Every Little Thing, plus I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, and their incredible recording process advancements.

After nearly a month and a half absence from the recording studio, The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two on September 29th, 1964 for their third session to complete what became their "Beatles For Sale" album.  Both of the songs that were written in Atlantic City a month earlier were started on this day, namely "What You're Doing" and "Every Little Thing."  Another song they wrote during this American tour, "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party," was completely recorded on this day, but both of the Atlantic City songs improved with minor changes at later dates.                                                                   

"Every Little Thing" was the first song tackled on this day, probably because they had high hopes for it being their next single.  After four live "takes," the fourth take was deemed the best and subjected to at least one overdub (double-tracking the lead guitar) and set aside for later.  As for who played what, Paul continues his comments on the song in the above mentioned 1964 interview:  "John does the guitar riff for this one, and George is on acoustic."  Therefore, John and George decided to switch their usual roles for this song.

The guitar used by John appears to be a Rickenbacker 12-string as heard many times that year played by George, although its tone sounds somewhat different.  This is probably explained by John finally getting some use out of his 1964 Rickenbacker 325-12 that he had in the studio from mid-1964 but sparingly if ever, used.  (He reportedly sent it back because it was "impossible to keep in tune.")  The sound of this guitar is noticeably different than George's 1963 Rickenbacker 360/12 which we've heard throughout the year, such as on "I Should Have Known Better" and "If I Fell" among other songs.

Some interesting ingredients in this early version of "Every Little Thing" is that John adds a good amount of extra guitar fills in-between the vocal phrases of the verses, unlike the final version.  The guitar solo, while quite similar, ends with a different note pattern but in a similar triplet style.  We can also easily detect that John and Paul are both singing lead vocals in unison during the verses, which is harder to distinguish in the published version.  Paul even pops into harmony sporadically on different lines during the verses, which he added well after the next recording session.  Even though double-tracking lead vocals were becoming the norm by late 1964, unison singing by John and Paul was done many times throughout the early Beatles career, as evidenced in "Thank You Girl," "She Loves You," "I'll Get You" and even "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to name a few.

However, by the time the next day arrived, a decision was made to start the song all over again.  They entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 pm on September 30th, 1964, for a three-hour recording session focused solely on re-recording "Every Little Thing."  This session was described by Mark Lewisohn in his book "The Beatles Recording Sessions" as "a fun recording.  Take six was aborted when Paul burped a vocal instead of singing it, take seven was complete but ended in uproarious laughter."

Of the five new "takes" of the song recorded this day, take nine deemed the best.  These takes all consisted of George on acoustic rhythm guitar, Ringo on drums, Paul on bass and both John and Paul performing their vocal parts. They decided that John would perform his lead guitar parts as an overdub, so they tapped out a count-in at the beginning of the song with someone quietly whistling the introductory guitar riff as a guide for John's later overdub.  (The tapping and whistling still creep into the left channel of the stereo mix.) 

Overdubs proceeded to take nine.  When John added his lead guitar parts, he eliminated most of the passages he played in the verses the day before and slightly re-worked the guitar solo in the instrumental section.  "Ringo bashes some timpani drums for the big noises you hear," explains Paul in that 1964 interview.  This overdub apparently was performed simultaneously with Paul playing low notes on the piano, as also heard during the verses.  A picture of this overdub, with Ringo on timpani and Paul on piano, appears in the above-mentioned Mark Lewisohn book, which should debunk the myth that George Martin played the piano on this song.  Paul also overdubbed two ascending bass lines during the instrumental section as well as some bass 'thumping' during the conclusion of the song. 

By 5:30 pm, the song was complete, which resulted in an hour break before returning to the studio to take another stab at "What You're Doing" and then recording "No Reply" in its entirety.  Probably by the end of this session, the decision surfaced that "Every Little Thing" didn't have what it took to be "the great almighty single," as Paul described it.  This can be said because "No Reply" held consideration for this slot.

Both the stereo and mono mix of "Every Little Thing" was done on October 27th, 1964 in the control room of EMI Studio Two.  Producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Ken Scott performed the all-important mono mix during the morning session on this day (from 10 am to 12:30 pm) while they quickly made the stereo mix with three other songs in a half-hour afternoon session (from 12:30 to 1 pm).  They added a spattering of reverb to the vocals on both mixes as well as performed an appropriate fade to the song.

The Beatles did return to "Every Little Thing" on January 3rd, 1969 during the tense "Get Back/Let It Be" sessions, although this was a brief recollection of the song by George Harrison during considerations of which tracks to include in their proposed final concert appearance.  George proclaimed "I'll tell you which is a good one" and then played the introductory guitar riff, which impelled Paul to join in for a quick impromptu version of the song.  While this didn't appear in the Apple rooftop show on January 30th, 1969, the above conversation and small snippet of the song was included on the disc "Fly On The Wall" found on the "Let It Be...Naked" album of 2003.

Song Structure and Style

Although not typically in use by The Beatles up to this point, "Every Little Thing" brings in the use of the 'chorus.'  The short verses are displayed in sets of two before each chorus (except for the solo section), which results in a 'verse/ verse/ chorus/ verse/ verse/ chorus/ solo/ chorus' format (or aabaabab structure).  Since the solo is in the structural and melodic form of a verse, it's referred to above as such.  A fitting introduction and conclusion (with fade-out) are included to round out the picture.

This two-measure introduction consists wholly of John's overdubbed guitar riff.  It appears that the riff played while they performed the song in the first version they recorded on September 29th, but since playing the lead guitar role and singing simultaneously was problematic for John, a decision was made to overdub his whole guitar performance afterward as an overdub.  A similar solution was decided upon two-and-a-half weeks later when he played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on "I Feel Fine," although, in this latter instance, he performed his vocals afterward as an overdub.  In the case of "Every Little Thing," a tapped-out beat (and a whistled version of the riff) was put in the rhythm track to make sure John's riff played in the proper place.

The cleverly played guitar riff, which he repeats in the solo and conclusion of the song, mimics the first melodic vocal phrase of the first verse.  Since the phrase always begins on the two-beat of the measure, this results in the listener being thrown somewhat off-balance at the beginning of the song, thinking the downbeat is when the guitar starts.  It's only when the first verse starts that we gain our bearings.  Beatle fans are used to this as well, as evidenced in the disorienting openings to "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Roll Over Beethoven," for example.

The first six-measure verse then begins, which hits home on the downbeat with George's rhythm guitar, Paul's bass note and Ringo's bass drum.  Ringo actually stays primarily on the bass drum during this entire verse for a nice contrast to be heard later, this being more evidence of The Beatles (and George Martin's) strict attention to detail.  John and Paul sing the three melodic phrases of this verse in unison throughout, although John's distinctive voice is somewhat higher in the mix.  This is what leads many to conclude that John is the lead singer and, therefore, the primary songwriter, although, as revealed above, this is clearly not the case.  The third melodic phrase is quite different from the first two, as it is sung mostly in triplets and a higher pitch as if to command attention and summarize the thoughts presented in the first two phrases.

Another interesting feature of the verse is the appearance of the low bass notes of the piano in the fifth and sixth measure, which was overdubbed by Paul.  This compensates for the absence of John's guitar phrases that appeared in the version recorded the day before and adds a nice touch of finesse to the proceedings.

The second six-measure verse follows immediately and is structurally identical except for one addition.  Ringo adds his snare drum beat in alternation with his bass drum beat, but no cymbals enter at this time.  At the end of the sixth measure, though, Ringo plays a simple drum fill to introduce the true focal point of the song, which is the chorus.

The chorus is a symmetrical eight measures long but has its share of eccentricities.  For instance, the sustaining of the G chord in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th measure, with its doom-like timpani and piano bass notes, make it a miss-match with the typical 'isn't it great to be in love' lyrics that the song contains.  Just considering the unorthodox switching back and forth between A and G in this chorus makes it quite unusual.  This is hardly the easy-go-lucky chorus we'll hear a few years later in "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"!

Nonetheless, the chorus is quite effective and stands out as the primary focal point of the song.  There are many changes in the arrangement here as well, such as the reappearance of John's Rickenbacker 12-string overdub, which plays subtle accents that culminate in him playing along with the vocals at the end of each phrase (on the words "me, yeah" and "me, oooh").  The drums kick in with a full rock beat for the first time, together with Ringo's trademark sizzling hi-hats.

Another arrangement difference in the chorus is Paul slipping into a higher vocal part which, in some people's opinions, depict the actual melody.  This argument is particularly valid in this case since McCartney is the song's primary composer and his higher vocal melody in the chorus is closer to the range of the verses than John's lower part.  Therefore, this may be the exceptional case where Lennon is actually singing a lower harmony to the higher melody, as also heard in "I Saw Her Standing There," for example.

The mood abruptly changes when the second set of verses begins, taking us back to the exact subdued arrangement heard at the beginning of the song.  Ringo drops back to just playing on his bass drum while George's acoustic guitar dominates.  John and Paul also go back to singing in unison throughout both verses while Ringo adds his snare again in the second verse of this set.  At the end of the repeat of the chorus that follows, we hear the first ascending bass line that Paul overdubbed which introduces the solo section of the song.

This solo is six measures in length and is identical in chord structure to a single verse, although one distinctive difference is that Ringo maintains his full rock beat as if the solo were just an extension of the chorus.  After John repeats the guitar lick we heard in the introduction, Paul plays the ascending bass line one final time.  John's lead guitar work follows closely to the vocal melody lines of the verses, right down to the triplet phrases of the third line (although the notes played are different).

This transcends immediately into an identical third appearance of the chorus, after which we change moods again for the final touch of the song.  This conclusion, being of no determined length because of it fading out, consists of John continuously repeating the overdubbed guitar riff along with John and Paul harmonizing the title of the song in the gaps with a melody line not heard before.  Ringo is reduced to just the bass drum again while Paul thumps out an overdubbed bass pattern to add a distinctive element.  Possibly as a fortunate accident, John miss-hits the final note on the third repeat of the guitar riff.  By the time the seventh measure of this conclusion arrives, the song has successfully faded out, leaving us with a memorable closing gesture ringing in our ears.

Paul proves himself to be quite busy in this song; his bass work sounds intricate where necessary and high enough in the mix to be noticed.  In fact, his periodic bass overdubs mark the first time we actually hear two bass parts played simultaneously in a Beatles song, which is something that becomes more common in later years.  While his bass notes on the piano lack the caliber of Liberace, they are just what's needed to create the desired effect.  And, needless to say, his vocal work is spot on pitch.

John's role as lead guitarist, using his custom Rickenbacker 12-string for the only time on a Beatles song nonetheless, is a role he happily jumped into whenever he felt confident enough.  While he displays his lead guitar chops better elsewhere (on "You Can't Do That" and "Long Tall Sally" for instance), he admirably does the job.  His vocal work is also commended, especially his lower harmonies in the chorus.

George's acoustic rhythm guitar role shines well; this element heightens the distinctive feature of the verses.  Ringo, as usual, can always be counted on to comply with suggestions made to spice up the arrangement, as evidenced by his eliminating certain components of his drum kit during the verses and conclusion as well as pounding on a timpani when asked.

The lyrics to "Every Little Thing" can be described as 'politically incorrect' by some, evidenced by the thought that all of the woman's actions are meant to please the man with no mention of the man's intention of returning the favors.  While this depiction dominates in the main phrase of the song, namely "every little thing she does, she does for me," the rest of the lyrics don't tread on that same ground.  Instead, the lyrics as a whole mostly reveal the standard ingredients of a romantic pop song of the time.  The singer is just a "lucky guy" to be "walking beside her."  The lyrics may be somewhat pedestrian in comparison to recent Lennon/McCartney offerings, such as "I'm A Loser" and "Baby's In Black," but the emotional impact of the song come across as sincere.

The words do seem to wander a little, especially with the line the starts "I remember the first time..."  You would assume the next phrase would continue the thought with "...we kissed" or "...we met."  Instead, McCartney goes in another direction with "...I was lonely without her."  Then, instead of elaborating on this new thought, he regresses to his previous one with the line "can't stop thinking about her now."  While this is a curious diversion, I guess we have to chalk this up to being just a 'pop song' anyway.

Next Song – I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party:

It was already the end of September 1964 and, with a new album and single due out at the end of the year, they had only attempted to record four songs thus far. They knew they needed to hustle. After their North American Tour ended, they entered EMI Studio Two on September 29th to start recording the few songs they had written in between performances. The three newly written songs were “Every Little Thing” and “What You’re Doing,” which were primarily McCartney songs, and “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party,” which was mostly written by Lennon.

This session ran from 2:30 to 10:45 pm, with one half hour break. “Every Little Thing” was first on the agenda (though not finished) and at about 4:30 they started work on John’s song. The next two hours resulted in seven recorded takes of the song with everyone playing their usual instruments live with vocals. John sings the higher lead by himself in the verses with Paul joining in on higher harmony in the bridges, Paul and George also singing harmony “oohs” in the ninth through twelfth measures of the verses. They apparently weren’t too familiar with the song as a group because most of these takes didn’t make it through to the end. At 6:30, they decided to take their break.

At 7:00, they got back to work on the song. It took twelve more attempts (takes 8 through 19) to get it down to everyone’s satisfaction. In fact, only five out of the nineteen takes were complete. Take 19 was the "keeper," which did include a small flub in Lennon’s vocals during the last verse. Just before he sings the last line, “I think I’ll take a walk and look for her,” he started with “if I…” He may have confused the last line of this verse with the last line of the first verse, which starts “if she turns up while I’m gone…” Being that the lead vocals were recorded simultaneously with the rhythm track, it may have been troublesome to edit this out without disrupting some of the other instruments.

Two overdubs were needed afterward, John singing a lower harmony in the verses and Ringo playing the tambourine during the bridges. By approximately 9 pm, the song was complete, thereby leaving the next hour and forty-five minutes to start their third song “What You’re Doing,” which also needed a lot more work at a later time. With “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” complete, they were only one song closer to fulfilling the sixteen-song requirement by the end of the year, but at least they got the ball rolling.

The Beatles got busy on the road again in October of that year performing their current British tour, but took a breather on October 26th to attend a mixing session (most likely the first one they ever attended) as well as the final recording session for their album. The first mono mix performed on this day in the control room of Studio Two was “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party.” The EMI staff on this session were producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Tony Clark.

The stereo mix of the song was performed on November 4th, also in the control room of Studio Two, by Martin, Smith and 2nd engineer Mike Stone. Performing ten stereo mixes for the album in three hours is more evidence that Mr. Martin placed much more emphasis on mono mixes at that time. The stereo mix brings George’s guitar work up quite a bit louder, especially noticeable in the introduction.

Song Structure and Style

Once again, Lennon and McCartney stay with their usual ‘verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse’ format (or aaba) with an instrumental section and repeat of the bridge and final verse thrown in to round out the picture. Repeating the first verse also got to be commonplace, as seen in this song. “We’d write a couple of verses, middle…then pretty much repeat verse one,” McCartney explained about their songwriting collaborations. “It meant that you’ve heard those lyrics twice, so we’d rammed ‘em home, and it saved us having to think of a third verse.” In addition, on “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party,” as well as many others (such as “Eight Days A Week” and “Ticket To Ride”), they decided to go back to the second verse to end the song after the repeated bridge.

A four-measure introduction starts off the song, featuring only John’s acoustic guitar and George’s lead guitar phrases for the first three measures. After that, Paul and Ringo kick in on the fourth measure to solidify G as the key of the song. The first sixteen-measure verse then begins with John harmonizing with himself on the title of the song, which only appears twice, once now and once when this verse is repeated. The actual melody line is the higher of the two while the harmony, uncharacteristically, is the lower sung melody in the first, second, and fourth phase of the verse.

The third of the four phrases of the verse consists of a solo lead vocal from John with two-part background harmony from Paul and George. Subtle lead guitar phrases appear in open spaces of the verse, ending with what sounds like an awkward miss-hit note in the last measure, probably left in because it couldn’t be fully isolated from the existing rhythm track.

After an identically structured second verse, the twelve-measure bridge enters. The Beatles here repeat their new and unusual practice of making the bridge the emotional highlight of the song. As also heard on “No Reply” from this same British album, this bridge contains not only the highest note of the song (the high harmony on “tonight she’s made me sad ”) but the unique melodic peak of the entire song.

The rhythm of the melody line is also a nice change of pace from the verses, which feature John singing lead and Paul singing his usual higher harmony. The drawn-out second and fourth phrases, on the lyrics “I still love her,” could have been rushed through to fit the expected eight measures of the bridge, but their insistence on highlighting these notes (and extending the measures as a result) depict well the dejected emotional state of the singer. This Lennon trademark of extending measures and time signatures as heard throughout his career shows that he wants his songs to feel right as opposed to following the rules.

Another interesting feature of the bridge is on the percussive end. Ringo’s overdubbed tambourine is only heard during the bridges and adds the drive to this section, especially since his drumming moves away from his hi-hat to focus on the toms only during the “I still love her” phrases of the bridge. This is a creative touch to the arrangement that also makes the bridge the focal point of the song.

After a repeat of the first verse (and the second and final time we hear the song’s title), we jump headlong into a well-rehearsed and near-perfectly performed guitar solo from George. Before we do, though, we hear Paul give an excited but inappropriate “whoo” to spur him on, inappropriate because of the downbeat subject matter Lennon expresses. The solo sounds upbeat, but the lyrics aren’t. This may be a mismatch, but I enjoy the solo so much that I wouldn’t want the song to be any other way.

After an identical repeat of the bridge and second verse, we move into the four-measure conclusion, which is basically a carbon copy of the introduction except for the inclusion of the drums and bass, as well as the sudden last chord on the one-beat of the fourth measure. The lead guitar phrases and chord pattern heard during the introduction and conclusion aren’t heard anywhere else in the song, which creates an interesting ‘bookend’ effect. We see this device pop up sporadically in The Beatles catalog, such as on “Eight Days A Week” and “You Like Me Too Much.”

Once again, Lennon’s singer-songwriter phase is in full swing, with his acoustic guitar in the forefront and George’s lead guitar playing added flavor to the arrangement. While the instrumentation points to the folk or country and western genre, the chord pattern and melody lines strictly resemble pop music of the day.

John’s vocal delivery fits the mood of the song convincingly, while his rhythm guitar work acts as the true anchor of the song. Paul’s high register harmonies in the bridge bring the track to an excitable pitch and his bass work, while somewhat low in the mix, appropriately mimics the C&W feel of the song. George’s Carl Perkins-style guitar phases and leads show an impressive degree of finesse while Ringo displays his usual expertise at supplying what the track needs, and even more so given his love for country music.

The downbeat lyrics, as commonly heard in Lennon dominated songs of 1964, give an early glimpse of the insecurities he revealed in 1965’s “Help!” These lyrics are vague enough to fit many different scenarios. For instance, does John view his girl not showing up at the party as a betrayal? Or did he actually have a relationship with this girl at all, just wanting to meet up with someone that he had a crush on? This ambiguity leaves it to the listener to decipher, which in turn in an attractive attribute of the song.

Since Lennon describes the song as “very personal,” it is very likely that this was an actual experience, although he never elaborated and neither has McCartney. What we do know is that the only reason he went to this party in the first place was to meet up with someone. He is concerned about spoiling everyone else’s fun, though, with his disappointed appearance, so he is confiding in a friend about his feelings and telling him he’s going to be leaving. “If she turns up while I’m gone, please let me know,” he instructs, although he emphatically states “I still love her” despite her non-appearance. Even though he claims that after having “a drink or two” he doesn’t care, it’s obvious that he does, as he exclaims, “I wonder what went wrong?”

The story hangs in the air unresolved since we never know if he meets up with her. The last thing we know is that he’s going to “take a walk and look for her.” While this is lyrically an odd way to end a pop song, it was probably quite true to John’s personality when he was disappointed. As he sings in the second verse, “I don’t care.”

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