Yer Blues Recorded: 13, 14, 20 August 1968 Producer: George Martin Engineer: Ken Scott John Lennon: vocals, backing vocals, lead guitar Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums John Lennons most emotionally-revealing moment on the White Album, Yer Blues was written in Rishikesh, India. Balanced deftly between parody and earnestness, the song anticipated the raw, revelatory and confessional spirit of Lennons solo work - most notable in Cold Turkey and the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. Download on iTunes Yer Blues was written in India, too. The same thing up there trying to reac God and feeling suicidal. John Lennon All We Are Saying, David Sheff A cause of his anguish may have been Yoko Ono. Although their relationship had yet to begin, Ono wrote regularly to Lennon from England, and it is likely that she is the girl the song is addressed to. The funny thing about the [Maharishis] camp was that although it was very beautiful and I was meditating about eight hours a day, I was writing the most miserable songs on earth. In Yer Blues, when I wrote, Im so lonely I want to die, Im not kidding. Thats how I felt. John Lennon Anthology The Beatles recorded an acoustic demo of Yer Blues in May 1968, at George Harrisons house in Esher, Surrey. While lacking the raw power of the studio version, lyrically it was largely identical. In the studio The Beatles recorded Yer Blues in a small annexe room next to Abbey Roads studio two. The Beatles got the idea from a sarcastic comment made by engineer Ken Scott during the recording of George Harrisons Not Guilty. George had this idea that he wanted to do it in the control room with the speakers blasting, so that he got more of an on-stage feel... I remember that John Lennon came in at one point and I turned to him and said, Bloody hell, the way you lot are carrying on youll be wanting to record everything in the room next door! The room next door was tiny, where the four-track tape machines were once kept, and it had no proper studio walls or acoustic set-up of any kind. Lennon replied, Thats a great idea, lets try it on the next number! The next number was Yer Blues and we literally had to set it all up - them and the instruments - in this minute room. Thats how they recorded Yer Blues, and it worked out great! Ken Scott The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn The Beatles began recording the song on 13 August 1968, with 14 takes of the rhythm track - drums, bass, rhythm and lead guitars, along with Lennons lead vocals. They then made a number of reduction mixes, to free up more space on the four-track tapes. Takes 15 and 16 were reductions of take six, and take 17 was a reduction of part of take 14. For the first time in a Beatles session, the actual four-track tape was then edited. Normally a mix or a copy would be edited, to safeguard the original master tape from erroneous cuts. The beginning of take 17 was then spliced onto the end of take 16. This brutal cut can clearly be heard at the 316 mark on the released version, with Lennons guide vocals captured despite being sung off-mic. Because of the lack of sound proofing and isolation in the annexe, a number of sounds from instruments and vocals spilled over into other tracks. These included guide vocals, and a discarded guitar solo that can be heard during the instrumental break. On 14 August Lennon recorded a second lead vocal part. The Two, three count-in, meanwhile, was recorded on 20 August, with Ringo Starr doing the honours. Yer Blues, on the White Album, you cant top it. It was the four of us. That is what Im saying: it was really because the four of us were in a box, a room about eight by eight, with no separation. It was this group that was together; it was like grunge rock of the sixties, really - grunge blues. Ringo Starr Anthology youtube/watch?v=6dDw_3H0XKg
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 07:24:30 +0000
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