If you're a fan of the Beatles, then have I got some great news for you! But first, some details...
On April 27, 1966, The Beatles entered the Abbey Road studios to record the next track, 'I'm Only Sleeping' for their forthcoming LP, 'Revolver' using their new 4-track tape recorder. Their earliest recordings, including 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me' were all recorded on 2-track tape as that was all that was available up to that point.
Now, as the band could expand their creative abilities with their new 4-track, went all out during the recording of 'I'm Only Sleeping'. The stereo effect we hear on the song today may seem old school but back then, it was revolutionary. Speaking of stereo, the first hit stereo LP came out less than 1.5 years earlier, in December 1963 and that album was titled, "Meet The Beatles", released by Capitol Records in North America.
The song also includes a backwards guitar track performed by George Harrison, something that had never been done before. All they did was remove the tape spool, turn it upside down and placed it back in the tape player so that when in play mode, the recorded music would come out sounding backwards. Harrison recorded licks and a solo on a blank track while the tape was 'backwards'. When the tape spool was reoriented in the correct fashion, the music came out as it should but Harrison's guitar tracks were backwards.
The end result is a great recording of a great song in which all four members perform on. You can even hear John Lennon yawning during the second break. The story goes that Paul McCartney always got up earlier than John (The band once briefly lived together in a flat in London) and often had to shake John out of his slumber so they could get to work. The lyrics speak for themselves...
"Please don't wake me. No, don't shake me. Leave me where I am. I'm only sleeping."
After almost 60 years, we finally have an official video of 'I'm Only Sleeping' by the Beatles. Released on November 15 on Youtube, the video has already garnered more than 3 million views and 119,000 likes. The video was directed by Em Cooper, a British film maker and animator, known for her distinctive hand painted animation. The work she did for this video is nothing short of brilliant. Nothing beats work that is done by hand!
Click here to view 'I'm Only Sleeping', the official video by the Beatles.
Interesting tidbit: While 'I'm Only Sleeping' was intended for the 'Revolver' LP and was included in the U.K. version of the LP, it was omitted from the North American Capitol Records version. The song was added to a compilation LP of singles previously not available on any Beatles album (up to that point) such as 'Day Tripper' and 'Yesterday', both being number one hits, hence the title of the album, 'Yesterday... And Today'. Nevertheless, while it was a compilation album, it initially sold more than 6 million copies and continues to sell copies to this day. The LP also includes another number one hit, 'We Can Work It Out'.
Peace and Love to everyone.
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