"You Really Got a Hold on Me"

An-other thing I noticed when I listened to the first disc of Live at the BBC a couple days ago is that "always" in the line "Seems that I'm always thinkin' of you" in "You Really Got a Hold on Me" is sung with a melisma (F# F# E), musically giving a sense of the duration of "always."  This is also present in the Beatles' studio version and in Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' original "You've Really Got a Hold on Me."

"Some Other Guy"

An-other thing I noticed when I listened to the first disc of Live at the BBC yester-day is that in the introduction of "Some Other Guy," the guitar plays the melody of the backing vocals from Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It."  As I discovered a couple years ago, the Beatles also did this in the last verse of "Long Tall Sally," but this version of "Some Other Guy" (recorded 19 June 1963, transmitted 23 June 1963) predates that.

The first Live at the BBC album also includes a version of "Long Tall Sally" (recorded 16 July 1963, transmitted 13 August 1963), but of the five recordings of the song that have been released, it's the only one that doesn't have this feature.  All the others do:

• Long Tall Sally EP version (recorded 1 March 1964)
• Anthology 1 live version (recorded 19 April 1964)
• On Air - Live at the BBC, Volume 2 live radio version (recorded 14 July 1964, transmitted 16 July 1964)
• Live at the Hollywood Bowl version (either 23 or 27 August 1964)

Evidently, this feature was added to "Long Tall Sally" sometime between July 1963 and March 1964.  Using it in "Some Other Guy" seems to be something of a trial version.

"Sure to Fall (In Love with You)"

One of my 2019 musical projects is to listen to one of the Beatles' Live at the BBC albums every month (alternating between the first and second volumes every month and listening to the first disc on the 10th and the second disc on the 20th).  This morning I listened to the first disc of Live at the BBC and noticed a couple things about which I'll have posts over the next few days.

To-day, I have just a small point about "Sure to Fall (In Love with You)."  The "go" in the line "Darling, don't ever let me go" in the bridge is sung with a melisma (F# E).  While it's negated and used in a more metaphorical sense (more "don't let me leave" than "I'm going to the record store"), this articulation gives a sense of movement.

"Free as a Bird"

Two days ago, I was thinking about "Free as a Bird," and I realized a small thing about the chorus, specifically about the second "free as a bird":

Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird

The "free" is sung with a melisma (A C), which gives a sense of the word's meaning.  It's not restricted to the single syllable it has when spoken.  Additionally, because it's sung with an ascending interval, there's even something of a sense of a bird's flight.

When I drafted this post last night, I realized that the "so free"s at the end of the bridges have something of the same effect.  Both McCartney and Harrison sing "so" with a melisma (F# G F# E, I think), which gives a sense of degree.  McCartney also sings "free" with a melisma (A E F# C# E, I think), which has the same sense of freedom as the melisma'd "free" in the chorus.

"Golden Slumbers"

This morning I started reading entries about the recording of "Golden Slumbers" in Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions [early July 1969].  Just in thinking about the song, I realized a small feature:  "you rise" in the line "Smiles awake you when you rise" is sung to an ascending interval (a sixth: G to E), which musically gives a sense of that "ris[ing]."

"Don't Let Me Down"

I recently started the section of Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions about the Get Back sessions, so yester-day, I watched the video for "Don't Let Me Down":

It occurred to me that some of the "down"s are sung with descending melismas (either E C# B or F# E C#), musically giving a sense of the word's meaning.

"I'll Be Back"

Last night I figured out some of the brass parts for the Buckinghams' cover of "I'll Be Back."  This morning I was still thinking about the song, and I realized something that also applies to the Beatles' original.  "Surprise" in the line "But I got a big surprise" is sung with a melisma (D C# B), and that extra note helps musically represent the "big[ness]" of that surprise.

"The Night Before"

I watched Help! back in June, and during the sequence for "The Night Before," I noticed that the bass part for the verses lookt to be mostly fourths and fifths.  I sort of forgot about this until late October, when I learned most of the bass part.  While I was writing it out in early November, I figured out the sections I was missing (the bridges).

Here's the notation, but - as always - there's the disclaimer that I might have something wrong (I'm a bit suspicious of some of the note and rest values in the introductory section, but I'm pretty sure I have the right pitches, at least):

"Julia"

An-other thing I noticed when I listened to The Beatles last week is that in "Julia," both "shimmering" and "glimmering" in "Her hair of floating sky is shimmering / Glimmering" are sung with melismas (A G# F# D for each).  To some degree, this gives a sense of the meaning of those words, specifically the wavering involved in both.

"I'm So Tired"

Thursday was the fiftieth anniversary of the release of The Beatles (22 November 1968).  I listened to the album and found a couple small things to write about.

I'm surprised I hadn't noticed this before, but some of the "so"s in "I'm So Tired" are sung with melismas (either B A B or C# B A B), indicating the degree of tiredness.

"Hello Goodbye"

Last week I read in Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions about the viola overdub for "Hello Goodbye."  This reminded me that back in August I'd learned one viola part for the first verse and the first chorus (although I'd mistakenly thought it was violin).  Rather than try to notate the part, I'd decided just to film it.

I finally got around to doing that to-day.  Since reading about it, I also figured out one of the viola parts for the second verse and the second chorus.  I'd previously figured out almost all of the bass and fuzz guitar parts.

Since I don't own any type of bowed string instrument, I used the mellotron violin sound on my keyboard.  The longer notes aren't too bad, but the short repeated ones ended up a bit too choppy.  I did the best I could (although I think I accidentally hit an extra note).

"Across the Universe"

Recently, I've been reading in Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions about the recording of "Across the Universe" in February 1968.  Last night I was thinking about the song and realized something about the title line.  "Universe" is sung with a melisma (four syllables rather than just three), and that the word is stretched out gives something of a sense of the span of "across."

According to the Past Masters, Volume Two liner notes, the version of "Across the Universe" on Let It Be is basically the same as the version on the World Wildlife Fund charity album (collected on Past Masters, Volume Two), just slowed down and remixed with different instrument parts.  The World Wildlife Fund version is almost in Eb major (the tuning of the whole song seems a bit off to me), and "universe" is sung to Bb C D D; the Let It Be version is in C# major, and "universe" is sung to G# A# B# B#.