G. Harrison's "Only A Northern Song": did the other Beatles really sabotage it (random psych noise)?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ParloFax, Apr 20, 2015.

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  1. mindgames

    mindgames Forum Resident

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    Indeed, 26 April 1964.
     
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  2. GV1967

    GV1967 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeastern US
    Today, I was driving with the wonderful 1999 stereo remix of "Only A Northern Song" playing. I never get tired of listening to that mix of such a cool, underrated tune. It would have fit perfectly on "Sgt. Pepper".
     
  3. BeatlesObsessive

    BeatlesObsessive The Earl of Sandwich Ness

    Wow.. that really was helpful... his parents speak with absolute clarity! Very Irish inflected accents like I guess they all did. George sounds like them in his Anthology interviews. I guess the exaggerated "Beatles accents" are a function of being young guys talking fast and in character than anything else!
     
  4. BeatlesObsessive

    BeatlesObsessive The Earl of Sandwich Ness

    Gotta love Mr. Harrison flashing that "smile that brought the ladies a-runnin'" on stage. Go, Mr. Harrison!!!
     
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  5. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

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    Secaucus, NJ
    But wasn't it written while the London Symphony Orchestra was waiting patiently to go home??? :)
     
  6. the sands

    the sands Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    They used it for the psychedelic adventure "Yellow Submarine". It's a bit more cacophonic than the structured psych on Sgt. Pepper.
     
  7. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Is the root of the ill will known?
    Did George steal a digestive biscuit from Geoff?
     
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  8. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I read Emerick's book, I didn't think Emerick was particularly ill disposed to George. He did recount some incidents where George had trouble getting a guitar part down--I recall he wrote that there was some tension when George took a long time to get down the solo for "I'll follow the sun," and apparently there was a general consensus that the song could have been finished much earlier if George had let Paul take the solo.

    Apparently George was a big distant towards Emerick because he perceived him as being someone Paul brought in, and George had gotten on well with Norm Smith.
     
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  9. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
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    He also laments that Paul would have played the electric piano better than John on (I believe) both Come Together and I Am The Walrus.
     
  10. lou

    lou Fast 'n Bulbous

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Considering Paul came up with the piano part for Come Together, I would agree.
     
  11. marmalade166

    marmalade166 Sous les pavés, la plage!

    Location:
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    I love Only A Northern Song in all its misanthropic psychedelic glory :p

    Although since hearing the Anthology take I've sped up the YS version to match, I think it sounds much better at that speed

    So where would YOU place it on Sgt Pepper?
     
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  12. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam

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    I love that the chaos manages to be in the same key as the song. Very clever. :-D
     
  13. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    I think right after With a little Help. Get Ringo and George out of the way and let the real Beatles sing the rest of the album :)

    (I'm kidding. But Northern Song would still be a great third song on Pepper)
     
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  14. paul62

    paul62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Down to Earth
    I wish a bass/drums/keyboards/brass/glockenspiel mix (with no vocals) was made available on the recent Sgt. Pepper super deluxe release....
     
  15. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I wish ANY mix (of any version) was made available on the recent Sgt. Pepper super deluxe release... ;)
     
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  16. Derek Slazenger

    Derek Slazenger Specs, rugs & rock n roll

    Totally. That track turned me on to Indian music and also introduced me to the wonderful philosophy behind it which, to me, seems pretty sensible stuff :)
     
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  17. Six Bachelors

    Six Bachelors Troublemaking enthusiast

    It was a perfectly obvious thing to do to include a February ‘67 version of the track and Giles’ justification (that it wasn’t on this album so didn’t belong on the reissue) is nonsense. It is the only song from these sessions that was seriously worked on and not included on the album or on a contemporaneous single, but which was ultimately finished and included on another album. It is a glaring omission.

    I can imagine a deluxe Help! not including an early Wait for the same reason.
     
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  18. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Yes, it was a mistake to not include some version of "It's Only A Northern Song". Oh well...
     
  19. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer

    I always thought this was an awful song. The only bad Beatles written song in my eyes. The stereo version I recently heard for the first made it tolerable, but the song still sucks.
    Also, really? How can anybody possibly think Within You Without You is objectively worse than this waste of space.
     
  20. Onder

    Onder Senior Member

    According to both John and Paul, it is Paul who plays the electric piano on the record (Come Together).
    So another bitter nonsese from Emerick.

    Ondra
     
  21. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Yer right, of course- both "Within You Without You" and "Only A Northern Song" should have been on Pepper:righton:
     
  22. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer

    No thanks. Martin was right when he made the decision to exclude it due to how unfitting it would've been.
     
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  23. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing

    It fits perfectly on Yellow Submarine. Always loved it, still do.

    And agreed...really out of tune or out of place for Peppers. As it is, Peppers is seamless and fine just as it is. Within You Without you makes for a brilliant opener for side two...a kind of mystical intermission that links both sides...after the "intermission" it's back to the show! Love it.

    And the inclusion of Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields would have made it a hits album, and not an album's album. That is the mystique...no radio hits.
     
  24. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Just re-read this entire thread. I have Geoff's book as well.

    I think the way to reconcile Geoff's opinions is to understand his bromance with Paul. Ultimately, by extension, we're looking at the band through Paul's eyes. Paul could be frustrated with George's relative limits, so Geoff is frustrated, too.

    For me, when I apply that decoder ring, it all makes sense.
     
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  25. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    And to the OP's original question, I think the band worked way too hard on the tune to think it was sabotage. All the effects sound great, and I'm always impressed by the application of echo in particular.
     
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