Over Men And Horses Hoops And Garters

The last song on side one of the most influential Beatles LP of all time (Parlophone UK LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!". The song was inspired by a circus poster that was purchased at an antiques shop in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. The Beatles were filming a promotional film (music video now-a-days) near Sevenoaks in Knole Park. The circus poster was printed in 1843. It announced that Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal would be presenting a night of entertainment and the whole production would be for the "benefit of Mr. Kite". The circus poster's announcement contained most of the lyrics that would be used in the song.

The basic track for the song started on Friday February 17 1967 at EMI studio two and instruments played for the basic track consisted of harmonium, bass and drums. Tambourine and a vocal by John were also added at the same time as the other instruments. Takes 1 and 2 of this particular instrumental/vocal line-up can be heard on the EMI/Apple 3-LP/2CD "Anthology 2". Seven takes of the basic track were required. A reduction of the four tracks was completed thereby taking us to takes 8 and 9. John Lennon added his lead vocals onto take 09. A mono mix of the song as it stood was made and the acetate of the mix was cut.

Three days later on February 20 1967 in EMI studio three, it was decided that a steam organ should be added to the already basic track. Since no steam organs were available, it was decided by George Martin to round up tapes of already recorded material which featured sounds similar to the steam organ and these sounds were put on recording tape, chopped up with a razor blade at random and re-assembled. This early version of a tape collage was performed on this day.

"Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" was subject to the next series of overdubs over a month later on March 28 1967 at EMI studio two. Included in the instrumentation on this session were John on the organ and (at the beginning) harmonica of various sized. The middle of the song had tambourine , another organ and also George Martin playing chromatic runs while the tape ran at half speed.

A day later on March 29 1967 at EMI studio two, the harmonicas and the organ got some more overdubs as John and George Harrison played bass harmonicas and the organ was overdubbed in the last portion of the song. Also added on this session were the chopped up steam organ sounds.

The last overdubs for the song was conducted on Friday March 31 1967. These consisted of the organ and the glockenspiel added at the very end of the song. The song was mixed for mono upon completion of the overdubs and seven attempts were completed. The fourth attempt was used on the commercial mono version.

The stereo mix for the song was conducted on Friday April 07 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two. There were eight attempts at the stereo mix and the last mix was used for the commercial stereo version. There are not too many differences in the mono and stereo mix although some of the sound levels are ever so slightly louder of softer. Nothing major, though.

"Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" was released on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as being released on the North American Capitol LP of the same name. The song was also available on the picture disc released in both countries in the late 1970s. A mash-up containing the song was also released on the EMI/Apple 2-LP/CD mix of "Love".

Standing Alone At The Top Of The Stairs

The next song on the Parlophone UK LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is the second last on side one of the LP. A Lennon/McCartney original composition written mainly by Paul and entitled "She's Leaving Home". This song was inspired by a newspaper story from February 1967 which featured an article about a seventeen year old (well, she was just seventeen) who had run away from home. In the article, the father of the runaway states that he cannot understand why she would run away. "She has everything here" he says. McCartney probably didn't know it, but the runaway's name was Melanie Coe. Ms. Coe had been a dancer on the "Ready Steady Go" music show in England during the early sixties. As a coincidence, Melanie Coe won a miming competition on the show and was presented an award from none other than Paul McCartney on Friday, October 04 1963 when The Beatles appeared on the show. This tune is one of my favourites on the LP.

The first thing to be recorded for the song were the ten string instruments used for the basic track. The instruments consisted of four violins, two violas, two cellos, a harp and a double bass. McCartney had originally asked if George Martin would be able to score the string instruments for his composition but Mr. Martin had been busy with other commitments and had to turn it down. It was decided that a gentleman by the name of Mike Leander would arrange the strings instead. This was done although it is George Martin that conducts the ten piece strings during the recording.

This recording of strings only took place on Friday March 17 1967 at EMI studio two. Six takes of the strings were recorded onto two tracks. Both the first take and the sixth take were deemed usable for the moment.

Three days later on Monday March 20 1967, both the first and sixth takes of the strings section basic track were reduced from all four tracks onto two tracks. This left two extra tracks for the vocals to be overdubbed. Finally, take one was chosen for vocal overdubs at this session. Paul double tracked his lead vocals and John double tracks his vocal counterpoint in the chorus portion of the song. Once this was completed, six mono mix attempts were conducted from EMI studio two and th last mix was chosen as the final commercial version. Afterwards, it was decided to edit a section of the song at the end of the verses where there is a solo cello after the words "For So Many Years...". There is also a harmony line by McCartney during the first verse that is on the original master tapes that was not used on the commercial version.

During the mixing stage of the song, varispeed was used on the mono mix in order to speed up the song slightly making the vocal sound slightly higher. This was not done on the stereo mix and the stereo version is therefore slightly longer in time and tempo than the mono version.

The stereo mix for "She's Leaving Home" was conducted from the control room of EMI studio two on Monday April 17 1967. Six attempts were made with this mix and the final attempt was used on the commercial version of the song.

"She's Leaving Home" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as the North American Capitol LP of the same name. "She's Leaving Home" was also available on the picture disc of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in the UK and North America issued in the late seventies. Finally, the song also appears on the UK Parlophone LP and the Canadian Capitol of Canada LP "The Beatles Ballads" compilation.

"She's Leaving Home" was performed live by Paul McCartney and his band during the "Driving Rain" tour and a version of the song was released in 2003 on the Capitol/EMI 2-CD "Back In the World".

I'm Painting My Room In A Colourful Way

The next song up on side one of the Parlophone UK LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is an original composition written by Lennon/McCartney written mainly by Paul entitled "Fixing A Hole". This is a song of self-assurance as well as the help of a friend in easing one's mind. Very deep stuff.

The recording for the basic track took place on February 09 1967 and it was the first time that The Beatles used a different recording studio in the UK. Rather than using the usual EMI studios (which happened to be unavailable on that date) the Beatles (and George Martin) decided to use a studio by the name of "Regent Sound" which was located on Tottenham Road in London. At this session, Paul played his bass guitar while George Martin played the harpsichord throughout and Ringo played drums. Rhythm guitar and a guide vocal by Paul were also added Background vocald and the solo guitar (played by either George or Paul) were also added onto the basic track. Three takes were completed. The third take was a breakdown while takes one and two were both considered as the best attempt. It was decided in the end to use take two as the master take and the overdubs were added thusly.

The Beatles continued work on "Fixing A Hole" on February 21 1967 back at EMI studio two. The first thing attempted was to make a new, completely fresh take of the song in order to edit it onto the current best take. This idea was attempted and abandoned. It was titled take 01 but in the end it did not end up being used. The next thing to be done was a tape reduction thereby combining the background vocals and the guitar solo onto one track. Paul McCartney re-did his lead vocal thereby erasing the previous guide vocal and the original rhythm guitar. At times, the lead vocals were double tracked. Once this was complete, five mono mixes were attempted and the second and last mono mix were combined to provide the final commercial mono mix.

Finally, "Fixing A Hole" was mixed for stereo on Friday April 07 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two. There are differences between the mono and stereo mix of "Fixing A Hole": the mono mix has the harpsichord significantly louder in the mix than the stereo version; also it should be noted that the mono version of the song runs slightly longer in the fade out than the stereo mix. During the 1960s, the mono mixes were usually considered the ultimate mix as we can see in this example: "Fixing A Hole" had five mono mixes and two of the mono mixes chosen were combined: the stereo mix was done once.

"Fixing A Hole" appears on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as appearing on the North American Capitol LP of the same name.

Paul McCartney had played "Fixing A Hole" in concert first at the "Ed Sullivan Theatre" in New York City on December 10 and 11 1992. The version performed on December 10 1992 is available on the CD "New York 1992". The song was also performed by Paul and his band on his "New World Tour" of 1993. Unfortunately, there is no commercial version available.

Man I Was Mean But I'm Changing My Scene

The next song on side one of the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" Parlophone UK LP was an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul and entitled "Getting Better". The inspiration for the song came from a session musician who had been hired by Brian Epstein and George Martin in 1964 who was named Jimmy Nicol. Mr. Nicol was a drummer and filled in for Ringo while the Beatles started their European and Australian tour. Ringo was hospitalized at the time while "the boys" were out of the country. One of the phrases that Mr. Nicol would used when asked by the press how things were going was "It's getting better !". This phrase came back to McCartney and the song was written around it. The contrast between Mr. McCartney's optimism and the cynicism portrayed by Mr. Lennon has been mentioned often in Paul interviews: "It's Getting Better All The Time/ It Can't Get No Worse" !

The basic track for "Getting Better" was started on Thursday March 09 1967 at EMI studio two. Ringo played his drums while Paul played the bass and sang a guide vocal. George Harrison added rhythn guitar while George Martin played a pianette but plucked the strings with a guitar pick rather than use the keyboard. Seven takes were required to perfect the basic track which was then subjected to more drums replacement the original drums. Four reduction takes were required as all four tracks were bounced down to a new tape and onto track one.

The next day on Friday March 10 1967 also from EMI studio two, Paul's bass was added to one of the tracks while George Harrison played a drone tone on the tamboura and Ringo added some drums once again.

The song was picked up again a week and a half later on March 21 1967 in EMI studio two obstensibly to record the back up vocals and main vocals. The first task was to reduce the four tracks into two with the previous instrumental recordings. The backing vocals were then completed but the main vocals were discarded due to the fact that John Lennon had accidently ingested LSD and ended up tripping in the studio. March 21 1967 also saw Beatles' former engineer bringing a new band he was engineering into studio two to meet the Beatles. The new band's name was The Pink Floyd.

The last session for "Getting Better" took place two days later on March 23 1967 once again from EMI studio two where the main vocals were finally completed. The tape was again reduced from three tracks to two now taking the song to take 15. On this take, percussion (bongos and handclaps) as well as piano and guitar were added to the song. Once this was finished, three mono mixes were conducted from EMI studio two and the third mix was used for the commercial release.

The stereo mix for "Getting Better" was completed on Monday April 17 1967 from the control room of Studio two. There are no major differences between the commercial mono mix and the stereo mix.

"Getting Better" appears on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as the North American Capitol LP of the same name. The song also appears on the UK and North American versions of the "Pepper" picture disc released in the late 1970s (see previous entries for catalogue numbers).

Everyone Smiles As You Drift Past The Flowers

The next song on the "Pepper" LP is another Lennon/McCartney original mainly written by John entitled "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The inspiration for the tune came from a child's painting (Julian Lennon's painting) who had come home from school and had shown this painting to John. John asked his son what it was and Julian replied "It's Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The light bulb lit up in John's head and a song was born, so to speak. After the release of the LP, some people suggested that the main words of the song title spelled out LSD. Lennon has denied this suggestion during interviews conducted throughout his entire short life. The song was banned by the BBC in the UK (during its initial release).

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was first recorded on Tuesday February 28 1967 at EMI studio two although this recording was never used due to the fact that on this day The Beatles spend eight hours rehearsing the song and not producing any usable takes.

The song was properly attempted the next day on March 01 1967 once again at EMI studio two. Seven takes were recorded for the basic track. The first six takes consisted of some piano by George Martin and acoustic guitar by George Harrison, a hammond organ played by Paul (including the opening riff), John playing maracas and singing a guide vocal and Ringo on Drums. On the final take (take 07), the George Martin piano part was discarded as well as the maracas and guide vocal. In it's place was the drone of a tamboura. At this point all four tracks were full and a tape reduction was required. All instruments were shoved onto one track which lead the song into take 08. The recording with John's guide vocal can be heard on the television special: "The Making of Sgt. Pepper" as well as the vinyl bootleg LP "Arrive Without Travelling" which used the same source.

The next day on Friday March 02 1967, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was subjected to the following overdubs: Paul added his bass and George added his electric guitar played through a leslie rotating speaker. John added two layers of his vocal while Paul harmonized each time. Once this was complete, eleven mono mixes were attempted before mix 11 was chosen as the best mix. The Beatles were not happy with the mix and all 11 mono mixes from the March 02 1967 were never used.

The following day on Saturday March 03 1967, mono mixes were once again attempted at EMI studio two. Four mono mixes were produced and the fourth one was chosen. A lot of "flanging" can be heard on the mono version of the LP where this mix was used. The stereo mix for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was conducted on Friday April 0 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two with a lot less "flange". Five stereo mixes were completed and the fifth mix was considered for release.

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as the North American Capitol LP of the same name. It also appears on the compilation by Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970". The song was also included on the UK "Sgt. Pepper" picture disc ( EMI PHO-7027) as well as the North American Capitol counterpart (SEAX-11840). Both picture discs were released in the late 70s.

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was performed by John Lennon and Elton John (who had covered the song) on Thanksgiving Day (November 28) 1974 from Madison Square Garden in New York City. This version was released on the "Lennon" box set from 1990.

What Do You See When You Turn Out The Light

The second song on the "Pepper" LP follows the introduction of Billy Shears and is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written jointly by both composers but mainly by Paul entitled "With A Little Help From My Friends". This tune is sung by Ringo for the LP. At one point, the working title for the song was "Badfinger Boogie". "With A Little Help From My Friends" not only follows the first song on the LP but is actually joined to it. This was done by adding George Martin's hammond organ intro ( C major to D major to E major) from the very first recording session.

The first session was held on March 29 1967 at EMI studio two and the basic track consisted of Paul playing a piano while George Harrison played the electric guitar, Ringo played the drums and John played a cowbell. It took ten takes to perfect. Since all four tracks were now taken up, a reduction of the four tracks were turned into one track and Ringo's vocals as well as the introduction harmonies and some of the "question" John and Paul vocals were added to another track. This made take 10 into take 11.

The next day on March 30 1967 also at EMI studio two percussion, bass guitar and guitar were added to the mix and all put onto one track. On the last track, more of John and Paul's backing up "question" and middle eight vocals were added as well as the guitar riff at the end of the first chorus played by George Harrison. It was a fairly straight two day recording.

The next day on March 31 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two, "With A Little Help From My Friends" was given 15 mono mix attempts with the 15th mix being the best. At this point, the song was joined up with the title track. Artificial double tracking was added to Ringo's lead vocal. "With A Little Help From My Friends" was mixed for stereo on April 07 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two. The slight difference is the mono and stereo mix is that there seems to be more "flange" on the mono mix.

"With A Little Help From My Friends" appears on the Parlophone LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as the North American Capitol LP of the same name. It also appears on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970" as well as being joined on the same Capitol/Parlophone single and Capitol picture sleeve as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" title track (see previous entry).

"With A Little Help From My Friends" was performed by Ringo for his 1978 television special "Ringo" and it has been performed by Ringo with his various incarnations of the All-Starr band (usually the last song of the evening) and can be heard on various LP/CD discs of any Ringo/All Starr band concert recording.

As an aside note, initial pressings of the North American Capitol LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" listed the song as "A Little Help From My Friends" rather than "With A Little Help From My Friends. This can be found on the mono (MAS-2653) and stereo (SMAS-2653) original Capitol rainbow labels.

So Let Me Introduce To You

The first selection on the ninth Beatles Parlophone LP (or the eighth official release of original material) - (or the eighth CD ) was an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". This was the title song to the album and it was thought up by Paul who was being influenced at the time by the slew of band names originating certainly on the West Coast of the United States. The idea came to Paul as he was travelling back from a safari in Kenya circa. late 1966 ( I'm not making this up). The whole idea of the LP now became that the Beatles would take up a new identity and re-invent themselves into this Hearts Club Band which would incorporate the songs under the guise of this fictional band. It was this band and the LP which would then be presented to the listening audience as a "show" in lieu of a live Beatles performance (since the band had given up touring by this time). The drugs must have been fantastic in it's day...:)

Anyway, the "show" needed an introduction and it was decided to record just that as the first track of the LP. During this recording the reprise had not yet been elaborated upon. The introduction is certainly a heavy rocker with great bass, guitar and brass parts.

The formula for this LP was to record the basic (or rhythm track) first and then pile up the overdubs and the special effects for the song until completion. Therefore, the basic track for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was recorded on Wednesday February 01 1967 at EMI studio two and consisted of two guitars - one played by George and the other by Paul - and drums. Bass guitar was then overdubbed via DI (direct through the board and bypassing the amp). It took nine takes to perfect.

The next day on February 02 1967, vocals were added. Paul did his lead vocal and John, Paul and George added the harmonies. Once completed, all four tracks were used up. This meant that a tape reduction occurred. Therefore, take nine became take 10 with the instruments (two guitars, bass and drums) on one track and the vocals (Paul's lead and the harmonies) on another track. This left two tracks open for the moment. At the same session, a mono mix was attempted and completed and the results were pressed onto a vinly acetate. ( A copy of this acetate can be heard on the Yellow Dog 2-CD "Acetates").

Almost a month later, on March 03 1967 at EMI studio two, four outside musicians were called upon to play French Horns. These horns were added at this session as well as the stinging lead guitar played by George Harrison throughout the song. All of the horns and George's guitar (which he played when the horns weren't playing) were all cluttered onto track three. This left one track open for further experimentation.

Three days later on March 06 1967 at EMI studio two, the sound effects were added to take two of the four track tape. Please note that there are publications out there in book form that state the effects were added onto track three but I refute this on the basis that I've heard the individual track takes separated via the Multi-Track Separated discovery during the 40th anniversary of the release of "Pepper" and all audience noises and orchestra warm-ups are all on the same track. Also, it would be impractical to add one section of audience noise onto the beginning of track three which also contains the brass and lead guitar overdub rather than have all effects on one empty track. Regardless, the following effects were added to the song: First, we hear the orchestra warm up which was taken from the February 10 1967 recording session of "A Day In the Life". The audience sounds of laughing and clapping came directly from the EMI studio tape archives and were available to any recording artist during the sixties. These effects mainly came from EMI location recordings made by their mobile. The audience murmuring came from mobile recordings from the Royal Albert Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The applause and laughter were also recorded by the mobile at the Fortune Theatre in London. What is truly fascinating (well, to me) is that when heard as a solitary track with just the audience noise/orchestral tune-ups - the effects are all the way through this whole tune and never really let up although at some points they are brought down in the mix. There are people coughing, a woman giggling, lots of muttering, very cool stuff!

Also on March 06 1967 from studio two, two more mono mixes were attempted and completed. There were also eight stereo mixes conducted with the eighth mix being the chosen mix. Finally, a different stereo mix for the Apple LP "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" was mixed in the 1990s whereby the lead vocal is centered and the backing vocals are separated onto the left and right side of the stereo spectrum.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" appears on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The song also appears on the North American Capitol version of the LP. The song also appears on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970" as well as being available on a picture disc version of the "Pepper" LP released by EMI in the UK in early 1979 and a version released in North America on Capitol SEAX-11840 released in late August 1978. The song appears on the EMI/Apple LP/CD "Yellow Submarine Songtrack".

Lastly, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released as a single along with "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "A Day In The Life" on September 30 1978 on Parlophone R-6022 (the Beatles 25th British single and the first one to contain music from the "Pepper" LP). The single was also released in North America on August 14 1978 on Capitol 4612 but only reached position 71 on the "billboard" charts.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed the song live (much to the delight of it's composer) during most of his 1967 gigs. It was also performed by Paul McCartney on his 1989-1990 world tour and a version can be heard on the EMI/Capitol 2-CD/3-LP "Tripping The Live Fantastic".

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles' ninth official Parlophone LP (including the "Oldies" LP) was entitled "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". This was the most influencial LP released by the Fabs and it remains so. Although a lot of people (myself included) do not consider this the "best" or "favourite" Beatles' LP set, it is a masterpiece that shook the world upon it's original release and it remains one of the best examples of 1960s psychedelic rock bar none. It was the very first rock LP to include the lyric sheet via the back cover. It was a wonderful colourful gatefold cover and it was a shock (at the time) to see how the Beatles' image had changed from the moptop look to the grown up and mature Beatles. All of them by this time had facial hair. Although the music on the LP has slightly dated, the feel, the spirit and the free form music contained within is still as relevent today as it was in 1967. It is an experiment in music composition, music style and the use of the studio as an instrument is still prevelant today. This LP is a true highlight and the apex of the Beatles' career. Never again would this kind of LP happen in the sense that the music was presented as a "whole" and the concept of "album rock" started with this one -or at least this LP provided the catalyst for the concept. I cannot overstate the influence of this LP. A true masterpiece. One of the best. Ever.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released on June 01 1967 in the UK in mono (Parlophone PMC 7027) and stereo (PCS 7027). The LP was also released for the first time ever in the same configuration in the North American market in mono (Capitol MAS-2653) and stereo (SMAS-2653). The only difference between the UK and North American configurations was the addition of the high-pitched run out groove (heard on the UK configuration only) and the backwards inner groove (heard once again on the UK configuration only). Both were restored on the compact disc version. It may also be noted that the song "With a Little Help From My Friends" was first issued on first Capitol pressings as "A Little Help From My Friends" in North America. Some first issued UK labels omitted the "A Day In The Life" typeset.

The LP came with goodies in the way of a inner sleeve designed by a company known as "The Fool" with red and pink and white flourishes. There was also an inner advert with cut out material as the Sgt. Pepper badge, a portrait of Sgt. Pepper himself and The Beatles dressed in their Pepper gear.

The concept of the LP was basically to show the world that The Beatles were playing as a different band and the concept of trying to be a show band rather than having the regular Beatles LP tracks. Rather than having the Beatles go on tour, the LP would go on tour. This basic concept came from Paul McCartney who had gotten the idea after visiting his then girlfriend Jane Asher in the US and touring around in California. After all...it was "the summer of love".

The front cover shows the Beatles in a park surrounded by some of their heroes and people that they admired at the time. I won't go through everyone, but suffice to say that Bob Dylan, Stu Sutcliffe (the original Beatles bass player), Diana Dors (who looks marvelous), Shirley Temple (who is on the cover more than once), Indian Gurus, actors, actresses, comedians, everyone is welcome. The front cover photo was designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth. The photo is by Michael Cooper. This LP also features the first mention of "the Apple". Wax figures of the Beatles can be viewed on the left side of the Pepper Beatles. Quite a difference.

The inside gatefold features the Beatles leaning on a yellow background in their Pepper gear and the back cover has Paul with his back turned ( some people at the time thought that is was Mal Evans but outtakes now show it was Paul all along). The lyrics are printed over the photo.

The original labels for the LP are black/yellow with "sold in the UK...." for Parlophone and the rainbow labels for the Capitol Releases with blueish print on the inside rim of the rainbow.

Starting with this LP, all LPs from now on would be released all over the world in the same configuration with the same cover, same order of songs, etc. (with some exceptions).

A True work of Art.

The Fireman Rushes In

The next song we look at is the flip side of the "Strawberry Fields Forever" single and it is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Penny Lane".

"Penny Lane" is inspired by a real street in Liverpool and the surrounding locations mentioned in the song are still there. The roundabout, the barber shop, the fire station, etc. Maybe the nurse selling poppies has moved on but...you never know. Both of these songs were released as a single in the UK (Parlophone R 5570) on February 17 1967 and as a single in North American (Capitol 5810) on February 13 1967. This is considered one of the greatest singles ever released by the Beatles as far as influence and creativity goes. It was also the first single in the UK not to reach number one as this spot was taken (at the time) by Englebert Humperdinck's "Release Me". The single was originally rush-released by EMI in order to try and push new Beatles product out to the waiting public. It must be remembered that the last time original Beatles material had been released in the UK was with the "Revolver" LP and that the time period between August and February had seemed like an eternity for a pop group in the 60s.

"Penny Lane" is also very musically interesting. It is very much a Paul song and the verse tends to follow the B major scale while the chorus tends to lead in the A major scale. At the end of the tune, the chorus then changes key and switches back to it's original B major scale. The bass guitar on this track ( which was recorded alone as an overdub, thus beginning this practice during most of 1967 ) is outstanding as well as the piano backing the picollo trumpet solo. I would say that this is probably one of my favourite Beatles' songs from the catalogue and highlights the creative energy that overtook the Beatles during thier psychedelic period.
Recording for this masterpiece started life as "Untitled" on Thursday December 29 1966 at EMI studio two. At this session, the main instrument used was the piano. Six takes of solo piano played by Paul were completed with only takes five and six complete. This piano was recorded on track one and the Paul overdubbed another piano through a Vox amp reverberated which was added via track two. A tambourine and a third piano were added onto track three ( the track three piano was recorded at half speed so that it sounded very fast when played back). Percussion and harmonium were added to track four. There were two mono mixes attempted of the work thus far (both from take six).

The next day on December 30 1966, The Beatles were once again in EMI studio two. The first task for the engineer was to bounce down the four track recording down to one track and thereby created a take 07. Onto take 07 overdubs included a Paul lead vocal backed by John. The voices were recorded slightly slow so that they sounded slightly sped up on playback. Once this was accomplished, two more mono mixes were conducted for demo purposes only and none of these were ever commercially released. This was the last professional task undertaken by The Beatles for the year 1966.

A new year and a very creative one at that began with more recording and working on the "Penny Lane" song. The date was Wednesday January 04 1967 and once again from EMI studio two. On this evening, Paul added another vocal onto track three and John added a piano while George simultaneously added a guitar onto track two. The next day on January 05 1967 and from the same location, Paul re-did his vocal track. The song was tackled again the next day on January 06 1967 with the addition of Paul playing his bass guitar, John on rhythm guitar and Ringo playing his drums. The instruments were recorded slightly slower in order to sound speeded up on playback. All four tracks were full and reduced into take 08. Handclaps, more piano and the scat singing were overdubbed onto take 08. Once again, the tape was reduced to take 09.

On Monday January 09 1967, it was decided to add some flutes and trumpet to this wonderful melody. Overdubbing of four flutes and two trumpets was conducted at EMI studio two. Once this was completed, two more rough mono mixes were attempted and completed at this session. Some of the January 09 1967 session can be heard on the vinly bootleg LP "Arrive Without Travelling". The next day on January 10 1967, a fire hand bell and scat singing were overdubbed onto the existing take 09 of the current version of "Penny Lane".

Two days later on January 12 1967, another set of brass instruments was added to "Penny Lane". This included two more trumpets, two cor anglais, a double bass and two oboes. This version as it stands can be heard on the bootleg "Turn Me On Deadman". Two mono mixes were conducted at this session.

Finally, on January 17 1967, it was decided by Paul McCartney that he would be using an instrument that he had viewed on television recently and had liked the sound of the instrument. The instrument in question was a B-flat piccolo trumpet. Paul had viewed it during a performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto Number 2 and had enjoyed the sound and range of the trumpet. David Mason was brought in by the Beatles and he was recruited to play the solo in "Penny Lane" on his B-flat piccolo trumpet. The story goes that Paul sang to notes to Mr. Mason in EMI studio two and Mr. Mason simply played the high notes asked of him by Paul. Once completed, three mono mixes were made (mixes 9 to 11) with the Mr. Mason solo and trumpet flourish at the end. The mono mix 11 was sent to Capitol Records in the USA for distribution in North America. This mix ended up on promotional copies of the North American single only and can be distinguished by the trumpet flourish at the end which is not heard on the commercial single.

On Wednesday January 25 1967, the previous mono mix with the trumpet flouish at the end was improved upon and the flourish was eventually eliminated while three more mono mixes were conducted at this session from the control room of EMI studio one. When "Penny Lane" was originally released, it was deemed a single but appeared on the "Magical Mystery Tour" US and Canada LP. Since there was no stereo mix at this stage, the song is presented on the original LPs in "duophonic"- in other words, fake stereo. Finally, a stereo mix was completed on September 30 1971 (four years after the mono mix) and originally appeared on German Apple copies of "Magical Mystery Tour". The "Magical Mystery Tour" CD also featured the true stereo mix.

As a point of interest, a stereo version of the song with the end trumpet flourish arificially added on can be heard on the North American version of Capitol's LP "Rarities". A new mix with the original brass solo (without trumpet) and single tracked vocal can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2".

As well as the single, "Penny Lane" is available on the North American (and now UK) LP/CD "Magical Mystery Tour" as well as the Apple compilation 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970" and the first song on side two of the Capitol LP "20 Greatest Hits" (North American version). It is also featured on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "1".

Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed

And so it goes...the Revolver LP was released in August and the Beatles toured for the last time. In fact, none of the Revolver LP tracks were ever played in concert. Only the single (Paperback Writer) was performed. The Beatles decided to quit touring - the last show being at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on August 29 1966.

Once it was time to go back to the studio to record new material, John Lennon had an original composition written while he had been filmed in the role of "Gripweed" for the Richard Lester film: "How I Won The War" a 60s type satirical movie. Paul McCartney had been working on various compositions as well as coming up with film music for the Bolton Brothers movie: "The Family Way". George went to India and Ringo went to join Lennon in Spain (where he was filming the Richard Lester movie) and hanging out with his family.

The Beatles entered EMI Studios on Thursday November 24 1966 with the express intent of recording an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Strawberry Fields Forever". They gathered in studio two.

Only one take was recorded on this date with Paul playing a mellotron (the flute intro), John on the vocals, George on guitar and Ringo on drums. Overdubs onto take one included maracas, John double-tracking his vocals, a slide guitar by George and Paul and George supplying the backing vocals. The song was recorded slightly faster so that it would sound a little slower when played back. This version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" appears on various bootlegs including "Nothing Is Real" and "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 5 and 6". This version also appeared on the EMI/Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2" although this version does not include the second Lennon vocal and eliminates the backing vocals....boo !!

On November 28 1966 in Studio two, three more takes of the song were undertaken by The Beatles. This consisted of basically the same instrumentation along with maracas. Take two and three were rejected but take four was the keeper. Once again, Lennon overdubbed his vocal which was slowed down so that it sounded sped up during playback and Paul McCartney added bass. Once this was completed, three mono mixes of the song were attempted. This version can be heard on the bootleg "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 5 and 6" as well.

The next day on November 29 1966 and again in Studio two, The Beatles decided to try and take the rhythm track with a better performance than the previous session. Two take were recorded (takes 5 and 6). Take six was kept while John added his lead vocal (once again) and Paul added the bass track (once again). Take six was reduced to take seven as all of the tracks on the tape were taken. Take seven added a doubled Lennon vocal via ADT (Artificial Double Tracking) with more bass from Paul and a piano overdub. This take was given three mono mixes and an acetate of the song at it's present state was taken away by the band. This version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" is available on the bootleg LP "Strawberry Fields Forever" on NEMS records ( take 7, remix 3).

On Thursday December 08 1966, The Beatles (and composer John Lennon) returned to EMI Stduio one with the intention of a "Strawberry Fields Forever" re-make with a different arrangement, tempo and feel. Fifteen takes of the song (takes 9-24) were accomplished with various percussion intruments added including backwards cymbals, timpani, tambourine, finger cymbals and various other percussion instruments. Lennon had also asked George Martin to score this version for trumpets and cello. (This session was strictly related to the rhythm track, though). Part of take 15 and part of take 24 were edited together in order to create the fresh rhythm track. The first three quarters of take 15 and last quarter of take 24 were edited together. No mixes were conducted at this stage although part of the a mono one track excerpt of this session is available on the EMI/Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2".

Friday December 09 1966 saw more activity on this recording. Takes 15 and 24 were taken and reduced (as all four tracks were full) to take 25 and the addition of more drums and George's Indian instrument: the "swordmandel" were overdubbed. This version (take 25) received a mono mix for acetate purposes only. Once this was completed, the addition of more backwards cymbals was added to the recording of take 25.

Not quite a week later on Thursday December 15 1966 in EMI Studio two, the four trumpets and three cells were added to the recording of take 25. The brass and cells took up tracks three and four of the tapes and the four-track was then reduced to take 26. Two tracks were taken up with Lennon's vocals including the "Cranberry Sauce" voice at the end of the song. Once this was completed, the tune received four mono mixes from take 26 and everyone was happy..well...

On December 21 1966, recording started up again on this song as Lennon added another vocal and another piano overdub. This took place in Studio two.

The next day on Thursday December 22 1966, an extremely lucky edit was performed. It seemed that the composer of the song (John Lennon) liked take 07 ; the mellower portion at the beginning of the song and also liked take 26; the brass section of the song; equally. John was wondering if both could be used for the final product. The producer George Martin decided to splice the two takes together using remix 10 from take 07 (the slower beginning) and remix 11 of take 26 (the brass version) and while speeding the take 07 portion and slowing down the take 26 version both of the takes matched the key and speed (almost). This mono mix of 10 and 11 was eventually titled mix 12 from the two takes. This is the commercial product and the classic song we all know and love. The edit is approximately 60 seconds into the song. If you hear the edit, you will never listen to the song the same way again. The mono mix created this day is the one that is heard on the commercial version

The commercial stereo mix for the song was conducted on Thursday December 29 1966 from the control room of EMI studio three. The song was first tape copied and the the stereo mix consisted of aone stereo mix of take 7 and two mixes of take 26. The third stereo mix was the edited mix from the two previous versions. Remix four was an improvement of remix two and remix five consisted of remix one and four mixed together. Confused yet? This is just an example of how the Beatles music and the work in the studio were starting to show more work and care as time went on.

On Friday December 30 1966, a tape copy of "Strawberry Fields Forever" was conducted although I really don't have an answer as to why. A tape copy was also made on Monday January 02 1967 from the control room of Studio two and to be sent to the North American market.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" was released as a single (along with "Penny Lane") on Parlophone R 5570 on February 17 1967 and was released in North American on the single with the same titles as Capitol 5810 on February 13 1967. The song was also available on the North American Capitol LP/CD "Magical Mystery Tour" and on the Apple compilation 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970". "Strawberry Fields Forever" evaded the greatest hits packages as it never technically reached number one ( the flip side did, though).

Now Junior...Behave Yourself !!

The Parlophone UK LP "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" contained what we would nowadays call a "bonus track". This bonus track is written by Larry Williams and covered on this LP by the Beatles. The song is entitled "Bad Boy" and this tune remained unreleased in the UK up to this point. The rest of the LP "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" contains previously released songs from singles and two popular previously released LP tracks. The song is sung by John.

"Bad Boy" was recorded on Monday May 10 1965 (during the "Help!" sessions) at EMI studio two. Four takes of the rhythm track were completed during this time. Overdubs included John Lennon's absolutely amazing sounding lead vocals, Paul playing some electric piano, George adding another guitar and Ringo providing percussion (tambourine).

"Bad Boy" was mixed for mono and stereo at the same session as the recording: it's incredible that the recording and mixing of not only "Bad Boy" ("Dizzy Miss Lizzie" was also recorded and mixed in mono and stereo at the same session) but TWO tunes were completed and mixed in three and half hours. The session sheet for this date shows both songs finished between eight and eleven thirty in the evening.

"Bad Boy" can be found on the Parlophone UK LP "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" as well as the North American Capitol LP/CD "Beatles VI". It is also featured on the EMI/Capitol 2-LP compilation "Rock 'N' Roll Music" and can be found on the UK version of the EMI LP "Rarities". The song can also be found on the EMI/Capitol 2-LP release "Past Masters" as well as the CD EMI/Capitol version entitled "Past Masters Volume One". It is also found on the remastered 2-CD "Mono Masters" obviously in mono and on stereo on the "Past Masters"remastered version in stereo.

A Collection of Beatles Oldies

At the end of 1966, a strange and unique situation happened. The Beatles had no new music to release to the general public in the UK for the Christmas market. "Revolver' had been released back in August in the UK and in North American but nothing had been recorded since.

Since EMI had no new product, it was decided that a "greatest hits" package would be release in lieu of any new material. This was the first time since the arrival of the Beatles (in the UK) that there would be no new Christmas-era single release and no new LP. In 1963, "With The Beatles" was released in November. In 1964, "Beatles For Sale" was released in December - the same can be said for "Rubber Soul" in 1965.

The title of the greatest hits package from Parlophone in the UK was "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" with the subtitle (listed on the back cover) "But Goldies". The LP was released on December 09 1966 and was available in mono (PMC 7016) and stereo (PCS 7016). The A side consisted of the following titles: "She Loves You", "From Me to You", "We Can Work It Out", "Help!", "Michelle", "Yesterday", "I Feel Fine" and Yellow Submarine". The B side consisted of the following titles: "Can't Buy Me Love", "Bad Boy(to be discussed in the next post)", "Day Tripper", "A Hard Day's Night", "Ticket To Ride", "Paperback Writer", "Eleanor Rigby" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

Some of the above titles had never appeared in stereo before (especially the unique single-only releases) and such tunes such as "Paperback Writer", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", "Day Tripper", "We Can Work It Out" were all mixed in stereo in October and November 1966 in order to have the stereo version ready for the release of this unusual LP. (See my earlier blog posts for exact stereo mixing dates and locations).

The front cover of this LP was designed by artist David Christian. The design was in a "carnaby" style which was popular at the time. It features a "mod" looking cool dude with a big tie, purple and pink jacket with striped green and orangey pants and white and red boots. On the left, there are four guys (the Beatles?) surrounding a vintage European vehicle, a coke bottle with a rose sticking out of it and a victorian style movie still. On the right is a drawn gramophone, a couple dancing and rainbow style colours all over the front cover.

The back cover features a photograph of the Beatles while they were on tour in Japan. The Beatles are shown relaxing at the Tokyo Hilton wearing japanese kimonos. What is interesting is that the colour photograph on the UK LP taken by Robert Whitaker is printed backwards. On japanese imports of the LP, the exact same photograph is reversed thereby showing the photo correctly.

This LP was the first UK LP by The Beatles not to reach number one in the UK charts. It still made the top 10 and it's highest position was number 06.

Listen To The Colour Of Your Dreams.

The final cut on the marvelous Parlophone UK LP "Revolver" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Tomorrow Never Knows". The title of the song is taken from one of Ringo's sayings. The lyrics of the song were inspired by Dr. Timothy Leary's Tibetan "Book Of the Dead". Although this was the last song on the LP (and CD), it was the first song recorded during the early 1966 sessions.

The backing track for "Tomorrow Never Knows" was recorded on Wednesday April 06 1966 from EMI Studio three. A slowed down guitar and percussion tape loop were constructed first and then Paul added bass and Ringo added his drums onto this tape loop. Three takes were taped and third take was deemed as "best". John Lennon sang a guide vocal throughout the takes and take one of this session is featured on the Apple/EMI 3-lp/2-CD "Anthology 2". The guide vocal as well as the drums and bass seem to be out of sync at the tape loop and the drums/bass recording go out of time as the song wears on. This is probably why take three was preferred. The title of the song at this point was entitled "Mark I"

Work on the song continued the next day on April 07 1966 once again at EMI studio three. This time tape loops were brought in (mainly recorded by Paul) and manipulated all over EMI studios at Abbey road including studios one, two and three. The loops were all fed through the control room mixing board in studio three and faded up and down as it seemed fit to do. Also at this session, John Lennon's proper vocal take was recorded: the first verses were treated to double tracking (not ADT to my ears as suggested by various books).

On Friday April 22, 1966 from EMI studio two, a one-note sitar was added to the recording and the final verse of John Lennon's vocal was recorded through a Leslie speaker via his microphone.

On Wednesday April 27, nine mono mixes of "Mark I/Tomorrow Never Knows" were attempted from the control room of EMI studio three. None of these mixes were ever released with the exception of remix eight which would eventually be released commercially. A few weeks later on May 16 1966, the eighth mono mix of "Tomorrow Never Knows" was subjected to a tape copy from EMI studio two. Three final mono mixes of "Tomorrow Never Knows" were completed on Monday June 06 1966 and the originally selected mono mix for the LP was remix 11. The day that the LP was cut, remix 11 was part of the original mono reel BUT....George Martin had changed his mind and asked that remix 11 be replaced with remix 8 for the LP instead. It was July 14 1966 when this mono remix from 11 to 8 occurred.

The stereo mix was completed on Wednesday June 22 1966 from the control room of EMI studio three. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was subjected to six remixes in stereo.

The difference between mixes is as follows: on the original mono mix (remix 11) it is available on the UK LP "Revolver" with 606-1 etched on side two. The more common remix 8 is found on the UK LP "Revolver with 606-2 or higher. The stereo mix has feedback (a leftover from the backwards guitar solo played by Paul) during the last verse while the feedback is not heard on either mono mixes.

One final note: although it has been said in various Beatles book that the original title for "Tomorrow Never Knows" had been titled "The Void"; there is no such phrase in any Abbey Road/EMI sheets or the Mark Lewisohn or John C.Winn or any multiple other recording session books available. Supposedly, this phrase came from a contemporary fan magazine and suggested by Neil Aspinall as a possible title for the tune.

"Tomorrow Never Knows" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Revolver" as well as the North American Capitol LP version of "Revolver".

A definitive song for the Beatles and an indication of the direction where the composers' heads were at in 1966 and this is an example of how technology in the studio was starting to interest and influence the Beatles' wonderful music. They were true innovators without question. Man, these guys were amazing !!

I Was Alone, I Took A Ride

The next song on the Parlophone UK LP "Revolver" consists of a motown-influenced sounding original composition by Lennon/McCartney written mainly by Paul entitled "Got To Get You Into My Life". It has been explained over the years that this song is McCartney's dedication to the joys of Marijuana. "Got To Get You Into My Life", indeed !!\

The first attempt at a basic track was started on Thursday April 07 1966 from EMI studio three whereas there were five preliminary takes: George Martin held down a note on the studio organ and acoustic guitar and drums were also played at the same time. Vocals were added to the mix which featured Paul on lead and John and George on the backing vocals. This version of the song was temporarily marked as "best" for a while. This version as it stands is available on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2".

The next afternoon/evening on Friday April 08 1966, the Beatles decided to try another arrangement and two more takes ( takes 6 to 8) were completed. This backing track is the one that would eventually be released on LP. Three days later on Monday April 11 1966 from EMI studio two, a guitar was overdubbed onto take 08 of "Got To Get You Into My Life" as it stood. The bass, drums and guitar were now in the can but the guitar overdub is still a mystery to me as I'm not sure where it was added on the commercial release.

The first two mono mixes for "Got To Get You Into My Life" were completed on Monday April 25 1966 from room 65 at EMI studios. There mixes were reference only and acetates were cut.

On Wednesday May 18 1966, a brass section was brought in to fill the space on the basic track. This wiped out most of the backing with the exception of the bass and drums. There were five horn players ( two from Georgie Fame and Blue Flames and three independants). A tape reduction of the bass, the drums and the brass was completed onto two tracks leaving two more tracks open (therefore making this take 9). Once this was completed, Paul added a new lead vocal with backing vocal help from John and George. Some tambourine, a bit of background guitar and organ at the end of the song ended the session. Two mono mixes were completed at this session. These were never used as another overdub was to be added.

On Friday June 17 1966, the blistering George Harrison guitar solo was overdubbed onto the almost finished song. Once this was complete, the song was deemed "best" and five more mono mixes were completed. All of this done at EMI Studio two. Ah...but when you think it was all over, on June 20 1966 from the control room of EMI studio one, the EMI engineer/producer decided to fatten up the brass sound and had a tape copy from take 08 syncronized to the original brass overdub from May 18 1966 and a mono mix was than completed (remix 8 from take 8). This mono mix was used for the commercial release.

Finally, the stereo mix for "Got To Get You Into My Life" was completed on Wednesday June 22 1966 from the control room of Studio three. There are vocal and brass differences between the mono and stereo versions of "Got To Get You Into My Life". The mono version has a different last vocal line due to the two vocal recordings having been on different faders and the faders brought up on the mono mix and the stereo mix were not the same.

"Got To Get You Into My Life" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Revolver" as well as the North American Capitol LP version of "Revolver". The song is also found on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD compilation "The Beatles 1962-1966" as well as the EMI/Capitol 2-LP compilation "Rock 'N' Roll Music".

"Got To Get You Into My Life" was released as a single on May 31 1976 in the North American market (Capitol 4274) and peaked at number seven in the Billboard Hot 100.

"Got To Get You Into My Life" was performed by Wings on their 1979 tour as well as by Paul McCartney on his 1989-1990 World Tour and can be heard on the EMI/Capitol 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping the Live Fantastic".