George Martin told The Beatles on February 11th, 1963 to “play me this selection of things I’ve chosen from what you do at the Cavern.” At one point he even said that he purposely arranged for “Twist And Shout” to be recorded last on this day so that Lennon’s voice would create a “linen-ripping sound.” All things considered, with all quotes analyzed, it looks as though the choice to record this song was indeed a last-minute decision between all involved in the studio on that day.
The actual circumstances appear to be that, after beginning at 10 am that morning, it was now 10 pm. According to engineer Norman Smith, all of their throats were “tired and sore” and the band, plus the recording staff, filed into the EMI canteen for a small coffee and biscuit break knowing that one more song was required. What would it be? No other original composition was deemed suitable at that time, having deemed the attempted “Hold Me Tight” not good enough to go back and finish at that late hour of the day.
Several songs were suggested and vetoed. No one can remember who suggested “Twist And Shout” at this point (possibly George Martin) but, despite John’s voice nearly gone by that time; he reluctantly agreed to sing it. He “sucked on a couple more Zubes” throat sweets, gargled with some milk, took his shirt off (for some reason) and went back with the band to record the final song of the day. So the decision to do the song appears to be a true last minute decision.
Because of the poor condition of Lennon’s throat, everyone knew they had to get it right the first time, even in the control booth. So with that first take, The Beatles performed live exactly what you hear on the record to this day. No overdubs were needed. And that legendary performance that evening at approximately 10:15 pm had a marked effect on everyone present. Richard Langham, one of the engineers present that historic day, called this take “an amazing demonstration.” George Martin himself astonishingly exclaimed at the time, “I don’t know how they do it. We’ve been recording all day but the longer we go on, the better they get.”
George Martin, the perfectionist, insisted on trying another take of the song “just in case.” A second complete take took place (not a false start), but John’s voice could not hold out any longer. The Beatles then insisted on hearing the album played back to them that evening. Lennon had stated back then that, since they were “perfectionists,” hearing the album played back was one of their “most worrying experiences.” He said they might have wanted to “do it all over again” if they weren’t happy with it, but they decided that they “were very happy with the result.” This extended the session to 10:45 pm, at which time Brian Epstein, who had also been present for this historic day, gave engineer Richard Langham a ride home to Camden Town.
The mono and stereo masters of the song followed along with the rest of the album on February 25th, 1963. The version of “Twist And Shout” that shook the world was deemed complete on this day. Because you can’t improve perfection, that mix has remained untouched and unaltered to the present.
On April 19th, 1964, The Beatles made a further audio recording of the song at IBC Studios in London in preparation for the television special "Around The Beatles" which was first broadcast on British Television on May 6th, 1964. The Beatles arrived in the recording studio sometime in the early evening on this day in April, recording seven selections on three-track tape with Terry Johnson as balance engineer and Glyn Johns as second engineer and tape operator. The recording session was over by 8:30 pm, all ready for The Beatles to mime to for the filming of the show on April 28th, 1964.
Then came The Beatles' August 23rd, 1964 concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. This concert fancied the intention of Capitol releasing a live album for the American market. Capitol vice president Voyle Gilmore shared production credit with George Martin, and Hugh Davies indicates as engineer of the recording. Although this project was abandoned until the 1977 release of the "Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl" album, the concert version of "Twist And Shout" did get a partial release on the "The Beatles' Story" documentary album released in November of 1964.
To give a complete recording history for this song, two additional takes of "Twist And Shout" did occur in January of 1969 during the rehearsals for what eventually became the "Let It Be" album and movie. The first happened on January 8th at Twickenham Film Studios and the second on January 26th at Apple Studios. Neither of these brief attempts found a place on the album or the movie or were released officially in any form. Incidentally, Glyn Johns, second engineer at their IBC Studio session on April 19th, 1964, was hired as producer for this Beatles project.
Song Structure and Style
This song, primarily written with verses, makes it unique on this album as well as the entire Beatles catalog. For the sake of continuity, we will refer to the instrumental ‘solo’ section, as well as the vocal arpeggio of the song, as the bridge, since it separates the second and third verses and relieves the tension created in the first two verses. This will then put the song in the same general structure as most of the rest of the album, namely 'verse /verse /bridge /verse' (or aaba). But there is more here than meets the eye.
First, we have a four-bar instrumental introduction which creates an anticipatory feeling. We then dive headlong into the first exciting verse with its’ question/answer delivery, which comprises 16 bars. The second 16 bar verse follows immediately afterwards which alter the lyrics only in the second half of the verse. The bridge then follows, which is actually a two-part section of the song that totals 14 bars. The first eight bars comprise the instrumental ‘solo’ section of the song, while the remaining six bars contain the climatic vocal arpeggio of the song, which leads directly back into the third verse, which is identical to the first verse.
Through to this point, the structure of the song is identical to the Isley Brothers hit which is the version that influenced The Beatles to perform this song. At this point in the song, The Beatles adapt the Isley’s version in order to create a fitting resolve to the song suitable for performing it on stage. This was necessary because of the fade out ‘vamping’ that completes the song on the Isley Brothers record. The Beatles go into six bars of ‘vamping’ to simulate what the Isley’s did to end their version of the song, but then go into an additional five bars to partially repeat the climatic arpeggio before creating a rousing resolve accented with tight triplets.
A unique aspect of The Beatles version of “Twist And Shout” as compared to the Isley Brothers version is that The Beatles transform the song from a pop/R&B performance with a touch of Latin influence into the hardest rock and roll record The Beatles recorded thus far. Gone was the brass instrumental ‘solo’ section of the song, replacing it with a guitar. Gone was the R&B sounding answer harmonies, replacing it with British accents. Gone was the repeated ‘vamping’ vocals at the end of the song, replacing it with a second arpeggio and stage conclusion. While the Isley Brothers impressively took the “twist” craze into a more respectable R&B categorization, The Beatles took the same classic song into rock and roll where it will forever be.
As for The Beatles performance of the song, all four members of the group are at their peak, which is an understatement when you consider the ‘chills down the spine’ sensation the song creates. One can only imagine being in the studio to hear this actual ‘once in a lifetime’ performance as it happened. Those who were there attest to the excitement created by four guys who, after recording for over 12 hours with hardly a break, perform what is arguably the finest performance of their career. McCartney himself even shouts a congratulatory “yeah” at the end of the song, acknowledging that something exceptionally great has just happened.
Ringo rocks the drums the hardest on “Twist And Shout” as compared to any other song on the album. The appropriate drum fills, as well as knowing when to effectively ride on either the high-hat or ride cymbal, gives the song its’ hard drive from beginning to end. The tight accents Ringo performs, such as during both arpeggios and the songs’ conclusion, show how rehearsal always equates to perfection, remembering this was the bands’ first attempt of the song that day.
Both George and Paul play their respective instruments with well-rehearsed accuracy and enthusiasm. Both their harmonies, while not major ‘attention-getters’ for the song, are essential ingredients that add the needed flavor and excitement to the overall performance. Not a hint of faltering appears in their ‘spot-on’ two-part harmonies as well as their “woo” accents after every eight bars of each verse.
The most noteworthy performance, of course, goes to John Lennon for his ground-breaking vocal work. The key they had learned the song in was at the top of his vocal range, so Lennon knew it would be a challenge from the beginning knowing the condition of his throat at the time. This proved to be greatly advantageous, giving a rough and uninhibited quality to his vocal performance, creating a blueprint for all rock and roll acts to mimic.
What seems incredibly fortuitous is how his voice cracked habitually on the ‘one’ beat of the measure, usually on the word “baby.” Ironically, the imperfections in Lennon’s vocals on this track led to him performing the ‘perfect’ vocals possible for the song. When his pitch started to waver, such as at the beginning of the first trademark arpeggio, the nearly perfect layers of harmonies from George and then Paul covered for it and then climaxed into ‘whoops’ and screams which made it an exciting transition into the final verse. And when Lennon finally hit his vocal limit during the closing “shake it, shake it baby” lines, it only added to the ‘wild abandon’ feeling that helped define rock and roll. John even quietly acknowledges his vocal accomplishment by uttering a sigh of pain discernable in the final seconds of the song. Ironically, Lennon said over a decade later that he was “always bitterly ashamed” of his vocal work on the song, feeling that he “could sing it better than that.”
In order to complete the picture, it must be mentioned that Lennon’s rhythm guitar work, while not magnificent in itself, took place simultaneously with his exceptional vocal delivery. That is a true indication of a talented musician and performer. If, when you’re physically tired and sick, you can pull off the performance of a lifetime vocally and simultaneously play top-notch rhythm guitar, it is truly a feat in itself.
As time progressed, The Beatles learned quite a lot from their recording of “Twist And Shout” that translated well into their own compositions. No other song was recorded with this intensity by The Beatles up to this time, but this milestone would soon be repeated and maintained throughout their career. Would the intensity of “Revolution,” “Helter Skelter” or “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” ever surface if not for “Twist And Shout” before them? How about the question/answer harmony vocals of “I’m Down” or “With A Little Help From My Friends?” One can only speculate, but upon examination of The Beatles catalog, you can see how their songwriting grew and expanded as well as noticing the similarities with the classic, “Twist And Shout.”
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