Analog technology also figures prominently in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour, albeit for markedly different purposes. The Beatles had conceived Sgt. Pepper as a concept album about a “live” concert performed by fictitious musicians, while Magical Mystery Tour serves as a soundtrack to their film of the same name. Walter Everett indicates that Paul McCartney had supervised both projects. One interesting aspect about the critically-acclaimed Sgt. Pepper album, in particular, stems from its stylistic diversity of musical influences: from Classical (“She’s Leaving Home”), to Indian music (“Within You Without You”), Early Jazz (“When I’m Sixty-Four”), and the circus (“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”).[1]
Aspects of music technology in Sgt. Pepper serve to provide sound effects and utilize tape manipulation. The different samples, derived from the sound archives at EMI, range from crowd cheers (“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and its “Reprise”) to animal noises (“Good Morning Good Morning”). Instances of tape techniques appear on “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” particularly in the waltz-like “Bridge” (1:00-1:26) and towards the end where the electric organ and carousel sounds become reversed and distorted (1:53-2:34).[2] What separates Sgt. Pepper from earlier Beatles albums, other than its cyclical nature, is the fact that the British version of the album (also preserved on digital copies) contains material recorded onto the “Run-Out Groove” of the record. This brief section features a few seconds of random nonsensical conversation, looped over and over again. Walter Everett suggests that the Beatles wanted this
part of the album that way “… The inner groove, which repeated as long as the record turned with the stylus engaged, was intended to be a mantra for those with manual turntables.”[3]
With regards to Magical Mystery Tour, Paul McCartney drew inspiration for this movie from “… elements of the coach trips with secret destinations that were an attraction of the English shore and on the 1965 bus tour of Ken Kesey’s fifteen or so Merry Pranksters, an LSD-enhanced round-trip from the San Fransisco Bay area to the New York World’s Fair.”[4] The six songs that comprise the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack reflect these ideas, no doubt, through the use of electronic devices and magnetic tape. One device that frequently appears on this album is the Mellotron: a keyboard synthesizer that utilizes tape loops to generate different instrumental sounds when the keys are depressed. The Beatles had made extensive use of capturing woodwind sounds on the Mellotron in “Fool on the Hill” (2:40-2:43), as well as in the instrumental track “Flying” (1:31-2:16). Distorted flange effects, segments of tape reversal and radio signal noises also appear in “Blue Jay Way” and “I Am the Walrus.”[5]
On another level, Magical Mystery Tour indirectly represented a difficult period for The Beatles. Their manager, Brian Epstein, died unexpectedly in the middle of its production. Geoff Emerick mentions that “Blue Jay Way” and “I Am the Walrus” reflect a sense of loss and confusion.[6] Another intriguing aspect of this album stems from its North American release. This version features a second side with five extra songs: two of which The Beatles intended to include on Sgt. Pepper (“Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”). In addition to using the Mellotron, the final version of “Strawberry Fields Forever” is particularly unusual because it contains two different takes that Emerick spliced and changed using speed variation and vocal distortion (0:59).[7]
“Revolution 9,” From The Beatles (The White Album) (1968)
Taking their previous studio albums into consideration, The Beatles (The White Album) represents a period of creative differences and tension: so much that Geoff Emerick temporarily resigned as their recording engineer.[8] Each of the thirty songs that comprise this album sound markedly different from one another. Of particular interest in this paper is the penultimate track entitled, “Revolution 9.” Although it incorporates analog technology, this piece deviates from their music in terms of length (over eight minutes) and approach.
Developed by John Lennon and his future wife Yoko Ono (b. 1933), “Revolution 9” utilizes a combination of sound snippets taken from the archives at EMI: from an excerpt by German Romantic composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), to intergalactic sounds and American Football dialogue. In order to build musical interest, this piece also uses tape manipulation techniques through reversal and speed variation. On top of this soundscape, John Lennon, George Harrison and Yoko Ono can be heard at different points reading abstract poetry.[9]
“Revolution 9” also represents an instance of creative failure for the Beatles. While Lennon perceived his work on “Revolution 9” as progressive, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr did not agree with his ideas. To make matters worse, the piece received negative critical reception from the general public. Walter Everett says that. “… Few knew what to make of it then, (sic.) and the imaginative track has since never caught on among Beatles fans not otherwise interested in electronic music.”[10]
Conclusion
Based on the information presented in this discussion, one can see that the Beatles took their music seriously by the late-1960s. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr felt the constant need to mature artistically. By including analog music technology and working with audio engineers at Abbey Road, they created innovative albums that enabled them to achieve respect in the world of popular music. Despite the deceptively simple effects created on these albums, these recordings have endured and serve as a model of inspiration for aspiring composers and artists.
Bibliography
Beatles. The Beatles Anthology. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
Emerick, Geoff and Howard Massey. Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles. New York: Gotham Books, 2006.
Everett, Walter. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Spitz, Bob. The Beatles: The Biography. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2005.
Discography
Beatles. Revolver. Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1966, 2009. CD
__. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. EMI Records Ltd., 1967, 2009. I-Tunes LP.
__. Magical Mystery Tour (U.S. Version). Hollywood, London: Capitol Records, EMI Records Ltd., 1967. SMAL-2385. Vinyl.
__. The Beatles (The White Album). London: Parlophone, 1968, 1987. CD
Footnotes
[1] Ibid., “Two: Yellow Mellow Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 109-147. Ibid., Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (EMI Records Ltd., 1967, 2009). I-Tunes LP,Tr. 6, 8, 9, 7.
[2] Ibid.,Tr. 1, 12 11, 7; Walter Everett. “Two: Yellow Mellow Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 109-111.
[3] Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (EMI Records Ltd., 1967, 2009). I-Tunes LP, Tr. 13; Walter Everett. “Two: Yellow Mellow Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 122.
[4] Ibid., 131.
[5] Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour (U.S. Version). (Hollywood, London: Capitol Records, EMI Records Ltd., 1967. SMAL-2385. Vinyl.), Side 1, Tr. 2, 3, 4, 6; Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey, “10: All You Need is Love … and a Long Vacation: Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 211-215.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., Side 2, Tr. 2; Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey, “8: It’s Wonderful to Be Here, It’s Certainly a Thrill: Sgt. Pepper Begins,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 135-136.
[8] Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey, “12: The Day I Quit: The Making of The White Album,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 224-258.
[9] Beatles, The Beatles (The White Album), (London: Parlophone, 1968, 1987. CD) Disc 2, Tr. 13.
[10] Walter Everett. “Three: So Let It Out and Let It In (1968),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 178.