The Beatles - "Rain"
This is the song that formed what Oasis wanted to be - and clearly wasn't.
"Rain" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first released in June 1966 as the B-side of the "Paperback Writer" single.[1] Both songs were recorded during the sessions for Revolver but neither appears on that album.
Written primarily by John Lennon, "Rain" has been called The Beatles' finest B-side, especially notable for its heavy sonic presence and backwards vocals, both of which were a hint of things to come on Revolver, released two months later.[2][3][4]
The inspiration for "Rain" is agreed on by Neil Aspinall, the Beatles' roadie, and John Lennon. They both described the band's arrival in Australia, marked by rain and poor weather.[7] Lennon said, "I've never seen rain as hard as that, except in Tahiti", and later explained that "Rain" was "about people moaning about the weather all the time".[8]
Recording began on 14 April 1966, in the same session as "Paperback Writer", and concluded on 16 April, with a series of overdubs before mixing on the same day.[3][9] At that time, The Beatles were enthused about experimenting in the studio to achieve new sounds and effects.[10] These experiments were showcased in their influential seventh album, Revolver. Geoff Emerick, who was the engineer for both sessions, described one technique he used to alter the sonic texture of the track by recording the backing track "faster than normal." After playing the tape normally, "the music had a radically different tonal quality.[11] A similar technique was used to alter the tone of Lennon's lead vocal. It was recorded with the tape machine being slowed down, so making Lennon's voice sound higher when played back at normal speed.[12] The last verse of "Rain" includes backwards vocals, which was one of the first uses of this technique on a record.[6][13] The backwards vocals are Lennon singing the first lyrics of the song: "If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads."[citation needed] Both Lennon and producer George Martin have claimed credit for the idea; Lennon said:
| “ | After we'd done the session on that particular song—it ended at about four or five in the morning—I went home with a tape to see what else you could do with it. And I was sort of very tired, you know, not knowing what I was doing, and I just happened to put it on my own tape recorder and it came out backwards. And I liked it better. So that's how it happened.[14] | ” |
Emerick confirms Lennon's creative accident, but Martin remembers it differently:
| “ | I was always playing around with tapes and I thought it might be fun to do something extra with John's voice. So I lifted a bit of his main vocal off the four-track, put it on another spool, turned it around and then slid it back and forth until it fitted. John was out at the time but when he came back he was amazed.[3][11] | ” |
The "Paperback Writer"/"Rain" single was the first release to use a new device invented by the maintenance department at Abbey Road called "ATOC" for "Automatic Transient Overload Control". The new device allowed the record to be cut at a louder volume, louder than any other single up to that time.[15] On the final mix of the single, Lennon was on lead vocal and rhythm guitar (1964 Gretsch 6120 "Nashville"). Paul McCartney was on backing vocal as well as bass guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S). George Harrison was on backing vocal and lead guitar (1962 Gibson Les Paul (SG) Standard). Finally, Ringo Starr played drums (Ludwig) and tambourine.[4][9]
Credits
- John Lennon: double tracked lead vocal and rhythm guitar.
- Paul McCartney: bass and backing vocal.
- George Harrison: lead guitar and backing vocal.
- Ringo Starr: drums and tambourine.
Musical structure
While technologically elaborate, "Rain" has a simple musical structure. Set in the key of G major, it begins with what Alan W. Pollack calls, "a ra-ta-tat half-measure's fanfare of solo snare drums", followed by a guitar intro of the first chord. The verses are nine measures long, and the song is in 4/4 time. Each verse is based on the G, C, and D chords (I, IV, and V). The refrain contains only I and IV chords, and is twelve measures long (the repetition of a six-measure pattern). The first two measures are the G chord. The third and fourth measures are the C chord. The third measure has the C chord in the so-called 6/4 (second) inversion. The fifth and sixth measures return to the G chord. The refrain, though seemingly slower than the verse, is at the same tempo. Pollack says this illusion is achieved by "the change of beat for the first four measures from its erstwhile bounce to something more plodding and regular". After four verses and two refrains, a short solo for guitar and drums is played, with complete silence for one beat. What is heard next is what Pollack calls "historically significant" reverse lyrics.[16]
The song's highest chart position in the U.S. was #23 (11 June 1966). The "Paperback Writer" single reached #1 in the UK (for two weeks starting on 23 June 1966).[9] "Rain" is one of the Beatles's most critically acclaimed songs, appearing on a number of best-of lists, including Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (#463).[24] AcclaimedMusic.net, a site which combines hundreds of such lists from around the world, ranks "Rain" at #557 on the Top 3000 Songs, the 22nd highest-rated Beatle song on the site.[25][26]
Notable in "Rain" is Ringo Starr's drumming which Starr himself rates as his best performance.[27] Critics agreed: both Ian MacDonald and Rolling Stone said his drumming was "superb" and Richie Unterberger of Allmusic praised his "creative drum breaks".[13][28][29]
"Rain" has been covered numerous times since its release, including versions by Petula Clark, Ibex, Humble Pie, Shonen Knife, The Punkles and The Allman Brothers. The Grateful Dead performed the song numerous times throughout the 1990s, often as an encore. Kula Shaker covered the song live at Reading Festival in 1996. Pearl Jam covered the song during their 1992 Pinkpop Festival show. Paul Weller of the Jam recorded a version of the song which appears on their boxset Directon, Creation, Reaction. Todd Rundgren has also covered the song.[9] Johnny Falstaff recorded a version of the song which appears on his album Honky Tonkin' Daddy.
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