BACK IN THE U.S.S.R.’s INCREDIBLE RECORDING PROCESS.

The first time “Back In The U.S.S.R.” wound up on tape happened either May 28th or 29th, 1968, by demo form on an Ampex four-track machine at George Harrison's 'Kinfauns' house in Esher, Surrey. The Beatles used both days to introduce the songs they had written in India to each other, then, into EMI Studios the following day (May 30th) to start their next album, affectionately known as “The White Album.”

The demo consists mostly of Paul on acoustic guitar and double-tracked lead vocals, at least one other acoustic guitar as well as backing vocals, handclaps, and a tambourine. While no one can say for sure who contributed these other elements, Paul played the biggest role, undoubtedly layering most (if not all) of these himself. In place of where the guitar solo eventually would appear, Paul repeats the first verse, described the flight “awful” instead of “dreadful” as in the finished version. Also, the third verse as we've come to know it (“Show me around your snow-peaked mountains...”) did not appear on this demo, this verse probably not in existence as of yet. In place of this, Paul repeats the second verse and then follows that up with another verse, mouthing what a guitar solo would be as the song fades away. This demo is in a lower key and is substantially slower, thereby lacking the excitement of the finished product, yet it did express the flavor of what Paul intended.

The group didn't get around to officially record the song until nearly three months later, August 22nd, 1968, in EMI Studio Two. The session was scheduled to begin at 7 pm but, as was usual during the sessions for this album, they probably arrived much later than that. One of The Beatles, however, was more punctual than the rest. Engineer Ron Richards explains: “Ringo was always sitting in the reception area waiting, just sitting there or reading a newspaper. He used to sit there for hours waiting for the others to turn up.” Engineer Peter Vince relates how other tensions were apparent during these days as well: “Things were getting very strained on Beatles sessions by this time. The engineers would be asked to leave. They'd say, 'Go off for a meal' or 'Go off for a drink' and you'd know they were having heavy discussions and didn't want anyone around.”

Some heavy discussions ensued during their rehearsal for “Back In The U.S.S.R.” on this day. Paul, in a 1986 interview, gives us a good idea of how things went down with an already uptight Ringo on this day. “I'm sure it pissed Ringo off when he couldn't quite get the drums to 'Back In The U.S.S.R.,' and I sat in. It's very weird to know that you can do a thing someone else is having trouble with. If you go down and do it, just bluff right through it, you think, 'What the hell, at least I'm helping.' Then the paranoia comes in – 'But I'm going to show him up!' I was very sensitive to that.”

It appears that Paul had a particular drum pattern in mind and was attempting to explain it to Ringo (as he had done at various times during their career – see “Ticket To Ride” for example). Barry Miles, in Paul's biography "Many Years From Now," explains it as Paul ticking off Ringo "over a fluffed tom-tom fill."  Possibly while Paul got behind the drum kit and was in the process of demonstrating to Ringo what he wanted, Ringo actually decided to quit the band. "Paul is the greatest bass guitarist in the world," Ringo explained in 1968, "but he is also very determined.  He goes on and on to see if he can get his own way."  Ken Scott, who was the engineer on this session, recalls: “I remember Ringo being uptight about something, I don't remember what, and the next thing I was told was that he'd quit the band.” “I felt two things,” Ringo explains in the Beatles Anthology special, “I felt I wasn't playing great, and the other three were really happy, and I was an outsider. And so, you know, I came to this decision, ''F*ck it, I'm leaving.'”

With the Beatles now drummer-less (Ringo being coerced back into the group two weeks later), they still took advantage of the studio time on this day to record the basic backing track to “Back In The U.S.S.R.” Since Paul knew what he wanted the drums to sound like, he played them himself with George playing a chopping pattern on electric guitar to accentuate the drums snare beats. “I played the six-string bass on that,” John recalled in 1980, also done during this rhythm track. Five attempts shaped this rhythm track, 'take five' deemed the best. They left the song in this state for the night to “leave it till tomorrow” for overdubs. After a tape copy of “Baby You're A Rich Man” was made for George Martin, the session was complete at 4:45 am the following morning.

Later that same day, August 23rd, 1968, the three Beatles returned to EMI Studio Two at 7 pm (or so) to complete the song. “Ringo's absence spurred the Beatles into making one of their tightest and best-recorded rock songs ever,” Mark Lewisohn relates in his book “The Beatles Recording Sessions.” Onto 'take five' of the previous day, the three of them recorded multiple overdubs. Engineer Ken Scott relates: “They did 'Back In The U.S.S.R.' with what I seem to recall was a composite drum track of bits and pieces, possibly with all of the other three playing drums.” This has to be the case since the two drum parts played were performed simultaneously to Paul playing other instruments. Mark Lewisohn also explains: “The song was also a composite recording in other ways, with three bass guitar parts, played by John, Paul and George respectively, and both Paul and George playing lead guitar.” Since John already performed his bass guitar part on the rhythm track the previous day, both Paul and George's bass parts commenced as overdubs on this day. Other overdubs included Paul on piano, Paul's lead vocals (double-tracked at times), John, Paul and George's Beach Boys-like harmonies during the bridges, and handclaps.

During these overdubs, the four-track tape reached capacity, so a reduction mix occurred to clear up more space for the remaining overdubs. This reduction mix was marked 'take 6.' After all the overdubs were complete; the first and only mono mix arose made by producer George Martin and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith. During this mix, however, one final touch was added; the sound of an airplane taking off and landing, eight seconds of which appear at the beginning of the song, the sound then reappearing here and there throughout and then repeated at the conclusion. Stuart Eltham, curator of the sound effects library at EMI, explains: “Someone managed to get that tape for me at London Airport. There's one of it revving up and taking off and one of it landing. It's a Viscount airplane filed in the library as 'Volume 17: Jet and Piston Engine Aeroplane.'”

A tape copy of the completed mono mix was made at the end of the session, along with four other recently completed songs, and given to roadie Mal Evans. This highly productive session was complete by 3 am the following morning.

Even as late as 1968, mono appears to have been the most important medium for popular music. The released stereo mix of “Back In The U.S.S.R.” took place on October 13th, 1968 in the control room of EMI Studio Two sometime in the later hours of this 7 pm to 6 am session. After the entire recording of the last “White Album” track, “Julia,” stereo and mono mixes of various album tracks lined up on this day by the same engineering team of Martin, Scott, and Smith. Only one attempt was needed to get the proper stereo mix, there being a few differences from the mono mix. The piano appears somewhat quieter in the stereo mix, the plane sounds differ slightly between the two mixes, the sharp guitar sounds at the very beginning of the song are louder in the mono mix, drum beats heard during the closing plane sounds in the mono mix are missing in the stereo, and extra guitar chords play at the beginning of the guitar solo in the stereo mix, as well as additional shouts and piano during the solo.

Another element John and Paul wanted in the new album was crossfades between some of the songs. During what became the first and only 24-hour-session the Beatles ever had, John and Paul worked to construct the complete running order of the two-disc “White Album” on October 16th/17th, 1968 in Rooms 41 and 42 of Abbey Road as well as the control rooms of EMI Studios One, Two and Three. This session lasted from 5 pm on October 16th to 5 pm on October 17th. The final airplane sound was planned to crossfade with the guitar introduction of “Dear Prudence.” Both a mono and a stereo crossfade developed during this marathon session, the stereo version takes a few seconds longer to crossfade between the two songs than the mono. These were created by the same engineering team of Martin, Scott, and Smith, under the supervision of John and Paul.

On January 3rd, 1969, during their rehearsal sessions at Twickenham Film Studios for what became the "Let It Be" movie, the Beatles briefly ran through a rough version of "Back In The U.S.S.R." which was committed to tape.  This version, of course, has never seen any official release.

A newer, more vibrant stereo mix was made of “Back In The U.S.S.R.” sometime between 2004 and 2006 by George Martin and his son Giles Martin for the album “Love.” Its clarity is superior throughout, the vocal track being raised up to hear much more of the extraneous vocalizing throughout the song, most noticeable in the introduction and conclusion of the song. Additional guitar work is heard at the beginning of the song as well. The released compact disc contains a truncated version of this song which omits the solo and second bridge, while the DVD and iTunes version includes the entire piece.

The first live released recording of “Back In The U.S.S.R.” by Paul McCartney came on March 5th, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan, released on both “Tripping The Live Fantastic” and “Tripping The Live Fantastic: Highlights!” Sometime between April 1st and May 18th, 2002, another live recording of the song was released on both “Back In The U.S.” in the states and “Back In The World” worldwide. Between July 17th and 21st, 2009, another live version of the song recorded at Citi Field for release on the album “Good Evening New York City.” Paul's performance of the song at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California was also recorded and released on the album “Paul McCartney Live In Los Angeles,” which was made available only in Britain and Ireland exclusively for 'The Mail On Sunday' newspaper.

Since the song is patterned after classic rock 'n roll gems like "Back In The U.S.A." and "California Girls," the structure for "Back In The U.S.S.R." is quite standard, consisting of a 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse (instrumental)/ bridge/ verse' pattern (or aababa) with a predictable introduction and conclusion thrown in for good measure.  That is not to say there isn't a trick or two hidden within, as we'll see.

We start off with a few seconds of a plane taking off which is faded in and then continues in the mix during the actual band introduction. The first instrument heard is a rather startling lead guitar flub which appears to have been caught on an open track of the tape by accident. (This guitar flub disappeared from the newer mix created for the “Love” album, the producers opting instead to artificially insert some highly distorted guitar noise from the previous track “Revolution.”) The proper introduction then begins, which is four measures in length and builds musically in layers, not unlike the trademark “aah” harmonies in “Twist And Shout.” Multiple guitars, basses, and drums thump out this standard rock 'n roll introduction which ends in an overdubbed tom-tom fill from either John or George and an anticipated “ohhhhh” from Paul. The 'plane taking off' effect fades during the fourth and final measure of this introduction.

The first verse then begins, which is fourteen measures in length. Paul's piano kicks in immediately at this point, as do his single-tracked lead vocals. The 'plane landing' effect lingers throughout the verse in the background at various volumes. In the eighth measure, Paul performs a perfunctory tom-tom fill while he sings the song title for the first time. Through the remainder of the verse, Paul sings double-tracked. An interesting building lead guitar passage appears in the ninth through eleventh measures while Paul misses the snare drum once in the ninth and tenth measures, redeeming himself in the eleventh measure with a quick snare drum fill to signal a 'Beatles break' where all instruments suddenly stop in the twelfth measure. This measure is filled with Paul repeating the song's title, followed by the full instrumentation coming back in on the thirteenth and fourteenth measure, the final measure including a simple transitional lead guitar passage and an eighth-note snare drum fill.

The second verse is pretty much identical to the first instrumentally except for it being sixteen measures long instead of fourteen. By the fourth measure of this verse, the 'plane landing' effect finally disappears; however, it reappears in the sixth measure and continues until the twelfth measure. A slight tom-tom fill rolls at the end of the fourth measure, and then a simple eighth-note snare fill arrives in the eighth measure, both of these presumably performed by Paul during the rhythm track. The twelfth and thirteenth measures are in 4/4 time while the fourteenth measure is in 2/4, these three measures encompassing an extended version of the 'Beatles break' heard in the first verse, allowing the tricky vocal repetition “Back in the U.S., back in the U.S., back in the U.S.S.R.” dramatically sung. Paul's double-tracked vocals unite with John on a lower harmony (the first time his voice resonances on the song) along with syncopated staccato guitar chords in the background. The final two measures, the fifteenth and sixteenth, show the full instrumentation coming back in along with the 'plane taking off' effect. These final two measures also feature an eighth-note snare drum fill and the first emergence of low Beach Boys-like background vocals.

The first bridge is heard next, which is ten measures long and features Paul on double-tracked lead vocals once again. The 'plane taking off' effect is heard throughout the entire bridge, lessening in volume in the middle measures and swelling in volume at the conclusion. Two sets of background vocals are heard throughout the entire bridge as well, one lower and one higher, similar in style to The Beach Boys' hit “Fun, Fun, Fun.” A descending chord pattern unleashes in the fifth and sixth measures, which adds an interesting change to the expected dynamic of the song. A slight tom-tom fill rolls in the fourth measure, and an eighth-note snare drum fill occupies the seventh and eighth measures accenting Paul's lyric “Georgia's always on my my my my my my my my my mind.” An eighth-note snare fill appears in the ninth measure while an eighth-note tom-tom fill takes up the tenth measure along with Paul's growling “Oh, come on” which ushers in the guitar solo next.

A partial instrumental verse takes over, which is fourteen measures in length as the first verse was, with a searing guitar solo playing a slight variation of the melody line taking up the first eight measures. Assorted vocalizations chime during these measures, highlighted by Paul's “oooh” and John's “yet” in the fifth measure. Two slightly uncomfortable drum fills pass through in the sixth and eighth measures while the 'plane taking off' effect starts out loudly in the opening measures and fades almost out of the picture (but not totally) as this verse progresses. The final six measures of the song are almost identical to the first verse, except for a guitar part which this time plays along with the lower Beach Boys harmonies that appear as a transition to the repeat of the bridge that follows.

After a virtual repeat of the bridge, which this time features an excited “awwwwwww” from Paul in the final two measures, the final verse, fourteen measures in length, appears next. The elements of this verse are also nearly identical to previous verses except for an alarm-like high pitched guitar note that whines throughout the chord changes of the first eight measures. Also prominent throughout the verse is the overdubbed handclaps from the three Beatles. Paul also gives way with a piano thumb ride during the 'Beatles Break' in the twelfth measure. And if you were missing it, both the 'plane taking off' and 'plane landing' effects are heard throughout this final verse as well, in that order. The last measure begins Paul's ad-lib yells that finish off the song, the first being “Awww, Let me tell you, honey!”

A seven-measure conclusion comes next which features the building lead guitar passage from the verses, although they stay on the same chord this time around. The high Beach Boys harmonies are also present as are the rollicking piano chords which are accentuated at the end of the second and fourth measures. Paul's ad lib vocalizing is heard saying “Hey, I'm back...I'm back in the U.S.S.R...Hey, It's so good to be home. Hey, hey, hey, hey, back in the U.S.S.R...Aha, ha!” John's bass from the rhythm track accidentally continues past the downbeat on the seventh measure, although this is obscured very well by the 'plane landing' effect which raises in volume at the end of the song. This then crossfades nicely into John's opening guitar work on the next track of the “White Album,” namely, “Dear Prudence” or, on other compilation albums, faded out quickly before one can detect the beginning of “Dear Prudence.”

As to their performance, author David Quantick in his book “Revolution: The Making Of The Beatles' White Album” explains: “It thunders along like the jet airliner it mimics, takes corners at incredible speed, and is stuffed full of musical puns. It is one of The Beatles' greatest songs, and widely regarded as the best rock song they ever wrote...they were always more at ease rocking out on their versions of Chuck Berry and Little Richard songs.” For an album that has been maligned by some as the disintegration of The Beatles as a band, they appeared to be in full cooperation with each other on this opening track, a “potboiler” as George Martin would always call his choice for an album's opening number. All instruments were played with the enthusiasm and cohesiveness as their earlier albums contained...except, unfortunately, Ringo wasn't there! Instead, it appears that Paul played drums on the rhythm track and both John and George took turns adding drum fills as overdubs where needed.

Stop by my blog next week and discover the intricate details showcased upon Dear Prudence.

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