As for The Beatles Baby It’s You version, this was the next to last song recorded during the landmark single day recording session held on February 11th, 1963. Three takes were recorded live with no overdubs, one of which was a false start, approximately between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. during their evening session. Take three presents the complete version they used for the album. As with the other ten songs recorded this day, no mixes occurred until the end of the session, but there lay an additional reason why this wasn’t done on this day. Something to better assist the solo portion of the song required more thought.
George Martin rose to the task on an overdub session held nine days later on February 20th, 1963 while The Beatles were on their national tour with Helen Shapiro. After overdubbing himself playing piano edit pieces for the song “Misery,” Martin added two overdubs of himself playing celeste (or ‘celesta’) on top of George Harrisons’ guitar notes during the solo section of “Baby It’s You.” The Celeste is a piano-like instrument which is usually of four octaves that transposes the notes one octave higher when played. It consists of a keyboard that triggers hammers to strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators.
After two celeste overdubs (one for each solo phrase), Martin also attempted a piano overdub during one section of the song. It is undetermined what section of the song received the new the piano part because he decided not to use this overdub after all. Take six of the song, which contains the piano overdub, has never been officially released to the public. Take five became the approved complete version which contained both celeste overdubs.
Five days later, on February 25th, George Martin, along with engineers Norman Smith and A.B. Lincoln, performed both the mono and stereo mixes for the first album, which contained “Baby It’s You.” Once again, The Beatles were not present as they were still on tour and did not participate in mixing sessions until much later in their career. Take five of the master tape earned both the mono and stereo mixes.
Song Structure and Style
The song structure differs from every other song on this album in that it actually only consists of three verses, each ending with the title of the song as the hook line. The second half of each verse could be considered by some to be a chorus, although because of the overall chord structure of that second section (most noteworthy that the first chord of that section is not the key chord of the song), it appears that each whole musical phrase should be considered together as a whopping 21 measure verse.
The Beatles completely mimic the structure of the original Shirelles recording, not wanting to tamper with the ‘girl group’ classic that they so deeply admired. After a six-measure introduction, which includes the trademark “sha-la-la” harmonies by Paul and George and a dramatic break in the last measure, the first verse then begins amid the squeaking bass pedal of Ringo’s drum set.
Lennon delivers a very confident lead vocal which is accentuated in the fourth measure by the recurrence of the distinctive “sha-la-la” harmonies. As the verse segues into the second dramatic half, the background harmonies become a hushed and subtle backdrop to create a suitable effect for the painful lyrics. As the verse nears its’ conclusion, the emotive lead vocals resonate against accentuated background vocals which create an irresistible climax leading to the ultimate break. The title of the song is then revealed which is forever impressed on the mind as the ultimate hook line. (Surprisingly, many have mistaken the song to be entitled “Sha-la-la-la-la” because of its’ repeated occurrence in the song, as explained on the track “Sha-la-la-la-la!” on their “Live At The BBC” album.)
A second verse then occurs having the identical structure but with an additional touch of background vocals (”cheat, cheat”) which is necessary with the lyrical content of that verse. What seems to be a third verse is then played. The first section of this verse actually consists of the solo portion of the song, performed simultaneously by George Harrison on guitar and George Martin on celeste. The chord structure during this solo section is also slightly different than the other verses, being that it contains an added: “D” chord between each “C” and “G” of the verse.
This then leads us to the dramatic second half of the verse, which is a repetition of the second verse and sung to a tee by Lennon. The last two chords of the verse are then alternated repeatedly amidst the “sha-la-la” backing vocals and accentuated lead vocals from John as the song fades.
As far as musicianship goes, The Beatles stay true to form in mimicking the original Shirelles recording, not adding as much as a guitar flourish or drum fill. The band took such liberties with other cover songs done on this day (such as “Boys” also by The Shirelles), but they knew that anything added would have detracted from the effect of this well-crafted composition. Other interpretations of the song would have to wait until 1969, with the excellent bluesy powerhouse rendition by the group Smith, which took the song into the top five in the US.
The vocal performance is quite commanding and confident, unlike the rather timid and unsure vocals, Lennon performs on his own compositions recorded on this day. It is also noteworthy that, having a bad cold on this day, his voice is started to crack in this song, especially noticeable in the climatic “don’t want nobody” lines. The cracking only portrays character, however, and is especially prominent in the next and final song recorded on this day “Twist And Shout.”
The lyrics quite effectively portray the anguish felt at finding out about infidelity and are very well suited to the melody line and chord structure of the song. Strategically, the first verse paints the picture of the singer recounting the reasons why he loves his “baby,” but then leaves a question mark in our minds as to why he cries at night about her (or ‘him’ in the case of The Shirelles). Instead of the second verse just rehashing the first (as many Beatles compositions do), this song adds to the story with the second verse, revealing that the singer has heard about her ‘never being true,’ which answers the question from the first verse. The story then is summed up as the singer resolves that it doesn’t matter; he’s going to continue the relationship “any old way.” This impressive display of lyric writing (building upon the story with each verse) is evidence of professionalism which continues to this day, especially in the field of country music.
Next Tune, A Taste Of Honey:
The Beatles recording of “A Taste Of Honey” was also part of the 12 ½ hour recording session that occurred on February 11th, 1963 to complete their first British album. As can be noted by order of the songs recorded on this day, the emphasis was primarily on recording original material at the insistence of Brian Epstein and the band. The only exception to this rule was the recording of this song, which was the only cover song recorded before the evening session began.
When the afternoon session began in Studio Two of EMI Studios at 2:30 pm, “A Taste Of Honey” was the first song recorded. Five takes of the song were recorded with The Beatles all playing their usual instruments live simultaneously with lead and backing vocals. The fifth take temporarily reached consideration as best.
After the next song, “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” deemed itself as complete, attention focused again on “A Taste Of Honey.” At approximately 3:45 pm, two overdubs were performed by McCartney to “double-track” his lead vocals. This effect entailed superimposing an identical performance on top of another, creating a fuller sound because of not being able to perform the second performance in perfect synchronization with the first performance. McCartney was instructed by George Martin to “double-track” his vocals in two places; each time the bridge of the song occurred. The first bridge overdub grew into take 6 and the second bridge made it take 7, which then was considered the final take, completing the song. This recording technique, which was new to The Beatles at this point, was used at the band’s insistence on the majority of the songs they recorded within the next two years (and sparingly thereafter as well). As for this first album, this was the only song which contained “double-tracking.”
No mixes of the song took place on this day. Both the mono and stereo mixes of the song occurred during the mastering session for the album, on February 25th. Both mixes used take 7, which included both of the McCartney “double-tracking” overdubs.
Then, while jamming out renditions of old songs on January 22nd, 1969 in Apple Studios during the rehearsals for what became the "Let It Be" album and film, The Beatles attempted "A Taste Of Honey" for a quick run-through. This attempt, however, fell apart very quickly and, understandably, has never been officially released.
Song Structure and Style
The structure of this song is a variation typical for most of the songs on the album, and similar in the sense that it consists of only verses and bridges with no chorus. Yet different in that it only has two verses that alternate with two identical bridges. Therefore, the structure is 'verse/ bridge/ verse/ bridge' (or abab) per the bridge ending the song. Another distinctive feature dissimilar to the rest of the album is the change in time signature, as both verses pace in 3/4 time (or “waltz” time) while most of the bars of each bridge pace in standard 4/4 time.
Like “Do You Want To Know A Secret” which preceded it, the song begins with a dramatic introduction before the first verse commences. It similarly begins with strummed guitar chords only whenever the chord changes, but dissimilar by the three-part harmony between Paul, John, and George as well as bass notes from Paul. The introduction actually lasts a complete 8 bars, all in 3/4 time. The second half of the introduction contains the full band instrumentation with three-part “doo-doot-n-doo” harmonies from the boys.
Each verse consists of 16 bars with a melody line and distinctively melodic chord pattern. The melody line ascends dramatically to the signature title of the song which alerts John and George to answer the phrase creating another three-part harmony. The 10 bar bridge then transcends into 4/4 time for the first six bars while McCartney sings his “double-tracked” solo vocal line with added reverb. When his vocal line ends, the rest of the bridge returns to the familiar 3/4 time with three-part harmonies, which is actually identical to the second half of the introduction.
After a second verse follows the same pattern as the first, a second identical bridge begins, but then changes into two dramatic breaks which highlight a question-and-answer exchange between McCartney’s lead vocal and John and George’s harmony answers. This distinctive hook is the one characteristic that sparks the similarity between The Beatles version and the immensely popular Herb Alpert instrumental version from 1965. The song then officially climaxes with the extended high note from Paul as the song suddenly shifts back to the 3/4 time signature for the final four bars of the song. An interesting touch that McCartney capitalized on with his composition “And I Love Her” a year later is setting apart the minor chords of the song with a final major chord which create a satisfying note of finality to the song.
The lyrics have a simple sentiment of a long distance reminiscence of the first kiss by a true love along with the desire to return soon. The poetic way of expressing these desires brought out in Ric Marlow’s lyrics, though, are consistent with the stature that the song has transcended to as time passes. It seems quite ironic that the most known version of the song is instrumental, meaning that most people are totally oblivious to these amazing lyrics. Amazing, that is, in the context of the time and style of music it was intended for. Also ironic is the fact that probably the second most popular rendition is The Beatles vocal version, which sounds “schmaltzy” in comparison to the rock-and-roll style they had formed. That being said, Ric Marlow’s lyrics are probably best heard in the hands of Tony Bennett.
As for The Beatles performance, McCartney is truly in the spotlight with his spot-on vocal work (despite his struggle to properly hit the low notes) which convey the sentiment of the lyrics in the most convincing way he could muster. His tasteful bass playing, especially during the bridges, show him as not being a ‘showboat’ but being able to add the degree of tastefulness necessary to pull off an impressive ingredient to a nice arrangement.
Harrison shows himself adept and able to pull off a tender ballad arrangement ‘in style,’ even though his true overall inspiration really comes from the likes of Carl Perkins. His guitar versatility, as well as his vocal harmony work, performed simultaneously, shows his true focus on making the band, not just himself, sound good.
Ringo shows his versatility as well by playing brushes throughout and not straying off of the snare drum. One would think this was a professional drummer for a light jazz combo instead of the same rock-and-roll drummer we just heard wailing away on “I Saw Her Standing There.” Once again, we see the focus on doing whatever it takes to make the song work.
Lennon, on the other hand, is hardly noticeable on rhythm guitar. Also, the bad cold John faulters from on this day appear most evident on this track as his harmony work, proficient as it is, suffers from his pronunciation. “A taste of huddy” truly distinguishes the result of a stuffed-up nose.
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