All the Songs
Page 20
Technical Details
Norman Smith had a hard time recording the sitar: “My meter would be going right over into the red, into distortion, without us getting [any] audible value for [the] money. I could have used a limiter, but that would have meant losing the sonorous quality.”4
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
The first take of the song is in the key of D and dated October 12. The final version is in E.
You Won’t See Me
Lennon-McCartney / 3:19
1965
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, piano
John: backing vocal, tambourine (?)
George: rhythm guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, tambourine (?)
Mal Evans: Hammond organ
RECORDED
Abbey Road: November 11, 1965 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 2
MIXING
Abbey Road: November 15, 1965 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Richard Lush
Genesis
Typical of the songs Paul wrote at Wimpole Street, “You Won’t See Me” is about his relationship with Jane Asher. A problem of communication and boredom, Paul made his little drama about a breakup that had not yet occurred. Without a doubt he mixed his own feelings into a purely fictional story. About the music, he wrote, “… this was written around two little notes, a very slim phrase, a two-note progression that I had very high on the first two strings of the guitar: the E and the B strings. I had it up on the high E position, and I just let the note on the B string descend a semitone at a time, and kept the top note the same, and against that I was playing a descending chromatic scale. Then I wrote the tune for ‘You Won’t See Me’.”1
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
There is a gradual slowing of tempo during the song. It starts at 119 bpm and ends at 113 bpm. Was Ringo getting tired?
Production
On November 11, at 6 P.M., the Beatles returned to the studio to finish recording Rubber Soul. They left thirteen hours later at 7 in the morning. The first song they worked on was “You Won’t See Me.” They recorded two takes of the rhythm track, Paul at the piano, John on tambourine (a priori), George on rhythm guitar, and Ringo on drums. Paul later overdubbed his bass part—an unusual practice at the time. He sought the “Motown” flavor of his idol, the extraordinary bass player from Detroit, James Jamerson, a member of the well-known Motown house band, the Funk Brothers. Paul: “It was him, me, and Brian Wilson who were doing melodic bass lines at that time, all from completely different angles, LA, Detroit, and London, all picking up on what each other did.”1 Indeed, his bass line sounds remarkably like Jamerson. Ringo added a hi-hat part, and Mal Evans played the Hammond organ (probably an RT-3). His contribution consisted of an A note. Even though Mark Lewisohn couldn’t hear, it is undoubtedly there, starting at 2:29 (in the left channel). Finally, the vocals were divided between Paul on double-track lead vocal and backing vocal, John and George on backing vocals. Because of the rush, mono and stereo mixes were both done on November 15 in Studio One. In spite of the hard tone of the text, “You Won’t See Me” expresses optimism and freshness.
Technical Details
Norman Smith always recorded Ringo’s drums using the Altec RS124 compressor. When Geoff Emerick took over on Revolver, he used another model, a Fairchild 660, which gave a more percussive sound. Curiously, in “You Won’t See Me,” Ringo’s drums sound different from of the rest of the album, and it seems as if the Fairchild was used here, too. Was Norman Smith thinking of using the Fairchild in the future, as Geoff Emerick would soon do?
Nowhere Man
Lennon-McCartney / 2:42
1965
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar, lead guitar
Paul: vocal, bass
George: lead guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: October 21–22, 1965 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 5
MIXING
Abbey Road: October 25–26, 1965 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Ron Pender
Genesis
Hiding out at home and totally uninspired, after five hours John was still struggling to write a new song for Rubber Soul. “I’d actually stopped trying to think of something. Nothing would come. I was cheesed off and went for a lie down, having given up. Then I thought of myself as Nowhere Man—sitting in this Nowhere Land. ‘Nowhere Man’ came, words and music, the whole damn thing.… So letting it go is what the whole game is.”1 In 1980, John explained to David Sheff that writing is “… like being possessed; like a psychic or a medium. The thing has to go down. It won’t let you sleep, so you have to get up, make it into something, and then you’re allowed to sleep.”2 Paul recognized that “Nowhere Man” was one of John’s best songs, but in describing the song he also contradicted himself. In 1997, in Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, he recalled, “John said he’d written it about himself, feeling like he wasn’t going anywhere. I think actually it was about the state of his marriage with Cynthia.”3 Three years later, however, in Anthology, the same Paul declared that “Nowhere Man” “was about me” and not about John. The song was included in the animated film Yellow Submarine, which came out in 1968. Jeremy Hillary Boob, a strange gopher-like man from the Sea of Nothing is the “Nowhere man.” Ringo takes pity on him and brings him into the Yellow Submarine. John’s vocal was both intimate and universal. Who has not felt like this “Nowhere Man” at one time or another in life? John showed his true talent for bringing us into his vision of the world. Strawberry fields were not too far away.
Production
On October 21, the Beatles made their first unsuccessful attempt to record the rhythm track. The next day, take 5 was acceptable. Ringo played drums, John his Jumbo J-160 E, and Paul the bass. George and John later used their Fender Stratocaster Sonic Blues. They probably played the melody and guitar solo together on a track reserved for them. George reported in a 1995 interview, “I played [the Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster] a lot on that album, most noticeably the solo on ‘Nowhere Man’ which John and I both played in unison.”4 Paul told Mark Lewisohn that he wanted high-pitched guitars—as high as possible. The engineers were reluctant, but put three times the allowed value of treble in the song and obtained the desired effect: “They’re among the most treble-y guitars I’ve ever heard on record,”5 said Paul.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
“Nowhere Man” and “If I Needed Someone” were the only songs from Rubber Soul to be performed during the Beatles’ last concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
Think For Yourself
George Harrison / 2:17
1965
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, rhythm guitar
John: Hohner Pianet electric piano, backing vocal
Paul: bass, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, tambourine, maracas
RECORDED
Abbey Road: November 8, 1965 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 1
MIXING
Abbey Road: November 9, 1965 (Room 65)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Jerry Boys
Genesis
“‘Think for Yourself” must be written about somebody from the sound of it—but all this time later I don’t quite recall who inspired that tune. Probably the government.”1 George’s words here do not help us understand the meaning of the song, the text of which could either refer to a romantic relationship or political criticism.
George does not provide many clues. However, like his friends, he matured very quickly. He did not want to stick with the sentimental love songs that made the group’s initial reputation. Their minds were open. A new social consciousness was born. When you are dealing with a friend of Bob Dylan, you have to pay attention to the words.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
In 1969, Paul used the same fuzzbox on his bass for the recording of “Mean Mr. Mustard” on Abbey Road.
Production
This was George’s second song for Rubber Soul. The Beatles worked on it on November 8 under the title “Won’t Be There with You.” The song shows musical development, employing a new sonority created by the use of a fuzz pedal on Paul’s bass. After rehearsing the backing vocals of the song (including a short segment that found its way into the animated feature film Yellow Submarine in 1968), the Beatles recorded the bass track with George on rhythm guitar, Paul on bass, Ringo on drums, and John at the Hohner Pianet. Then Paul used his Rickenbacker 4001S connected to a fuzzbox to double his own bass part. George then added his lead vocal, accompanied by John and Paul in superb harmony. Ringo completed the song with tambourine and maracas. “Think for Yourself” was mixed in mono and stereo the following day.
Did You Say Fuzzbox?
George later confirmed that Phil Spector, a famous producer during the 1960s and ’70s who invented the recording technique known as Wall of Sound, was also the source of the idea of attaching a fuzzbox to Paul’s bass. When Phil Spector recorded “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” by Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans in 1963, the engineer who set up the track overloaded the microphone on the guitar and it became very distorted. Phil Spector said, ‘Leave it like that. It’s great.’ Some years later everyone started to try to copy that sound, so they invented the fuzzbox. “We had one and tried the bass through it and it sounded really good,”2 said George. For “Think for Yourself,” the Beatles used the famous Tone Bender fuzzbox MK1.
The Word
Lennon-McCartney / 2:41
1965
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: bass, piano, backing vocal
George: lead guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, maracas
George Martin: harmonium
RECORDED
Abbey Road: November 10, 1965 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 3
MIXING
Abbey Road: November 11, 1965 (Room 65) / November 15, 1965 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Richard Lush
Genesis
The song “The Word” was originally written around one note, like “Long Tall Sally.” John and Paul cowrote the song, even if John later said in 1980, “‘The Word was written together, but it’s mainly mine. You read the words, it’s all about gettin’ smart. It’s the marijuana period. It’s love, it’s the love-and-peace thing. The word is ‘love,’ right?”1 During this Rubber Soul period, John understood the true meaning of love: “It seems like the underlying theme to the universe. Everything that was worthwhile got down to this love, love, love thing. And it is the struggle to love, be loved, and express that (just something about love) that’s fantastic.”2 With “The Word,” for the first time, the Beatles wrote about a universal topic. This message later culminated in “All You Need Is Love” in 1967. They were in tune with the times, and the hippie community quickly recognized them as soul mates. John: “Even though, I’m not always a loving person, I want to be that; I want to be as loving as possible.”3 Until his death, John lived in pursuit of this goal, despite his demons and weaknesses. After writing “The Word,” John and Paul decided to relax a bit. They rolled a joint. Normally they did not smoke while working, but this time they illustrated their draft with multicolored psychedelic designs in watercolor (probably mostly Paul).
According to Barry Miles, at the end of 1965 Yoko Ono turned up at Paul’s house asking for an original manuscript to give to John Cage for his fiftieth birthday. (Was this a pretext or a mistaken date? In 1965 Cage was fifty-three.) Cage collected musical scores from the twentieth century to compare the diversity of notation. Paul referred Yoko to John, who gave her the multicolored manuscript of “The Word.” Curiously, it seems that John only met Yoko for the first time on November 9 at the Indica Gallery in almost one year later. Whatever the story, the manuscript of “The Word” is reproduced in John Cage’s Notations, published in 1969.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
John Cage gave his manuscript collection to Northwestern University in Illinois. Part of this collection is the Beatles’ manuscripts for “Eleanor Rigby,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “For No One,” “I’m Only Sleeping,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” “Yellow Submarine,” and “The Word.”
Production
On November 10, John and his followers were in the studio to confirm that the “word” is “love.” The rhythm track was recorded in three takes, John on rhythm guitar, George on lead guitar, Paul at the piano, and Ringo on drums. This was the second time after “Michelle” that Paul deliberately recorded his bass on a separate track. He was able to concentrate on his instrument, and he delivered a terrific part in a Motown bass style. George double-tracked his vocal on the bridges while George Martin played the harmonium solo and Ringo added maracas. John, Paul, and George sang the song in a superb three-part harmony (doubled). John double-tracked the middle eight vocal by himself. The final mono mix was made on November 11 and the stereo mix on November 15.
Michelle
Lennon-McCartney / 2:40
1965
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, rhythm guitar
John: backing vocal
George: rhythm guitar, lead backing vocal
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: November 3, 1965 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 1
MIXING
Abbey Road: November 9 and 15, 1965 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Ken Scott, Jerry Boys, Richard Lush
Genesis
“Michelle” was written when Paul was a student at the Liverpool Institute of Art (1953–1960). He wanted to write a tune in the style of Chet Atkins’s “Tram-bone” style with a distinctive melody and a bass line. Although he did not master the finger-pickin’ technique, he wrote an instrumental song, “Michelle,” in a similar style. Years later, Austin Mitchell, who was one of John’s teachers at art school, hosted a party during which Paul sang “Michelle,” improvising French words in the style of Juliette Greco as a ploy to attract women. Both Paul and John admired Juliette Greco as the “muse” of the existential Saint German-des-Prés nights in the 1950s. In 1965, when they were looking for new titles for their album, John reminded Paul about the “French thing” that he used to do at Mitchell’s parties. “Well, that’s a good tune. You should do something with that.”1
Paul took the melody and reworked the lyrics with Jan, a French teacher and the wife of his old friend Ivan Vaughan. He had this French style in mind and asked her for a word that rhymed with Michelle. “Ma belle,” she replied. Then he asked, “What’s French for These are words that go together well?”2 “Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,”3 she said. John wrote the middle eight, inspired by Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You.” “There was a line in it that went, I love you, I love you, I love you. That’s what made me think of the middle eight.”4
The title generated controversy. Who is Michelle? For some, it was Michelle Morgan; for others the sublime Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, or the French singer Richard Anthony’s first wife, who had charmed the Beatles. Whoever Michelle was, the song is one of the Beatles’ most
popular, along with “Yesterday.” “Michelle” won the Grammy Award for song of the year in 1966 and in 1999 (BMI) listed “Michelle” as the forty-second most frequently performed song of the twentieth century.
Production
The recording of “Michelle” is also subject to speculation. The recording took place on November 3. That afternoon the band recorded the rhythm track. Paul was simultaneously on vocal and acoustic guitar, his Epiphone Texan. Ringo was on drums, and then Paul took his Rickenbacker 4001S, connected to an amplifier, a Fender Bassman, and, for the first time, recorded on a separate track. This quickly became the Beatles’ usual practice in the studio, particularly with Sgt. Pepper.
“I’ll never forget putting the bass line in ‘Michelle’ because it was a kind of Bizet thing.”5 In fact, George added the guitar solo probably on his Stratocaster or his Tennessean. Precisely which is a subject of controversy. Some hear a bass. Others think that Paul is playing … In 1993, George Martin said on Swedish television, “The guitar solo in ‘Michelle’ is my composition. I actually wrote down the notes—‘I’ll play this. George, you can do these notes on the other guitar; we’ll play in unison’—that kind of thing.” Even though no keyboard is audible on the recording, it is possible that Martin guided George.
After a reduction onto a second tape recorder, the outstanding three-voice backing vocals were simultaneously added using George’s Gibson J-120 E. He doubled Paul some of the time. The session ended at 11:30 P.M. after nine hours of work. The Beatles decided to redo the mono mix on November 15. Paul: “We would mix them, and it would take half an hour, maybe. Then it would go up on a shelf, in a quarter-inch tape box. And that was it.”6