THE BEATLES - The Long and Winding Road"

The Beatles
"The Long and Winding Road"
Single / B-side: For You Blue
Released: 11 May 1970 (US)
Album: Le It Be (Released: 8 May 1970)
Writer: Paul McCartney
Label: Apple
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"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney). It is the tenth track on the Beatles' album Let It Be. It became the group's 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 13 June 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet while all four remained alive. 

The Beatles' single "The Long and Winding Road", 1970  (front cover)
(Photo courtesy of Apple)

The Beatles - "The Long and Winding Road" (1970)

While the released version of the song was very successful, the post-production modifications by producer Phil Spector angered McCartney to the point that when he made his case in court forbreaking up the Beatles as a legal entity, he cited the treatment of "The Long and Winding Road" as one of six reasons for doing so. New versions of the song with simpler instrumentation were subsequently released by both the Beatles and McCartney.

McCartney originally wrote the song at his farm in Scotland, and was inspired by the growing tension among the Beatles. McCartney said later "I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and came up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found inspiration."

The Beatles's single "The Long and Winding Road" - "For You Blue" (1970)

The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road" (original version)

The song takes the form of a piano-based ballad, with conventional chord changes. Lyrically, it is a sad and melancholic song, with an evocation of an as-yet unrequited, though apparently inevitable, love.

The "long and winding road" of the song was claimed to have been inspired by the B842, a thirty-one mile (50 km) winding road in Scotland, running along the east coast of Kintyre into Campbeltown, and part of the eighty-two mile (133 km) drive from Lochgilphead. In an interview in 1994, McCartney described the lyric more obliquely "It's rather a sad song. I like writing sad songs, it's a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It's a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist."

Th Beatles' album Let It Be, 1970 (front cover)
(photo courtesy of Apple)

The Beatles - "The Long and Winding Road" (album Let It Be, 1970 - 2009 Remaster)

The Beatles recorded "The Long and Winding Road" on 26 and 31 January 1969, the day after the group's final performance on the roof of their Apple headquarters, with McCartney on piano, John Lennon on bass guitar, George Harrison on guitar, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston on electric piano. This was during a series of sessions for an album project then known as Get Back. Lennon, who played bass only occasionally, made several mistakes on the recording.

In May 1969, Glyn Johns, who had been asked to mix the Get Back album by the Beatles, selected the 26 January recording as the best version of the song. The Beatles had recorded a master version as part of the 'Apple studio performance' on 31 January, which contained a different lyrical and musical structure, but this version was not chosen for release. For both the 1969 and 1970 versions of the Get Back album, Glyn Johns used the 26 January mix as released on the Anthology 3 album in 1996.

In the spring of 1970, Lennon and the Beatles' manager, Allen Klein, turned over the recordings to Phil Spector with the hope of salvaging an album, which was then titled Let It Be.

Spector made various changes to the songs, but his most dramatic embellishments occurred on 1 April 1970, the last ever Beatles recording session, when he turned his attention to "The Long and Winding Road". At Abbey Road Studios, he recorded the orchestral and choir accompaniment for the song. Spector succeeded in remixing "The Long and Winding Road", using 18 violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of 14 women. The orchestra was scored and conducted by Richard Hewson, who would later work with McCartney on his album, Thrillington. 

The Beatles - "The Long and Winding Road" (Let it Be documentary film)

The Beatles - :The Long and Winding Road" (Let It Be,,, Naked version, 2003)

In 2003, the remaining Beatles and Yoko Ono released Let It Be... Naked, touted as the band's version of Let It Be remixed by independent producers. McCartney claimed that his long-standing dissatisfaction with the released version of "The Long and Winding Road" (and the entire Let It Be album) was in part the impetus for the new version. The new album included a later take of "The Long and Winding Road", recorded on 31 January. With no strings or other added instrumentation beyond that which was played in the studio at the time, it was closer to the Beatles's original intention than the 1970 version.This take is also the one seen in the film Let It Be.

The Beatles 1970
(Photo by Bruce McBroom - Apple Corps. Ltd) 

Line-up / Musicians:

Paul McCartney – lead vocals, piano

John Lennon – bass

George Harrison – guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

Billy Preston – electric piano

With:

Phil Spector's orchestral and choral arrangements

Links / Reviews:

Wikipedia: The Long and Winding Road (song)

Songfacts: The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles

Beatlesbible: beatlesbible - The Long And Winding Road

THE WHO - "Behind Blue Eyes"

The Who
"Behind Blue Eyes"
Single / B-side: "My Wife" (U.S.), "Going Mobile" (Europe)
Released: 6 November 1971
Album: Who's Next (Released: 14 August 1971)
Writer: Pete Townshend
Label: Decca, MCA, Track, Polydor
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Behind Blue Eyes" is a song by English rock band The Who. It was released in November 1971 as the second single from their fifth album Who's Next. Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his "Lifehouse" project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished "Lifehouse," but the songs ended up on the album Who's Next. The song is one of The Who's most well known recordings and has been covered by many artists.

The Who's  "Behind Blue Eyes" single, 1971
(Photo courtesy of Polydor)

The Who - "Behind Blue Eyes" (45rpm)

The origin of the song comes from an event that occurred after The Who's June 9th, 1970 concert in Denver. Townshend was tempted by a groupie. He went back to his room alone and wrote a prayer beginning, "If my fist clenches, crack it open..." The prayer was more or less asking for help in resisting this temptation. The other words could be describing Townshend's self pity and how hard it is to resist.

"Behind Blue Eyes"  is  sung  from the point of view of the main villain  of  Lifehouse, Jumbo. The lyrics are a first-person lament from Jumbo, who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. 

The version of "Behind Blue Eyes" on the original Who's Next album was the second version the band recorded;  the first version  was recorded  at  the Record Plant  in New York  on 18 March 1971   and features Al Kooper on Hammond Organ. The first version was released as a bonus track on the 1995 CD reissue of Who's Next.

The Who's album: Whos Next, 1971 (front cover)

The Who - "Behind Blue Eyes" (original version)

Pete Townshend has also recorded two solo versions of the song. One, the original demo of the song, was featured on the Scoop album. The demo along with a newer recording of the song featuring an orchestral backing was featured in The Lifehouse Chronicles.

Pete Townshend - "Behind Blue Eyes" (Lifehouse version)

The Who on stage, 1971 (Photo by Joe Sia)

"Behind Blue Eyes" was covered by American nu metal Limp Bizkit. It was released in November 2003 as a single from their album Results May Vary. Limp Bizkit's arrangement is notable for Speak & Spell during bridge. Rolling Stone magazine readers choose this Limp Bizkit version as the Worst Cover Songs of All Time, and in 2013 Ultimate Classic Rock put it as Terrible Classic Rock Covers.

Line-up / Musicians:
Roger Daltrey - vocals
Pete Townshend - acoustic guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals
John Entwistle - bass guitar, backing vocals
Keith Moon - drums

Links / Reviews:
Wikipedia: Behind Blue Eyes
Songfacts: Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
Rolling Stone: Rolling Stone Readers Choose the Worst Cover Songs of All Time
Allmusic: Behind Blue Eyes - The Who
Ultimateclassicrock: Terrible Classic Rock Covers

PROCOL HARUM - "Homburg"

Procol Harum 
"Homburg"
Single / B- Side: "Good Captain Clark"
Released: October 1967
Writer: Gary Brooker, Keith Reid
Label: Stateside / Polydor
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"Homburg" was the rock band Procol Harum's follow-up single to their initial 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale". The song appears on Procol Harum 1998 CD compilation album: Procol Harum...Plus! Written by pianist Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid, "Homburg" reached number 5 in the UK charts, number 15 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States. It went to number one in several countries, including Australia, South Africa, and the Netherlands.

Procol Harum's single "Homburg" (front cover), 1967
(Courtesy of Stateside Records)

Procol Harum = "Homburg" (single 1967)

Reid's "Homburg" lyrics contains the same surreal, dream-like imagery and feelings of resignation and futility as in the debut single. The music also features Matthew Fisher's rich and deep Hammond organ, but the piano and guitar have bigger places in the overall sound. The theme is not as clearly Bach-like as in "A Whiter Shade of Pale"; nevertheless, the single was, on its release, criticised for being too similar to its predecessor.

Procol Harum's single "Homburg" (Polydor front cover), 1967
(Courtesy of Polydor)

Procol Harum - "Homburg" (Beat Club, 1967)

In a radio interview with DJ Harry Harrison, Brooker said the words came from Reid's experiences and only he knows what they mean. However he didn't think they meant anything literally. Instead if you take each line the way the words are used, they create little feelings, little moods.

Procol Harum 1967
(Photo: Rex Features / The Guardian)

The Homburg is an elegant black felt hat manufactured at Bad Homburg, Germany. The British version was introduced in the late 19th century by the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII of England, who first came across it when he went to Germany for the spa. In the late 1930s during the run up to the Second World War, the British foreign minister Anthony Eden became renowned for wearing the Homburg.

Line-up / Musicians:

Matthew Fisher – organ

Dave Knights – bass guitar

B.J. Wilson – drums

Robin Trower – guitar

Gary Brooker – vocals, piano

Keith Reid – lyrics

Links:

Wikipedia; Homburg (song)

Songfacts : Homburg by Procol Harum

Procol Harum Official site: procolharum.com Homburg Brooker/Reid

THE ROLLING STONES - "Moonlight Mile"

The Rolling Stones
"Moonlight Mile"
Album: Sticky Fingers
Released: 23 April 1971
Writers: Mick Jagger / Keith Richards
Label: Rolling Stones / Virgin

"Moonlight Mile" is a song from The Rolling Stones' 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

Credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Moonlight Mile" is widely considered to be one of the Rolling Stones' most underappreciated ballads. Recording took place in October 1970 at Stargroves. The song was the product of an all-night session between Jagger and Mick Taylor. Taylor had taken a short guitar piece recorded by Richards (entitled "Japanese Thing") and reworked it for the session. Jagger performs the song's prominent acoustic guitar riff. Jagger felt it easier to extemporize with Taylor. Keith Richards was not at the recording session because he a bit "out of it" by the end of the Sticky Fingers recording session. Richard likes the song, though. It was Taylor's idea to add a string arrangement by Paul Buckmaster to the song. Piano is played by regular Rolling Stones trumpet player Jim Price.

The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers LP, 1971

The Rolling Stones - "Moonlight Mile"

In his review of the song, Bill Janovitz says, "Though the song still referenced drugs and the road life of a pop-music celebrity, it really is a rare example of Jagger letting go of his public persona, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the weariness that accompanies the pressures of keeping up appearances as a sex-drugs-and-rock & roll star." Rock critic Robert Christgau said the song, "re-created all the paradoxical distances inherent in erotic love with a power worthy of Yeats, yet could also be interpreted as a cocaine song. "This is a reference to the first stanza, which reads, "When the wind blows and the rain feels cold, With a head full of snow..." . It was meant to be about coming down from a cocaine high.

The Rolling Stones's Sticky Fingers (front cover)

The Rolling Stones - "Moonlight Mile"

"...'Moonlight Mile' did mark a change of direction and thus a growth spurt for the Stones, stretching out a little more from the blues, country, and R&B-based roots music they had returned to after flirting -- with mixed results -- in the late '60s with psychedelia and other genres. For one thing, the Stones had been producing layered but streamlined electric guitar-based records at this time. In relation, "Moonlight Mile" was an epic production, not only with the sweeping strings, but other studio techniques like doubling Jagger's lead vocal -- a technique he rarely employed, seeming to prefer two-part harmony..." (Allmusic review by Bill Janovitz)

The Rolling Stones - "Moonlight Mile"

The Rolling Stones's Sticky Fingers Session(l - r: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts)

The track was used extensively during the final episode of the first part of the HBO series The Sopranos' sixth season, "Kaisha", as well as giving its title to and being used in the 2002 motion picture Moonlight Mile. The song has been covered live by The Flaming Lips and on The 5th Dimension album, Earthbound. American hard rock supergroup Saints of the Underground covered this song for their only album Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner. Southern soul artist Lee Fields covered this song on his 2012 album Faithful Man.

Line-up / Musicians:

Mick Jagger - vocals, acoustic guitar

Mick Taylor - lead guitar

Bill Wyman - bass guitar

Charlie Watts - drums

With:

Jim Price - piano

Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement

Links / Reviews:

Wikipedia: Moonlight Mile (song) 

Songfacts: Moonlight Mile by The Rolling Stones

Allmusic: Moonlight Mile - The Rolling Stones

PINK FLOYD - "Brain Damage"

Pink Floyd
"Brain Damage"
Album: The Dark Side of the Moon"
Released: 1 March 1973
Writer: Roger Waters
Label: Harvest
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"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung on record by Roger Waters, who would continue to sing it on his solo tours. David Gilmour sang the lead vocal when Pink Floyd performed it live on their 1994 tour (as can be heard on Pulse). The band originally called this track "Lunatic" during live performances and recording sessions. 

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon LP, 1973

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" (Vinyl, 1973)

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" - "Eclipse" 

(from the album The Dark Side of the Moon)

When the band reconvened after the American leg of the Meddle tour, Roger Waters brought with him a prototype version of "Brain Damage" along with other songs such as "Money". He had been playing the song during the recording of the Meddle album in 1971, when it was called "The Dark Side of the Moon". Eventually this title would be used for the album itself. The song seemed to be partially inspired by their former band member Syd Barrett who had endured a mental breakdown. After road testing, the new suite entitled "A Piece for Assorted Lunatics", the song was recorded in October along with "Any Colour You Like". The piece represents Waters' association with acoustic-tinged ballads, and along with "If" and "Grantchester Meadows", "Brain Damage" uses a simple melody and delivery. David Gilmour actively encouraged Waters to sing the song, even though at this time he wasn't particularly confident about his vocal abilities.

The song is somewhat slow, with a guitar arpeggio pattern similar to The Beatles' "Dear Prudence". It is in the key of D major and features a recurring lyrical pattern and chorus.

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" - "Eclipse" (P.U.L.S.E tour 1994)

Roger Waters' "Brain Damage" - "Eclipse" (live)

Roger Waters has stated that the insanity-themed lyrics are based on former Floyd frontman Syd Barrett's mental instability, with the line "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" indicating that he felt related to him in terms of mental idiosyncrasies. The line "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes..." references Barrett's behaviour near the end of his tenure with the band; because of his mental problems, there were more than a few occasions where Barrett would play a different song than the rest of the band in the middle of a concert. The song has a rather famous opening line, "The lunatic is on the grass...", whereby Waters is referring to areas of turf which display signs saying "Please keep off the grass" with the exaggerated implication that disobeying such signs might indicate insanity. The lyrics' tongue-in-cheek nature is further emphasised by Waters' assertion in the 2003 documentary Classic Albums: Pink Floyd – The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon that not letting people on such beautiful grass was the real insanity. Waters said that the particular patch of grass he had in mind when writing the song was to the rear of King's College, Cambridge.

The German literary scholar and media theorist Friedrich Kittler attaches great relevance to the song, referring to its lyrics as well as to its technological arrangement. For him, the three verses stage the (sound) technological evolution from mono to stereo, culminating in total, "maddening" surround sound.

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" (Original Video Clip)

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" (Original Music Video)

Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" (Studio Discussion)

This song is often mistakenly referred to as "The Dark Side of the Moon" alongside "Eclipse" because the two run together and are commonly played together on the radio, giving the impression that they are one song. The incorrect title is derived from the recurring lyric "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon", the latter half of which is the album's title.

"...'Brain Damage' uses acoustic guitars and refers to "loonies" which is always good to hear. This is a brilliant piece which leads into one of the best outros on any album ever made..." 

(Progarchives, review by frenchie)

Pink Floyd's P.U.L.S.E tour - The dark Side of the Moon  

Earl’s Court, London, England, 1994

(Photo courtesy of Eagle Vision)

Line-up / Musicians:
Roger Waters – bass, lead vocals, tape effects
David Gilmour – electric guitars, backing vocals
Richard Wright – Hammond organ, VCS3 synthesizer
Nick Mason – drums, bells, tape effects
with:
Lesley Duncan – backing vocals
Doris Troy – backing vocals
Barry St. John – backing vocals
Liza Strike – backing vocals
(The uncredited manic laughter is that of Pink Floyd's then-road manager, Peter Watts)

Links / Reviews:

Wikipedia: Brain Damage (song)
Progarchives: PINK FLOYD Dark Side of the Moon
Allmusic: Brain Damage by Pink Floyd