LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 11, 2019…IN 1970 THE BEATLES RELEASED THEIR FINAL SINGLE TOGETHER AS A GROUP ‘THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD’ . THE SONG ACTUALLY STARTED OUT AS A SIMPLE MCCARTNEY BALLAD, WRITTEN AT A TIME WHEN THE CRACKS IN THE BEATLES WERE GETTING DEEP. A DEMO WAS RECORDED FOR THE ‘WHITE ALBUM’ SESSIONS
BUT WERE TAKEN NO FURTHER.
HOWEVER, BY 1970 THE GROUP WAS BREAKING UP AND PHIL SPECTOR WAS BROUGHT IN TO GO THROUGH THE TAPES AND PRODUCE AN ALBUM (AGAINST MCCARTNEY’S WISHES). ON THIS SONG, SPECTOR TOOK OUT MOST OF THE INSTRUMENTS FROM THE BAND, AND LAYERED IN INSTRUMENTS TO “FILL OUT THE SOUND”. AS A MATTER OF FACT, SPECTOR HAD THE HARRISON AND RINGO PARTS REMOVED FROM THE SONG, SO THEY DON’T APPEAR ON THE TRACK AT ALL. PLUS, THIS IS THE ONLY BEATLES SONG TO FEATURE JOHN LENNON ON BASS. HE NORMALLY PLAYED RHYTHM GUITAR.
EVEN THOUGH MCCARTNEY WROTE THE SONG, HE WASN’T THERE WHEN SPECTOR PRODUCED IT. WHEN MACA HEARD THE RESULTS, HE MADE IT CLEAR HE HATED WHAT SPECTOR DID TO HIS SONG, AND TRIED TO GET THE ORIGINAL VERSION WHICH WAS MIXED BY ENGINEER GLYN JOHNS ON THE ALBUM. THE BAND WAS FALLING APART, AND HARRISON AND LENNON SUPPORTED SPECTOR. WTF !!! PAUL MCCARTNEY HAS NOT CHANGED HIS STANCE OVER THE YEARS, AND STILL BELIEVES SPECTOR BUTCHERED HIS SONG. MCCARTNEY ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO BLOCK THE RELEASE OF THIS
SONG IN THE UK, BUT COULD NOT PREVENT IT’S RELEASE IN THE US WHERE IT TOPPED THE CHARTS FOR 2 WEEKS.
THE SONG ACTUALLY TOOK 19 TAKES IN THE STUDIO TO GET THE FINAL VERSION. THIS IS A FASCINATING COMPILATION OF AUDIO OUTTAKES OF THE BEATLES WORKING ON THE SONG IN THE STUDIO
HERE’S VIDEO OF MCCARTNEY IN THE STUDIO WITH THE BEATLES
AND FINALLY HERE’S THE STRIPPED DOWN ‘NAKED’ VERSION MCCARTNEY HAD IN MIND WHEN HE RECORDED THE SONG
