Off The Beatle Track

One reason I find Geoff Emerick’s memoir Here, There and Everywhere so interesting is that we don’t have many examples of members of The Beatles’ inner circle speaking critically, even negatively, about “the boys.”* Emerick questioned not only George’s guitar-playing, but also, as I mentioned in part 1, his character. “It seemed to me as if George was aggrieved a lot of the time,” Emerick writes.** And, “George often seem preoccupied, like he had something on his mind other than being the Beatles’ lead guitarist.”

Robert Rodriguez, in his excellent Revolver: How The Beatles Reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roll,*** stands up for Beatle George:

There are many readers who have taken issue with a prevailing theme in Geoff Emerick’s memoir: namely, that until 1967, George Harrison’s skills as a guitarist were somewhat lacking in the studio, requiring either countless takes or much criticism–even to the point where someone (usually Paul) would seize his instrument and play the parts themselves. Emerick’s lack of esteem toward George’s abilities, framed in a “I’m just sayin’” sort of way, say more about himself than they do about George’s well-documented instrumental prowess and refreshing lack of ego.

Instrument-seizing aside****, that seems about right. If George had played slightly better leads on a handful of songs, how much greater would The Beatles have been? They’re already the best pop/rock band ever. To paraphrase Paul, “They’re the bloody Beatles. Shut up.”

But the story I really wanted to tell is one that Emerick tosses off about the recording of This Boy. He compliments John, Paul, and George on their three-part harmonies before laying into George, albeit briefly, about his playing: “Once the vocals were recorded, however, there was another snag: Harrison’s overdubbed guitar solo, which was particularly uninspired. George Martin didn’t like it one bit, and insisted on substituting vocals during the middle section instead. . . . “

Paul talks of writing This Boy with John in a hotel room. If Emerick is correct about the recording of the song, then John or John and Paul must have written the middle eight in the studio, but I can’t find any evidence of that. Another possibility is that the original bridge was purely instrumental and that John and Paul added lyrics later. Or perhaps they simply removed a solo that appeared after the bridge.

John sings the hell out of the bridge, so whatever happened that day in the studio, we should be glad. But I would still like to know what occasioned the introduction of the bridge, which in its original version led to a very clumsy edit just before the last verse.

What do you know about the recording of This Boy? Email me at beatletrack@gmail.com.

*One notable exception is Brian Epstein’s Cellarful of Noise, ghostwritten by Derek Taylor, with this assessment of Paul: “Paul is temperamental and moody and difficult to deal with, but I know him very well and he me.”

**I want to commend Emerick and his publishers for including an index in Emerick’s book. Far too may Beatles’ book lack an index, and they’re difficult to navigate without one.

***Another book with an index!

****Not to mention instrumental prowess.