Free as a Bird

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This article is about The Beatles song. For an album by Supertramp, see Free as a Bird (album). For the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, see Free Bird.
“Free as a Bird”
“Free as a Bird” cover
Single by The Beatles
from the album Anthology 1
B-side "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"
Released 4 December 1995 (UK)
12 December 1995 (U.S.)
Format 7", CD
Recorded New York City, circa 1977 and Sussex, February-March 1994
Genre Rock
Length 4:26
Label Apple Records
Producer Jeff Lynne, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
The Beatles singles chronology
"Baby It's You"
(1995)		 "Free as a Bird"
(1995)		 "Real Love"
(1996)
Music sample
"Free as a Bird"
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"Free as a Bird" is a song performed by The Beatles. The single was released in 4 December 1995, as part of the promotion for the release of The Beatles Anthology video documentary and the band's Anthology 1 compilation album.

The song had been written and recorded as a demo by John Lennon in 1977. Paul McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono for any unreleased material by Lennon, and "Free as a Bird" was chosen as being the song all three remaining Beatles could be involved in, as they could finish the arrangement and write extra lyrics. Jeff Lynne of The Electric Light Orchestra was asked to co-produce the record as he had worked with George Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys.

The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam) and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Helter Skelter". "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The Dakota building, where Lennon lived, composed and recorded a demo of the song on cassette
The Dakota building, where Lennon lived, composed and recorded a demo of the song on cassette

McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr originally intended to record some incidental background music (as a trio) for the Anthology project, but wanted to record new songs.[1] The Beatles had always agreed that if one of them did not agree with something the idea would be vetoed, so the only way they could reunite musically as The Beatles was if Lennon could be on the recording.[2]

McCartney then asked Ono if she had any unreleased recordings by Lennon, so she sent him cassette tapes of for songs.[3][4] "Free as a Bird" was recorded by Lennon in 1977, in his and Ono's Dakota building apartment in New York City, but was not complete. Lennon introduced the song on the cassette by imitating a New York accent and saying, "Free - as a boid" (bird).[5][6][7] The other songs were Grow Old with Me, Real Love, and Now and Then.[8] Ono said: "It was all settled before then, I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul. I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate.[9]

In an interview, McCartney remarked: "Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs. I said to Yoko, 'Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough. If it doesn't work out, you can veto it.' When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, 'What? What if we love it?' It didn't come to that, luckily".[9] McCartney was later surprised to learn that Lennon's demo song of "Free as a Bird" had already been released on the Internet by fans, and was widely available.[5][10] Starr admitted that when he first listened to the recording he found it very emotional.[11]

[edit] Recording

The remaining Beatles decided that Lynne would produce the record (as he had worked with George Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys) and not George Martin, who had produced most Beatles' material before then, because of Martin's problems with his hearing.[7] McCartney said: "George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run".[12]

The original tape of Lennon singing the song was on a cassette, with vocals and piano on the same track.[13] They were impossible to separate, so Lynne had to produce the track with voice and piano together, but commented that it was good for the integrity of the project, as Lennon was not only singing occasional lines, but also playing on the song.[14] Starr said that as Lennon was not in the studio, the three remaining Beatles agreed they would pretend that Lennon had "gone for lunch", or had gone for a "cup of tea".[15] The remaining Beatles recorded a track around Lennon's basic song idea, but which had gaps they had to fill in musically.[16] Some chords were changed (an F to an E suspended) and the arrangement was expanded to include breaks for McCartney and Harrison to sing extra lines. Harrison played slide guitar in the solo.[17]

The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex, England, at McCartney's home studio.[18] It ends with a slight coda, including a strummed ukulele by Harrison (an instrument for which McCartney and Harrison were known to have often played) and the voice of John Lennon played backwards.[19] The message, when played in reverse, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catch-phrase of George Formby.[7] The final result sounds like "made by John Lennon", which, according to McCartney, was unintentional and was only discovered after the surviving Beatles reviewed the final mix.[20] When Starr heard McCartney and Harrison singing the harmonies, and later the finished song, he said that it sounded just like them [The Beatles]. He explained his comment by saying that he looked at the project as "an outsider".[21] Lynne fully expected the finished to sound like The Beatles, as that was his premise for the project, but Harrison added: "It's gonna sound like them [The Beatles] if it is them... It sounds like them now" [in the present].[22]

McCartney, Harrison and Starr all agreed that the recording was more pleasurable than when they later recorded "Real Love" (the second song chosen for release) as it was almost finished, they had very little input, and felt like sidemen for Lennon.[23]

[edit] Structure

The song is the key of A Major, in a meter of 4/4, and uses the I-vi-iv-V7 model. The structure is composed of:
Intro
Verse (2X - Lennon)
Bridge (McCartney)
Verse (2X)
Bridge (Harrison - half-length)
Guitar solo (over a verse)
Verse
Outro[24]

[edit] Music video

The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam) and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Helter Skelter". Between 80 and 100 allusions to The Beatles' story, music and lyrics in the video have been estimated.[25] Although the bird can be heard at the beginning of the video, it is never seen. Neil Aspinall (Apple Records executive at the time) said that this was because no-one could agree on what kind of bird it should be.[26] Pytka had to send his ideas to McCartney, Harrison and Starr, as well as Ono, to make sure they all agreed before he could proceed with the filming of the video. Derek Taylor (ex-Apple Records executive) sent a two-page letter to Pytka confirming that he could proceed, and personally encouraged and supported Pytka's ideas.[27] The video was filmed in as many authentic locations as possible: Penny Lane was made by Pytka's art department to look as it was in the 1950s, and other locations filmed were The Liver Building, and Liverpool Docks (as a reference to Lennon's father Alfred Lennon).[28]

Although Pytka fixed the ideas on a storyboard, he abandoned it as soon as filming began, and followed ideas based on what angles and perspectives the steadycam camera produced. One instance was the filming of the car crash, which Pytka filmed for hours from above, but realised that a steadycam shot on the ground was a much better idea.[29] Archive footage was used by imposing it on scenes shot by Pytka, who utilised a greenscreen stage to digitally blend it into the finished film, such as the Old English Sheepdog in the graveyard, and the elephant in the ballroom procession scene.[30] The elephant was put in last, as Aspinall phoned Pytka and said that Starr liked the scene, but insisted an elephant be put in it, which Pytka later did, as he had already put a sitar in at the request of Harrison.[31] Apart from the steadycam shots, Pytka used a Russian-made Akil-crane for sweeping overhead shots, such as the Abbey Road zebra crossing shot at the end, as well as a remote-controlled toy helicopter with a camera added to it for intricate aerial shots.[32]

A ukulele, which Harrison played at the end of "Free as a Bird"
A ukulele, which Harrison played at the end of "Free as a Bird"

Harrison played the ukulele in the studio for the song, and asked to appear as the ukulele player seen only from behind at the very end of the video. Pytka resisted this, as he felt it would be wrong for any contemporary members of The Beatles to appear on screen. Pytka later stated that it was "heartbreaking" that Harrison had not played the role, particularly after Harrison's death in 2001 and upon discovering that the ukulele was not a sample of an old song as Pytka had assumed.[33] The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1997.[7]

[edit] Chart performance and critical reception

"Free as a Bird" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of 20 November 1995.[34] It was released as a single in the UK on 4 December 1995, two weeks after its appearance on the Anthology 1 album. The single sold 120,000 copies in its first week, entering the UK Singles Chart at #2, but it was kept off the #1 position by Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". It remained in the charts for 8 weeks.[35] In the U.S., the song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America.[6][36]

It was the first time a new recording had been released under The Beatles' name since "The Long and Winding Road" in 1970.[5][6] The promotional video was broadcast during episode one of "The Beatles Anthology" that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the U.S.[37][38]

"Free as a Bird" was greeted with mixed reviews. Its release was criticized by one writer in The Guardian as a publicity gimmick, exploiting The Beatles brand, and owing less to The Beatles than Lynne.[39] The Independent called the song "disappointingly low-key...George's guitar weeps gently enough when required, but the overall effect is of a dirge."[40] Chris Carter, who is the host of "Breakfast with The Beatles" on KLSX-FM in Los Angeles, commented: "I would value any song (especially if it was great) performed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, no matter how (or when) it was recorded."[41] "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[6]

[edit] Credits

[edit] Track listings

  • 7" UK: R6422 / USA: NR-58497
  1. "Free as a Bird" – 2:42
    • Original composition by Lennon; The Beatles version by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.
    • Produced by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starkey, and Lynne.
  2. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02
    • By Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.
    • Music recorded 28 November, 1967 at EMI Studios, London. Greetings recorded 6 December, 1966 at EMI Studios, London.
  • CD UK: CDR6422 / USA: CDP 58497
  1. "Free as a Bird" – 4:26
  2. "I Saw Her Standing There" – 2:51
    • By Lennon and McCartney Recorded 11 February, 1963 at EMI Studios, London. Produced by Martin.
    • This version (take 9) was recorded after the more familiar version released as an album track on Please Please Me. The introductory count-in from take 9 was actually edited onto the start of take 1 to create the version that can be heard on the Please Please Me album.
  3. "This Boy" – 3:17
    • By Lennon and McCartney. Recorded 17 October, 1963 at EMI Studios, London. Produced by Martin.
    • Here are two fun, but incomplete, versions (takes 12 and 13) of this song; both of them break down in laughter.
  4. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:00:43) Starr talking about incidental music for the Anthology project and songs.
  2. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:01:13) Harrison talking about the four’s veto agreement.
  3. ^ Bands tempted by reunion lucre. BBC (2001-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  4. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:01:58) Starr talking about McCartney asking Ono for unreleased songs by Lennon.
  5. ^ a b c Corliss, Richard (2001-06-24). Free as a Beatle. Time. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  6. ^ a b c d The Beatles’ biography. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  7. ^ a b c d Facts, Song. Free As A Bird by The Beatles. Songfacts. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  8. ^ Free As A Bird & Real Love. I am The Beatles. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  9. ^ a b Maclauchlan, Paul. Gobnotch's Recording Sessions Update. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  10. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:02:07) McCartney talking about unreleased songs by Lennon that were available before the surviving Beatles had heard them.
  11. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:02:17) Starr talking about how emotional the recordings were.
  12. ^ Jeff Lynne & The Beatles. Face the Music (2000-02-26). Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  13. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:03:00) McCartney talking about the quality of Lennon’s demo cassette.
  14. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:03:16) Lynne talking about the quality of Lennon’s demo cassette.
  15. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:02:39) Starr talking about the absence of Lennon on the recordings.
  16. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:03:33) Starr talking about the musical gaps in the song.
  17. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:03:50) Harrison talking about changing chords and arrangement in the song.
  18. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:06:47) McCartney talking about recording and finishing the song.
  19. ^ Montagne's, Renee (2002-11-26). Paul McCartney Gets Back to the Beatles. NPR. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  20. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (2005-09-18). Macca beyond. The Observer. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  21. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:06:26) Starr talking about how the finished song sounded “just like them” (The Beatles).
  22. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:06:47) Lynne and Harrison talking about how the finished song sounded “just like them” (The Beatles).
  23. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love - 0:08:09) McCartney talking about recording “Real Love”.
  24. ^ Pollack, Allan W.. Notes on "Free As A Bird". Allan W. Pollack. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  25. ^ Ingham, Chris (2003). tThe Rough Guide To the Beatles. Rough Guides, 93. ISBN 1-84353-140-2. 
  26. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:00:17) Pytka and Aspinall talking about the idea of a bird and song titles on the “Free as a Bird” video.
  27. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:01:06) Pytka talking about the agreement for his ideas.
  28. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:02:01) Pytka talking about the locations.
  29. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:04:44) Pytka talking about the storyboard.
  30. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:05:50) Pytka talking about the greenscreen.
  31. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:07:06) Pytka talking about the elephant and the sitar.
  32. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:07:38) Pytka talking about the Akila crane and the remote-controlled toy helicopter.
  33. ^ ”The Beatles Anthology” DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video - 0:10:16) Pytka talking about Harrison and the ukulele player.
  34. ^ Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide To the Beatles. Rough Guides, 92. ISBN 1-84353-140-2. 
  35. ^ (2006) British Hit Singles and Albums. Guinness World Records, 49. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  36. ^ Free as a Bird chart position. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
  37. ^ Gilmore, Mikal (2005-12-05). Lennon Lives Forever. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  38. ^ Sir Paul McCartney - Singer/Songwriter. BBC h2g2. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  39. ^ Caroline Sullivan, Caroline (1995-11-21). Do they believe in yesterday?. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  40. ^ Gill, Andy (1995-11-22). Money can buy you love. The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  41. ^ Rense, Rip (2005-08-21). [http://www.riprense.com/beatlessong.htm One More Beatles Song, or Should They Just Let It Be?]. The Rip Post. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Beatles' singles discography
UK:
(Parlophone,
Apple Records)
1962: "Love Me Do" • 1963: "Please Please Me", "From Me to You", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand" • 1964: "Can't Buy Me Love", "A Hard Day's Night", "I Feel Fine" • 1965: "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" • 1966: "Paperback Writer", "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" • 1967: "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane", "All You Need Is Love", "Hello Goodbye" • 1968: "Lady Madonna", "Hey Jude" • 1969: "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down", "Ballad of John and Yoko", "Something" / "Come Together" • 1970: "Let It Be" • 1976: "Yesterday", "Back in the U.S.S.R." • 1978: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" / "A Day in the Life" • 1982: "The Beatles Movie Medley", "Love Me Do" (reissue) • 1995: "Baby It's You", "Free as a Bird" • 1996: "Real Love"
B-sides
U.S.:
(Vee-Jay,
Swan,
Tollie,
Capitol,
Apple Records)
1963: "Please Please Me" (VJ), "From Me to You" (VJ), "She Loves You" (Swan), "I Want to Hold Your Hand" • 1964: "Twist and Shout" (Tollie), "Can't Buy Me Love", "Do You Want to Know a Secret" (VJ), "Love Me Do" (Tollie), "Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You)" (Swan), "A Hard Day's Night", "I'll Cry Instead", "And I Love Her", "Matchbox", "I Feel Fine" • 1965: "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Yesterday", "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" • 1966: "Nowhere Man", "Paperback Writer", "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" • 1967: "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever", "All You Need Is Love", "Hello, Goodbye" • 1968: "Lady Madonna", "Hey Jude" • 1969: "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down", "Ballad of John and Yoko", "Something" / "Come Together" • 1970: "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road" • 1976: "Got to Get You into My Life", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" • 1978: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" / "A Day in the Life" • 1982: "The Beatles Movie Medley" • 1986: "Twist and Shout" • 1995: "Baby It's You", "Free as a Bird" • 1996: "Real Love"
B-sides
1963: "Ask Me Why", "Thank You Girl", "I'll Get You", "I Saw Her Standing There" • 1964: "From Me to You", "There's a Place", "You Can't Do That", "I Should Have Known Better", "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You", "If I Fell", "Slow Down", "She's a Woman" • 1965: "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", "Yes It Is", "I'm Down", "Act Naturally" • 1966: "What Goes On", "Rain" • 1967: "Baby You're a Rich Man", "I Am the Walrus" • 1968: "The Inner Light", "Revolution" • 1969: "Old Brown Shoe" • 1970: "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", "For You Blue" • 1976: "Helter Skelter" • 1982: "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" • 1986: "There's a Place" • 1995: "I'll Follow the Sun" / "Devil in Her Heart" / "Boys", "I Saw Her Standing There" / "This Boy" / "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" • 1996: "Baby's in Black" / "Yellow Submarine" / "Here, There and Everywhere"