I'm Looking Through You

Yoko Ono inspired John Lennon to write a great many songs.  Patti Boyd served as a muse for both George Harrison and Eric Clapton.  And, later in life, Linda Eastman was an inspiration for Paul McCartney.  But, for much of his time as a member of the Beatles, Paul was dating, and even engaged to, actress Jane Asher.  Yet most of the songs he wrote concerning their relationship were contrasts to his usual upbeat offerings, a typical Northern man's response to her desire to be independent and career-oriented.  Never was this more evident than during the late 1965 sessions for the album Rubber Soul, resulting in several strong numbers such as I'm Looking Through You, We Can Work it Out, You Won't See Me and possibly even Drive My Car.

For some reason, the recording of I'm Looking Through You turned out to be the longest and most complex to date for the Beatles.  The first version of the song was realized at two sessions on October 24th, 1965 totaling nine hours.  After rehearsal, only one take of the basic track was put on tape.  Paul played bass and sang live, John played acoustic and George electric guitar while Ringo played his drum kit.  The many overdubs included maracas, bongos, an organ, John singing a harmony vocal and Paul double-tracking his lead vocal.  One other overdub was actually a changing pattern of handclaps throughout the song.  This quirky, interesting alternate version, which can be heard on Anthology 2, was then considered to be complete.

On November 6th, the group began work on a remake of the song, opting for a more acoustic feel.  Paul had now also written a bridge for the number, something sorely lacking in the first version.  Six hours in the studio on this date resulted in two unsatisfying takes.  It took work on one more take on November 10th to finally arrive at the master.  Overdubs were not added to this until the early morning of November 12th at the final session for the album.  Ringo played one chord on a Hammond organ (he is even credited on the album for this!) and George contributed some sporadic lead guitar fills, but Paul played the tricky lead guitar phrases at the end of each verse himself.  New vocals by Paul and John were also added to this version.

The song is featured on both the British and American versions of the album Rubber Soul.  A mistake in the mixing stage left two false starts by John on acoustic guitar at the top of the stereo mix on the US album.  This delightful rarity is preserved on the recent US albums collection.  The alternate first version of the song featured on Anthology 2 was also scheduled to be a part of the famous Sessions album that almost saw release in the 1980's.  

I'm Happy Just to Dance with You

George Harrison did not have a songwriting partner.  He had been given credit for co-writing one of the group's very earliest numbers In Spite of All the Danger with Paul McCartney, though they both later learned that one should not be credited for merely coming up with a guitar solo.  A few years later, Harrison was rightfully credited with co-writing the instrumental Cry for a Shadow with John Lennon.  But once the group's official recording career began, George found himself on his own.

It must have been extremely daunting to even attempt songwriting while living in the shadow of the rapidly-developing genius of the Lennon-McCartney juggernaut, but Harrison was encouraged by others around the Beatles, and his first solo effort Don't Bother Me sat quite nicely on the group's second album.  Still, composing did not come easily to him - it took time - and with a deadline looming for a new batch of songs for the band's first feature film, Lennon and McCartney were forced to quickly write a song to order for their lead guitarist to sing.

March 1st, 1964 was the last day of recording that batch of songs, with filming scheduled to begin the very next day.  I'm Happy Just to Dance with You was first up on this date, and it was completed in only one hour.  Lennon was the primary composer of the number, and he proved to be the driving force on the recording, as well, playing an aggressive rhythm guitar part throughout.  The fourth take was the first to feature a live vocal from George, and it turned out to be the master.  He then double-tracked his vocal, John and Paul overdubbed strong backing vocals, and Ringo played a loose-skinned Arabian bongo - an item he had also used on Harrison's Don't Bother Me.

The number is one of the last new songs to be heard in the film A Hard Day's Night.  As the boys return to the stage, we hear its melody being played on a piano while some dancers rehearse a routine in front of some large photos of beetles - yes, really.  John joins the dancers, half-playfully, half-mockingly.  Sadly, we do not get to see George leap about as pictured above.  Ringo hops over to his drum kit and plays along with the piano before the boys all grab their instruments and perform the number in a small circle at the front of the stage.

The song was only available on the album A Hard Day's Night in the UK during the group's career.  American fans had a few more options.  It first appeared on the United Artists official soundtrack album A Hard Day's Night.  One month later, Capitol Records released it twice on the same day, both on the album Something New and as the B-side of the single I'll Cry Instead.  Its only other release was again as a B-side to the novelty single The Beatles' Movie Medley in 1982.

The boys performed I'm Happy Just to Dance with You for their BBC radio program From Us to You to promote the film's release.  The song joined the band's live repertoire for one brief month during the British tour in the fall of 1964.

I'm Down

On June 14th, 1965, the Beatles returned to Abbey Road Studios to add to the non-soundtrack side of their upcoming album Help!  As it turned out, the day belonged to Paul McCartney, who showed up with three new compositions ready to record.  After starting and completing his folk-rock tune I've Just Seen a Face in the first hour and a half, the focus shifted to a screaming rocker specifically designed to replace the Little Richard number Long Tall Sally in the group's live act.

For the backing track, John traded in his customary rhythm guitar for an electric organ while the other Beatles stayed with their usual instruments.  Anthology 2 presents take one of I'm Down, revealing that the arrangement was pretty much in place right from the start.  Once the seventh take was determined to be the best, the guitar and organ solos played by George and John were overdubbed, and Ringo added bongos at various points in the song.  Two separate sets of backing vocals were then added.  The first had John and George singing "I'm really down" and other phrases echoing Paul's lead vocal.  The second set had John singing a very low "down" with Paul and George harmonizing above him.  Again, all of this work required only an hour and a half.

The most remarkable part of the day was yet to come when, after shrieking his lungs out on this song, Paul recorded the master take of his brilliant ballad Yesterday.

While I'm Down may have been intended for the album, it wound up serving as the B-side of the single Help! instead.  And that was the only way you could get the song during the group's career.  This was a rare instance of Capitol Records in the US not making a song available on an album.  Post-career was a different story, however.  The song first appeared on the compilation Rock and Roll Music in 1976.  It was the final track on Past Masters Volume 1 in 1988 and, as aforementioned, take one was released on Anthology 2 in 1996.

It fulfilled its purpose in concert, closing out almost every show for the remainder of the group's touring days.  The film of the famous August 15th, 1965 Shea Stadium performance proves that I'm Down could be one of the highlights of shows that had become routinely frustrating.  On this historic occasion, the boys played the finale with abandon, caught up in the insanity of the world's first stadium concert.

I'm a Loser

I'm a Loser was only the second song to be recorded for the album Beatles for Sale, but it confirmed the strong country and western influence on the entire project after the similarly country-flavored Baby's In Black.  It also highlighted another influence exerting itself on John Lennon and the Beatles - that of Bob Dylan.

Even this early in the group's career, Lennon had already composed material that revealed his anger and jealousy, such as I'll Cry Instead and You Can't Do That.  Here, after barely six months of worldwide fame, he was expressing his very real fears and insecurities for all to see and hear, though the vast majority of fans did not realize it at the time.

The song was recorded at an evening session on August 14th, 1964.  The arrangement went through a few alterations before the eighth take was deemed the best.  Starting with take four, John began playing his harmonica live rather than waiting to overdub it later.  Once overdubbing began, George played some extra guitar fills at various points, Ringo added a tambourine and John and Paul double-tracked their vocals during the refrains.  Typical of the group's industriousness in those days, all of this was completed in roughly one hour.

The most Dylanesque touch is, of course, John's harmonica, which he attacks with gusto in the instrumental break.  As for the country feel, not only is there George's rockabilly guitar work, but Paul plays a great walking bass line while simultaneously providing the high vocal harmony in the refrains.

Along with No Reply and Eight Days a Week, I'm a Loser was considered for release as a single before Lennon came up with I Feel Fine.  The song was strong enough to make it into the group's stage act for almost a year, including Another Beatles Christmas Show at the end of the year and the 1965 European tour.

The song was released on both the album and the EP Beatles for Sale in England.  In America, it appeared on the album Beatles '65 and the EP 4 by the Beatles.  Live at the BBC presents a recording from the program Top Gear for which they even took the time to double-track John's vocal in places.  And I possess a bootleg on cassette of a very spirited performance of the number from a concert in Paris from June of 1965.