Looking back at "Introducing the Beatles" on VeeJay Records (1964)

Introducing... The Beatles is the first Beatles album released in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's Meet the Beatles!. The latter album, however, entered the U.S. album chart one week before the former. Consequently, when Meet The Beatles! peaked at No. 1 for eleven consecutive weeks, Introducing...The Beatles stalled at No. 2 where it remained nine consecutive weeks. It was the subject of much legal wrangling, but ultimately, Vee-Jay was permitted to sell the album until late 1964, by which time it had sold more than 1.3 million copies.[2] On 24 July 2014 the album was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA.
Initial non-release[edit]


The Beatles' recording contract that began May 1962 with Parlophone in the United Kingdom gave the parent corporation EMI rights to offer any of the group's recordings to the various labels EMI owned in many countries of the world. However, EMI's United States subsidiary, Capitol Records, declined to release the "Please Please Me" single.[3] Following this, Transglobal, an EMI affiliate that worked to place foreign masters with US record companies, negotiated with several labels before Vee-Jay Records signed a licensing agreement giving it the right of first refusal on Beatles' records for five years.[4] As part of that agreement, even after its singles releases of "Please Please Me" and "From Me to You" failed to chart above No. 116 on the Billboard Hot 100, Vee-Jay planned to release the Please Please Me album in the US, and received copies of the mono and stereo master tapes in late April or early May 1963.[5]

Originally, Vee-Jay considered releasing the Please Please Me LP unaltered, as it appeared in the UK. A surviving acetate made by Universal Recording Corporation of Chicago, probably in May 1963, contains all 14 songs in the same order as on the UK album, with the title still listed as Please Please Me.[6] But in keeping with the American norm of a 12-song album, Vee-Jay chose instead to omit "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why" (which had comprised the first single release) and change the album's title to Introducing... The Beatles.[7] Also, the engineer at Universal in Chicago thought that Paul McCartney's count-in at the start of "I Saw Her Standing There" was extraneous rather than intentionally placed there, so he snipped the "one, two, three" (leaving the "four") from Vee-Jay's mono and stereo masters.[8] Except for those omissions, the order and contents of the album were untouched, resulting in a US album that bore the closest resemblance to a British Beatles LP until Revolver in 1966.[9]


Preparations for the LP's release continued in late June and early July 1963, including the manufacturing of masters and metal parts and the printing of 6,000 front covers.[10] But, despite the claims of many older Beatles books and discographies that Introducing... The Beatles was first released on 22 July 1963,[11][12][13] no documentation exists to confirm that the album was released at any time in 1963.[14]


A management shake-up at Vee-Jay, which included the resignation of the label's president Ewart Abner after he used company money to cover gambling debts,[15] resulted in the cancellation of the release of Introducing... The Beatles and albums by Frank Ifield, Alma Cogan and a Jewish cantor.[15]
Version one[edit]


Vee-Jay's financial problems forced it to take care of its most pressing debt first. Because the Beatles and Ifield were low priorities, the label chose not to report royalties on their sales. As a result, Transglobal declared its contract with Vee-Jay null and void on 8 August 1963.[16] The next single, "She Loves You", was licensed by Transglobal to the Swan label of Philadelphia.


On 14 December 1963, Billboard magazine mentioned that Capitol Records planned an all-out promotional campaign for the Beatles in the United States.[17] Following that, the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was rush released on 26 December.[18] On 7 January 1964, Vee-Jay's board of directors met for the first time since the single was released, and it discussed the Beatles' material it had in the vault. Desperate for cash, the board decided to release Introducing... The Beatles, even if it meant legal trouble in the future.[17]


Metal parts were already at Vee-Jay's three primary pressing plants, and 6,000 front covers were already printed. But it had no back cover prepared. So, as a stopgap, the label used a back cover slick made from one side of its standard inner sleeve, consisting of full-colour reproductions of the covers of 25 "other fine albums of significant interest".[19] This cover is known by collectors as the "Ad Back" version and is highly sought. A second stopgap back cover was used when the "Ad Back" slicks were exhausted; because it is all-white with no printing at all, it is known by collectors as the "Blank Back" edition and is also very rare. Finally, third editions contain Vee-Jay's official back cover, with Introducing The Beatles near the top and the song titles in two columns underneath. All of these were available on the market within days of the 10 January release date.[19] Also in January, "Please Please Me" was reissued as a single, this time with "From Me to You" as the B-side.[20][21]

But on 16 January 1964, less than a week after Introducing... The Beatles was released, Vee-Jay was served with a restraining order stopping further distribution. Beechwood Music, Inc., Capitol Records' publishing subsidiary, owned the American publishing rights to "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", and because the two songs had not yet been officially released in the US, Beechwood refused to issue a license for Vee-Jay to release them.[2] Approximately 80,000 copies of Introducing... The Beatles had been released with the two songs on them, with only 2,000 or so in stereo.[2]
Version two[edit]


To circumvent the restraining order, Vee-Jay quickly reconfigured Introducing... The Beatles. It removed "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" and replaced them with the previously omitted "Ask Me Why" and "Please Please Me", though some pressings of the album did not alter the track list. The new versions were prepared in late January and began appearing in stores around 10 February 1964.[2]


Because of the initial restraining order, version two of Introducing... The Beatles did not enter the Billboard charts until three weeks after Capitol's Meet the Beatles! album. Once it did, it quickly rose to the number two spot, where it stayed for nine straight weeks.[22] It also peaked at number two in Cash Box, and it got to number one in Record World magazine.[23] This success inspired a host of other Vee-Jay releases. First came the album Jolly What! England's Greatest Recording Stars: The Beatles and Frank Ifield on Stage issued on 26 February, containing the Beatles tracks "Please Please Me", "From Me to You", "Ask Me Why" and "Thank You Girl" from the 1963 singles and Introducing..., and other tracks from Frank Ifield.[24] The rereleased single "Please Please Me" rose to number three on the Hot 100, Cash Box and Record World. Soon after, "Twist and Shout" was released 2 March on the subsidiary Tollie label with "There's a Place" as the B-side, and "Do You Want to Know a Secret", with "Thank You Girl" on the B-side, was issued on 23 March. Both singles went up to number two on the Hot 100, with "Twist and Shout" reaching number one on both Cash Box and Record World. Also a Beatles EP titled Souvenir of Their Visit to America was released by Vee-Jay on 23 March, featuring "Misery", "A Taste of Honey", "Ask Me Why", and "Anna".[25]














Even with the replacement of the two Beechwood Music songs, Vee-Jay and Capitol battled in court throughout the early part of 1964. Injunctions against Vee-Jay's album were issued, lifted and restored more than once.[26] Because the album was often pressed quickly between restraining orders, there are almost two dozen different label variations, including mono and stereo copies, manufactured at numerous pressing plants.[27] Finally, on 9 April 1964, the two labels settled. Vee-Jay was granted a license giving it the right to issue the 16 Beatles' songs it controlled, in any way it saw fit, until 15 October 1964. At that time, its license expired, and all rights would revert to Capitol.[28] During the time Introducing... The Beatles was available, it sold approximately 1,300,000 mono copies and approximately 41,000 stereo copies. Because only 3.1 percent of all of the LPs were in stereo,[29] true stereo copies are rare.


After the settlement, the Beechwood songs were issued by Vee-Jay as a single, on 27 April on Tollie. "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" rose to become the Beatles' fourth number one single on Billboard and their fifth on both Cash Box and Record World.[30][31]
Other versions[edit]


Twice before its license expired, Vee-Jay repackaged Introducing... The Beatles. Although neither album contained any new music, both of them made the Billboard album charts.
VJ 1062 (with photos)[edit]


One of these was Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles (Vee-Jay VJLP(S)-1062), which featured a three-quarters gatefold cover, portrait paintings of the four musicians and the text:




"Look inside. Complete story of their favourite male and female singer, their favourite foods, types of girls, sport, hobby, songs, colours, real name, birthplace, birthdays, height, education, color of hair & eyes."

The inside cover text describes Paul as the "Nut Beatle" or "Beatle Nut", John as "nearsighted" and the "Chief Beatle", George as the "quietest" and the "one with the deadpan face" and Ringo as the "shortest Beatle" who "will send his steak back if it is not blood red". The back sleeve shows outlines of hearts below each Beatle-photo and holds instructions of how to fill the hearts with personal photos.

The record inside the cover did not even contain the new name; it still stated Introducing... The Beatles on the label.[32] Songs, Pictures and Stories was released either in late July 1964[32] or 12 October 1964,[33] with the latter the more likely date, because it entered the Billboard album chart on 31 October.[22] It eventually peaked at number 63.[33]
VJ 1065 (with the Four Seasons)[edit]

The other repackaging was the two-record set The Beatles vs the Four Seasons, which contained copies of Introducing... The Beatles in one pocket of the gatefold cover and Golden Hits of the Four Seasons (VJLP 1065) in the other.[34] This Vee-Jay creation spent three weeks on the Billboard chart in October 1964 and peaked at number 142.



Though Vee-Jay could not manufacture or distribute any Beatles product after 15 October 1964, it took a long time for the records to vanish from retail stores. Both Introducing... The Beatles and Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles remained on the Billboard LP chart until 9 January 1965.[35]
After Vee Jay license expired: The Early Beatles, Rarities[edit]


From the start of Beatlemania in the United States until the October 1964 expiration of its rights to Beatles music, Vee-Jay issued four LP albums, four singles, and an EP out of the 16 tracks it gained from its 1963 license period. On 22 March 1965, Capitol issued The Early Beatles, which contained 11 of the 14 tracks that had previously been issued on Introducing... The Beatles.[36] "Misery" and "There's a Place", two of the other three songs, would not make their Capitol Records LP debut until 1980, on the US version of Rarities. The other Introducing... song was "I Saw Her Standing There", first released in the UK on the Please Please Me LP. The song appeared in the US on both the Vee-Jay album as well as Capitol's Meet The Beatles! LP. These two albums marked the only time that two different Beatles' albums, each from a different record label, were released in the same month with one song appearing on both albums. There is a difference between the two tracks in that Paul's count-off is cut short on the Vee-Jay release by three numbers leaving only "four!" on the intro. Later, in the summer of 1964, Capitol would release Something New in the United States with five songs that had already appeared on the American A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album released by United Artists Records about one month earlier.


Introducing... The Beatles has never been officially released on compact disc in America, although imported second-hand copies have circulated from other countries — in both mono and stereo versions, mostly with the version two line-up (with "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why").[citation needed]
Counterfeits[edit]







A counterfeit Introducing... The Beatles label with the group's name and album title separated by the centre spindle hole


Starting in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1990s, Introducing... The Beatles was frequently counterfeited.[37] These counterfeits can be identified by the cover printing and quality, the label, or the sound quality.

Counterfeits have some significant differences from the commercial issue. Some of the more common variations include...
Labels with the title of the album and the group's name separated by the center spindle hole (as shown in the photo to the right)[37]
Labels with color bands that are off-center and/or missing the color green (as shown in the photo to the right)
Labels with large white "brackets" (no color band)
Album covers with dark brown borders
Dating from the late 1970s, George Harrison's shadow is not visible on the right side of the cover (However, all legitimate copies of the album and even most counterfeits include his shadow).[38]

Nearly all fakes claim to be in stereo (though the actual sound of the record is often in mono). As legitimate stereo copies of Introducing... The Beatles are rare,[38] the majority of copies with "stereo" or "stereophonic" printed on the cover are counterfeits.[37]

There are also known fake versions of Songs, Pictures, and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles.[37] These counterfeits often omit "Stories" from the album title, since they are circulated without the gatefold cover and the text inside, renaming it Songs and Pictures of the Fabulous Beatles. These versions have 3 songs not on the original album. "From Me To You" (in place of "Anna"), "Love Me Do" (in place of "Ask Me Why") and "P.S I Love You", which opens side 2 rather than "Please Please Me" (The song is rather placed on side 1, track 3).[37]

Track listing
All tracks written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Side one
No. Title Lead vocals Length
1. "I Saw Her Standing There" (McCartney counting "one, two, three" is omitted; recording starts with "four") Paul McCartney 2:50
2. "Misery" John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1:48
3. "Anna (Go to Him)" (Arthur Alexander) John Lennon 3:00
4. "Chains" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) George Harrison 2:25
5. "Boys" (Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell) Ringo Starr 2:28
6. "Love Me Do[a]" Paul McCartney and John Lennon 2:19
Side two
No. Title Lead vocals Length
1. "P.S. I Love You[b]" Paul McCartney 2:04
2. "Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Mack David, Barney Williams) John Lennon 2:41
3. "Do You Want to Know a Secret" George Harrison 1:59
4. "A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow, Bobby Scott) Paul McCartney 2:05
5. "There's a Place" John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1:53
6. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell) John Lennon 2:33
 Replaced by "Ask Me Why" in February 1964


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introducing..._The_Beatles

Beatles - Introducing The Beatles (VJ Records)

VJ Records had exclusive distribution rights for the Beatles songs circa 1962 - 1963. After a series of singles were released by VJ and did not catch on, disk jockey's started playing imported copies of British Beatles records. In order to cash in on this rising popularity, VJ assembled this collection of songs. It was the first U.S. Beatles album distributed. VJ later failed to make royalty payments, and lost its distribution rights. Capitol Records (a division of EMI-England) started promoting and distributing Beatles records thereafter.

1. I Saw Her Standing There (Lennon/McCartney) 2:50
Regular
RM Take 9 & 12
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.01.09/12.RM
Used for mono LP & CD "Please Please Me".
Also found on mono US "Introducing The Beatles" (Brennan) but missing the count-in (only the "4" remains). It is not sure if the version found on "Introducing .." is the UK mono mix or the UK stereo mix reduced to mono. According to Brennan (again), if it was a reduction from the stereo mix we would hear the volume dropout on verse 3 that is typical on the UK stereo mix.
Beginning with different count " FOUR ", not " 1, 2, 3, 4! ".
Album version mixed from take 9.

2. Misery (Lennon/McCartney) 1:47
Regular
RM Take 16 - US
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.02.16.RM.US
The Beatles
Used exclusively on "Introducing The Beatles" US mono LP.
It is usually assumed that this mix is a mono reduction of the regular stereo mix (SS.PPM.02.16.RS) but it's hard to determine.
Mixed by George Martin in 1963 or 1964 in Los Angeles.
Album version mixed from take 11

3. Anna (Go To Him) (Alexander) 2:56
Regular
RM Take 3
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.03.03.RM
The Beatles
Released on
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987.
Album version mixed from take 3

4. Chains (Goffin/King) 2:21
Regular
RM Take 1
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.04.01.RM
The Beatles
4 takes were recorded. Take 1 & 4 were complete. Take 2 & 3 were false starts.
All tapes were destroyed. Take 1 was used for the CV.
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987.
Album version mixed from take 1

5. Boys (Dixon/Farrell) 2:24
Regular
RM Take 1
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.05.01.RM
The Beatles
Only one take was recorded.
Appears on:
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987.
Album version mixed from take 1

6. Ask Me Why (Lennon/McCartney) 2:24
Regular
RM Take 6 - UK/US LP
26 Nov 1962
SS.PPM.06.06.RM
The Beatles
Recorded in 6 takes.
LP mono mix. Issued in UK on "Please Please Me" mono LP & CD and the EP "All My Loving".
Issued in USA on "Introducing The Beatles" mono LP (second version).
Released on:
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing second issue 1963, Vee Jay VJ 581 single 1964.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987, EMI single 1988.
Album version mixed from take 6

7. Please Please Me (Lennon/McCartney) 2:00
Regular
RM Take Unknown
26 Nov 1962
SS.PPM.07.xx.RM
The Beatles
Mono mix based on unknown takes (possibly takes 16, 17 & 18).
UK: Parlophone R4983 single 1963, Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJ 498 single 1963, Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing second issue 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987, EMI single 1988, EMI CDP 7 97036 2 The Beatles 1962-1966 1993.
Album version mixed from take ?

8. Baby It's You (David/Bacharach/Williams) 2:36
Regular
RM Take 5
11 Feb 1963
SS.PPM.10.05.RM
The Beatles
Released on "Please Please Me" UK mono LP and on "Introducing The Beatles" (both versions) US mono LP.
Recorded in 3 takes + 3 overdubs takes of celeste and piano (George Martin only). The piano overdub was never used while one of the celeste overdubs combined with take 3 became take 5.
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987.
Album version mixed from take 3

9. Do You Want To Know A Secret (Lennon/McCartney) 1:55
Regular
11 Feb 1963
The Beatles
Album version mixed from take 8

10. A Taste Of Honey (Marlow/Scott) 2:02
Regular
RM1 Take 7 - UK/US
11 Feb 1963
SS.PM.12.07.RM1
The Beatles
Regular mono mix: take 7 RM1.
Released on
UK: Parlophone PMC 1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing 1963.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46435 2 Please Please Me 1987.
Album version mixed from take 7

11. There's A Place (Lennon/McCartney) 1:49
Regular
11 Feb 1963
The Beatles
Album version mixed from take 13

12. Twist And Shout (Russell/Medley) 2:32
Regular
11 Feb 1963
The Beatles
Album version mixed from take 2 

 

There are also bootleg copies available printed on CD. Below are examples:

You can listen to the entire album here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwAB3SECtc&list=PLKKsb10K6yRgRXYl5PEbEcFv7a3-6bL7b

George Martin goes through the entire Beatles Discography - in a 1993 Interview

 

Listen to all 12 Beatles Christmas Messages in Auto Play + Christmas Songs from John & Paul

For this year, if you would like to listen to a full hour of Beatles Christmas Messages, you can stream them all in great fidelity at the below link.
These are the Christmas messages included here:

Beatles - Wish you a Happy Xmas 1963/1969:
1-Crimble medley (BBC Saturday Club 12-21-1969).
2-Christmas time is here again(edit version 1995).
3-From us to you 1963.
4-Another Beatles Christmas 1964.
5-Third Christmas record 1965.
6-Everywhere it's Christmas 1966.
7-Christmas time is here again 1967.
8-1968 Christmas record.
9-Seventh Christmas record 1969.
10-Hello Dolly(1964 outtake).
11-Speech(1964 outtake).
12-Christmas time is here again (full version).

Source: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x563l4k










Source: http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/listen-to-the-beatles-christmas-records.html


Two more Christmas songs from John and Paul:

From John, Happy Christmas War Is Over, and
From Paul, Wonderful Christmas Time... Enjoy

The Beatles Christmas Messages are available on the below collections along with outtakes:

Christmas Messages Covers- Updated HQ Scans

Each year the Beatles would send a studio message thanking all their fan club members for a wonderful year. Below are the covers for each year from 1963 thru 1969 and a link where you can get them. Enjoy http://returntopepperland.blogspot.com/2006/11/beatles-christmas-records.html

Listen to the Beatles Christmas Messages: 7 Vintage Recordings for Their Fans: 1963-1969

1963: 

Every year from 1963 to 1969, the Beatles recorded a special Christmas greeting to their fans. It started when “Beatlemania” took off and the band found itself unable to answer all the fan mail.  “I’d love to reply personally to everyone,” says Lennon in the 1963 message, “but I just haven’t enough pens.” The first message was intended to make their most loyal fans feel appreciated. Like those that followed, the 1963 message was mailed as a paper-thin vinyl “flexi disc” to members of the Beatles fan club. The recording features the Beatles’ trademark wit and whimsy, with a chorus of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Ringo” and a version of “Good King Wenceslas” that refers to Betty Grable. It was made on October 17, 1963 at Abbey Road Studios, just after the band recorded “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”





1964:

The band recorded their next holiday greeting, Another Beatles Christmas Record, on October 26, 1964, the same day they recorded the song “Honey Don’t.” Lennon’s rebellious nature begins to show, as he pokes fun at the prepared script: “It’s somebody’s bad hand wroter.”





1965:

Recorded on November 8, 1965 during the Rubber Soul sessions at Abbey Road, the 1965 message features a re-working of “Yesterday,” with the refrain “Oh I believe on Christmas Day.” The band’s gift for free-associational role playing is becoming more apparent. One piece of dialogue near the end was eventually re-used by producer George Martin and his son Giles at the end of the re-mixed version of “All You Need is Love” on the 2006 album Love: “All right put the lights off. This is Johnny Rhythm saying good night to you all and God Blesses.”






1966:

You can sense the band’s creative powers growing in the 1966 message, Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas. The recording was made at Abbey Road on November 25, 1966, during a break from working on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The Beatles were just beginning work on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. Instead of simply thanking their fans and recounting the events of the year, the Beatles use sound effects and dialogue to create a vaudeville play based around a song that goes, “Everywhere it’s Christmas, at the end of every year.” Paul McCartney designed the cover.

1967:

This was the last Christmas message recorded by the Beatles all together in one place. Titled Christmas Time (Is Here Again), it reveals the group’s continuing experimentation with sound effects and storytelling. The scenario, written by the band earlier on the day it was recorded (November 28, 1967), is about a group of people auditioning for a BBC radio play. Lennon and Ringo Starr designed the cover.
 

You can listen to the entire Christmas Message for 1967 here:

https://oildale.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/22103423/Beatles-Christmas-Time-Is-Here-Again-1967.mp3





1968:

By the Christmas season of 1968, relations within the Beatles were becoming strained. The holiday message was produced around the time the “White Album” was released, in November of 1968. The four members’ voices were recorded separately, in various locations. There’s plenty of self-mockery. Perhaps the most striking moment comes when the American singer Tiny Tim (invited by George Harrison) strums a ukulele and sings “Nowhere Man” in a high falsetto.





1969:

The Beatles were in the process of breaking up when they recorded (separately) their final Christmas message in November and December of 1969. A couple of months earlier, just before the release of Abbey Road, Lennon had announced to the others that he was leaving the group. Yoko Ono appears prominently on the recording, singing and talking with Lennon about peace. Fittingly, the 1969 message incorporates a snippet from the Abbey Road recording of “The End.”



This post was written by Open Culture contributor Mike Springer.

Revolver Session Recordings

The recent announcement of the Revolver Deluxe Set due in October, will include bonus tracks not officially available before. The Anthology 2 set included some alternate takes from this period. But fans have had much of this period recordings available for some time. Below are four sets from this period.

Anthology 2- Disk 1
17.    "Tomorrow Never Knows" ("Mark 1" / Take 1), April 6,1966 in EMI Studios,3:14
18.    "Got to Get You into My Life" (Take 5; mono), April 7,1966 in EMI Studios,2:54
19.    "And Your Bird Can Sing" (Take 2), April 20,1966 in EMI Studios,2:13
20.    "Taxman" (Take 11) Harrison, April 21,1966 in EMI Studios,2:32
21.    "Eleanor Rigby (strings only)" (Take 14), April 28, 1966 in EMI Studios,2:06
22.    "I'm Only Sleeping (rehearsal)" (mono),    April 29, 1966 in EMI Studios,0:41
23.    "I'm Only Sleeping (Take 1)" (mono), April 29, 1966 in EMI Studios,2:59


Beatles Revolver Sessions-Granny Smith Label-4CD

DISC 1
Apr 6th 1966 - Studio 3, 8:15pm-1:00am
1. Tomorrow Never Knows - take 1 - backing loop
2. Tomorrow Never Knows - SI onto take 1 - drums & vocal
3. Tomorrow Never Knows - take 3 - bass & drums rhythm track

Apr 7th 1966 - Studio 3, 2:30-7:15pm
4. Tomorrow Never Knows - tape loops
5. Tomorrow Never Knows - SI onto take 3 - loop track

Apr 7th 1966 - Studio 3, 8:15pm-1:30am
6. Got To Get You Into My Life - take 5 - rhythm track
7. Got To Get You Into My Life - SI onto take 5 - vocals

Apr 8th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30-9:00pm
8. Got To Get You Into My Life - take 8

Apr 11th 1966 - Studio 2, 8:00pm-12:45am
9. Love You To - take 6 - guitar & vocal
10. Love You To - SI onto take 6 - sitar & tabla
11. Love You To - SI onto take 6 - 2nd sitar & fuzz bass

Apr 13th 1966 - Studio 3, 2:30-6:30pm
12. Love You To - SI onto take 7
13. Love You To - mono mix

Apr 13th 1966 - Studio 3, 8:00pm-2:30am
14. Paperback Writer - take 1
15. Paperback Writer - take 2 - rhythm
16. Paperback Writer - SI onto take 2 - lead vocal
17. Paperback Writer - SI onto take 2 - 2nd lead vocal

Apr 14th 1966 - Studio 3, 2:30-7:30pm
18. Paperback Writer - SI onto take 2 - bass

Apr 14th 1966 - Studio 3, 7:30-8:00pm
19. Paperback Writer - mono mix

Apr 14th 1966 - Studio 3, 8:30pm-1:30am
20. Rain - take 5 - rhythm
21. Rain - SI onto take 5 - lead vocal

Apr 16th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-1:30am
22. Rain - SI onto take 5 - bass & tambourine
23. Rain - SI onto take 5 - 2nd vocal (chorus)
24. Rain - backward vocal reversed
25. Rain - SI onto take 7 - backing vocals
26. Rain - mono mix

Apr 17th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30-10:30pm
27. Doctor Robert - take 7 - rhythm
28. Doctor Robert - SI onto take 7 - harmonium

Apr 19th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-12:00am
29. Doctor Robert - SI onto take 7 - lead guitar & vocals

DISC 2
Apr 20th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-2:30am
1. And Your Bird Can Sing - take 2
2. And Your Bird Can Sing - SI onto take 2 - lead vocals and guitar
3. And Your Bird Can Sing - SI onto take 2 - tambourine, bass, vocal, guitar
4. And Your Bird Can Sing - SI onto take 2 - laughing vocals

Apr 21st 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-12:50am
5. Taxman - take 11
6. Taxman - SI onto take 11 - lead vocal excerpt
7. Taxman - SI onto take 11 - 2nd lead vocal excerpt
8. Taxman - SI onto take 11 - both lead vocals, complete track
9. Taxman - SI onto take 11 - tambourine, lead guitar, backing vocals

Apr 22nd 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-11:30pm
10. Taxman - SI onto take 12 - cowbell & "Mr Heath" backing vocals
11. Tomorrow Never Knows - SI onto take 3 - tamboura & lead vocal
12. Tomorrow Never Knows - SI onto take 3 - vocal, organ, tambourine, piano
13. Tomorrow Never Knows - SI onto take 3 - guitar solo
14. Tomorrow Never Knows - take 3 - track 3 (complete)

Apr 26th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30-2:45am
15. And Your Bird Can Sing - take 10 + take 6
16. And Your Bird Can Sing - SI onto take 10 - vocals & handclaps
17. And Your Bird Can Sing - SI onto take 10 - lead guitars

Apr 27th 1966 - Studio 3, 11:30pm-3:00am
18. Tomorrow Never Knows - RM8 mono mix

Apr 27th 1966 - Studio 3, 11:30pm-3:00am
19. I'm Only Sleeping - take 11

Apr 28th 1966 - Studio 2, 5:00-7:50pm
20. Eleanor Rigby (strings) - take 14

Apr 29th 1966 - Studio 3, 5:00pm-1:00am
21. Eleanor Rigby - SI onto take 15 - vocal
22. Eleanor Rigby - SI onto take 15 - vocals
23. I'm Only Sleeping - rehearsal
24. I'm Only Sleeping (remake) - take 5
25. I'm Only Sleeping - SI onto take 11 - vocal

May 5th 1966 - Studio 3, 9:30pm-3:00am
26. I'm Only Sleeping - SI onto take 11 - lead guitars, composite mix
27. I'm Only Sleeping - SI onto take 11 - lead guitars, forward

May 6th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-1:00am
28. I'm Only Sleeping - SI onto take 13 - backing vocals

May 9th 1966 - Studio 2, 7:00pm-11:00pm
29. For No One - take 1 monitor mix
30. For No One - take 2 monitor mix
31. For No One - take 5 monitor mix
32. For No One - take 6 monitor mix
33. For No One - take 7, 8 & 9 monitor mix
34. For No One - take 10 piano
35. For No One - SI onto take 10 - clavichord & percussion

DISC 3
May 12th 1966 - Studio 3, 1:45pm-3:30pm
1. Doctor Robert - US mono mix
2. I'm Only Sleeping - US mono mix
3. And Your Bird Can Sing - US mono mix

May 16th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-1:30am
4. For No One - SI onto take 10 - lead vocal
5. For No One - reduction mix take 13

May 18th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-2:30am
6. Got To Get You Into My Life - SI onto take 8 - stereo brass overdub (partial)
7. Got To Get You Into My Life - SI onto take 8 - brass overdub (complete)
8. Got To Get You Into My Life - vocals, organ, tambourine

May 19th 1966 - Studio 3, 7:00pm-11:00pm
9. For No One - SI onto take 14 - bass
10. For No One - SI onto take 14 - French horn

May 20th 1966 - Studio 1, 11:00am-12:30pm
11. And Your Bird Can Sing - US stereo mix
12. And Your Bird Can Sing - UK stereo mix
13. Doctor Robert - US stereo mix
14. Doctor Robert - UK stereo mix
15. I'm Only Sleeping - US stereo mix
16. I'm Only Sleeping - UK stereo mix

May 26th 1966 - Studio 3, 7:00pm-1:00am
17. Yellow Submarine - take 4 - rhythm
18. Yellow Submarine - SI onto take 4 - lead and backing vocals
19. Yellow Submarine - SI onto take 4 - second vocal

June 1st 1966- Studio 2, 2:30pm-2:30am
20. Yellow Submarine - SI onto take 5 - sound effects
21. Yellow Submarine - intro

June 2nd 1966 - Studio 2, 7:00pm-3:30am
22. I Want To Tell You - rhythm + vocals and piano

June 3rd 1966 - Studio 2, 7:00pm-2:30am
23. I Want To Tell You - bass + vocals
24. I Want To Tell You - RM4
25. Yellow Submarine - RM5

June 6th 1966 - Studio 3, 7:00pm-12:00am
26. And Your Bird Can Sing - UK mono mix
27. I'm Only Sleeping - UK mono mix
28. Tomorrow Never Knows - RM11

June 6th 1966 - Studio 3, 12:00-1:30am
29. Eleanor Rigby - SI onto take 15 - end vocal

June 8th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30pm-2:30am
30. Good Day Sunshine - take 1 - rhythm
31. Good Day Sunshine - SI onto take 1 - vocals

June 9th 1966 - Studio 2, 2:30-8:00pm
32. Good Day Sunshine - SI onto take 1 - piano, percussion, handclaps, vocals
33. Good Day Sunshine - end vocal overlays

DISC 4
June 16th 1966 - Studio 2, 7:00pm-3:30am
1. Here There and Everywhere - take 7
2. Here There and Everywhere - SI onto take 13 - backing vocals I (partial)
3. Here There and Everywhere - SI onto take 13 - backing vocals II (partial)
4. Here There and Everywhere - SI onto take 14 - lead vocal

June 17th 1966 - Studio 2, 7:00pm-1:30am
5. Here There and Everywhere - SI onto take 14 - 2nd lead vocal & 2nd lead guitar
6. Got To Get You Into My Life - SI onto take 9 - guitars

June 20th 1966 - Studio 1, 6:00pm-8:30pm
7. Got To Get You Into My Life - RM8

June 21st 1966 - Studio 3, 10:00am-1:00pm
8. Love You To - stereo mix, edit of RS1-3
9. I Want To Tell You - RS2
10. Here There and Everywhere - RS2
11. Here There and Everywhere - RM3

June 21st 1966 - Studio 3, 2:30pm-6:30pm
12. For No One - RM8
13. Doctor Robert - RM6
14. Taxman - mono mix, edit of RM5-6
15. For No One - RS1
16. Taxman - stereo mix, edit of RS1-2

June 21st 1966 - Studio 3, 7:00pm-3:45am
17. She Said She Said - take 3 rhythm
18. She Said She Said - SI onto take 3 - lead and backing vocals
19. She Said She Said - SI onto take 3 - organ and lead guitar

June 22nd 1966 - Studio 3, 7:00pm-1:30am
20. Eleanor Rigby - RM5
21. She Said She Said - RM4
22. Good Day Sunshine - RM7
23. Eleanor Rigby - RS1
24. She Said She Said - RS1
25. Good Day Sunshine - RS1
26. Yellow Submarine - RS2
27. Tomorrow Never Knows - RS6
28. Got To Get You Into My Life - RS1

More info is available here:
https://superdiscografiathebeatles.blogspot.com/p/the-beatles-2009-revolver-sessions-box.html



The Alternate Revolver - Pear Label-1 CD

The Alternate Revolver is a collection of different takes and versions of songs recorded in 1966 for the album Revolver. Features many mono mixes and a few tracks lifted from Anthology.

    1-Taxman
    take 11, recorded on April 21, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    2-Eleanor Rigby
    mono mix, recorded on April 29, 1966
    3-I’m Only Sleeping
    Capitol stereo version, with different backwards guitars
    4-Love You To
    mono mix, recorded on April 13, 1966
    5-Here, There, And Everywhere
    take 7, with an overdub of take 13, recorded on June 16, 1966 (taken from Real Love single)
    6-Yellow Submarine
    remix, with different sounds and a spoken intro by Ringo, recorded on May 26 and June 1, 1966 (taken from Real Love single)
    7-She Said She Said
    mono mix, recorded on June 21, 1966
    8-Good Day Sunshine
    mono mix, recorded on June 9, 1966
    9-And Your Bird Can Sing
    take 2, recorded on April 20, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    10-For No One
    take 10, recorded on May 16, 1966 (taken from Monitor Mixes (bootleg))
    11-Doctor Robert
    mono mix, recorded on April 19, 1966
    12-I Want To Tell You
    mono mix, recorded on June 3, 1966
    13-Got To Get You Into My Life
    take 5, recorded on April 7, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    14-Tomorrow Never Knows
    alternate mix (taken from Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 4 (bootleg))
    15-And Your Bird Can Sing
    mono mix of take 10, recorded on April 26, 1966
    16-I’m Only Sleeping
    take 1, recorded on April 29, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    17-Eleanor Rigby
    take 14, strings only, recorded on April 28, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    18-For No One
    take 14, recorded on May 19, 1966 (taken from Monitor Mixes (bootleg))
    19-She Said She Said
    demo, recorded in March, 1966 (taken from Revolution (bootleg))
    20-Taxman
    mono mix of take 12, with a louder lead guitar, recorded on April 21, 1966
    21-Tomorrow Never Knows
    take 1, recorded on April 6, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    22-I’m Only Sleeping
    rehearsal, recorded on April 29, 1966 (taken from Anthology)
    23-Got To Get You Into My Life
    mono mix of take 9, recorded on May 18, 1966
    24-Here, There And Everywhere
    take 13 and 14, recorded on June 16, 1966 (taken from Monitor Mixes (bootleg))
    25-I’m Only Sleeping
    mono mix, with extra backwards guitar during the third verse, recorded on May 6, 1966
    26-Tomorrow Never Knows
    mono mix, fewer of the various tape loops are present and they fade completely in and out of the track, recorded on April 27, 1966

More info is available here:
https://superdiscografiathebeatles.blogspot.com/2020/01/2003-alternate-revolver.html




Revolving - Secret Trax-2CD

        "Revolver" Era Demos   

1-1        He Said, He Said Demo Tape
1-2        He Said, He Said Demo Tape
1-3        He Said, He Said Demo Tape
1-4        He Said, He Said Demo Tape
1-5        She Said, She Said Demo Tape
1-6        She Said, She Said Demo Tape
1-7        She Said, She Said Demo Tape

        "Revolver" Era Sessions   

1-8        Tomorrow Never Knows Take 1
1-9        Got To Get You Into My Life Take 5
1-10        Got To Get You Into My Life Partial Take 5
1-11        Paperback Writer Take 1
1-12        Paperback Writer Take 2
1-13        And Your Bird Can Sing Take 2
1-14        And Your Bird Can Sing S1 Onto Take 2
1-15        Taxman Take 11
1-16        Eleanor Rigby (Strings Only) Take 14
1-17        I'm Only Sleeping (Rehearsal)
1-18        I'm Only Sleeping Take 1
1-19        For No One Take 1
1-20        For No One Take 2
1-21        For No One Take 10
1-22        For No One Take 14
1-23        Yellow Submarine Take 5
1-24        Here, There And Everywhere Edit Of Takes 7 / 14
1-25        Here, There And Everywhere Take 14

        The Raw Monitor Mixes   

1-26        For No One Take 10
1-27        For No One Take 10
1-28        For No One Take 10
1-29        For No One Take 14
1-30        Here, There And Everywhere Take 14
1-31        Here, There And Everywhere Take 14
1-32        Here, There And Everywhere Take 14
1-33        Here, There And Everywhere Take 14

        The Mono "Revolver" Album
    
2-1        Taxman
2-2        Eleanor Rigby
2-3        I'm Only Sleeping
2-4        Love You To
2-5        Here, There And Everywhere
2-6        Yellow Submarine
2-7        She Said, She Said
2-8        Good Day Sunshine
2-9        And Your Bird Can Sing
2-10        For No One
2-11        Doctor Robert
2-12        I Want To Tell You
2-13        Got To Get You Into My Life
2-14        Tomorrow Never Knows

        Other "Revolver" Era Mono Mixes   

2-15        Paperback Writer Take 2
2-16        Rain Take 7
2-17        I'm Only Sleeping Take 13
2-18        And Your Bird Can Sing Edit Of Take 10 / 6
2-19        Doctor Robert Take 7
2-20        Tomorrow Never Knows Take 3
        Other "Revolver" Era Stereo Mixes   
2-21        Paperback Writer Take 2
2-22        I'm Only Sleeping Take 13
2-23        Doctor Robert Take 7

More info is available here:
https://www.guitars101.com/threads/the-beatles-revolving-revolver-sessions-outtakes-alternate-versions.483689/

Revolver-Deluxe-Purple Chic Label-2CD


       

 

 

 

 Stereo   

1-1        Paperback Writer (RS3 Take 2)
1-2        Rain (RS1 Take 7)
        Revolver   
1-3        Taxman (RS1 & RS2 Take 12) Written-By – Harrison*
1-4        Eleanor Rigby (RS1 Take 15)
1-5        I'm Only Sleeping (RS2 Take 13)
1-6        Love You To (RS1, RS2, RS3 & Edit Take 7)Written-By – Harrison*
1-7        Here, There And Everywhere (RS2 Take 14)
1-8        Yellow Submarine (RS2 Take 5)
1-9        She Said, She Said (RS1 Take 4)
1-10        Good Day Sunshine (RS1 Take 1)
1-11        And Your Bird Can Sing (RS1 & RS2 Takes 10 & 4)
1-12        For No One (RS1 Take 14)
1-13        Dr. Robert (Edit Of RS2 Take 7)
1-14        I Want To Tell You (RS2 Take 4)Written-By – Harrison*
1-15        Got To Get You Into My Life (RS1 Takes 9 & 8)
1-16        Tomorrow Never Knows (RS6 Take 3)

        Alternate Stereo Mixes   

1-17        I'm Only Sleeping (RS1)
1-18        And Your Bird Can Sing (RS7 & RS8)
1-19        Dr. Robert (Edit Of RS1)
1-20        Paperback Writer
1-21        Rain
1-22        Eleanor Rigby
1-23        Love You ToWritten-By – Harrison*
1-24        Yellow Submarine
1-25        For No One
1-26        Paperback Writer
1-27        Rain
        Anthology DVD Medley   
1-28.1        Yellow Submarine   
1-28.2        Got To Get You Into My Life   
1-28.3        TaxmanWritten-By – Harrison*
1-28.4        Eleanor Rigby   
1-28.5        I'm Only Sleeping   

        Mono   

        Single   
2-1        Paperback Writer (RM2 Take 2)
2-2        Rain (RM3 Take 7)
        Revolver   
2-3        Taxman (RM5 & RM6 Take 12)Written-By – Harrison*
2-4        Eleanor Rigby (RM5 Take 15)
2-5        I'm Only Sleeping (RM6 Take 13)
2-6        Love You To (RM1, RM2, RM3 & Edit Take 7)Written-By – Harrison*
2-7        Here, There And Everywhere (RM3 Take 14)
2-8        Yellow Submarine (RM5 Take 5)
2-9        She Said, She Said (RM4 Take 4)
2-10        Good Day Sunshine (RM7 (Labeled As RM2) Take 1)
2-11        And Your Bird Can Sing (RM9 & RM10 Takes 10 & 4)
2-12        For No One (RM8 Take 14)
2-13        Dr. Robert (Edit Of RM6 Take 7)
2-14        I Want To Tell You (RM1 Take 4)Written-By – Harrison*
2-15        Got To Get You Into My Life (RM8 Takes 9 & 8)
2-16        Tomorrow Never Knows (RM8 Take 3)
       
Alternate Mono Mixes   

2-17        I'm Only Sleeping (RM5)
2-18        Dr. Robert (Edit Of RM4)
2-19        Tomorrow Never Knows (RM11)
2-20        Yellow Submarine (RM??)
2-21        Yellow Submarine (RM5 (Including Announcement))

The Beatles’ Unheard ‘Revolver’: An Exclusive Preview of a Blockbuster Archival Release

A new Special Edition of their psychedelic 1966 classic is packed with revelations. Here's a first look at what's inside. September 7, 2022




The Beatles in Abbey Road Studios during filming of the “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” promotional films. May 19th, 1966 © Apple Corps Ltd.

In the summer of 1966, the Beatles dropped Revolver — an album so far ahead of its time that the world is still catching up with it. It’s the moptops mutating at warp speed, outgrowing all their former incarnations. Paul McCartney is exploring avant-garde art and music. John Lennon is reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead. George Harrison is studying sitar and Indian mysticism. Ringo Starr has installed a pub in his basement. They’re ready to shock the world — and themselves — with their masterpiece. The result: Revolver, routinely acclaimed as the greatest rock album ever made, by the Beatles or anyone else.

Except the world hasn’t heard it yet. Because in 2022 there’s more to Revolver than we ever knew. Over a few summer days in Abbey Road, the legendary London studio the Beatles called home, Rolling Stone gets a one-on-one exclusive tour of the brand-new Revolver, as good-day sunshine streams through the windows. Producer Giles Martin, son of the band’s wizardly producer George Martin, spins unheard outtakes from the sessions, along with the revealing new mix of the Beatles’ most wildly experimental album.

It’s the one where the lads set out to remake themselves from scratch, trying psychedelia, chamber music, Indian raga, Memphis soul. As Giles Martin says, “Revolver is an album where you could listen to each song and go, ‘Oh, this is the direction they’re going to go in next.’ And be wrong every single time. The Beatles are all in the same zone, coming of age. But it’s four individual members, with four eclectic styles, all willing to surf the same wave. And that’s what this album’s about. It’s about that ‘What have you got? How crazy is it? Well, I can out-crazy you.’”

This Revolver is full of fresh surprises. For one thing, you wouldn’t expect one of the deepest emotional revelations to be “Yellow Submarine.” The world thinks of this as the kiddie song they dashed off for Ringo. But John’s home demo shows how it began as a melancholy acoustic ballad, evoking Plastic Ono Band. The idea that John’s sad confession got reworked into Ringo belting the world’s favorite kiddie singalong — that’s the whole Revolver journey right there. Who else could take a simple song idea through so many evolutions, only for it to end up so perfectly right? Only the Beatles.


© Apple Corps Ltd.


The new Revolver drops on Oct. 28, from Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/Ume, following the previous deluxe editions that have redefined the Beatles’ lore in recent years — Sgt. Pepper in 2017, the White Album in 2018, Abbey Road in 2019, Let It Be and the Get Back film last year. The new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of “Taxman” drop today. As you can hear, the sound gets a boom from the audio “de-mixing” technology developed by Peter Jackson’s team for his historic Get Back documentary.


The Special Edition has 63 tracks in all, with the original album in stereo, mono, on Dolby Atmos, plus session outtakes, on five CDs, four vinyl LPs, and a seven-inch EP of the “Paperback Writer”/“Rain” EP, both sides of the standalone single cut during Revolver. There’s also a 100-page hardbound book of photos and essays by McCartney (“all in all, not a bad album”), Giles Martin, cover artist Klaus Voormann, hip-hop legend Questlove, and historian Kevin Howlett. The Standard Edition has the original 14-track album on CD, vinyl, and digital.

The Beatles’ confidence — never a problem for these four lads — was exploding on Revolver, as well as their competitive spirit. In June 1966, before anyone even heard their new “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Paul told the NME, “We did it because I, for one, am sick of doing sounds that people can claim to have heard before.” (You have to love the Paul-ness of that “I, for one.”) Their friendship had mysteriously gotten even closer — they were tapped into their own communal wavelength, and everyone around them could sense it. But their experimental spirit got contagious. Their 18-year-old engineer Geoff Emerick transformed their sound by stuffing a sweater in Ringo’s bass drum. Producer George Martin kept shattering the limits of studio recording on a day-to-day basis — a “Taxman” here, an “Eleanor Rigby” there, an occasional “Love You To.”

Everything about the music asserts the Fabs had grown up. As Martin says, “When Paul sat with me and listened to it, he said, ‘This is the record that is four individuals collaborating.’ It’s the decline of Beatlemania. ‘Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust,’ as the Clash once said. They’re no longer a four-headed beast on Revolver. They have their different styles. But no matter what they try, they’re still the Beatles. There’s not even a thought of a world outside of the Beatles. There’s no women in their lives, as close as they are to each other. They’re in bed thoroughly, and they’re looking forward to being in bed together. They’ve come off tour, and they want to make great records.”

It was an abrupt mood change for Martin after Get Back. “When I listened to the Revolver outtakes, after having done Get Back, I listened to the outtakes, I thought, ‘Oh, this is actually the real fun.’ On Get Back, they’re trying to get this feeling, get the breath of fresh air, whereas in Revolver it’s just the air they breathe. This is just endless enthusiasm. There’s no post-apocalyptic vision. There hasn’t been a bust-up and they haven’t got back together, nor have they walked out yet.”






The Beatles in Abbey Road Studios during recording of the Revolver album, 1966 © Apple Corps Ltd.

The lads argue, as in the outtake where they tease Harrison over how long he takes to think of song titles. “But it’s funny that this is such a friendly argument, compared to how it would be a couple years later,” Martin says. “The apple hasn’t been bitten into yet.”

It’s also the Beatles closing the door on their road days. “You wonder how much of Revolver comes with the frustration of touring?” Martin asks. “They’re escaping to the studios from this crazy peak of Beatlemania, saying ‘Let’s just find a different world to go to, to get as far away as possible.’ That’s why John said he wants to sing ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ on a mountain top. He wanted to be as far away from being on a stage as possible.”

The Fabs were tired of racing to quickie live gigs, with no room to explore their new music onstage. Their summer U.S. tour was their last ever, plagued by turmoil and protests. (A Ku Klux Klan rally outside their Memphis show drew 8,000 people.) Martin thinks that’s part of what drew them to Abbey Road. “This was their safe space,” he says. “Probably because of the tension that was increasing with Beatlemania, and everything that was going on in ’66. They were a pop band in, if you like, a bottle of pop. They had been shaken up by the outside world. And it’s almost like the cap is being unscrewed and the effervescence is coming out. There was so much chaos in their outside world, they had to retreat back. That’s where I think that the outside of this building we’re in [Abbey Road] was probably becoming threatening to them. This was a sanctuary where they could spend time. For Sgt. Pepper, they spent twice as long as they did for Revolver.”

The new mix from Giles Martin and Sam Okell goes beyond what they did with previous deluxe editions, thanks to the “de-mixing” technology developed by the audio team led by Emile de la Rey at Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films Productions Ltd. It was devised for Get Back, to separate individual Beatle voices from the audio murk of the original film footage. Remember the scene where they cut through the cafeteria clatter to focus on John and Paul’s voices, getting emotional over George, with a microphone planted in a flowerpot? That’s what they do to Ringo’s drum kit. It sounds amazing.

As Martin explains, “There’s no one who’s getting audio even close as to what Peter Jackson’s guys can do. The funny thing, they won’t let anyone else use it — they may do eventually. But Peter’s such a big Beatles fan, he’s willing to help out. I quite like that in a way, that the Beatles are still using technologies that no one else is using. It’s really groundbreaking. The simplest way I can explain it: It’s like you giving me a cake, and then me going back to you about an hour later with flour, eggs, sugar, and all the ingredients to that cake, that all haven’t got any cake mix left on them.”

“Taxman,” for example, was famously recorded with the drums, bass, and rhythm guitar all on one track. The new tech allows separate tracks for Ringo’s kick drum, toms, hi-hats, etc. Nothing is being altered, obviously — but now we can hear more of what the lads played in the room that day. You can hear details buried way down in the mix, like the acoustic guitar in “For No One,” or the finger snaps in “Here, There, and Everywhere.”


The book has a typically brilliant essay from Questlove on discovering the band through their call-and-response with African American music: funk, rap, soul. When he first heard the Beatles’ albums, he recognized beats sampled on Special Ed or A Tribe Called Quest records. He goes deep on the fascinating Beatles/hip-hop connection, noting “The whole message of ‘Taxman’ might as well be ‘Fuck the Police.’”




The Beatles carried that creative spirit to every detail of Revolver, right down to the cover art from their old Hamburg friend Klaus Voormann. The book includes an excerpt from his graphic novel, birth of an icon REVOLVER. “They didn’t tell me anything I should do,” Voormann tells Rolling Stone, calling from Munich. “They said, ‘Klaus, come on down to the studio and listen to the music and let’s see what you come up with.’” Like everyone, he was stunned by what he heard. “Rubber Soul was already a really fantastic LP. And I like that photo on there, too. But now you suddenly had ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ with cymbals splashing and sped-up tracks and backwards guitar and birds fluttering. Really crazy. I was overwhelmed when I heard the tracks and I thought, ‘Oh, God, how can I do a cover for that? This is such a giant step into a completely new direction.’”




But his cover collage rose to the challenge. “I said, ‘Come on, boys, go home and look in your drawers and find any photos you have. Good quality, bad quality — just get me those.” He drew sketches of the band’s faces, full of details like John growing out of George’s hair, or John sitting on his own ear in a medieval knight’s costume. He’s especially proud of his work on John’s face. “John’s got those almond-shaped eyes. And he’s got those nostrils, which are very striking. His nose is just incredible!”

Here’s a breakdown of eight revelatory moments from the new Revolver Special Edition:




Original tape box: “Taxman” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” © Calderstone Productions Ltd


“Rain” (Take 5, Actual Speed)
The Beatles got that dreamy psychedelic buzz on the “Paperback Writer” B side by recording the instrumental track extra fast, then slowing it down. But there’s no real way to prepare for the shock of hearing them play it live at the original manic speed — Ringo turns into all four Ramones at once. Beatlemaniacs have always marveled at the drums on “Rain” — as Ringo once said, “I know me and my playing, and then there’s ‘Rain.’” Ringo Hive, rise.

“Yellow Submarine” (Songwriting Work Tapes 1 & 2)
Brace yourself: Everything we thought we knew about “Yellow Submarine” is wrong. The whole world agrees on the standard origin story — a Paul ditty whipped up fast as an Uncle Ringo kiddie chant, something John grimly tolerated. But don’t be shocked if you catch yourself shedding a tear hearing John sing it. The chorus was Paul, but the verses started out as John in his sad confessional mode, with folkie guitar picking. He sings, “In the place where I was born/No one cared, no one cared/And the name that I was born/No one cared, no one cared.” The demo, on his home tape recorder, is a heart-wrenching childhood memory ballad, halfway between “Julia” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

“I had no idea until I started going through the outtakes,” Martin says. “This was a Lennon-McCartney thing. I said to Paul, ‘I always thought this was a song that you wrote and gave to Ringo and that John was like, ‘Oh, bloody “Yellow Submarine.”‘ Not at all. That’s like a Woody Guthrie song. But it’s beautiful in a way, where you realize that there’s so much depth behind it.” But still, what a drag to imagine a world without the Ringo version. “When you listen to the outtakes, even knowing the beauty of that John version, you know why Ringo ended up singing it,” Martin says. “And it was acutely, let’s face it, the right decision to make.”

“Eleanor Rigby” (Speech Before Take 4)
George Martin rehearses the classical musicians for “Eleanor Rigby,” translating between them and Paul. They ask Paul whether to use vibrato on the strings, but Paul defers to Mr. Martin, who decides the vibrato would add the wrong touch of sweetness. “Let’s do it without, then,” he says. “So you only hear the vibrato when you’ve got something to say.” What a perfect proverb of his production philosophy, in one line. Martin always avoided adding anything pointless — which says a lot about how Revolver turned out as great as it did.

“Love You To” (Take 7)George’s sitar-and-tablas hymn takes on a new dimension, with Paul singing a delicate harmony. It adds a bit of lightness to the song, but somehow you can see how they knew lightness didn’t work for this austere song. Working so hard on a harmony part, but then discarding it when it doesn’t fit — the Beatles’ musical wisdom at work.

“For No One” (Take 10)
Ringo asks, “What, shall I just keep it straight then? Not do anything else?” Paul urges him, “No, do!” The whole Revolver creative mission in one moment. As you can imagine, hearing the last two surviving Beatle brothers in this piano-and-drums instrumental duet on “For No One” is a massive emotional gut-punch.

“I Want to Tell You” (Take 4)
George had a tendency to get stuck on song titles. After writing “Love You To,” he kept calling it “Granny Smith” (after the apple) because he couldn’t think of anything else. “I Want To Tell You” is one of his greatest songs, but since the hook he keeps repeating is “I want to tell you,” it’s pretty damn obvious that should be the title. (And this is the guy who mocked Paul for the title “I’ve Got a Feeling.”) When Mr. Martin asks, “What do you call it, George?” the others crack up. John sneers, “‘Granny Smith, Part Friggin’ Two!’” Ever the diplomat, Ringo can’t help dropping a hint: “’Tell You,’ that’s a nice one. ‘Tell You.’” Infinite patience, thy name is Ringo.

“Here, There and Everywhere” (Take 6)
Macca takes a solo guitar stroll through his love-never-dies valentine, without the others’ breathy harmonies. Somehow, hearing him wing it in this loose version simply confirms that “Here, There and Everywhere” is the king of all Paul ballads. There is none higher.

“And Your Bird Can Sing” (First Version with Giggling & Take 2)
John always dismissed this satirically soulful gem — a typical John move when he was scared of how nakedly he exposed himself in a song. Anthology 2 already had a version of the much-loved “giggling” take, but this has one version with an alternate duet vocal, and one that’s just hardcore giggles, 144 seconds of John and Paul face to face, the headphones on, howling with laughter into each other’s mouths. Imagine the joy of being half of that duet. It’s a key to how the whole Revolver Special Edition feels.

Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-beatles-revolver-unheard-archives-sheffield-1234587264/