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WD_451/ 2008
(  Satoshi Kinoshita )
| Series: | Works on paper: Drawings 5 | | Medium: | oilstick on paper | | Size (inches): | 40.2 x 25.2 | | Size (mm): | 1020 x 640 | | Catalog #: | WD_0451 | | Description: | Signed, date and copyright in pencil on the reverse.
The Beatles - The "Get Back"/"Let It Be" sessions
By late 1968, Paul McCartney was eager for the Beatles to perform live again, more than two years after they gave up touring. But McCartney wanted the group to make a grand statement, or rather something unorthodox. At the time, there was a great deal of tension among the Beatles, who had been pursuing a number of personal projects over the course of the previous six months.
The group began rehearsals at Twickenham Studios on 2 January 1969. No multi-track recordings were made of these sessions, as the Beatles were rehearsing for the live show rather than attempting to record an album. (Despite this, there are widely available bootlegs taken from the mono recordings that were synchronized to the film cameras.) A number of possible locations for the live show were discussed during the Twickenham rehearsals, with the leading candidates being a Roman amphitheatre in North Africa or a cruise ship. At one point, Lennon sarcastically suggested that they perform in "an insane asylum".
Everyone involved in the Twickenham rehearsals considered them to be disastrous. By the third day of rehearsal the group openly discussed whether they should break up. Lennon had all but withdrawn creatively from the Beatles, seldom contributing even to the arrangements of his own songs. Harrison was increasingly resentful; while he was treated respectfully by musical colleagues such as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, when working within the Beatles his songs usually were either derided or ignored. McCartney's attempts to hold the band together and rally spirits came across as controlling. The constant presence of Lennon's companion and artistic partner Yoko Ono -- who often spoke on Lennon's behalf as he sat silently by -- was a major source of tension. The intrusive film cameras and the cold, unfamiliar settings of Twickenham Studios also contributed to ill feelings. Finally, Harrison became fed up with Lennon's creative and communicative disengagement from the band, and on 10 January announced that he was "leaving the band now". Within a few days Harrison was persuaded to return to the group, who moved to their own Apple Studios.
Multi-track recording began when the group moved to Apple Studios on 22 January, continuing until 31 January. Harrison brought in keyboardist Billy Preston to ease tensions and supplement the band for the live performances. Preston worked with the Beatles from 22–31 January.
The live concert idea culminated with the Beatles and Preston performing 30 January on the rooftop of the Beatles' Apple Building at 3 Savile Row before a small audience of friends and employees. The performance was cut short by the police after complaints about noise. The complete concert has circulated amongst bootleg collectors for many years. Three numbers recorded at the rooftop concert, namely Dig a Pony, I've Got a Feeling, and One After 909, do appear on the album, while several spoken parts of the concert appear between tracks that were recorded in studio.
The band played hundreds of songs during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. Aside from original songs ultimately released on the Let It Be album were early versions of almost all of the songs that appeared on Abbey Road, including "Mean Mr. Mustard", "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window", "Sun King", "Polythene Pam", "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight", "Something", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Oh! Darling", "Octopus's Garden", and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Still others would eventually end up on Beatles solo albums, including John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (called "On the Road to Rishikesh" at the time and originally written and rehearsed for the White Album) and "Gimme Some Truth", George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and "Hear Me Lord", and Paul McCartney's "Teddy Boy" and "Junk" (originally written for the White Album). Much of the band's attention was focused on extended jams on 12-bar blues as well as a broad range of covers. These included classical pieces such as Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", jazz standards such as "Ain't She Sweet", and an encyclopedic array of songs from the early rock and roll era such as "Stand By Me", "Words of Love", "Lonely Sea", "Bésame Mucho" by Mexican composer Consuelo Velázquez (a song that was part of The Beatles repertoire in the early days) and "Blue Suede Shoes". The rehearsals and recording sessions were filmed and formed the basis of the Beatles' film of same name.
The Get Back albums:
After increasing use of overdubs and multi-layered recordings on recent albums, there was at first a consensus to record the new album live. In keeping with the back-to-roots concept, the cover artwork was planned to be an update of the cover of their first album, Please Please Me, with the band looking down the stairwell of EMI's headquarters office block in Manchester Square, London. The photograph was later used on the compilation album 1967–1970 (aka The Blue Album).
The acetate:
Engineer Glyn Johns put together a rough version of Get Back in March 1969, which included many of the same songs that made the final cut, plus McCartney's "Teddy Boy". The track listing for the acetate is:
Side one
1. "Get Back"
2. "Teddy Boy"
3. "Two of Us"
4. "Dig a Pony"
5. "I've Got a Feeling"
Side two
1. "The Long and Winding Road"
2. "Let It Be"
3. "For You Blue"
4. "Don't Let Me Down"
5. "Get Back (Reprise)"
6. "The Walk"
Johns played the acetate for the Beatles, who were not really interested in the project any longer. At least one copy of the acetate made its way to America and was aired on local radio stations in Buffalo, New York, and Boston in September.
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_%28album%29
GET BACK - Introduction
At the beginning of 1969, the Beatles were looking for ways to regain their sense of being a performing unit, to recapture the immediacy and the exhilaration of their early days. The band had been adrift since the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967, with all of the Beatles were finding other pursuits outside of the band. In Brian's absence Paul assumed a greater leadership role in the group, though this met with some resistance from the other Beatles. Paul felt that the Beatles had to continue challenging themselves but the other Beatles were more content to enjoy the rewards of their success. The White Album sessions in 1968 had been contentious and each of the Beatles had approached those sessions as though they were solo artists with the Beatles as their backing band. Intent on restoring a sense of purpose for the group as a whole, Paul came up with the idea to film the band rehearsing new material. After the rehearsals that band would stage a concert and the result would be a live album of all new material to be released along with a film showing the band's creative process. The Beatles agreed to record the new material live without overdubs, a departure from the days of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, where the Beatles explored the limits of studio technology.
In order for the film crews to record the Beatles' rehearsals, the Beatles set up on a large soundstage at Twickenham studios. Because of the film crews, the Beatles had to work during the day—something they were not at all accustomed to. Tensions within the band were already evident and the conditions of the project only heightened them. Things got so bad that George quit the band less than two weeks into rehearsals. He returned a few days later under the condition that the band move to Apple studios and abandon the live concert. George also took it upon himself to bring in keyboardist Billy Preston, which proved to be a productive move. Because in the presence of an outsider, the Beatles were on their best behavior.
George Martin was only marginally involved in the Get Back project, so Glyn Johns did most of the production for the album. Paul had approached Glyn Johns, who was an independent "balance engineer" and a member of the filmmakers union. [1] After the recording was over, Glyn Johns produced an album of material and presented it to the Beatles in the Spring of 1969. Glyn Johns took the "warts and all" approach in assembling Get Back, but the results were not particularly good, although several years later Paul was quoted as saying that he loved Glyn Johns' Get Back mix. Johns tried a second time several months later with a somewhat altered playlist, but the Beatles rejected his efforts again. John Lennon then approached Phil Spector to assemble an album from the tapes of January, 1969. Phil Spector added orchestral and choir overdubs, much to Paul McCartney's displeasure.
Because of that, on November 18, 2003, a new version of Let It Be, called Let It Be... Naked was released. The liner notes for this release explain that "the Let It Be project retained an air of unfinished business." [2] Paul McCartney, long dissatisfied with Phil Spector's production of Let It Be, initiated the creation of a new version of the album, which features polished performances of all of the songs. Gone are the choral and string accompaniment. Also gone are is the jam tune "Dig It" and the impromptu performance of the Liverpool folk tune "Maggie Mae." Let It Be... Naked adds "Don't Let Me Down," which was the B side of the "Get Back single, released in the Spring of 1969.
The three versions of Get Back/Let It Be differ in the following ways:
The Glyn Johns Get Back mixes (never released)
- one performance from the rooftop concert ("One After 909")
- a "warts and all" approach with rehearsal versions of songs with a lot of studio chatter
Let It Be, Produced by Phil Spector
- three performances from the rooftop concert ("One After 909", "Dig a Pony" and "I've Got a Feeling")
- Studio performances with overdubs and orchestration
- one jam ("Dig It") and one impromptu oldie ("Maggie Mae") and a few instances of studio chatter
Let It Be... Naked
- Studio and rooftop performances without overdubs (for the most part) but the sound has been improved by using recent technology
- No studio chatter with the tracks, but a second "Fly on the Wall" disc included with studio conversations and rehearsal versions of several songs
Notes:
1. Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), p. 165.
2. Kevin Howlett, liner notes for Let It Be... Naked, 2003.
© 2003-2007 Todd Gardner
-www.turnmeondeadman.net/LIB/Intro.php
GET BACK - The Glyn Johns Get Back Mixes
None of the Beatles wanted to face the job of mixing an album from the Get Back sessions recordings. Glyn Johns presented his first version of Get Back to the Beatles on May 28, 1969. Johns made an effort to present the Beatles returning to their roots and playing without overdubs or studio effects. No doubt this was a compelling idea, the results of his efforts were mixed.
Glyn Johns's First Mix, May 28, 1969
Side A
1. One After 909 (3:03)
Recorded live on the rooftop of Apple studios on January 30, 1969
2. Rocker (0:45)
Recorded January 22, 1969
3. Save the Last Dance for Me (1:38)
Recorded January 22, 1969
4. Don't Let Me Down (4:09)
Recorded January 22, 1969
5. Dig a Pony (3:48)
Recorded January 24, 1969
6. I've Got a Feeling (3:00)
Recorded January 24, 1969
7. Get Back (3:14)
Recorded January 28, 1969
Side B
1. For You Blue (2:45)
Recorded January 25, 1969
2. Teddy Boy (3:43)
Recorded January 24, 1969. "Teddy Boy" was omitted from Glyn Johns's second version of Get Back. Paul re-recorded this song for his first solo album McCartney.
3. Two of Us (3:31)
Recorded January 24, 1969
4. Maggie Mae (0:41)
Recorded January 24, 1969
5. Dig It (4:26)
Recorded January 26, 1969
6. Let It Be (3:58)
Recorded January 31, 1969 with overdubs recorded April 30, 1969
7. The Long and Winding Road (3:42)
Recorded January 31, 1969
8. Get Back (reprise) (0:40)
Recorded January 28, 1969
Glyn Johns opened both of his mixes with "One After 909," one of the first songs John and Paul wrote. This song was the only rooftop performance that Johns included on Get Back. Rather than start the track at the opening note, Glyn Johns wanted to capture the feel of the rooftop concert. Before the Beatles begin to play "One After 909," one of the crew yells "all cameras [take] four!" At the end of the track, Glyn Johns added two bits of rooftop concert banter. After John's brief rendition of "Danny Boy," Glyn Johns edited in John and Paul's concluding remarks at the end of the rooftop concert. Paul thanks Ringo's wife Maureen John quips, "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition." It's interesting to note that Phil Spector also used both of these segments on Let It Be. Glyn Johns then moves to a long segment recorded on the first day of recording at Apple studios. A brief jam entitled "Rocker" ends abruptly, followed by studio chatter indicating that the band were uncertain what song they would do next, and Paul calls out that they should play "Save the Last Dance for Me." The ensuing performance is brief and Paul doesn't know all the words. They conclude the track by segueing into a brief moment of "Don't Let Me Down." The Beatles finally perform "Don't Let Me Down" in its entirety after more studio chatter. John says, "This time it's serious. I remember your waltz--your 3/4, my 5/6." Paul urges John, "Do your thing, man" and John replies "I'm doing it all the time I can't keep off it." After a false start John asks Ringo to give him some cymbal crashes "to give me the courage to come screaming in." In another session John then suggests that the band perform "Dig a Pony" straight into "I've Got a Fever," John's joke title for "I've Got a Feeling." Glyn Johns is clearly playing a major role in this session. Prior to "Dig a Pony," John says, "alright Glynnis, we're off again" and at the end of "I've Got a Feeling," Ringo hits his drums and asks "Glyn, what does that sound like?" Side 1 concludes with the single version of "Get Back."
All of the studio performances on side A, with the exception of "Get Back," are very loose, full of silly chatter, improvised comic vocals and a number of mistakes. Side 2 opens similarly, a clinking glass, a brief practice run on the guitar, and one of the crew yelling "quiet, please!" before the Beatles play George's "For You Blue." As Mark Hertsgaard points out, "For You Blue" was an inconsequential song, and an odd choice to include on Get Back, especially given the backlog of excellent songs George had written during the latter years of the Beatles—enough to fill set three-record set All Things Must Pass. [1] Still, the performance of "For You Blue" was more polished than most of the other tracks on Get Back. Paul offers it the following track, "Teddy Boy," "for further consideration," and it sounds like a rehearsal. Glyn Johns used an earlier version of "Two of Us" than Phil Spector included on Let It Be. "Maggie Mae" is a brief song, but "Dig It" goes on for much longer than the edited version that Phil Spector included on Let It Be. Glyn Johns then included two of McCartney's songs recorded the day after the rooftop concert. "Let It Be" included overdubs that had been added in April, 1969. Still, these songs were unadorned compared to the lush production that Phil Spector added. The Beatles' performance is particularly moving on "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" but Johns undercuts that mood with a bit of studio chatter between the tracks in which John asks "are we supposed to giggle during the solo?" to which Paul replies "yeah." Glyn Johns concluded Get Back with a brief reprise of "Get Back" recorded in the studio with annoying vocalizations by Paul. The Beatles could not agree on releasing Glyn Johns's version, so he edited a second version that he presented on January 5, 1970.
Glyn Johns's Second Mix, January 5, 1970
Side A
1. One After 909 (3:03)
Recorded live on the rooftop of Apple studios on January 30, 1969
2. Rocker (0:34)
Recorded January 22, 1969
3. Save the Last Dance for Me (0:20)
Recorded January 22, 1969
4. Don't Let Me Down (4:40)
Recorded January 22, 1969
5. Dig a Pony (4:04)
Recorded January 24, 1969
6. I've Got a Feeling (2:45)
Recorded January 24, 1969
7. Get Back (3:14)
Recorded January 28, 1969 - The single release version
8. Let It Be (4:02)
Recorded January 31, 1969 with overdubs recorded April 30, 1969
Side B
1. For You Blue (2:45)
Recorded January 25, 1969
2. Two of Us (3:26)
Recorded January 24, 1969
3. Maggie Mae (0:37)
Recorded January 24, 1969
4. Dig It (4:06)
Recorded January 26, 1969
5. The Long and Winding Road (3:39)
Recorded January 31, 1969
6. I Me Mine (1:45)
Recorded January 3, 1970 by George, Paul and Ringo. John was on vacation at that time.
7. Across the Universe (3:27)
Recorded February 4 and 8, 1968
8. Get Back (reprise) (0:40)
Recorded January 28, 1969
Glyn Johns changed a few things for his second Get Back mix. He left off "Teddy Boy" and added "Across the Universe" and "I Me Mine". Paul would later include "Teddy Boy" on his first solo album McCartney. Mark Lewisohn suggests that the reason Glyn Johns removed "Teddy Boy" was because Paul had informed him that he would include a re-recorded version for his first solo album, which would be released in the spring of 1970. "Across the Universe" had been included on a World Wildlife Fund album and Glyn Johns remixed the recording. Glyn Johns added "I Me Mine" to this version of Get Back because it was included in the movie. In one of the early Twickenham sessions, George sings the song to Ringo and starts to work out the parts. The version included in Glyn Johns second mix was recorded several months later, though, on January 3, 1970. Only George, Paul and Ringo appear on this recording because John was vacationing in Denmark at the time.
Glyn Johns kept most of the studio tom foolery, but he edited out most of the Beatles' sloppy performance of "Save the Last Dance for Me." All that was left of this track from the first Get Back mix was the refrain and the segue into "Don't Let Me Down." Glyn Johns was true to Paul's initial concept for Get Back. Both of the versions of this album that Johns produced presented the Beatles as they were in the studio, "warts and all." Listening to these mixes, though, it's clear why the Beatles were not enthusiastic about them. Rather than creating a sense of immediacy and spontaneity, the Glyn Johns mixes are often annoying.
Notes:
1. Mark Hertsgaard, A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles (New York: Delacorte Press, 1995), p. 273.
© 2003-2007 Todd Gardner
GET BACK - Phil Spector's Let It Be
Let It Be, released May 8, 1970
Side A
1. Two of Us (3:36)
Recorded January 31, 1969. Opens with John's studio banter, where he introduces "I Dig a Pygmy," his joke title for "Dig a Pony." John also gives a joke name for the band, Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf-Aids.
2. Dig a Pony (3:54)
Recorded live on the rooftop of Apple studios on January 30, 1969
3. Across the Universe (3:48)
Recorded February 4, 1968, with overdubs added February 8, 1969. Phil Spector removed some of the sounds, slowed down the tempo, and added orchestra and choir overdubs.
4. I Me Mine (2:25)
Recorded January 3, 1970. Phil Spector added orchestra and choir on April 1, 1970.
5. Dig It (0:50)
Recorded January 26, 1969. A brief segment of the extended jam that Glyn Johns had included in both of his mixes. Phil Spector added John's falsetto studio banter, "That was 'Can You Dig It' by Georgie Wood. Now we'd like to do 'All [Hark?] the Angels Come'" as a segue into "Let It Be."
6. Let It Be (4:03)
Recorded January 31, 1969 with overdubs recorded April 30, 1969. More overdubs were added on January 4, 1970. George Martin produced the track and scored the brass and saxophone parts.
7. Maggie Mae (0:40)
Recorded January 24, 1969.
Side B
1. I've Got a Feeling (3:30)
Recorded live on the rooftop of Apple studios on January 30, 1969
2. One After 909 (2:55)
Recorded live on the rooftop of Apple studios on January 30, 1969
3. The Long and Winding Road (3:37)
Recorded January 31, 1969. Phil Spector added orchestra and choir overdubs on April 1, 1970.
4. For You Blue (2:32)
Recorded January 25, 1969
5. Get Back (3:07)
Recorded January 27, 1969. The single version of the song, which Glyn Johns had used in his Get Back mixes, had been recorded the previous day. Phil Spector concluded this track with John's farewell from the rooftop concert, "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition."
© 2003-2007 Todd Gardner
-www.turnmeondeadman.net/LIB/PhilSpector.php
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