33
1964
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, lead guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass, cowbell
George: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ringo: drums, bongos
RECORDED
Abbey Road: February 25, 1964 (Studio Two) / May 22, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 9
MIXING
Abbey Road: February 26, 1964 (Studio Two) / March 10, 1964 (Studio Two) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick
RELEASED AS A SINGLE
“Can’t Buy Me Love” / “You Can’t Do That”
Great Britain: March 20, 1964 / No. 1 on April 2, 1964
United States: March 16, 1964 / No. 1 on April 4, 1964
Genesis
The first song recorded at Abbey Road for the Beatles’ new album, “You Can’t Do That” also provided John with the opportunity for his first guitar solo and George with the opportunity of using his brand new twelve-string Rickenbacker 360/12. According to George, John wrote the song in Miami Beach, during their first American tour. As for “You Can’t Do That,” John admitted being influenced by Wilson Pickett. “You know, a cowbell going four in the bar, and the chord going chatoong!”1 It seemed he was mistaken in mentioning Wilson Pickett, because in early 1964, Pickett had not yet recorded “In the Midnight Hour,” even though it had a style corresponding to John’s description. Did John wish to evoke the global influence of rhythm & blues, which was so important for the Beatles? Created for the movie, “You Can’t Do That” was rejected by Richard Lester. Apparently, the director did not find the lyrics positive enough. It was true that John was assuming more and more distance from the canon of the pop songs of those days. In the song, he threatens to break up with his girlfriend if she keeps talking to someone else. Jealousy, threats, shame—John was not trying to be subtle. You could consider “You Can’t Do That” a precursor to “Jealous Guy,” which appeared on Imagine in 1971.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
During the Beatles’ vacation, George Martin was alone in the studio on May 22 and added a piano part to “You Can’t Do That.” This recording was never used.
Production
Recorded in nine takes on February 25, the piece was not particularly difficult. The two guitars mixed together and supplied solid rhythm support worthy of the Stones. John said in a 1964 interview, “I’d find it a drag to play rhythm all the time, so I always work myself out something interesting to play. The best example I can think of is like I did on ‘You Can’t Do That.’ There really isn’t a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist
on that, because I feel the rhythm guitarist role sounds too thin for records.”2 John played his very first solo, also with a brand-new Rickenbacker 325. “I never play anything as lead guitarist that George couldn’t do better. But I like playing lead sometimes, so I do it,”3 John admitted in 1964. His style resembled the one he used in “The End” on Abbey Road. Around 1:23, he could be heard switching the position of his mike, which he tipped toward the treble to start the solo. As for Paul, he produced an excellent bass sound that was unfortunately buried in the mix (you could also notice at 2:10 that there was a bad dropout on the bass). This was not the case for Ringo’s cymbals, which he kept beating throughout the piece. Too bad. But the whole song sounded good. You could feel the explosive energy of the group. The girl group–influenced choruses worked very well. Their joy was contagious. On the ninth take, the Beatles recorded different overdubs: John doubled himself, Paul was on the cowbell and Ringo was on bongos. Four mono mixes were done the next day: the second and third one were meant for the United States, and the fourth one for Europe. “You Can’t Do That” was ready for side B of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The definitive stereo mix was completed on June 22.
I’ll Be Back
Lennon-McCartney / 2:20
1964
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
George: rhythm guitar, classical guitar
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 1, 1964 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 16
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 10, 1964 (Studio Two) / June 22, 1964 (Studio One)
All the Songs Page 11
