All the Songs
Page 39
Cry Baby Cry
Lennon-McCartney / 3:01
1968
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar, piano, organ (?), percussion
Paul: bass, organ (?), lead vocal, backing vocal
George: lead guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, tambourine, percussion
George Martin: harmonium
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 15–16 and 18, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 12
MIXING
Trident Studios: October 15, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, John Smith
Genesis
“Cry Baby Cry” was composed by John in India. This song with an Alice in Wonderland atmosphere was partly inspired by the traditional English nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence” (The queen was in the parlour / Eating bread and honey in the nursery rhyme and The queen was in the parlour / Playing piano for the children of the king in John’s lyrics). Among the characters of the song, there was some duchess of Kirk-caldy, whose name was perhaps chosen after the Scottish city of the same name where the Beatles had played on October 6, 1963, at the Carlton Theatre. Hunter Davies remembered that in 1968 John had revealed to him the origin of the title, “I think I got them from an advert—Cry baby cry, make your mother buy.1 That was probable, since John liked to compose with the TV in the background (see “Good Morning Good Morning”). Curiously, his answer to David Sheff, who questioned him about the author of the song, was, “Not me, A piece of rubbish.”2 It was definitely a misunderstanding, a wrong transcription or a joke. Despite this rejection, “Cry Baby Cry” was an excellent song, stamped with typical Lennon poetry.
Production
On July 15, after ending “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” in a tense atmosphere, the Beatles rehearsed John’s latest creation. Nothing is left of these takes. The next day, Geoff Emerick, although credited as one of the sound engineers, announced to the group that he was leaving. John tried to justify the tensions in the group by blaming the discomfort of the studio and the feeling they had of being in prison. But Geoff stuck to his decision and left them. Ken Scott was immediately asked to replace him. The recordings started once again, and the rhythm track was recorded in ten takes with vocals, acoustic guitar, bass drums, and an organ probably played by John or perhaps Paul. After a reduction, George Martin added a harmonium and John some piano. On July 18, there were other overdubs: a new vocal, backing vocals, some harmonium, tambourines, and sound effects (percussion, bird calls). “Cry Baby Cry” was transferred on September 17 to the new eight-track made available to the Beatles to allow for additional overdubs. But nothing else was added and the song was mixed on October 15. On this day, the acoustic guitar was treated with flanging right from the introduction.
A Ghost Song?
At exactly 2:34, a brief song by Paul lasting 0:28 mysteriously followed “Cry Baby Cry” (1:50 originally). Although it was part of the same recording, it wasn’t mentioned on either the record cover or the record itself. Paul could be heard singing with acoustic guitar—Can you take me back where I came from? / Can you take me back?—accompanied by Ringo on cymbals and maracas, and John beating a piece of wood against some metal: a sort of ghost piece. In fact, it was an improvisation done on September 16 during take 19 of “I Will.”
Revolution 9
Lennon-McCartney / 8:21
1968
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
Sound collage
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 10, 1968 (Studio Three) / June 11, 1968 (Studio Two) / June 20, 1968 (Studios One, Two, and Three) / June 21, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: SOUND COLLAGE
MIXING
Abbey Road: June 21 and 25, 1968 (Studio Two) / August 20, 1968 (Studio Three) / August 26, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott
Assistant Engineers: Phil McDonald, Richard Lush, John Smith
Genesis
“Revolution 9” was one of John’s creations. As John admitted, the song was influenced heavily by Yoko Ono, who was an avant-garde artist. “Yoko was there for the whole thing and she made decisions about which loops to use. It was somewhat under her influence, I suppose.”1 George participated in it, but not Paul or Ringo. This sound collage, lasting 8:21, was not only the longest song the group ever recorded, but also the one that was the least typical, since it was an avant-garde collage leaning toward musique concrète. John created something unexpected for a Beatle. The events of 1968 prompted him to react to various protest movements. He was probably urged on by Yoko. “I thought I was painting in sound a picture of revolution—but I made a mistake. The mistake was that it was anti-revolution.”2 This quotation went back to 1970, when he was defending the Trotskyite and Marxist movements. It emphasized how much he fluctuated with every interview; his count me out/ in in “Revolution 1” indicated how uncertain he was about his commitments. Later, he denounced these radical movements. John was simply searching for authenticity.
Paul did not want “Revolution 9” on the White Album. He took it very badly, especially since he was very much involved in the avant-garde and had already created a similar sound edit in January 1967 for the Carnival of Light for the London Roundhouse Theatre. He had worked on it with the Beatles, but had never considered it a work that would fit on a Beatles album. John, who always had the last word, demanded that “Revolution 9” appear on the album. There was Beethoven’s Ninth, there was John’s Ninth …
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
“Revolution 9” was the last time that the Beatles recorded backwards instruments or vocals.
Production
The sound base of “Revolution 9” was built by combining a series of various tape loops on the chaotic coda of “Revolution 1.” John explained to David Sheff in 1980, “It has the basic rhythm of the original Revolution [1] going on with some twenty loops we put on, things from the archives of EMI. We were cutting up classical music and making different-size loops, and then I got an engineer tape on which some test engineer was saying, ‘number 9, number 9, number 9.’ All those different bits of sound and noises are all compiled.”3 John therefore started by creating his numerous loops, on June 10 and 11. On June 20, he reserved three studios to mix them live: “There were about ten machines with people holding pencils on the loops—some only inches long and some a yard long.”4 This was exactly the same process used for “Tomorrow Never Knows,” except this time John was assisted by Yoko during the mix. With George, he recorded bits of text, including Onion soup/The watusi/The twist/Take this brother, may it serve you well [John]/Who’s to know?/Eldorado [George]. And again Yoko: If … you became naked.
The list of sound effects was long, and every time you listen to the song it yields new surprises: a conversation between George Martin and Alistair Tailor in the intro, chorus, various orchestral passages, the atmosphere of a soccer game, a radio show, extracts from the orchestra part in “A Day in the Life,” bass acoustic guitar, children screaming, inverted Mellotron, etc. On June 21, sound effects were added and the stereo mix was carried out. The mono mix was done on August 26.
Number 9
John did not haphazardly insert “Number 9” into his collage. The number 9 had followed him since childhood and all through his life, and he granted it major significance, with the help of Yoko, who practiced numerology. Here are a few examples: John was born on October 9, like his second son, Sean; he met Yoko on November 9; Brian Epstein also discovered the Beatles on November 9; Abbey Road has nine letters; John died on December 8 in New York City, but at that time it was December 9 in Liverpool, and, finally, Liverpool has nine letters!
&
nbsp; Good Night
Lennon-McCartney / 3:10
1968
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
Ringo: vocal
George Martin: piano
The Mike Sammes Singers: backing vocals by 4 men and 4 women
Orchestra: 12 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, 1 harp, 3 flutes, clarinet, horn, vibraphone, double bass
RECORDED
Abbey Road: June 28, 1968 (Studio Two) / July 2, 1968 (Studio Two) / July 22, 1968 (Studio One)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 34
MIXING
Abbey Road: July 23, 1968 (Studio Two) / October 11, 1968 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Pete Brown, Ken Scott
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, John Smith
Genesis
Vaguely inspired by Cole Porter’s “True Love,” the song “Good Night” was composed by John for his son Julian, who was then five years old. He let Ringo sing it. “Everybody thinks Paul wrote ‘Good Night’ for me to sing, but it was John who wrote it for me. He’s got a lot of soul, John has.”1 It is surprising that the author of “Revolution” and “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” also composed this lullaby. According to Paul, John did not sing it himself because he did not want to tarnish his image: “I think John felt it might not be good for his image for him to sing it but it was fabulous to hear him do it, he sang it great. We heard him sing it in order to teach it to Ringo and he sang it very tenderly. John rarely showed his tender side, but my key memories of John are when he was tender, that’s what has remained with me; those moments where he showed himself to be a very generous, loving person.”2
When the White Album came out, Cynthia and John had just gotten divorced. She knew the song was on the album: “I had heard it when John had given it to Ringo to sing on the album and for a long time after our split I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it or to play it to Julian. Eventually I did, though, telling him that his Dad had written the song for him, in the hope that it might provide him with some comfort.”3
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
The only time we can hear John singing “Good Night” a capella was on John and Yoko’s Wedding Album on the song called “Amsterdam” (around 23:09).
Production
On June 28, the recording sessions for “Good Night” began. After rehearsing, John and Ringo recorded the first takes without any other musicians: Ringo was singing and John was on guitar. At the beginning of each take, Ringo introduced the song with tender sentences for children. On July 2, he added a second vocal, supported by a backing vocal. At the end of the session, George Martin left with a copy of the tape in order to write an arrangement for orchestra. On July 22, the score was completed. The song was entirely redone. In the huge Studio One space, twenty-six musicians sat down to record. A celesta and a piano were made available for George Martin. Once the orchestra part was recorded, Ringo recorded his vocal, accompanied live by the Mike Sammes Singers, who once again joined the Beatles after their appearance on “I Am the Walrus.” The slightly sad but warm intonation of Ringo’s voice fit in perfectly. Listening to himself years later, he said, “… it’s not bad at all, although I think I sound very nervous.”4 The final mixes were done on October 11.
Hey Jude / Revolution
1968
SINGLE
RELEASED
Great Britain: August 30, 1968 / No. 1 on 11 September 1968 for 2 weeks
United States: August 26, 1968 / No. 1 on September 28, 1968 for 9 weeks
Hey Jude
Lennon-McCartney / 7:09
1968
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, piano
John: acoustic guitar, backing vocal
George: electric guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, tambourine, backing vocal
Orchestra: 10 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 1 contrabassoon, 4 trumpets, 2 horns, 4 trombones, percussion
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 29–30, 1968 (Studio Three)
Trident Studios: July 31, 1968 / August 1–2, 1968
NUMBER OF TAKES: 1
MIXING
Abbey Road: July 30, 1968 (Studio Two) / August 8, 1968 (Studio Two)
Trident Studios: August 2 and 6, 1968
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Ken Scott, Barry Sheffield (Trident)
Assistant Engineer: John Smith
Genesis
Paul drove out to visit Cynthia. “John and Cynthia were splitting up and I felt particularly sorry for Julian,”1 he said. On his journey to Weybridge, he started singing, “Hey Jules—don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better … It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian.”2 Cynthia recalled, “He [Paul] arrived one sunny afternoon, bearing a red rose, and said, ‘I’m so sorry Cyn, I don’t know what’s come over him. This isn’t right.’ … He was the only member of the Beatles family who’d had the courage to defy John … In fact, musically and personally, the two were beginning to go in separate directions so perhaps Paul’s visit to me was also a statement to John.”3 Many years later, Julian discovered that “Hey Jude” had been written for him, “He wrote this mythical song just because he was concerned for me, Mum, and our situation.”4
Paul finished the song at Cavendish Avenue. He changed Jules to Jude, one of the characters in the movie Oklahoma (1955) called Jud Fry, played by Rod Steiger. When John heard the song, he thought the song was about him, “[With] the words ‘go out and get her’—subconsciously he was saying, Go ahead, leave me. On a conscious level, he didn’t want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, ‘Bless you.’ The devil in him didn’t like it at all because he didn’t want to lose his partner.”5 Paul wanted to change the line The movement you need is on your shoulder because he thought it was a bit crummy. John recommended keeping it. That’s the best line in it! I know what it means, it’s great.”6
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
After the start of the third verse, right between the lines The minute you let her under your skin at 2:59, you can clearly hear fucking hell! In Geoff Emerick’s book, he claims the exclamation was Paul ’s after he hit a clunker on the piano. However, Malcolm Toft, the sound engineer at Trident, said that John first said “Wow!” at 2:57 before cursing at 2:59. According to Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, in their book Recording the Beatles, John uttered the profanity because Barry Sheffield, the sound engineer, sent the playback to John’s headphones too loud, so John threw them on the ground and spewed out the curse.
George Martin noted that “Hey Jude” lasted more than seven minutes. He told the Beatles that they could not make a single that long, because if they did, the song might never be played on radio. John replied, “They will if it’s us.”7 Paul also had doubts, especially because the Beatles had not decided which song would be the A-side: “Hey Jude” or “Revolution.” Ken Mansfield, the director of Apple Records in the United States, offered to play both songs to the largest U.S. radio programmers. Unanimously, they all picked “Hey Jude.”
“Hey Jude” was the first single released on the Beatles’ Apple label, and the Beatles’ most successful single. “Hey Jude” was the second best–selling record after “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” with over 10 million records sold. John recognized “‘Hey Jude’ is one of [Paul’s] masterpieces.”8
Production
From the beginning, “Hey Jude” was not intended for the White Album, but was released as a single. The first recording session on July 29 was more like a rehearsal than an attempt at a good recording. Paul handled piano and vocals, George was on guitar, John on acoustic guitar (his Gibson J-160 E), and Ringo on drums. The long coda was already part of the song. It was apparently during this session that Paul and George had a disagreement over the song. George answered ever
y line of the vocals with a guitar lick. Paul didn’t like this, and asked George to stop. Paul regretted it later, “He was pretty offended, and looking back, I think, Oh, shit of course you’d be offended. You’re blowing the guy out.”9
The following day, after the rehearsals and the first recording, the Beatles knew they were going to finish the song at Trident Studios, which had eight-track recording facilities. Abbey Road still used a four-track recorder until September 3. That day, a film crew was filming the recording session for the program Music!, which was produced by the National Music Council of Great Britain. The Beatles played the same instruments, but this time George did not play the guitar lick that echoed the vocals. On July 31, they rerecorded the whole song at Trident Studios. George joined them, but his contribution was very discreet. Paul played on a Bechstein piano, later used by Elton John, David Bowie, and Queen. During the recording of the rhythm track, Paul had not noticed that Ringo walked out to go to the bathroom, and it was just before his part that Paul realized that Ringo was not at his drums. Ringo quietly went to his drums and entered (at 0:50) flawlessly.