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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).
"Free as a Bird"
Song
B-side"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"

"Free as a Bird" is a song, single and video released by The Beatles in December 1995 as part of their "reunion" and promotion for the release of the video documentary Anthology and their Anthology 1 compilation album.

Origins

"Free as a Bird" was originally a piece of music that John Lennon composed, but never completed. The original Lennon recording was made circa 1977 in New York City. Yoko Ono gave a basic recording of the unfinished music to the remaining Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) who reunited to finalise and record the completed song.

The Beatles version

The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March, 1994 in Sussex, England. According to interviews, the group treated the song as though Lennon had gone on holiday and had left the song for them to complete. The original demo had to be stretched and cleaned up, as Lennon's voice was notably shaky and slightly out of time.

The song features a classic Beatles arrangement, layered with drums, guitars (acoustic and electric), bass guitar, piano, and harmonized Beatle voices.

It ends with a slightly psychedelic coda including a strummed ukulele (an instrument for which McCartney and Harrison have expressed fondness[1]) and the backward voice of John Lennon. The message, when played backward, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catch-phrase of George Formby, whom Harrison and Lennon admired. This line has been noticed by many fans as it sounds like it's saying 'my name is John Lennon'. Most fans believed this was intended to be the case, until it was revealed it was in fact simply the phrase 'Turned out nice again' being played backwards. According to McCartney, the result was unintentional and was discovered only after the surviving Beatles completed the single and reviewed the result, which arguably sounds more like 'Major Tom Leonard' than 'My name is John Lennon'. [2]

The video

The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. It 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 other Beatles songs and events. Also The Beatles themselves appear several times along the clip.

On the Beatles Anthology DVD set extra material, Pytka relates how George Harrison, who played the ukelele on the song, asked to be allowed to play the ukelele player — who is seen only from behind — but the director refused, as he felt it would be wrong for any "new" Beatles to appear in the video. Pytka explained that after Harrison's death in 2001, and on discovering that it was he who played the instrument rather than it having been a sample of an old song, he regretted not having allowed Harrison to play the role.

Critical reception

The song was released in November 1995, the promotional video being broadcast during episode one of "The Beatles Anthology" that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the US. Its release was criticized by some commentators as an unimpressive track, owing less to The Beatles than Jeff Lynne, being used as a publicity gimmick, or cashing in on The Beatles brand.[3] However, "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Track listings

  • 7" UK: R6422 / US: NR-58497
  1. "Free as a Bird" - 2:42
    • Original composition by Lennon; Beatles version by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.
    • Produced by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starkey and Jeff 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 / US: CDP 58497
  1. "Free as a Bird" - 4:26
  2. "I Saw Her Standing There" - 2:51
    • By McCartney and Lennon. Recorded 11 February, 1963 at EMI Studios, London. Produced by George Martin.
    • This version (take 9) was recorded before 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 George 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

References

  1. ^ Montagne, Renee (26 November 2002). "Paul McCartney Gets Back to the Beatles". National Public Radio. Retrieved 26 February 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (18 September 2005). "Macca beyond". Observer. Retrieved 26 February 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Do they believe in yesterday? Caroline Sullivan reports from the Savoy Hotel on the launch of the second wave of Beatlemania -- article from The Guardian, November 21, 1995
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