All the Songs
Page 38
The first recording went back to July 18. It was different than the final version, as can be heard on Anthology 3: the tempo was much slower and, although the feeling was heavy, it was more blues-based. They recorded three takes, lasting 10:40, 12:35, and 27:11, respectively, the last was the longest recording in the group’s career. They played live with two guitars, one bass, and drums. Almost two months went by before they redid “Helter Skelter” entirely on September 9. George Martin went on an unplanned vacation, leaving Chris Thomas in charge. When Thomas delivered the news that Martin was gone, Paul said, “Well if you wanna produce us you can produce us. If you don’t, we might just tell you to fuck off.”3 After this friendly intro, Thomas used the eight-track 3M: it was the second song to be produced with this new equipment. Ringo was on drums, John played beautifully on the Fender six-string bass, with George and Paul on lead guitar. The best take was the twenty-first. With George Martin absent, the Beatles went wild. Brian Gibson, the technical engineer, remembered the session being out of control: “They were completely out of their heads that night.”4 The next day they began the overdubs: Paul recorded his extraordinary vocal performance, with John and George on backing vocals. More guitar parts were added by Paul and George, Ringo doubled his drumming with a snare drum boosted with echo, George performed a brief guitar solo, and John played saxophone, while Mal Evans played trumpet (both of which you can easily hear around 3:19). Finally, a dissonant piano and various mumblings completed the song. The atmosphere was as hot as it had been the night before. Chris Thomas remembered George running around the studio with an ashtray set on top of his head and flames coming out of it, while Paul recorded his raucous lead vocal. Ringo, who beat his drums like a real lumberjack for hours, was stressed out and screamed, as you could hear at the end of the piece (only in the stereo version), I’ve got blisters on my fingers! There was a difference between the mono and stereo mix (which, by the way, were very compressed): the mono mix, done on September 17, only lasted 3:36, but the stereo mix of October 12 fades back in after the fade-out, resulting in a time of 4:29.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
In August 1969, Charles Manson became infamous by leading the followers of his hippie community, the “family,” to commit seven murders, including the killing of actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, who was eight months’ pregnant. Manson, a fan of the Beatles, thought he deciphered messages in the White Album. He was convinced that “Helter Skelter” prophesied the rise of the black community in the near future and that other songs, like “Piggies” or “Revolution 9,” concealed occult messages that he interpreted based on chapter 9 of the Book of Revelations. For him, the Beatles were none other than the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Long, Long, Long
George Harrison / 3:03
1968
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, acoustic guitar
Paul: bass, organ, backing vocal
Ringo: drums
Chris Thomas: piano
RECORDED
Abbey Road: October 7–9, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 67
MIXING
Abbey Road: October 10 and 12, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Ken Scott
Assistant Engineers: Mike Sheady, John Smith
Genesis
George’s fourth song for the White Album was initially called “It’s Been a Long Long Long Time.” This beautiful ballad, full of tenderness and emotion, was inspired by George’s growing religious faith. “The ‘you’ in ‘Long Long Long’ is God,”1 he said. Simple words for a clear message: George moved stylistically from the music and lyrics of “Piggies” and “Savoy Truffle.” Musically, the song “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” by Bob Dylan, supplied him with a harmonic foundation that he adapted: “D to E minor, A and D, those three chords and the way they moved.”2
Production
George’s song, which was recorded on October 7, was only produced by three Beatles, while John was absent once again. Apart from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” John did not participate in George’s other songs, and only provided sound loops for “Piggies.” The session nevertheless happened in a relaxed atmosphere, with incense sticks spread throughout the studio. George looked happy. For the rhythm track, which took sixty-seven takes, George was on acoustic guitar and vocal, Paul on organ, and Ringo on drums. “There’s a sound near the end of the song [best heard on the right stereo channel] which is a bottle of Blue Nun wine rattling away on the top of a Leslie speaker cabinet,” said Chris Thomas. “Paul hit a certain organ note and the bottle started vibrating. We thought it was so good that we set the mics up and did it again. The Beatles always took advantage of accidents.”3 Therefore, they inserted this at the very end of the song and, to reinforce the effect, Ringo added a snare drum roll, Paul added an organ chord, and George beat his guitar strings in an unexpected way. Ken Scott remembered, “There is a particularly abrasive acoustic guitar sound underneath the sound of the bottle on the Leslie. That was George using the D19c [microphone] as a pick.”4 On October 8, George doubled his voice, added a second acoustic guitar, and Paul recorded his bass part. The next day, George and Paul asked Chris Thomas to record a piano part on the bridge, in the style of the Moody Blues. For four hours, they had him redo his part incessantly! He suspected they wanted to get revenge for the many times that he had interrupted them during recording. At the mix, reverb was added to the drums, echo was added to the vocals, and flanging/ chorus was added to the organ. The stereo mix was carried out on October 10, and the mono on October 12.
Technical Details
“Long, Long, Long” was a song that benefited from the transition to digital. Originally, it was recorded on vinyl records in the last place of side A of the second record. In this location, there was a degradation of the sound signal and it lost a lot of its delicacy. The conversion to digital restored all its dynamism and fragility.
Revolution 1
Lennon-McCartney / 4:14
1968
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, acoustic and electric guitar
Paul: bass, piano, organ, backing vocal
George: acoustic and lead guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, percussion
Freddy Clayton, Derek Watkins: trumpets
Don Long, Rex Morris, J. Power, Bill Povey: trombones
RECORDED
Abbey Road: May 30, 1968 (Studio Two) / May 31, 1968 (Studio Three) / June 4, 1968 (Studio Three) / June 21, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 22
MIXING
Abbey Road: May 31, 1968 (Studio Three) / June 4, 1968 (Studio Three) / June 21 and 25, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Pete Brown
Assistant Engineers: Phil McDonald, Richard Lush
Genesis
It was the first and last time in the Beatles’ career that one song had three different versions: “Revolution 1,” “Revolution 9,” and “Revolution.” The first two appeared on the White Album, while the last one was the B side of the “Hey Jude” single. Originally, “Revolution 1” lasted 10:17, with the final six minutes being a totally delirious ad-lib and Yoko whispering, you become naked, with the addition of a number of sound effects. This coda formed the basis of “Revolution 9.” It was the first intervention of an outside person into their closed circle. And Yoko Ono, John’s new companion, added fuel to the fire by means of her omnipresence. “Revolution 1,” the first song recorded for the White Album, gave John the opportunity to state the group’s political positions about Vietnam, Mao, and Cuba. When he was alive, Brian Epstein had tried to temper John’s moods, but John had wanted to express his views in his music. “But on one of the last tours, I said, ‘I am going to answer about the war. We
can’t ignore it.’”1 Strangely, his lyrics did not express a very clear commitment, but rather an ambiguous one. John understood and supported the revolution, but it had to be exempt from any outside influence and any violence. Being undecided about his position, he expressed it awkwardly: Don’t you know that you can count me out/in, he sang. “There were two versions of that song, but the underground left only picked up on the one that said ‘count me out.’ The original version which ends up on the LP said ‘count me in’ too; I put in both because I was not sure. I didn’t want to get killed.”2 As a result of this ambiguity, he was mocked by the leftists, who called him a “millionaire revolutionary.” He was upset about this, so he got involved in politics more seriously at the beginning of his solo career, but this got him into heavy trouble with the Nixon administration.
John wanted to release “Revolution 1” as the next Beatles single. But neither George nor Paul were very enthusiastic about that idea; they were certainly embarrassed by the lyrics. “George and Paul were resentful and said it wasn’t fast enough.”3 John, who continued to push for the song’s release agreed to record a second, faster version to satisfy his partners (“Revolution”).
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Geoff Emerick exclaimed, “Aah, take two!” at the beginning of the track, contrary to “Take eighteen!” that Mark Lewisohn heard.
Production
On May 30, once again, one of John’s songs launched the recording sessions for a new album. After eighteen takes, the rhythm track was recorded with piano, acoustic guitar, drums, and vocal. Lasting over 10:00, “Revolution” (the working title of “Revolution 1”) had a long, chaotic ending, with a delirious coda in which John incessantly screamed all right. The atmosphere was electric. Something had changed. The next day, John recorded two separate vocals, hesitating on each take at the point of count me out/in, with Paul on bass. Paul and George also recorded backing vocals. John rerecorded his vocal on June 4. It was a day for experimentation. John chose a way of singing that had never been heard before. Brian Gibson, who was then the technical engineer, remembered it: “John decided he would feel more comfortable on the floor so I had to rig up a microphone which would be suspended on a boom above his mouth. It struck me as somewhat odd, a little eccentric, but they were always looking for a different sound; something new.”4 (In certain photos, Yoko Ono could be seen lying by his side!) That very same day, Paul recorded some organ, Ringo recorded new drum parts and various percussion parts, while John played guitar that was saturated by means of a volume pedal. Other experiments that were not kept included Paul and George repeating incessantly, Mama … Dada … on the coda as well as loops of various effects that were close to chaos. On June 21, in the absence of Paul, who had left the night before for Los Angeles in order to announce to Capitol Records that from then on, their records were going to be labeled Apple, two trumpet players and four trombone players recorded arrangements to complete the song. Finally, George played a lead guitar part. During the mix of June 25, Geoff Emerick did a bad edit that added an extra beat. Although he wanted to correct his mistake, John told him he loved it like that (3:24). The mono and stereo mixes were done on June 25.
Technical Details
To record John as he lay on his back, Brian Gibson had to choose a lighter microphone than the Neumann U 47, lest it fall on him and injure him! He chose a Neumann KM 54 instead.
Honey Pie
Lennon-McCartney / 2:40
1968
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, piano, lead guitar (?)
John: lead guitar
George: bass
Ringo: drums
Dennis Walton, Ronald Chamberlain, Jim Chester, Rex Morris, Harry Klein: saxophones
Raymond Newman, David Smith: clarinets
RECORDED
Abbey Road: October 1–2 and 4, 1968
NUMBER OF TAKES: 1
MIXING
Trident Studios: October 1 and 5, 1968
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Barry Sheffield
Assistant Engineer: unknown
Genesis
Paul was always a great fan of the vaudeville style. His attraction to music halls was already obvious in “Till There Was You” and “When I’m Sixty-Four.” He confided in 1968, “I would quite like to have been a 1920s writer, because I like that thing, you know.” It was not surprising that he used that style again on the exquisite “Honey Pie,” which, according to him, is, “a nod to the vaudeville tradition that I was raised on.”1 Paul often claimed that John shared this taste for music halls. And John was particularly proud of his solo in “Honey Pie,” but he constantly criticized Paul’s songs afterwards. For “Honey Pie,” he laughingly answered David Sheff, “I don’t even want to think about that.”2
However, the song is a success. The original demo for the song showed that even without an elaborate arrangement, it already was catchy. The studio production, with its imitation of 78 rpm records, gave it an irresistible flavor. As for the lyrics, which evoked a silver screen star, they only attempted to revive nostalgia for the 1920s. “So this is just me doing it, pretending I’m living in 1925,” Paul said.3
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
An old guitar solo that was not deleted properly can be heard at 0:09.
Production
Having recorded “Hey Jude” and “Dear Prudence” at Trident Studios, the Beatles met for the third time at Trident to record “Honey Pie.” On October 1, they worked on the rhythm track of “Honey Pie.” Paul was on piano, John on lead guitar, George on bass, and Ringo on drums. Although only one take was mentioned, they rehearsed the song many times and, contrary to their usual habits, they systematically deleted the earlier recordings. In any case, during this first session, John performed one of his very best solos. George referred to it in an interview in 1987: “John played a brilliant solo on Honey Pie—sounded like Django Reinhardt or something. It was one of them where you just close your eyes and happen to hit all the right notes … sounded like a little jazz solo.”4
Once the rhythm track was recorded, George Martin left again with a copy of the song to write arrangements for wind instruments. The next day, Paul recorded his lead vocal and added, according to Mark Lewisohn, a second lead guitar (but wasn’t it more likely John?). On October 4, five saxophonists and two clarinet players were in the studio to interpret Martin’s score (the same day, other arrangements were recorded for “Martha My Dear”). Paul then added a last touch by inserting the sentence, Now she’s hit the big time, highly compressed and equalized against a background of old vinyl record crackling. The mono and stereo mixes were done at Trident on October 5.
Savoy Truffle
George Harrison / 2:54
1968
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, lead guitar
Paul: bass, backing vocal (?)
Ringo: drums, tambourine, bongos
Chris Thomas: organ (?), electric piano (?)
Art Ellefson, Danny Moss, Derek Collins, Harry Klein: tenor saxophones
Ronnie Ross, Bernard George: baritone saxophones
RECORDED
Trident Studios: October 3 and 5, 1968
Abbey Road: October 11 and 14, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 1
MIXING
Abbey Road: October 14, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Barry Sheffield, Ken Scott
Assistant Engineer: John Smith
Genesis
George always had two very highly evolved senses: friendship and humor. He proved it in “Savoy Truffle,” a song written to make fun of his friend Eric Clapton’s addiction to sweets. Eric could not resist a box of chocolates, which made him prey to cavities and painful dental treatments. George was inspired by this: “He was over at my house and I had a box of ‘Good News’ chocol
ates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid.”1 Thus “creme tangerine,” “montelimar,” and “ginger sling”—all references in the song—have the sole purpose of gently mocking Clapton. And as George loved teasing his friends, he warned his friend in the song: You’ll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle. Derek Taylor helped him with the bridge. He came up with the line You know that what you eat you are. This famous quote from Brillat-Savarin, a celebrated French epicure from the end of the eighteenth century, became one of the favorite slogans of hippies who followed a macrobiotic diet. Finally, as John had done in “Glass Onion,” George slipped in a little allusion to another song—Paul’s “Ob-La-Di, Ob-Bla-Da.”
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Some musical instruments were not mentioned in the recording sheets. Mark Lewisohn wrote them down, including an acoustic guitar that briefly appears at 0:36; a second backing vocal in the second and fourth couplets, most likely by Paul; and finally, an electric piano—probably a Hohner Pianet—was present right from the intro and returned at the end of the first couplet. Chris Thomas stated in interviews that he was the performer on piano, as well as on the organ.
Production
At Trident once again, George and his colleagues recorded this ode to chocolate on October 3. And this time, as well, only one take would be mentioned in the records, despite the many rehearsals. George was on lead guitar, Paul on bass, and Ringo remained faithful to his Ludwig drums (with a short delay added). John was not present on any of the recordings for “Savoy Truffle.” On October 5, George overdubbed an ADT lead vocal. On October 11, two baritone and four tenor saxes recorded the arrangements, which had been written by Chris Thomas. Ken Scott, who was proud of the quality of the recording, did a double take when George asked him to make the sound dirty by adding distortion to make the brass unrecognizable (although it was highly doubled by ADT). When the musicians came up to the control room to listen to a playback, George said to them, “Before you listen I’ve got to apologize for what I’ve done to your beautiful sound. Please forgive me—but it’s the way I want it.”2 On October 14, George completed his song with a second guitar, and Ringo on tambourines, bongos (which were inaudible), and organ. The mixes were done afterwards. George Martin, who controlled the mix, pointed out that the sound was very sharp. George answered, “Yeah, and I like it.”3 No comment.