Documentary of Tomorrow Never Knows

[JOE11096]

when I first heard of the beatles in the 90s, thought they were just a teenage heart throb love song band, this song changed my perception of the beatles when I first heard it and led me to listen to more beatle songs and I got hook

[imcarrying]

I love this back cover it's sooo cool and modern and copied...

[TheJaything]

Groovy!

[FamousTonyC]

The Beatles---particularly John Lennon---were far ahead of their time. Even today their music stands apart as works of art. Between Revolver (which IMO is a better album than---) and SGT Pepper's, this band set a standard that cannot be matched by any artist or group. You can hear elements of their style in every popular rock band of the modern era (think U2.) Simply incredible.

[redletter2008]

@FamousTonyC I agree that Revolver is the better LP. Pepper is a fine piece of work, but it is (IMO) too Paul & too little John & George. Revolver is an amazingly creative, edgy and polished record with a far more "balanced" distribution of the member's talents (songwriting, vocals, instruments). Many people (now and certainly then) loved the Beatles because they had 4 unique members that TOGETHER created something very special. We loved that each sang lead & had their own "moment" in the sun.

[ungassy]

I'm a 25 year old Beatlemaniac. Most people think Im weird but ... fuck them!

THE BEATLES FOREVER!

[HeavySabre70]

@ungassy I have no idea why anyone would think u are weird for liking the Beatles.They are a human phenomenon of 20th century popular culture and are known in every country of the world.They say a Beatles song is playing somewhere around the world non-stop every second of any minute of every hour or every day.Very few rock groups are as universally loved and respected as the Beatles.To like the Beatles is about as weird as eating a bowl of cornflakes.Who are these 'most people' u talk about?

[bluechao]

@ungassy The music is timeless, you're not weird. They broke up before I was able to talk, I had to discover them later too (I was six or seven then in the late 70's). By that point this song was already more than 10 years old. Now it's more than 45 years old and it's still fresh.

[rohedron]

Thanks for putting this up John, great to have an insight into one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

[clumpft]

Never underestimate the power of drone.

[rohedron]

@clumpft exactly o!

[5jerry1]

This is quite possibly my favorite Beatles track.

[littleitalyblogspot]

Most of their music wasn't possible without George Martin.

[KingSandwell]

"Whenever in doubt, Turn off your mind, relax, float downstream" Timothy Leary

[jrsax113]

turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.....what an excellent first line to a psychedelic experience

[dennisg69]

I just want to say that it is never ok to shoot video of your TV screen to post on YouTube (or anywhere else, for that matter). It's just cheesy and ugly, and generally bad form.

But, if you're going to do it, at least turn off the lamp in the background!

[GrisGrisOnUrDoorStep]

wow even george is in this cool!

[91schumacher]

pioneers

[q12tube]

@unlikeanyotherhuman always hated the butcher cover though,but they were making a statment that ;look we can have a distasteful album cover and still sell millions" LOL!

You are way in left field.They were disgusted with capital records butchering their albums, taking 3 songs out of one of their british releases, piecing albums together, to make an extra buck.They profited,but prefered their albums to be left alone,thus the butcher cover.

[billB2GBG]

Cool, finally got to hear the rag tag piano piece in its entirety, usually the song fades on that, but here is more of it. Reminds me of hearing the total solo on Surfin USA, which the Engineers faded down during the stereo mix session. Coutesy of bootleggers years ago, I could finally hear it entirely too.

[RATTLEY67]

Funny how this song got me interested in psychedelics.I don't know why? HA HA

[classicconnexionband]

Remember, much of their music wasn't possible without George Martin at the helm.

[beatle451]

Beautiful - much thanks for posting.

[dnsla23]

i've seen a lot of videos covering this song live. as highly produced as it is, tomorrow never knows totally works live, version after version after version. too bad they never got to play it themselves.

[mikeyskywalker]

lol John acts as if he created the lyrics...

[starryian007]

Boy! did Oasis rip this song off or what!!!

[gdosic]

Great footage!!

"Revolver" psychedelia.....it just feels like 66!!

First and pure psychedelic trip !!

Loud,rolling , hypnotic rhythm...

I see large area and the mountains..with scary, monstrous birds..

and John said about this - "Turn off your mind, relax

and float down stream, It is not dying" : )

What a spectacle of period for the Beatles. I love it.

[BillyMacQ]

Does anyone know if the rest of the footage from that studio interview with George M., Macca, Ringo and George H is available on YouTube? I'm particularly interested in their discussion about the initial takes with Ringo saying the beats sounded like he was swimming. Love, Billy

[peaceman1234567]

Makes Elvis sound so primitive and irrelevant.

[vittorioabr]

Tibethan Book of the Death + Indian music + Stockhausen + loops made by chance (fate), irreproducible...

Heavy, heavy stuff.

[jackiechampion]

The tape loops with all those weird sounds on them were made by Paul. His contribution is what is so memorable about the song, just like his bassline (which he created) and piano playing are what really make Come Together so memorable. Everyone thinks these are all John and Paul was crucial to making these songs masterpieces. Also that galloping piano intro to While My Guitar Gently Weeps was Paul's creation, that's according to George himself.

[6913Recordings]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

[KashyapaBandara]

tommorow never knows is the ultimate synthesis of all four beatles...

[TheMrdmo]

Sick video

[carlmoore19]

I am seeing some 1966 touring glimpses of the Beatles. To some people's disappointment, the Beatles performed no songs from Revolver.

[OropherThranduil]

@carlmoore19

Revolver was only released 3 weeks before their last concert i think, most were dissatisfied with them not tackling more of Rubber oul live.

[lovintonal]

reminds me of my first acid trip at a friends in 68 tripping our brains out and floating down stream ,up stream you name it

[THECLARENCES]

Amazing!

xoxo

The Clarences

[Aldebaron9]

Tomorrow Obviously Knows....

[andygrohl08]

se zarpan los beatles, como pija se te ocurre hacer eso en los 60?

[mikekorz]

You can't get anymore Avante Garde than "Rye Bread in a Mixer"!!

[ipolson]

@shreadhead96: The solo in 'Taxman' isn't backwards. I think you mean 'Im only Sleeping' which is also on Revolver and IS backwards.

[04116404]

honestly the only band that you can compare a little bit to the fab four its only the stones,,,,,beach boys are a good band with just five o six good songs....

[MattHatter]

@04116404 Nah man, you've got to understand The Beach Boys a little better. There's a whole lot more than just five or six good songs. It takes time to understand how truly great The Beach Boys were and how they are undeniably THE American rock and roll band. The Beatles loved The Beach Boys and were influenced greatly by their music (Paul in particular). Do you have "Pet Sounds?" If not, I recommend you start there and then backtrack.

[RickmalR]

The BBC's SoundsOfTheSixties BEATLES A to Zed song for week starting SAT05DEC09. Quite a long mini docu is done on this song that is recognised as being WAY AHEAD of its time using new recording techniques [Tape loops] that THE BEATLES devised. It is about 35 mins into the prog ENJOY

[mongpig5]

40 years on and this is still amazing. When I was a kid I was a Beatles nut, now im coming back as an adult and realising these guys were really on another planet at this point.

[iowdave]

Agreed, the song sounds like a remix to younger listeners, but as we all know its 1966 genius.

[stalkek]

Cultural highpoint of 20th century for me.

[gearguitarguy]

pretty crazy experimental stuff for 1966. the beatles were always 2 or 3 steps ahead of everyone else, just ask Brian Wilson. you gotta hand it to them for taking the risks they did, unlike so much of the music produced in the last 20 years, it all sounds generic. very few originals.

[Skadoosh417]

I love the backwards guitar solo

[jim25shwp]

That's Paul's Taxman solo played backwards.

[BrianMcCready]

@jim25shwp Taxman was George H, not Paul.

[jim25shwp]

@Brian McCready, The solo was written and played by Paul. the song was very much a team effort although it is about 60 % george.

[etrapmela]

@BrianMcCready , George wrote the song but he couldn't write a solo. Paul took over and did it in two takes.

[shreadhead96]

george wrote taxman buut paul did the solo. which was played backwards as the solo in this song

[hevelhorst]

My favourite Beatles' tune! Wonderful video, John.....Many thanks....Cheers

[koreakutie]

Awesome - Thanks for all of the hard work that you put into this!

[ueberRegenbogen]

Great hearing the fall-apart ending of the piano track. Like Harrison's little acknowledgement of Phil Collins' cover, too. :P

[bunker4prez]

exceptional work. cheers for making that

[jmasplymouthbruce2]

GENIUS !

[carlmoore19]

There are interesting outtakes of the butcher-cover-photo sessions. I am not familiar with the footage which has the Spanish-language subtitles on the screen; the Anthology stuff was done c. 1994 (John Lennon had been shot and killed Dec. 8, 1980, so you had 3 surviving Beatles in 1994).

[JohnMalloy05]

The footage is from the Beatles anthology 9, a special edition with director's cuts.

[rocky5554]

@JohnMalloy05

i have the anthology on dvd but it does not include this i did,nt know there was more than one version

[TheyBastardisedJesus]

@carlmoore19

more like disgusting photo session

maybe it was a stance as they were/are all vegetarians.

[xrxs1020]

As George Martin said once, Paul could write great lyrics, and John could also write great music, and vice versa. This group of people had a transcendent talent coupled with drive and perfect timing. Their voices became part of the psychosphere of our planet for those years, along with Bob Dylan's voice. There's never been anything like that since. Those were exciting times. And now it's such ancient history, relative to all that has happened since. Blessings.

[danieljgavigan]

the song is very much like 'love you to' earlier on the album by George. both are in one chord, C, with a little bit of F/B flat.

[23ismagic]

wow this is greatness !!!

[s2ths2]

so great!

[Radz117]

Paul McCartney seemed to be the genius behind the music and John Lennon the genius behind the lyrics and George Harrison and Ringo were somewhere inbetween.

[zonty13]

well this track was written &composed by Lennon alone!The genius par excellance, don't you think?

[binkle1]

We peeled back the corner of my sister's album and there was the butcher picture! She wouldn't let us take it all the way off with steam!

[youtubbs67]

Man, that would be worth a fortune today! Not that I would ever sell it.

[russelljdj]

Nice work. Where did you find the picture from the Butcher session with the eyes closed. Been looking for that for a long time.

[JohnMalloy05]

Thank you a lot russell. About the pic..... I scanned them from a Beatle picture book.

[racine09]

Not strictly one chord - I think the flat seven is in there ie B flat played against C,If it would have been in a minor key the flat seven would function as the subtonic a kind of dominant common in folk music. So it is unusual that it works in a major key here. The added sounds are pure genius.

[ssss566]

You can't really talk about keys; this is more modal like Indian music - dorian.

[racine09]

the melody starts on the major third say E in the key of C and the rest of the notes are to be found in the chord of C dominant 7. I don't see a Dorian anywhere unless you can explain that since a Dorian is a minor key

[racine09]

Correction: Dorian is a minor mode of course not a key

[racine09]

If I understand you correctly you are saying that although the song is mainly on C ( let's say) it is actually a dominant of G transposed Dorian mode which explains the B flat: Bflat is the relative major of gminor . Right?

[ssss566]

What I'm saying is that you should NOT focus on the western concept of 'key' - which is about harmony, this song is more modal i.e. a focus on melody - which is characteristic of Indian classical music.

[skrason]

I love the story about Jerry Garcia hearing this song for the first time. I can't remember where I saw/heard it. I believe, and please correct me if I'm wrong, Jerry was walking down the street in San Francisco when someone in front of some house or apt building stopped him and said, You have to come in and hear the new Beatles album. He heard Tomorrow Never Knows and it completely blew him away--just gobsmacked.

[binkle1]

GREAT story, thanks!

[JohnMalloy05]

Anytime..... thanks for the comment

[cewduncan]

mellow out with this one!

[binkle1]

I love the lyrics: the whole instructions for living, so simple!

[chriskatris]

I hear you! Still have all the vinyl from when I was a kid. Your clip made me go out and buy the Anthology box -BIG MISTAKE!!! I can't stop watching it. My daughter just said are you watching that Beatles DVD AGAIN!! I keep telling her there's a reason why people still love and talk about THE FABS - they set the standard for Rock and Roll bands and very few are lucky to even be spoken about in the same breath - ok, the Beach Boys - but that's it for me.

(I can see you've had your fun)

[chriskatris]

I've been listening to this song for 40 +years - It still blows me away!!!

What a GREAT BAND the best there ever was!!!

[TheSunshineSuperman]

I have too Chris. I bought Revolver the day of it's release date in the States. As much as a Beatle fan I was, it was the only full vinyl Lp I had bought besides Meet The Beatles at the time~ But I must have owned every 45. I then went on a rampage, I remember buying rubber soul, beatles 65 and the early beatles the very next day.

[LennonMcCartney4]

Love the pics you chose!!!!

[sleepingboar]

what great footage of the lads with George Martin... what's it from? is there more from this session?

[JohnMalloy05]

You've probably heard of the Beatles Anthology videos, if you haven't, it is basically The Beatles doing a biography on themselves with Martin, Asipnall etc. On the DVD version there is a bonus disc with previously unreleased material from the Anthology shootings.

[LennonMcCartney4]

I bought those man its got good footage hey!!! Especially the directors cuts too!

[Yoshi5020]

To me this song captures the coming of age of youth, a time which nature seems to ordain the wallowing in self indulgence as a necessary part of the life cycle. It is a paradox that the pinnacle of human life, the time when life is most readily passed on, is biologically one of turbulence, carelessness, and selfishness, and this song captures the ancientness of this cycle. It is a hymn to accept the joy and hopefulness of youth, in spite of the fact that all must lose their thrones someday.

[IEnjoyBurningThings]

To me this song captures LSD trips.

[TheSunshineSuperman]

Haha~~~ Yeah same here!

[RonMorganMusic]

Great stuff!! Thanks.

[JohnMalloy05]

My pleasure.

[verbatumverbotten]

Most awesome beatles song, but what's with the dolls and the meat? Anti-abortion?

[ncinoman]

Those photos with the butcher smocks were the band protesting the Capitol Record's "butchering" of their American release of their albums. The British versions would have about 14 songs on them usually without the singles on them. In America, however, Capitol Records would delete songs and add the singles to the U.S. releases leaving about 10 songs per album, thus putting more albums on the market. Sgt. Pepper was the first album not to be "butchered".

[aarfeld]

If I'm not mistaken, a number of those covers went out before they were pulled and banned by the company. The company fixed the problem by pasting a new paper cover over the cardboard sleeve. Some can still be found under the replacement photo. If you find one in a second-hand LP bin or a yard sale . . . it's quite valuable as a collectible.

[JohnMalloy05]

I've read a lot of stuff about the Beatles and you are right, Capital records sent a postcard in the mail telling everybody if the photo offended them..... blah blah blah, they could send it back and receive a new copy with the alternate photo.

[britdemmen]

excelente!!!!!

great!

[bloodystump3]

Re-evolution

[mrsmagloo]

"Revolver" is probably the best Beatles album, IMHO. OK, so shoot me! I never get tired of this song!

[Pedro8190]

Just like George said: Timothy Leary and LSD inspired John.

[IMattchewB]

The Beatles! Listen to the Anthology version of this song. It's bad-ass.

[RATTLEY67]

This song got me interested in a strange chemical by the name of LSD. Love and peace (still)

[pythongoon]

very interesting.thanks for posting.my fav track on the lp.

[JohnMalloy05]

No Prob man, one of my fav's. My others would be Dr. Robert, Taxman, I Want To Tell You, She Said She Said etc.

[Killinfloor]

I love the piano part at the end. Its probably my favorite part of the entire song. Just a random thing to throw in that sounds amazing.

[JohnMalloy05]

I like the Taxman guitar riff backwards too.

[bloodystump3]

Revolver  Re-evolve

[PowerfulDragon]

f**king genius song. way ahead of its time. thanks for putting this up.

[JohnMalloy05]

No problem, I do like rap music... but. Nothing could compare to the Beatles, and this track, which was experimental and had the potential to be at the No. 1 spot at the charts.

[WouterJ]

Geoff Emerick (the assistant producer) remarked that Paul McCartney using a different bass (A Rickenbacker) was a key factor in the booming lows they got when recording this song. Macca himself said that the Rickenbacker made him play differently because of it staying in tune better and soung much tighter than his trusty Hofner violin basses.

[JohnMalloy05]

Hey, never knew that, I just read a book called A Hard Day's Write and it has a write up on every song they wrote, never mentioned that fact.

[WouterJ]

Macca himself also states it in "The Beatles gear book" He began using his Rickenbacker bass around the time of "Rubber soul" as his main studio bass, preferring to use his Höfner which was lighter in weight for live use.

[JohnMalloy05]

I knew he would use his Hofner on stage, I mean, holding a guitar for a whole performance is heavy, after playing like 2 songs your arms get sore.

[kj3942003]

Paul had a lot to do with the stuff going on in this song, tape loops and stuff. They had a great partnership.

[jimrock63]

nice pictures.

[beatleboybob]

this song must have been incredibly hard to do in a pre-computer recording studio i mean now all the drums would be either midi or looped.

[JohnMalloy05]

well like they said, it would be literally impossible to make this track again without the older technology.

[beatleboybob]

And even on the older tech impossible to recreate exactly.

[JohnMalloy05]

yupp :D

[birdyhop1]

Awesome. The beatles tell how they made a great album. Very Cool!

[JohnMalloy05]

thank you :D