Chapter 10: For What It's Worth (January - November 1968)

January - May 1968

As 1967 drew to a close, Pink Floyd brought in a second guitarist, Syd Barrett's roommate from Cambridge Tech, David Gilmour. Known for being a member of Joker's Wild, Gilmour was asked to join the group by Roger Waters out of concern that Barrett's unpredictable behavior would hamper the band.

The 1968-1971 lineup for Pink Floyd.

Waters' concerns were not unjustified; Barrett was slowly showing signs of having a mental breakdown, most likely due to an over-consumption of LSD. Waters even tried taking Barrett to a doctor to nip the latter's breakdown in the bud before it affected their surroundings for the worst. Whilst it seemed to work out okay, Barrett would eventually show signs again, and the cycle would continue.[1]

DAVID GILMOUR: "The first half of '68 was rather eventful since I first joined Pink Floyd. Syd seemed to have fried his brain with lysergic, Roger was trying to keep him from completely losing it, and Nick was out producing for the Yardbirds. That sort of left me and Rick on our own." (1987)

Despite Syd's troublesome antics, the band still managed to record material for their third album, such as Barrett's "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", both written directly about his madness, as well as "Apple and Oranges", a track chosen for a potential single release. Meanwhile, Roger would contribute "Corporal Clegg", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Julia Dream" and Rick Wright brought up "Paintbox" and "See-Saw". Being a new member, Gilmour had no songs to contribute of his own, and nor did Mason due to work on the Yardbirds' Dazed and Confused.

Although Barrett had contributed a little over half of the album, the final result was still considered a group effort by the quintet.

12 July 1968

Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream

Released: 12 July 1968

Recorded: August 1967 - May 1968

Producer: Norman Smith

Track listing[2]

Side A

Vegetable Man

Apples and Oranges

Corporal Clegg

Golden Hair/Paintbox

Scream Thy Last Scream

Side B
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

In the Beechwoods

Julia Dream

See-Saw

Jugband Blues

Although it took well over nine months to record, especially as the sessions began during the latter half of the sessions for The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Scream Thy Last Scream was a commercial success in the United Kingdom, reaching #9, but it did not chart at all in the United States. Reviews for the album were generally positive, citing David Gilmour as a welcome addition. Nick Mason would even go far as to say it was his favorite Pink Floyd album.

ROGER WATERS: "Dave really saved our asses there when Syd started to go mad. I don't know what could've happened if we'd just stuck with Syd." (1985)

With Syd Barrett temporarily under control, Pink Floyd would carry on as a quintet for more albums to come. Although Barrett was still a member of the band, he would not join them when they were out touring, giving him the chance to go into rehab and spend time with his family. Of course, that was all on Syd to decide.

30 May - 13 October 1968

George Martin, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr during the recording for Beatles '68, 1968.

GEORGE MARTIN: "They came in with a whole welter of songs - I think there were over forty, actually - and I was a bit overwhelmed by them, and yet underwhelmed at the same time because some of them weren't great. ... I thought we should probably have made a very, very good single album rather than a double - a triple, perhaps - but they had planned about making a more traditional album and a rock opera, both being recording simultaneously." (The Beatles Anthology, 2000)

To compensate for the recording of two Beatles albums simultaneously, George Martin had brought in engineer Geoff Emerick and young record producer Chris Thomas to assist in the production. The first song that was tracked was a political number John Lennon had called "Revolution", and it was done in an acoustic blues style. He had pushed for it to be a single, but it was vetoed in favor of "Hey Jude", but "Revolution" still ended up as its B-side, albeit in a much faster and heavier tone.

Most of what would end up on Beatles '68 (working title, A Doll's House, which was Lennon's idea after the play by Henrik Ibsen; it was rejected after a band called Family had used the title Music in a Doll's House that July) was perhaps some of the most serious the group had ever recorded. The sessions had begun with "Good Night" on 28 June and stretched all the way out to "Julia" on 13 October, both penned by Lennon, with the former sung by Ringo Starr for Lennon's son Julian.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1968.

Whilst recording for both Beatles '68 and Alice in Wonderland was taking place, Lennon had went into the studio with girlfriend Yoko Ono to record a piece dubbed "Revolution 9", with had origins tracing from the acoustic rendition of "Revolution". The track had run for over ten minutes with the official song at the first three, and then the remainder was spent on Lennon making strange vocal noises.

JOHN LENNON: "'Revolution 9' was an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; just like a drawing of a revolution." (1970)

"Revolution 9" wasn't the only instance of extended jamming in the studio; Paul McCartney's "Helter Skelter" had a version that lasted well over twenty minutes, something that was completely unheard of by then. For the official album, it was reduced to 3:44, whilst the final forty-five seconds were tacked onto the end of the album after ten seconds of silence following "Good Night", becoming the first example of a hidden track on an album. It ends with Lennon asking "How was that?", immediately followed by Starr screaming "I got blisters on my fingers!"

But if any track was to be considered a highlight, it was George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The initial version was a solo acoustic by Harrison, but it soon became harder and more bluesy, especially with the inclusion of a guitar solo performed by Eric Clapton. During a session in early September, it would become the first Beatles song recorded using eight tracks.

Jackie Lomax and George Harrison, 1968.

Harrison's other track, "Not Guilty", had taken a hundred takes to get a version that he liked. He had written this track concerning his then-present relationship with Paul McCartney following the band's falling out with the Maharishi.[3] (It is also said to be believed as a response to John Lennon, but this is a rumor both Lennon and Harrison have denied.)

GEORGE HARRISON: "I said I wasn't guilty of getting in the way of his career. I said I wasn't guilty of leading him astray in our going to Rishikesh to see the Maharishi. I was sticking up for myself." (1999)

The final track listing for Beatles '68 had five songs each from John and Paul, two from George and one from Ringo given to him by John. Starr's sole contribution, "Don't Pass Me By", was left off of the album due to time constraints.

22 November 1968

The Beatles - Beatles '68

Released: 22 November 1968

Recorded: 28 June - 13 October 1968

Producer: George Martin

Track listing[4]

Side A

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Dear Prudence

Mother Nature's Son

Not Guilty

Sexy Sadie

Helter Skelter

Julia

Side B
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Yer Blues

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Revolution

Hey Jude

Good Night

The biggest surprise out of the Beatles' first studio album under the Apple banner was the inclusion of both "Revolution" and "Hey Jude". In the case of the latter, instead of being seven minutes long per the single release, to fit the album constraints, it was reduced to five minutes in length, another first for any album.[5]

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I think [Beatles '68] was a very good album. It stood up, but it wasn't the most pleasant album to make, due to a lot of projects going on at the same time. The songs are quite varied; I think it's a fine album." (1995)

Like many Beatles albums before it, Beatles '68 reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in many other parts of the world. Critical reception was also very favorable, with The New York Times dubbing it was more imaginative than Merseyside as they focused more on the songwriting rather than the studio tricks. Some criticism came down to the fact that the album was dubbed "too heavy" with gentle ballads few and far in between, as well as the shortening of "Hey Jude". However, those were a vocal minority, but even the harshest critics singled out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as the true highlight of the album.

The Beatles performing "Hey Jude" on Frost on Sunday, 8 September 1968. The performance was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who also directed the music videos for "Paperback Writer" and Rain". Lindsay-Hogg is also the head of Apple Films.

In 2003, Rolling Stone would rank Beatles '68 at #10 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with Rubber Soul, Abracadabra and Merseyside being ranked at #5, #3 and #1 respectively. Considered to be the Beatles' heaviest album to date, many artists such as Joe Strummer, Dave Grohl, John Lydon, Kevin Ayers, Billie Joe Armstrong, Adam Levine and Mike Shinoda have commented about the influence of the album on their music. Roger Waters even praised it for being an inspiration to the sound on his first solo album, Bricks in The Wall.

GEORGE MARTIN: "A lot of people I know still think it's still the best album they made. I later learned that by recording all those songs for this one and Alice in Wonderland, they were getting rid of their contract with EMI more quickly." (The Beatles Anthology, 2000)

Footnotes

1. Syd Barrett was kicked out of the band after a frustrating session for a song titled "Have You Got It Yet?" That was the climax which led to Syd being kicked out of Pink Floyd. With him under control (for now), he stays in the band for at least a few more years.
2. Tracks are sourced from The Early Singles (A2, A4b, B3), A Saucerful of Secrets (A3, B1, B4, B5), The Early Years 1965-1972 (B2), as well as the bootleg The Syd Barrett Tapes (A1, A5) and Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs (A4a). "Golden Hair" and "Paintbox" are both cross faded together to form a medley.
3. "Not Guilty" was indeed a contender for The White Album, but it was left out at the eleventh hour and eventually re-recorded in a more jazz arrangement for George Harrison in 1979.
4. All tracks are taken from the 2018 remaster of The White Album, excluding "Revolution" and "Hey Jude", taken from Past Masters. "Not Guilty" has opening dialogue removed which trimmed it to 4:18, the fade-in from "Helter Skelter" is cut and tacked on after six seconds of silence following "Good Night", and "Hey Jude" is cut to 5:05, and therefore fades out earlier, matching the version found on the US edition of 20 Greatest Hits.
5. As mentioned, "Hey Jude" is trimmed down to 5:05 and fades out earlier; some artists tend to release shorter versions of songs on the album whilst longer versions come out on singles - for example, "I Want to Break Free" from Queen's The Works.

Author's Comments

There's quite a bit going on, isn't there? Pink Floyd is now a somewhat stable quintet, and the Beatles are now seemingly going in a new direction thanks to the influence of John and George's newly formed bond from India. Oh yeah, and Ringo never quit the band; I didn't mention that in the narrative, but I think we can conclude that it didn't happen due to butterflies.

Right now, we've reached the midway point of Phase One, nearing the tail end of 1968. What's gonna happen as the decade comes to a close? Which loose ends have yet to be tied up (I'd love to hear suggestions regarding this so-called battle of the bands mentioned in chapter seven)? Who else will end up being affected by the point of divergence a few years back? One thing that I'll say for now is that Richard Nixon still ends up being President in this timeline. At least for now, politics haven't been affected in the world.

Let me know how you've been enjoying this plausible nonsense so far; I'd love to hear your feedback!