Showing posts with label revolver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revolver. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
"I Want to Tell You"
"I Want to Tell You" is a Beatles song on the 1966 album Revolver. It was written by George Harrison and recorded on June 2, 1966 (with the bass overdubbed on June 3). Working titles were "Laxton's Superb" and "I Don't Know."
The song marks the first time the band included three Harrison songs on a Beatles album, reflecting his growing stature as a songwriter.
Guitar Riff
Although a melodic pop song similar to the others on the album, the song hints at Indian influences, although less overtly so than "Love You To", another Harrison composition from the same album. It is largely built around a drone, rarely straying from its home key of A major, not even for the bridge. It features a flat Harrison vocal, supported heavily by Lennon and McCartney on backup vocals, in a fashion similar to Harrison's earlier "If I Needed Someone". It is largely driven by the bass and the persistent, almost hypnotic, piano pounding throughout the song. A distinctive guitar part opens and closes the song and recurs between verses, which lends the song some structure where it might otherwise sound formless (given the subtle variation).
Interestingly, it is one of the few Beatles songs to begin with a fade-in ("Eight Days a Week" being another notable example). The ending — where the group repeats the line "I've got time" over the opening guitar riff — makes notable use of melisma by McCartney (recalling, again, the song's understated Indian influences, as well as adding an increasing sense of disarray as the ensemble falls apart).
In I Want to Tell You, Paul's bass is overdubbed separately which allowed for specific treatment as opposed to being lumped on the rhythm track. This would become more common during the years that followed.
Lyrics
The lyrics are, in Harrison's own words, "about the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit." The frustration in the lyrics is reinforced by the song's dissonant atmosphere — a product of numerous elements, including the continuous piano chord in the background and the contrast between Harrison's modest lead vocal and Lennon and McCartney's descant harmonizing — which creates an air of uneasiness.
The bridge reveals some of Harrison's thinking at the time, reducing his internal difficulties to conflicts within his being:
But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things
In his 1980 autobiography I Me Mine, Harrison suggested that the second line be reversed. "The mind is the thing that hops about telling us to do this and do that — when what we need is to lose (forget) the mind."
Personnel
* John Lennon — tambourine, harmony vocal, hand-claps
* Paul McCartney — bass, piano, harmony vocal, hand-claps
* George Harrison — double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar, hand-claps
* Ringo Starr — drums, maracas
Other versions
An upbeat live version of the song opens Harrison's Live In Japan album, recorded and released in 1992 (see 1992 in music). Harrison and bandmate Eric Clapton extend the song with a few guitar solos. Harrison uses the lyric reversal mentioned in his autobiography, singing the bridge "it isn't me, it's just the mind."
George played this song during his Concert For The Natural Law Party on April 6`th 1992 as the opening song.
Another notable live recording was played by Jeff Lynne at the Concert For George — again opening the main set and again featuring Clapton as a sideman — in 2003 (see 2003 in music) for the then-recently deceased Harrison.
This song was covered by Ted Nugent on State of Shock (1979) and is also on Super Hits (1998).
This song was also covered by The Grateful Dead during their tour in the Summer of 1994 and the Jerry Garcia Band in their 1976 and Winter 1986-7 tours.
This song also was covered by The Smithereens on their 1999 release, "God Save The Smithereens" deluxe edition.
Trivia
On his recent tours, Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (and later The Rutles) said the Bonzos' first studio experience was at Abbey Road Studios while the Beatles were recording "I Want to Tell You". Innes said he took a break in one of the studio's hallways and heard The Beatles playing back the song, blasting it at full volume. Innes recounted that he was in a state of immense awe over the song's beauty, and sheepishly returned to the Bonzo session, where they were recording the 1920s Vaudeville song "My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies".
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 2 June 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:29
Label: Parlophone
Writer: George Harrison
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
The song marks the first time the band included three Harrison songs on a Beatles album, reflecting his growing stature as a songwriter.
Guitar Riff
Although a melodic pop song similar to the others on the album, the song hints at Indian influences, although less overtly so than "Love You To", another Harrison composition from the same album. It is largely built around a drone, rarely straying from its home key of A major, not even for the bridge. It features a flat Harrison vocal, supported heavily by Lennon and McCartney on backup vocals, in a fashion similar to Harrison's earlier "If I Needed Someone". It is largely driven by the bass and the persistent, almost hypnotic, piano pounding throughout the song. A distinctive guitar part opens and closes the song and recurs between verses, which lends the song some structure where it might otherwise sound formless (given the subtle variation).
Interestingly, it is one of the few Beatles songs to begin with a fade-in ("Eight Days a Week" being another notable example). The ending — where the group repeats the line "I've got time" over the opening guitar riff — makes notable use of melisma by McCartney (recalling, again, the song's understated Indian influences, as well as adding an increasing sense of disarray as the ensemble falls apart).
In I Want to Tell You, Paul's bass is overdubbed separately which allowed for specific treatment as opposed to being lumped on the rhythm track. This would become more common during the years that followed.
Lyrics
The lyrics are, in Harrison's own words, "about the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit." The frustration in the lyrics is reinforced by the song's dissonant atmosphere — a product of numerous elements, including the continuous piano chord in the background and the contrast between Harrison's modest lead vocal and Lennon and McCartney's descant harmonizing — which creates an air of uneasiness.
The bridge reveals some of Harrison's thinking at the time, reducing his internal difficulties to conflicts within his being:
But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things
In his 1980 autobiography I Me Mine, Harrison suggested that the second line be reversed. "The mind is the thing that hops about telling us to do this and do that — when what we need is to lose (forget) the mind."
Personnel
* John Lennon — tambourine, harmony vocal, hand-claps
* Paul McCartney — bass, piano, harmony vocal, hand-claps
* George Harrison — double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar, hand-claps
* Ringo Starr — drums, maracas
Other versions
An upbeat live version of the song opens Harrison's Live In Japan album, recorded and released in 1992 (see 1992 in music). Harrison and bandmate Eric Clapton extend the song with a few guitar solos. Harrison uses the lyric reversal mentioned in his autobiography, singing the bridge "it isn't me, it's just the mind."
George played this song during his Concert For The Natural Law Party on April 6`th 1992 as the opening song.
Another notable live recording was played by Jeff Lynne at the Concert For George — again opening the main set and again featuring Clapton as a sideman — in 2003 (see 2003 in music) for the then-recently deceased Harrison.
This song was covered by Ted Nugent on State of Shock (1979) and is also on Super Hits (1998).
This song was also covered by The Grateful Dead during their tour in the Summer of 1994 and the Jerry Garcia Band in their 1976 and Winter 1986-7 tours.
This song also was covered by The Smithereens on their 1999 release, "God Save The Smithereens" deluxe edition.
Trivia
On his recent tours, Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (and later The Rutles) said the Bonzos' first studio experience was at Abbey Road Studios while the Beatles were recording "I Want to Tell You". Innes said he took a break in one of the studio's hallways and heard The Beatles playing back the song, blasting it at full volume. Innes recounted that he was in a state of immense awe over the song's beauty, and sheepishly returned to the Bonzo session, where they were recording the 1920s Vaudeville song "My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies".
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 2 June 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:29
Label: Parlophone
Writer: George Harrison
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Geoff Emerick on Recording "Tomorrow Never Knows"
"I'd been engineering about three months up until the time when Norman [Smith] wanted to become a producer. I'd always worked with Norman as his second engineer, tape operator. Then George Martin asked me, 'Would I do the Beatles?' I didn't know whether to say yes or no, but I said 'Yes.' 'Tomorrow Never Knows' was the first track that was cut for Revolver. At the time the multi-track machine was remote from the control room in the studio. It was in another room in the building. I always remember the staff at Abbey Road gathering outside the room, listening to these backward loops and things that went on that track because no one had ever heard anything like it before. Looking back on it now, it's commonplace."
Monday, October 25, 2010
George Martin on the Revolver Album
"I'm not sure they ever stopped being a good rock-and-roll band. I think once they'd got their first success under their belts that seemed to spur them on to greater songwriting efforts. John and Paul, having found out that it was comparatively easy to make a hit with 'Please Please Me' and then 'From Me to You,' said, 'Great, we know how to do it.' It then became a production line, and their ingenuity was actually spurred on by their success at that stage. They were always thinking of fresh ideas and new things, and each song that came out seemed to be a good one. I don't think they really started developing their best songwriting skills, in a really strange way, until Revolver. I think that was the beginning of the breakthrough, and certainly 'Tomorrow Never Knows,' on the end of Revolver, was the beginning of the so-called psychedelic bit, which was the forerunner of Sgt. Pepper."
Monday, October 04, 2010
Geoff Emerick on Revolver and the Use of Automatic Double Tracking (ADT)
"Around the time of Revolver we first tried ADT, automatic double tracking, which gave Lennon his sound on some things. We also tried altering the speed of the tape machine and making it sort of phasey. We used to do that on guitars, as well. In those days it was the first time anyone had heard of doing that. We were sort of pioneering in different ways."
Saturday, August 28, 2010
"Here, There and Everywhere"
"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song largely written by Paul McCartney (though credited to Lennon/McCartney), recorded for the Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography, "Many Years From Now", McCartney is quoted as saying that the song is one of his favourites. Beatles' producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favourite Paul McCartney songs. John Lennon reportedly told Paul he felt it was "the best tune on the album" and said in his 1972 Rolling Stone interview it was "one of my favorite Beatle tracks."
Origins
The song is known for its bittersweet tune, harmonic scheme, and subtle arrangement. The cheerful melody of the verses is counteracted by the more haunting minor modes of the bridge. McCartney, in fact, mentioned in the 1989 radio series McCartney On McCartney that the beginning with its ooh-aah backing vocals was meant to have a Beach Boys sound.
This track features one of McCartney's highest vocals; he said in his autobiography that he was actually trying to sing it in the style of Marianne Faithfull. His vocals are multi-tracked.
Cover versions
Noted performers who have covered "Here, There and Everywhere" include John Denver, Bobbie Gentry, Locksley, George Shearing, Emmylou Harris, Clay Aiken, Jose Feliciano (instrumental), The Lettermen, John McDermott, Claudine Longet, Céline Dion (for a George Martin/Beatles tribute album), George Benson, Perry Como and Sissel. The Original Flying Pickets created an a cappella version of this song. There is an Irish music version by Sharon Hussey. Kenny Loggins did his own version of the song for his Kenny Loggins Alive album. The live version was his acoustic set in one of his recorded concerts. Japanese performer Maaya Sakamoto covered it with her self-accompanied guitar solo. Episode 6 also covered the song.
Cultural references
In the TV series Friends, this song is played on steel drums when Phoebe Buffay walks down the aisle during her wedding. It was the second time a song written by Paul McCartney was used in a wedding sequence in the series; the first being "My Love" when Chandler and Monica married.
Geoff Emerick, who engineered many of the Beatles' recordings, used the song title in the title of his own 2006 memoir, Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (Gotham Books, ISBN 1-59240-179-1).
Credits
* John Lennon: rhythm guitar, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* Paul McCartney: bass guitar, double-tracked lead vocal, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* George Harrison: 12-string lead guitar, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* Ringo Starr: drums and finger-snaps.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 14 June 1966
Genre: Pop rock, soft rock
Length: 2:25
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Origins
The song is known for its bittersweet tune, harmonic scheme, and subtle arrangement. The cheerful melody of the verses is counteracted by the more haunting minor modes of the bridge. McCartney, in fact, mentioned in the 1989 radio series McCartney On McCartney that the beginning with its ooh-aah backing vocals was meant to have a Beach Boys sound.
This track features one of McCartney's highest vocals; he said in his autobiography that he was actually trying to sing it in the style of Marianne Faithfull. His vocals are multi-tracked.
Cover versions
Noted performers who have covered "Here, There and Everywhere" include John Denver, Bobbie Gentry, Locksley, George Shearing, Emmylou Harris, Clay Aiken, Jose Feliciano (instrumental), The Lettermen, John McDermott, Claudine Longet, Céline Dion (for a George Martin/Beatles tribute album), George Benson, Perry Como and Sissel. The Original Flying Pickets created an a cappella version of this song. There is an Irish music version by Sharon Hussey. Kenny Loggins did his own version of the song for his Kenny Loggins Alive album. The live version was his acoustic set in one of his recorded concerts. Japanese performer Maaya Sakamoto covered it with her self-accompanied guitar solo. Episode 6 also covered the song.
Cultural references
In the TV series Friends, this song is played on steel drums when Phoebe Buffay walks down the aisle during her wedding. It was the second time a song written by Paul McCartney was used in a wedding sequence in the series; the first being "My Love" when Chandler and Monica married.
Geoff Emerick, who engineered many of the Beatles' recordings, used the song title in the title of his own 2006 memoir, Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (Gotham Books, ISBN 1-59240-179-1).
Credits
* John Lennon: rhythm guitar, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* Paul McCartney: bass guitar, double-tracked lead vocal, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* George Harrison: 12-string lead guitar, background vocals and finger-snaps.
* Ringo Starr: drums and finger-snaps.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 14 June 1966
Genre: Pop rock, soft rock
Length: 2:25
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Klaus Voormann on the Revolver Album Cover Artwork
"Well, it came out of the blue. I wasn't doing any art in those days. I was playing music in bands, and suddenly John called me and said, 'Look, Klaus, if you have any idea for our next album cover, scribble it down and let us see it. And if it's something we like, you might get the gig.' So I did sketches and I had ten or fifteen suggestions, ideas, but I already liked this one with the hair. I went to the studio, which was always a good idea while they were recording the work, because you needed time to do the cover as much as they needed time to finish the LP. I showed it to them and they all jumped on this idea of the four heads and those little figures."
Thursday, April 29, 2010
"Got to Get You Into My Life"
"Got to Get You into My Life" is a song by The Beatles on the album Revolver. It was released as a single in the US in 1976, a decade after its initial release and six years after The Beatles split up. This was the single that was released as a promo for the Rock 'n' Roll Music compilation album. It hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, The Beatles' last top ten hit there until their 1995 release "Free as a Bird."
Development of song
Though officially credited to Lennon-McCartney, McCartney was primarily responsible for the writing of this track, to which he also contributes lead vocals. John Lennon was said to have been very fond of the song, saying this was, "Paul at his best," according to a 1980 Playboy interview. McCartney attempted to write in the style of American soul music for this song, as particularly inspired by the Stax label. The soul revue-style horns are especially allusive to the Stax "Memphis soul" sound. Traces of Motown influence are apparent as well. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios between 7 April and 17 June 1966 and evolved considerably between the first takes and the final version released on album. The mono and stereo versions of the recording also feature completely different ad libs in the fade-out. In Got to Get You Into My Life, the brass were miked in the bells of their instruments then put through a limiter.
Song structure
Following the outro chords of "I Want to Tell You", the song immediately starts with the horns. McCartney's vocals clock in at 0:07. The predominant instrument playing is the horns, similar to the soul records of the late '50s and early '60s. The chorus of the song appears at 1:04, with the song's title sung. The song switches between a verse and the refrain. The electric guitar solo clocks in at 1:53, and at 2:10 the horns come in, playing the same chords as the song opened with. The song closes with fading vocals of McCartney, much akin to the soul records of the time. The percussion instrument most predominant is the tambourine, overdubbed onto the standard drum kit.
Meaning
Although many believed it was a love song that Paul was writing for a girl, he later disclosed the song was about marijuana in Barry Miles' book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. Many lyrics from the song suggested this - "I took a ride I didn't know what I would find there / Another road where maybe I could see some other kind of mind there.", "What can I do, what can I be when I'm with you I want to stay there / If I am true I will never leave and if I do I know the way there."
Personnel
* Paul McCartney – vocals, bass
* John Lennon – rhythm guitar, vocals (on Anthology 2 version)
* George Harrison – lead guitar, vocals (on Anthology 2 version)
* Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
* George Martin – organ
* Eddie Thornton – trumpet
* Ian Hamer – trumpet
* Les Condon – trumpet
* Alan Branscombe – tenor saxophone
* Peter Coe – tenor saxophone
Other Covers
* Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers
* Blood, Sweat, and Tears
* Earth, Wind, and Fire
* Diana Ross
* Syesha Mercado of American Idol
* Courtney Murphy of Australian Idol
* Matt Corby of Australian Idol
* Daniel Johnston
* BUCK Enterprises
B-side: "Helter Skelter"
Released: Album: 5 August 1966; Single: 31 May 1976 (U.S.)
Format: 7"
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios - 7 April, 17 June 1966
Genre: Soul/ Rock
Length: 2:27 (stereo version), 2:35 (mono version)
Label: Capitol 4274 (U.S.)
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Development of song
Though officially credited to Lennon-McCartney, McCartney was primarily responsible for the writing of this track, to which he also contributes lead vocals. John Lennon was said to have been very fond of the song, saying this was, "Paul at his best," according to a 1980 Playboy interview. McCartney attempted to write in the style of American soul music for this song, as particularly inspired by the Stax label. The soul revue-style horns are especially allusive to the Stax "Memphis soul" sound. Traces of Motown influence are apparent as well. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios between 7 April and 17 June 1966 and evolved considerably between the first takes and the final version released on album. The mono and stereo versions of the recording also feature completely different ad libs in the fade-out. In Got to Get You Into My Life, the brass were miked in the bells of their instruments then put through a limiter.
Song structure
Following the outro chords of "I Want to Tell You", the song immediately starts with the horns. McCartney's vocals clock in at 0:07. The predominant instrument playing is the horns, similar to the soul records of the late '50s and early '60s. The chorus of the song appears at 1:04, with the song's title sung. The song switches between a verse and the refrain. The electric guitar solo clocks in at 1:53, and at 2:10 the horns come in, playing the same chords as the song opened with. The song closes with fading vocals of McCartney, much akin to the soul records of the time. The percussion instrument most predominant is the tambourine, overdubbed onto the standard drum kit.
Meaning
Although many believed it was a love song that Paul was writing for a girl, he later disclosed the song was about marijuana in Barry Miles' book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. Many lyrics from the song suggested this - "I took a ride I didn't know what I would find there / Another road where maybe I could see some other kind of mind there.", "What can I do, what can I be when I'm with you I want to stay there / If I am true I will never leave and if I do I know the way there."
Personnel
* Paul McCartney – vocals, bass
* John Lennon – rhythm guitar, vocals (on Anthology 2 version)
* George Harrison – lead guitar, vocals (on Anthology 2 version)
* Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
* George Martin – organ
* Eddie Thornton – trumpet
* Ian Hamer – trumpet
* Les Condon – trumpet
* Alan Branscombe – tenor saxophone
* Peter Coe – tenor saxophone
Other Covers
* Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers
* Blood, Sweat, and Tears
* Earth, Wind, and Fire
* Diana Ross
* Syesha Mercado of American Idol
* Courtney Murphy of Australian Idol
* Matt Corby of Australian Idol
* Daniel Johnston
* BUCK Enterprises
B-side: "Helter Skelter"
Released: Album: 5 August 1966; Single: 31 May 1976 (U.S.)
Format: 7"
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios - 7 April, 17 June 1966
Genre: Soul/ Rock
Length: 2:27 (stereo version), 2:35 (mono version)
Label: Capitol 4274 (U.S.)
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Monday, April 05, 2010
Les Condon on Recording "Got to Get You Into My Life"
"Apparently, they felt something extra was needed on the song 'Got to Get You Into My Life.' That's why we were there. As far as the arrangement goes, well, they hadn't anything written down, so we just listened to what they had and got an idea of what they wanted. Most of it went right the first time. We jotted down some voicings, but eventually everybody chipped in and the credit must be evenly divided. I suggested something for the trumpets for the ending and we dubbed it on with three trumpets. I didn't think it was quite strong enough, so we dubbed it on with three trumpets again. You'll really be hearing six trumpets in that coda. It was the most relaxing session I've ever been on. The Beatles all seemed like very nice fellows and, you know what, they kept asking us things!"
Sunday, March 28, 2010
"Good Day Sunshine"
"Good Day Sunshine" is a song by The Beatles on the 1966 album Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney, though like all Beatles songs written by either of them, it is credited as Lennon/McCartney. Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its construction in a 1967 CBS News documentary.
Recording
McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only members of the band to appear on this track instrumentally. John Lennon and George Harrison add harmony vocals during the choruses. George Martin played the solo on the piano. The song was recorded at Abbey Road 8 June 1966, with overdubs added the following day.
Influences and cover version
McCartney said that he was influenced by The Lovin' Spoonful in writing this song, whose bouncy harmonies and upbeat lyrics recall the Spoonful's "good-time music."
Claudine Longet recorded a version in 1967 for her second A&M LP, The Look of Love and also released it as a single. The single peaked at #100 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart and #36 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.
Cultural references
* "Good Day Sunshine" was played as the wake-up music on the final day of the "Return to Flight" Discovery Space Shuttle mission in July 2005, as well as the wake-up music on day 4 of Shuttle Flight STS-121.
* The song is also played at Safeco Field, home of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners when the retractable roof is retracted.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, piano, hand claps
* Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine, cymbals, hand claps
* George Harrison: harmony vocals and hand claps
* John Lennon: harmony vocals and hand claps
* George Martin: piano
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 8 June 1966
Genre: Pop rock
Length: 2:09
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Recording
McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only members of the band to appear on this track instrumentally. John Lennon and George Harrison add harmony vocals during the choruses. George Martin played the solo on the piano. The song was recorded at Abbey Road 8 June 1966, with overdubs added the following day.
Influences and cover version
McCartney said that he was influenced by The Lovin' Spoonful in writing this song, whose bouncy harmonies and upbeat lyrics recall the Spoonful's "good-time music."
Claudine Longet recorded a version in 1967 for her second A&M LP, The Look of Love and also released it as a single. The single peaked at #100 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart and #36 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.
Cultural references
* "Good Day Sunshine" was played as the wake-up music on the final day of the "Return to Flight" Discovery Space Shuttle mission in July 2005, as well as the wake-up music on day 4 of Shuttle Flight STS-121.
* The song is also played at Safeco Field, home of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners when the retractable roof is retracted.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, piano, hand claps
* Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine, cymbals, hand claps
* George Harrison: harmony vocals and hand claps
* John Lennon: harmony vocals and hand claps
* George Martin: piano
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 8 June 1966
Genre: Pop rock
Length: 2:09
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Sunday, February 14, 2010
"For No One"
"For No One" is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) that originally appeared on The Beatles' seventh album, Revolver. A ballad about the end of a relationship, it was one of McCartney's most mature and poignant works to date. Musically the track is particularly distinguished by its French horn solo.
John Lennon said of the song, "One of my favourites of his—a nice piece of work."
Writing and recording
McCartney recalls writing "For No One" in the bathroom of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps, while on holiday with his then girlfriend Jane Asher. He said, "I suspect it was about another argument." The song's working title was "Why Did It Die."
The song was recorded on 9, 16 and 19 May 1966. McCartney sang and played clavichord (rented from George Martin's AIR company), piano, and bass, while Ringo Starr played drums and tambourine. Lennon and George Harrison did not contribute to the recording.
The French-horn solo was by Alan Civil, a British horn player. Prior to the session, Civil thought he was playing for a classical album, mistaking the words "For No One" on a lead sheet as "For No. One", an abbreviation for "Symphony Number One." During the session, McCartney pushed Civil to play a note that was beyond the usual range of the instrument (pitched on an F horn, it is a Super-G sharp). The result was the "performance of his life," high praise for someone who was known as the best French horn player in London at the time.
The song is in 2/2 time.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney - lead vocals, clavichord, piano
* Ringo Starr - drums, maracas, tambourine
* Alan Civil - French horn
Cover versions
* Cilla Black released a recording already in 1966.
* Country singer Emmylou Harris included the song on her third album in 1975.
* In 1975 Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso recorded "For No One" on his Long Play "Qualquer Coisa" [Anything].
* In 1992, Maureen McGovern released this and "Things We Said Today" as a 2-song medley on her album Baby I'm Yours.
* Paul McCartney also released a different version on the soundtrack for his 1984 movie Give My Regards to Broad Street.
* In 2001 Anne Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello recorded "For No One" in For the Stars album.
* In 2005, Meret Becker performed "For No One" on the television programme "Juke Box Memories" on arte (in German and in French).
* Elliott Smith played a live version of this song.
* Cabaret lounge singer Andrea Marcovicci included this song on her tenth album Here, There and Everywhere in 2000.
* Rickie Lee Jones released a version of "For No One" on her 2000 album It's Like This.
* Gregorian covered this on their album Masters of Chant Chapter IV.
* Pat DiNizio on his 2006 album This is Pat DiNizio.
* Diana Krall on her 2009 album Quiet Nights
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 9, 16, 19 May 1966
Genre: Baroque pop
Length: 2:01
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
John Lennon said of the song, "One of my favourites of his—a nice piece of work."
Writing and recording
McCartney recalls writing "For No One" in the bathroom of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps, while on holiday with his then girlfriend Jane Asher. He said, "I suspect it was about another argument." The song's working title was "Why Did It Die."
The song was recorded on 9, 16 and 19 May 1966. McCartney sang and played clavichord (rented from George Martin's AIR company), piano, and bass, while Ringo Starr played drums and tambourine. Lennon and George Harrison did not contribute to the recording.
The French-horn solo was by Alan Civil, a British horn player. Prior to the session, Civil thought he was playing for a classical album, mistaking the words "For No One" on a lead sheet as "For No. One", an abbreviation for "Symphony Number One." During the session, McCartney pushed Civil to play a note that was beyond the usual range of the instrument (pitched on an F horn, it is a Super-G sharp). The result was the "performance of his life," high praise for someone who was known as the best French horn player in London at the time.
The song is in 2/2 time.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney - lead vocals, clavichord, piano
* Ringo Starr - drums, maracas, tambourine
* Alan Civil - French horn
Cover versions
* Cilla Black released a recording already in 1966.
* Country singer Emmylou Harris included the song on her third album in 1975.
* In 1975 Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso recorded "For No One" on his Long Play "Qualquer Coisa" [Anything].
* In 1992, Maureen McGovern released this and "Things We Said Today" as a 2-song medley on her album Baby I'm Yours.
* Paul McCartney also released a different version on the soundtrack for his 1984 movie Give My Regards to Broad Street.
* In 2001 Anne Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello recorded "For No One" in For the Stars album.
* In 2005, Meret Becker performed "For No One" on the television programme "Juke Box Memories" on arte (in German and in French).
* Elliott Smith played a live version of this song.
* Cabaret lounge singer Andrea Marcovicci included this song on her tenth album Here, There and Everywhere in 2000.
* Rickie Lee Jones released a version of "For No One" on her 2000 album It's Like This.
* Gregorian covered this on their album Masters of Chant Chapter IV.
* Pat DiNizio on his 2006 album This is Pat DiNizio.
* Diana Krall on her 2009 album Quiet Nights
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 9, 16, 19 May 1966
Genre: Baroque pop
Length: 2:01
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Saturday, January 16, 2010
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on the 1966 album Revolver. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney. With a double string quartet arrangement by George Martin, and striking lyrics about loneliness, the song continued the transformation of the group, started in Rubber Soul, from a mainly pop-oriented act to a more serious and experimental studio band.
Inspiration
As is true of many of McCartney's songs, the melody and first line of the song came to him as he was playing around on his piano. The name that came to him, though, was not Eleanor Rigby but Miss Daisy Hawkins. In 1966, McCartney recalled how he got the idea for his song:
Others believe that Father McKenzie refers to 'Father' Tommy McKenzie, who was the compere at Northwich Memorial Hall.
McCartney originally imagined Daisy as a pre-pubescent girl, but anyone who cleaned up in churches would probably be older. If she were older, she might have missed not only the wedding she cleans up after but also her own.
A promotional poster for the single from the UK.
McCartney said he came up with the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with the Beatles in the film Help!. Rigby came from the name of a store in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers, that he noticed while seeing his then-girlfriend Jane Asher act in The Happiest Days Of Your Life. He recalled in 1984, "I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."
The Beatles finished the song in the music room of John Lennon's home at Kenwood. John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and their friend Pete Shotton all listened to McCartney play his song through and contributed ideas. Starr contributed the line "writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear " and suggested making "Father McCartney" darn his socks, which McCartney liked. Shotton then suggested that McCartney change the name of the priest, in case listeners mistook the fictional character in the song for McCartney's own father.
The song is often described as a lament for lonely people or a commentary on post-war life in Britain.
McCartney couldn't decide how to end the song, and Shotton finally suggested that the two lonely people come together too late as Father McKenzie conducts Eleanor Rigby's funeral. At the time, Lennon rejected the idea out of hand, but McCartney said nothing and used the idea to finish off the song, later acknowledging Shotton's help.
Recording
"Eleanor Rigby" does not have a standard pop backing; none of the Beatles played instruments on it, though John Lennon and George Harrison did contribute harmony vocals. Instead, McCartney used a string octet of studio musicians, composed of four violins, two cellos, and two violas, all performing a score composed by producer George Martin. For the most part, the instruments "double up"—that is, they serve as two string quartets with two instruments playing each part in the quartet. Microphones were placed close to the instruments to produce a more vivid and raw sound. George Martin asked musicians to play without vibrato and recorded two versions, one with and one without, the latter of which was used. McCartney's choice of a string backing may have been influenced by his interest in the composer Antonio Vivaldi. Lennon recalled in 1980 that "Eleanor Rigby" was "Paul's baby, and I helped with the education of the child ... The violin backing was Paul's idea. Jane Asher had turned him on to Vivaldi, and it was very good." The octet was recorded on 28 April 1966, in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios and completed in Studio 3 on 29 April and on 6 June. Take 15 was selected as the master.
George Martin, in his autobiography All You Need Is Ears, takes credit for combining two of the vocal parts, having noticed that they would work together contrapuntally.
The original stereo mix had Paul's voice only in the right channel during the verses, with the string octet mixed to one channel, while the mono single and mono LP featured a more balanced mix. On the Yellow Submarine Songtrack and Love versions, McCartney's voice is centered and the string octet appears in stereo in an attempt to create a more "modern" sounding mix.
Releases
"Eleanor Rigby" was released simultaneously on 5 August 1966 on both the album Revolver and on a double A-side single with "Yellow Submarine" on Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Capitol in the United States. It spent four weeks at number one on the British charts, but in America it only reached the eleventh spot.
The song was nominated for three Grammies and won the 1966 Grammy for Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance, Male or Female for McCartney. Thirty years later, George Martin's isolated string arrangement (without the vocal) was released on the Beatles' Anthology 2. A remixed version of the track was included in the 2006 album Love.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney – vocal
* John Lennon – harmony vocal
* George Harrison – harmony vocal
* Tony Gilbert – violin
* Sidney Sax – violin
* John Sharpe – violin
* Juergen Hess – violin
* Stephen Shingles – viola
* John Underwood – viola
* Derek Simpson – cello
* Norman Jones – cello
* George Martin – producer, string arrangement
* Geoff Emerick – engineer
Significance
Though "Eleanor Rigby" was not the first pop song to deal with death and loneliness, according to Ian MacDonald it "came as a quite a shock to pop listeners in 1966." The Shangri-Las' 1964 hit "Leader of the Pack" gave a rendition of star-crossed lovers ending in one of their deaths, but the subject matter was purely in a romantic vein and far from a serious look at loss. In fact, in the mid-1960s, the pop format hardly seemed the right vehicle for such a message; pop music consistently had a more rosy outlook on life. Nevertheless, "Eleanor Rigby" took a bleak message of depression and desolation, written by a famous pop band, with a sombre, almost funeral-like backing, to the number one spot of the pop charts. "Eleanor Rigby" marks a midpoint of sorts in the Beatles' evolution from a pop, live-performance band to a more experimental, studio-oriented band though the track contains no obvious studio trickery. Whereas many of the other tracks on Revolver lend themselves to a rock group, "Eleanor Rigby" in a sense is a precursor to the psychedelic tracks of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The subject matter also reflects a band in transition. The bleak lyrics were not The Beatles' first deviation from love songs, but were some of the most explicit. Eleanor Rigby's lonely existence shares more in tone with the sense of detachment of "A Day in the Life" than with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
It is the second song to appear in the Beatles' 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The first is "Yellow Submarine"; it and "Eleanor Rigby" are the only songs in the film which the animated Beatles are not seen to be singing. "Eleanor Rigby" is introduced just before the Liverpool sequence of the film, and its poignancy ties in quite well with Ringo Starr (the first member of the group to encounter the submarine) who is represented as quietly bored and depressed.
In some reference books on classical music, "Eleanor Rigby" is included and considered comparable to art songs (lieder) by the great composers. Howard Goodall said that the Beatles' works are "a stunning roll-call of sublime melodies that perhaps only Mozart can match in European musical history" and that they "almost single-handedly rescued the Western musical system" from the "plague years of the avant-garde". About "Eleanor Rigby", he said it is "an urban version of a tragic ballad in the Dorian mode.
In a 1967 interview Pete Townshend of the Who commented "I think "Eleanor Rigby" was a very important musical move forward. It certainly inspired me to write and listen to things in that vein" Jerry Leiber said, "The Beatles are second to none in all departments. I don't think there has ever been a better song written than 'Eleanor Rigby.'" In 2004, this song was ranked number 137 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Historical artefacts
In the 1980s, a grave of an Eleanor Rigby was discovered in the graveyard of St. Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, and a few yards away from that, another tombstone with the last name McKenzie scrawled across it. During their teenage years, McCartney and Lennon spent time "sunbathing" there; within earshot distance of where the two had met for the first time during a fete in 1957. Many years later McCartney stated that the strange coincidence between reality and lyric could be a product of his subconscious, rather than being a meaningless fluke. The actual Eleanor Rigby was born in 1895 and lived in Liverpool, possibly in the suburb of Woolton, where she married a man named Thomas Woods. She died on 10 October 1939 at age 44, which, because 1940 was a leap year, was exactly one year to the day before Lennon was born. Whether this Eleanor was the inspiration for the song or not, her tombstone has become a landmark to Beatles fans visiting Liverpool. A digitized version was added to the 1995 music video for the Beatles' reunion song "Free as a Bird."
In June 1990, McCartney donated a document dating from 1911 which had been signed by the 16-year-old Eleanor Rigby to Sunbeams Music Trust, instantly attracted significant international interest from collectors because of the significance and provenance of the document. The nearly 100-year-old document was sold at auction in November 2008 for 115,000 pounds. The Daily Telegraph reported that the uncovered document "is a 97-year-old salary register from Liverpool City Hospital." The name E. Rigby is printed on the register, and she is identified as a scullery maid.
Cover versions
Studio versions
The following artists have recorded "Eleanor Rigby" in a variety of styles, at least 61 released on albums by one count:
* Doodles Weaver recorded a comedic version for the record 'Feetlebaum Returns! that was also included on the album Doctor Demento's Delites.
* Joan Baez's 1967 version, included on her Joan album, was sung to classical orchestration.
* P.P. Arnold sang a cover of the song on her album First Cut.
* Ray Charles released a version as a single and on the album A Portrait of Ray (1968).
* Bobbie Gentry released a version on her 1968 album Local Gentry.
* Tony Bennett released a version on his January 1970 album Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today!. Bennett was dismayed by having to record contemporary, rock-influenced material under pressure from his record company. His partly-spoken take on the song was poorly received, with music writer Will Friedwald saying it was recited as if it were Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and Time magazine describing it as "Shatneresque," making reference to Star Trek actor William Shatner's legendarily bad 1968 interpretation of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
* Aretha Franklin released a version on the album This Girl's In Love With You (1970) and as a single.
* Jazz musicians such as The Jazz Crusaders, Wes Montgomery (on his 1967 album A Day in the Life), Stanley Jordan (on the album Magic Touch, 1985) and John Pizzarelli recorded it as an instrumental, with lead-guitar taking over the vocal line.
* Australian band Zoot released a psychedelic rock version in 1970that reached #4 on the Australian charts and went gold after its 1980 re-release.
* Jamaican musician, singer, songwriter and producer Harris "B.B." Seaton with the band The Gaylads recorded a reggae version of this song in 1972.
* Brazilian composer/singer Caetano Veloso recorded it on the album Qualquer coisa (1975).
* In 1975, Belgo-English progressive rock band Esperanto covered the song on their album Last Tango.
* Ethel the Frog covered this song on a single recorded for EMI in 1979.
* The Jerry Garcia Band played an instrumental version as part of a medley with "After Midnight".
* Realm covered this song on their 1988 album Endless War.
* Junior Reid released a dancehall version of the song on his 1990 album One Blood.
* The Violet Burning released this song on their 1992 album, Strength.
* Wayne Johnson recorded an acoustic version of this song for his 1995 acoustic album Kindred Spirits.
* Kansas recorded this song on their 1998 album Always Never the Same.
* Godhead recorded this song on their 2001 album 2000 Years of Human Error.
* Pain recorded this song on their 2002 album Nothing Remains the Same.
* Liane Carroll includes a version on her 2005 album Standard Issue
* Thrice included a cover of the song in their album If We Could Only See Us Now in 2005.
* Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda recorded a cover version of the song for his 2006 solo album Axes 2 Axes. Dee Snider performed the vocals.
* A cover of the song by David Schommer (feat. David Jensen) can be found on the soundtrack for the 2006 movie Accepted.
* Elevator Suite included a cover in their 2007 self-titled album.
* In 2008, David Cook, winner of the seventh season of American Idol, sang the song on the show and later released a single via iTunes.
* In 1982, Twelfth Night recorded a 80s-style cover of this song for a single, and later included it as one of the bonus tracks on an extended edition of their Fact and Fiction album.
* The John LaBarbera Big Band recorded a version of this song on their CD On the Wild Side.
* Mark Wood released a version of this song on his 2003 album These Are a Few of My Favorite Things with his wife, Laura Kaye, on vocals.
* Ilan Rubin covered this song during his Coup recording sessions and released it as a free download.
Live performances
* The Four Tops recorded this song for their 1969 album The Four Tops Now!.
* The Supremes recorded this song in a live medley, together with The Temptations.
* Panic at the Disco has covered the track live, but it was never studio recorded.
* Acceptance played a live version of the song alongside Yellowcard's violinist Sean Mackin when Acceptance and Yellowcard toured in late 2005.
* Australian a cappella group The Idea of North sing a jazz version of Eleanor Rigby on their Live at the Powerhouse album.
* An electronic version appears on the Tangerine Dream album Dream Encores.
* During their 2008 US summer tour, the Dave Matthews Band inserted "Eleanor Rigby" into a jam in their song The Dreaming Tree.
Samples
* In 1994, Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor sampled the song's chorus for her song, "Famine" which appears on Universal Mother. The song was later remixed and released as a single in 1995, and was a Top 40 UK hit.
* In 2004, Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli released "Lonely People", using "Eleanor Rigby" as the main sample.
* In 2006, mashup artist team9 created a remix of "Eleanor Rigby" using Queens of the Stone Age's "In My Head".
* Lupe Fiasco samples "Eleanor Rigby" on "Go Go Gadget Flow", the third track from his 2007 release The Cool
A-side: "Yellow Submarine"
Released: 5 August 1966 (UK), 8 August 1966 (U.S.)
Format: 7"
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 28–29 April; 6 June 1966
Genre: Symphonic rock
Length: 2:06
Label: Parlophone (UK), Capitol (U.S.)
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Inspiration
As is true of many of McCartney's songs, the melody and first line of the song came to him as he was playing around on his piano. The name that came to him, though, was not Eleanor Rigby but Miss Daisy Hawkins. In 1966, McCartney recalled how he got the idea for his song:
“I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head... 'Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church'. I don't know why. I couldn't think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name Father McCartney came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie.”
Others believe that Father McKenzie refers to 'Father' Tommy McKenzie, who was the compere at Northwich Memorial Hall.
McCartney originally imagined Daisy as a pre-pubescent girl, but anyone who cleaned up in churches would probably be older. If she were older, she might have missed not only the wedding she cleans up after but also her own.
A promotional poster for the single from the UK.
McCartney said he came up with the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with the Beatles in the film Help!. Rigby came from the name of a store in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers, that he noticed while seeing his then-girlfriend Jane Asher act in The Happiest Days Of Your Life. He recalled in 1984, "I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."
The Beatles finished the song in the music room of John Lennon's home at Kenwood. John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and their friend Pete Shotton all listened to McCartney play his song through and contributed ideas. Starr contributed the line "writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear " and suggested making "Father McCartney" darn his socks, which McCartney liked. Shotton then suggested that McCartney change the name of the priest, in case listeners mistook the fictional character in the song for McCartney's own father.
The song is often described as a lament for lonely people or a commentary on post-war life in Britain.
McCartney couldn't decide how to end the song, and Shotton finally suggested that the two lonely people come together too late as Father McKenzie conducts Eleanor Rigby's funeral. At the time, Lennon rejected the idea out of hand, but McCartney said nothing and used the idea to finish off the song, later acknowledging Shotton's help.
Recording
"Eleanor Rigby" does not have a standard pop backing; none of the Beatles played instruments on it, though John Lennon and George Harrison did contribute harmony vocals. Instead, McCartney used a string octet of studio musicians, composed of four violins, two cellos, and two violas, all performing a score composed by producer George Martin. For the most part, the instruments "double up"—that is, they serve as two string quartets with two instruments playing each part in the quartet. Microphones were placed close to the instruments to produce a more vivid and raw sound. George Martin asked musicians to play without vibrato and recorded two versions, one with and one without, the latter of which was used. McCartney's choice of a string backing may have been influenced by his interest in the composer Antonio Vivaldi. Lennon recalled in 1980 that "Eleanor Rigby" was "Paul's baby, and I helped with the education of the child ... The violin backing was Paul's idea. Jane Asher had turned him on to Vivaldi, and it was very good." The octet was recorded on 28 April 1966, in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios and completed in Studio 3 on 29 April and on 6 June. Take 15 was selected as the master.
George Martin, in his autobiography All You Need Is Ears, takes credit for combining two of the vocal parts, having noticed that they would work together contrapuntally.
The original stereo mix had Paul's voice only in the right channel during the verses, with the string octet mixed to one channel, while the mono single and mono LP featured a more balanced mix. On the Yellow Submarine Songtrack and Love versions, McCartney's voice is centered and the string octet appears in stereo in an attempt to create a more "modern" sounding mix.
Releases
"Eleanor Rigby" was released simultaneously on 5 August 1966 on both the album Revolver and on a double A-side single with "Yellow Submarine" on Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Capitol in the United States. It spent four weeks at number one on the British charts, but in America it only reached the eleventh spot.
The song was nominated for three Grammies and won the 1966 Grammy for Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance, Male or Female for McCartney. Thirty years later, George Martin's isolated string arrangement (without the vocal) was released on the Beatles' Anthology 2. A remixed version of the track was included in the 2006 album Love.
Personnel
* Paul McCartney – vocal
* John Lennon – harmony vocal
* George Harrison – harmony vocal
* Tony Gilbert – violin
* Sidney Sax – violin
* John Sharpe – violin
* Juergen Hess – violin
* Stephen Shingles – viola
* John Underwood – viola
* Derek Simpson – cello
* Norman Jones – cello
* George Martin – producer, string arrangement
* Geoff Emerick – engineer
Significance
Though "Eleanor Rigby" was not the first pop song to deal with death and loneliness, according to Ian MacDonald it "came as a quite a shock to pop listeners in 1966." The Shangri-Las' 1964 hit "Leader of the Pack" gave a rendition of star-crossed lovers ending in one of their deaths, but the subject matter was purely in a romantic vein and far from a serious look at loss. In fact, in the mid-1960s, the pop format hardly seemed the right vehicle for such a message; pop music consistently had a more rosy outlook on life. Nevertheless, "Eleanor Rigby" took a bleak message of depression and desolation, written by a famous pop band, with a sombre, almost funeral-like backing, to the number one spot of the pop charts. "Eleanor Rigby" marks a midpoint of sorts in the Beatles' evolution from a pop, live-performance band to a more experimental, studio-oriented band though the track contains no obvious studio trickery. Whereas many of the other tracks on Revolver lend themselves to a rock group, "Eleanor Rigby" in a sense is a precursor to the psychedelic tracks of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The subject matter also reflects a band in transition. The bleak lyrics were not The Beatles' first deviation from love songs, but were some of the most explicit. Eleanor Rigby's lonely existence shares more in tone with the sense of detachment of "A Day in the Life" than with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
It is the second song to appear in the Beatles' 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The first is "Yellow Submarine"; it and "Eleanor Rigby" are the only songs in the film which the animated Beatles are not seen to be singing. "Eleanor Rigby" is introduced just before the Liverpool sequence of the film, and its poignancy ties in quite well with Ringo Starr (the first member of the group to encounter the submarine) who is represented as quietly bored and depressed.
In some reference books on classical music, "Eleanor Rigby" is included and considered comparable to art songs (lieder) by the great composers. Howard Goodall said that the Beatles' works are "a stunning roll-call of sublime melodies that perhaps only Mozart can match in European musical history" and that they "almost single-handedly rescued the Western musical system" from the "plague years of the avant-garde". About "Eleanor Rigby", he said it is "an urban version of a tragic ballad in the Dorian mode.
In a 1967 interview Pete Townshend of the Who commented "I think "Eleanor Rigby" was a very important musical move forward. It certainly inspired me to write and listen to things in that vein" Jerry Leiber said, "The Beatles are second to none in all departments. I don't think there has ever been a better song written than 'Eleanor Rigby.'" In 2004, this song was ranked number 137 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Historical artefacts
In the 1980s, a grave of an Eleanor Rigby was discovered in the graveyard of St. Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, and a few yards away from that, another tombstone with the last name McKenzie scrawled across it. During their teenage years, McCartney and Lennon spent time "sunbathing" there; within earshot distance of where the two had met for the first time during a fete in 1957. Many years later McCartney stated that the strange coincidence between reality and lyric could be a product of his subconscious, rather than being a meaningless fluke. The actual Eleanor Rigby was born in 1895 and lived in Liverpool, possibly in the suburb of Woolton, where she married a man named Thomas Woods. She died on 10 October 1939 at age 44, which, because 1940 was a leap year, was exactly one year to the day before Lennon was born. Whether this Eleanor was the inspiration for the song or not, her tombstone has become a landmark to Beatles fans visiting Liverpool. A digitized version was added to the 1995 music video for the Beatles' reunion song "Free as a Bird."
In June 1990, McCartney donated a document dating from 1911 which had been signed by the 16-year-old Eleanor Rigby to Sunbeams Music Trust, instantly attracted significant international interest from collectors because of the significance and provenance of the document. The nearly 100-year-old document was sold at auction in November 2008 for 115,000 pounds. The Daily Telegraph reported that the uncovered document "is a 97-year-old salary register from Liverpool City Hospital." The name E. Rigby is printed on the register, and she is identified as a scullery maid.
Cover versions
Studio versions
The following artists have recorded "Eleanor Rigby" in a variety of styles, at least 61 released on albums by one count:
* Doodles Weaver recorded a comedic version for the record 'Feetlebaum Returns! that was also included on the album Doctor Demento's Delites.
* Joan Baez's 1967 version, included on her Joan album, was sung to classical orchestration.
* P.P. Arnold sang a cover of the song on her album First Cut.
* Ray Charles released a version as a single and on the album A Portrait of Ray (1968).
* Bobbie Gentry released a version on her 1968 album Local Gentry.
* Tony Bennett released a version on his January 1970 album Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today!. Bennett was dismayed by having to record contemporary, rock-influenced material under pressure from his record company. His partly-spoken take on the song was poorly received, with music writer Will Friedwald saying it was recited as if it were Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and Time magazine describing it as "Shatneresque," making reference to Star Trek actor William Shatner's legendarily bad 1968 interpretation of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
* Aretha Franklin released a version on the album This Girl's In Love With You (1970) and as a single.
* Jazz musicians such as The Jazz Crusaders, Wes Montgomery (on his 1967 album A Day in the Life), Stanley Jordan (on the album Magic Touch, 1985) and John Pizzarelli recorded it as an instrumental, with lead-guitar taking over the vocal line.
* Australian band Zoot released a psychedelic rock version in 1970that reached #4 on the Australian charts and went gold after its 1980 re-release.
* Jamaican musician, singer, songwriter and producer Harris "B.B." Seaton with the band The Gaylads recorded a reggae version of this song in 1972.
* Brazilian composer/singer Caetano Veloso recorded it on the album Qualquer coisa (1975).
* In 1975, Belgo-English progressive rock band Esperanto covered the song on their album Last Tango.
* Ethel the Frog covered this song on a single recorded for EMI in 1979.
* The Jerry Garcia Band played an instrumental version as part of a medley with "After Midnight".
* Realm covered this song on their 1988 album Endless War.
* Junior Reid released a dancehall version of the song on his 1990 album One Blood.
* The Violet Burning released this song on their 1992 album, Strength.
* Wayne Johnson recorded an acoustic version of this song for his 1995 acoustic album Kindred Spirits.
* Kansas recorded this song on their 1998 album Always Never the Same.
* Godhead recorded this song on their 2001 album 2000 Years of Human Error.
* Pain recorded this song on their 2002 album Nothing Remains the Same.
* Liane Carroll includes a version on her 2005 album Standard Issue
* Thrice included a cover of the song in their album If We Could Only See Us Now in 2005.
* Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda recorded a cover version of the song for his 2006 solo album Axes 2 Axes. Dee Snider performed the vocals.
* A cover of the song by David Schommer (feat. David Jensen) can be found on the soundtrack for the 2006 movie Accepted.
* Elevator Suite included a cover in their 2007 self-titled album.
* In 2008, David Cook, winner of the seventh season of American Idol, sang the song on the show and later released a single via iTunes.
* In 1982, Twelfth Night recorded a 80s-style cover of this song for a single, and later included it as one of the bonus tracks on an extended edition of their Fact and Fiction album.
* The John LaBarbera Big Band recorded a version of this song on their CD On the Wild Side.
* Mark Wood released a version of this song on his 2003 album These Are a Few of My Favorite Things with his wife, Laura Kaye, on vocals.
* Ilan Rubin covered this song during his Coup recording sessions and released it as a free download.
Live performances
* The Four Tops recorded this song for their 1969 album The Four Tops Now!.
* The Supremes recorded this song in a live medley, together with The Temptations.
* Panic at the Disco has covered the track live, but it was never studio recorded.
* Acceptance played a live version of the song alongside Yellowcard's violinist Sean Mackin when Acceptance and Yellowcard toured in late 2005.
* Australian a cappella group The Idea of North sing a jazz version of Eleanor Rigby on their Live at the Powerhouse album.
* An electronic version appears on the Tangerine Dream album Dream Encores.
* During their 2008 US summer tour, the Dave Matthews Band inserted "Eleanor Rigby" into a jam in their song The Dreaming Tree.
Samples
* In 1994, Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor sampled the song's chorus for her song, "Famine" which appears on Universal Mother. The song was later remixed and released as a single in 1995, and was a Top 40 UK hit.
* In 2004, Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli released "Lonely People", using "Eleanor Rigby" as the main sample.
* In 2006, mashup artist team9 created a remix of "Eleanor Rigby" using Queens of the Stone Age's "In My Head".
* Lupe Fiasco samples "Eleanor Rigby" on "Go Go Gadget Flow", the third track from his 2007 release The Cool
A-side: "Yellow Submarine"
Released: 5 August 1966 (UK), 8 August 1966 (U.S.)
Format: 7"
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 28–29 April; 6 June 1966
Genre: Symphonic rock
Length: 2:06
Label: Parlophone (UK), Capitol (U.S.)
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Monday, December 28, 2009
"Doctor Robert"
"Doctor Robert" is a song by The Beatles originally released on the album Revolver in the UK and on Yesterday and Today in the US. The song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney helped him finish it. It was recorded in 7 takes on April 17, 1966 with vocals overdubbed April 19.
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonium
* Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocal harmony
* George Harrison – lead guitar, maracas, backing vocal
* Ringo Starr – drums
Drug references
The song contains many drug references, including the fact that drug dealers are often called "doctors." The Beatles were often accused of putting drug references in their songs though they claimed that they hadn’t intentionally done so; ironically, the drug references in this song went largely unnoticed. John Lennon has said that Dr. Robert was actually himself, "I was the one who carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days." However, it has been speculated that the real life Doctor Robert is Doctor Robert Freymann, who supplied "generous amounts of amphetamines to people." Another speculation is that it referred to Dr. Charles Roberts, a physician in New York.
Cultural references
* The title of the song was used as a pseudonym by Robert Howard, lead singer with 80s group the Blow Monkeys.
* Doctor Robert and Uncle Albert are referenced in Regina Spektor's song "Edit" from her album Begin to Hope.
* In the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, the player may access the personnel files in the Santa Monica Medical Clinic. On staff is one Dr. Roberts, whose personnel file says, "No one can succeed like Dr. Roberts." This is a variation on "No one can succeed like Doctor Robert," a lyric from this song.
* The 2007 film Across the Universe features several Beatles songs and also employs several names from lyrics as character names. One character, played by Bono, is named Dr. Robert.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 17, 19 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:15
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonium
* Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocal harmony
* George Harrison – lead guitar, maracas, backing vocal
* Ringo Starr – drums
Drug references
The song contains many drug references, including the fact that drug dealers are often called "doctors." The Beatles were often accused of putting drug references in their songs though they claimed that they hadn’t intentionally done so; ironically, the drug references in this song went largely unnoticed. John Lennon has said that Dr. Robert was actually himself, "I was the one who carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days." However, it has been speculated that the real life Doctor Robert is Doctor Robert Freymann, who supplied "generous amounts of amphetamines to people." Another speculation is that it referred to Dr. Charles Roberts, a physician in New York.
Cultural references
* The title of the song was used as a pseudonym by Robert Howard, lead singer with 80s group the Blow Monkeys.
* Doctor Robert and Uncle Albert are referenced in Regina Spektor's song "Edit" from her album Begin to Hope.
* In the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, the player may access the personnel files in the Santa Monica Medical Clinic. On staff is one Dr. Roberts, whose personnel file says, "No one can succeed like Dr. Roberts." This is a variation on "No one can succeed like Doctor Robert," a lyric from this song.
* The 2007 film Across the Universe features several Beatles songs and also employs several names from lyrics as character names. One character, played by Bono, is named Dr. Robert.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 17, 19 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:15
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"And Your Bird Can Sing"
"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a song by the The Beatles, released on their 1966 album Revolver in the UK and on Yesterday...and Today in the U.S. The songwriting credit is Lennon/McCartney, though the song was written largely by John Lennon. The working title was "You Don't Get Me." Lennon was later dismissive of the song, referring to it as "another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box."
History
The song, a hard-edged rocker, is memorable for its circular, dual-harmony guitar riff played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney.
A version of the song featuring George on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, was recorded on April 20, 1966, but this was scrapped and the group recorded the album version on April 26. This rejected version is heard on the Anthology 2 album, and features a vocal track in which Lennon and McCartney are giggling hysterically. The Anthology liner notes do not indicate why they are laughing, claiming that the tapes do not indicate the source of the laughter.
A number of incidents have been suggested to have been inspirations for the song's cryptic lyrics.
• One popular belief is that the song is a teasing jibe by Lennon at his friend Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in reference to Jagger's pop star girlfriend ("bird" in British slang of the era) Marianne Faithfull.
• Prior to the Revolver sessions, Lennon had received a singing mechanical caged bird as a gift from his first wife Cynthia, which he took as a horrible metaphor of his unhappy marriage.
• While high on marijuana, McCartney had reportedly jotted down that the secret of life was in "seven levels" ("seven wonders" in the song), which later became a joke with the group.
• According to an unsourced claim by the author Jonathan Gould, in a 2007 book, Can't Buy Me Love, "bird" was a popular term that Frank Sinatra used to describe himself or others, and that Lennon wrote the song in response to an official press release promoting a Sinatra TV special as a show for those who were "tired of kid singers wearing mops of hair thick enough to hide a crate of melons." Without citing any source for his claim, Gould states that Lennon was also dismayed that Sinatra won Grammys for Best Album and Best Male Vocalist in 1965 over the Beatles' Rubber Soul, or Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Gould asserts that Lennon's lyrics "Tell me that you've heard every sound there is, and your bird can swing. But you can't hear me. You can't hear me." were a response. No Lennon biography or Lennon quotation is cited to substantiate Gould's theory.
* "And Your Bird Can Sing" was used as the theme song of the Beatles' cartoon series during its third season.
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
* Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass, lead guitar, handclaps
* George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar, handclaps
* Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Covers
The popular Beatles-influenced band The Jam covered this song as a B-side. The Georgia-based college band Guadalcanal Diary also covered this song, released as a CD bonus track on their 1987 album 2X4. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered it on their 2006 album Under the Covers, Vol. 1. Jack Black used its opening riff for inspiration in a fight against Satan at each show of the Tenacious D 2006-2007 Tour. Les Fradkin has a snappy instrumental version on his 2005 CD "While My Guitar Only Plays".
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 20 April; 26 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:01
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
History
The song, a hard-edged rocker, is memorable for its circular, dual-harmony guitar riff played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney.
A version of the song featuring George on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, was recorded on April 20, 1966, but this was scrapped and the group recorded the album version on April 26. This rejected version is heard on the Anthology 2 album, and features a vocal track in which Lennon and McCartney are giggling hysterically. The Anthology liner notes do not indicate why they are laughing, claiming that the tapes do not indicate the source of the laughter.
A number of incidents have been suggested to have been inspirations for the song's cryptic lyrics.
• One popular belief is that the song is a teasing jibe by Lennon at his friend Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in reference to Jagger's pop star girlfriend ("bird" in British slang of the era) Marianne Faithfull.
• Prior to the Revolver sessions, Lennon had received a singing mechanical caged bird as a gift from his first wife Cynthia, which he took as a horrible metaphor of his unhappy marriage.
• While high on marijuana, McCartney had reportedly jotted down that the secret of life was in "seven levels" ("seven wonders" in the song), which later became a joke with the group.
• According to an unsourced claim by the author Jonathan Gould, in a 2007 book, Can't Buy Me Love, "bird" was a popular term that Frank Sinatra used to describe himself or others, and that Lennon wrote the song in response to an official press release promoting a Sinatra TV special as a show for those who were "tired of kid singers wearing mops of hair thick enough to hide a crate of melons." Without citing any source for his claim, Gould states that Lennon was also dismayed that Sinatra won Grammys for Best Album and Best Male Vocalist in 1965 over the Beatles' Rubber Soul, or Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Gould asserts that Lennon's lyrics "Tell me that you've heard every sound there is, and your bird can swing. But you can't hear me. You can't hear me." were a response. No Lennon biography or Lennon quotation is cited to substantiate Gould's theory.
* "And Your Bird Can Sing" was used as the theme song of the Beatles' cartoon series during its third season.
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
* Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass, lead guitar, handclaps
* George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar, handclaps
* Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Covers
The popular Beatles-influenced band The Jam covered this song as a B-side. The Georgia-based college band Guadalcanal Diary also covered this song, released as a CD bonus track on their 1987 album 2X4. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered it on their 2006 album Under the Covers, Vol. 1. Jack Black used its opening riff for inspiration in a fight against Satan at each show of the Tenacious D 2006-2007 Tour. Les Fradkin has a snappy instrumental version on his 2005 CD "While My Guitar Only Plays".
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 20 April; 26 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:01
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Neil's Column on Revolver
By the time you read my page, we shall be on our way back from America. And "Revolver" is sure to be at the top of the LP album charts here at home and in the U.S.I wonder if you have decided in your own mind which was the very first "Revolver" track to be recorded when The Beatles started that marathon series of sessions just before Easter? The answer is "The Void". Don't start thinking you've been fiddled because you can't find "The Void" on your copy of the album. It was recorded on Wednesday April 6 under that title--but by general agreement it was given the new name "Tomorrow Never Knows" a couple of months later.
Different Ideas
No wonder that particular track has so many different new ideas worked into it. The boys had been storing up all sorts of thoughts for the album and a lot of them came pouring out at that first session! The words were written before the tune and there was no getting away from the fact that the words were very powerful. So all four boys were anxious to build a tune and a backing which would be as strong as the actual lyrics. The basic tune was written during the first hours of the recording session.
Special Tapes
Once the boys started bringing out their special sound tapes the studio technicians just didn't know what was going on! Because for "Tomorrow Never Knows" five different "tape loops" were used to create all those far-out noises. "Tape loops" are just very short lengths of recording tape and all the Beatles had been creating strange electronic noises with all the equipment they've got in their own homes. Paul was the most prolific in the tape-making field and he brought along some fantastic home-made sounds, which were incorporated into the finished version of "Tomorrow Never Knows". But it wasn't as simple as that--the "tape loops" were recorded at different speeds and even backwards to achieve all the weird and wonderful effects they wanted.
Eleanor Rigby
In order of recording, "Paperback Writer", "Rain", "Doctor Robert" and "Taxman" were made before the end of April. Another early session, on Wednesday April 20, produced Paul's vocal track for "Eleanor Rigby". Eight days later the strings--four violins, two violas and two cellos--were added. Of course there was no idea at that stage that "Eleanor Rigby" would become one side of The Beatles' next single. Much later on it was decided that Paul's ballad plus "Yellow Submarine" would be a single in America, but the idea of putting the same pair of sides out at home didn't come up until a fortnight before the August release date!
Paul had been carrying the basic ideas for "Yellow Submarine" in his head for ages and, from what he'd told the others, it was an obvious number for Ringo to sing. But this track wasn't recorded until June. John and Paul had everything worked out except the last few lines of lyrics. It wasn't until just before the actual session date that they completed their words.
Everyone Joined In
If you've listened closely to "Yellow Submarine" you must be convinced that there are far more than four voices joining in the final chorus. And you'd be right! The boys asked everyone in the studio including Alf, Mal, me and George Martin to come and make a sort of sing-along party for the finale. Even the engineers gathered round. So there's an Augmented Beatles Choir of at least 12 voices on that track!
Those Voices
The sound effects--the little bit of brass band, the submarine noises and everything--were put on a week or two later, just before we all left for Germany. Incidentally, in answer to umpteen letters on the subject, the voices you hear in the "submarine crew conversation" mid-way through the record belong to John and Paul. And further on that's John repeating each line of the lyrics in a sort of parrot-like voice.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Filming Promotional Videos for "Paperback Writer" and "Rain"
Taped: May 19, 1966
Aired: June 5, 1966
At EMI Studios (Abbey Road Studio One), beginning at 10 a.m., the Beatles taped promotional clips of "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" in both color and black and white for television stations around the world. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg had worked with them before at Ready Steady Go! and they were to use him again in the future for Let It Be.
They had lunch at the Genevieve restaurant on Thayer Street, near EMI, and taped more film in the afternoon. That evening Alan Civil recorded his French horn solo on "For No One."
Aired: June 5, 1966
At EMI Studios (Abbey Road Studio One), beginning at 10 a.m., the Beatles taped promotional clips of "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" in both color and black and white for television stations around the world. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg had worked with them before at Ready Steady Go! and they were to use him again in the future for Let It Be.
They had lunch at the Genevieve restaurant on Thayer Street, near EMI, and taped more film in the afternoon. That evening Alan Civil recorded his French horn solo on "For No One."
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