OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA AND ITS INCREDIBLE RECORDING PROCESS.

On May 29th, 1968, as on the previous day, The Beatles met at 'Kinfauns,' George's home in Surrey, to record demos for all the songs they had recently written in preparation to officially start recording their next album. On this second day at 'Kinfauns,” Paul recorded a very charming acoustic guitar rendition of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” overdubbing himself on guitar and vocals as well as beating on what sounds like bongos (but what may very likely have been the back of his acoustic guitar). Paul convincingly demonstrates the Jamaican-flavored imagery he envisioned for the song, complete with vocal “chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom...” expressions in the bridges of the song. The primitive recording made on this day easily gets out of sync during double-tracking at times, but nonetheless shows the enduring quality of the song.

The Beatles didn't bring the song into EMI studios until a little over a month later, or July 3rd, 1968, arriving around 8 pm in Studio Two. Although documentation shows George Martin to be present on this day as producer, Geoff Emerick remembers otherwise: “George happened to be absent on the first night The Beatles started running down 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,' so Chris (Thomas) was the de facto producer. Initially, we all enjoyed doing the track because of its lighthearted up-tempo feel.”

It appears that only Paul and Ringo actually worked at attempting to lay down the rhythm track on this day, Paul on acoustic guitar while singing lead vocals off microphone as a guide vocal, and Ringo on drums. Seven takes were recorded, the seventh take being considered 'best' at first, upon which Paul overdubbed his lead vocals and then a second acoustic guitar. Paul then reconsidered his choice of 'take seven,' thinking 'take four' was best after all. Onto this take, Paul overdubbed a second acoustic guitar, abandoning 'take seven' forever. Since the hour had reached 3:15 am the following day, Paul decided to leave off recording his lead vocals until the next day.

That next day, July 4th, 1968, saw The Beatles re-enter EMI Studio Two for more overdubs on the song. The session was said to have started at 7 pm but, given that not much occurred on this day, it's more likely that they arrived later. First on the agenda was for Paul to record his lead vocals onto the previous days' 'take four,' followed by John and George recording their “la-la” backing vocals on the last open track. “Even Lennon got into it – at first, anyway,” Geoff Emerick explains, “because it gave him a chance to clown around with his silly voices.” Since the four-track tape was now full, a reduction mix was made to open up new tracks, allowing Paul to double-track his lead vocals onto what was now considered 'take five.' By 2:15 am the following morning, the session was complete.

More overdubs were recorded that following day, July 5th, 1968, once again at EMI Studio Two. The overdubs this time, however, were not performed by The Beatles but by session musicians brought in at the request of Paul, playing a score worked out by Paul and transcribed by George Martin. The session was scheduled to begin at 5 pm, but the bulk of the recorded overdubs happened between 6 and 10:30 pm. Three saxophonists, James Gray, Rex Morris and Cyril Reuben, recorded their parts as well as, none other than, Jimmy Scott (the same person who coined the “Ob-la-di...” phrase) on bongos, no doubt as a concession from Paul for his inspiration to the song. Rex Morris, acknowledging his performance on “Ob-La-Da, Ob-La-Da” as “the reggae one,” remembers: “Yoko Ono was there at the session.”

Then, between 10:30 and 11:45 pm, a piccolo overdub was performed. (Documents do not reveal the identity of this musician.) It appears that Paul decided that this piccolo part was not suitable for the song, so he instead recorded another guitar overdub on the same track as the piccolo, recording over this musicians' performance.

Chris Thomas, who was also present at this session, recalls the uniqueness of this guitar overdub: “Paul was deliberately overloading the sound through the desk so that it sounded like a bass.” Paul remembers some technical details about this overdub: “You can defeat the machine. For example, one trick of ours – 'Ob-La-Di' is one of the songs I did this on – was to over-record an acoustic guitar, so you'd swing the needle into the red, and it'd be there, hard, every time you'd played it. The engineer would say 'No, no, no this is not allowed, we have to keep it just before the red or a little into the red!' and we'd be firm and say 'No.' And the acoustic would come back like an electric; it wouldn't distort too much, it would just mess around with that original sound. It'd make it hot. You'd defeated the machine; you'd actually screwed it up a bit. They're harder than ever to defeat now. They've thought of all that. If you're going to work in the red now, there's a little computer that comes in and says 'Limit!,' stops it and brings it back. They're all so clever these days, and you can't actually screw up.”

As far as all the effort put into recording “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” things started getting somewhat tense in the studio on this day, as explained by Geoff Emerick. “It started going on and on, dragging out over three nights. Paul wasn't happy with the rhythm of the track or with the way his vocal lay. He was after a Jamaican reggae feel, and he wasn't satisfied that the band had nailed it. The problem intensified by the fact that even Paul didn't quite know how to lock it in rhythmically, and so he grew pretty frustrated with himself. Paul was something of a perfectionist by this point, but he also had to think that perhaps that had something to do with why he was so fussy about the recording of the song – maybe he did that just to annoy John, just to teach him a lesson.”

“Throughout the preceding weeks I had noticed that John's behavior was becoming increasingly erratic – his mood swings were more severe, and they were occurring more frequently. That was definitely the case with the recording of (this song). One moment he'd be into it, acting the fool and doing his fake Jamaican patois, the next minute he'd be sulking and grumbling about how the song was more of Paul's 'granny music sh*t.' You never knew exactly where you stood with Lennon at any given time, but things indeed got worse.”

In any event, under these strained circumstances, after a short playback of the day's work, this session was complete, everyone gone by 1:30 am the next morning.

During the next three days, Paul decided that, upon his hearing the last playback of the song, that he wanted to start from scratch. This was a first for The Beatles; to have spent the money and taken the time to recruit outside musicians for a particular song and then decide not to use anything they'd contributed. If things were tense in the studio before, things were bound to be unbearable now!

And so it was, on July 8th, 1968, when The Beatles returned to EMI Studio Two at 5 pm (or so) to find out that Paul wanted to begin again on the same song that has been getting on everyone's nerves! “John went ballistic,” Geoff Emerick relates. “Ranting and raving, he headed out the door, with Yoko trailing closely behind, and we thought that we'd seen the last of him that evening. But a few hours later he stormed back into the studio, clearly in a highly altered state of mind.”

“'I AM F*CKING STONED!!' John Lennon bellowed from the top of the stairs. He had chosen to make his entrance through the upstairs door, presumably so that he could quickly gain the attention of the three startled Beatles below. Swaying slightly, he continued, waving his arms for emphasis. 'I am more stoned than you have ever been. In fact, I am more stoned than you will ever be!'...'And this,' Lennon added with a snarl, 'is how the f*cking song should go.' Unsteadily, he lurched down the stairs and over to the piano and began smashing the keys with all his might, pounding out the famous opening chords that became the song's introduction, played at a breakneck tempo. A very upset Paul got right in Lennon's face. For a moment I thought fists might fly.”

“'Okay, then, John,' he said in short, clipped words, staring his deranged bandmate straight in the eye. 'Let's do it your way.' As angry as he was, I think that deep down inside Paul was flattered that his longtime collaborator had given the song any thought at all...even though he had obviously done so while getting out of his skull.”

It's funny how, when two different people witness the same event, they may have completely different takes on what occurred. In his book “Many Years From Now,” Paul describes this development like so: “I remember being in the studio with George and Ringo, struggling with an acoustic version of the song. John was late for the session, but when he arrived, he bounced in, apologizing, in a very good mood. He sat down at the piano and instantly played the blue-beat-style intro. We were very pleased with his fresh attitude. It turned us on and turned the whole song around. He and I worked hard on the vocals, and I remember the two of us in the studio having a whale of a time.”

Although both of these eyewitness events sound convincing, the “whale of a time” appears when listening to the uncut introduction of this song on a rough mix which Ringo presented to his friend Peter Sellers, this mix made available on bootlegs.

Having established how to proceed with recording this new version of the song, twelve takes of the rhythm track was recorded on this day with John on piano, Paul on fuzz bass, George on acoustic guitar and Ringo on drums. One additional element from the original version was the inclusion of the phrase “and if you want some fun” at the conclusion of the song. Having filled all four tracks of the tape with this performance, a tape reduction was made of 'take 12', which made it 'take 13', this backing track reduced to track one of a new tape. Paul overdubbed lead vocals while John and George overdubbed backing vocals, this taking up tracks three and four of the tape, while 'Latin American percussion' (maracas and other assorted instruments) were added onto track two. The “other assorted instruments” may very well have included the small intricate piano overdubs heard in the last verse, these most likely being played by Paul.

Engineer Richard Lush relates the overall tension of the day: “Looking back now it was great to be involved with The Beatles, but there was a negative side. They spent so much time doing each song that I can remember sitting in the control room before a session dying to hear them start a new one. They must have done 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' five nights running and it's not exactly the most melodic piece of music. They'd do it one night, and you'd think 'that's it.' But then they'd come in the next day and do it again in a different key or with a different feel. Poor Ringo would be playing from about three in the afternoon until one in the morning, with few breaks in between, and then have to do it all over again the next night.”

Just before the session dispersed for the evening at 3 am the next morning, a rough mono mix of the song was created by the engineering team of George Martin, Geoff Emerick, and Richard Lush to be taken away by Paul for his inspection. Surely he would be happy with the song now! Emerick stood convinced the song was complete at this point: “The remake was, I had to admit, quite good. It had a bouncier feel to it than the original version, which seemed a bit leaden by comparison, and when it was completed, we all breathed a sigh of relief that we wouldn't have to be working on the song anymore.”

However... “Sadly, Paul returned to his nitpicking ways the very next afternoon,” Emerick continues, “announcing peremptorily that he was still dissatisfied and wanted to remake the song yet again...despite the fact that Ringo wasn't even there.” On this day, July 9th, 1968, The Beatles arrived this time in EMI Studio Three for a late afternoon session from 4 to 9 pm, Ringo possibly not being informed they were meeting so early. Emerick relates: “Paul got behind the drums instead and led a clearly steamed Lennon and Harrison through another couple of run-throughs (takes 20 and 21) before he finally capitulated and gave up.”

Ringo, probably arriving at the usual 7 pm, reported to have walked into a session (presumably in the usual EMI Studio Two) for singer Solomon King. Not knowing where his bandmates were, he contributed a handclapping performance for his song “A Hundred Years Or More.” At some point, he must have realized that the rest of The Beatles were waiting for him in EMI Studio Three, their evening session beginning at 10 pm. Poor Ringo!

With all four Beatles now present, they worked at making the previous attempt at “Ob-La-Da, Ob-La-Da” the finished product after all. A decision was made to replace the vocals recorded on tracks three and four the previous day, them “gathered around the microphone,” as Emerick relates, to record a lot of what is heard on the finished version, such as the laughing, joking, ho-hos and he-hees.

Included here is after Paul sings “lend a hand,” John replies “arm,” and then George cries “leg.” In the second bridge, after Paul sings “home sweet home,” John spells out “h – o – m – e – home.” Then, in the final verse, after Paul again sings “lend a hand,” George retorts “foot.” Emerick continues, “Interestingly, all the bad feelings of the past weeks seemed to evaporate as soon as they gathered around the mic and I fed tape echo into their headphones. That's all it took for them to suspend their petty disagreements; for those few moments, they would clown around and act silly again, like they did when they were kids, just starting out. Then as soon as they'd take the cans off, they'd go back to hating each other. It was very odd – it was almost as if having the headphones on and hearing that echo put them in a dreamlike state.”

With this, another tape reduction was necessary, which turned 'take 13' into 'take 22.” Onto this, this four Beatles overdubbed some vocal percussion and handclaps (Ringo did a lot of hand clapping on this day!). John then announced that he wanted to record another version of the previously recorded song “Revolution,” which ushered in some rehearsals that eventually ended the session at 3:30 am the following morning.

More attention was given to “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” however, a couple of days later, July 11th, 1968, as the group reassembled in EMI Studio Three at around 7 pm. Three saxophonists were once again employed to perform on this new version, two of which are thought to be Rex Morris and Ronnie Scott as well as an unnamed third musician. After their recorded contribution ended, another tape reduction was needed, two attempts made resulting in the first attempt (take 23) being the keeper. Onto this, Paul overdubbed another bass guitar track, but apparently not with an actual bass guitar.  In a 1994 interview with Tony Bacon, Paul explained that, concerning the bass on "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," he "double-tracked it with an acoustic guitar, which is a cool idea: an octave up from the bass, playing exactly the same on acoustic."

The night was then finished off with the team of George Martin, Geoff Emerick and 2nd engineer Phil McDonald creating yet another rough mono mix of the song, two attempts being made of this as well. By 3:45 am the next morning, this session was also then complete.

The following day, July 12th, 1968, The Beatles met in EMI Studio Two at around 3 pm to complete work on Ringo's composition “Don't Pass Me By,” afterwards sticking around to oversee two more attempts at a mono mix of “Ob-La-Da, Ob-La-Da.” Evidence of Paul, Ringo and George in the control room during this mixing session lingers on a tape of out-takes and studio chatter compiled at The Beatles' request, the three of them announcing “remix ten” with various humorous accents when this song's mono mix took shape. By 11 pm this session was over, the newly created mono mix of Paul's song being taken away by him for more scrutiny.

Three days later, on July 15th, 1968, Paul's scrutiny revealed that he still wasn't satisfied with his lead vocals. That being the case, he gave his vocals another go in EMI Studio Two at an afternoon session held between 3:30 and 8 pm.

Geoff Emerick recounts the details of this day. “After setting up the vocal microphone for Paul down in Studio Two and getting a headphone mix together, Richard (Lush) and I began the long, tedious process of rolling and re-rolling the tape as he experimented endlessly, making minute changes to the lead vocal, in search of some kind of elusive perfection that only he could hear in his head... 'Paul, can you try rephrasing the last line of each verse?' George Martin asked in his gentle, slightly aristocratic voice...He was still trying to do his job, still trying to steer his charges toward increased musical sophistication and help push them to their best performances. 'If you think you can do it better, why don't you f*cking come down here and sing it yourself?' he snarled as he whipped off his headphones and glared up at the control room.”

“Stunned, I looked over at George. Even he couldn't understand why Paul was still trying to redo the vocal track; in those days you simply didn't spend huge amounts of time doing that sort of fine-tuning. But as the ferocity of McCartney's verbal attack sunk in, he turned pale, clearly choking back his anger and humiliation. What happened next shocked me to the core: in sheer frustration, quiet, low-key George Martin actually began shouting back at Paul. 'Then bloody sing it again!' he yelled over the talkback, causing me to wince. 'I give up. I just don't know any better how to help you.' It was the first time I had ever heard George Martin raise his voice in a session. The silence following the outburst was equally deafening.” It was this event that was the last straw for engineer Geoff Emerick, who decided that he no longer wanted to work with The Beatles anymore. He showed up for their session on the following day and then, after a long history of working with the band, abandoned his role as engineer for the rest of the “White Album.” (He eventually resumed working with The Beatles nine months later.)

Paul finally completed his lead vocal track to his own satisfaction on this day, leaving in a particular lyric flub.  Friend Pete Shotton was present on this day and, in his book "John Lennon: In My Life," relates the following eyewitness account of this lyrical mistake:  "After finally turning in what sounded like a flawless performance, (Paul) burst out laughing.  'Oh, sh*t!' he said.  'We'll have to do it again!'  'Well, it sounded OK to me,' John yawned.  'Yeah,' George agreed.  'It was perfect.'  'But didn't you notice?' Paul demanded.  'Notice what?' said John.  'I just sang "Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face"...I should've sung "Molly!"'  The others refused to believe him - until George Martin played back the tape and proved Paul was right.  'Oh, it sounds great anyway,' Paul concluded.  'Let's just leave it in - create a bit of confusion there.  Everyone will wonder whether Desmond's a bisexual or a transvestite.'"

Ten attempts at creating a mono mix of the now completed song took place, although none of these sounded right for the released album.

Apparently, Paul did not receive any of the mono mixes created on this day so, on August 27th, 1968, a tape copy was made in the control room of EMI Studio Two of the song, as well as three others, which were taken away by Mal Evans then given to the group. This was probably the mix that eventually ended up in the hands of Peter Sellers, as mentioned above.

Both the stereo and mono mixes that surfaced on the released album were created on October 12th, 1968 in the control room of EMI Studio Two by the team of George Martin, Ken Scott, and John Smith. This team worked from 7 pm to 5:45 am the next morning creating mixes also for various other “White Album” tracks. The stereo mix came first, four attempts, followed by the mono mix which they accomplished in one try. One noticeable difference between the two is the absence of handclapping at the beginning of the mono mix.

Snatches of the Beatles performing the song during the “Get Back/Let It Be” sessions trickled on tape during January of 1969.  There were four times that “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was touched on, the dates being January 3rd at Twickenham Film Studios, and the 13th, 14th, and 24th at Apple Studios.  One silly version features John taking most of the lead vocals, singing “Oh, my God, Oh, my God” where the song's title should be, as well as a verse that contains the lyrics:  “Desmond has a sparrow in his pocketbook / Molly had an eagle in the sand / Molly said to Dezzy, 'My, I like your hook / And when you hit me I believe your in the band.'”  John then concludes the song with “Well, if you want some jam...”

A stereo mix of the original version of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was created sometime in 1996 for inclusion on the compilation album “Anthology 3.” Edited onto the beginning of this mix is John shouting “Yes sir, Take one of the Mighty Jumbo Band,” as well as John's exclamation “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, brother” at the song's conclusion.

Although it's not very noticeable, piano from “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is featured in the mash-up of “Lady Madonna” created by George Martin and his son Giles Martin sometime between 2004 and 2006. This creation lulls on the album “Love.”

As for the song structure, it follows a simple pattern of 'verse/ chorus/ verse/ chorus/ bridge/ verse/ chorus/ bridge/ verse/ chorus' (or ababcabcab) with a simple introduction and conclusion thrown in and no solo or instrumental section required therein.

As for the style of the song, Paul was working hard to capture a Jamaican-flavored sound. Around the time of the album's release, when asked about the reason he chose a Jamaican style for this song, Paul stated: “I've no idea why it's Jamaican or anything, it's just because I like that kind of music. I think this was mainly me; John's a bit more Nigerian influenced.” Paul was attempting to emulate the pseudo-reggae style of music coined “ska,” which had become quite popular in Britain in the 60's as commonly found on the record label “Blue Beat.” With the accents on the offbeats, John hit upon it nicely with his piano playing on the released version of the song, something not quite captured in The Beatles' first recorded version. An interesting note is that The Beatles touched on the “ska” craze much earlier in their career, the solo portion of the song “I Call Your Name” capturing this feel quite nicely.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” starts off with a five-measure introduction, the first measure consisting fully of John's piano chords, this startling the listener away from the spooky gloominess of the faded orchestral score that concludes the previous track “Glass Onion.” The second and third measures feature John's syncopated piano chording along with Paul's bass guitar performance on acoustic guitar, the third measure including a spot of handclapping (stereo version only). The fourth and fifth measures bring in Ringo's drums, George's acoustic guitar and Paul's actual bass guitar performance, which is mimicking the simple pattern played by the acoustic bass guitar overdub.

The first verse, like all the verses, repeat a uniform eight measures long, this one continuing the same instrumentation from the introduction with the inclusion of Paul's single-tracked lead vocal, treated nonetheless with much ADT (Artificial Double Tracking). The first eight-measure chorus enters next which continues the same instrumentation with the only addition being John and George's backing vocals sung in unison with Paul's lead vocals.

The second verse then commences which is identical to the first except for the new lyrics and a couple of word insertions, this being John repeating the words “ring” and “sing” at the end of those lyric lines. The chorus that follows has all the elements of the first with the addition of overdubbed falsetto vocals singing “la, la, la....bra, la, la, how the life goes on” twice. With some commotion going on throughout, such as assorted clicks and pops from one of the vocal overdub tracks, we hear Paul exclaim “yeah” along with the first drum break from Ringo in the eighth measure.

The first occurrence of the eight-measure bridge comes next, which contain the same instrumental elements as heard in the song thus far. After the subtle sound of someone saying what sounds like “Go” on the downbeat of the first measure, Paul sings solo single-tracked lead vocals throughout while adding in some “chicka-chick, chicka-chick...” reggae-sounding vocal percussion in the third and fourth measures. Also added here are overdubbed quickly shaken maracas (possibly by Ringo) in the second through sixth measures as well as harmonized saxophones in measures three through five. Measures seven and eight show all instruments cutting out except for John's syncopated piano chords. Paul continues singing to finish out the bridge, complemented by John's “oooooh, ho-ho-ho-ho” in the final measure, this quietly continuing into the first measure of the verse that follows.

The third verse comes next, following the same format instrumentally as the others but with a slight drum fill from Ringo in the fourth measure. This measure also includes the “arm” and “leg” vocal hi-jinx as mentioned above. Paul adds a few additional extraneous notes on one of his bass performances during measures two and three. The saxophones enter in again in the eighth measure of this verse with a counter-melody line that continues throughout the chorus that follows. Paul excitedly raises the range of the chorus melody line in the final measure of the verse but maintains the true melody throughout this third chorus as it is sung in unison with John and George as before. John adds a little “hee-hee-hee” in the background of the chorus's fourth measure and a piano thumb roll in the eighth measure.

The second appearance of the bridge then appears, the maracas appearing again in the second through sixth measures but being played in a standard way this time around instead of shaken vigorously. The saxophones appear again in the third and fourth measures as before but also interject a melody line in the seventh and eighth measures this time as well. In the far background, during the first saxophone line, one can hear John's “h-o-m-e, home” mumble as mentioned above. Also heard in the seventh and eighth measures are what sound like bongos, Paul harmonizing with himself on the line “Desmond and Molly Jones,” and John singing “ha-ha-ha-ha...” in the background.

The fourth verse appears next which is lyrically a repeat of the third verse. Assorted squeaks and background vocalizations occur during this verse, including some “ha-ha-ha”s in the fourth and fifth measures and George's reply of “foot” in the fourth measure as an answer to Paul's “lend a hand” in the lead vocals. A touch of bongos is still apparent in the second measure as are two overdubbed piano phrases in the fourth and sixth measures. Paul's character mix up occurs in this verse, humorously exchanging “Desmond” and “Molly” as mentioned above, the eighth measure also including a tom-tom break from Ringo to usher in the next section.

The final chorus then appears which includes Paul's higher pitched vocalization whenever the words “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” occur. The saxophone counter-melody line returns throughout this chorus, as does the continuation of assorted “ha-ha-ha”s in the fourth and fifth measures. This chorus is seven measures long, however, the final measure clipped off to bring in the song's three-measure conclusion. The chord goes minor for the first two of these measures, Ringo performing a drum break at the end of the first measure where the eighth measure of the chorus would have been. Some tinkling percussion and high pitched “ha-ha-ha”s appear in these measures as does Paul's new lyric “and if you want some fun...take ob-la-di-bla-da” performed double-tracked this time. The song ends suddenly on the fourth beat of the third measure with John's final piano chord, the laughter continuing afterward for a moment or two. John is heard saying “thank you,” as if he is relieved that the song is now complete.

Despite all the aggravation the recording of this song produced, taking the longest of all the tracks on the “White Album” to record, the listener is treated to the illusion of frivolity between the four happy-go-lucky boys from Liverpool, hamming it up with their “Goons”-like humor similar to their early Christmas messages to fan club members. Paul may be the driving force on the song, but John plays a vital role in giving it the “ska” feel on the piano, something Paul had been reaching for all along. Paul's bass work is rudimentary throughout but purposely planned that way as to give the song that easy accessibility he desired. Ringo and George put in suitable performances as well. Overall, the listener is treated to a fun Jamaican-style song that, once gets inserted into the brain, isn't easily removed.

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GLASS ONION AND ITS INCREDIBLE RECORDING PROCESS.

John didn't have much of the song written by May 28th, 1968, when The Beatles met at George Harrison's 'Kinfauns' home in Esher, Surrey to record demos of the songs they've recently written. This fact, though, didn't stop John from putting down on tape what he had so far. The recording consists of John double-tracking himself on acoustic guitar and vocal with a hint of tambourine played by someone else in the third verse. All three verses, however, consist of the first verse repeated three times with slightly different lyrics from what became the finished version. John here sings “I told you about Strawberry Fields, well here's a place you know just as real...where everything glows.” In the second verse, John flubs the line “to see how the other half lives” which results in him mumbling gibberish, him doing the same thing when this point arrives during double-tracking. John then continues this nonsensical habit in many other places in this recording, right down to the song's last moments. Another difference is the dramatically slowed tempo in the third verse during the line “here's another place you can go, where everything glows,” during which time you hear other Beatle voices in the background, one even saying “Help!” at one point. This recording can be heard in its entirety on the compilation album “Anthology 3.”

September 11th, 1968, marked the first day “Glass Onion” was brought into EMI Studio Two and officially recorded. John got together with Paul to finish off the lyrics at some point prior to this day, so a completely written song was ready to go. They all arrived sometime after 7 pm with Chris Thomas at the helm since George Martin lulled on vacation at the time.

The Beatles ran through 34 takes of the rhythm track on this day, the instrumentation being John on his Gibson acoustic guitar, George on his Fender Stratocaster, Paul on a newly acquired Fender Jazz Bass and Ringo playing, as Mal Evans mentions in the November 1968 edition of "The Beatles Monthly Book," "two drum kits instead of one."  Ringo had just acquired a new drum set, a Ludwig Hollywood kit.  "I knew we weren't going to play live anymore," Ringo states in Andy Bakiuk's book "Beatles Gear," "and the others were getting different things to use in the studio, so I thought I would get a proper kit, real drums with real skin heads."  With this new drum set arriving in EMI Studios on this day, they decided to set both this new kit up along with his current black oyster pearl kit, creating a hybrid double-bass drum set for use on this song.  "So we set them all up," Ringo remembers, "and when I was to play the fill, the break came and I just froze, looking at all these drums!"  When The Beatles started rehearsals in Twickenham Film Studios for what became the "Let It Be" album, the new Ludwig Hollywood drum set alone was used from that point onward. 

The song may have reached completion, but with only three verses and no solo of any kind, it ran only one minute and fifty seconds long, almost each of these 34 takes being of that length. Take 15 was stretched out to around six minutes as the song turned into a longer jam session. Take 33 deemed as the best take of the day, although it includes an edited version of two other takes, the obvious edit detected in the drum/cymbal sounds heard in the final verse during the line “fixing a hole in the ocean.” This edit probably was performed at the end of this session by Chris Thomas and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith, after which the session ended at 3:30 am.

They returned to the song on the following day (aka later that evening), September 12th, 1968, for more overdubs. They arrived in Studio Two at around 8:30 pm that finalized  John recording his lead vocal plus double-tracking it, and Ringo adding a tambourine part. By 1:30 am, they left for the evening.

The following day, September 13th, 1968, they met again at EMI Studio Two, this time around 8 pm, for further work on “Glass Onion.” Ringo actually double-tracked his drums for the song on this day, which is especially noticeable on the snare beats throughout the song. Paul also overdubbed a piano part on this day, which plays a vital rhythmic role in the recording. By 1:45 am, this session was then over.

On September 16th, 1968, John, Paul, and Ringo returned to EMI Studio Two primarily to work on a new Paul McCartney song entitled “I Will.” After extensive work settled on this new track, they returned to “Glass Onion” for another overdub before the evening’s end. Someone, either John or Paul, came up with the idea to add a recorder to the song after the reference to “The Fool On The Hill,” since the recorder was in such prominent use in that song. At approximately 2 am, Paul added a simple melody line on recorder after the lyric “he living there still,” he then double-tracking the line afterward. By 3 am, this recording session closed.

John Lennon felt that the recording of “Glass Onion” still needed something, so he compiled sound effects of four different elements at home and brought them into the control room of EMI Studio Two on September 26th, 1968, for overdubbing onto the song. The purpose of this session, actually, was for creating mono mixes of recently recorded songs, but at John's insistence, his idea took precedence.

A four-track tape was created for this overdub: Track one contained a telephone ringing, Track Two contained a single note of an organ, Track Three contained BBC television soccer commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme shouting “It's A Goal!” over and over with a cheering crowd in the background, and Track Four contained the sound of a window smashed. All four tracks had these elements repeated over and over, the entire tape lasting 2:35, which is just a little bit longer than the finished song so far. After this four-track tape spliced together, two attempts at a mono mix of the song rendered by Chris Thomas and engineers Ken Scott and Mike Sheady, no doubt with input from John, interjecting these effects at different times in the mix. This session, the last one with Chris Thomas as producer, erected complete by 1:30 am the next morning.

Upon George Martin's return from vacation, he examined mixes of the Beatles songs that were recorded in his absence, “Glass Onion” included. He was unimpressed by John's sound effects and convinced him to let him score a part for strings to complement the song nicely. John relented, and the tape box containing “Glass Onion” with the strange sound effects was marked “do not use” which, of course, was readily noticed when compiling the “Anthology 3” album decades later.

With the allotted time for finishing the album coming to a close, the needed session to record the string arrangement for “Glass Onion” happened on October 10th, 1968, in EMI Studio Two, starting at 7 pm. Eight musicians were brought in for the overdub on the song as well as on George Harrison's “Piggies.” An eerie orchestral score was recorded as an edit piece for the conclusion of “Glass Onion” which slowed in tempo as it progressed. With this complete, both the stereo and mono mixes used on the finished album were created by George Martin and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith, them adding a manual ADT "wobble" effect to both mixes. Two attempts loomed at each of these mixes, undoubtedly the second of both being the ones used, both having the eerie string section faded down at the conclusion of the song. One noticeable difference between the two mixes is an additional “ooh yeah” from Paul after the break in the mono mix.

A mash-up mix of the song was created by George Martin and his son Giles Martin sometime between 2004 and 2006 in Abbey Road (formerly EMI) Studios for inclusion on the album “Love.” This “Glass Onion” track combined vocal elements of “Hello Goodbye,” horns from “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Penny Lane,” and guitar work from “Things We Said Today.”

The structure for “Glass Onion” couldn't be much simpler, this being 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse/ conclusion' (or aabac). The “conclusion” consists of the menacing string arrangement that George Martin added to the end of the song which actually works as a link between album tracks. The idea was to come up with different types of segues between the songs on this album, these taking on many different forms. The first two songs, “Back In The U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence,” had a crossfade between them. The next two songs, “Glass Onion” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” had this George Martin orchestral score. Even though this conclusion was not in John's Lennon initial vision of the song, it remains  universally accepted as an integral element of “Glass Onion.”

The song begins with two double-tracked snare drum flams from Ringo which startle the listener after the mellow fade of John's guitar ending for “Dear Prudence.” The first fifteen-measure verse begins immediately thereafter, ushering in Ringo's steady rock solid 4/4 drum beat, Paul's treble-heavy bass work, John's acoustic rhythm guitar and lead vocals, and George's electric guitar chops and accents. The strings first appear in measures six through nine with swooping ups and downs while the tambourine appears in this verse only in measures seven through nine.

The downbeat of measures ten through fourteen are anticipated and accented by a cymbal crash from Ringo. The tenth measure also ushers in Paul's piano for the first time, him playing descending and then ascending chords until the fourteenth measure where he pounds away on chords until the 'Beatles break' on the downbeat of the fifteenth measure. The cellos chop out dramatic eighth notes in the fourteenth measure to highlight the lyrical focal point “looking through a glass onion” before they disappear with the rest of the elements on the downbeat of the fifteenth measure. The only thing heard in the silence of this fifteenth measure is two more double-tracked snare flams from Ringo to usher in the next verse.

The second verse is nearly identical in arrangement from the first verse, the only noticeable difference being an excited “woo” in the silence of the fifteenth measure during another set of double-tracked snare flams.

The simple bridge heard next is ten measures long and vocally consists of three emotive “oh yeah”s (Paul getting vocally over excited in the background during the third one) until John finishes this section as if it's a verse with “looking through a glass onion” once again, ushering in yet another 'Beatles break.' The piano thumps away throughout this bridge and even throws in a thumb roll at the end of the eighth measure. The strings hold out long notes throughout the first eight measures which rise along with the chords to add a tense feel to the bridge. The final piano chord rings out into the silence of the tenth measure as Ringo adds only single-tracked flams this time to bring in the final verse.

While the arrangement of this third verse is very similar to the other two, there are some differences worth noting. The fourth and fifth measures include a double-tracked recorder played by Paul to accompany the mention of “The Fool On The Hill.” The orchestral swoops in the sixth through ninth measures are boosted, which stand out much more in the song than before. The tambourine is absent in the seventh through ninth measures this time, but appear in the tenth measure and then continue to finish out the song. The rough edit in the rhythm track, as heard here in the tenth measure, appears to happen because Ringo forgot to put in his anticipated cymbal crashes at this point of the song, another 'take' edited in to attempt to rectify this matter.

Before the silence of the fifteenth measure gets revealed, however, George Martin's eight-measure orchestral score unexpectedly pops in. Upon careful listening, it appears that this score is entirely in 4/4 time, but the downbeat of the first measure is missing, this orchestral recording reappears edited onto the master tape on the second beat of the measure. This results in the first measure of this section being in 3/4 on the released recording while the rest of it is in 4/4. As these eight measures progress, however, the tempo slows, and the volume decreases as a slow fade, but it doesn't fade away into silence. On the last beat of the eighth measure, the strings all slide their notes menacingly downward as if they've all just nodded off to sleep at that precise time in the studio that day.

There may have been some strange endings to Beatles songs up to this point, but with headphones on, this one surely lifted up the hairs on the back of listeners necks. Once again, the view that the “White Album” didn't see cooperation by all four Beatles playing as a band falls on deaf ears with this track. Everyone played a vital role, everyone shined on top of their game as well. John's vocals make you sure he's imparting you with some hidden wisdom (even though there wasn't any) along with well performed acoustic guitar playing. Paul's rough sounding bass works well here, as does his piano and recorder performances. George puts in a proficient job on electric guitar as does Ringo on drums and tambourine. And good thing George Martin came back from vacation in time to recognize where another tantalizing orchestral score was needed.

Stop by my blog next week and discover the intricate details showcased upon Ob-La-Di, Ob-La- Da.

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DEAR PRUDENCE AND ITS INCREDIBLE RECORDING PROCESS.

"Dear Prudence” was first committed to tape on May 29th, 1968 as a demo recording at 'Kinfauns,' George Harrison's bungalow home in Esher, Surrey. The Beatles met there on the 28th and 29th of the month to record demos of the songs they had individually written during their stay in India. The purpose introduced the songs to the rest of the group and gave themselves a better idea of how to officially record them for the new album. George Harrison had an Ampex four-track machine which he utilized for these demo recordings. 

This recording of “Dear Prudence” appears to be a solo performance by John Lennon on acoustic guitar and vocals, him double-tracking his guitar as well as his vocals. This demo shows that John had the bulk of the lyrics and musical arrangement already figured out, there hardly being much different from the finished version as we know it. Some minor differences include the lyric “sleeping child” in the third verse instead of “little child” as in the finished version, a repeat of the “look around, round” bridge after the third verse, a faster tempo on the final verse, and a continuation of the verse guitar passage at the song's conclusion instead of a repeat of the guitar introduction as we've come to be acquainted with in the released version. Interestingly, during John's vocal double-tracking during the final verse, he starts singing “let me see you smile” instead of “come out to play,” this resulting in him exclaiming “whoops!” Also, during the final moments of this version, while the double-tracked guitars are still playing, John briefly explains the inspiration for the song as follows: “No one was to know that sooner or later she was to go completely berserk under the care of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. All the people around her were very worried about the girl because she was going insane. So we sang to her.”

The Beatles didn't officially record “Dear Prudence” until three months later, on August 28th, 1968. Having recently recorded “Hey Jude” on eight-track recording equipment at Trident Studios (EMI Studios not yet instituting eight-track capabilities at their facility), the group returned to Trident on this day to record John's ballad in a similar fashion, taking advantage of this new technology and procedure. As noted above, Ringo was still away at this time, so the three Beatles arrived around 5 pm on this day to start work on this new song.

Documentation shows that only a single take (“take 1”) occurred on this day, but Mark Lewisohn's book “The Beatles Recording Sessions” explains that there was much more to the recording process on this day than one would think. “The eight-track facility meant that it could be recorded track by track, each one perfected over a number of times while simultaneously wiping previous attempts. This method of working makes the 'take one' statistic look distinctly silly for although it was just one 'take' it was innumerable recordings.” What was first recorded on this day was a basic track of John on his electric Epiphone Casino guitar, playing the distinctive finger-picking rhythm work heard throughout the song, George playing a lead guitar part on his Gibson SG Standard, and Paul on drums. After this, John then double-tracked his finger-picking guitar work on his Epiphone Casino during a good portion of the song, and George added another lead guitar part, double-tracking his lead work in the final verse by playing an octave higher than his first performance.

Since the session didn't end until 7 am the following morning, it appears that each of these elements took quite a few attempts until perfected to their satisfaction. This Trident session ended up costing EMI a total of 431 pounds for studio time, engineer's overtime and blank tape, a cost that would have been just an in-house accounting procedure had they just recorded at EMI on this day as usual.

The next day (or should we say, later that day), August 29th, 1968, they returned to Trident Studios at 7 pm to perform more overdubs on the song. Paul recorded his bass guitar part and John recorded is lead vocals, manually double-tracking them afterward. Then, the group recruited others present on this day, namely Mal Evans, Paul's visiting cousin John McCartney, and newly signed Apple artist Jackie Lomax, to help out in recording backing vocals along with Paul, John, and George. They also joined in providing handclaps at one point, John and Mal Evans even providing some tambourine shaking in the process which made it into the finished product. All those participating in these background vocals and handclaps then broke out in applause in the final moments of the song, although removed out of the released version during the mixing stage. By 6 am the following morning, the session was finally complete, although the song wasn't quite finished.

The following evening (or later that evening), August 30th, 1968, which happened to be the same day of the British release of their single “Hey Jude,” the three Beatles once again returned to Trident Studios to put the finishing touches on “Dear Prudence.” Paul overdubbed a well-performed piano track and, probably because the instrument happened to be lying around in the studio, a brief snippet of flugelhorn during the bridge of the song, this also played by Paul. The session was complete by 11 pm, and so was the recording of “Dear Prudence.”

The first mono mix of the song was done at Trident Studios on October 5th, 1968, by George Martin and engineer Barry Sheffield, along with the songs “Honey Pie” and “Martha My Dear,” which the band also recorded at Trident around that time. This mix was made, undoubtedly, because the master tape still belonged to Trident Studios. However, this mix was never released, instead, further improved upon once the master tape ownership transferred over to EMI Studios.

The song was touched on once again briefly on October 7th, 1968, in EMI Studio Two during a 16 1/2-hour session used primarily for recording George's composition "Long Long Long."  As outlined in Mark Lewisohn's book "The Beatles Recording Sessions," George was "in a happy mood throughout, laughing, joking and bursting into busked versions of other songs, including 'Dear Prudence.'"  This was never released but is evidence that the recording of the "White Album" wasn't all tension and arguments like most believe.

The master tape arrived October 13th, 1968, and immediately both the released stereo and mono mixes of “Dear Prudence” were created by George Martin and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith in the control room of EMI Studio Two. They only needed one try to get the stereo mix, which they completed first, but then had a slightly harder time perfecting the mono mix with five attempts (presumably the fifth attempt being the 'keeper'). The stereo mix has slightly more treble than the mono mix, and also fades to a lower volume during the song's conclusion.

Interestingly, The Beatles did run through a rough version of “Dear Prudence" on January 10th, 1969, during their filmed rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios for what became their movie “Let It Be.” Needless to say, this version was never officially released in any way, shape or form.

Sometime between 2004 and 2006, George Martin and his son Giles Martin returned to the master tapes of “Dear Prudence” to capture elements of the recording for creating a track entitled “Come Together/Dear Prudence/Cry Baby Cry (Transition),” and appears on the highly successful album “Love.” During the conclusion of the song “Come Together,” they superimposed the lead vocal-less final verse of “Dear Prudence” which appears to fit perfectly given its similar tempo and key.  They also incorporated a bit of Paul's high piano tinkling from "Dear Prudence" on the track "The Fool On The Hill," which was only made available as a bonus track on the iTunes version of the "Love" album.

One can hardly expect a simpler structure for a Beatles song; this one follows a 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse/ verse' format (or aabaa) with both an introduction and conclusion thrown in which sound nearly identical.  What gives "Dear Prudence" its complexity is its hypnotically meandering finger-picking rhythm guitar, which lazily propels the song while allowing the listener to enjoy the picturesque landscape of a spring day comfortably.

After the senses get bombarded by the heart-thumping rock and roll of “Back In The U.S.S.R.,” the deafening screeching of a landing plane fades to reveal John's descending fingerpicking guitar work, helping us to relax for a nice leisurely ride. As the guitar slowly fades up in volume, it goes from single-tracked to double-tracked as it approaches the key instrumental phrase then repeats throughout most of the verse. This descending guitar introduction is six measures long, although the screeching plane obscures the first measure somewhat, and segues without us even noticing into the first verse, which is fourteen measures long.

This first verse contains John's hypnotic double-tracked guitar passages plus his double-tracked lead vocals. Paul adds simple one-note bass plucks on the three beat of each of the first eight measures, the tambourine also chiming in with an accompanying beat in the first and fifth measures as if to highlight whenever the word “Prudence” is sung. When John begins to double-up his vocal melody line in the ninth measure, Paul's drums appear for the first time with heavy emphasis on his riding hi-hats along with a rising and falling bass guitar part. The tambourine plays a beat in the gaps left in John's lyrics for the ninth and tenth measure (“the sun is up” beat “the sky is blue” beat...etc.), then putting in a seemingly random beat in the eleventh measure, which also is just after he sings the word “Prudence.” Then, in the thirteenth measure, all elements suddenly disappear to reveal only John's double-tracked finger-picking as heard before.

The second verse is also fourteen measures long and is melodically identical to the first, but with a variety of different elements added. A simple 4/4 drum beat without a ride cymbal for the first through eighth measures along with the same rising and falling bass pattern heard in the first verse. A tambourine beat is heard on the three beat of measures one and five as in the first verse, once again highlighting the word “Prudence.” The same hi-hat heavy drum beat is played once again in measures nine through twelve while the rising and falling bass continues as well. The tambourine plays syncopated quarter-note beats during measures nine and ten, once again adding a single beat after the word “Prudence” in the eleventh measure. Another additional element here is falsetto harmonies that stretch from the seventh measure (just after the lyric “sunny sky-ha-hi-hyyyy”) to the eleventh measure where they finally fade away. These falsetto harmonies reappear in the twelfth measure as a backdrop to the lyric “open up your eyes,” afterward fading away in the thirteenth measure along with the bass guitar and drums. The twelfth and thirteenth measures also premier Paul's piano overdub, playing three drawn-out chords to accent the chord changes. George appears for the first time in the final two measures of this verse with a see-saw-like lower note guitar pattern as a backdrop to John's changing finger-picking rhythm work.

This moves nicely into the eight-measure bridge, which features a continuation of John's finger-picking, George's lower note guitar pattern, which is mimicked by Paul on bass, George's overdubbed lead guitar passages in the first four measures, a simple cymbal-less drum beat from Paul, simple one-note toots on a flugelhorn by Paul, and a rhythmic tambourine overdub. Two sets of harmonies are present here, one set featuring a low monotone group of voices repeating “round, round, round...” (undoubtedly including the voices of Mal Evans, John McCartney and Jackie Lomax) and a set that specifically harmonizes with John's “round, round” in the first measure and “round, round, round” in the third measure. Then the harmonies extend the word “round” in a rising and falling melody in the fifth through seventh measure. Of note here is the sixth measure which is the only measure of the entire song that is in 2/4 instead of 4/4. The seventh and eighth measure is then identical to the final two measures of the first verse, namely, just John's double-tracked finger picking is heard. The third verse that follows is very similar to the second verse but with the addition of lead guitar work by George that worms its way around John's vocal melody line, filling in the open gaps as he goes. Also noticeable here, is the addition of handclaps that are heard periodically throughout the verse.  In the twelfth measure, we hear in the deep background what appears to be arpeggio-like chords from Paul on piano during the lyrics "won't you let me see you smile."  The final two measures, however, change things up dramatically as John temporarily abandons his finger-picking and strums the chords more energetically without raising the tempo (as he did in the demo).  Paul starts playing a careless but interesting random pattern on the drums for these final measures as well.

The fourth verse is lyrically a repeat of the first verse but extremely different musically and is actually fifteen measures long this time. Paul plays what results in an eight-measure drum solo while George double-tracks himself on an intricately worked-out rising lead guitar part, one guitar playing an octave above the other, this lead work stretching through the fourteenth measure. The tambourine and handclaps are going strong throughout the first fourteen measures as well, a high tinkling piano emerging in the third measure and lasting through to the eighth measure where Paul performs a climactic thumb slide down to the ninth measure.

The ninth through twelfth measures feature John spacing out his lyrics into halftime “the sun is up.......the sky is blue......” while the drums resort to a simple drum pattern accenting the snare on every quarter-note and the piano plays away rhythmically along with them. The fourteenth measure dramatically displays the exit of the majority of the elements of the song, revealing only John's finger-picking guitar and lead vocals along with George's highest lead guitar harmony notes ringing out. One can also faintly hear an electric rhythm guitar part played by George from the original rhythm track finishing its final notes while one of his lead guitars fade away with him manually playing with the tone switch of the guitar.

As everything falls away, a reprise of the descending finger-picking introduction lulls as the song's conclusion, performed single-tracked by John, which fades in volume as it descends the scale. After the dramatic climax of the final verse, we have a soft and satisfying landing. We are left off in the same way as we arrived as if floating away on the same cloud.

John must have known that he had something of great potential with “Dear Prudence,” insisting on recording it at Trident Studios with their eight-track capabilities in order to inspire them to a perfect arrangement and performance. All three Beatles involved were at their best, John's excellently performed and newly perfected guitar chops assembled to good use. His vocal work was also convincingly done, his concern for his subject coming through nicely along with his spot-on depictions of the beauty of nature. Paul, as usual, was up to the challenge of adding as many elements as possible to give the track the attention it deserved. George didn't shy away from working hard at perfecting his craft, undoubtedly recognizing the songs' potential and giving it his all.

Stop by my blog next week and discover the intricate details showcased upon Glass Onion.

Please feel free to leave any comments or corrections and share these articles plus the blog's website with your friends, especially Beatles’ fans. You and they might also enjoy knowing more about my Love Songs CD and my novel, BEATLEMANIAC. Just click on the “My Shop” tab near the top of this page for full details.

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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