June 3rd, 1964 marked the day "No Reply" premiered at EMI Studio Two. This day G. martin booked the studio to record the final track of their British "A Hard Day's Night" album, although things didn't go as planned. Ringo was hospitalized with tonsillitis and pharyngitis so this studio time was utilized to audition a recommended replacement drummer for their imminent world tour. Between 3 and 4 pm they ran through six songs with drummer Jimmy Nicol, who got the job and left to prepare for his departure with the group the next day.
It was after he left that The Beatles used the remaining studio time to run through a couple new songs. George Harrison first recorded a demo of his second composition "You Know What To Do," which never saw the light of day during The Beatles career, although this demo recording was finally released on "Anthology 1."
Secondly, the group performed a rough run-through of the newly written "No Reply" on guitar, bass and drums (also available on "Anthology 1"). Since neither Ringo nor Jimmy Nicol was present, there is question about the identity of the drummer on this track. Since the drum-work is quite perfunctory, it could be Paul on drums with George Harrison on bass, or vice versa. Either way, it was obvious that they couldn't complete the song for commercial release without Ringo, so it was shelved for almost four months. It could be speculated that, had Ringo been there, "No Reply" could have become the fourteenth track on the British "A Hard Day's Night" album, since it was one song short. Of course, this is just speculation.
It should also be noted that the bridge of the song was heard on this first take, so McCartney must have met with John to finish it before this time. Lyrically it appears to be finished at this point too, although they were poking fun at the words "your face," inserting them at the ends of lines where they weren't meant to be.
September 30th, 1964 signals the date the group set about properly recording the song, this time with Ringo behind the drum kit. An afternoon and evening session were booked for this day, the first session set aside for finishing the song "Every Little Thing." The evening session ran from 6:30 to 10:30 pm with the first order of business being taking another stab at recording "What You're Doing," although this wasn't deemed suitable for release and they re-made the song on another day.
At approximately 8:30 pm, the group spent the rest of the two-hour session beginning and finishing "No Reply." They recorded all the instruments, including George Martin on piano, live on each take along with John and Paul's vocals. They realized that the bridge was a powerful focal point in the song, so they attempted to repeat the bridge and final verse on take five, which extended the song from 2:14 to 3:17. After deciding that this was a little much, they went back to ending the song after the third verse. Both John and Paul overdubbed their vocals onto take 8, which was deemed "best."
Two mono mixes were made on October 16th in the control room of EMI Studio One, one of which was chosen for release. This mix was made by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and A.B. Lincoln. A discernable cough is heard quite prominently after the word "window" in the first verse on this mix. Also, they worked to clean up John's double-tracking on the phrase "in my place" in the third verse, the mono mix only double-tracking the word "place," which is different from the stereo mix. A good amount of reverb was added to John's vocals at this stage, as was a somewhat abrupt fade-out of the final chord.
The stereo mix was performed by George Martin and Norman Smith with 2nd engineer Mike Stone on November 4th in the control room of EMI Studio Two. This rushed mixing session resulted in ten of the recently recorded tracks being mixed for stereo, "No Reply" being the eighth completed. The double-tracking at the end of the third verse comprises both of the words "my place" this time around and the fade-out of the final chord sounds much more realistic. Similar reverb was added to the vocals here as well.
Song Structure and Style
This song follows the simple and familiar pattern established early on in The Beatles cannon, which consist of 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse' (or aaba) as heard, for instance, in "Please Please Me." While this may be noteworthy, the comparisons stop there, as "No Reply" is far more emotionally charged and dramatic than anything they had released up to this point. While no solo or instrumental section was needed, a brief conclusion rounded out the arrangement.
The first verse begins with John's vocals appearing before the first downbeat of the first measure, which is something they apparently quite enjoyed doing (witness "It Won't Be Long," "All My Loving" and "Can't Buy Me Love" as examples). This sixteen-measure verse, as with all three of the verses, can be broken down into four sections. The first, second and fourth sections are relatively identical, with subdued solo vocals from John that set the stage for the details of his story.
The third section, however, is the focal point of dramatic tension in the entire song, which highlights the stunning detail that hits the singer (and us in effect) in the gut. The highlighted phrase "I saw the light" is repeated twice in this section to underscore the shocking evidence of being lied to about his girl not being at home. Violent syncopations with cymbal crashes on each eighth note before the downbeat, along with screaming harmonies from John and Paul, demand our attention to this significant detail.
The second verse follows the same pattern as more details of the betrayal unfold. The highlighted phrase in the second verse is "I nearly died," which allows us to sympathize with the heartbreak John is going through.
Drama unfolds quite well in the sixteen-measure bridge, which is used as a vocal plea for his girl to repent and come clean, no questions asked. Staccato piano stabs and handclaps appear to accentuate the high register harmony vocals from John and Paul, which are used quite well to contrast the bridge from the rest of the song.
Since the title of the song is heard at the end of the bridge, a repeat of the second verse is heard instead of the usual repeat of the first (as evidenced in "Please Please Me"). After this relatively identical performance of the second verse, a four-measure conclusion rounds off the song. It was no accident that they chose the dramatic third section of the verse to modify for a conclusion, since they (or George Martin) recognized its flagrant prominence in the song. The highlighted phrase now becomes "no reply" and we end on a C chord with an added sixth and added ninth, which works to complete the sad story with a resounding sigh!
John's performance is truly the highlight, with his gruff vocals (no doubt due to the long hours in the recording studio that day) and singer-songwriter style acoustic guitar work. His subdued sore throat adds a convincing depth to the story, unlike the inappropriate upbeat performance heard on Take One on June 3rd. Paul is next to be commended for his higher harmonies that only appear during dramatic points in the song (unlike throughout the song as heard on Take One). In fact, his higher harmonies in the verses ("I saw the light" and "I nearly died") were originally intended as the melody which was to be sung by John as evidenced on Take One. Since Lennon's voice was shot by this time, he sang the lower harmony which now is viewed as the melody.
Paul's bass work is also relatively without flourishes and low in the mix, which doesn't detract from the song's message; the most important component of this song.
Since no solo was required, George Harrison is reduced to acoustic rhythm guitar throughout, sometimes adding a sixth or ninth for special effect. In the first eight measures of each verse Ringo taps out a bossa nova beat, which has never graced a Beatles song. His syncopated accents and cymbal crashes come in dependably whenever needed to create a tight musical performance within the band. It took some practice before getting it right (evidenced by Take Two as contained on "Anthology 1"), and he almost got it perfect. He does put in one extra crash just before the conclusion, but George Martin decided just to leave it in instead of taking the time to edit it out.
The Beatles music publisher Dick James thought quite a lot of "No Reply." John Lennon relates, "I remember Dick James coming up to me after we did this one and saying, 'You're getting better now-That was a complete story.' Apparently, before that, he thought my songs wandered off."
John Lennon truly had grown as a songwriter by this point. The vagueness of romantic clichés had given way to details and resolves, possibly due to his recent fixation on the music of Bob Dylan. This song tells of him going more than one time ("this happened once before") to his girlfriend's house to be told by her parents (or flatmates?) that she wasn't there. He knew better because he "saw the light" through the window as she 'peeped through' and actually saw "her face."
When he tries contacting her on the phone, the call is intercepted to tell him that she's not home, but John knows "that's a lie" because he's been watching the house and saw her come home. He "nearly died" when he saw her coming home holding hands "with another man in my place."
He then realizes he's been replaced, but fails to give up. His final plea is to proclaim that he loves her "more than any other guy." If she will come back to him, he'll "forgive the lies" and continue where they left off. We don't know lyrically if she comes back, but the finality of the final chord suggests the anguish of a lost love, which indicates "a complete story" as Dick James proclaimed.
Next Song – I’m A Loser:
On August 14th, 1964 The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two for their second recording session for their fourth British album which eventually bore the name "Beatles For Sale." Two evening sessions were held on this day, the first from 7 to 9 pm and the second from 10 to 11:15 pm. The first session began with "I'm A Loser," which showed them experimenting quite a lot with the arrangement.
Take two was the first complete take, which started off in full tempo with John and Paul harmonizing the title of the song. Paul repeatedly harmonized the final line of each chorus, "I'm not what I appear to be." The harmonica and guitar solo in the middle section did not exist at this point, so the rhythm guitars just played subdued to allow for overdubbing, if this ended up being the final take (which it didn't). Also noteworthy was that it ended without repeating the chorus for the final time, instead repeating "I'm a loser" many times until Paul exclaims, "Well, there's a frayed edge for ya."
Take three was also complete, and showed the song moving closer to the finished product. The slow, labored introduction appears here for the first time, as well as George Harrison's first attempt at the guitar solo in the middle section. They ended the song with a complete chorus this time, but it proved unsatisfactory, Lennon ending the take saying "It didn't work out the same, because..." as the tape was stopped.
Take four shows John ready to play his harmonica parts while playing guitar, but the take ends midway through when John sings the wrong line in the chorus, and takes five through seven were aborted takes as well. Take eight, however, became the final complete take, with all vocals and most of the instrumentation performed simultaneously. The overdubs were then performed, these consisting of George adding simple lead guitar passages in the open spaces of the verses, Ringo on tambourine in the choruses, and a double-tracking of John and Paul's vocals during the choruses only. The song was complete in approximately an hour, between 7 and 8 pm.
The first mono mix of the song was made during the break between these two evening sessions by producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Ron Pender. This mix, though, never saw the light of day.
October 26th, 1964 was when the released mono mix was created in EMI Studio Two, this time by George Martin, Norman Smith and 2nd engineer A.B. Lincoln. The fade out to the song is slightly longer than the stereo mix, which was made on November 4th by Martin, Smith and 2nd engineer Mike Stone in the control room of Studio Two. The stereo mix also has the guitar solo slightly louder as well as the tambourine in the chorus, which leaves a noticeable decrease in volume when the tambourine cuts out and the harmonica solo begins. Both the mono and stereo mixes show evidence of John 'popping' in his microphone whenever he sings "not what I appear to be," which is especially noticeable in the introduction.
Song Structure and Style
The folk music style evident in this song, ala Dylan, sinks right down to the structure itself, utilizing a 'verse/ chorus/ verse/ chorus/ instrumental/ verse/ chorus/ instrumental' formula, which becomes ababcabc. The instrumental section this time is shared between a harmonica solo from John and a guitar solo from George.
Starting off the proceedings, though, is an informal out-of-tempo introduction with Lennon's vocals leading the way, signaling McCartney to join in on harmony vocals on the word "loser," which is repeated twice. During these harmonies, John plucks out the notes of the chords in a typical singer / songwriter fashion. He then sets the tempo with his acoustic guitar on the final lyrical phrase of the introduction "I'm not what I appear to be." This introduction, no doubt from a suggestion by George Martin, is loosely based on the chorus that is heard a little later.
The entire group kicks in on the downbeat of the first verse, which is sixteen measures long. The most interesting focal point of the verse is John's dissension down to a low G note at the end of the second and fourth melody lines. While he struggles to hit these notes at the lowest end of his register, he hits the target nearly flawlessly throughout the song (albeit with much practice from the previous six takes). These melodic drops fit in perfectly with the lyrics that depict how "down" he feels about himself, which fall on the words "crossed" and "end."
The instrumentation is quite subdued during the verse, which highlights the storyteller in giving us his sorrowful details. The drums softly ride on the closed hi hat, the lead guitar offers subtle bending phrases after each lyrical line and the bass delivers a simple "oompah" pattern while John's acoustic guitar provides a foundation to the sad story. His vocals are single-tracked, which provides an intimacy between himself and the listener.
Then the chorus kicks in with sizzling cymbals and tambourine from Ringo, walking bass and wailing harmony vocals from Paul and double-tracked vocals from John. This formula results in an eight-measure chorus that screams to the world what a "loser" the singer is.
The band turns off all that energy like a light switch as they enter into a second sixteen measure verse. The band dramatically returns to their subdued arrangement and single tracked vocal as John hits his low notes on the appropriate words’ "frown" and "cry."
After a repeat of the chorus, the band maintains the feverish swell of volume into the first instrumental section, which is sixteen measures long and is a hybrid of the verse (the first eight measures) and the eight-measure chorus. The first half of this section features a Dylan-like harmonica solo from John while the second half features a Carl Perkins-like solo from George, which adds a touch of rockabilly to the proceedings. Note how closely the guitar solo resembles that which accompanies last years' "All My Loving."
Once again, the band switches off the volume for a third verse with a different set of lyrics. This time, John's low notes appropriately accentuate the lyrics "late" and "lose all." The volume swells once again for the final repeat of the chorus and reappearance of the instrumental section, which is also identical to the first except that George struggles to perform the planned solo with the same accuracy as he did the first time. This is somewhat masked by the song fading out shortly before the instrumental section was due to conclude.
Lennon once again is the standout of the song as a whole, his acoustic guitar played somewhat aggressively with plenty of pick noise on the strings as if it helped him tell his disheartening story. Ringo jumps back and forth between subdued and accentuated playing very appropriately, while virtually no drum fills are played throughout the song. (One does creep in at the end of the second measure of the final instrumental section, which has the awkward-but-distinctive 'Ringo' feel to it.)
McCartney once again gives a stellar performance on bass, especially during the chorus and instrumental section, while shooting up to perform his usual spot-on higher harmonies. His insistence on George Harrison pre-planning his guitar solos works well in this song as George comes through with hardly a blemish (at least the first time through). His accents and bent notes throughout the verses also add appropriate delicate touches to the song.
The lyrics seem to appear as a brutally honest admission of gambling at the game of love and losing big time, which in itself is very convincingly done and quite unlike anything Lennon has written before. While previous songs such as "Not A Second Time" and "I'll Cry Instead" portray the singer as the one being hurt and therefore, we should feel sorry for him, this song shows him fully admitting his guilt. Although crying has been a general theme in John's songs for years, the line "is it for her or myself that I cry" shows the pitiable situation he finds himself in. He knows he blew it, and he is wallowing in self-pity. We therefore admire him for being man enough to admit his mistakes.
The girl in question wasn't just another conquest, but was very special, "a girl in a million." The winning/losing theme is played up repeatedly in the song, evidenced by knowing "she would win in the end," saying that he "lost someone who's near" to him, and how he's warning us of his mistakes so that we "won't lose all."
What adds to the potency of these lyrics is the autobiographical nature depicted throughout. The repeated line "I'm not what I appear to be" suggests John's personal feelings, as Kenneth Allsop suggested he interject into his lyrics during their discussion back in March of that year. Lennon also adds the telling line "Although I laugh and I act like a clown, beneath this mask I am wearing a frown." John's clownish antics while performing live are now legendary, as are his irreverent answers in interviews during the Beatle years, which he later admitted were due to the insecurities he was feeling. These insecurities were depicted in later songs, "Help!" being the most noteworthy example.
The word "clown" itself was indication of Dylan's influence on the song. "I objected to the word 'clown' because that was always artsy-fartsy," Lennon explained in a 1974 interview, "but Dylan had used it so I thought it was alright, and it rhymed with whatever I was doing."
Although other writers may speculate as to when Lennon's songwriting changed, most agree that the true turning point was with "I'm A Loser." While his inner feelings may have been unfounded, they nonetheless were very real to him. From this point forward, with very few exceptions, John Lennon wrote about what John Lennon was feeling. He didn't write songs about 'Desmond and Molly' or fictional situations about romance. He kept quite firm in his resolve to use his songwriting talents to express how he felt. And we all can be grateful for that.
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