brendan2's Full Review: Free as a Bird [Single] by The Beatles
The Free As A Bird single was released on December 12, 1995, as a companion piece to The Beatles' Anthology 1, a collection of outtakes, live performances, and unreleased songs. The song Free As A Bird was the first time John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr appeared on one recording since the breakup of the Beatles in 1970. For fans whose hopes of a Beatles reunion were crushed when Lennon was murdered in 1980, this song was as close as we would ever get to a real reunion.
Free As A Bird was a song written and recorded by Lennon at his home in 1977. He recorded the song only as a demo and never got around to completing it, and so the original recording featured only a piano accompanying John's vocals. Almost 20 years later, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, gave the mono cassette tape to Paul, George, and Ringo, who, with the help of co-producer Jeff Lynne, expanded the cassette into 48-track analogue form. They wrote a bridge for the song, and added instruments and vocals to the original recording. The lyrics for the song, both Lennon's originals and the 1994 additions, are quite good.
Ringo’s drums, Paul’s bass guitar, George’s and Paul’s acoustic guitars, Paul’s piano, and George’s electric and slide guitar were all added to the original recording, which had featured only John’s piano. Paul, George, and Ringo also added their background vocals, with Paul taking the lead on the bridge, which John had not written for his demo. The result is a musically rich and full stereo recording, from a simple mono cassette demo made in 1977.
The song begins with Ringo tapping the drums and George on slide guitar. Although John’s vocals actually sound rather weak (but still good), considering that the producers were working with a nearly 20 year old tape, the result is pretty amazing. Paul’s vocals on the bridge sound much stronger than John’s, and the backing vocals by George, Paul and Ringo sound gorgeous. The music for the song sounds great, and George has a beautiful slide guitar solo. Just when things get silent and it seems the song is over, Ringo's rapping drums reappear, followed by an unintelligible comment by John. The song ends with the sounds of a ukulele (played by George).
This single also features three tracks that did not appear on Anthology 1: I Saw Her Standing There (Take 9), This Boy (Takes 12 and 13), and Christmas Time (Is Here Again). The version of Free As A Bird itself does not differ from the Anthology 1 version, but if you are a Beatles completist or just really enjoyed the Anthologies, you will have to pick this single up too.
I Saw Her Standing There (Take 9)
This version features the same words as the released version, which appeared on Please Please Me and was actually take 1. Here, on take 9, the vocals sound slightly different, as do the guitars and drums, but the released version is superior. It is interesting that so many takes were recorded, but the best was actually the first one.
This Boy (Takes 12 and 13)
This track begins with some studio chatter, followed by take 12 of This Boy, which is quickly halted due to numerous mistakes and followed by some more chatter before take 13 begins. It seems the boys were confused about whether they should say "This boy" or "That boy." The released version of this song, take 15, was the B-side of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and appears on Past Masters Volume 1.
Christmas Time Is Here Again
Back in the old days, members of the Beatles fan club received a special Christmas greeting from the Beatles on record. The 1967 record featured some clips from this song among the Beatles talking, and the song is finally presented for the first time in its uninterrupted form. Basically, the lyrics consist of the words "Christmas time is here again" repeated over and over, with some interjections of "O-U-T spells out." Near the end of the song, there are some 1966 spoken messages from Paul, John, George, and Ringo. The track ends with a story by John, accompanied by gusting winds which seem to drown him out completely.
The Free As A Bird single has gone out of print in the U.S., but you can still get it imported from some places. The prices are often ridiculous (amazon.com was actually trying to sell it for $24.99 last time I checked), but you can always check eBay to find a more reasonable price. If you enjoyed the Anthologies or just want to get a taste of what the Anthologies offer, you may want to check this single out. And, of course, if you are an obsessive Beatles fan, you probably own this already, and if you don’t, you should.
NOTE: The video for Free As A Bird can be found on the Anthology DVD set.
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