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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Wasn't going to post this and then I listened to this take and it is glorious and fun too!
I have said elsewhere I came later to The Beatles than some (my big brother) and let the first few singles and albums pass me or rather took them for granted until maybe Rubber Soul but this take of 'classic' single 'Can't Buy Me Love' illustrates a band in progress with the rhythm guitar and George's lead take with Paul's lead vocal way back in the mix make it a curio well worth a listen . . . . . . 




On this day in music history: January 29, 1964 - “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles is recorded. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it is the sixth UK single for the legendary Liverpool, UK rock quartet. Actually written by Paul (but credited to Lennon and McCartney), the song is written while The Beatles are in the middle of a concert engagement at the Olympia Theater in Paris. Searching for ideas for a follow up to “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, number one in the UK at the time, and The Beatles have just learned that it has hit the top of the US pop singles charts, McCartney sits at the piano in the band’s suite at the George V Hotel, writing “Can’t Buy Me Love” in a few hours. The songs’ lyrics are a reflection on the bands’ huge success though still in its early stages. The point being that in spite of the material possessions fame and wealth bring, that they don’t give you what you really need, which is happiness and someone that loves and cares about you. Showing what he’s come up with to producer George Martin (who is also traveling with The Beatles), Martin suggests that McCartney begin the song with the chorus, rather than the first verse as it had been originally written. On a day off from their live concert schedule, the band record the song at EMI’s Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris, France. They enter the studio initially to record German language versions of “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” at the insistence of EMI’s German label Odeon. After the first two songs are completed, the band run through four takes of the new song before perfecting the rhythm track. The first two takes differ from the finished version, being recorded in a higher key. Take three, the first attempt at the song in a lower octave breaks down during the first verse after Paul flubs and forgets the words. They also drop the background vocals by John and George on the third take. Take four is the master take, but is subjected to further overdubs and remixing when the band returns from their first trip to the US in late February. “Can’t Buy Me Love” is completed and mixed at Abbey Road in London on February 25, 1964, then released on March 16, 1964 in the US and March 20, 1964 in the UK.

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