1 BWTB Playlist Aug. 2nd 2015 rip 2 OPEN/9am The Beatles - If I Needed Someone - Rubber Soul (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The fourth original composition by George Harrison to be recorded by The Beatles was heavily inspired by the 12-string guitar sound of The Byrds. The introduction of George Harrison’s “If I Needed Someone” is strikingly similar to the introduction of The Byrds’ “The Bells Of Rhymney.” Harrison commented that the song was “like a million other songs written around the D chord.” The backing track was recorded in one take on October 16, 1965. George’s double-tracked lead vocal and John and Paul’s backing vocals were added two days later. The song was performed live by The Beatles in late 1965 and was a staple of their 1966 world tour. On U.S. album: Yesterday and Today - Capitol LP The Beatles - Fixing A Hole - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul On February 9, 1967, the Beatles recorded “Fixing A Hole” at Regent Sound Studio on Tottenham Court Road in London. The session was booked at Regent by George Martin because Abbey Road was unavailable. It marks the first time the Beatles recorded a British EMI session at a studio other than Abbey Road. No longer on the EMI staff, Martin was free to travel with the Beatles wherever they were recording. But engineer Geoff Emerick and the usual crew of tape operators at Abbey Road were all EMI employees so they couldn’t go along. Prior to leaving for Regent on February 9, Paul encountered a stranger at his gate. The man introduced himself as Jesus Christ. Paul thought, “It probably isn’t. But if he is, I’m not going to be the one to turn him away.” Paul shared tea with the man and invited him to that evening’s session at Regent if he promised to be very quiet. Paul: “He came 3 to the session and he did sit very quietly and I never saw him again after that. I introduced him to the guys. They said, ‘Who’s this?’ I said, ‘He’s Jesus Christ.’ We had a bit of a giggle over that.” After some rehearsal, three proper takes were recorded. George Martin provides the distinctive harpsichord part, and George Harrison plays one of his most memorable guitar solos. The Beatles returned to Abbey Road the following day but didn’t get around to working on “Fixing A Hole” again until February 21. Longtime Beatle assistant Mal Evans claims to have written a portion of the song with McCartney but, of course, was not credited. He claims he was paid for his help. Although the song’s title and lyrical references to mind wandering led many listeners to conclude the song was about shooting heroin. Paul McCartney, who wrote the song, begs to differ. “Mending was my meaning. Wanting to be free enough to let my mind wander, let myself be artistic… It was the idea of me being on my own now, able to do what I want. If I want I’ll paint the room in a colorful way. I’m fixing the hole, I’m fixing the crack in the door… I’ll take hold of my life a bit more.” Paul had bought a Scottish farm house in June 1966 and many have assumed the fixing reference was about making repairs to his newly acquired farm house, but McCartney says no. Paul: “It was much later that I ever got around to fixing the roof and making the repairs to the Scottish farm. I never did any of that till I met Linda.” The Beatles - Across The Universe - Let It Be (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Prior to leaving for an extended trip to India to study Transcendental Meditation in early 1968, the Beatles recorded several new songs to fill the sides of their upcoming single, which would be released while they were away. John had originally wanted his new composition, “Across The Universe,” for the A-side of the single but was still not happy with the mix of the song. When the Beatles sat down to decide which two of their new recordings should be used, John preferred “Across the Universe” remain on the shelf for the time being, giving Paul’s more commercial “Lady Madonna” the A-side. “Across The Universe” was written entirely by John and was recorded February 4, 1968, in eight takes. Overdubs were recorded on February 8. Comedian and author Spike Milligan had been at Abbey Road when the group was working on the song and some months later 4 inquired about it. He was surprised to learn that “Across the Universe” was sitting unreleased in EMI’s vault, so Milligan asked Lennon to donate the song to a charity album he was organizing for the World Wildlife Fund. Milligan was a British comedy legend who, along with Peter Sellers, starred in “The Goon Show,” one of John’s all-time favorite programs. Lennon not only gladly contributed the song to be used on the charity album, but arranged to have the songwriting royalties from the recording given to the World Wildlife Fund. This charity album version, known by fans as the “Wildlife” version, was released in December 1969. Although it is popularly believed that the two versions of “Across The Universe” are different recordings, they are not. Both the “Wildlife” version and the Phil Spector re-produced version are derived from the same February 8, 1968, master tape. For the charity album, the sound of birds was added and the tape was sped up to give it a higher pitch. On April 1, 1970, Spector stripped some elements from the original February 8, 1968, master tape, slowed it down and added an orchestra and choir. The instrumental line-up is John on acoustic guitar, Paul on piano, George on tamboura and wah-wah guitar (second and third refrains only) and Ringo on drums. The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John 5 Originally recorded on October 12, 1965, The Beatles decided to scrap this version and re-record the song nine days later, on October 21. George Harrison provides the sitar, the first appearance of the instrument on a Beatles recording, though the sitar can be heard in the instrumental introduction on the American version of “Help!” Written mainly by John with some lyrical assistance from Paul. John: “I was trying to write about an affair without letting me wife know… so it was very gobbledegook. I was sort of writing from my experiences, girls’ flats.” Paul has said that the ending lyrics, “so I lit a fire,” refer to the house being burned down in an act of revenge by the spurned lover. Bob Dylan did a slight parody of the song on his 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde. Check out the song “4th Time Around.” On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP BREAK Should we break for commercials or keeps playin` music? OK…Heads music. Tales commercials The Beatles - I’m Only Sleeping - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John 6 Written by John and Paul at Kenwood, John’s estate in Weybridge, in one writing session. Recording of the backing rhythm track began at 11:30 p.m. on April 27, 1966. John recorded his lead vocal on April 29. Both the vocal and backing track were recorded at variable speed. It was during the recording of “I’m Only Sleeping” that The Beatles discovered the “backwards guitar.” On May 5, 1966, as the band continued working on the song, George painstakingly transcribed the notes in his guitar solo and flourishes and then wrote them out backwards. He then played them in that reverse order. The tapes were then superimposed BACKWARDS in the mix, playing the solo notes and embellishments in the correct order, but maintaining the eerie backwards sound. “I’m Only Sleeping” was one of three songs issued in America six weeks prior to their official release in the UK. American and Canadian Beatles fans heard “I’m Only Sleeping,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and “Doctor Robert” first on Capitol Records’ “Yesterday And Today” album, issued June 20, 1966. The rest of the world had to wait until the first week of August for them to appear on the “Revolver” LP. On U.S. album: Yesterday And Today - Capitol LP Wings – Venus and Mars – Venus and Mars ‘75 Spacey, melodic, hypnotic – Venus and Mars was crafted as a “suite” that would segue to the next song with very careful editing. / Wings – Rock Show – Venus and Mars sessions ‘75 This is the second track of the “suite,” written for the forthcoming world tour. This became a staple beginning to many of the Wings live shows 9.26 BREAK 7 The Beatles - Every Little Thing - Beatles For Sale (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John (with Paul on the choruses) Written primarily by Paul between and recorded on September 29 and 30, 1964 in nine takes. Ringo makes his debut on timpani (the orchestral drum instrument), which appears only on the final take (Take 9) of the song. On U.S. album: Beatles VI - Capitol LP The Beatles – I’ll Follow The Sun – Live at BBC Vol .2 100% pure McCartney. Written pre- Beatles? Recorded Oct. 18th, 1964. Musicians: Paul McCartney – lead vocal, acoustic guitar; John Lennon – harmony vocal, acoustic guitar; George Harrison – lead guitar; Ringo Starr – knees(?) This was written in the late-fifties when Paul was sixteen years old (not bad for a little kid – I didn’t learn to ride a bike ‘til I was twenty!).