The Higher You Fly

The next song on side three/disc two (depending on format) of the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me And My Monkey".

The song was started on June 26 1968 at EMI studio two with the Beatles rehearsing the song and there not being any takes used at this session.

The next night however (June 27 1968 at the same location) consisted of six takes of the basic track with drums, two guitars and overdubs of percussion including a hand bell and chocalho. Two reduction mixes of the four track were performed bringing the song to take eight. The song at this point was also sped up a key by the use of vary-speed from D to E.

On July 01 1968 at EMI studio two, two more reductions (bringing the song to take 10) and overdubs of Paul's bass guitar and John Lennon's vocal.

Finally, on July 23 1968 at EMI studio two, The Beatles returned to "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" with two more reductions bringing the song to take 12. The session consisted mainly of vocal work. John Lennon re-did his vocal and doubled it in places as well as the backing vocals and handclaps. At some point (although I'm not sure where) , the bass guitar was also doubled at the end of the song by Paul. Now that the song was completed, five attempts at a mono mix were conducted although none of the mono mixes were used commercially. The fifth attempt which contains the count-in and having the second John Lennon vocal mixed a little louder is available on the Swinging Pig CD "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 4".

On Saturday October 12 1968 from the control room of Studio two, a stereo mix for "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" was completed, as well as a new attempt and completion of a mono mix. Both of these mixes would appear on the commercial product. There are no major difference between the two mixes.

"Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" are available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album).

Sing A Lazy Song Beneath The Sun

The next song on side three or disc two of the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Mother Nature's Son". This song was inspired by a lecture conducted by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during The Beatles' stay in India. The song also expresses Paul McCartney's love for nature as evidenced throughout the years.

The recording for the song commenced on Friday August 09 1968 at EMI studio two. There were 25 takes of the basic track with Paul on vocal and acoustic guitar. The commercial take used on the recording ended up being take 24. Take 2 of these performances can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

The overdubs for the song were conducted on Tuesday August 20 1968 at EMI studio three. First off, overdubs were all done by Paul and included the recording of a bass drum and a timpani which were located in the hallway of the studios with the microphones placed at one end of the hallway while the percussion was placed at the other end of the hallway giving the natural reverb sound. Also added to the song were a second acoustic guitar and a second vocal, all by Paul McCartney. Once this was completed all four tracks of the machine were filled thereby giving the song two reduction attempts bringing the song from take 24 to take 26. Finally, a brass section was brought in and overdubs of the brass were added on the now empty track. The brass consisted of two trumpets and two trombones. Very English, indeed !!

During the same session, once the recording was completed, eight attempts at a mono mix were completed as well. The sixth mono mix attempt can be heard on the Swinging Pig "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 04 (CD)". The eighth mono mix attempt is the commercial version.

The stereo mix for "Mother Nature's Son" was completed in two attempts from the control room of EMI Studio two on October 12 1968.

"Mother Nature's Son" is available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album).

"Mother Nature's Son" has been performed live by Paul McCartney during his "New World Tour" and an example of the performance can be found on the EMI 2-LP disc "Back in The World".

The Worm He Licks My Bones

The second song on side two or disc two of the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney tune written main by John entitled "Yer Blues". As the title implies, this is a great Beatles Blues number.

The recording of "Yer Blues" was started on August 13 1968 in a small room called the annex beside the control room of EMI studio two. This small room gave the song it's tight sound. All four Beatles were holed up in the room with their usual instruments and played 14 takes of the basic which included John Lennon on vocals/guitar, George Harrision on guitar, Paul McCartney on the bass and Ringo Starr on the drums. Once this was complete, two reduction mixes were completed bringing the song to take 16 and 17. The actual four track recording tape (a rarity) was edited with the beginning of take 17 and the end from take 16.

The next day on August 14 1968 from EMI studio two, overdubs onto the edited master tape include John Lennon's vocal along with some backing from Paul, a second snare drum during the guitar solo and also thickening of the drum roll where there is the actual edit, as well as some guitar. You can hear the original vocal guide track as well as the original guitar solo on the master tape before overdubs due to the fact that there were no separation barriers used during the basic track recording originally produced from the small room annex. Four attempts at a mono mix were also conducted on this date although this version was not used commerically.

A final edit piece of a Ringo count-in for "Yer Blues" was added on August 20 1968 at EMI studio three. This completed the recording of the song and a mono mix was completed using the new count-in. This mono mix was used for the commercial version.

"Yer Blues" was finally mixed for stereo on Monday October 14 1968 from the control room of EMI studio two. It took five attempts to complete. The main difference between the mono and stereo mix is that the vocals are much "tighter" on the mono mix with less effect as well as the fact that the mono mix runs a little longer than the stereo mix. The fade is quicker on the stereo mix.

"Yer Blues" is available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles"( White Album).

"Yer Blues" was performed by John Lennon and the Dirty Mac for the "Rock and Roll Circus" television special put on by the Rolling Stones. The performance was recorded between December 11-12 1968. There were three takes completed and a stereo mix of take three is available on the CD "Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus". The song was also performed live and recorded by the Plastic Ono Band on September 13 1969 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto and was released on the Apple LP/CD "Live Peace In Toronto 1969".

Take a Cha-Cha-Cha-Chance

The song that opens side three on the double Apple LP "The Beatles"(White Album) or disc two of the CD version is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Birthday". This rocker was originally inspired by a riff played in the rock 'n' roll style and elaborated upon in the studio. In fact, the entire song was recorded and mixed (for mono) at the same session. The date was Wednesday September 18 1968 and it all happened at EMI studio two.

First Paul entered the studio and played the "Birthday" riff while teaching it to the other Beatles. With the usual instruments, 20 takes of the basic track were recorded. The take 19 was deemed as the best take. Once this was complete, The Beatles and company moved over to Paul's home in order to watch the rock 'n' roll movie "This Girl Can't Help It" which inspired them and they returned to EMI in order to complete the song. Lyrics were written in the birthday theme and the four track tape was then transferred over to the eight track tape in order to accommodate the overdubs. The lead vocals are by both John and Paul, the backing vocals include Yoko Ono and Pattie Boyd Harrison as well as having handclaps, a tambourine and a distorted piano. Once these additions were completed, the song was mixed for mono in one attempt.

The stereo mix for "Birthday" was completed on Monday October 14 1968 at EMI studio two. There are diffences in the two mixes where there is a vocal edit present on the stereo mix but not in the mono mix (at the end of the first verse "Daaaaa/aaaancee").

"Birthday" is available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles"(White Album) and can also be found on the Capitol/EMI 2-LP compilation "Rock 'N' Roll Music".

"Birthday" has been performed live by Paul McCartney and a notable performance was released on a 12 inch single by EMI entitled (funnily enough) "Birthday". The performance comes from Knebworth on June 30 1990. This can also be found on the 3-LP/2-CD EMI recording "Tripping The Live Fantastic" and the 1-LP/1-CD EMI recording "Tripping The Live Fantastic Highlights!" lead song. "Birthday" has also been performed by Paul for Ringo's 70th birthday gig at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on July 07 2010.

Glimmering In The Sun

The last song on side two of the double LP/ or the end of the first CD of the double LP "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Julia". This song was an ode to John's late mother with a mention in the lyric of his future wife, Yoko.

"Julia" was the last song to be recorded from it's basic track for the Beatles' white album project although overdubs for "Savoy Truffle" were completed the day after "Julia". This is also the only Beatles commercially released song in the catalogue to feature John Lennon and only John Lennon playing and singing without the other three Beatles being featured.

"Julia" was started and finished at the same session; Sunday October 13 1968 at EMI studio two. The four track was used for this performance and it started with John playing acoustic and adding a guide vocal. Three takes were required. The second take can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". The third and last take required the following overdubs: another acoustic guitar by John and his lead vocals. Once this was completed, "Julia" was mixed first for stereo in one attempt from take three, and then the mono mix was completed in one attempt also from the same take. There are major difference in both mixes.

"Julia" is available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (white album) and is also available as the B-side to "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La -Da" on the single released only in North America on November 08 1976 (Capitol 4347).

Your Song Will Fill The Air

The next song on side two of the fabulous Apple double LP/CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "I Will". A very pretty acoustic love song.

The recording of "I Will" started as a basic track at EMI studio two on Monday September 16 1968. It featured three of the Beatles: Paul on the acoustic guitar and vocals, John playing percussion on a wood block and Ringo playing the maracas and hitting some cymbals. There were 67 takes of the basic track but the one used on the commercial release was take 65. Once take 65 was considered as the best take, the four track tape was transferred onto an eight track tape bringing the song to take 68.

During the recording for the basic track of "I Will", certain songs were improvised during these sessions. Some of the songs include the snippet "Can You Take Me Back" which is on the vinyl LP and CD between the songs "Cry Baby Cry" and "Revolution 9". A longer performance of the song can be found on the bootleg "Turn Me On Deadman" as well as run-throughs of the Cilla Black Theme song "Step Inside Love" and improvisations of the compositions "Down In Havana/ Los Paranois/ The Way You Look Tonight". Althought the titles above have appears on various bootlegs, the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" contains an edit of "Step Inside Love/ Los Paranois" as well as take 1 of the basic tracks session version of "I will" which is a good take with a few lyrical mistakes and it runs a little slower than the commercial version.

"I Will" was completed the next day on Tuesday September 17 1968 once again in EMI studio two. Paul added another acoustic guitar, a second vocal and his vocalization of a bass guitar.

"I Will" was mixed for mono with two attempts on September 26 1968 from the control room of EMI studio two. The stereo mix was completed on October 14 1968 also from EMI studio two. The difference between the two is that the bass guitar vocalization from Paul enters the song right from the beginning on the stereo version but does not enter the song on the mono version until mid way through the first verse.

"I Will" is available on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album). It is also available on the Capitol/EMI 2-LP compilation "Love Songs".

No One Will Be Watching Us

The next ditty on side two of the double Apple LP/CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition mainly written by Paul entitled "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" which is the greatest Beatles song ever recorded. The inspiration came to Paul while he was in India and noticed the monkeys fucking in the middle of the road, hence the title.

The song was recorded on October 09 1968 (John Lennon's Birthday) with Paul McCartney inside EMI studio one and Ken Townsend from EMI in the control room manning the four track tape machine. Five takes of the song were recorded with Paul experimenting on the first four takes using a soft falsetto voice and alternating with the loud raucous rock 'n' roll voice. All of the basic five takes were recorded with Paul on vocal and acoustic guitar. An outtake, take four, is available on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Upon take five where McCartney used his rocker voice throughout, this take was considered as the keeper and Paul overdubbed a piano on top of the acoustic/vocal take.

The next day on October 10 1968, the recording was moved to EMI studio three. The original McCartney vocal was wiped and Paul added new vocals. Also added were handclaps, bass guitar and Ringo joining in on the drums. A tape reduction was attempted and completed due to the four tracks being filled up and then the final overdub of a lead guitar was added to the song by Paul.

"Why Don't We Do It In The Road" was mixed for mono and stereo overnight during a long session between October 16 and October 17 1968 from all rooms at EMI. There is a difference between the mono and stereo mixes in the handclaps performed during the intro of the song.

"Why Don't We Do It In The Road" is available on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album). It has not been performed live.