LONG, LONG, LONG (Harrison, November 25, 1968)
THE BEATLES (a.k.a., The White Album) – Side 3, Track 7 (3:04)
YouTube (Bluebell and the Black Tie Trio cover)
From Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, The Internet Beatles Album and About.com –
"Long, Long, Long" is a song written by George Harrison, and first released by The Beatles on their 1968 album, The Beatles, also known as The White Album.
Music analyst Alan Pollack said the song has "an off-beat mixture of styles typical of the times: a three-way cross between jazz waltz, folk song, and late sixties psychodelia." Critic Richie Unterberger wrote that "Long, Long, Long" is one of the most underrated songs in the Beatles' large discography. Ian McDonald also argues that the song is Harrison's "finest moment" on The Beatles.
Like so many "White Album" songs, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" being the most notorious, "Long, Long, Long," which was written in May 1968, wasn't fully formed when brought into the studio, and so Paul and Ringo helped him work out the arrangement in over 60 takes (though they only took up the better part of a day's session). With Paul on organ, they hashed out the basic track on October 7, 1968; the next day George re-cut his lead vocal and Paul added his bass line. On that day, George also added the song's distinctive lead guitar lick, on acoustic but distorted to sound like a sitar. Finally, on the 9th, engineer Chris Thomas added some gospel piano to beef up the bridge (which used many of the same chords as the verse) and also to further cement the song's spiritual feel. Finally, early in the morning of the next day, after Paul had finished laying down the basic track for "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?,"he came up with the backing harmony vocal, which also descends with George's as if to underline the effect.
Composition –
"Long, Long, Long" is a love song, though as Nicholas Schaffner notes, it was "the first of dozens of Harrison love songs that are ambiguous in that he could be singing either to his lady or to his Lord". This ambiguity became more prevalent during Harrison's solo career.
According to Harrison's autobiography, I Me Mine, the rattling heard at the end of the song was the result of a bottle of Blue Nun wine sitting on the Leslie speaker. When Paul McCartney played a certain note on the Hammond organ, the bottle began to rattle. To compound the sound, Ringo Starr recorded a fast snare drum roll.
Under the working title "It's Been a Long, Long, Long Time", recording for the song began on 7 October 1968. The Beatles, minus John Lennon, recorded 67 takes of the rhythm track, with Harrison on vocals and acoustic guitar, McCartney playing a modified Hammond organ, and Starr on drums.
Musical Structure –
The Song is in the key of F but has a "floating feel" because Perfect cadences are avoided, the dominant (V) C7 chord refusing to anchor on the tonic I (F chord); for example, the Plagal changes (IV-I) (here B♭-F chord) in the chorus are fleeting. The role of the bass descending in a '4-3-2-1' pattern as the chords drop from IV-iii-ii-I is a way of establishing an almost subliminal tonic. A notable moment is the use of a minor triad 1st inversion on 'long time' (at 0.17 secs) in which in the triad formula ♭3-5-1, the 1st note (♭3) B♭ is heard as the lowest note in the chord, this being described as a Gm/B♭ 'slash' polychord. The lyrics reference to an extreme length of time ("It's been a long, long, long time. How could I ever have lost you, when I loved you?") is accentuated by the stretching out of an already slow 6/8 meter into 9/8 and by the appending of a measure-long instrumental tag (using a Gibson J-200 guitar or a Hammond B3 organ) after each two bars of vocal melody. The refrain beginning "Now I can see you, be you, how can I ever misplace you?" involves a IV (Bb)-ii(gm)- V(C)- I(F) progression with a pedal G in the bass. Everett notes that the Song is played with a D major chord shape but is in F key due to a capo on the 3rd fret and cites Harrison as admitting the "you" in the Song is "God". Everett finds this song more moody, meditative and evocative than Lennon's use of a similar poetic idea ("It's been a long time") as the opening lyric in "Wait". He also notes the close similarity between this song as Bob Dylan’s "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".
Recording –
Takes: 67
Personnel
George Harrison – Double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney – Backing vocal, Hammond organ, bass guitar
Ringo Starr – Drums
Chris Thomas – Piano
Trivia –
Though not an example of outright plagiarism, "Long, Long, Long" does show how George's penchant for simple and direct melodies -- albeit tied down to some strange and difficult chords at times -- could lead him into trouble. John and Paul often mocked Harrison's earliest attempts at writing, pointing out the established songs he'd been borrowing from, and George would infamously be sued for his solo smash "My Sweet Lord," which lawyers for the Chiffons proved was an example of "unconscious plagiarism" of their hit "He's So Fine." Indeed, "Long, Long, Long" is an important step towards that later hit: it's George's first attempt to create a hymn-like ode to the spiritual world, using powerfully simple, endlessly repeated phrases that address a "you" he longs to know.
The odd rattling sound at the end of the track is a bottle of Blue Nun wine Ringo had brought to the session and placed on top of the Hammond organ; it began to move as Paul played an extremely low C note, and Ringo, realizing it was a great ending, added some percussive flourish. George later accentuated that with a ghostly vocal and a sudden Gm11 chord, as if his soul had succeeded in ascending to some other level, and then had disappeared from this one entirely.
Today in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) January 2 –
1964 – "Beatles Christmas Show", at the Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park, London.
THE BEATLES (a.k.a., The White Album) – Side 3, Track 7 (3:04)
YouTube (Bluebell and the Black Tie Trio cover)
From Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, The Internet Beatles Album and About.com –
"Long, Long, Long" is a song written by George Harrison, and first released by The Beatles on their 1968 album, The Beatles, also known as The White Album.
Music analyst Alan Pollack said the song has "an off-beat mixture of styles typical of the times: a three-way cross between jazz waltz, folk song, and late sixties psychodelia." Critic Richie Unterberger wrote that "Long, Long, Long" is one of the most underrated songs in the Beatles' large discography. Ian McDonald also argues that the song is Harrison's "finest moment" on The Beatles.
Like so many "White Album" songs, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" being the most notorious, "Long, Long, Long," which was written in May 1968, wasn't fully formed when brought into the studio, and so Paul and Ringo helped him work out the arrangement in over 60 takes (though they only took up the better part of a day's session). With Paul on organ, they hashed out the basic track on October 7, 1968; the next day George re-cut his lead vocal and Paul added his bass line. On that day, George also added the song's distinctive lead guitar lick, on acoustic but distorted to sound like a sitar. Finally, on the 9th, engineer Chris Thomas added some gospel piano to beef up the bridge (which used many of the same chords as the verse) and also to further cement the song's spiritual feel. Finally, early in the morning of the next day, after Paul had finished laying down the basic track for "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?,"he came up with the backing harmony vocal, which also descends with George's as if to underline the effect.
Composition –
"Long, Long, Long" is a love song, though as Nicholas Schaffner notes, it was "the first of dozens of Harrison love songs that are ambiguous in that he could be singing either to his lady or to his Lord". This ambiguity became more prevalent during Harrison's solo career.
According to Harrison's autobiography, I Me Mine, the rattling heard at the end of the song was the result of a bottle of Blue Nun wine sitting on the Leslie speaker. When Paul McCartney played a certain note on the Hammond organ, the bottle began to rattle. To compound the sound, Ringo Starr recorded a fast snare drum roll.
Under the working title "It's Been a Long, Long, Long Time", recording for the song began on 7 October 1968. The Beatles, minus John Lennon, recorded 67 takes of the rhythm track, with Harrison on vocals and acoustic guitar, McCartney playing a modified Hammond organ, and Starr on drums.
Musical Structure –
The Song is in the key of F but has a "floating feel" because Perfect cadences are avoided, the dominant (V) C7 chord refusing to anchor on the tonic I (F chord); for example, the Plagal changes (IV-I) (here B♭-F chord) in the chorus are fleeting. The role of the bass descending in a '4-3-2-1' pattern as the chords drop from IV-iii-ii-I is a way of establishing an almost subliminal tonic. A notable moment is the use of a minor triad 1st inversion on 'long time' (at 0.17 secs) in which in the triad formula ♭3-5-1, the 1st note (♭3) B♭ is heard as the lowest note in the chord, this being described as a Gm/B♭ 'slash' polychord. The lyrics reference to an extreme length of time ("It's been a long, long, long time. How could I ever have lost you, when I loved you?") is accentuated by the stretching out of an already slow 6/8 meter into 9/8 and by the appending of a measure-long instrumental tag (using a Gibson J-200 guitar or a Hammond B3 organ) after each two bars of vocal melody. The refrain beginning "Now I can see you, be you, how can I ever misplace you?" involves a IV (Bb)-ii(gm)- V(C)- I(F) progression with a pedal G in the bass. Everett notes that the Song is played with a D major chord shape but is in F key due to a capo on the 3rd fret and cites Harrison as admitting the "you" in the Song is "God". Everett finds this song more moody, meditative and evocative than Lennon's use of a similar poetic idea ("It's been a long time") as the opening lyric in "Wait". He also notes the close similarity between this song as Bob Dylan’s "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".
Recording –
Takes: 67
Personnel
George Harrison – Double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney – Backing vocal, Hammond organ, bass guitar
Ringo Starr – Drums
Chris Thomas – Piano
Trivia –
Though not an example of outright plagiarism, "Long, Long, Long" does show how George's penchant for simple and direct melodies -- albeit tied down to some strange and difficult chords at times -- could lead him into trouble. John and Paul often mocked Harrison's earliest attempts at writing, pointing out the established songs he'd been borrowing from, and George would infamously be sued for his solo smash "My Sweet Lord," which lawyers for the Chiffons proved was an example of "unconscious plagiarism" of their hit "He's So Fine." Indeed, "Long, Long, Long" is an important step towards that later hit: it's George's first attempt to create a hymn-like ode to the spiritual world, using powerfully simple, endlessly repeated phrases that address a "you" he longs to know.
The odd rattling sound at the end of the track is a bottle of Blue Nun wine Ringo had brought to the session and placed on top of the Hammond organ; it began to move as Paul played an extremely low C note, and Ringo, realizing it was a great ending, added some percussive flourish. George later accentuated that with a ghostly vocal and a sudden Gm11 chord, as if his soul had succeeded in ascending to some other level, and then had disappeared from this one entirely.
Today in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) January 2 –
1964 – "Beatles Christmas Show", at the Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park, London.
1965 – "Beatles For Sale" number 1, 3rd week (UK Record Retailer chart).
– "I Feel Fine" number 1, 2nd week (Billboard).
– "Another Beatles Christmas Show" at the Hammersmith Odeon, London (two performances).
– "I Feel Fine" number 1, 2nd week (Billboard).
– "Another Beatles Christmas Show" at the Hammersmith Odeon, London (two performances).
1967 – Studio 2 (control room only). 2.30-4.00pm. Tape copying: "When I'm Sixty-Four" (of remix mono 8); 'Strawberry Fields Forever' (of remix mono 12). Producer: George Martin;
– Engineer: Geoff Emerick; 2nd Engineer: Phil McDonald. Copies of "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" for the US.
1969 – Meeting at Twickenham Film Studios to begin rehearsals of new songs for an (eventual) TV live show, for worldwide transmision. The rehearsals are filmed. Start of "Let It Be" shooting. First session of Glyn Johns as Beatles engineer.
– Ray Coleman interviews John about problems in Apple.
1975 – Judge Richard Owen, of the US District Court, allows John and his lawyer access to the process of deportation against him, under certain conditions.
1990 – Paul's concert in Birmingham ("Get Back Tour").
Photos from Google.
Photos from Google.
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