All the Songs
Page 40
On August 1, Paul overdubbed a bass and a great lead vocal for the four-minute coda, “It wasn’t intended to go on that long at the end but I was having such fun ad-libbing over the end when we put down the original track that I went on a long time.”10 John and George added beautiful backing vocals, and Ringo was on tambourine. Then thirty-six musicians performed George Martin’s score, written the day before. Paul wanted to recreate the atmosphere of “A Day in the Life” and asked everyone to hand clap and sing na na na na Hey Jude at the end. Everyone agreed, except one musician who reportedly walked out, saying, “I’m not going to clap my hands and sing Paul McCartney’s bloody song!”11 The final mix was done on August 8 at Abbey Road.
Technical Details
When Ken Scott listened to the tracks mixed at Trident Studios, he discovered that the recording quality was very poor with no treble. He was even more surprised because he had carefully listened to the tracks at Trident and had been impressed by their sound quality. As it turns out, there had been technical problems with Trident’s equipment. George Martin asked Geoff Emerick for his help. After a lot of work, they succeeded in getting the mix to sound pretty good, and Martin left Ken Scott to finalize the mix.
Revolution
Lennon-McCartney / 3:23
1968
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm and lead guitar, hand claps
Paul: bass, hand claps
George: lead guitar, hand claps
Ringo: drums
Nicky Hopkins: electric piano
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 9–11, 1968 (Studio Three) / July 12, 1968 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 16
MIXING
Abbey Road: July 12 and 15, 1968 (Studio Two) / December 5, 1969 (Room 4)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, Neil Richmond
Genesis
After three of the Beatles objected to “Revolution 1,” considering the song too slow for the A-side of the single, John agreed to rerecord it in an up-tempo arrangement. This new version allowed him to decide between count me in and count me out (see “Revolution 1”). He chose out—“Count me out if it’s for violence. Don’t expect me on the barricades unless it’s with flowers.”1 The release of “Revolution” provoked political reactions from the Left and Far Left. In the 1970s, John was close to Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman before they became estranged. “As far as overthrowing something in the name of Marxism or Christianity, I want to know what you’re going to do after you’ve knocked it all down,”2 he said.
For John, “Revolution” was meant to be released as an A-side with a clear message. The other three Beatles saw in “Hey Jude” better potential for commercial success.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
To differentiate between the slow and up-tempo version of “Revolution,” the Abbey Road staff called the slower song the “Glenn Miller” version. At the time of the recording, there was no number to differentiate between the versions.
Production
On July 9, the Beatles rehearsed the new version of “Revolution.” The following day, they began recording the rhythm track, with John and George on guitars, Paul on bass, and Ringo on drums. John wanted a really distorted sound. He asked Geoff Emerick to create the distinctive sound he was looking for. To do this, Geoff violated EMI’s technical rules. He decided to put both guitars through the recording console, overloading the channel that was carrying John’s guitar signal. The resulting sound pleased John. After ten takes, the Beatles had their rhythm track down. Ringo double-tracked his snare while his comrades added additional hand claps. After a first reduction, John recorded his vocal and right away he double-tracked it and gave the song a screaming introduction. The following day, Nicky Hopkins, who had made a name for himself by playing with other giants of rock ’n’ roll, including the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Who, added electric piano, backed on guitar by John. Finally, Paul recorded his bass. The mono mix of “Revolution” was made on July 15 and the stereo mix only on December 5, 1969.
Technical Details
For the first time, John, Paul, and George’s guitars were put through the console directly via DI boxes and all three played in the control room, with Ringo on drums in the studio.
Paul Screaming
Filming for promotional videos of “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” took place on September 4 at Twickenham Film Studios, under the direction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg. We can see Paul screaming in the introduction, although he was miming to John’s original recording.
Yellow Submarine:
The Animated Beatles
1969
Side 1
Yellow Submarine
Only a Northern Song
All Together Now
Hey Bulldog
It’s All Too Much
All You Need Is Love
Side 2
(Music by George Martin)
Pepperland
Sea of Time
Sea of Holes
Sea of Monsters
March of the Meanies
Pepperland Laid Waste
Yellow Submarine in Pepperland
ALBUM
RELEASED
Great Britain: January 17, 1969 / No. 3
United States: January 13, 1969 / No. 2
Yellow Submarine, the sound track of the film of the same name, did not appear until January 1969, six months after the film’s premiere on July 17, 1968, at the London Pavilion. This delay was motivated by the fact that the White Album was still number 1 on the charts. The album is a collection of old and new songs, as well as instrumental music composed by George Martin. Fans were disappointed to find only four new songs, two by George (“Only a Northern Song” and “It’s All Too Much”) and two by Lennon-McCartney (“Hey Bulldog” and “All Together Now”). Only “Hey Bulldog” matches the quality of the album’s previously recorded songs.
The idea for the project came from the cartoon series The Beatles produced by Al Brodax for ABC. These cartoons depicted caricatures of the Fab Four and were broadcast weekly from September 1965 to September 1969. The Beatles were never fans of the series, and they hated the voices of the actors. But with the success of the series, Brodax offered Brian Epstein a feature-length, animated film. Epstein, who still owed a Beatles film to United Artists, thought this would be the perfect means of honoring his commitment to United Artists. The group was not thrilled about participating in another motion picture, but a cartoon seemed like a lesser evil. The official announcement was made on June 7, 1967.
Epstein promised four original songs, but the Beatles felt that all the arrangements had been made without their being consulted. They delayed on delivering the songs and made no creative contribution to the film. They even joked: if a new song wasn’t good enough for an album, use it in the film! John talked about the film with resentment even in 1980: “The Yellow Submarine people … were gross animals apart from the guy who drew the paintings for the movie. They lifted all the ideas for the movie out of our heads and didn’t give us any credit.”1 In fact, the Beatles did not like the project because they feared that the movie would be too much like the TV series, with no real artistic content. Paul even wanted a style similar to that of Disney. However, when they saw the complete film for the first time, they were pleased with the quality of the script and drawings and regretted their lack of participation. The album received a positive reception, but not the success they usually had.
The Movie
In the paradise Pepperland, Sergeant Pepper’s band is giving a concert when the evil Blue Meanies attack. The Blue Meanies want to eliminate all music, all happiness, and all love from the world. Young Fred, the leader of Pepper’s band, has just enough time to escape aboard the Yellow Submarine to look for help in Liverpool. The four Beatles come to his r
escue to deliver Pepperland from the horrible Blue Meanies. Guitars, music, flowers, and love will vanquish the monsters. All you need is love, sung by the Beatles! Upon its release, the film was a success, particularly in the United States. The animation conveys perfectly the psychedelic world of the Fab Four.
A NOTE TO READERS
For the title Yellow Submarine, Lennon-McCartney / 2:37, see Revolver. For the title “All You Need Is Love,” Lennon-McCartney / 3:47, see single: “All You Need Is Love” / “Baby You’re a Rich Man.”
Side 2 by George Martin
Side 2 of the LP features seven original instrumental pieces written and arranged by George Martin. They are of excellent quality. The music contributes substantially to the film and demonstrates Martin’s talents as an orchestrator. But the music did not really belong on a Beatles record. The style is too far removed. So it is not discussed in this book.
Only A Northern Song
George Harrison / 3:23
1969
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, organ, sound effects
John: electric guitar (?) glockenspiel (?), piano, sound effects
Paul: bass, trumpet, sound effects
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: February 13–14, 1967 (Studio Two) / April 20, 1967 (Studio Three)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 12
MIXING
Abbey Road: February 14, 1967 (Studio Two) / April 21, 1967 (Studio Two) / October 29, 1968 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, Graham Kirkby
Genesis
George originally wrote “Only a Northern Song” for Sgt. Pepper. Unfortunately, it was considered “too weak” for the album, so he had to write another song, “Within You Without You.” “Only a Northern Song” is Asian in style and under the spell of India and its music. By writing “Only a Northern Song,” George was also attacking the Beatles’ music publishing company, Northern Songs Ltd., which had managed the Beatles’ copyrights since February 22, 1963. At the company’s creation in 1963, the stock was divided among Dick James, Charles Silver, Brian Epstein, John, and Paul. George and Ringo were left out and only on February 18, 1965, when the company went public, did they finally became a part of it, receiving just over 1 percent of the shares. In 1965, George signed a new three-year contract with Northern Songs. Over the years, he had been wronged, and he admitted in 1999, “I realized Dick James had conned me out of the copyrights for my own songs by offering to become my publisher.… But he never said, ‘And incidentally, when you sign this document here, you’re assigning me the ownership of the song.’” George wrote “Only a Northern Song” as a joke, denouncing the exploitation of which he considered himself a victim.
Production
On February 13, three days after recording the orchestra for “A Day in the Life,” the Beatles started recording “Only a Northern Song” under the working title “Not Known.” Although they made nine takes of the rhythm track, the best was the third. Ringo was on drums and Paul was on bass, connected to a DI box. Most likely, John played electric guitar while George played the organ. The following day George overdubbed two lead vocals. There were a total of twelve takes. On April 20, two months later, the Beatles reworked the piece after they had completed Sgt. Pepper. They discarded the vocals from February 14, and in their place added bass, trumpet, and glockenspiel. Paul: “I remember playing a silly trumpet. My dad used to play. I can’t but I can mess around a lot—and that song gave me the perfect framework. It was very tongue in cheek.”1 After adding all these instruments, they used the new take and the eleventh take from February 14, and the two versions were mixed together in sync to produce the final mono version. The result is rather dissonant, but reflects George’s dissatisfaction with Northern Songs Ltd. The mono mix was made the following day and the stereo mix on October 29, 1968.
Technical Details
Because the engineers were unable to have both tape recorders begin the playback at exactly the same time, they had difficulty mixing the stereo version. Therefore, they created a fake stereo mix by artificially expanding the sound.
All Together Now
Lennon-McCartney / 2:09
1969
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, acoustic guitar, percussion, hand claps
John: vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonica, percussion, hand claps
George: ukulele (?), backing vocal, percussion, hand claps
Ringo: drums, backing vocal, percussion, hand claps
RECORDED
Abbey Road: May 12, 1967 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 9
MIXING
Abbey Road: May 12, 1967 (Studio Three) / May 15, 1967 (Studio ?) / October 29, 1968 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: none
Sound Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, Graham Kirkby
Genesis
“All Together Now” is a children’s sing-along written in the music hall tradition and built around three chords. The lyrics, written mostly by Paul, correspond to the educational concepts usually taught in children’s songs—alphabet, colors, numbers—except for the line Can I take my friend to bed?, which is subject to many interpretations … Paul took the title from the music hall call “All together now” with which the performers ask the audience to sing along. He explained, “I just took it and read another meaning into it, of we are all together now. So I used the dual meaning.”1 During the production, George Martin went on vacation, leaving the position of producer vacant. Geoff Emerick was in charge of the control room more or less officially and vividly recalls the atmosphere suddenly becoming more relaxed, just as it did when the Beatles recorded “Yellow Submarine” in Martin’s absence. At that time John commented, “Well, now that the schoolmaster’s out, we kids finally get a chance to play.”2 The result is certainly more relaxed. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the film Yellow Submarine at the end where the “live” Beatles appeared just before the credits. The song became a popular chant in football stadiums. In 1971 John said in an interview with Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn: “I enjoyed it when football crowds in the early days would sing ‘All together now.’”3
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Three days after the recording, Paul met Linda Eastman at Bag O’Nails, a trendy London club.
Production
The Beatles completed “All Together Now” in only one recording session on May 12. Even though the song’s structure is simple, they added a number of overdubs. The Beatles invited friends in to sing the chorus and created a party atmosphere just as they had done for “Yellow Submarine.” It took nine takes to get the rhythm track right: Paul was simultaneously on lead vocal and his Gibson J-160 E acoustic guitar. John sang the middle eight while accompanying himself on his Jumbo acoustic guitar. Ringo was on drums and George on the ukulele. Then they had a number of overdubs, including backing vocals, bass, finger cymbals, diatonic harmonica in G, percussion, klaxon, and hand claps. The Beatles and their friends had a bit of fun recording “All Together Now,” which was much looser than the long months of hard work on Sgt. Pepper. No reduction was necessary. The mono mix was made right away using ADT (automatic double-tracking) of the voices. The stereo mix was made on October 29, 1968.
Hey Bulldog
Lennon-McCartney / 3:09
1969
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, piano
Paul: bass, backing vocal, tambourine
George: guitar
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: February 11, 1968 (Studio Three)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 10
MIXING
Abbey Road: February 11, 1968 (Studio Three) / October 29, 1968 (S
tudio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Assistant Engineers: Phil McDonald, Graham Kirkby
Genesis
On February 11, the Beatles were being filmed in Studio Three for a promotional video for “Lady Madonna.” Hunter Davies recounted how Paul tried working on an unfinished piece. John, who had written the main structure of a new song, proposed filming that instead of “Lady Madonna.” According to Geoff Emerick, Paul was a bit annoyed, but John was like a steamroller that day and the decision stuck. The Beatles were in a good mood, creating a joyful atmosphere because they knew they would be heading to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in India in a few days. The lyrics changed during the session. The original idea—bullfrog—was abandoned in favor of bulldog after Paul made a barking sound during the session that pleased John. The sheepdog in the song was the same breed as Paul’s famous dog, Martha.
John’s song was destined for the soundtrack of Yellow Submarine: “They wanted another song, so I knocked off ‘Hey Bulldog.’ It’s a good sounding record that means nothing.”1 The recording was a success, taking even the Beatles themselves by surprise. Emerick remembered that John tried in vain to make the title the A-side of the single instead of “Lady Madonna.” “Hey Bulldog” is probably one of the most underrated titles by the group.
IMAGE MISTAKES
The video clip of “Lady Madonna” came from footage of the Beatles’ recording “Hey Bulldog” and nobody noticed the discrepancy. Many years later, Neil Aspinall had the video recut to the song “Hey Bulldog.” This video clip is the only one showing the Beatles recording something in Studio Three at Abbey Road.