Free as a Bird
| "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 around 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 song features a classic Beatles arrangement, layered with drums, guitars (acoustic and electric), bass guitar, piano, and harmonized Beatle voices. The recording bears a strong resemblance to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1991 song "Into the Great Wide Open," produced and co-written by "Free As A Bird"'s co-producer Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra.
The song ends with a slightly psychedelic coda including a strummed ukulele (an instrument for which McCartney and Harrison have expressed fondness) 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, who Lennon admired. According to McCartney, the reference was unintentional and was discovered only after the surviving Beatles completed the single and reviewed the result.
"Free as a Bird" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the video won the Award for Best Short Form Music Video. The Free as a Bird video was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to other Beatles songs and events, including "Chairman Mao" Zedong, Eleanor Rigby's grave, the crashed car from A Day in the Life, the writer of Paperback Writer, the flower saleswoman of Penny Lane, the barber of the same song and the Helter Skelter amusement park ride. The Blue Meanies, from Yellow Submarine, can be sighted many times. Also The Beatles themselves appear several times along the clip, in chronological order, starring John Lennon dancing with Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney, in the Fool on the Hill promo film.
The song debuted 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.
Track listings
- 7" R6422
- "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.
- "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 CDR6422
- "Free as a Bird" - 4:26
- "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 12 to create the version that can be heard on the Please Please Me album.
- "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.
- "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" - 3:02
External links