The Beatles (White Album) and The Iveys
by Tom Brennan
last update: November 26, 2008
On this 40th anniversary of the release of The Beatles 'White Album', I would like to cover two topics. First is present my own version of what music scholars have debated since the album's release in 1968, and that is, should the 'White Album' have been reduced to just one really good single album. I have used the mono mix of the album since that is the superior mix and the way The Beatles intended the album to sound. Second is to illustrate by using The Iveys as an example, how influential the album was immediate after its release, and also the experiences The Iveys had with The Beatles during 1968, specifically, Paul McCartney and Hey Jude.
White Album complete track listing (mono mix):
Side 1:
Back In The U.S.S.R. (2:44)
Dear Prudence (3:54)
Glass Onion (2:19)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (3:10)
Wild Honey Pie (0:55)
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (3:14)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4:49)
Happiness Is A Warm Gun (2:45)
Side 2:
Martha My Dear (2:29)
I'm So Tired (2:04)
Blackbird (2:20)
Piggies (2:04)
Rocky Raccoon (3:34)
Don't Pass Me By (3:48)
Why Don't We Do It In The Road? (1:42)
I Will (1:46)
Julia (2:56)
Side 3:
Birthday (2:43)
Yer Blues (4:15)
Mother Nature's Son (2:47)
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me & My Monkey (2:26)
Sexy Sadie (3:16)
Helter Skelter (3:41)
Long, Long, Long (3:04)
Side 4:
Revolution 1 (4:17)
Honey Pie (2:42)
Savoy Truffle (2:55)
Cry Baby Cry (2:35)
Can You Take Me Back? (0:28)
Revolution 9 (8:22)
Good Night (3:19)
Overall, side 1 of the album is the strongest of the four and has the most classic songs and potential hit songs, while side 4 is the weakest. To cut the White Album's 30 tracks (actually 31 if you count 'Can You Take Back?' from the 'I Will' sessions) down to the standard British 14 tracks requires some guidelines to be set and a little sacrifice of some favorite songs. The first songs to get the ax are all the experimental and throwaway tracks: 'Revolution 9', 'Wild Honey Pie', 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road?', 'Can You Take Me Back?'. Next to be cut would be all the tracks that are more appropriate on solo albums: 'Martha My Dear', 'Blackbird', 'Piggies', 'Rocky Raccoon', 'I Will', 'Julia', 'Mother Nature's Son', 'Honey Pie'. These major cuts get us down to 19 tracks. "Bungalow Bill" and "Monkey" will be dropped, as they are more like John & Yoko tracks and are not as strong as songs. Actually, I toiled over dropping "Monkey" and almost kept it since it is a rocker, but that bell in the song can get on your nerves, so it was cut.
That gets us to 17 tracks. Ringo had to have at least one vocal, so I kept his song (which is better anyway) rather than his rendition of John's song, 'Good Night'. Now we're down to 16. 'Revolution 1' goes because it is a rough work-in-progress and was remade as the faster, single version later. One more to go. 'Cry Baby Cry' was the hardest song to cut, but it could also be considered as another candidate for a Lennon solo album and is not as appropriate as a Beatles track as other songs are. Some would argue that George should only have 2 songs on the album, but I kept 3 of his 4 since his songwriting was improving at this time, and I also considered the fact the George had 3 songs on "Revolver" also. A lot of Paul's songs were not appropriate as full group songs, so most of his tracks ended up being cut which left more room for John's and George's songs in the end.
Single disc LP version of the mono mix of the White Album (45:27)
Side 1 (23:29):
Back In The U.S.S.R. (2:44)
Dear Prudence (3:54)
Glass Onion (2:19)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (3:10)
Don't Pass Me By (3:48)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4:49)
Happiness Is A Warm Gun (2:45)
Side 2 (21:58):
Birthday (2:43)
Yer Blues (4:15)
I'm So Tired (2:04)
Savoy Truffle (2:55)
Sexy Sadie (3:16)
Helter Skelter (3:41)
Long, Long, Long (3:04)
The Iveys - "Hey Jude" and "The White Album"
by Tom Brennan
July 23-26: Iveys sessions at Trident Studios.
July 29-30: Beatles sessions at Abbey Road Studios
July 31-August 2:
Beatles sessions at Trident Studios
It was July of 1968 and The Iveys were having their first sessions to come up with their debut single for Apple Records. On Friday, July 26, 1968, Paul McCartney visited the mixing room at the end of an Iveys session at Trident Studios and offered some advice while 'I'm In Love', a track that would eventually appear on their first Apple album, was being mixed. While there, he went into the studio and played them his new song, 'Hey Jude', solo on the piano, and asked their opinion. Earlier that same day, John Lennon was at Paul McCartney's house to help put the finishing touches on writing the song. On Monday, July 29, The Beatles started sessions for the song, rehearsing at Abbey Road Studios, before moving to Trident for proper recording on July 31.
Tommy Evans: Anyway, he went down the basement in the studio, got on the drum kit, tried the kit, you know, the sound out and whatever. He got on the piano and started playing this song. He said, "I've just been to John's." He said, "he didn't like this song. I've been working with him... really weren't getting anywhere with it, so, I don't think we'll use it, but what do you think of it?" And he... It was like (sings: "Hey Jude, don't make it bad") and he was doing all the (sings drum bits)... all the drum bits, and at the end of it he said, "what do you think of it? Do you think it's any good?" You know in the McCartneyesque type way... the innocence that he has in his eyes. We were just like young kids, going "what can you say?"
Mike Gibbins: The first time we met Paul... We were in Trident Studios and Paul came in to see how we were progressing 'cause we'd just signed with Apple, and he came down into the studio. Me and Ron Griffiths were breaking up the equipment and getting our stuff for the roadies to get rid of, and Paul came down and sat at the piano, the Steinway, and started playing 'Hey Jude', and it wasn't even recorded yet. They were gonna record it that week. He told me... he said, "this is a song that me and John just wrote. What do you think of it?" And he started playing it and he sang the whole thing. He sang it all the way through. He did the drums with his mouth. He sang it like a bird. Me and Ron was like [makes amazed look on his face]. 'Cause everything that The Iveys did was really fast. And this guy was playing slow and easy. He was God. Wasn't he? He was the Beatle. Don't forget, The Beatles were like still number one... And he asked us if we like it. And we said, "yeah, I think it'll do." Then he came upstairs to listen to what we did [makes embarassed look].
Ron Griffiths: We didn't know it, but Paul McCartney had dropped into the studio upstairs in the mixing room. He was listening to what we'd done and he came down, and said to Mike, "Hey, I like that. That's very nice what you lads have just done." And using that as an excuse, I suppose, he lolloped up behind this grand piano that was on the studio floor, and he said, "Come on over and listen to this. This is gonna be our next single." So, he started playing away, and he was looking at us. He gave it the full concert performance. He didn't do it half-baked. He sang us 'Hey Jude' and Mike and me are at the other end of the piano, sort of leaning on the uh, overlooking the innards, looking at each other thinking, this can't be happening to us, but it was. As he was singing it, he was likening parts of it to different songs. He wasn't sort of saying, this is totally original. "There's a bit of so & so in there." And he carried on through it, and yeah, it was a marvelous experience.
Tommy Evans: McCartney... We were in the studio one night. He said I've just been writing a song now and he played it for us. It's 'Hey Jude', and he played us a bit in it that's like 'Spanish Harlem'. He said, "this bit's like Spanish Harlem here."
Following the release of the 'Hey Jude'/'Revolution' single in August and the "White Album" in November, The Iveys wasted no time in learning some of the new Beatles songs for their live act. Because of some surviving BBC Radio One recordings, we can confirm at least two songs that were performed. The first was the single version of 'Revolution' sung by Pete Ham, but unfortunately the DJ introducing the song screwed up and said that George Harrison wrote it! Ham plays his own unique arrangement of the guitar part. The Iveys' version is only just slightly slower than The Beatles' version. The other song covered was 'Birthday' with Tom Evans singing lead on the verses, and Ron Griffiths singing lead on the bridges. Pete Ham supports with backing vocals throughout and uses a wah-wah effect on his guitar solo. *One other song that Ron Griffiths can recall playing live was 'Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da' and that was due to the fans in the audience shouting it out as a request.
"Birthday" by The Iveys from Radio One.
credits: Tommy Evans interview by Glenn A. Baker, 1983; Badfinger's Rolling Stone interview (Tom Evans quote), 1971; Mike Gibbins interview by Gary Katz, 1997; Ron Griffiths interview from Radio Wales, 2008; Iveys session dates from Dan Matovina; Beatles session dates from Mark Lewisohn. * email question to Ron Griffiths by Tom Brennan, November 26, 2008.