Psyche Rock -
All Too Much Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by All Too Much:

Don't Say Love Alright Feeling so good, I've been waiting so long You f…
More than a fri Monday morning I call you up How was your weekend? I just…
More Than a Friend Monday morning I call you up How was your weekend? I just…
Sorry (Don't Ask Me) Don't ask me if it looks good on you Don't ask…

Warning In troubled times, I often tend to lean Towards the breeze,…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

LennyJohnson5

3y↑22

I have an interesting theory on the genesis of this song; Peter Brown, Brian Epstein's assistant, wrote in his memoir 'The Love You Make' that he once found a suicide note Brian had written in the months prior to his death. It read "This is all too much and I can't take it any more." Peter confronted Brian about it, and Brian, who was a character given to dramatic gestures and suffering from depression and a dependence on pills, insisted it was not serious, and asked Peter not to mention it to anyone. Brian's actual death is now widely regarded as an accidental overdose, and not suicide.

But given that Brian's contract with the Beatles was due for renewal, and Brian would probably be either taking less of a cut, or dispensed with all together, the lyric

'All the world's a birthday cake
So take a piece but not too much'

would seem quite prescient, given that George was always interested in the financial arrangements of the band, and feared they were being ripped off. Along with the lyrics 'it's all too much for me to take' and 'we all get too much', it seems quite apposite.

As it was recorded in May and June 1967, shortly before Brian's death on the 27th August, and so presumably after the 'suicide note' previously found by Peter Brown, would it be beyond the bounds of possibility to assume that Peter had mentioned the note to the boys in an attempt to get them to treat Brian a little more carefully and sympathetically, and the words of the note had lodged in George's brain?

It seems the clues suggest that these lyrics may be more than coincidence. I haven't come across this interpretation anywhere else, but as I said at the beginning, this is presented as a theory, and not fact.

All comments from YouTube:

You Can't Unhear This

3y↑434

Wooo, 100k subscribers! Thank you so much for being a part of this incredible journey through The Beatles musical library. I hope you enjoy this special new episode about one of my favorite (and tragically overlooked) Beatles songs: It's All Too Much.

And as always, let me know what you think in the comments!

Jordan Keats

"To Your Mum!" Is something I picture John saying

Haran Banjo

Paul played lead guitar in "RAIN" also, and is very similar sound of "It's all too much"!

Tom Degan

Who wrote this? So much wrong.

Alef Bada [2]

Another great version of this song is the cover by Steve Village (Gong,...) !

metalheadJ

Honestly (bit scared to admit this here LOL), I don't even "like" the Beatles, but I really enjoy your deep dive detective work and your appreciation for both the band and the music. I love your passion and dedication. In the same way that it doesn't really matter who was playing what instrument on a track, it's just fascinating for the debate to even exist, it doesn't matter that I'm a metalhead who doesn't casually listen to the Beatles, I can still appreciate the music, lore, talent, and influence as well as the passion of a hardcore Beatles fan. Really great job putting out Beatles content that's accessible even for people who aren't actually fans of the Beatles.

29 More Replies...

Wildlife Guru

3y↑1.2K

It was clearly Ringo, finally showcasing his distinctive lead guitar prowess

Solstice 1

It was Johns Aunt Mimi playing guitar after arriving with sandwiches for John 😎

Será Louise

it was actually machine gun kelly gone back in time with travis barker's time machine

The King Kitty Band

You're all wrong, it was the King himself, Elvis Presley. He's still sneaking into people's recordings. Here he is on our latest release, "Sour Grapes": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRqKepg2g4 ...that's him singing in the chorus. None of us seen him in the studio, but there was a pleasant aroma of bacon and peanut butter wafting through the studio when we came in for that evening's recording session.

Okay, I confess, that was all a lie. This was really just a cheap attempt at self promotion. My band and I don't use social media, so it was either this or I had to put on a cat costume and spin a sign out on the boulevard. It just gets too damned hot in that cat suit. We appreciate your understanding and forgiveness.

Metalhead

@Tieu Kha Vu hahhahahahaha

Tieu Kha Vu

@Metalhead It’s all too much 😄

54 More Replies...

John Whitfield

3y↑597

I think he was speaking to George saying "to your muff," as in "this song is dedicated to your woman," with muff as a slang and bawdy term for "woman." George wrote the song for Patti, and John had that kind of sense of humor.

C Y

@Jeffrey Harris no it’s not. It’s « meuf » reverse for « femme (woman) » and does not sound like it. The « e » is very different in French.

Steady Woodward

To your mother

feelthejoy

@Jack Sprat usually refers to a woman actually

feelthejoy

@David it’s slang for the mons pubis which is the main place that pubic hair grows, not the vulva.

Anthony Cassidy

@Michael Bazzell This song was recorded on 25th May 1967, so John is certainly not referencing The Big Muff effects pedal. The company Electroharmonix didn't exist then either - it was founded in 1968 by Mike Matthews. Incidentally, Matthews named it a “muff” because in his words it had a “funky, soft, muffled sound”.

30 More Replies...

Grandpa Dave's Woodworking

3y↑242

I was blown away when I saw Yellow Submarine at the theater, not only by "It's All Too Much", but by "It's Only A Northern Song" & "Hey Bulldog"! At that point, I thought I had heard (and owned) every Beatle song made. The opening of "All Too Much" actually gave me chills!

jim kaljic

1y↑1

Yes, this song is truly alll too much.

Humberto Barbieri

2y↑2

I heard ''It's All Too Much'' for the first time in 1977 when I was 11 years old, almost a year later I had my first blowing mind Hendrix moment with ''VooDoo Child''.

Frank Hornby

3y↑9

.....it's to your muff.......Liverpool slang for .........er........(ah go look it up)...

Anthony Cassidy

2y↑14

Its amazing that such an amazing song - up there with Tomorrow Never Knows - is so relatively unknown. It's a great surprise to Beatles fans of a certain era.

King Crimson

@feelthejoy maybe this era

feelthejoy

Not sure what era you’re referring to??

ElectricFilms

3y↑43

You can tell from the sound that it's a single coil guitar, most likely a Strat because it also definitely has a floating bridge trem. John and George both played such Strats at that time (John had the pale blue Strat, George had "Rocky".) Paul McCartney's single coil guitar of choice with The Beatles was a Tele with no trem. Also, it's definitely him on bass, probably the Ricky 4001. For it to have been anyone else in the band they'd have needed a right-hand strung bass. And that little octave play at the end is VERY McCartney. So, by default, I reckon it was John on guitar. And he did like the Fender amp fuzz sound a LOT.

keith faust

Paul often used his Epi Casino, which is single coil and had a Bigsby.

feelthejoy

Thank you for adding your input as someone familiar with their instruments. It’s one of the few holes in my Beatles knowledge. I love the fact that there are still people out there who are passionate about them and their history and also have important knowledge.

ecuadorthree

No opinion on whether you're right or wrong, but it's easy to approximate a floating bridge on a fixed bridge guitar by just bending the whole neck. Depending on the guitar, you can drop maybe a semitone and a bit. Not that I recommend it.

The King Kitty Band

2y↑1

Good catch on the Fenders. Both John and George had 1962 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocasters. They had fatter necks that year. Fenders were hard to come by in the UK, back in those days, so it was a big deal for a Brit to own one. George later painted the front of his in a psychedelic pattern and would dub it "Rocky", as you mentioned. Only the front was painted, as the back still had the Sonic Blue finish. George played this same Strat for the recordings of, "And Your Bird Can Sing", "All You Need Is Love" and "Nowhere Man". "All You Need Is Love" is from the same album and recording sessions as "It's All Too Much". George didn't get his Rosewood Fender Telecaster until 1969, just in time for the "roof top concert" in December of that year. They have a beautiful tone, but boy are they heavy!

brainswashedthisways

Yep. Because John’s voice is heard shouting just before the feedback, it would make more sense. It totally sounds like Lennon starting it off with a crazy burst of energy.

1 More Replies...

Egg

3y↑124

If you listen to the guitar parts John plays on "The End," where John, George, and Paul are all taking turns playing lead, you can definitely hear a stylistic similarity to the guitar work on "It's All Too Much."

Debessar

The group taped four takes of the basic track, the final version of which extended to over eight minutes, with Harrison playing Hammond organ, Lennon on lead guitar, Paul McCartney on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums. The following day, they added overdubs, comprising vocals, percussion and handclaps.

David Reinhard

@Campbell Inwood Aw thank you! First my Vogon Poetry Competition and now this!

Campbell Inwood

1y↑1

@David Reinhard I think you win

David Reinhard

1y↑2

Gerblibptiphous. If you snerdle the quabnard parts Ubledon Hypneyzouth plays on "My Maebly Pentiflust Gone Whem Vurgnully" you can buptifly walch a sygnezousthous zemblardonaghue to the quabnard work on "︎Uh Oh... Oops! No, Don't Do That Please! (The Glitch Withung Us)".

Nate Jacobucci

1y↑1

Preposterous. If you listen to the guitar parts Eric Clapton plays on "The End", you can definitely hear a stylistic similarity to the guitar work on "It's All Too Much"

14 More Replies...

littleferrhis

2y↑58

I was on a Beatles binge going through every song in their catalog looking for gems and this was the one that floored me that I had to stop and listen again. Such an insane song.

Cliff Hendroval

3y↑86

Along with Hey Bulldog, one of my favorite Beatles tracks just because it hasn't been played to death.

feelthejoy

Hey Bulldog is def a fun song and underrated

Jesse Jordache

2y↑2

Rain is my favorite - similar reasons.

Jer Wyb

2y↑2

cough cough launch of Beatles station on Sirius XM cough cough

TC AUDIOBOOKS

2y↑1

You might want to give Hey Jude a listen.

Axe Man

3y↑6

the guitar riff is one of their best

Dan Saucedo

2y↑16

I love this song and think it's 1 of their best works. It makes me feel happy for some reason. Listening to it is an experience. If you've never heard it, take a listen.

Stephen Fox

@John C eglick of course

feelthejoy

I think if it was put out now as a pop song it would be a hit. Which is funny considering this is usually thought of as a C list Beatles song

John C eglick

2y↑1

Real great early psychedelia that came out mid 8/1966 I ' m sure .
Yellow Submarine tune I 1st heard on Philly's Famous 56 WFIL around mid 8/1966.

V MO

3y↑842

this channel is the definition of ''quality over quantity''.

OH_I _Will

Somebody needs to kick off a thread of...What should be “unheard” next...

I am the walrus...the true stereo fade out to fake stereo...

Sunjah

I think this channel is the definition of "ridiculous analysis".

The Sheet Eels

3y↑2

I was just thinking the exact opposite. If I was learning English I’d appreciate the speed and careful enunciation. But the narration makes me feel like I’m five.

Lemons Are Cool

3y↑1

@V MO i have it agree!

Mikehouse

3y↑7

There's not enough of this on youtube now.

1 More Replies...

classic life

2y↑11

Just saw another guy's video showing "It's All Too Much" was in the BOTTOM 10 on Beatles' Spotify. Well, I say to that, this song, more than any other, separates the true fan from the casual "Get Back" watcher. You can't say "Much" is particularly self-indulgent or whatever people say about songs on "White Album". This is great, and still unknown.

Vickie Lawson

1y↑3

I read years ago that the lyrics represent George’s reaction to a particularly strong acid trip. Having taken acid myself, I can definitely see that being accurate.

Not Sure

3y↑49

"All the world is birthday cake so take a piece but not too much" was my senior yearbook quote. 🧡

France Laferrière

2y↑1

That cake has grown some mold on it, sadly...

Superabbit

2y↑4

I agree that the psychedelic Yellow Submarine songs, "It's All Too Much," "Hey Bulldog," and "Only a Northern Song" represent a peak in The Beatles' career. The songs were too weird to fit on Sgt. Pepper, they never got much in the way of AM airplay, so mostly how they came into the lives of me and my peers (I was 8 when Yellow Submarine came out) was when our parents bought us the Yellow Submarine soundtrack for Christmas that year. For me and plenty of others, it was the first non-children's album they owned. Older teens took it as a kids' record, paid more attention to Sgt. Pepper and The White Album. The songs on Submarine were considered castoffs and outtakes, not worthy of making it onto the regular records. It's only been in the past 20 years or so that they've become so widely loved. But MAN, us kids back then sure loved them. On one level, it was cool to have Beatles songs that were sort of "ours," it was our first taste of the classic thrill of digging something that's not on the mainstream radar (or that you think isn't!). Then the songs themselves were playful and weird and kind of scary and funny all at the same time. How could a kid not love John and Paul singing about jackknives and wigwams and barking like dogs? George singing about birthday cake? I'm in. And sounds we'd never heard in any kind of music anywhere, but they sounded bad ass. The terrifying Strat whammied feedback wailing and then turning into the sweet churchy-sounding organ? It was like a Halloween scare. We'd sing along with the "ugh ooh ooh" stuff on the fadeout. I'd do the "whaddaya say? I said 'ruff.' You know any more?" bit with my friend. 15 years later I went to see an underground band play at a dorm party and was amazed when they ripped into a ferocious version of "It's All Too Much." I drunkenly jumped on the stage and sang along on the fadeout. Wound up playing bass in the same band a couple of years down the road but they didn't want to do the song anymore. 😞

chris b

3y↑23

The recording of the song begins with the tape being cut, while George was in mid-sentence. It's clearly George, not John, and it's just George talking to one of the others as the tape starts rolling. This happens when bands are in the studio, they talk to each other - and often, the Beatles just left that sort of studio chatter in. In this case, it's clearly not a "hidden message," it's just studio chatter.

Lee-E176

2y↑7

I thought it sounded like George too, i agree with you

Debessar

1y↑2

kewkabe

2y↑3

I think John's saying "to your mother" because they recorded "Your Mother Should Know" just a few months later. Paul had possibly been playing around with an earlier version of it in the studio at the time.

Gabriel Dinelli

3y↑20

It's one of my favourite Beatles songs, extremely underrated, VERY unknown.

Leslie Bethke

3y↑1

But it amazes me when I play things like this around people for instance who do like the Beatles but haven't heard song like this or hey bulldog

Leslie Bethke

3y↑2

One of the most well knows songs in my opinion by anybody who has at least seen the yellow sub

Dorian Antonelli

3y↑56

we need an Anthology 4 for shit like this… we need this full 8 minute cut, and theres tons of other stuff that i know Beatles fans are dying to hear!!

MAGNETO

2y↑4

There were quite a few songs that were left off of the Anthology packages. I would have liked to have seen Bad to Me (John's demo) and Love of the Loved from the Decca sessions, to name a few.

G-BOAC

2y↑4

Look up the 'Secret Songs in Pepperland' bootleg

Daniel John

2y↑9

Giles Martin has said that they are waiting for technology to catch up to remaster the earlier albums so maybe one day we will hear it all.

david hollyfield

3y↑12

The Yellow Submarine soundtrack album was released as an almost novelty album and yet it contains five of their best songs.

Andrew Futterman

2y↑3

George is my favorite Beatle as far as his songwriting goes, and It's All Too Much has always been one of my favorite songs. I really wish they would release the full unedited version of the song with the deleted lyrics but with the "Songtrack" mix from 1999, as the guitar parts in that mix are louder. There are plenty of bootlegs of the extended song but they use the old mix from 1967, possibly an even earlier mix than what was released on the Yellow Submarine album, as it sounds like some of the handclaps at the beginning of the song were overdubbed in the Yellow Submarine version.

David Hull

3y↑9

It certainly is not an overlook-able performance. I feel it's incredible that it was played live, all of them at once. The soaring power of it is gigantic. I love the song AND the track. Did you say there is an 8 - minute version? Now THAT, I gotta hear.

Thomas Croft

2y↑1

These analytical deconstructions of Beatles' tracks are endlessly fascinating. Thanks for all your Herculean efforts. The cover version by UK guitarist Steve Hillage (produced by Todd Rundgren, with musicians from his band, Utopia ca. 1976) is well worth checking out. I think George would have approved!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM9oNigAIrI

ChangedAgain

1y↑1

What a treat that I can love this song, know the song, discover it a first time, then because of the sheer mass of genius held out for me to take, I lose track of it, only to be reacquainted with it months later and fall in love again.

I just love love love The Beatles

sinatramike123

3y↑37

Hasn’t Paul ever been asked about these mysteries?

Element’ry Penguin

2y↑1

@Gabriel I never said Paul was a problem. Sometimes he was like the Nelson Riddle of Beatle recordings. I believe there would have been no Beatles after Brian’s death had it not been for Paul’s determination to move on, stick together and hit the studio. Sometimes I’m sure the other three thought Paul was overbearing and he probably was but we wouldn’t have gotten from them what we did with MMTour, White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be. There’s a funny thing Ringo said: he and John would be sitting in the garden, phone would ring and they would say ‘it’s Paul, time to go to work!’ So Paul was annoying I’m sure but it was necessary.

Gabriel

2y↑1

@Element’ry Penguin
Me neither. My opinion is that Paul is quite good on drums (I know all his solo work). To me his fills are nice and his sound is even great (also varied, that's not an opinion).
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to debunk with that comment was the fact that Paul was the problem and the others were saints.

Element’ry Penguin

@Gabriel Paul is ok on drums. I don’t like his sound and fills. They’re pedestrian at best. I’m not gonna get into an argument about Paul on drums. It’s my opinion.

Gabriel

2y↑1

@Element’ry Penguin
What??
Paul sounds balanced to me, when it comes to talk about his and others work. John shitted on a lot of stuff (even his own) sounding close minded (he probably wasn't so he lied for some reasons). Where are the proofs that Paul is all about himself???
Drums on Back In The U.S.S.R. sound good to me. Nobody would have noticed that it was Paul. The thing is that Paul was probably the most hard working and enthusiastic of all the four, in the last years. This could be annoying sometimes, but fuck around and waste time like the other 3 used to do makes you a regular bloke, not a musical legend.

William Van Vugt

@Donald Carpenter You have got that so wrong.

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Cool Stuff I Love

1y↑2

The one time I did mushrooms I watched this movie and this song made me cry, it just felt so beautiful and it was explaining exactly what I was feeling both in that moment and about life in general.

Phillip Green

2y↑5

The guitar feedback on the beginning of "I feel fine" was produced by what I believe to have been a guitar leaning against an amplifier/speaker, (possibly the bass amp) A bass string was plucked. The guitar string vibrated in sympathy with the bass, through the guitar. The guitar string vibrated excessively, rattling against a fret, causing the sound we hear. I experienced the exact same phenomenon quite by accident in the same circumstances with my bass and an acoustic guitar leaning against my amp. (2×15" speaker cab.)
The feedback on "All too much" is a different type and I'm pretty sure it's Paul on his Epiphone Casino, which he used on "Taxman". It has a Bigsby tremolo fitted which action can be heard. John's Casino didn't have a tremelo.

Allie W

3y↑180

LSD did absolute WONDERS for their songwriting.

Martin Anderson

@Wilhelm Von Berghoff Amplified by "a bit"? It affected them, and so many other artists, way more than just "a bit". Yes, it took their actual, genuine talents. But ain't no way we would have so many of the post-1965 moments of absolute BRILLIANCE if not for their experimentation with psychedelics.

Mac M

2y↑3

I know what you mean. I am experienced. ☺

Joe Blow

2y↑4

@the blues guy No, it was absolutely NOT a “stupid analysis” and anyone that’s done psychedelics would confirm that.

Joe Blow

2y↑4

True. My favorite Beatles music was created after they started tripping.

the blues guy

3y↑1

@david hollyfield. what a stupid analysis...

5 More Replies...

elirosen1391

2y↑5

Know what makes this mystery so sad? Had Lennon not been killed, this might not even be a mystery. Im sure he would have been ecstatic to talk about how he crafted the guitar part. What do you think?

Charles

2y↑2

Have you looked into what John says at 1:26 in Good Day Sunshine?
"She feels good" then John says something. Like..."She does?" Not sure.
That's been a mystery to me for quite a while. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Love the channel!!

Cliff Hughes

3y↑89

What's truly astonishing (although hardly surprising) is that we still analyse Beatles tracks in minute detail after 50+ years (You wouldn't think there was anything left that hadn't been analysed to death) and do it in a way that reminds us how new and fresh those tracks were and somehow still are. Thank you.

Donald Carpenter

There was that ONE track that IF you play it backwards it said Paul's career is DEAD , turned out to be true......

Mikel L.

Mozart-like

christopher starr

3y↑1

that's the Beatles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Timeless

Ryan Rambo

3y↑7

They’re a band that’s truly worth analyzing to death, they were really something special. And as was alluded to in this video, there really are still unsolved mysteries regarding the recording process and the various roles that were played. You might think we’d have it all nailed down by now, who played what, etc.. but there are still some things that we still don’t know for sure, and we’ll probably never know. Even asking the Beatles themselves doesn’t always yield solid answers, as in many instances they don’t remember, or- they “remember” incorrectly. But it’s all in fun, as I said, they were really something special. Me personally, I can’t get enough of videos like this... I love it. They’ll always be my favorite band.

Rob OG

Ditto.

ottomewful

2y↑1

Just when I thought I'd listened to every song by the Beatles,, along comes this one! I've never even heard of 'It's All Too Much." This is doing some very strange things to my head.. . . Yikes.

libertarian45

2y↑4

Just ask Paul who did it. I've always been a big Beatles fan and I've seen Yellow Submarine more than once, however, I just don't recall this song.

Anyway, I'm still in shock at learning that Paul performed some of my favourite guitar licks that I always attributed to George (Taxman, Good Morning).

Kittenfuud

2y↑1

I've always thought it was John. His attack was looser than Paul's. Paul's was also a bit muffled at times. God I've got SO MUCH INFO about them 4 creamed into my 61yo brain.... if I'd known one could later teach Beatles at college.... ah missed opportunities! But how does the brain HOLD all this stuff?! Cheers, loving your vids, wish the examples were longer! xx

Chris Boone

3y↑3

8:12 - It was common according to Geoff Emerick in his book and interviews for Paul to stay after Beatles went home to re record bass parts in songs in 1967, so John might have played a temporary bass part that Paul would rerecord later. As for the lead guitar, it was 1967, who is to say the backing track is at the right speed or that Paul slowed the recording down to rerecord a solo and speed it up? This song is overwhelmed with experimentation of sound. They threw most of the elements of trickery into it, I am sure some of it might be speed variations too. The pun is to see how much was 'too much'. LOL

Rafael Zengo

3y↑2

100% Paul. Paul's vibrato on electric guitar is very characteristic.

michelle stein-evers frankl

3y↑10

How did they leave 2 of their best songs( Too Much and Bulldog), almost as Easter eggs, for their best fans only practically, to be found on YS? Brilliance. Kindness. A great gift.

Drummer Bear

3y↑3

First off, a hearty CONGRATULATIONS on your amazing viewing figures! You have earned them! Ah! One of my all-time favorite Beatles songs! As for the opening voice cueing the guitar chord that launches the song, I've always heard it as GEORGE'S voice and not John's. Thanks to the isolation of the vocal track in question, this confirms my observation even more (to my ears, at least). The other thing is that both the spoken kick-off and the playout voiceover I always though were playing backward (recorded forwardly against the entire track while it was playing backward, then the tape run forward again so as to make only the spoken voice run backward). As for the lead guitar, I'm still convinced it was Paul until some other evidence or assertion (perhaps by Paul himself?) officially states otherwise. That said, I've loved this song since I first heard it in 1968 and it remains among my favorites. As a fun footnote, my final concert performance as a professional drummer was with a Beatles tribute group called The Day Trippers (the industry "retired" me after that) and the encore we did to finally close out the big outdoor concert back in 2006 was "It's All Too Much". I totally ripped off every single "Ringoism" possible for this song which went over hugely with the audience. A nice way to end my career as a pro power drummer. The morning I was packing to leave for the concert (my drums had already arrived at the gig), I got the phone call from producer Sam Reich over at College Humor that I had been chosen to play the role of Zangief on that which would be the worldwide hit series, "Street Fighter: The Later Years". Another great memory to add to my enduring love for "It's All Too Much".

Teryl Pruitt

3y↑4

Paul had a harder attack than George had. I like that they had two different distinct sounds, which made their music that much more interesting.

David Salvia

2y↑1

Several times in 1967 John played bass, often a six string bass. He certainly knew someone who could show him the way around. :-)

Yashar Khara

3y↑3

I love how you say "too much" in the right time

mamaboo cee

3y↑2

I love how you escort me through each Beatles song - bringing back old memories and revealing secrets that previously were hidden to me. I love the Beatles so much that listening over and over to every little sound or sound gap still amazes me as much as it did the first time I ever heard any Beatles treasure. The only reason I own a high quality set of headphones is to hear this music - to hear the breath taken between words while picking out each individual voice in the harmonies, to the beat, the bass, the guitars. It is like heaven entering your mind through your ears.

Richard Bowen

3y↑8

Thanks for this. I believe George is expressing the love he felt on LSD trips, not exclusively for Patty Boyd. I agree that the exuberance in the performance of the song is priceless.

Private Eye Pictures

3y↑15

In Ian McDonald's exhaustively researched book "Revolution in the Head", he dismisses the song "this protracted exercise in drug-mesmerized G-pedal monotony amounts to automatic writing" and the guitar as "hamfisted feedback" He maintains the song was recorded over 3 days and lists the credits as: George - double tracked vocal, lead guitar, organ Paul - harmony vocal, bass John - harmony vocal, lead guitar Ringo - drums and tambourine. This suggests to me there was overdubbing going on.

PropaGandalf X

I'll never check it out, McDonald's taste is squarely in his a$$

Superabbit

It suggests to me that Ian McDonald is a twit.

Steven Young

3y↑1

Tuff call. I've been picking out and learning Paul's bass, and this does have elements of his style, but it's a pretty basic song bass-wise, and it could have definitely be John playing bass on this one. The guitar does also have some Wings type riffs going. Ask Paul...he'd know.

Stephen From NYC

3y↑1

I don't know about there being "no evidence" of overdubs. Geoff Emerick, the engineer, wrote that during this entire period, Paul re-did most of his own bass parts, or the bass parts of whoever played on initial backing tracks. So my guess is the guitar was added later (by Paul.) And possibly John didn't play on the song at all, as he only played on about half of George's songs anyhow. Or hey - maybe some of that guitar is John, and some Paul. Hmm.... But what the heck do I know?

Dwayne Gobin

When I first heard this song, I was 13, and it was on a mix tape made by a friend in middle school. There was an Beatles A to Z weekend on the radio, and he had recorded part of it. I thought the song far from what I h d heard at that time, especially from the Beatles. I actually think of it still as one of their top ten songs.

Dabi Dibup

Definitely the most hidden of the gems.
It’s accompanying scene in Yellow Submarine is joyfully mesmerizing

JFS3

3y↑2

It's Paul on guitar, as it sounds just like his work during that period. As for John, he just didn't have that in him.

John Coffman

This is magnificent...OMG, I wish you or someone would analyze a band that I idealize as much as I do The Beatles. And that is The Gathering. Forget trying to categorize them. There was only one of them. But with the caveat that their uniqueness was during the 13 years they had their singer/contributing song-writer Anneke van Giersbergen. This is true musical literature. But also, as I commented on one of their live recordings from this period - 1995-2017/8- "This isn't music. This is MUSICAL ARCHITECTURE and WORDS.' Live recordings are the best. And reading the lyrics online.

Spork & Findus

It's a tough one!! I see how John would've exclaimed something before striking the strings, but would he have carried on speaking while finishing the feedback? Maybe, not sure. I am certain that this wild intro was done using a tremolo or whammy bar. Assuming that Paul would only have used one of his own left-handed guitars, then this can only have been his Epiphone Casino, which had a Bigsby vibrato. The only other McCartney electric guitar of that era was his Fender Esquire which is too bright and has no tremolo. The Casinos had P-90 pick-ups which had a thick sound, which would fit, however the Bigsby tremolo was a stiff, cumbersome device for rockabilly, unlike the Fender Stratocaster's groundbreaking system. I can't see evidence of Paul owning a Strat at that time.
So, as for John. We can eliminate John's Casino because it had a fixed bridge (no tremolo) but George also had a Casino with a Bigsby that John could've used (it was George's song after all) but we're back to the Bigsby issue again. John might have borrowed George's Strat "Rocky" as this had a tremolo arm fitted on the I Am The Walrus video (though George would've later removed this to dedicate Rocky to playing slide). John had his own Strat which often appears in photos complete with tremolo arm. The tone sounds more like a humbucker or P90 than a Strat single coil, but you can get thicker sounds if you know how. The other possibilities are George's Gibson SG which he definitely had in 1966 and has an SG style tremolo, though I'm not sure how malleable, compliant and dependable that system is. I have found photos of John playing a Fender Jazz master in about 1965 with P90s but I can't see if it has a tremolo and it looks like it was borrowed for a one-off impromptu performance.
Anyway, I think it's John. He could play aggressively. He was super-creative. He was underrated as a player and lead player. It's the kind of thing he'd pull out of the bag. Plus, there are enough ropey moments as per John's lead playing, and some of the bass licks are signature McCartney in both style and tone. Then again, Paul is surprisingly slick on lead, though I think he actually sounds quite adolescent on his solo albums, like he's trying too hard and coming out with clichés. In conclusion, I don't know.

Yvon Tripper

3y↑90

This is one of my favourite songs. I've never understood how this, Hey Bulldog and Old Brown Shoe aren't right up there among their most beloved.

Scott Andrew Brass

2y↑1

@RG.
And sadly he went on to join the most boring blandest band ever. Poor Joe.

Holly Shock comedy

3y↑2

@R G There was an interview with Joe where he told George how he learn how to play it, and it took him 4ever...and George laughed and said it was 2 tracks and Joe laughed and said dammit! lol

Cliff Smelley

3y↑1

Old Brown Shoe is one of George's best.

Ryan Rambo

@R G it’s the same thing being played on both guitars... they just doubled up on the single guitar riff to give it its distinct sound.

kimblers

3y↑1

Agree. All three are fabulous works.

5 More Replies...

Schikasha P

When I first heard the beginning, it sounded to me like "Two Year More", Like it was how much longer they could deal with the stress and pace of being the Beatles. That combined with the 'It's all too much' line, leads me to think that they were getting very weary with the whole scene. I do think that the opening line was Harrison, not Lennon.

PolkRidgeAesthete

2y↑1

This is an extraordinary series! I hope you can continue to find nuggets of such exhilarating intrigue and mystery for many years. Thanks for every one of these.

Louis B

3y↑14

"Underappreciated" is an understatement! That vocal bit by Paul sounds reversed. I think the guitar is shared by John & Paul in bits. Maybe they played with our heads and switched up while recording! Wouldn't put it past them! Great vid!

Jeff Anderson

2y↑1

In "Revolution in the Head" Ian MacDonald talks about how close Lennon came to wiping out his own ego, his own sense of self, from all the LSD he was doing in 66-67. I just wonder if his abnegation of ego would have led to his playing bass on this song if McCartney had asked/told him to. Paul was stepping into a leadership position in the group and that was only accelerated a few months after this with the death of Brian Epstein. So another factor to consider in teasing out who played what.

LennyJohnson5

3y↑22

John C eglick

What drug did he overdose on ?

LennyJohnson5

3y↑1

@Wilhelm Hagberg Just suggesting it’s a possibility.

Wilhelm Hagberg

Do you mean that the song was a comment on the suicide note?

You Can't Unhear This

3y↑9

Very interesting indeed, thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard of that anecdote about Peter and Brian's note before, but it seems like a possibility.

4everfab

I totally agree with everything that is said in this video. I've always thought "It's all too much" is one of the greatest song of the Fab Four, and unfortunately one of the less known. I was 16 when Sgt Pepper came out. Like everyone I discovered this song in 1968 and it was on an album that few people bought. I found that this song was a climax in the work of the Beatles, combining all the art and knowledge of the group. But, alas, when it came out, rock music was already very different and psychédélism was no longer in fashion. It is a great pity that the song was not released in 67, when it was quite in tune with the times. Thank you for paying homage in this way to this masterpiece.

Benjamin Marlin

This is an excellent video on a fascinating topic. I'm glad you obsess over this stuff like I do. Your case is a convincing one. If you make follow-ups that figure out who played bass on Helter Skelter, piano on Rock and Roll Music, or drums on Old Brown Shoe, it might help me sleep better at night.

Tree Stand

Some of the Beatles songs are meant to overwhelm you at times while you are tripping (on psychedelics); the Magical Mystery Tour album has many of their songs that were made for tripping. There are weird noises and other sounds that just don't fit in, but if you listen to it while tripping it fits in perfectly (no exaggeration). Many of these mysteries are just The Beatles trying to be trippy (which they do with amazing success). Pink Floyd has made good music for tripping too. If you never try psychedelics (not deliriants (deliriants are bad) a portion of life will forever remain veiled. Take acid (test it with a kit) and listen to magical mystery tour (be in a safe place with a friend you trust that knows you are going to be alright (if you don't test it, you may not be alright, because it may be fake (not lsd).

Robert French

2y↑2

Thanks for your analysis of this song. I too have been immensely impressed by the music that the Beatles made (Bought the White album, my first Beatle album, in 1979). i recently watched the "Get Back" mini-series on a popular streaming channel and was blown away by watching their creative energies captured on film in a candid fashion.

beatlesrgear

3y↑67

I've always thought George was referring to Patty when he said "with your long blond hair and your eyes of blue."
The bass part is very simple (I can play it in my sleep) and would perfectly line up with John's very simplistic, basic style of bass playing. I am sure it is Paul on guitar, it is very much his style.
'I Feel Fine' is not John or anybody else. The Beatles had laid their guitars & bass against the amps that were turned up and Paul's bass started feeding back, being a hollowbody. It caused the guitar to start vibrating and the note started buzzing. George Martin captured the sound on tape.
It's All too Much also has backward vocals on it, that's why you cannot understand them.
The extra verse in the movie, I've been told, was written by Donovan. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure.
This is one of my favourite Beatle songs of all and I certainly regard this as one of the greatest Psychedelic songs ever written.

James Michael

2y↑2

The guitar is too messy to be Paul he is too meticulous for that to happen, especially in this period.

Lynn Turman

2y↑6

The bass part is simple in the sense that it's a pedal for the entire song. But within that very strict framework, the bass does some pretty creative & somewhat technically difficult stuff. I don't think John was a good enough bass player to pull that off, IMO.

JAKESTAR105

2y↑1

Beatlesrgear - Great post!

crimony

3y↑4

He mistakenly assumes that a base riff must be John's if it sounds like John, but in fact it could be John playing Paul's base riff while Paul plays Paul's lead guitar riff. And this is exactly what we see in the early days of Wings, when Paul does all the creative and uses his wife and another guy to back him.

Haeuptling Aberja

Nice work, lad. This has always been one of my favorite Beatles songs. What I find most fascinating is not so much the mystery of who was playing the guitar as the extent to which those Liverpudlians influenced other musicians, many of whom repaid the favor by recording covers. Of the countless examples of this, two clearly stand out to me. The first is Steve Hillage's version of It's All Too Much. https://youtu.be/sM9oNigAIrI Hillage played for Gong, a wonderful, kaleidoscopic & comedic band that was constantly morphing into something else, a band that was so trippy that even Hawkwind is rumored to have said of them, "Well, it's a bit much, innit?"

The second stand out cover is Tomorrow Never Knows, from 801's live album. Now this is a track that you could really sink your analytical skills into. I mean, it was a live recording, but Brian Eno happened to be onstage with them for this one (they never released a studio version), and if Eno was also involved with any sort of remixing, well, you never can tell what might have happened...

Donnola

3y↑2

Great episode. I always assume the opening was John saying something like "to your mother." The thing is, John was notorious for using words instead of numbers to count into a song (like "sugarplum fairy" for Strawberry Fields). The "to" here might be a play on words - onetwothreefor becoming "Here's to your mother." And if he's counting it in, he's probably hitting the opening notes. Given his love of guitar feedback (especially on his early avant garde solo albums), it makes sense that it's him on guitar. But then there's George's comment about it probably being Paul, so... who knows?

Jim Lee

3y↑1

It is a great song and one of my favorites. Paul and John sounding similar on Lead guitar is no surprise. Band Mates influence one another in those ways. The Beatle members harmonized one another vocally, and upon changing instruments, it stands to reason they would sound somewhat similar. Their "Beatle Sound" depended approaching each song the "Beatle way and style." Maybe the real question is, why do so many people find knowing Beatle songs in intimate detail, so intriguing?

Math? Music!

3y↑1

I'm glad to have found this. Indeed, "It's All Too Much", as on the Yellow Submarine LP, is one of my favorite Beatles and George Harrison songs, and, yes, I always wondered why it did not and has not gotten the attention it deserves. I, for one, was and am impressed by it. This discussion does not discuss the guitar licks that must have been dubbed after the basic track was done. I love those quick licks, and always imagined Paul played them. They are quite precise and have a good range of notes in them. I'm thinking of the ones with notes mostly of the G chord (the key of the song), except for a 'passing' note C. Hard to describe here. But they are prominent right in the body of the song. They are bold and awesome, and psychedelic.

gratefuldev23

3y↑1

Great video! The guitar work, whoever did it, is certainly reminiscent of Jorma's sound so maybe the intro does refer to him (the Airplane's first record came out in '65). I'm surprised Paul never weighed in on who played it (or did he?). Oh btw - the expression at 7:00 is "few and far between", not vice-versa :)

Atari Safari

3y↑2

I love this song since I first heard it in '69. I also believe John was on wild feed back guitar. He also had the same vibe on Revolution #1 on 45 release.

Tamlyn Burleigh

I totally agree. This made the Beatles supreme soundscapers. When I heard the YS album I thought music had taken an upward curve into a new area of complexity and imagination.

Martin Frog

They had eight mic channels available on the Red console with four outs to tape ... after Rubber Soul they were using the bounce and cut tricks with the second and sometimes third tape deck ...
not to mention using a mastering compressor for recording which only The Beatles could get away with ... by this time they were isolating mic'd cabinets and patching headphones for all of them ...
The massive compression on the guitar and how it's put together makes me think it could be an edited part with both John and Paul playing bits ... Ringo only ever had two mic's and one track recorded and the Organ was mono also so after bouncing they could have done interesting things with Vocal, Guitar & Bass ...
For this song they may have been high during the initial recording ...

GedzTrez

2y↑1

I listened to the song today in my car and noticed in the beginning and around the 4 minute mark the guitarist is making use of a tremolo arm. I know Paul, George, and John all had Epiphone Casino guitars, but only George and Paul's had Bigsby tremolo arms on them. I doubt John would be borrowing George's Epiphone Casino since he had his own, or his Gibson SG which had a tremolo since he was so fond of his own Casino. It seems to make more and more sense that its Paul

Donald Carpenter

Journey did an AWESOME cover, even PERFORMED it LIVE in the early days!

Greebo

2y↑1

When I got my very first long playing record for my thirteenth birthday in October of the release year, I knew I had something special. I'd only had singles up to then. The album, of course, was Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's absolutely stunning that we are still talking about that band. People tell me that The Beatles were overrated. I tell them, that's because you weren't there. Everything, EVERYTHING, since has some Beatles influence. Even my absolute fave, a woman as unique as The Beatles, Kate Bush, was influenced. Brilliant as she was and is, she may not have ever appeared if The Beatles had not broken the ground.
.Thank you so much for this channel, which I have only just discovered, and of course subscribed to.

Riff Robin

1y↑1

My guess is john. This is because I saw him at the one-to-one concert in 1972. He did a section of about 10 or 15 minutes with just Him and yoko. Yoko was doing her usual routine and Lennon was playing a Gibson Firebird and did nothing but unbelievable feedback for 10 or 15 minutes long. It was beyond Hendrix feedback. He really knew how to get incredible feedback and that would be my guess that he's doing it on this track. I know there are not a lot of Yoko fans out there and that's probably why that part of the concert was never released but it really was something to hear especially live.

Jeff McDonald

I always loved Journey's cover of this song. It's more straight-forward and simpler than the original. But the original is far more creative and dynamically-interesting.

David Gargiulo

3y↑1

A brilliant post for sure. This song is one of my favorite as well. I'm always amazed at other people, Beatle fans or not, who just love this song as I do.
I think the fact that switched around so much on instruments is a big, big reason they always sounded so fresh. Musicians get bored easily and this probably happened among rock bands like the ensemble The Beatles had more than the producers and managers of the bands liked. Because it was at this time musicians wanted lots more freedom in their iron clad contracts.
The Beatles and The Byrds were friends while The Beatles lived in LA at a house owned by Doris Day who was an aunt to one of The Byrds. They were able to trade cassettes as I'm sure those were still experimental. or being researched for market potential.
I think you should follow up on the idea of the collaborations that went on in this era.

notrocco1

2y↑2

All these years, I have always heard the opening shout as "Too you're much!" a sort of inverted "you're too much." I never tried to listen closely or thought about it that much, but that's what it's always been for me.

Thom Vogan

3y↑8

Couldn't someone just ask Paul ? I mean, he is still with us thankfully

Brian Parsons

3y↑12

As a bass player myself, the bass playing throughout the song is quite poor and sounds as if the player has not played much bass. The bass is very simplistic and loses the timing on occasions. Paul is an excellent bass player and his timing is always spot on. Paul also plays melodic and inventive bass lines and i think he would have instinctively added more variation. This suggests strongly that John is playing bass here and Paul lead. The unsophisticated bass actually adds to the unusual feel of this great song, which has been a long time favorite.

Wilhelm Hagberg

I find the bass AND the guitar to sound like Paul, but very sloppy. Stoned perhaps? Maybe Lennon wasn't on the sessions at all.

Jeff Morrison

Yea, I loved to play this "simplistic and unsophisticated" Thanks for the laugh. You've got balls my friend.

Humberto Barbieri

2y↑1

That pre-Hendrix statement it's wrong, Paul was one of the first big ''stars'' that witness that iconic moment and he knew Jimi was changing the world, and he also knew that a George Harrison song was the only way he could try that heavy sound.

Paul Lisney

I agree - this is so catchy and has always been a favorite of mine. The overall sound is amazing - there is so much to listen to. I wondered if Paul remembers if it was him on guitar or not? I know what you mean about the bass- there are bits reminiscent of his playing in Rain and Paperback Writer.

Jim Lewis

I think you missed one obvious possibility for the opening vocal: he could be singing some version of the title, trying for "Too much" -- possibly one where he flubbed the vocals and cut himself off. That happens often in the studio, and if you're trying to do a live track and want to keep everything else, it would make sense to keep it, and just let it stand as an incomprehensible bit.

Thomas Shipley

3y↑2

Maybe just me but I hear a lot of too much in Macca 3 Find My Way. Especially the weird backward horns(?).You can sing one over the other so I think Paul helped a lot.

psy-kylo-gy

….I love that song too. Gonna have to investigate this, lol.

Oreo

The Yellow Submarine album was released in the US by Capitol Records and distributed by Apple. In the UK the back cover contain a review by Observer newspaper journalist Tony Palmer, however in the US, it contained a fictional story of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band credited to Dan Davis:

"Somewhere during the hours between the years 700 and 750 (anno Domini), a brother from the Northumbrian monastery wrote a youthful thane of King Hygelac (King of the Geats) named Beowulf… a hero. A super-hero who arrived from far by sea to rescue Heorot… a feasting hall built by a benevolent old king called Hrothgar… a feasting hall that exuded the pleasures of food and music and perpetual celebration and all that was raison d’être… a feasting hall which for years had been ravaged by the villainy of an evil spirit named Grendel. Having already proven his metal as a good-guy combatant par excellence (by the conquering of a picturesque sea monster and a victory over Breca in a swimming match), Beowulf goes forth to rid the once beautiful Northumbrian landscape of destructive Grendel… a demon who indeed perishes when his arm is delicately dislodged from its socket by Mr. Wulf. The kingdom is saved (albeit after disposing of Grendel’s mother who took unkindly to the action) and Heorot restored with the pleasures of food and music and perpetual celebration and colorful beauty… a restoration which permits bigger and better glorias to be raised to the local gods addressed as Wryds.
Some 465 years later (1215), an English king named King John signed a Magna Carta at a roost called Runnymede… an act of prodded royalty which liberated barons and bumpkins to roust with a greater degree of carefreedom.

Some 561 years later than that (1776), a Virginia gent named Jefferson quilled a Declaration of Independence in, of all places, Philadelphia and shipped it to a king called King George which hypothetically rid a small group of new-world colonies from crimson-flocked enforcers from a faraway land… taxations without representations vanished and the colonies flourished freely under a hero named after the colonies’ capital, Washington. (Ruffled feathers on both sides of the sea have since been plucked.)

And in 1968 – some 1,218 years anno Beo (A.B); 753 years anno Magna (A.M.); 192 years anno Declaration (A.D.) – bad people (Blue Meanies) still force their wills on good people (Pepperlanders) and demolish the human and physical landscape of beautiful pleasure domes (Pepperland). And Agnes – the inquisitive baby sitter next door in California, United States of America – will be pleased to know that there are still heros around of the calibres of Messrs. Wulf, John and Jefferson… there’s John, Paul, George and Ringo and their attending Lonely Hearts Club Band who sail from one place (Liverpool) at the invitation of a benevolent but old leader of another place (the Lord Mayor of Pepperland) to rescue the pleasures of food and music and perpetual celebration and colorful beauty from the villainous hands of less-than-beautiful people (Blue Meanies) who act under the supreme guidance of the most evil spirit (Chief Blue Meanie). The Beatles come by sea (through the Seas of Monsters, Time, Music, Science, Consumer Products, Nowhere, Green Phrenology and Holes – each puddle supporting a lively cast of characters) in a YELLOW SUBMARINE captained by Old Fred (also leader of Sgt. PLHCB) where they prove their heroic metal by outwitting a sea monster (Vacuum Man) and out-swimming competition (School of Whales) even before they reach the shores of the besieged undersea kingdom of Pepperland. Once arrived at target P., they triumph over the Chief Blue Meanie’s primary evil-tempered henchmen (par exemple: the lanky Apple Bonker who assaults his prey with Baldwin apples; the corpulent Hidden Persuader with a penchant for underhanded inscrupulence; the abdominal Snapping Turtle Turk who chomps at the slightest bit; the belligerent Butterfly Stompers who perform tasks that any evil butterfly stompers worth their soul would perform with supreme acuity). The good guys win… the hero-Beatles triumph once again and restore the pleasures of color and music and all that’s beautiful… a restoration which permits bigger and better glorias to be sung to the reigning god of Pepperland addressed as Love."

Fransen

2y↑3

Like Stevie Wonder's early "Love have you around" this wonderful song of George is so full of love. Much needed.

iamdamosuzuki_

3y↑2

It’s definitely John. He had the most skronky and freewheeling soloing style of all of them. Listen to his guitar playing a couple years later on his and Yoko Ono’s “Plastic Ono Band” albums. It makes the most sense.

StillFreeinVT

Have you ever heard any of the Beatles' holiday fan releases? Consider them, "You Know My Name" and you have to admit John & Paul had tendencies to throw words & statements throughout some of their tunes just because they thought it was funny.

Andrew

3y↑39

When I was a kid, my oldest brother would play Beatles records on the family stereo for us when my parents were out playing bridge with the neighbors (it was the only time he could get away with it). The two albums he played the most were Sgt Pepper and Yellow Submarine, so I grew up with It's All Too Much. it's my favorite Beatle song

Jeffrey Schall

3y↑2

There was a fifth Beatle that also might have been involved. George Martin.

vurogj

2y↑1

George Martin is on record saying letting Parlophone have Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever be used as a single and not on Sgt. Peppers (it wasn't the done thing to have singles on albums at the time) was his biggest mistake. Holding this song back from it's recording in mid-67 to be put on a film which released in mid-68, and whose soundtrack wasn't released until early 69 (AFTER the White album came out), is almost as big a mistake. So much happened culturally and musically from July 67 to Jan 69 that changed the landscape this song landed in and denied it a much higher recognition and adoration in The Beatles' canon.

I wouldn't die on this hill, but I'd take some pretty hefty wounds on it.

Shawn Toner

John did the introductory feedback in 'I Feel Fine' and according to Walter Everett's book 'The Beatles as Musicians', it's John that's on lead guitar.

Rusk Reeder

3y↑23

I would propose that John is saying, "Too Much," in the beginning. That was the original name of the song and might have been John's joke or a way of getting into it before the song really got going.

crapple009

3y↑2

Except that 'too much' has only got two syllables.

Sunrise2076

Yep. I agree.

randle robbertson

2y↑2

Try listening to this as performed live by Steve hillage on the album live herald in 1977. He really, really rocks it out and improves on the near perfection of the original.

Brian Barrigar

2y↑1

When I listen to the isolated guitar track, I cannot help but think of Neil Young. I think of his eclectic, thunderous style of playing from the Live Rust era of his career. So many hidden gems on Yellow Submarine.

Goy Ishah

You said it yourself, The Beatles often had audio anomalies in their works. Many of these were vocal in nature. I think that second audio abnormality here is simply John turning his head to instruct the the others, hence why it trails off from the mic. The Beatles often left these little things in their studio works, which gives much of their work a "raw" and "uncut" quality. Whereas most bands would have these edited out.

Jill Knapp

3y↑1

Good lordy, I love your channel so much. Thank you for caring so deeply for this music, and for treating it seriously, but also so, so lovingly. And congratulations for hitting 100K six months ago. Now you’re at 118K... and soon you’ll be at a bazillion.

Ralph Levine

3y↑2

When I upgraded from mono to stereo, I realized that what I was getting from one speaker was what was on the other side of the tape, played backwards. I isolated that and recorded the whole White Album backwards. I liked two of the songs backwards. I liked "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" backwards and forward. One song I only liked backwards! It was "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey."

Gregory Schleitwiler

Number 9 is turn me on dead man backwards. From the white album

psy-kylo-gy

2y↑1

I NEED THIS.

John Allen

I subscribed. First, with the "to your..." The Beatles loved the spoken word in their songs. There are many examples of this. I think George wrote this song kind of tongue in cheek. You say that he wrote this for his wife but I see much larger implications. When he says, "Show me that I'm everywhere (a truly mind altering moment) and get me home for tea" (a most mundane moment), he's kind of mocking people for their silliness. He also says, "Makes no difference where you are or where you'd like to be." You are everywhere all the time. It doesn't matter if you think you are one place or the other. There were a lot of people jumping on the meditation bandwagon who really weren't serious about it. They took it as a fad. I think George had realized (through LSD, which I also took that year) that we all had an aura but so many of the auras weren't tuned into love, and thus it was all too much to take because people weren't getting it. Pockets of love exist in people and places all over the world but there are many places where it doesn't exist at all. We need to fill those holes. Love is the most powerful feeling in the universe. Also, this song is all on one note, I think it's "E," the most basic note on the guitar. You can just play E all the way through the song even when they sing different notes. It's in the style of Indian mantras, a droning that lends to a hypnotic effect similar to "Ommm," which in turn induces meditation.

roldo23

2y↑1

I'd say that its John on bass. The bass mostly hammers out the same note rhythmically for most of the track as musicians playing an unfamiliar instrument are wont to do (especially if they're very High). As for the mystery intro voice that may well have been something caught on tape during the session that they decided would sound cool edited and inserted into the opening of the song. Its that weird "We are dead. Listen" that baffles me.

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