The Beatles – The White Album

Plata mánaðarins nóvember 2018 kom inn í líf mitt veturinn 1968 – 1969 þegar ég vann á lyftara hjá heildsöluverslun Eggerts Kristjánssonar & co. hf. í Sundagörðum 4. Tilgangur minn með þessari vetrarvinnu var að safna mér fyrir framfærslu næsta vetur þar á eftir, því þá hafði ég ákveðið að gerast nemandi í Myndlista og handíðaskóla Íslands og læra allt um undirstöður listarinnar. Lyftarastarfið var bæði skemmtilegt og fjölbreytt enda mikið um að vera í stóru fyrirtæki sem seldi allskonar vörur; ýmsa matvöru, ferska ávexti, glerrúður, pappír í prentsmiðjur, hveiti í Kexverksmiðjuna Frón og margt, margt fleira. Þarna var nánast stanslaus asi, vörur komu inn og pantanir voru keyrðar út. Ef stund gafst milli stríða, var tekið til og gólf sópuð. Þá gafst mér kjörið tækifæri til að hlusta á nýjustu Bítlaplötuna sem var tvöföld og hét bara The Beatles og mín var númer 0405327 sem var stimplað á hvítt umslagið. Á þessum tíma voru engin öpp, farsímar, spotify eða Walkman kassettutæki svo maður lærði bara lögin utan að og lét þau dynja í hausnum á sér þegar lyftarinn þeyttist um rekkana að sækja vörur eða koma þeim fyrir á brettum í allt að fimm metra hæð. Þá söng maður „Bungalow Bill“ eða „Rocky Raccoon“ hástöfum þarna í þessum risastóra sal þar sem niðursuðuvörur, sykurpokar í dúsínum og pappírsballar sungu með í alsælu og dilluðu sér. Hvíta plata Bítlana var einstök upplifun og er það enn 50 árum seinna.

Þessir ótrúlegu Bítlar

Allt frá þeirri stundu að ég heyrði Bítlana fyrst 1962, hef ég elskað og dáð þessa kláru og fallegu stráka sem hristu stöðugt fram úr ermunum hverja snilldina á fætur annarri og alltaf fannst manni að nú væri ekki hægt að gera betur, en þá snéru þeir öllu á hvolf og komu með eitthvað alveg nýtt og einstakt. Í raun voru allar plötur Bítlana pólskipti frá „Please Please Me“ til „Abbey Road“ en þessi skipti voru hvað skýrust frá „Help“ yfir í „Revolver“ og frá „Revolver“ yfir í „Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band“ árið 1967 þegar hippamenningin reis hvað hæst og menn svifu um á bleikum skýjum.
Þá, eins og hendi væri veifað, breyttist allt. Umboðsmaður Bítlana Brian Epstein framdi sjálfsmorð þegar Bítlarnir voru á Indlandi að sækja andlegan stuðning til jógans Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Bleika skýið breyttist í svartan harmleik fyrir Bítlana og til að bæta gráu ofan á svart reyndist hinn virti jógi tómt plat sem var bara að eltast við stelpurnar í hópnum. Þessi áföll virðast hafa ýtt á þær breytingar sem dvöldu undir yfirborðinu um frelsi félaganna frá Bítlunum. Hvíta albúmið sýnir glöggt þessar breytingar. Þarna birtust allt í einu fjórir einstaklingar, hver með sínar eigin skoðanir, áhugamál og sýn á tilveruna. Þarna komu þeir fram sem sjálfstæðir einstaklingar en ekki þessi samstæða heild sem Bítlarnir höfðu alltaf verið. Þarna voru þeir líka búnir að losa um tökin sem George Martin hafði á heildinni hvað varðaði útsetningar og stíl. Þarna kom loks frumkraftur Bítlana fram á ný og sá kraftur skóp hreinræktaða rokkplötu á eigin forsendum. Þarna voru John, Paul, George og Ringó mættir sem persónurnar John, Paul, George og Ringo og hér slepptu menn fram af sér beislinu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um5ZJV4CCuM„>“Glass Onion“ er dæmi um þá lýrísku hugsun sem John Lennon bjó yfir.

Samlokurnar Lennon /McCartney

Fram að tvöfalda albúminu The Beatles, höfðu þessir tveir snillingar Paul McCartney og John Lennon unnið Bítlatónlist sem einn maður, enda voru þeir æskuvinir og þekktu hvorn annan betur en þeir sjálfir og það er kannski grunnurinn að þeirri gífurlegu velgengni sem Bítlarnir hlutu. Að auki ber að horfa á mjög svo frjóa hugarstarfsemi þeirra beggja sem hefur örugglega átt stærstan þá í þeirri byltingu sem Bítlarnir hrintu af stað um allan heim, byltingu sem breytti siðum og venjum ungmenna og snéri öxli tímans í nýjan farveg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQif0z0ASHM >Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

John Lennon

Strax við fyrstu kynni af Bítlunum varð John Lennon minn maður og átrúnaðargoð. Svona val gerist ósjálfrátt og ég pældi ekkert í því fyrr en löngu seinna að í raun sá ég sjálfan mig í John, framgöngu hans og hugmyndafræði. Það voru ekki bara lögin og textarnir sem höfðuðu til mín, heldur var ég líka mjög hrifinn af smásögum hans og ljóðum sem höfðu ekkert með Bítlana að gera. Þegar Bítlarnir voru á Indlandi 1967 að leita andlegrar leiðsagnar til innri friðar, sprungu Bítlarnir út sem lagasmiðir og Lennon samdi ein 15 lög sem áttu flest eftir að birtast á Hvíta albúminu. John Lennon sagði seinna að lögin væru sum hver hans bestu lagasmíðar en líka þær verstu.

Lög eftir Lennon á plötunni:

Lagið „The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill“ („He’s the all-American bullet-headed Saxon mother’s son“), er í raun ádeila á stríðið í Víetnam sem þá stóð sem hæst með aðkomu Bandaríkjamanna.

The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill

Á sama tíma risu stúdentar í Bandaríkjunum og víða um heim, upp gegn þessu hræðilega stríði og kröfðust þess að því lyki. Lagið „Revolution“ („If you want money for people with minds that hate/All I can tell you is brother you have to wait“), er hugleiðing um þessar uppreisnir.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw„>Revolution

John Lennon barðist við svefnleysi löngum stundum, því honum fannst hann aldrei geta slökkt á frjóu hugarfluginu. Notkun hans á eiturlyfjum gerði illt verra og hann lenti í hálfgerði blindgötu en trúði því að dvölin á Indlandi myndi laga allt. Þar varð lagið „I’m So Tired“ („You know I can’t sleep/I can’t stop my brain/You know it’s three weeks/I’m going insane“), til um þann veikleika.

I’m So Tired – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwEcRqHJnA

Ef maður lokar sig af í eigin sjálfi kemur depurðin sem fylgifiskur og hún getur leitt mann í ógöngur. Um þessar hugsanir sínar samdi John Lennon lagið „Yer Blues“ („Black cloud crossed my mind/Blue mist round my soul/Feel so suicidal/Even hate my rock and roll“).

Yer Blues – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj4aJ8R0k2Y&start_radio=1&list=RDfj4aJ8R0k2Y&t=76

Hin hliðin á sjálfinu er gleðin og ánægjan sem fylgir fullnægju, hvort sem er líkamlegri eða andlegri. Hér eru það líkamlegar hvatir í gefandi kynlífi eins og Lennon tjáir sig um í laginu „Happiness Is A Warm Gun“ („She’s well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand/Like a lizard on a window pane“).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zei3xnivwFk„>Happiness Is A Warm Gun

Jóginn Maharishi Mahesh Yogi kom fljótlega upp um sig sem kynsjúkan loddara og Lennon samdi lag um gaurinn sem hann nefndi; Sexy Sadie, („Sexy Sadie, what have you done?/ You made a fool of everyone“).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlIOaYYhx3M„Sexy Sadie

Systir Miu Farrow, Prudence var á Indlandi ásamt Miu og Bítlunum að hugleiða og tók þessa ferð svo hátíðlega að hún kom aldrei út úr húsi en hugleiddi ein innandyra lon og don. Lennon samdi lag um Prudence: „Dear Prudence,“ („Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play?/Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day“).

Dear Prudence – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19E1JD_v9fI„

Paul McCartney talar um Hvíta Albúmið

Þegar The Beatles platan kom út í nóvember 1968 hitti útvarpsmaðurinn Tony á Radio Luxemburg, Bítilinn Paul og spjallaði við hann um plötuna:

Q: “The songs I think are perhaps a surprise to some people, because I think alot of people expected another step from ‘Sgt Pepper.’”

Paul: “Well it is another step, you know, but it’s not necessarily in the way people expected. Uhh… On ‘Sgt Pepper’ we had more instrumentation than we’d ever had. More orchestral stuff than we’d ever used before, so it was more of a production. But we didn’t really want to go overboard like that this time, and we’ve tried to play more like a band this time– only using instruments when we had to, instead of just using them for the fun of it.”

Q: “The first track on the LP is ‘Back In The USSR.’ Could we just talk about this particular track… because it’s a wild, rocking thing.”

Paul: “Yeah. Umm, that’s a track which… it just sort of came. Chuck Berry once did a song called ‘Back In The USA,’ which is very American, very Chuck Berry. Very sort of, uhh… you know, you’re serving in the army– And when I get back home I’m gonna kiss the ground– and you know– Can’t wait to get back to the States. And it’s a very American sort of thing, I’ve always thought. So this one is like about… In my mind it’s just about a spy who’s been in America a long long time, you know, and he’s picked up… And he’s very American. But he gets back to the USSR, you know, and he’s sort of saying, ‘Leave it till tomorrow, honey, to disconnect the phone,’ and all that. And ‘Come here honey,’ but with Russian women. You see, what it is… It concerns the attributes of Russian women.”

Q: “‘Martha My Dear.’”

Paul: “You see, I just start singing some words with a tune, you know what I mean. I don’t ever write a song thinking, ‘Now I’ll write a song about…’ I do sometimes, but mainly I don’t. Mainly I’m just doing a tune and then some words come into my head, you know. And these happened to be ‘Martha My Dear, though I spend my days in conversation.’ It doesn’t mean anything, you know, but those just happened to come to my head. So that’s what this song is about… it is about my dog. I don’t mean it, you know. I don’t ever try to make a serious social comment, you know. So you can read anything you like into it, but really it’s just a song. It’s me singing to my dog.” (laughs)

Q: “Paul, how long a time has it taken you all to get this whole LP together– I mean, write the songs?”

Paul: “Well, since we were in India we started writing this batch of songs. And we’ve written a few since. And this is mainly the Indian batch that we’ve sort of finished.”

Q: “‘Blackbird’ I think is quite a beautiful song.”

Paul: “Thank you, Tony. Well, it’s simple in concept because you couldn’t think of anything else to put on it. And that’s what I was saying about the ‘Sgt Pepper’ thing– Maybe on Pepper we would have sort of worked on it until we could find some way to put violins or trumpets in there. But I don’t think it needs it, this one. You know, it’s just… There’s nothing to the song. It is just one of those ‘pick it and sing it’ and that’s it. The only point where we were thinking of putting anything on it is where it comes back in the end…. sort of stops and comes back in… but instead of putting any backing on it, we put a blackbird on it. So there’s a blackbird singing at the very end. And somebody said it was a thrush, but I think it’s a blackbird!”
(laughter)

Q: “‘Rocky Raccoon.’”

Paul: “I was sitting on the roof in India with a guitar– John and I were sitting ’round playing guitar, and we were with Donovan. And we were just sitting around enjoying ourselves, and I started playing the chords of ‘Rocky Raccoon,’ you know, just messing around. And, oh, originally it was Rocky Sassoon, and we just started making up the words, you know, the three of us– and started just to write them down. They came very quickly. And eventually I changed it from Sassoon to Raccoon, because it sounded more like a cowboy. So there it is. These kind of things– you can’t really talk about how they come ‘cuz they just come into your head, you know. They really do. And it’s like John writing his books. There’s no… I don’t know how he does it, and he doesn’t know how he does it, but he just writes. It’s like any writer, you know. I think people who actually do create and write… you tend to think, ‘Oh, how did he do that,’ but it actually does flow… just flows from into their head, into their hand, and they write it down, you know. And that’s what happened with this. I don’t know anything about the Appalachian mountains or cowboys and indians or anything. But I just made it up, you know. And the doctor came in stinking of gin and proceeded to lie on the table. So, there you are.”

Q: “I suppose the idea to do the thing with some sort of a American-Western accent also happened this way, did it?”

Paul: “Oh that. Yeah, that was just a joke, you know, as most of it is.”

Q: “‘Birthday.’ This track is back in the old rock and roll style, which I guess we’ve already really covered, but once again this is a very loud type, if you like discoteque type…”

Paul: “There’s a story about that, Tony. What happened was ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ was on television. That’s an old rock film with Little Richard and Fats Domino and Eddie Cochran and a few others… Gene Vincent. And we wanted to see it, so we started recording at five o’clock. And we said, ‘We’ll do something, just do a backing track. We’ll make up a backing track.’ So we kept it very simple– twelve bar blues kind of thing. And we stuck in a few bits here and there in it, with no idea what the song was or what was gonna go on top of it. We just said, ‘Okay. Twelve bars in A, and we’ll change to D, and I’m gonna do a few beats in C.’ And we really just did it like that… random thing. We didn’t have time for anything else, and so we just recorded this backing. And we came back here to my house and watched ‘The Girl Can’t Help It.’ Then we went back to the studio again and made up some words to go with it all. So this song was just made up in an evening. Umm, you know. We hadn’t ever thought of it before then. And it’s one of my favorites because of that. I think it works, you know, ‘cuz it’s just… It’s a good one to dance to. Like the big long drum break, just ‘cuz, instead of… well, normally we might have four bars of drums, but with this we just keep it going, you know. We all like to hear drums plodding on.”

Q: “‘Helter Skelter.’”

Paul: “Umm, that came about just ‘cuz I’d read a review of a record which said, ‘And this group really got us wild, there’s echo on everything, they’re screaming their heads off.’ And I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, it’d be great to do one. Pity they’ve done it. Must be great– really screaming record.’ And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. It wasn’t rough and screaming and tape echo at all. So I thought, ‘Oh well, we’ll do one like that, then.’ And I had this song called ‘Helter Skelter’ which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, ‘cuz I like noise.”

Paul McCartney

Þegar ég tók loks Paul í sátt fyrir að vera Paul, komst ég að raun um tvennt, hann hafði innra og ytra eyra fyrir melódíum og auga fyrir umhverfinu sem efni í textagerð. Svo komst ég að því að lögin og textarnir sem hann samdi, virtust í fljótu bragði einföld smíð, (sem þau og voru), en það var einmitt snildin, þau virtust einföld en voru flókin á sinn einfalda hátt.

Blackbird er gott dæmi um lag og texta sem virkar einfalt og látlaust en að baki býr hugleiðing um stríð og frið.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIguktsfr7k

Hlið 1 og 2

1. Back in the USSR (2:43)

Recorded: August 22, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Aug 23, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 23 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
John Lennon – 6-string Fender Bass VI, background vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, lead guitar, piano, drums, background vocal
George Harrison – Fender Jazz bass, background vocal
Notes: This song was written while on Meditation by Paul with help from Mike Love of the Beach Boys. It is a parody of Beach Boys songs such as “Surfin’ USA.” The mention of “Ukraine girls” and “Georgia” was thought by many to be sympathetic to Communism and was denounced. The plane sound effects differ in mono and stereo. Mono has louder piano, a yell after the opening plane sound, and drumbeats under the closing plane sound. Stereo has extra guitar chords at the start of the solo, and shouts and piano during the guitar solo.

2. Dear Prudence (3:57)

Recorded: August 28, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added August 29-30, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, drums, flugelhorn, background vocal
George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal
Mal Evans – tambourine
Notes: John wrote “Dear Prudence” for Prudence Farrow, the younger sister of Mia Farrow, who was on the meditation trip with the Beatles. She was much more involved in the meditation process and spent her free time in meditation. John wrote the song as a plea for her to “come out and play”, to interact, with the rest of the group.

3. Glass Onion (2:17)

Recorded: September 11, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 12, 13, 16 and October 10, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 10 Oct 1968
John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, flute
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Session musicians – orchestra
Notes: Much like “I Am The Walrus”, “Glass Onion” was written by John as a sort of joke for people who analyzed Beatles songs looking for meanings. The song is filled with nonsense lyrics and wild images. The title “Glass Onion” came from the name that John wanted The Iveys, a new band on the Apple label, to use. They later used “Badfinger”. The stereo version has slightly more treble and fades to a lower volume at the end.

4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (3:09)

Recorded: July 3, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 4-5, 1968, a remake July 8, 1968 and more overdubbing July 11, 1968 and July 15, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 3d Generation
Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
John Lennon – maraccas, background vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, piano
George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr – drums
Session musicians – brass
Notes: The phrase “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is from the Yoruba tribe (Nigerian) and it means “life goes on”, a phrase used frequently by conga player Jimmy Scott, whom Paul had met. After Paul used the phrase Scott wanted a royalty, however Paul insisted that it was a common phrase. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is cited as the first white reggae; involving Jamaican people and genre. During the recording sessions the Beatles went through numerous takes with several different sounds until John, who hated the song to begin with, just went up to the piano and banged out the opening notes, which they kept for the master. Paul wanted to use the song as a single, but when John refused the song was rerecorded by the band Marmalade and became a British hit. A derivative of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was used in the theme song to the 1980s television show “Life Goes On”. The stereo version is lacking Paul’s added vocal “oh yeah” at the end of the break. The mono-mix unearthed for “Anthology 3″ has various sound effects, of which only the whistle after “fool on the hill” was used in the standard mix. This edit adds the end orchestral piece. The orchestra was added on Oct 10 and used for the standard versions.

5. Wild Honey Pie (1:02)

Recorded: August 20, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track
Mono-mixed: 20 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
Paul McCartney – vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums
Notes: “Wild Honey Pie” was taken from a singalong/jam session while on meditation. Patti Harrison liked the song very much, so it was included on the album. The mono-mix lacks handclaps in the intro, heard in stereo.

6. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (3:05)

Recorded: October 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 8-track
Stereo-mixed: 9 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 9 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, organ
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal
George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, background vocal
Yoko Ono – background vocal, harmony vocal (chorus), lead vocal (“not when he looked so fierce”)
Maureen Starkey – harmony vocal (chorus)
Chris Thomas – mellotron
Notes: “Bungalow Bill” was actually an American named Richard Cooke, III, who had met the Beatles and was on a tiger hunt with his mother three hours away from Rishikesh, where the Beatles were meditating. Cooke shot a tiger on the hunt when it jumped at him and his mother. When she started talking about the kill to the Maharishi and some of his followers, the Maharishi became visibly disturbed. It was then that Cooke began to think that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Maharishi asked, “You had the desire Rik and now you no longer have the desire?” to which John asked, “Don’t you call that slightly life destructive?” Cooke replied, “Well, John, it was either the tiger or us. The tiger was jumping right where we were.” Those words became, “If looks could kill it would’ve been us instead of him”. Of the two vocal tracks, one is louder in stereo, the other in mono.

7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4:45)

Recorded: July 25, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England, remade August 16, 1968 with overdubs Sept 3, 1968, and remade again September 5, 1968 with overdubs September 6, 1968
Master tape: 8 track
Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – acoustic guitar, organ, harmony vocal
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal
George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, castanets, tambourine
Eric Clapton – Gibson Les Paul lead guitar
Notes: George was reading the Chinese book I Ching (the book of changes) when he decided that his songwriting would start to be written based on chance. He took a book off the shelf intending to write a song based on the first words he read, which were “gently weeps”. This is the first 8 track recording (by anyone) at EMI Abbey Road. The Clapton guitar remains loud in mono after the solo break, not in stereo. Near the end of the fadeout only the stereo has “yeah yeah yeah”, even though it is a few seconds shorter than the mono mix.

8. Happiness is a Warm Gun (2:44)

Recorded: September 23-24, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Sept 25, 1968
Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 26 Sep 1968
Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal
George Harrison – lead guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr – drums
Notes: The 2d generation master is an edit of (copies of) two takes with more material overdubbed. Mono has tapping (organ) on the beat from the start until the drums come in, but it is soft and mixed out 4 beats earlier in stereo. In the “I need a fix” section in stereo, by error, although the first line was mixed out, the last “down” is just audible. Mono has louder bass in the “I need a fix” section. Mono has laughter near the very end, just before the last drumbeat, not heard in stereo. “No, it’s not about heroin. A gun magazine was sitting there with a smoking gun on the cover and an article that I never read inside called “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.” I took it right from there. I took it as the terrible idea of just having shot some animal…it was at the beginning of my relationship with Yoko and I was very sexually oriented then. When we weren’t in the studio, we were in bed…I call Yoko Mother or Madam just in an offhand way. The rest doesn’t mean anything. It’s just images of her.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980

Side Two

1. Martha My Dear (2:29)

Recorded: Oct 4, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added Oct 5, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 23 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
John Lennon – bass guitar
Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, piano
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Session musicians – strings, brass
Notes: The recording contains an unusually excessive amount of tape hiss.

2. I’m So Tired (2:03)
Recorded: October 8, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 15 Oct 1968.
Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, organ
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, harmony vocal
George Harrison – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Notes: Paul’s harmony at the first “You’d say” is louder in mono. The muttering after the song is part of this recording.

3. Blackbird (2:18)

Recorded: June 11, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion
Notes: The tapping song heard throughout the song is Paul tapping his foot on the floor.

4. Piggies (2:05)

Recorded: September 19, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 20, 1968 and October 10, 1968
Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
John Lennon – tape loops
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Ringo Starr – tambourine
Chris Thomas – harpsichord
Session musicians – strings
Notes: The overdubs of bird sounds were done differently in mono versus stereo, during mixing.

5. Rocky Raccoon (3:41)

Recorded: August 15, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 15 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968
John Lennon – harmonica, harmonium, background vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, acoustic guitar
George Harrison – bass guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr – drums
George Martin – honky-tonk piano

6. Don’t Pass Me By (3:42)

Recorded: June 5, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added June 6, 1968 and July 12, 1968 and an edit piece (tinkling piano intro) recorded July 22, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 3d Generation
Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968 edited
Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968 edited
(Remixed in 1996 for the “Anthology 3″ CD)
John Lennon – acoustic guitar, tambourine
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – lead vocal, drums, piano
Jack Fallon – violin
Notes: The Mono version runs faster, and it has more fiddle throughout the song, and different fiddle at the end. The fiddle at the end of stereo seems to a repeat of a bit of the chorus. The edit added the intro.

The Anthology mix has only work from 5 and 6 June without the fiddle or intro added in July. It’s at the speed of the stereo mix.

7. Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? (1:41)

Recorded: Oct 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Oct 10, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 16 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 16 Oct 1968
Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, bass guitar, lead guitar, piano, drums
Notes: The Mono version lacks handclaps in the intro.

8. I Will (1:47)

Recorded: Sept 16, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Sept 17, 1968
Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 26 Sep 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, bass guitar, acoustic guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, bongos, maraccas
Notes: This started as 4 track and was copied to 8 track, so it’s 2d generation. The “bass” (vocal) starts later in mono, after the first verse. The bass line is actually performed vocally by Paul.

9. Julia (2:45)

Recorded: October 13, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track
Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968
Mono:mixed: 13 Oct 1968
John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, double-tracked acoustic guitar
Notes: “The song is for her – and for Yoko.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980

George Harrison

Þögli Bítillinn var hann alltaf kallaður enda var hann fámáll á blaðamannafundum og lögin sem hann samdi og komu út á plötum Bítlana voru fá og runnu oftar en ekki saman við hin lögin, samt voru þau eftirtektarverð. Ég man að þegar ég fékk nýja Bítlaplötu í hendurnar, gáði ég strax hvort George ætti eitt eða fleir lög á þeirri plötu. Á fyrstu plötunum voru lögin frá einu upp í þrjú og þau fjölluðu öll um ástina, en á Rubber Soul plötunni verður breyting þegar George kemu allt í einu með sjálfstæða skoðun og segir „Think for your self“. Svo á Revolver plötunni er hann argur út í bresk skattayfirvöld fyrir að hirða nánast allar hans tekjur og semur lagið „Taxman“ um það. Allan þennan tíma var George að íhuga og spá í Indverska tónlist og á Sgt. Peppers plötunni blómstrar hann með snildarverkinu; „Within You Without You“.

Þögnin var hans aðalsmerki en með Hvíta Albúminu er eins og töfrum sé aflétt af Bítlunum og Harrison sem semur lag um grísi. Samt er hann enn gamli góði George og semur eitt flottasta lag plötunnar; „While My Guitar Gently Weeps“

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Hlið 3 og 4

Side Three

1. Birthday (2:43)

Recorded: September 18, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation
Mono-mixed: 18 Sep 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead guitar, background and occasional lead vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, piano
George Harrison – bass guitar, tambourine
Ringo Starr – drums
Yoko Ono, Patti Harrison – chorus
Notes: The last “daaaance” starts twice, maybe a double-track error or a leak from a guide vocal, as heard on stereo, but covered up by other sound in mono.

2. Yer Blues (4:01)

Recorded: August 13, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added August 14, 1968 and the ‘counted intro’ added August 20, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d generation
Mono-mixed: 14,20 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 20 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Notes: The 2d generation tape is an edit of two takes, each of the two tapes being itself a mixdown from the original 4-track. The edit causes an abrupt transition at the end of the guitar solos. In stereo, traces of other vocal and guitar parts can be heard throughout the song in the left channel, including something shouted over parts of the vocal and what sounds like another different guitar solo. After the edit, the trace lead vocal suggests we are hearing the first part of the song from the other take. The edit in the mixes added the countdown intro, which is louder in mono. Mono is also 11 seconds longer, long fade.

3. Mother Nature’s Son (2:48)

Recorded: August 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added August 20, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, bongos, timpani
Session musicians – horns

4. Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey (2:55)

Recorded: June 27, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 1, 1968 and July 23, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation
Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, maraccas
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal
George Harrison – rhythm guitar, firebell
Ringo Starr – drums
Notes: The screaming after “come on” in the last verse is different in mono and stereo.

5. Sexy Sadie (3:15)

Recorded: July 19, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England but remade July 24, 1968 and remade again August 13, 1968 with overdubs added August 21, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation
Mono-mixed: 21 Aug 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, background vocal
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, background vocal
George Harrison – lead guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Notes: Stereo version has an extra tap at the start. Mono lacks bass until the vocal starts.

6. Helter Skelter (4:30)

Recorded: Sept 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with an overdub added Sept 10, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 17 Sep 1968
Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968
John Lennon – bass guitar, lead guitar, saxophone, background vocal
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, lead guitar
George Harrison – rhythm guitar, background vocal
Ringo Starr– drums
Mal Evans – trumpet
Notes: The basic song runs about 3:10 to a pause shortly after Paul’s distorted vocal, too close to the microphone. Mono then is edited into more of the same take, with sound effects noises, and fades at 3:36. Stereo is edited instead to a different part of the take, fading out and then back in again, with another edit, ending finally at 4:29 after Ringo shouts “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!”.

Is the distorted vocal “Can you hear me speaking– woo!” or “My baby is sleeping, ooh!, dreaming”?

7. Long Long Long (3:04)

Recorded: Oct 7, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Oct 8-9, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ
George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Notes: Double-tracking starts at the first “long” in stereo, the third “long” in mono, and sounds somewhat different thereafter. In mono the rhythm guitar is softer but the lead guitar is louder, especially in the later part of the song.

Side Four

1. Revolution 1 (4:16)

Recorded: May 30, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added May 31, June 4 and June 21, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation
Stereo-mixed: 25 Jun 1968
(mono-mixed from the stereo mix)
John Lennon – lead vocal, guitar, harmony vocal
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal
George Harrison – guitar, harmony vocal
Ringo Starr – drums
Session musicians – brass

2. Honey Pie (2:41)

Recorded: October 1, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added October 2, 1968 and October 4, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 5 Oct 1968 at Trident Studios
Stereo-mixed: 5 Oct 1968 at Trident Studios
John Lennon – lead guitar
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, piano
George Harrison – bass guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Fifteen session musicians – brass
Notes: Mono version has the full lead guitar break, slightly shortened in stereo.

3. Savoy Truffle (2:55)

Recorded: October 3, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added October 5, 11 and 14, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead guitar
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar, organ
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Session musicians – two baritone saxophones, four tenor saxophones
Notes:: Mono version has sound effects during the instrumental break, and the lead guitar continues through the break into the refrain after it. The organ is missing from the last verse in mono.

4. Cry Baby Cry (3:11)

Recorded: July 16, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 18, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, piano, organ
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
George Martin – harmonium
Notes: The US Apple release has a drop in sound level during “by the children” in the last verse, probably a tape problem.
(Can You Take Me Back)
Recorded: Basic Recording: 16 Sep 1968
Additional Recording: None
Master Tape: 4-track
Mono-mixed: 16 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 17 Oct 1968
Notes: Revolution 9 is preceded on the white album by a short song not listed on the album, Can You Take Me Back, which was recorded after Revolution 9 was mixed. A segment of this improvisation was placed between Cry Baby Cry and Revolution 9; it was recorded as a take of I Will.

5. Revolution 9 (8:13)

Recorded: May 30, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with effects added June 6, 10, 11, 20 and 21, 1968
Master tape: 4-track
Stereo-mixed: 21, 25 Jun 1968
(mono-mixed from the stereo mix in 1968)
John Lennon – voice, tape loops
Paul McCartney – piano (at the beginning)
George Harrison – voice
Ringo Starr – voice
Notes: Tape loops prepared on June 6-11 were fed into the master on Jun 20-25. The basic track was the end of Revolution 1 (see above). Editing shortened the piece by almost a minute. Although the mono was made from the stereo, the opening lines are more clear in mono: “I would’ve gotten claret for you but I’ve realized I’ve forgotten all about it, George, I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” This is evidently a separate piece of tape added during mixing.

6. Good Night (3:12)

Recorded: July 22, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track
Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
Orchestrations: George Martin

The White Album (The Beatles)

The Beatles (White Album) artworkRecorded: 30 May – 17 October 1968
Producers: George Martin, Chris Thomas, John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Peter Bown, Ken Scott, Barry Shineffield, Ken Townsend

Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)

John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano, organ, Hammond organ, harmonium, harmonica, tenor saxophone, drums, timpani, percussion, tape loops, effects, samples, handclaps
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass guitar, six-string bass guitar, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, Hammond organ, electric piano, flügelhorn, recorder, drums, tambourine, bongos, percussion, handclaps
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, Hammond organ, drums, percussion, samples, handclaps
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums, tambourine, bongos, castanets, sleigh bell, maracas, percussion, effects, handclaps
George Martin: piano, celesta, harmonium
Eric Clapton: lead guitar
Chris Thomas: piano, Mellotron, harpsichord, organ, electric piano
Yoko Ono: vocals, effects, samples, handclaps
Mal Evans: backing vocals, trumpet, handclaps
Pattie Harrison, Jackie Lomax, John McCartney: backing vocals, handclaps
Maureen Starkey, Francie Schwartz, Ingrid Thomas, Pat Whitmore, Val Stockwell, Irene King, Ross Gilmour, Mike Redway, Ken Barrie, Fred Lucas, various others: backing vocals
Jack Fallon, Henry Datyner, Eric Bowie, Norman Lederman, Ronald Thomas, Bernard Miller, Dennis McConnell, Lou Sofier, Les Maddox: violin
John Underwood, Keith Cummings, Leo Birnbaum, Henry Myerscough: viola
Eldon Fox, Reginald Kilbey, Frederick Alexander: cello
Leon Calvert, Stanley Reynolds, Ronnie Hughes, Derek Watkins, Freddy Clayton: trumpet
Leon Calvert: flügelhorn
Tony Tunstall: French horn
Ted Barker, Don Lang, Rex Morris, J Power, Bill Povey: trombone
Alf Reece: tuba
Dennis Walton, Ronald Chamberlain, Jim Chester, Rex Morris, Harry Klein: saxophone
Art Ellefson, Danny Moss, Derek Collins: tenor saxophone
Ronnie Ross, Harry Klein, Bernard George: baritone saxophone
Raymond Newman, David Smith: clarinet
Uncredited: 12 violins, three violas, three cellos, three flutes, clarinet, three saxophones, two trumpets, two trombones, horn, vibraphone, double bass, harp.

Ringo Starr

Einhversstaðar var því fleygt að ef hljómsveit hefði ekki góða kjölfestu (bassa og trommur) yrði hún aldrei góð. Sú staðhæfing sannast með Bítlunum því framan af voru Bítlarnir eins og allar hinar hljómsveitirnar, svona la, la, ókei, Þangað til að hinn nýi umboðsmaður þeirra; Brian Epstein krafðist þess að Pete Best yrði látinn taka pokann sinn, ef þeir ætluðu sér eitthvað lengra sem hljómsveit. Ringo sem lék þá með Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, þekkti Bítlastrákana frá fornu fari og hafði nokkrum sinnum komið inn sem trommari þegar Pete var veikur eða mætti bara ekki ekki á „gigg“. Eftir nokkuð japl, jaml og fuður tók George af skarið og sagði félögunum að þegar Ringo spilaði með þeim, væri eins og allt gengi upp og bandið léki sem ein heild:

George Harrison who lobbied for Ringo. „To me it was apparent,“ he said in Anthology. „Pete kept being sick and not showing up for gigs so we would get Ringo to sit in with the band instead, and every time Ringo sat in, it seemed like ‘this is it.’ Eventually we realized, ‘We should get Ringo in the band full time.'“

Það er ekki bara að Ringo Starr hafi verið happafengur fyrir Bítlana, hann var líka happafengur fyrir heimsbyggðina, Því þessi frábæri trommari var og er gleðipinni sem fær alla til að brosa. Svo er hann líka góður leikari og lunkinn ljósmyndari. Bítlalögin og gestalögin sem Ringo hefur flutt eru eftirminnileg eins og lögin; „I Wanna Be Your Man“, „Every Little Thing“, „Act Naturally“, „What Goes On“ sem hann samdi með John og Paul, „Yellow Submarine“, „With a Little Help from My Friends“ og „Don’t Pass Me By“ sem hann samdi aleinn í jóga ferðinni til Indlands 1967 enda leiddist honum óskaplega þetta prjál um ekki neitt og flýtti sér heim þegar færi gafst.

Don’t Pass Me By (Starkey)

I listen for your footsteps
Coming up the drive
Listen for your footsteps
But they don’t arrive
Waiting for your knock dear
On my old front door
I don’t hear it
Does it mean you don’t love me any more.

I hear the clock a’ticking
On the mantel shelf
See the hands a’moving
But I’m by myself
I wonder where you are tonight
And why I’m by myself
I don’t see you
Does it mean you don’t love me any more.

Don’t pass me by don’t make me cry don’t make me blue
‘Cause you know darling I love only you
You’ll never know it hurt me so
How I hate to see you go
Don’t pass me by don’t make me cry

I’m sorry that I doubted you
I was so unfair
You were in a car crash
And you lost your hair
You said you would be late
About an hour or two
I said that’s alright I’m waiting here
Just waiting to hear from you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMQSTpxH9yI„>Don’t Pass Me By

Kokkteillinn blandaður

Þegar menn hafa úr að moða yfir hundrað lögum, vandast málið. Á platan að vera einföld með hefðbundnum stuttum lögum eða tvöföld með öllum gerðum af lögum? Hvað komast mörg þannig lög fyrir á tveim plötum? Tuttugu, þrjátíu? Þannig gætu Bítlarnir hafa pælt um væntanlega plötu og loks þegar niðurstaða kom um tvöfalt albúm, hafi höfuðverkurinn um að velja réttu lögin og uppröðun byrjað. Þar sem George Martin var ósjálfrátt kominn á hliðarlínuna, tók Paul af skarið og settist við stjórnborðið.
„Byrjum á þotunni“, sagði Paul og snéri nokkrum tökkum. Það reyndist hinsvegar þrautin þyngri að fá allt til að smella, hvort sem platan yrði einföld eða tvöföld. Ringo mætti og hafði sitt að segja um uppröðun, einnig George sem var á leiðinni úr bænum og Ringo sagðist ætla að verða samferða George í smá frí. Þá var hringt í John sem hafði náttúrlega sínar skoðanir á málinu. Allan tímann var George Martin hinn rólegasti, þar til hann sagði loks undir lokin; „Strákar mínir, þetta er bara fínt hjá ykkur“.

Good Night (Lennon/McCartney)

Now it’s time to say good night
Good night Sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.

Close your eyes and I’ll close mine
Good night Sleep tight
Now the moon begins to shine
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.

Close your eyes and I’ll close mine
Good night Sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.

Good night Good night Everybody
Everybody everywhere
Good night.

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