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.