202. Two Of Us

 

 

"Two of Us" is a 1969 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, although John Lennon claimed to have written it in his 1980 Playboy interview. Lennon and McCartney sang the song as a duet. It was written for Linda Eastman, McCartney's soon to be wife, though it sounds at times as if it is addressing Lennon, whose relationship with McCartney was tense at that time.

 

"Two of Us" was originally released on Let It Be and was later released on Anthology 3 and Let It Be… Naked.

 

 

Production

 

Overview

"Two of Us" originally began as a rocker with a strong "Peggy Sue" drum beat. In the Let It Be film, McCartney and Lennon sing the song "rocker" style into the same mike. The song lost its rock leanings as Paul worked out the composition over January 1969, and it became a more introspective song. The Beatles performed a finished version of the song live at Apple Studios on 31 January 1969; this performance was included in both the Let it Be film and album.

 

 

Instrumentation

Acoustic guitars are the primary instruments in the song, though it also features an electric guitar line. Ringo Starr added a lighter drum beat, with a bass drum shot on each beat and snare linking the verses to the bridge.

 

 

Intro

At the beginning of the recording Lennon shouts,

 

"'I Dig a Pygmy', by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids... Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats!"

 

The shout was mixed in by Phil Spector for the Let It Be album and also appeared in the Let It Be film, both released in 1970. "The deaf aids" was the nickname given to The Beatles' Vox amplifiers.

 

Writing credit

In his 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon claimed he wrote the song, but he may have been distracted at the time by a previous question about "Don't Let Me Down."

 

Playboy: "Don't Let Me Down"?

Lennon: That's me, singing about Yoko.

Playboy: "Two of Us"?

Lennon: Mine. By the way, Rod Stewart turned "Don't Let Me Down" into [sings] 'Maggie don't go-o-o.' That's one the publishers never noticed...

 

 

Covers and cultural references

Aimee Mann and Michael Penn covered "Two of Us" as part of the soundtrack for the 2001 film, I Am Sam.

Guster covered "Two of Us" on their Satellite EP.

Two of Us is also the title of the 2001 film about the 1976 reunion of Lennon and McCartney (portrayed by Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris) directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

Jack Johnson and Matt Costa included "Two of Us" into their setlist on tour in 2005

During the 2007 All Things Digital conference, Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs quoted the lyric "You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches far ahead" in reference to his relationship with co-panelist Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.

An episode of Darcy's Wild Life is entitle "Two of Us Riding Nowhere," which is one of the verse to this song.

 

203. Dig A Pony

 

 

Dig a Pony" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on their 1970 album Let It Be, and later re-released on Let It Be... Naked in 2003. "Dig a Pony" was the second to last song played on the concert on the rooftop of Apple Studios in Savile Row, London on January 30, 1969.

 

John Lennon was the song's composer and singer but the song was credited to Lennon/McCartney. Lennon would later comment that he thought the song was "a piece of garbage,"though he has shown similar scorn for many of his songs. It was written for his soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono, and featured a multitude of strange, seemingly nonsense phrases which were strung together, as well as the culmination of each verse, "All I want is you", aimed at Yoko.

 

 

Cover versions

The American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers covered this song as an introduction to "I Could Die For You" while touring to support their 2002 album, By the Way.

204. Across The Universe

 

 

"Across the Universe" is a song by The Beatles that first appeared as a charity release in December 1969, and later, in modified form, on their final album, Let It Be. The song features John Lennon singing lead, who was also the primary composer (though, as with all Beatles songs written by either composer, the song is formally credited to Lennon/McCartney).

 

 

Composition

One night in 1967, the phrase "words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" came to Lennon, after hearing his then-wife Cynthia talking. Intrigued, he rushed to grab a paper and pencil. He began to write the rest of the lyrics, and when he was done, he went to bed and forgot about them.

 

In the morning, Lennon found the paper on which he had written the lyrics and brought them down to his piano, where he began to play chords, and find pitches to match the words. The flavor of the song was heavily influenced by Lennon's and The Beatles' short-lived interest in Transcendental Meditation in late 1967–early 1968, when the song was composed. Based on this he added the mantra (Jai Guru Deva Om) to the piece, which served as a link between the bridge and verse.

 

The structure of the lyrics is straightforward: three repetitions of a unit consisting of a verse, the line "Jai Guru Deva Om", and the line "Nothing's gonna change my world" repeated four times. The lyrics are highly image-based, with abstract concepts reified with phrases like thoughts "meandering", words "slithering", and undying love "shining". The title phrase "across the universe" appears at intervals to finish lines.

 

In his 1970 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Lennon referred to the song as perhaps the best, most poetic lyric he ever wrote.

 

 

The recording and version history

In February 1968, The Beatles convened at the EMI Abbey Road studios to record a single for release during their absence on their forthcoming trip to India. Paul McCartney had written "Lady Madonna" and John "Across the Universe". Both tracks were recorded along with George's "The Inner Light" and Lennon and McCartney's "Hey Bulldog" between the 3rd and 11th of February.

 

Whilst the basic track was successfully recorded on the 4th February, Lennon wasn't satisfied with the feel of the track. Several innovations were tried, including blowing through comb onto paper and humming to add texture to the track, and the addition of a pedal guitar and tambora. In the end the group called in the services of Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease, two of the so-called Apple scruffs (the female fans who collected outside the studio) to add harmony vocals.

 

The track was mixed to mono and put aside as the group had decided to release "Lady Madonna" and "The Inner Light" as the single. On their return from India the group set about recording the many songs they had written there, and "Across the Universe" remained on the shelf. In the autumn of 1968 The Beatles seriously considered releasing an EP including most of the songs for the Yellow Submarine album including "Across the Universe" and went as far as having the EP mastered. However, the recent trip to India had soured Lennon on transcendental meditation and eastern spiritualism and the song's mantra-type refrain already seemed outdated; his White Album contributions were much more angry and hard-edged.

 

During the February 1968 recording sessions, Spike Milligan dropped into the studio and on hearing the song suggested the track would be ideal for release on a charity album he was organising for the World Wildlife Fund. At some point in 1968 The Beatles agreed to this proposal, and track was mixed into stereo for the first time by George Martin. The original mix (mono and stereo) is 3:37. For the 'wildlife' album it was deemed appropriate to add sound effects of birds at the beginning and end of the track. After the effects were added the track was sped up; so that even with 20 seconds of effects the track is only 3:49. The song was first released in this version on the Regal Starline SRS 5013 album No One's Gonna Change Our World, in December 1969.

 

Though never satisfied with the recording, Lennon was still attached to the song, and played it during the Get Back/Let It Be album sessions of January 1969; footage of John playing the song appeared in the Let It Be movie. To ensure the album tied in with the film it was decided the song must be included on what by January 1970 had become the Let It Be album. Also, Lennon's contributions to the sessions were sparse, and this unreleased piece was seen as a way to fill the gap.

 

Glyn Johns remixed the February recording giving it an acoustic treatment and restoring the correct speed. However, as neither of the Glyn Johns Get Back albums were officially released, the version most people are familiar with came from Phil Spector. In line with the treatment of several tracks, Spector slowed the track to 3:47, and added full orchestra and chorus backing to the February 1968 master.

 

An unreleased February 1968 alternative take of the song (recorded before the master), sans heavy production, appeared on Anthology 2 in 1996. This is often referred to as the "psychedelic" recording, due to the strong Indian tabla sound, and illustrates the band's original uncertainty over the best treatment for the song.

 

The February 1968 master was remixed again for inclusion on Let It Be... Naked in 2003, at the correct speed but stripped of most of the instrumentation.

 

 

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists, including:

 

Phish

Fiona Apple, featured in the film Pleasantville (a music video clip on youtube)

David Bowie, on his album Young Americans, singing alongside John Lennon

Rufus Wainwright, featured in the film I Am Sam and as a bonus track on his CD Poses

Grant-Lee Phillips

10cc

Jeff Ball (singer)

Lana Lane

Cyndi Lauper

The String Cheese Incident

Laibach featuring Anja Rupel, on the Labiach's cover album Let It Be

Áine Minogue

Robyn Hitchcock

Selway, from the Tribute album "Beatles Regrooved" (2005)

Feldspar, from the Tribute album "Cape Cod Covers, Vol 2 "The Beatles"" (2007)

The Format

The Curtain Society

The John Butler Trio

Texas, as a B-side to their 2001 single, "Inner Smile"

Verdena featuring Manuel Agnelli

Ariane Moffatt, during a live concert

Sean Lennon played this with Moby and Rufus Wainwright at a 2001 John Lennon tribute at Radio City Music Hall.

Another version was performed by a number of artists, including Billie Joe Armstrong, Bono, Steven Tyler, Brian Wilson, Tim McGraw, Scott Weiland, Alicia Keys, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, and Stevie Wonder, backed by members of Velvet Revolver, at the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony in February 2005. The following week, a recording of the performance was released exclusively for purchase through the iTunes Music Store. All proceeds from its sale go to funds for victims of the 26 December 2004 Tsunami. Sales from the benefit release made it the fastest-selling download in iTunes history and allowed the song to peak at #22 on the Billboard singles chart. This version has a lyric change: "Nothing's gonna change my world" was changed to "Something's gonna change my world."

Pink Floyd included a homage to the song in their acclaimed "Echoes": the phrase "inviting and inciting" is directly lifted from "Across the Universe". Roger Waters also recorded a cover of the song.

Element of Crime, during a live concert in Cologne

Chanel Cole on the Final 6 Beatle themed night on Australian Idol Season 2 (2004)

205. I Me Mine

 

 

"I Me Mine" is a Beatles song, written and sung by George Harrison. The final recording session for this song is also the last recording made by The Beatles (at least until the Free as a Bird/Real Love reunion sessions), though many people feel that the session "doesn't count" as John Lennon had previously announced his intent to leave the band and was absent. Those that hold this opinion would argue that the session for "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" or "The End" is actually the last, as both were among the last songs recorded collectively by all four Beatles.

 

Quoted from Harrison: "[i Me Mine is] about the ego, the eternal problem." The set of pronouns which forms the song's title is a conventional way of referring to the ego in a Hindu context. For example, the Bhagavad Gita 2:71-72 can be translated as "They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of "I," "me," and "mine" to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality." Perhaps unconsciously, the song also reflects Harrison's reaction to the clashes of egos in the Beatles' painful closing days as a group.

 

George, after receiving his "eternal problem" inspiration, played some chords to the 6/8 time signature, and added a bluesy bridge. The song was played during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions many times and was slated for inclusion on the album. However, no "good" recording of the song existed, so the remaining three Beatles - Paul, George, and Ringo - met in the studio on January 3-4 1970 to record a new version of the song — since the song was already in the Let It Be film, it had to be included on the album. This version of the song begins with George stating, "You all will have read that Dave Dee (Lennon) is no longer with us, but Mickey and Tich and I (Paul, Ringo and George), just like to carry on the good work that's always gone down in number two", (meaning Abbey Road Studio Two). Their final rendition lasted 1:45 (this original version would later be included on The Beatles Anthology Vol. 3 CD), so Phil Spector extended it by copying and repeating sections. The final version as "re-produced" by Spector was featured on the re-titled Get Back album, Let It Be. A similar edit, without Spector's overdubs of strings, is available on 2003's Let It Be… Naked.

 

It is also the title of George Harrison's autobiography, published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by Genesis Publications. Limited to 2,000 signed copies, I Me Mine also featured a foreword by Derek Taylor. The Genesis limited edition sold out soon after publication. I Me Mine was re-published, with a new Foreword from Olivia Harrison, in 2002.

 

206. Dig It

 

 

"Dig It" is a song by The Beatles featured on their album Let It Be. The 51-second version on the album is an extract taken from a 12-minute jam (recorded at the Get Back/Let It Be Sessions in January 1969 at Apple Studio), which evolved from a loose "Twist and Shout" jam. A segment of the jam session, clocking in at 4:30, appears in the documentary film Let It Be. The participants in that session are John Lennon on vocals and George Harrison on guitar, Paul McCartney on piano, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston at the organ.

 

During the jam, Lennon sings the main lyric with interjections from Harrison, while McCartney sings a baritone backup vocal of "dig it up, dig it up, dig it up" and variations.

 

The 51-second excerpt on the Let It Be album fades in on Lennon's second "Like a rolling stone" and concludes with Lennon speaking in a falsetto: "That was 'Can You Dig It?' by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do 'Hark, The Angels Come'." The second sentence of that line is cut off in Let It Be's film recording of the jam session. ("Wee Georgie Wood" was a 4'9" music-hall performer and child star.)

 

There was only one other performance of the song, this time clocking in at about 6:50, when Lennon sings the "famous persons" part (mentioning "the FBI", "the CIA", "the BBC", "B.B. King", "Doris Day", and "Matt Busby") at the beginning; and during the rest of the song he shouts out the titles of all of the tracks on the Let It Be album.

 

This song and the 39-second "Maggie Mae" appear on the Let It Be album, but are not included on the Let It Be... Naked album, instead being replaced with "Don't Let Me Down".

 

"Dig It" is credited to Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey, and is one of only a few songs to be credited to all of the Beatles; the others are "Flying" from Magical Mystery Tour, "Suzy Parker" from the Let It Be film, and the Beatles' version of "Free as a Bird".

 

A live acoustic version appears on John Lennon's 31st Birthday Party bootleg. The bootleg which is included on the Complete Lost Lennon Tapes has guest appearances by Phil Spector and Ringo Starr. The song also incorporates Twist and Shout, Louie Louie and a stronger influence of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".

207. Maggie Mae

 

No Video found

 

"Maggie May" is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a sailor. It has been the informal anthem of the city of Liverpool for about 150 years. It is not spelt Maggie Mae in Liverpool nor, it seems, anywhere else.

 

John Manifold, in his Penguin Australian Song Book, writes:

 

"A foc'sle song of Liverpool origin apparently, but immensely popular among seamen all over the world...". - see.

Stan Hugill in his Shanties from the Seven Seas writes of an early reference to the song in the diary of Charles Picknell, a sailor on the convict ship Kains that sailed to Van Diemen's Land in 1830.

 

"Maggie May" has some similarities with the American song "Nellie Gray" which was written in 1856. "Maggie" is coarse and cheerful. "Nellie" is a sad criticism of slavery which went on to become a favourite tune among bluegrass performers.

 

This song should not be confused with Rod Stewart's song of the same name, "Maggie May", which topped the US and UK charts in 1971.

 

 

"Maggie May" was recorded in the studio by the Beatles during their Get Back sessions in early 1969. They spelt it "Maggie Mae", perhaps so they could copyright their arrangement. It was included on the resultant 1970 album Let It Be, appearing immediately after the title song.

 

This song and "Dig It" appear on the Let It Be album, but are not included on the Let It Be... Naked album.

 

At 39 seconds, it is the second shortest song The Beatles ever recorded (the shortest being Her Majesty, at 23 seconds).

208. I've Got A Feeling

 

 

"I've Got a Feeling" is a song by The Beatles, from the 1970 album Let It Be. It is actually a combination of two unfinished songs strung together: Paul McCartney's "I've Got a Feeling" and John Lennon's "Everybody Had a Hard Year", with the main guitar riff coming from Lennon's unfinished "Watching Rainbows". McCartney's song was written for his girlfriend Linda Eastman, whom he soon married, telling her that she was the girl he had always been looking for. Lennon's song was a litany where every line started with the word "everybody".

 

While McCartney's song was very optimistic, Lennon had actually had a hard year - he had divorced his wife, Cynthia Powell, he was estranged from his son Julian Lennon, his girlfriend Yoko Ono had a miscarriage, he was arrested for drug possession, and his money was dwindling.

 

In the film Let It Be, Lennon claims he wrote "Everybody Had a Hard Year" the night before.

 

The song was covered by Yukio Tanaka, a character in the 2004 Japanese Anime & Manga, Beck.

 

Pearl Jam covered the song and it is featured on the "covering" bootleg album, the band covered the song around 25 times from 1991 to 1994. Baltimore based jam band The Bridge have recently, as of 2006, included this song as part of their live repertoire.

209. One After 909

 

 

"One After 909" is a song by The Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and originally released in 1970 on the album Let It Be. The album version is the live performance from the rooftop concert which took place on 30 January 1969. This performance is also included in the Let It Be film. The song was written in the early 1960s and reflects the band's rock and roll roots.

 

The Beatles originally attempted to record the song on 5 March 1963 during the same session that produced their third single, "From Me to You," and its B-side "Thank You Girl." They were unhappy with the result and that version was not released at the time. Various takes from the 5 March session, and an edit of them, were released in 1995 on the Anthology 1 compilation. Episode 1 of the Beatles Anthology features a recording of the song made in 1960.

 

"One After 909" is included on 2003's Let It Be… Naked, a remixed and remastered version of the original 1970 session tapes.

 

Each version of the song is representative of the Beatles changing styles, with the 1963 recording based on a simple 12-bar structure with few lead parts other than Harrison's solo in the middle. The 1969 recording is much faster and heavier, with Harrison playing lead riffs throughout.

 

 

Cover version

The song has been covered by various artists including Rick Nelson, Willie Nelson, and the Smithereens. In 2004, the song was covered by country singer Carmen Rasmusen on her EP Carmen.

210. The Long And Winding Road

 

 

"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' last number-one song in the United States on June 13, 1970. While the released version of the song was very successful, the post-production modifications to the song by producer Phil Spector angered McCartney to the point that when he made his case in court for breaking up The Beatles as a legal entity, he cited the treatment of "The Long and Winding Road" as one of six reasons for doing so.

 

Innocent inspiration

McCartney originally wrote the song at his farm in Scotland, inspired by the growing tension between The Beatles at the time. McCartney said later: "I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and came up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found inspiration." (Ray Charles covering this song can be heard on the posthumously-released 2006 album Ray Sings, Basie Swings.)

 

Although McCartney was the sole writer of the song, like all Beatles songs written by him or John Lennon, it would be credited to "Lennon/McCartney" by long-standing agreement.

 

McCartney recorded a quick demo version of the song, with Beatles engineer Alan Brown assisting, sometime in September of 1968, during the recording sessions for The White Album.

 

The song takes the form of a piano-based ballad, with an unconventional structure and some of the most inventive and sophisticated chord changes heard in The Beatles' catalogue. The song's home key is in E-flat major but spends ample time in its relative minor, the key of C minor.

 

Lyrically, is a sad and melancholic song, with an evocation of an as-yet unrequited, though apparently inevitable, love.

 

The "long and winding road" of the song is sometimes claimed to have been inspired by the B842, a thirty-one mile (50 km) winding road in Scotland, running along the east coast of Kintyre into Campbeltown, and part of the eighty-two mile (133 km) drive from Lochgilphead. In an interview in 1994, McCartney described the lyric more obliquely: "It's rather a sad song. I like writing sad songs, it's a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It's a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist ... It's a sad song because it's all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach. This is the road that you never get to the end of."

 

The song structure is equally sophisticated: while the opening theme is repeated throughout, the song lacks a traditional chorus, and the melody and lyrics are considerably ambiguous about the opening stanza's position in the song; it is unclear whether the song has just begun, is in the verse, or even is in the bridge. This ambiguity has been a characteristic of other Beatles songs, such as "She Loves You."

 

 

A turbulent recording session

 

"The Long and Winding Road" was originally released on Let It Be, the result of The Beatles' recording sessions for the abandoned Get Back album.The Beatles recorded "The Long and Winding Road" on January 26 and 31, 1969, with McCartney on piano and Lennon on bass guitar, during a series of sessions for an album project then known as Get Back. The original intent of the Get Back project was to make a simple, unadulterated document of the songs, but the band was often conflicted during the sessions and the results were generally ragged. McCartney claims that he did not plan on including the rough version of the song on Get Back; Lennon, who was not a skilled bass player (McCartney himself was the band's usual bassist), had made many mistakes on the recording.

 

In May 1969 Glyn Johns, who had been asked to mix the 'Get Back' album by The Beatles, selected the January 26 as the best version of the song. The Beatles had recorded a master version as part of the 'Apple studio performance' on January 31, which had different lyrics and structure, but this was passed over. Bootlegs of the recording sessions of that day, and the film, clearly show the band record take after take of the song in a concerted effort to create a master. For both the 1969 and 1970 versions of the 'Get Back' album Glyn Johns used the January 26 mix as released on the Anthology 3 album in 1996. When the project was handed over to Phil Spector he also chose the January 26 take.

 

In spring 1970 the other Beatles, barely speaking to one another and disgruntled with the quality of their work, effectively abandoned the Get Back project. Subsequently John Lennon and Beatles' accountant Allen Klein turned over the recordings to Phil Spector in the hope of salvaging an album, now titled Let It Be, out of the project.

 

Spector wrought various changes on the songs that would be included on Let It Be, but his most dramatic embellishment would occur on April 1, 1970, when he turned his attention to "The Long and Winding Road." At Abbey Road studios, he recorded the orchestral and choir accompaniment for the song. The only member of The Beatles present was Ringo Starr. Already known for his eccentric behaviour in the studio, Spector was in a peculiar mood that day, as balance engineer Pete Brown recalled: "He wanted tape echo on everything, he had to take a different pill every half hour and had his bodyguard with him constantly. … He was on the point of throwing a wobbly, saying 'I want to hear this, I want to hear that. I must have this, I must have that.'"[cite this quote] Brown and the orchestra eventually became so annoyed by Spector's behaviour that the orchestra refused to play any further, and at one point, Brown left for home, forcing Spector to telephone him and persuade him into coming back, after Starr told Spector to calm down.

 

Finally, Spector succeeded in remixing "The Long and Winding Road," using 18 violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of 14 women. The orchestra was scored and conducted by Richard Hewson, who would later work with McCartney on his album, Thrillington. This lush orchestral treatment was in direct contrast to The Beatles' stated intentions for a "real" recording when they began work on Get Back.

 

 

The breakup of the Beatles

When McCartney first heard the Spector version of the song, he was outraged. Nine days after Spector overdubbed "The Long and Winding Road", McCartney announced that The Beatles were breaking up. On April 14 he sent a sharply worded letter to Apple Records business manager Allen Klein demanding that the added instrumentation be reduced, the harp part eliminated, and "Don't ever do it again." These requests went unheeded, and the Spector version went on to be included in the album.

 

In an interview published by the Evening Standard in two parts on April 22 and April 23, 1970, McCartney said: "The album was finished a year ago, but a few months ago American record producer Phil Spector was called in by John Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. But a few weeks ago, I was sent a re-mixed version of my song 'The Long and Winding Road' with harps, horns, an orchestra, and a women's choir added. No one had asked me what I thought. I couldn't believe it." The Beatles' usual producer, George Martin, agreed, calling the remixes "so uncharacteristic" of The Beatles.

 

McCartney asked Klein to dissolve The Beatles partnership, but was refused. Exasperated, he took the case to court, naming Klein and the other Beatles as defendants. Among the six reasons McCartney gave for dissolving The Beatles was that Klein's company, ABKCO, had caused "intolerable interference" by overdubbing "The Long and Winding Road" without consulting McCartney.

 

Spector claimed that his hand was forced into remixing "The Long and Winding Road" due to the poor quality of Lennon's bass playing. While the poor quality of the bass playing is beyond dispute (In his seminal Revolution In The Head Beatles scholar Ian MacDonald wrote: "The song was designed as a standard to be taken up by mainstream balladeers. … It features some atrocious bass-playing by Lennon, prodding clumsily around as if uncertain of the harmonies and making many comical mistakes (...) [it] amounts to sabotage when presented as finished work."), its basis as the wholescale re-working of the track by Spector is questionable. McCartney has argued that Spector could have merely edited out the relevant mistakes and rerecorded them, a technique Spector used elsewhere on the album. Specifically, it would have been a simple matter of having McCartney overdub a more appropriate bass part to replace the Lennon bass line that was judged to be inadequate.

 

The controversy surrounding the song did not prevent a chart-topping single from being released in the United States on May 11, 1970, joined by "For You Blue" on the B-Side. 1.2 million copies were sold in the first two days, and the song began its ten-week long chart run on 23 May. On 13 June, it became The Beatles' twentieth and final number one single in America, according to Billboard magazine. "The Long and Winding Road" brought the curtain down on The Beatles' six years of domination in America, beginning with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964.

 

 

Beatles recording, redux

 

Anthology

 

The Glyn Johns remix of "The Long and Winding Road" was released in 1996 on Anthology 3.The original Glyn Johns remix of the 26 January take without the orchestration and Spector overdubs was included on Anthology 3 released in 1996. This version included a bridge section spoken, rather than sung, by McCartney.

 

 

Let It Be… Naked

 

In 2003, the remaining Beatles and Yoko Ono released Let It Be… Naked, touted as the band's version of Let It Be remixed by independent producers. McCartney claimed that his long-standing dissatisfaction with the released version of "The Long and Winding Road" (and the entire Let It Be album) was in part the impetus for the new version. The album included a different take, Take 19, of "The Long and Winding Road" recorded on January 31. Although a different take, this version is nonetheless closer to McCartney's original intention than the original Let it Be version, with no strings or other added instrumentation beyond that which was played in the studio at the time. This take is the one seen in the film Let It Be.

 

Ringo Starr was impressed with the Naked version of the song: "There’s nothing wrong with Phil's strings, this is just a different attitude to listening. But it's been 30-odd years since I've heard it without all that and it just blew me away." Spector himself argued that McCartney was being hypocritical in his criticism: "Paul had no problem picking up the Academy Award for the Let It Be movie soundtrack, nor did he have any problem in using my arrangement of the string and horn and choir parts when he performed it during 25 years of touring on his own. If Paul wants to get into a p***ing contest about it, he's got me mixed up with someone who gives a $h!t."

 

 

In the years after its original release, "The Long and Winding Road" became a staple of Paul McCartney's post-Beatles concert repertoire. On the 1976 Wings Over the World Tour, where it was one of the few Beatles songs played, it was performed on piano in a sparse and effective arrangement using a horn section. In McCartney's 1989 solo tour and since, it has generally been performed on piano with an arrangement using a synthesiser mimicking strings, but this string sound has been much more restrained than on the Spector recorded version.

 

McCartney also played the song to close the Live 8 concert in London. It was meant to symbolise the long road to justice.

 

"The Long and Winding Road" has been covered on occasion since its original release (though less so than many other Beatles ballads). Notable vocal versions were released by Diana Ross (Everything Is Everything, 1970), Kenny Rogers (1974), Olivia Newton-John (1976), Peter Frampton (with McCartney playing rhythm guitar), Cher (Half-Breed, 1973), Leo Sayer for the 1976 evanescent musical documentary All This and World War II, Aretha Franklin, Christian artist Phil Driscoll in his album A Different Man, and Tom Jones; the song is also a popular choice for Beatles instrumental collections and has been used as Muzak. A version of the song spent two weeks number one in the UK in 2002 as a duet by Pop Idol winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates, having sold 132,500 copies in its first week of release.

 

A version of the song was recorded by Ray Charles and can be heard on the 2006 album Ray Sings, Basie Swings. This album is a posthumous release based upon a live Ray Charles and Count Basie concert in the 1970s - the sound had been recorded only through Charles's vocal microphone, leaving the band practically inaudible. In 2006, the recording was discovered and new big band parts were recorded by the present Basie band.

211. For You Blue

 

 

"For You Blue" was a Beatles song written by George Harrison for his wife Pattie Boyd, who would be the subject of many of his love songs, including "It's All Too Much" and, possibly, "Something".

 

"For You Blue" was the B-side to "The Long and Winding Road" (in the U.S.) and the eleventh track on The Beatles' final LP release, Let It Be. "For You Blue" was listed with "The Long and Winding Road" as a double-sided hit when the single hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.

 

The song features John Lennon playing lap steel guitar as shown in the Let It Be movie. Harrison makes a few spoken comments during the song, including, "Go, Johnny, go" during Lennon's solo, and "Elmore James got nothing on this baby", perhaps referring to James' song "Madison Blues" which is similar to "For You Blue".

 

The song's working title was "George's Blues (Because You're Sweet and Lovely)" when it was recorded on 25 January 1969. It was renamed sometime between 10 March and 28 May when it was listed as "For You Blue" on the final mix for the unreleased Get Back album. When Phil Spector remixed the song for inclusion on the Let It Be album, he added an introduction by Lennon, "The Queen says no to pot-smoking FBI members." This comment was edited in from dialog recorded at Twickenham Studios in early January, 1969, long before "For You Blue" was recorded.

 

On 29 November 2002, Paul McCartney sang this song at the Concert for George, a memorial concert for Harrison held on the first anniversary of his death.

212. Free As A Bird

 

 

"Free as a Bird" is a song, single and video released by The Beatles in December 1995 as part of their "reunion" and promotion for the release of the video documentary Anthology and their Anthology 1 compilation album.

 

 

Origins

"Free as a Bird" was originally a piece of music that John Lennon composed, but never completed. The original Lennon recording was made circa 1977 in New York City. Yoko Ono gave a basic recording of the unfinished music to the remaining Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) who reunited to finalize and record the completed song.

 

 

The Beatles version

The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex, England. According to interviews, the group treated the song as though Lennon had gone on holiday and had left the song for them to complete. The original demo had to be stretched and cleaned up, as Lennon's voice was notably shaky and slightly out of time.

 

The song features a classic Beatles arrangement, layered with drums, guitars (acoustic and electric), bass guitar, piano, and harmonized Beatle voices.

 

It ends with a slightly psychedelic coda including a strummed ukulele (an instrument for which McCartney and Harrison have expressed fondness) and the backward voice of John Lennon. The message, when played backward, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catch-phrase of George Formby, whom Harrison and Lennon admired. This line has been noticed by many fans as it sounds like it's saying 'made by John Lennon'. Most fans believed this was intended to be the case, until it was revealed it was in fact simply the phrase 'Turned out nice again' being played backwards. According to McCartney, the result was unintentional and was discovered only after the surviving Beatles completed the single and reviewed the result.

 

 

The video

The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. It was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam) and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to other Beatles songs and events. Also The Beatles themselves appear several times along the clip.

 

On the Beatles Anthology DVD set extra material, Pytka relates how George Harrison, who played the ukelele on the song, asked to be allowed to play the ukelele player — who is seen only from behind — but the director refused, as he felt it would be wrong for any "new" Beatles to appear in the video. Pytka explained that after Harrison's death in 2001, and on discovering that it was he who played the instrument rather than it having been a sample of an old song, he regretted not having allowed Harrison to play the role.

 

 

Critical reception

The song was released in November 1995, the promotional video being broadcast during episode one of "The Beatles Anthology" that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the US. Its release was criticized by some commentators as an unimpressive track, owing less to The Beatles than Jeff Lynne, being used as a publicity gimmick, or cashing in on The Beatles brand. However, "Free as a Bird" later won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

213. Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

 

 

Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (Harrison / Lennon / McCartney / Starkey) is a holiday song recorded by The Beatles in 1967 and was only released to members of the Beatles fanclub who were willing to order the record through the mail.

 

The song was later released on the Free as a Bird single in 1995 and was cut from its original 6:17 to a shortened version of 3:03. The song opens with a light-hearted tune from all four of the Beatles and occasionally cuts to a tale of the Beatles arriving at the fictional BBC house. This part of the song was cut from the 1995 single version. The song then closes with a Christmas greeting from all four of the Beatles.

214. How Do You Do It?

 

 

(From Anthology Vol 1) On September 4th 1962 the Beatles recorded the above A-side. They were strongly opposed to doing this, but being the "new kids on the block" had to do it at George Martin's insistence. On listening to the track, one can quite clearly hear the lack of effort being put into this forced recording. It's Great.

Gerry and the Pacemakers gratefully accepted the Beatles cast-off and promptly took it straight to number 1 on 11th April 1963.

215. You Know What To Do

 

 

"You Know What To Do" was one of the first songs written and recorded by George Harrison with The Beatles. It was recorded on June 3, 1964 and does not appear on any album except 1995's Anthology 1 release.

 

 

216. Leave My Kitten Alone

 

 

Written by Little Wille John, Titus Turner & James McDougal this song was originally a US R'n'B hit for Little Willie John in 1959 (& Pop Top 100 hit for Johnny Preston in 1960). Recorded by the Beatles 14 August 1964 this rocking cover failed to make the cut for The Beatles For Sales album.

217. Real Love

 

 

"Real Love" is a song originally written and performed as a demo by John Lennon, and subsequently reworked by the three remaining members of The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) in late 1995. The song was released as a Beatles single in 1996 in the United Kingdom, United States and many other countries; it was the opening track on The Beatles' Anthology 2 album. It is the last "new" credited Beatles song to originate and be included on an album.

 

"Real Love" was warmly received by some critics, and the single reached #4 and #10 in the UK and US singles charts respectively and earned a gold record faster than a number of the group's other singles. The song was not included on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Radio 1 playlist, prompting criticism from fans and members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

 

After the release of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", Starr commented, "Recording the new songs didn't feel contrived at all, it felt very natural and it was a lot of fun, but emotional too at times. But it's the end of the line, really. There's nothing more we can do as The Beatles."

 

 

Early origins

First recorded in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home, according to Beatles biographer John T. Marck, "Real Love" originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled "The Ballad of John and Yoko." Marck then traces "Real Love" to an eventual combination of "Real Life", a song Lennon would record at least six takes of in 1979, and then abandon, and another Lennon demo, "Baby Make Love To You".

 

According to bootlegs, the first couple of the demo takes' lyrical structure mostly resembled the song eventually released in 1996, but the others featuring "Real Life" altered portions of the song; for example, "no need to be alone / it's real love / yes, it's real love" became "why must it be alone / it's real / well it's real life." Some takes featured an acoustic guitar, while the eventual Beatles release had Lennon on the piano.

 

Lennon appears to have later ignored the song, which remained forgotten until 1988, when the sixth take of "Real Love" appeared on the Imagine: John Lennon film and soundtrack album. The song was also released on the Acoustic album in 2004. The demo with just Lennon on piano was released in 2005 on Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon.

 

 

Reuniting the Beatles again

Beforehand, the closest The Beatles had come to reuniting (while they were all still alive) was during the recording of Starr's 1973 Ringo album when they all worked on tracks, though Lennon and McCartney did not work together.

 

The idea of redoing some of Lennon's old songs apparently was inspired by former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall and George Harrison, who first requested some old demos from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Then, in January 1994, McCartney came to New York City for the induction of Lennon into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While there, he received reportedly at least four songs from Ono. According to Aspinall, it was "two cassettes" which "might have been five or six tracks." Ono said of the occasion: "It was all settled before then, I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul. I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate."

 

In an interview, McCartney remarked:

 

“ Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs. I said to Yoko, 'Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough. If it doesn't work out, you can veto it.' When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, 'What? What if we love it?' It didn't come to that, luckily. ”

 

The remaining band members focused their attention on three songs: "Free as a Bird," "Real Love" and "Grow Old With Me." Of these, they liked "Free as a Bird" the most, and worked hard on it. McCartney said, "Ringo was very up for it, George was very up for it, I was very up for it." Eventually the song saw release as the first Beatles single since 1970. The remaining Beatles then turned their attention to "Real Love". Co-producer Jeff Lynne said, ."..we thought, we'd work on 'Real Love' which had a complete set of words."

 

 

Working in the studio

 

Geoff Wonfor, who directed the Anthology documentary, filmed The Beatles recording in the studio with a handheld camcorder. Kevin Godley, who co-directed the music video, stated that it was meant to be a "fly on the wall thing".The first problem The Beatles had to confront was the low quality of the demo, as Lennon had not used professional recording equipment on the take they were using, but a handheld tape recorder. The Beatles brought in Jeff Lynne (George Martin had suffered a hearing loss, and left the work to Lynne of ELO fame) who had worked with Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys to co-produce Lynne, who had already co-produced "Free as a Bird" said:

 

“ We tried out a new noise reduction system, and it really worked. The problem I had with 'Real Love' was that not only was there a 60 cycles mains hum going on, there was also a terrible amount of hiss, because it had been recorded at a low level. I don't know how many generations down this copy was, but it sounded like at least a couple. So I had to get rid of the hiss and the mains hum, and then there were clicks all the way through it. ... We'd spend a day on it, then listen back and still find loads more things wrong. ... It didn't have any effect on John's voice, because we were just dealing with the air surrounding him, in between phrases. That took about a week to clean up before it was even usable and transferable to a DAT master. Putting fresh music to it was the easy part! ”

 

Although "Real Love" was comparatively more complete than "Free as a Bird," which had required the addition of some lyrics by McCartney, the song also suffered from problems with Lennon's timing. Lynne said:

 

“ Well, nobody is [keeping time] when they're just writing a song. You don't think, 'I'd better use a click while I'm putting down this idea.' You just play and enjoy yourself. So it took a lot of work to get it all in time so that the others could play to it. ”

 

Ironically, a more complete, higher-quality studio piano version would later be found, that eventually appeared on the Lennon Anthology in 1998.

 

This complicated job was a large part of the reason why George Martin, the traditional Beatles producer, did not produce any of the new, original Beatles songs. McCartney said:

 

“ George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run. ”

 

Nevertheless, Lynne and the remaining Beatles did their best to make the song appear very "Beatles-y." Lynne said:

 

“ What we were trying to do was create a record that was timeless, so we steered away from using state-of the-art gear. We didn't want to make it fashionable. ”

 

Therefore, The Beatles gathered once more in Sussex, England at McCartney's studio to produce another single. Added to the demo (which was now a semi-tone higher because Lynne and The Beatles had it sped up) were the sounds of a double bass (originally owned by Elvis Presley's bassist, Bill Black), Fender Jazz bass guitar, a couple of Stratocaster guitars, one a modern "Clapton-style one" as Lynne described it, and his psychedelicly-painted "Rocky" strat (as seen in the I Am The Walrus video), as well as a Ludwig drum kit. McCartney did not use his traditional Höfner bass guitar, as he did during much of his career as a Beatle. Other than their traditional instruments, a celeste (used by Lennon on The Beatles song "Because") and a harmonium (which appeared on The Beatles hit single "We Can Work It Out") were also used.

 

The Beatles used Geoff Emerick, who had not only worked with them to great extent in the 60s, but is often credited with many of The Beatles' sound inventions, as the sound engineer. McCartney said, "[H]e's solid, really great. He knows how Ringo's snare should sound." The attitude in the studio was very relaxed, according to Lynne, "Paul and George would strike up the backing vocals — and all of a sudden it's The Beatles again! ... I'd be waiting to record and normally I'd say, 'OK, Let's do a take', but I was too busy laughing and smiling at everything they were talking about." Starr said that they had to be, in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the thought of being too reverent towards "a fallen hero" (as McCartney put it): "We just pretended that John had gone on holiday or out for tea and had left us the tape to play with. That was the only way we could deal with it, and get over the hurdle, because [it] was really very emotional."

 

 

Release

 

"Real Love" reached #4 in the UK singles chartAlthough the song was released as single in both the UK and US on March 4, 1996, the first time the song was publicly aired had come on November 20, 1995, when the American television channel, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) aired the second episode of The Beatles Anthology.

 

The single jumped into the British charts on March 16, 1996 at #4, selling 50,000 copies in its first week. However, the single's progress in the charts was stunted by BBC Radio 1's exclusion of "Real Love" from its playlist. The Reuters news agency, which described Radio 1 as "the biggest pop music station in Britain," reported that the station declared, "It's not what our listeners want to hear ... We are a contemporary music station."

 

Beatles spokesman Geoff Baker responded by stating the band's response as "Indignation. Shock and surprise. We carried out research after the Anthology was launched and this revealed that 41% of the buyers were teenagers."

 

The station's actions contrasted strongly with what occurred at the launch of "Free as a Bird" the year earlier, when it became the first station to play the song on British airwaves. The exclusion of "Real Love" provoked a fierce reaction from fans, and elicited comment from two members of parliament (MPs). Conservative MP Harry Greenway called the action censorship, and urged the station to reverse what he called a ban. However, the station stayed its course, and the damage was done.

 

An angry McCartney wrote an 800-word article for British newspaper The Daily Mirror about the ban, where he stated that "The Beatles don't need our new single, 'Real Love', to be a hit. It's not as if our careers depend on it. If Radio 1 feels that we should be banned now, it's not exactly going to ruin us overnight. You can't put an age limit on good music. It's very heartening to know that, while the kindergarten kings of Radio 1 may think The Beatles are too old to come out to play, a lot of younger British bands don't seem to share that view. I'm forever reading how bands like Oasis are openly crediting The Beatles as inspiration, and I'm pleased that I can hear The Beatles in a lot of the music around today. As Ringo said to me about all this, who needs Radio 1 when you've got all the independent stations?" The letter was published on March 9, the day after Radio 1 announced the "ban."

 

The station's controller, Matthew Bannister, however denied that the failure to include the song was a ban, but merely meant that the song had not been included on the playlist of each week's 60 most regularly featured songs. The station also hit back by devoting a "Golden Hour" to the group's music as well as music by bands influenced by The Beatles. This "Golden Hour" concluded with a playing of "Real Love."

 

"Real Love" fell out of the British charts in seven weeks, never topping its initial position of #4. In the US, the single entered the charts on March 30, and reached #10; after four months, 500,000 copies had been moved in the US. The Beatles compilation album Anthology 2, which carried the song as well, eventually reached #1 in both the British and American charts.

 

The single also has a music video to go with it, which featured shots of the three remaining Beatles recording in Sussex, and also mixed in shots of The Beatles taken during their career. Geoff Wonfor, who directed the Anthology documentary, filmed The Beatles recording in the studio with a handheld camcorder, as they did not want to be aware of the camera recording. Kevin Godley, who co-directed the music video, went on the record to state that it was meant to be a "fly on the wall thing."

 

 

Lyrics and melody

The song's lyrics have been described by one reviewer as conveying the message that "love is the answer to loneliness" and "that connection is the antidote to unreality." One reviewer described the song as a, "mature, still hopeful but frightened man less concerned with screaming at life than surviving it."

 

The song has been sped up 12% from the demo, apparently to "effect the snappy tempo" as Alan W. Pollack has speculated. The tune is nearly completely pentatonic, comprising primarily the notes E, F#, G#, B, and C#. The refrain is higher than the verse; while the verse covers a full octave, the refrain, at its peak, is a fifth higher.

 

The instrumental intro (performed on a celeste) is four measures long, and the verse and refrain are eight measures. The outro largely comprises the last half of the refrain repeated seven times, slowly fading out.

218. If You've Got Trouble

 

 

"If You've Got Trouble" is a song written by Lennon/McCartney. It was recorded by The Beatles on February 18, 1965, but remained unreleased until March 1996 when it was included on their Anthology 2 album.

 

Ringo Starr is the lead singer on this recording, and the song was originally planned to be 'Starr's song' on the Help! album, but "Act Naturally" was included instead.

219. That Means A Lot

 

 

"That Means a Lot" was an unreleased Beatles song, recorded in 1965. It was originally to be included on the album Help!, but both John Lennon and Paul McCartney disliked the track, and so it was kept off.

 

Not to waste the tune, Brian Epstein, the Beatles' business manager, introduced the song to another of the acts he managed, P. J. Proby. An American, he had been introduced to Brian by Jack Good, whom had created numerous television shows, and had created a Beatles TV program "Around the Beatles". Paired P. J. with Cilla Black on a couple of tours.

 

P.J. released "That Means A Lot" in September of 1965.

 

The Beatles version of the song was released in 1996 on the Anthology 2 album. The song is credited to Lennon/McCartney, although which of the two wrote the bulk of the song is in debate. In his famed interviews with Playboy Magazine, Lennon claimed the song was Paul's, while Proby has claimed with certainty that the song was purely Lennon's. It is also possible that the song was subjected to a regular occurrence in the Beatles, that of Lennon or McCartney contributing a middle-eight to the other's verses and choruses. The optimism in the verses and choruses is typical of McCartney's songwriting, while the "Love can be suicide" middle-eight is similar to the attitude Lennon displayed in many other songs of the time-period.

220. 12-Bar Original

 

 

"12-Bar Original" is an instrumental song by The Beatles. It was recorded in 1965, but was not commercially available until 1996 when an edited version of Take 2 of this song was included on the Anthology 2 album; the full version is over 6 minutes long.

 

It is one of the few songs credited to Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starr; and it is copyrighted by MPL Communications Ltd, Lenono Music, Harrisongs, and Startling Music Ltd.

 

"12-Bar Original" was The Beatles' first instrumental after signing for EMI, and was produced by George Martin at Abbey Road Studios, London.

221. Junk

 

(Paul "Unplugged" 1991)

 

"Junk" is a song written by Paul McCartney in 1968 while The Beatles were in India. It was originally under consideration for The White Album. It was passed over for that LP, as it was for Abbey Road. It was eventually released on Paul's first solo album, McCartney. Another version of the song without lyrics, called "Singalong Junk" is also on the album. The version that Paul played for the rest of The Beatles before the recording of The White Album is included on Anthology 3.