Showing posts with label sitar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sitar. Show all posts

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Within You Without You

This George Harrison composition from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has many interesting Beatles facts. It was recorded on March 15, 1967 at Abbey Road Studios, with overdubs added on March 22 and April 3. Harrison wrote the melody for the song on a harmonium (not his sitar) while visiting the home of Klaus Voorman. The lyrics essentially describe what he and Voorman had been talking about that evening, and hence the first line of the song.

Harrison stated in many interviews that he didn't believe the other three band members were very interested in the track, although John Lennon said in his 1980 Playboy interview that he believed it was one George's best songs because of its clarity of purpose and a solid performance by Harrison.

A carpet was put on the floor of the studios, with flowers and incense added, to create the ambiance necessary for the Indian studio musicians. George Martin scored violins and cellos to mesh with the Indian instruments: dilruba (an Indian violin); tabla (Indian percussion); and swordmandel (similar to a zither).

Harrison said that he was especially fond of the 5/4 time of the interlude and the other distinctive cadences he borrowed from Indian music for the track.

The laughter at the end of the track was Harrison's idea because he believed the song was "too heavy" and wanted to lighten the atmosphere in order to segue into the next song. There was some disagreement on adding the laughter from the other Beatles.

Harrison sang lead vocal. Harrison and Neil Aspinall played the tamboura. Session musicians played all other instruments. No other Beatle aided in the recording of the song.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Beatles Songs: Norwegian Wood

"Norwegian Wood" is associated with some great Beatles facts. The song, issued on Rubber Soul in both the UK and U.S., was a Lennon composition about an affair he was having. Most biographers agree that the affair was with Maureen Cleaves, the journalist who also wrote the infamous story about Lennon's belief that the group was bigger than Christianity, which he said was dying.

Harrison used the sitar for the first time on this track, although it took many takes to satisfy Lennon that Harrison's contribution fit the song. Harrison, it is said, was still learning the instrument. There is an early take on Anthology that demonstrates the different sitar backing, and the song, with slightly reversed lyrics in one spot, is sung more slowly. Harrison's interest in the sitar began after he heard it on the set of Help! Later, he would become more interested after listening to a Ravi Shankar record.

Bob Dylan did a parody of the song, called "4th Time Around" from his Blonde on Blonde LP.

Lennon sang lead, and McCartney sang harmony. Lennon played acoustic guitar (his Gibson 160E), McCartney bass, and Starr tambourine.

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