All the Songs
Page 42
John opened the album with a great rock song, “Come Together,” and gave us one of the most beautiful melodies on the record with the sublime “Because.” With “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something,” George Harrison confirmed that he was the equal of LennonMcCartney as a songwriter—both titles topped the charts and marked the first and last time one of his singles was featured on a Beatles A-side in the history of the group. For his part, Ringo brought his best song, “Octopus’s Garden,” and Paul concluded the record with a unique medley of his own compositions.
Even though some titles such as “Oh! Darling” were worked on in January 1969, the album was mostly recorded in July and August 1969. At its release, it quickly jumped to the top of the charts and became the Beatles’ most successful album ever. Paul was continually harassed by enthusiastic fans. He preferred to escape from the sudden media pressure to his country house without telling anyone. This secret escape prompted the rumor of his death on October 12, 1969, and his replacement by a look-alike. Fans looked for clues everywhere, and the cover of the album provided a considerable number of them. The idea for the cover was born, according to some, in one of Ringo’s jokes. Among the names suggested for the album was Billy’s Left Boot and Everest, after the brand of cigarettes smoked by Geoff Emerick, and to go with a cover photo in the foothills of Mount Everest. But, except for Paul, the idea appealed to no one, and Ringo joked, “Why don’t we call it Abbey Road?” and “take the photo there.” Other versions attribute the name and the idea to Paul. We do know that Paul gave the photographer, Iain MacMillan, a detailed cover sketch.
On August 8, at 11:30 A.M., McMillan had about ten minutes to take the picture from a stepladder while a police officer stopped traffic. The fifth picture was selected and features the four Beatles walking away from EMI studios. An omen? Ever since, this crosswalk has been a popular destination for Beatles fans from around the world. The crosswalk was registered as a historical landmark in 2010 because of its “cultural and historical value,” but the famous crosswalk was actually moved a few yards away some thirty years later. Even today, the government can offer no reason for this relocation! The photo on the back of the album, taken by MacMillan just after the session with the group, shows the corner of Alexandra Road. When MacMillan took the picture, a girl in a blue dress ran in front of his camera. Although he thought the shot had been ruined, that was the one the Beatles selected! After Abbey Road, John and Paul did not play together again until 1974. Then, they met at the Record Plant Studios for an improvised recording session involving other celebrities, including Stevie Wonder and Harry Nilsson.
The Instruments
It is difficult to identify the instruments used in Abbey Road because few pictures were taken during recording sessions. Nevertheless, we can assume that they were nearly identical to those of the White Album or Let It Be, with the exception of the first synthesizer ever used by the Beatles, the Moog IIIP Synthesizer, and the Electric Solid-Body Baldwin harpsichord, the keyboard used in “Because.”
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
The French version of Abbey Road has some funny misspellings. On the A-side: “Oh! Darling” is spelled “Oh Darlin” and “Octopus’s Garden,” normally credited to Richard Starkey, is credited to Ringo Starr. On the B-side: “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” is listed as “She Came Through the Bathroom Window.” And finally, “The End” became “Ending.”
Come Together
Lennon-McCartney / 4:20
1969
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar, electric Fender Rhodes piano, backing vocal, hand claps, tambourine
Paul: bass
George: guitar
Ringo: drums, maracas
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 21, 1969 (Studios Two and Three) / July 22 and 23, 1969 (Studio Three) / July 25, 1969 (Studio Two) / July 29–30,1969 (Studio Three)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 9
MIXING
Abbey Road: August 7, 1969 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald
Assistant Engineer: John Kurlander
RELEASED AS A SINGLE
“Something” / “Come Together”
Great Britain: October 31, 1969 / No. 4
United States: October 6, 1969 / No. 1 for 1 week beginning on October 18, 1969
Genesis
The inspiration for this song was multifaceted and controversial: Timothy Leary on one side and Chuck Berry on the other. “Come Together” was conceived as a political rallying cry for Timothy Leary, the psychologist, writer, philosopher, and apostle of LSD. In 1969, the herald or messenger of the counterculture of the 1960s ran for governor of California against the Republican incumbent Ronald Reagan. His campaign slogan was Come together, join the party, with a double meaning for the word party: political “party” and “party” as a reference to the drug culture. On May 30, he visited John and Yoko in their Montreal bed-in, where he asked John to write a song for his political campaign. John, who admired Leary, agreed. However, despite numerous attempts, he was uninspired. He finally wrote a song with little connection to the original idea besides the title. Leary’s campaign ended when the candidate was arrested for possession of marijuana at the same time as Lennon was writing the song. Leary’s incarceration released John from any commitment, and he gave the song to the Beatles. He said he wrote most of the lyrics in the studio with the help of other group members, including George, who confirmed that he had suggested a few words—words he called “gibberish,” totally removed from Leary’s original message, but reflecting Lennon’s taste for nonsense. Interestingly, the song has some similarity to “You Can’t Catch Me,” Chuck Berry’s 1956 song. The two songs contain related lines. Berry wrote Here come old flat top / He was movin’ up with me, while Lennon’s lyrics included Here come old flat top / He come groovin’ up slowly. After the release of the single, Morris Levy, the former owner of the New York club Birdland, and publisher and copyright holder of “You Can’t Catch Me,” sued Lennon for copyright infringement. He contended that Lennon’s song sounded similar to Berry’s song and that similarities to the lyrics were obvious. They settled on October 12, 1973, with Lennon agreeing to record three songs from Levy’s catalog for his next album Rock ’n’ Roll. The completion of that album took longer than expected. John began work on the album, but the sessions dissolved into chaos. He was separated from Yoko, and from 1973 to 1975 he lived the legendary “lost weekend.” Levy was impatient and eventually sold rehearsal tapes received from Lennon under the title Roots (released in early February 1975). Since this record is poor in quality and was not intended for release, only 1,270 copies were sold. Lennon sued Levy to stop him from selling Roots, and won.
A few years later, Leary reproached Lennon for “stealing the idea” and was formally challenged by John, saying that he owed Leary nothing. Despite all these difficulties, John confessed to David Sheff in 1980 that “Come Together” was one of his favorite songs: “It’s funky, it’s bluesy, and I’m singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I’d buy it!”1
Production
After his automobile accident, John returned to Abbey Road on July 9. Since “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” he had not written anything new, but on July 21, he proposed “Come Together,” which became one of his best songs. The first time John played it to Paul on his acoustic guitar, Paul immediately pointed out the obvious similarity to Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.” He suggested modifying it as much as possible to give it a “swampy” sound and a slower tempo. The result was the huge, deep bass riff and Ringo’s superb drums, which transformed the character of the piece.
On the basic track, John recorded a guide vocal, hand claps in the intro, and tambourine; George, Paul, and Ringo played rhythm guitar, bass, and drums, respectively. The sound is awesome. G
eorge said in 1969, “[‘Come Together’] is one of the nicest things we’ve done musically. Ringo’s drumming is great.”2 “Come Together” was recorded on a four-track tape recorder. Take 6, judged the best, was then transferred to eight-track.
July 21 also marked Geoff Emerick’s return to Abbey Road as the first full-time, freelance sound engineer working for EMI. He had left during the recording sessions for the White Album, exasperated by the unpleasant atmosphere among the Beatles. Although things had gotten a little better, tensions were still high. The next day, John overdubbed his vocal with a short delay in the intro. At shoot me you can only hear shoot. The bass line falls where the me was. (These words took on a tragic prescience on December 8, 1980, when Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon with five bullets). According to Emerick, Paul then showed John an electric piano part. John liked it, but preferred to play it himself. Maracas and another rhythm guitar were added. When Paul suggested singing harmony with John, John replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll do the over-dubs on this.”3 Paul said, “On ‘Come Together’ I would have liked to sing harmony with John and I think he would have liked me to but I was too embarrassed to ask him and I don’t work to the best of my abilities in that situation.”4 John claimed that he did ask his three colleagues for arrangements. He realized that, with their experience, they knew what he wanted: “I think that’s partly because we’ve played together a long time. So I said, ‘Give me something funky.’”5
The sessions continued. Several guitar parts were recorded, including George’s magnificent solo. Paul recorded a lot of heavy breathing at the end, which is partially buried and inaudible in the final stereo mix made on August 7.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Listen carefully at 2:30. Someone yells “Look out!” We assume it is John.
Something
George Harrison / 3:01
1969
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, hand claps, guitar
Paul: bass, backing vocal, hand claps
John: rhythm guitar
Ringo: drums, hand claps
Billy Preston: piano, organ
Orchestra: 12 violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, 1 double bass
RECORDED
Abbey Road: February 25, 1969 (Studio Three) / April 16, 1969 (Studio Three) / May 2, 1969 (Studio Three) / July 11, 1969 (Studio Two) / July 16, 1969 (Studio Three) / August 4, 1969 (Studio Two) / August 15, 1969 (Studios One and Two)
Olympic Sound Studios: May 5, 1969 (Studio One)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 39
MIXING
Abbey Road: February 25, 1969 (Studio Three) / July 11, 1969 (Studio Two) / August 19, 1969 (Studio Two)
Olympic Sound Studios: May 6, 1969 (Studio One)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producers: George Martin, Chris Thomas, George Harrison
Sound Engineers: Ken Scott, Phil McDonald, Jeff Jaratt, Glyn Johns, Geoff Emerick
Assistant Engineers: Richard Lush, Nick Webb, Steve Vaughan, John Kurlander, Alan Parsons
RELEASED AS A SINGLE
“Something” / “Come Together”
Great Britain: October 31, 1969 / No. 4
United States: October 6, 1969 / No. 1 for 1 week beginning October 18, 1969
Genesis
George composed “Something” at the piano during the recording sessions for the White Album in 1968. He wrote it quickly in Studio One, the only one available since Paul was working in Studio Two. The song came to him so easily that he thought it was too obvious. To record the tune he did not think about the Beatles, but rather about Ray Charles, who later included the song on his 1971 album Volcanic Action of My Soul.
George did not really have any ideas for the lyrics, even if Pattie Boyd, his first wife, claimed in her autobiography that “Something” was written for her.1 The first line came from “Something in the Way She Moves,” the title of a song by James Taylor, who had just signed with Apple for his debut album released in 1968. Taylor’s line stuck. Only the bridge required more work. In 1969, George told journalist David Wigg that John had given him some handy tips, “Once you start to write a song, try to finish it straight away while you’re still in the same mood.’ Sometimes you go back to it and you’re in a whole different state of mind. So now, I do try to finish them straight away.”2
On September 19, 1968, George worked on “Piggies.” Between two takes, he played “Something” for Chris Thomas, who was standing in for George Martin that day. Thomas said, “That’s great! Why don’t we do that one instead?” George replied, “Do you like it, do you really think it’s good?” When Thomas said Yes! George said, “Oh, maybe I’ll give it to Jackie Lomax then, he can do it as a single!”3 “Something” was released on Abbey Road and as the A-side of the Beatles’ next single. It was George’s first A-side in the history of the group. “Something” is currently among the top twenty songs most performed in the world.
Covers Story
George thought, before changing his mind, that his song would better suit Joe Cocker or even Jackie Lomax, who had a contract with Apple, rather than the Beatles. Joe Cocker recorded a version for his album Joe Cocker!, released in November 1969. Years later, “Something” was part of Frank Sinatra’s live set and for years he presented the song as his favorite Lennon-McCartney composition! He also called “Something” “the greatest love song ever written.” James Brown’s version (the B-side of the single released in 1973, “Think” / “Something”) was George’s favorite. Harrison loved it so much that he had it on his personal jukebox.
For John, “Something” is the best track on the album. George Martin was surprised that George was able to compose a piece of such quality—at the level of Lennon-McCartney’s songwriting. It was with a sense of guilt that he regretted he had never treated George on the same level as his two pals, “‘Something’ is a wonderful song. But we didn’t give him credit for it, and we never really thought, ‘He’s going to be a great songwriter.’”4 Ringo concluded, “It is interesting that George was coming to the fore and we were just breaking up.”5
Production
On February 25, 1969, his twenty-sixth birthday, George went alone to Abbey Road to record elaborate eight-track demos for three of his new compositions: “Old Brown Shoe,” “All Things Must Pass,” and “Something.” “Old Brown Shoe” became the B-side of “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” “All Things Must Pass” appeared on George’s first solo triple album in 1970, while “Something” was the second most covered Beatles song after “Yesterday.” George was solo on guitar, piano, and vocal with Ken Scott in the control room. He recorded the first version particularly softly. At this point it was just a countermelody and lyrics, which eventually disappeared, to be replaced by the guitar solo from the final version. On April 16, the Beatles began to work together on the song, but it was only on May 2 that they recorded take 36 as the best basic track. George was on guitar through a Leslie speaker, Paul on bass, John on acoustic guitar, Billy Preston at the piano, and Ringo on drums. Take 36 lasted 7:48 and was characterized by a coda lasting more than four minutes, due entirely to John’s long piano-led four-note instrumental fade-out. He later sped up the chord pattern to shorten the coda to 2:32 and used it as the basis for his song “Remember” (John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band, 1970).
Other sessions followed. On May 5, Paul rerecorded his bass part at the Olympic Sound Studios (with Glyn Johns at the console). The sound resulted from a new technique, increasingly used by sound engineers, consisting of combining the sound of the instrument plugged directly into the console with the sound coming back out of the amplifier. George, more self-assured, criticized Paul’s bass line and asked him to simplify it. George later recorded a lead guitar part via a Leslie speaker.
On July 11, George attempted his first lead vocal with Preston at the organ. On July 16, he finally recorded his lead vocal. To help his concentration, the studio was given a cozy atmosphere with soft lighting and incense. Paul added backing vocals and, with George and Ringo, some
hand clapping. On August 15, different orchestral tracks were recorded for “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End,” “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something.” George Martin orchestrated the songs and conducted the orchestra in Studio One. There remained only one track to record the guitar and the orchestra. In Studio Two, connected by video, George had to perform along with the orchestra and, without hesitating, in one take, he delivered an inspired and dazzling solo. “Something” was finally completed. The stereo mix was made on August 19, and the long coda deleted.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Allen Klein insisted on releasing “Something” as a single to encourage George as a songwriter, but also to get a not inconsiderable sum of money.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
Lennon-McCartney / 3:27
1969
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, piano, Moog IIIP synthesizer
George: guitar, backing vocal
Ringo: drums, backing vocal, anvil (?)
George Martin: organ
Mal Evans: anvil (?)
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 9–11, 1969 (Studio Two) / August 6 and 25, 1969 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 27
MIXING
Abbey Road: July 10, 1969 (Studio Two) / August 6, 12, and 14, 1969 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineers: Phil McDonald, Tony Clark, Geoff Emerick