Lennon's instrumental contributions to Sgt. Pepper

I have found several credits to McCartney that should be Harrison, not a credible source IMO

 

And people wonder why I 'so called' hate Macca, its not him its the people that write the books and websites and put there own opinion on things instead of 'Facts'

 

Surely he plays at least one of the guitar parts on "Lovely Rita", all of which are ace.

 

Macca did do the vocal bit in the middle part of A Day In The Life.

 

Yes.

 

I know he pretty much did a good Lennon impression, dont you think, everyone was fooled for years and years, obviously John was too stoned to do it without laughing IMO during the sessions

 

When not singing stellar lead, Lennon's backup vocals on this album are some of the best ever. With a Little Help, She's Leaving Home, Lovely Rita - all sound great. They all really worked well together and helped each other out on this album - maybe for the last time.

 

Don't blame the fans...for years I've been reading contradiction after contradiction about who plays what (and up till now, I was under the belief that Paul played that opening lead on "Sgt Pepper" too...it does after all resemble the same style he employs on "Taxman" and "Good Morning Good Morning", assuming those still hold true). The real trouble is, no one who was there can seem to remember anything clearly! Least of all the Beatles. And once you get a good first hand source declaring something, like Emerick or McCartney, someone like Ken Scott or George Martin will tell you different.

Man, it will probably only get worse over time...

 

The multis make it pretty clear they both did vocals during that bit.

Lewisohn is generally trustworthy since he has the tape boxes to reference, and they often have who played what written on the left side. In little tiny letters of course.

 

I thought we ruled that it was only Paul, despite some opposition on the 'it's John' side. But it's both at the same time? Cool if true.

 

John plays acoustic guitar, Paul Piano, Ringo drums and George percussion on the initial 'live' take.

 

Credits for Lennon on Sgt. Peppers
Sgt. Peppers-Guitar, vocals
A little Help With My Friends- Guitar, vocals
Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds Lead Vocals and Guitar
Getting Better Guitar, co-writer and vocals
Fixing A Hole Backing vocals
She's Leaving Home co-writer, 2nd vocals
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite Lead Vocals, Guitar and Organ
Within You, Without You None
When I'm 64 Some Guitar and vocals
Lovely Rita, Acoustic Guitar and vocals
Good Morning, Good Morning Lead Vocals and guitar
Sgt. Peppers Reprise, Guitar and vocals
A Day In the Life, Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar

I was thinking that Harrison played Lead Guitar on Sgt. Peppers, Lead Guitar and Sitar on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Lead Guitar on Getting Better, Guitar sdolo on Fixing a Hole, Some Indian instrument on Within You, Without You, Guitar solo on Good Morning, Good Morning and Lead Guitar on the Sgt. Peppers Reprise. Harrison did not playon or had little imput on A Day in the Life.

 

I have always argued that Sgt. Peppers was Lennon's greatest work as someone that was helping a project along in his entire career. Although he did wonders for much of Yoko's music and the ***** Cats album. Then there is Bowie's Fame which is one of the greatest rock songs ever in my opinion.

 

It's a co-lead, they both play lead parts because Paul plays the solos on the song. George did record a solo but I believe it was not used.

 

Where have you got this info?

Please supply a cite nowhere in Lewison does it say this, unless I have missed it and the text was revised for reprint? I think Paul's contribution has become exagerated by Fans and people writing books/websites etc it makes a good story because he is still relevant?

Harrison plays the lead, I don't recall anywhere it saying that Paul overdubbed etc, and with the politics of the group at that time I don't think Paul would have overdubbed Harrison's guitar parts anyway or they would have broke up a lot sooner?

Before I read Lewison and in the 1980's I never heard this song and thought it wasn't George Harrison, it is his smooth carefully crafted style, very similar to the guitar work in Good Morning and Lucy? I never thought it sounds anything like Paul ?

 

I'm not the worlds biggest Bowie fan but I love that track and Lennons contributions

 

I think it's Paul playing most of the lead fills in "Sgt. Pepper". It sounds like his style at that point more than George's. George wasn't playing in the "raved up rocking style" that the lead licks exhibit in the song. They are much more like Pauls work in "Taxman".
In fact, I was going to point out that the last lead lick heading into "With a Little Help From My Friends" sounds like Paul from "Taxman" but I reached for my copy of Recording the Beatles and they beat me to it.

They say.."incidentally, the brief descending guitar riff heard just before the transition into "With A Little Help From My Friends" is nearly identical to similar guitar figures Paul played on "Taxman and "Good Morning Good Morning".

George was more fascinated with the sitar at this point, whereas Paul was gaga over Jimi Hendrix. I don't really worry about what Lewisohn says about the lead playing. My ears say it's Paul, because I can find other examples of Paul playing in this style in the same era, but not George.

 

P.S. I just took a peek in George Martin's book With a Little Help from My Friends (The Making of Sgt. Pepper)

In it, regarding the opening version of "Sgt. Pepper" he states:

"The song got an enormous momentum from the driving guitars and drums. Paul and George play a double quaver beat on guitars on the first and third beats of the bar on the chorus, leaving space for Ringo's heavy snare on the second and fourth bars.
Paul insisted on doing the guitar solos himself in the end,which may well have irritated George."

After all, it was Paul's song, so I guess he had the final say concerning who played the guitar solos.

 

But Paul was playing like this in 1966 on Revolver before he (or anyone) had heard of Jimi Hendrix. I agree that Paul was all about loud rocking guitar from 66-67 though. I always wondered exactly where he got the idea to get that sound.

 

Good point. I shouldn't have specifically namechecked Jimi Hendrix I guess.
My main point is that Paul seemed to be more open to spiffy, fast lead playing at the time than George was. Maybe it was Clapton, or Beck or various others that inspired Paul's playing in this era.

George was really getting fascinated with Indian music at the time.
George himself has mentioned that the guitar took a backseat with him for a period of time in this era because he was consumed with Indian music.

"Fixing a Hole" is his great shining guitar solo moment on the album, IMO, but it's obviously worked out and structured, not an off the top of his head solo like the licks in "Sgt. Pepper" are.

 

I'm pretty sure that Hendrix was getting kind of "known" around London by 1966 among those "in the know" of which of course Paul at that time would have been one.

But I tend to think it was just Paul "expressing" himself musically. I mean just because the guy has a lot of variety in his musical expressions doesn't mean they aren't genuine. All throughout his career there are examples of Paul doing some emotion lead work, particularly when he decides to or is asked to do a solo.

I know some people like to think of Paul as some sort of facile shallow musician, but it could just be this guitar sound "came from the heart" so to speak. In a way a number of his solos remind me of when he would do a screamin' rocker -- it's the same sort of crazy, emotional thing as his screams and whoops and screeches and hollers. I tend to think it all came from the same place within him.

 

Paul tackled the lead guitar for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and also on "Getting Better".

No doubt he had seen Eric play with Cream and, yep, he had develop a much more aggressive sounding lead style partially influenced by his drug use. My older brother (who saw Cream many, many times when they played at the Filmore and other
venues) has a theory that Clapton's increased drug use also influenced his playing but also hearing some of the parts that Jeff Beck played influenced that as well.

I think it was more along the lines of the band being aware of much more aggressive, rapid-fire lead playing (like Paul's staccato solo on "Taxman") that other bands were pioneering at the time.

Anyhow, every source book I've read over the last twenty years indicates that it's Paul and the playing sounds very little like George's smoother playing style.

It ain't my theory but I'd buy it.

 

It's also more audible on the remaster - at least at the volume I play it.

 

I haven't heard the tapes Lewisohn has but it sounds like McCartney on the opening track--it screams McCartney. And he does play lead guitar when he does it live----usually his way of signifying that he played lead on the original track.
If it is George----it’s some of his raw-er playing.

 

That's an interesting way to put it, hadn't thought of it that way but I think that was one of Paul's strength's as a guitarist and why he sometimes pissed George off.

Now I don't know that Paul could have necessarily done the "heavy lifting" lead work of doing it for a hundred songs, that is where George's strengths as a guitar player would have come into play, but to this day Paul's pretty good at coming up with "quick" guitar solos in a pinch. I think he came up with and recorded the "House of Wax" guitar solo in like half an hour, I seem recall hearing the "Too Many People" solo, from back on Ram, was also done in one take. Both times it was like a thing where someone said "You need the solo filled in here, why don't you play it yourself" and bang, there it was.

I don't have the book handy but I think Emerick said something similar(although I could easily be mixing this up with George Martin's quote).