![]() ![]() A raid of the Studio Two trap room allowed for two additional and separately taped tracks – sometimes combined together and sometimes split. ![]() Tape reduction made room for the “Goon” type sound effects. ![]() The instruments were recorded a half-step higher and vocals a half-step lower than now heard. Ringo’s vocal and all four Beatles singing backing vocals are all heard right. The basic tracks contain John’s Jumbo, George’s tambourine, Ringo’s drums and Paul’s bass – all heard left. Lennon: Always thinking of him, you see, at times like this. McCartney: Yeah, the bit… ‘Dut-ta-da, da-dut-ta-da.’ Lennon: And it made sense to make it into… Lennon: And wasn’t the other bit something that I had already going, and we put them together? I seem to remember, like, the submarine, the chorus bit, you coming in with it. Matthew: John, earlier before we started recording, you said it was in effect written as two separate songs. I heard a funny sort of story that you used to perform this to your nephews. And the only way to do that would be to have it so kids could understand it, and anyone could take it on any level. McCartney: We just sort of thought, we have to have a song. What were you setting out to write? I mean, did you think of a song for Ringo in the first place, or what? I suppose I thought of the idea and then John and I wrote it. McCartney: No, it’s the old patty, you know. A little-known cool cover version of "Mellow Yellow" was done by the jazz-soul combo Young Holt Unlimited.Brian Matthew: Who was principally responsible, Paul or John? ![]() The famous lyrical reference to an electric banana gave rise to fantastic rumors that smoking banana peels would get you high, though the words were surely intended in a lighthearted humorous fashion, not as a serious revelation. That partying atmosphere, something like a bridge between the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need Is Love" ambience, sticks with the rest of the song, particularly the fadeout. (Though those whispers have sometimes been rumored to have been voiced by Donovan's friend Paul McCartney, actually these were by Donovan.) After a near drum-roll of a turnaround, the song glides into an instrumental break of celebratory partying, with voices whooping it up as a striptease-like brass section takes over the main riff. It was certainly difficult not to sing along with that chorus, too, particularly as it was immediately rejoined by a responsive knowing, nudge-nudge affirmative whisper. Only in 19, perhaps, would that nickname be worn as a badge of honor, but it fit in well with the psychedelic era, when the more outrageous the language and flouting of convention, the better. What makes this a psychedelic folk-rocker, rather than a sassy jazz tune, is the insistent chorus in which Donovan gleefully announces that they call him Mellow Yellow. The verses are certainly mighty melodic in a pop folk-rock fashion, with the singer's sly declarations of love for various fantastic women accompanied by only minimal electric guitar and bass. The big hook in "Mellow Yellow" is not a riff or note, but a jazzy walking beat which carries the instrumental intro until Donovan's usual breathy vocal makes its entrance. Countercultural bliss, of course, did not prohibit commercial success, and "Mellow Yellow" was a very big hit, reaching number two in the U.S. "Mellow Yellow," in tandem with its predecessor "Sunshine Superman," established Donovan as the ultimate bearer of good vibes at the dawn of the psychedelic era. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |