1963

PAUL ON JOHN'S SONGS

There has been some discussion over the years about how different a musician Paul McCartney was when playing on his own songs vs. playing on John's songs. In the Playboy interviews, amongst the last of his life, John mentions that when it came time to record his songs a looser air came over the studio. He felt that he would be called paranoid for this, but there is no doubt that it's true and true right from the start of the Beatles Parlaphone recording career. Take a listen to various Beatles' recordings. On Paul's songs, his bass parts are controlled and (usually) perfected while on John's songs they are more inventive and spontaneous; his playing is more fun on John's (and George's) songs than on his own.

In most cases where I've read this it is made out to be a purposeful thing on McCartney's part as if his aim were to sabotage Lennon's songs. But damn! if I don't disagree with this. McCartney himself has said that the Beatles did not rehearse before going into the studio. But they had gotten so good at playing with each other after so many hours of doing so in Germany and on tours that they didn't need to rehearse. There isn't much doubt about the type of songwriters McCartney and Lennon were. Paul would get a song and flesh it out in his head. He would hear musical parts and what sort of instruments should play those parts and how they should be played. It was an intellectual approach. John, by all (and I mean "all") accounts would bring his song and and let the boys work their parts out themselves. George and Ringo have both said that it was more fun playing John's songs and if you listen to the bass parts on Beatles albums from the earliest to the last (check out "I Want You" and "Come Together" from Abbey Road) I think it's safe to say that Paul joined in on that fun. His bass parts were more daring and less precise on John's songs.

This is an interesting point to ponder as we go through the Beatles' catalog. In the early days, when John had most of the hits and more control of the group, the Beatles style was spontaneous and a lot of fun. In the days around Revolver and Sgt Pepper, when Paul had more control of the group, the style was intellectual, maybe a bit more controlled, but very nice sounding. Then in the later years, it was more of a mix of styles. You'd have a single like Hey Jude/Revolution; very Paul/John.

In an interview with Tony Bacon, Paul discussed 1967, saying that being the bass player was "my only job". His point was that after some years of doing a million things a day, all they had to worry about now was recording music. By 1966, John and George wanted to take time off and stop being Beatles for a while. Paul knew that the Beatles could make their best music yet and '66 and '67 became his years as the chief motivator and songwriter of the band. By late 1966 until the time Brian Epstein died, being a recording artist for the Beatles was his job. He didn't have to worry about a whole lot else and so we have Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. A more controlled feel to the albums, but in my opinion some of the best music they ever made.

My final point on this topic is that the Beatles, all four of them, were fantastic sidemen. They knew how to make a song work, didn't they. Paul was one of the best sidemen ever and if a song called for some wild and uninhibited bass playing, then he would be there making it happen in a big, big way. This leads us to a discussion of our first song from 1963, a John song with some terrific uninhibited bass playing by Paul.

PLEASE PLEASE ME (single)  

Please Please Me is pure excitement. The overall sound is like a big band even if the parts played aren't done in that style. As with so many of their songs, there wasn't one particular Beatle responsible for the excitement. A listen to what each of the four did reveals an exciting well-played part and they all come together to make a sound that you'll never forget. 

The role of the bass playing on this song is conceptual.   Listen to what McCartney does during the opening of this song.   After that incredibly catchy two-note guitar intro, the harmonica comes to the forefront.  But the bass "hammers" (constant steady beat) eight notes up high.  Listen to the intro without listening to the bass part and figure what you think would have been the perfect bass part for the part.  The odds are you wouldn't come up with the idea that the Beatles did.  But, I would have a very hard time accepting an argument that it is anything but perfect, just as the parts all the Beatles are playing is perfect. Everyone on that intro is hammering on your front door and it would be a sad person indeed who wouldn't throw open the door and let those brash boys in.

After the knock-down intro, the bass recedes (appropriately) to the back of the song. It's time for John and Paul to bring the voices to the fore. By the time the Beatles get to the call/response "Come on..Come on!", there can be no denying that these young men have already learned what it takes to make a record that will jump out of the flimsiest of radios or jump off the flimsiest of record players and become a hit. The interesting thing is that this was the second go at this song. John and Paul have separately talked about how they had brought the song in as a Roy Orbison style ballad, stretching out the "come on". George Martin told them to go home and think this one over. I'd like to say thanks to Mr. Martin for this because look what they brought back.

While I have this song in the 1963 section, the day it was recorded was actually November 26, 1962. While I've never heard anybody else say this, it was a huge day for the Beatles. History shows that they had, beginning with this song, a huge unbroken string of number 1 hits (in England, all the way up to Penny Lane). But what if they had not come back with a great song they themselves had written? Their first record, PS I Love You/Love Me Do had lackluster sales. George Martin was all for following the trend that was always followed in the industry. He wanted them to record songs that professional songwriters had composed. Why not record "How Do You Do It?", by Mitch Murray? It's sure to be a hit. The Beatles were up against it and, as they would do throughout their career when the chips were down, they came through in a big way; this time with Please Please Me. But what if they had not come through? Would the Beatles have been allowed to keep trying and wasting studio time with their own material? Maybe not. It's a huge credit to George Martin that he saw their potential as songwriters. Aside from some of the great rock n rollers of the 1950s (Berry, Little Richard, Lewis), it just wasn't done before the Beatles.

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WITH THE BEATLES (LP)   

Notes on With The Beatles: Up until the album With The Beatles (1963), most contemporary bass playing was jazz (played on an upright bass) or rock and roll (played either on an upright or Fender electric). But it was a very primitive technique used by rock and roll bass players that generally mimicked the style of horn lines.

With The Beatles, as far as I can tell, was the first album where ROCK bass playing first crawled from the ocean and breathed air.

On most of the album, George Martin and engineer Norman Smith decided to let the bass come up front and for good reason. The playing is solid and wild, especially for the times and especially on John's songs. Ringo and Paul have developed, by this album, an awesome matching of power that few other bands could boast. It must be claimed that they both avoided showing off too much, but more importantly they sought and always seemed to find just the right way to present a song. Pressing along with John Lennon's guitar on Hold Me Tight, the rhythm rolls like a Sherman Tank smashing its way through a forest. Hanging back on All I've Got To Do (discussed further), they "don't" play perfectly -- meaning that it is just important what they would leave out as what they would put in.

Every Beatles album had a particular flavor and it's easy to contrast With The Beatles with the white album on that regard. Each instrument was well defined both in sound and in style.

The Beatles, most will agree, were TALENTED. John Lennon was right when he said that they would have made it famous one way or another, because they were talented people. As a band, they could play about any kind of style, and they could do it both ways. They could create a tight, cohesive sound that would knock your doors off and draw you into their tremendous spirit -or - they could play as four musicians working expertly with each other as on both the White Album and here on With The Beatles.

On the first three songs from the album:

For those who were excitedly awaiting this, the Beatles next album, I doubt if any were disappointed for long once they put it on their little turntables. What an album opener! It Won't Be Long! And, they appear to be saying, it won't be long until you are under our power. The album starts right off with The Tried and True Knockout Call (John "It won't be long") and Response (Paul and George "yeah"). Wow. These guys are undeniable.

At 0:10, a series of events follow in quick succession to bring us to the verse. John sings "till I belong to you", Paul and George sing "ahhh" below this. Beneath that, John does a few power strums on his guitar, down in the mix. At 0:12, George plays that hook guitar line that can only be in E and it sounds great, doesn't it.

Then he plays it a second time, but this time there are hi jinx going on. The verse is coming and it's time to shift gears down a little bit. Downshift? Well, they do that by having Paul double the guitar line and Ringo add a nifty little fill of his own. To bring things down a bit, they yank it up a few notches! Please, put that CD on and listen to this little moment. These guys are enthusiastic.

The Beatles dynamics on this song are interesting. When they get to the verse, the energy drops a notch but from whom is the energy dropping? Not the drums, because Ringo goes from a semi-closed hi hat to a ride cymbal. It may be only the fact that the call and response has stopped temporarily. At the end of the verse we have the guitar line again and repeated.

(0:27). This time Paul's bass begins to follow the guitar line down but makes a quick turn at the end of the line to bring us back to the powerful chorus. This time Ringo follows the guitar line with his toms and John plays a cool roll on his guitar. On the song goes.

Paul had a slightly distorted sound on the song, especially on the hook lines. Martin/Smith (producer and first engineer) are to be given a lot of credit for not only leaving that in but also for bringing it to the fore. I'm sure I'm not the first to think about this, but it must have been exciting to be them, to be there when the Beatles were recording songs like this. To know that you had something this potentially huge being recorded in your studio.

It is dynamics that make so many of the Beatles songs what they were. They were, even at this early stage of their career, masters of when to go all out and when to lay back. Because you've gone through a mini roller-coaster ride of dynamics when listening to much of their music, you tend to reach each conclusion feeling some exhilaration. It Won't Be Long is no exception to this rule. It might be that the vocals and guitars provide the roller car you're riding in, but Ringo and Paul provide that car's wheels.

The album starts off with this song and doesn't trail off there.

All I've Got To Do follows, and to the best of my knowledge it's the first time in R&R or rock where the bass player plays chords as a vital part of the song. Just as it happens when Paul starts playing chords in I Want To Hold Your Hand, the rest of the band steps back and let his sound come through. Dynamics to the fore, the bass playing really works for this song. As mentioned above, what Paul doesn't play on this song is as important as what he does play. Up and coming bass players, please take heed. The minor tension he creates with his chords is of major importance to this track, during the verses. He is riding the drum's syncopated rhythm in a herky-jerky way that is meant for dance.

Some technical notes about the drumming: Again, dynamics are well to the fore this time with Ringo at the lead. As the song heads towards the choruses (...."is call you on the phone"), he starts opening his hi hat a bit and by the time chorus is reached ("and the same goes for me. . .") the song reaches up to new heights. Beneath this line, Ringo is pounding his bass drum on the quarter notes in way that makes you smile to listen to. The chorus is full of life and strong with the vocals leading the way. But the rhythm section is playing in a very mature way for such young men. You would think there would be a tendency to rush the tempo a bit. It's an easy thing to do when things get exciting, but Ringo and Paul keep things steady. And then, even more suddenly than it started, the chorus ends. Ringo kicks a perfectly timed hi-hat stroke (telling the other musicians where the beat is) and we're back down to a low-key verse. The second time the song heads towards the chorus, Ringo is bringing the song to a higher level so that when the chorus is reached, the musicians are already pouring it out. Dynamic, exciting stuff. On this song, none of the playing, bass chords aside, is new or extraordinary, just very well done.

Underneath John's awesome triplet mashing, for the first half of each verse, Paul's bass walks from chord to chord in good ol' jazz style. The typical R&R bass lines would work with this song, especially considering what's happening on rhythm guitar, but the walk works even better.

The typical bass player of the day would have settled for playing a simple 1 & 5 on each chord and it would have worked, but not nearly as well as this line does. The style is ever present and dynamic.

Note: By "1 & 5" I mean the root and the fifth of each chord.   For example, if the band is playing in the key of C, many times the bass player will alternate the C and G (the fifth note of the C major scale) notes.

But then on the chorus, where you generally expect the band to really pick it up, the Beatles fall WAY back. The triplet guitar stops, the bass stops walking, and the background vocals are used almost as an organ effect. The bass, here, stands to the side as well until the guitar solo starts. It becomes a whole new song. When you consider that they were somewhere in their very early 20s when they recorded this, an age where one might not expect a lot of dynamics, all of this becomes even more impressive.

DON'T BOTHER ME

Dang, folks. There is some interesting bass playing going on in this song that I never really listened to until just now (here 2008, 45 years after it was recorded). I offer only the excuse that the bass is not prominent in the mix, and is a part of a hodgepodge of great groove playing by the Beatles. Okay, I admit it, I just missed out on this one all these years.

There are some songs (and the Beatles recorded many) that have such a great mix of all four musicians that no part really stands out. For this song, it was always Lennon's great tremolo guitar that caught my ear and held it throughout the song but in reality it is a top notch ensemble recording. When the Beatles were recording Let It Be, George was whining about how he never had a chance to get his songs in and when he did there was not much time put into them. John replied that they had always grooved for him right back to Don't Bother Me. I should have put this song on and listened closer then because he was right. They supply a groove for what could well have been a lackluster song at best.

The bass part during most of the verses is kind of indescribable so I recommend putting the CD on and listening to it. The bass on the verses are funk. Funky (I hate that word though), very well done in conjunction with the drum groove. And then, under "So go away" for example, here comes the patented bass chords or double stops. My favorite part of the song, and one that, yes, I've heard for years, is the little "f*** you" that Paul puts into the song at 1:58. The band stops while Paul holds his note and then lets it drop. Take that. All in all, not a bad little backup band for George's first written song, I'd say.

Little Child is pure rock n roll; Till There Was You has some accomplished playing and good understanding of chord structure; the whole album follows both concepts.

I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND (single)   

For those interested: This song was recorded on October 17, 1963 and it was a milestone for the Beatles in that it was the first day they had use of a four track recorder in the studio. While having only four tracks seems silly now, it was a huge jump for the engineers at Abbey Road studios. It allowed them much more flexibility with recording and the general consensus is that the EMI engineers were amongst the best at using the four tracks to the fullest. Can you imagine how good With The Beatles would have sounded if it were recorded on four tracks?! It wasn't too long after this that Les Paul developed an eight track recording machine but the Beatles wouldn't have use of one until the white album in 1968.

In Britain, I Want To Hold Your Hand was released a week after Meet The Beatles was released in America. When the British public first heard this, and were by now quite used to great Beatle hits, we Yanks and Herns (Goon Show-ese there) were just hearing them for the first time.

I Want To Hold Your Hand (spelled I Wanna Hold Your Hand on Meet The Beatles) is full of dynamics, stumbles and hooks. One instrument after another takes its turn coming to the forefront. At first it's the rhythm guitar playing the famous opening chords, staying somehow in 4/4 (though you wouldn't know it as it seems like it takes one beat too long for the vocals to come in). Then, there's the final little crescendo before the first vocals, anchored by Paul's repeater bass line.

"Oh yeah I!" shout John and Paul in unison, "tell you something!", now it's George's turn; he plays that little guitar lick that takes the song expertly and perfectly from the V to the VI chord (the song being in G, it now goes from D to Em) .

On the bridge (and when I touch you I feel happy), just as in All My Loving, the guitars and drums fall way back, and Paul's bass leaps to the fore, playing chords. The whole song has changed feel for a short time, but not for long. The dynamics that result when the guitars re-enter at "I can't hide" are, at the very least, catchy.

How many guitar players can you think of that would stand by and let the bass player come forth, even for a few moments? Ask any bass player, he/she will attest to the answer "very few".

Here, at a stage where the Beatles were conquering the world, John and George both stood back and let the dynamics flow. The boys had learned, quite early in their professional recording careers, to bring the hooks to the fore. They'd also learned not to let their musicianship get in the way of making good records.

I Want To Hold Your Hand is one of pop music's all-time masterpieces. Short and concise, it takes you through changes both subtle and obvious. So much can be learned from this song by aspiring songwriters/ arrangers/producers.

1963, Beatles style, was nothing short of great fun for everyone. They were having fun recording and we were having fun listening and watching. How could it get better than "With the Beatles"? It probably couldn't.

Go to "1964/65" section