Thanks to the deluxe 50th anniversary edition of The Beatles (aka the "White Album"), there are now multiple ways to listen to Yer Blues. First up is the Esher demo from May of '68. John double-tracks his acoustic guitar and vocal with a little tambourine in the background. There are minor variations from the finished lyrics we know, and John goes falsetto instead of the full out screaming on the master.
The group did not tackle the song again until well into the sessions for the double album on August 13th, 1968. After recording a remake of Sexy Sadie earlier in the evening, all of their equipment was squeezed into a small room known as annex 2A - so small they could barely move about - after engineer Ken Scott had jokingly pointed it out to John at the previous day's session. The boys got into a groove playing in such a confined space, running through fourteen takes of the basic track and getting progressively louder as the night went on.
Take five is also available on the 50th anniversary edition of the album. John's off-mike guide vocal can be heard, once more singing some alternate lyrics in places. A good chunk of this take turned out to be the master, with a portion of take six edited in the middle before take five returns and John and George take turns playing guitar solos. The beginning of take five is then edited on again to serve as the fadeout.
On August 14th, John's lead vocal and Paul's occasional backing vocals were overdubbed, as well as an additional snare drum played by Ringo during the guitar solos. It has always been reported that Ringo returned with John on August 20th to record the count-in at the top of the song, but we now know that it is John's voice from the beginning of take five that is heard on the master, so why the two of them were at Abbey Road on this night is unknown.
Yer Blues appears as the second track on side three of the "White Album," immediately after the rocker Birthday. While it has never surfaced on any other post-career compilations of the Beatles, John felt strongly enough about the song to play it on two very different occasions.
The first was at the taping of the infamous Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December of 1968, only weeks after the song had been released. The one-time-only supergroup the Dirty Mac is pictured above, consisting of John and Eric Clapton on guitars, Keith Richards on bass and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on drums. They turn in a great performance of the number, sticking very much to the Beatles' arrangement, except for some sharper accents during the verses. Clapton makes no attempt to mimic the stinging guitar solo of his good friend George, opting instead to play more in his own, blues-inspired style. The group deftly goes back to the top of the song as on the recording for one more verse before finishing. Impressive, and highly recommended.
John returned to the song one last time in September of 1969. He hastily assembled an actual lineup of his conceptual group known as the Plastic Ono Band for an appearance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Festival. Alan White (later of the group Yes) was on drums, old Hamburg buddy Klaus Voorman played bass and Clapton returned on guitar. They mostly played oldies such as Blue Suede Shoes and Dizzy Miss Lizzy but, since Clapton was familiar with Yer Blues, it made sense to add it to the brief set list. While the performance is rough around the edges overall, the band turns in a respectable version of the "White Album" number. The entire set can be heard on the album Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
Unfortunately, though he was nervous to the point of vomiting before going out on stage, it was partly this concert that convinced John to announce to Paul, George, Ringo and manager Allen Klein that he was leaving the Beatles only a few days later.
