NERD WARNING
hi folks,
your mention of In mY life reminded me of a truly great book.
Revolution in the Head by Ian Macdonald ISBN 978 1 844 13828 9.
It features every recording session by the Fabs from My Bonnie to Free As A Bird . Not a coffee table glossy but an in depth guide to the beatle sessions. Perfect for Christmas.
Brilliantly written and won awards for the author.
Always fires me up when I cant get things moving or wondering why im bothering at all, just reading about Lennons attitude and strength when they recorded Twist and Shout.
Theyd been recording for twelve hours, it was 10pm. Time was up but George Martin needed one more number, something to send the album out with a bang.
Bear in mind that that day, 11feb1963, theyd already recorded, Theres a Place, Saw Her Standing There, Taste of Honey, Do You Want To Know A Secret, Misery, Hold Me Tight, Anna, Boys, Chains, Baby Its You....!
So they all went to the canteen for tea except in Lennons case it was warm milk for his ragged throat. Twist and Shout was the closer of their live set, an Isley Brothers song and very demanding and this night it was going to be a tall order.
Back in studio 2 they knew they had at best maybe two chances to get it before Lennon lost his voice. At around 10.30, with him stripped to the waist and the others hyping themselves by treating the control room staff as their audience, they went for it.
The eruptive performance that ensured stunned the listening technicians and exhilarated the group as can be heard in mccartneys triumphant 'hey' at the end. Trying for a second take, Lennon found he had nothing left and the session stopped there and then but the atmosphere was still crackling. Nothing of this intensity had ever been recorded in a british pop studio. ....
Dont tell me youve read it and i neednt have spent the last hour typing it out...
I love the energy of Twist and Shout, amazing gutteral sound of those guitars is thrilling.
Nooms