I Saw Her Standing There

"1-2-3-faw!"  Possibly the most famous count-in of all time.  Many have done it on records since, but producer George Martin decided to open the album Please Please Me with Paul's contagiously enthusiastic yell, signalling a rebirth of rock and roll that has lasted for decades.

McCartney's rocker was known as Seventeen when the Beatles recorded it on February 11th, 1963.  They knew the song well, as they had already been playing it in their stage act for a few months, and they nailed it on take one.  But Martin thought they could do better, so he pushed them to repeat it several more times.  A few of these takes broke down as the boys, who were still relatively new to working in the studio, lost concentration, prompting Paul's strong count-in to rally the group before take nine.  When reviewing the takes, Martin opted for take one, but he made sure to edit the take nine intro onto the beginning, thereby creating the illusion of the live album he had wanted to make all along.  Though most of the album stayed true to the live-in-the-studio aesthetic, this song did feature one overdub.  All four Beatles gathered at the microphones to add handclaps to the number throughout.

In addition to opening their first British album, the song also opened the Vee-Jay album Introducing the Beatles in the US, but someone at Vee-Jay thought the count-in was left in accidentally, so only the "Faw!" is heard on the American album.  Once Capitol Records was persuaded to finally release a single by the group, the label chose to replace I Want to Hold Your Hand's UK B-side This Boy with this early rocker.  Capitol also put the song (with the count-in intact) on the album Meet the Beatles!

For proof that the band was playing the song before they officially recorded it, one need look no further than the many releases of the Star Club tapes from Hamburg.  The performance is from December 31st, 1962 and, unlike much of that evening's lackluster work, it is spirited both vocally and instrumentally.

Several versions are available from late 1963, a time when manager Brian Epstein kept the boys on a grueling schedule just as they were on the cusp of unimaginable fame.  Live at the BBC features a live performance from the program Easy Beat while On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2 presents a recording made a month earlier for the program Saturday Club.  Perhaps the best live version is from a Swedish broadcast recorded in late October which can be found on Anthology 1.

The EP Free as a Bird, released in conjunction with the Anthology series, presents the complete take nine starting with the count-in by Paul that Martin used for the master.  What this take and all of the other versions reveal is that George's guitar solo was never set.  He improvised each time, yielding many shaky results.  The group did not maintain this practice for very long once they became recording artists, preferring carefully crafted solos which were faithfully recreated in concert.

This was the last song John Lennon ever performed on stage, joining Elton John at Madison Square Garden in 1974 and introducing it as being by "an old estranged fiance of mine called Paul."  It was originally released as the B-side of the single Philadelphia Freedom.

A personal connection to this song occurred for me during the summer of 1997 when a young, fresh out of college actor named David Harbour told me that he didn't care for the Beatles because you couldn't dance to their music.  Shortly thereafter, we were at a nearby bar and, when the local band began playing I Saw Her Standing There, nearly everyone in the room jumped to their feet and began dancing.  I couldn't resist the chance to lean over to David and say, "No, you can't dance to the Beatles!"

I Need You

"Recording" the song in the film Help!

1965 is the year in which George Harrison began writing his own compositions for the remainder of his career as a member of the Beatles.  He had previously only had one solo composition recorded by the group - Don't Bother Me on their second album With the Beatles in '63.  He did produce a demo of a song called You Know What to Do at the final session for A Hard Day's Night in 1964, but it remained forgotten until the Anthology series in the 1990's.

When it came time to record a fresh batch of songs for their second film, Harrison boldly showed up with two contenders - You Like Me Too Much and I Need You.  Director Richard Lester chose the latter number as George's spotlight.

The recording of I Need You began on February 15th, 1965, after the group had first worked on songs by John and Paul.  Producer George Martin actually kept personal handwritten notes of this particular session which reveal that John played drums as Ringo tapped on the back of an acoustic guitar.  George played another acoustic guitar and Paul played bass.  It only took this lineup five takes to get it right.  All overdubs were added on February 16th, including George's double-tracked lead vocal, occasional harmony vocals by Paul, backing vocals by George, John and Paul, plus Ringo playing cowbell during the bridges.

The most interesting overdub was George's lead guitar work played with the assistance of his newest toy.  At the time, it was referred to as a tone pedal, but it soon became popularly known as a wah wah pedal.  George liked the effect it produced so much that he used it a second time later in the day on John's song Yes It Is.

In the film Help!, the boys are pictured supposedly recording the song out in the wind on Salisbury Plain with tanks and troops all around protecting them from those who want to steal Ringo's ring.  I find the incongruity of seeing the peace-loving band surrounded by weapons of war shocking even today.  They are, by the way, miming with their usual instruments, with Ringo on drums and John on his electric guitar.  After this, they never performed the song again during the remainder of their career.

I Need You appears on both the UK and US versions of the album Help!  It later surfaced only one more time on the collection Love Songs in 1977.

I Me Mine

George Harrison auditioned several songs for consideration by the Beatles during the Twickenham Film Studios portion of the Get Back project in early January of 1969.  John and Paul showed little interest in any of them.  Such was the case with I Me Mine when George first played it for Ringo (who would at least listen) describing it as a "heavy waltz."  Paul did take the time on this occasion to learn the chords and join in, but John simply grabbed Yoko and waltzed around as the others played.  The song did not resurface when the sessions moved to the Apple Studios in Savile Row later in the month.

A year later, the rough cut of the documentary contained footage of John and Yoko dancing to the song.  It suddenly became necessary to include the number on the soundtrack album which would accompany the release of the film.  By this time, John had officially (but secretly) quit the group.  It thus fell to George, Paul and Ringo to tackle the assignment.  Since the Twickenham sessions had only been filmed and not properly recorded, an entirely new version of the song was required.

They reported to Abbey Road Studios on January 3rd, 1970 to begin what would become the final song attributed to the group during their career.  Unlike most of the other songs on the Get Back album assembled by Glyn Johns, this one would have numerous overdubs, thus lacking the live in the studio feel of the original project.  George played acoustic guitar while singing a guide vocal, Paul played bass and Ringo his drum kit.  It took sixteen takes to arrive at the master.  The atmosphere was relaxed as they sometimes jammed between takes and George delivered a mock press statement addressing John's absence.  "You all will have read that Dave Dee is no longer with us..."

Among the overdubs, George played a stinging electric guitar and added more acoustic guitar, and Paul played an electric piano and a Hammond organ.  Plus George recorded his lead vocal before he and Paul added some harmony vocals.  The entire song was only 1'34" in duration.  George Martin produced the session, giving the finished product to Glyn Johns for his second attempt at compiling a Get Back album.  As with his first effort, this was rejected by the Beatles.

In March, George and John recruited American producer Phil Spector to see if he could put together a suitable album.  Spector rather cleverly extended I Me Mine by editing the master just before the final line of the song and repeating the bridge and the second verse, bringing the running time to 2'25".  On April 1st, with Ringo present and participating, Spector added an orchestral arrangement by Richard Hewson to the recording.  This is the version on the Let It Be album.

The original recording can be found on bootlegs of the second Get Back album.  This is also more easily available on Anthology 3, including George's witty press statement.  The 2003 collection Let It Be...Naked features the song without Spector's orchestra, yet it retains his extension of the song.

This ode to the ego has never been one of my favorites, but George himself thought highly enough of the number it that he used its title for his autobiography.    

I Feel Fine

As the Beatles worked on their fourth album at sporadic sessions in 1964, they had a few contenders for their next single among the songs recorded.  Two moody, downbeat numbers, No Reply and I'm a Loser, were under consideration until the relentlessly cheery Eight Days a Week emerged as the frontrunner on October 8th.  An extremely productive session on October 18th yielded the eventual winner, however, with another sunny burst of optimism entitled I Feel Fine.

It was a literal burst of electronic feedback that heralded the continuous riff that runs throughout the song.  Chief composer John Lennon had actually been playing that riff between takes of Eight Days a Week ten days earlier.  He now played it in tandem with George Harrison, creating an almost nonstop wave of energy that carries the song along with Ringo's Latin-tinged drum pattern.  The lyrics are as lightweight as can be, yet they cannot detract from the sheer joy of this recording.

It took nine takes before John and George could play the best version of their guitar duet.  John gave up trying to sing after take one, which was also in a key too high for him to sing comfortably.  His double-tracked lead vocal was recorded as an overdub, as were Paul and George's backing vocals and George's guitar solo.  What is most remarkable is that this was achieved in the middle of a day in which the group completed work on eight songs.

Stories abound as to how the feedback was "discovered" and used as the opening moment of the song.  Some say that it was accidental while most agree that it was preplanned.  Whatever the truth is, Lennon was always proud enough to proclaim that it was the first deliberate use of feedback on any recording..."before Hendrix, before the Who, before anybody."

The single was a worldwide number one.  In the US, it was simultaneously released as part of the album Beatles '65.  In the UK, it later appeared on the EP The Beatles' Million Sellers and the album A Collection of Beatles Oldies.  Post career releases include the Red Album, 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters and 1.  A live version from Blackpool Night Out appears on Anthology 2.  The group also recorded the song for BBC Radio on November 17th, 1964.  While this version appears on Live at the BBC, a sequence from On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2 reveals just how difficult it was to replicate the feedback opening at that session.

The song became part of the group's stage act for the remainder of their performing days, right up to their final concert at Candlestick Park in 1966.

On November 23rd, 1965, the Beatles reported to Twickenham Film Studios to shoot promotional videos for several of their hit singles for worldwide distribution.  This was done to lessen the need to make live television appearances all of the time.  Two videos were shot of I Feel Fine.  The first had the boys miming to the song as they fooled around with some exercise equipment.  The second (pictured above) showed them eating fish and chips while barely pretending to sing along.  Manager Brian Epstein was unhappy with the second video, so obviously shot during what should have been a break, and it was never aired.  Happily, both versions are now available on the collection 1+.

I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

When I began my research for this entry, I was surprised to learn from a few different sources that this song was originally conceived as a vehicle for Ringo to sing.  Since he had found a comfortable niche in the rockabilly genre with his recording of Matchbox earlier in 1964, this makes sense.  Yet, though the lyrics did have a hangdog feel about them that might have fit his persona, they were actually so downbeat that Lennon wound up keeping the song for himself.

The song was written during the group's North American tour of 1964.  Though the bulk of the credit for the composition goes to Lennon, McCartney certainly aided him in the process.  The recording took place at Abbey Road Studios on September 29th, the first session following the tour.  It required nineteen takes before the master was achieved, and only five of those takes were complete from start to finish.

John accompanies himself on acoustic guitar as he sings the lead vocal.  Paul plays bass and adds a high harmony vocal throughout the bridges of the song.  He and George also sing some occasional backing vocals in the verses.  The distinctive sound of the recording (and, indeed, of much of the album Beatles for Sale) comes from George's Gretsch Tennessean electric guitar, creating that twangy rockabilly feel.  The only overdubs featured Ringo on tambourine during the bridges and John double-tracking a low harmony for the verses.

In the US, Capitol Records withheld the song from the December 1964 album Beatles '65, instead choosing to use it as the B-side of the single Eight Days a Week, released in February of 1965.  While the A-side went to number one on the charts, I Don't Want to Spoil the Party peaked at number thirty-nine.  Both songs later appeared on the compilation album Beatles VI, released in June of that same year.

The group never played the song live, nor did it ever resurface on any of their post-career compilations.  Its country and western roots were validated, however, in 1989 by Rosanne Cash, who recorded a cover version that went to number one on the Billboard country chart.