MYSTERY SOLVED: A Slide on "This Boy"? - Gear, There and Everywhere EP28

[@cedricduarte4708]

Ngl, when I heard John's voice on that stripped down version of misery, my soul almost went out of my body lol. By the way, Great job guys.

[@ronniechilds2002]

I just love it when musicians who are fellow Beatles obsessives share their explorations like this with us online. Thank you.

[@magraretsbane6274]

This is without a doubt the most well-produced episode you guys have put together, watching the channel get more and more organized has been absolutely awesome.

[@Calatriste54]

Keep gon!!!

[@TheAerovons]

I've been telling people for literally decades that there is a slide in this song. As these folks showed, it's especially easy to hear when slowed down. Thanks for the demonstration!

[@GearThereEverywhere]

Hey man! Any interest in coming on the show? We'd love to hear your Abbey Road stories! Drop us a line! [e-mail]

[@TheAerovons]

@@GearThereEverywhere Super, would love to!

[@davidmontis7259]

Wasn’t expecting to see my video in this episode! Great episode as always!

[@MichaelSokil]

Thanks, David! I hope you don’t mind!

[@davidmontis7259]

@@MichaelSokil I don’t mind at all!

[@StereoClassics]

Guys, the editing in this is amazing. Y'all got a great thing going here!

[@CleberHarrisonGuitar]

Guys, try the slide with no pick and you'll nail that. No pun intended, hahah. Absolutely love the show!

[@rmadler2007]

I worked for The Beatles in 1968-1970. I was at Nat Weiss’ apartment in November 1968 when George was there. We had a long conversation and he said he never played slide on any Beatles records.

[@MichaelSokil]

He also couldn't remember which album "Golden Slumbers" is on, so I wouldn't take that too seriously. But that's a great experience!

[@TheAerovons]

Yeah, George (or in fact any of them) have fuzzy memories. I asked George something about "Got to Get You Into My Life" and he said "Was there brass in that one?" LOL

[@rmadler2007]

George also told me that Paul played both leads in And Your Bird Can Sing. Paul said George was mistaken.

[@TheAerovons]

@@rmadler2007 There are interviews out there where George says something like "Paul and I played it, or maybe John and I"....he doesn't remember. Some of this is like asking them what color shirt they wore while they recorded "Ticket to Ride"...;) They just don't always know/recall.

[@nicksoto601]

One of my favorite episodes already. I especially love the editing on this one. Super detailed

[@Apo458]

25:56 That random-ass image of the mug killed me XD Ringo staring at you totally clueless

[@cedricduarte4708]

Fr 😂

[@dmytromorozov2593]

Great episode as usual! I find it a great entry point for examining a bunch of songs that represent a fine interconnection between their early love songs, Lennon’s emotional lead vocals, and early insights on Lennon’s melancholy-driven songwriting. “I’ll Be Back” is defo one of those masterpieces that deserve a dedicated episode (it’s got some great blues harmony and that major-to-minor interlink that makes this song so special), also “No Reply”, maybe “Not a Second Time” and some others. That’s a very hidden-gem pool of Beatles’ repertoire.

[@junekamilleelo7555]

This One's gonna be the big tuna of all of the episodes!

[@sampopkin]

I eat tuna fish almost daily. My mercury levels must be off the charts

[@EmanuelMendoza-pv5mf]

Fun facts with sam be like

[@davidcarrillo3274]

​@@sampopkinOut of the Billboard's charts?

[@davidcarrillo3274]

​@@sampopkinOut of the Billboard's charts?

[@dryitelad2]

Great episode!! Love the editing, you guys are improving! Also it’s weird seeing Ryan sitting in an office chair instead in his couch lol

[@GearThereEverywhere]

Yeah I was in the process of moving out and that folding chair and my PC and monitor were the only things left in my bedroom when we recorded haha

[@alonzobruce1767]

@@GearThereEverywhere Did you donate that couch to Goodwill? haha!

[@Apo458]

Whoever started the Bigsby theory on an internet forum really has no idea how Bigsbys work. It's a basic vibrato system not a freakin Floyd Rose lmao

[@handwriting8804]

You probably couldn’t even do that on a Floyd tbh

[@Apo458]

@@handwriting8804 Of course, getting a perfect pitch transition like that on any vibrato system is very hard.

[@cuda426hemi]

@@halcooper3070 No. Bigsby will barely do ONE whole tone. 🎸

[@Toobzilla]

michaels's analogy @ 42:50 runs 1000% parallel to my own & of course i believe he's 1000% correct.

[@Tony-yp7ok]

Nice mention for Vic Flick - I used to know him and his family back in the 70s and 80s (lived around the corner). Lovely man!

[@TheGingerDrummer2006]

Rest in peace to Mr Flick

[@BeatleAlex]

0:33 Michael's reaction kills me every time😂

[@ARWest-bp4yb]

In that photo of George using a slide it's actually his cigarette lighter. They were such clever lads!😄

[@christopher.walken01]

When it comes to Ringo using his brushes, I think a lot of people also forget that he used them for "Bungalow Bill"

[@alextraceymusic]

Sensational work guys 🙏🏻

[@pauln7058]

Stumbled on this video by accident after viewing some other Beatles/McCartney videos. I'm 64, and thought I was a 'Beatles Geek', but you guys take things further than I thought possible. I find it awesome how much The Beatles are still loved, and to such degree, especially by those who weren't around at the time. I was about 14 and got really into them after buying the red album on red vinyl 😊. Seen Paul in concert 9 times since 1979..... I thought I must be weird, but I feel much better knowing there are those even more into them than me !! Thanks guys !!❤

[@Beedubyayardee]

Wow! I bow to a higher order of Beatles nerds! What an amazing video! Thanks for this. I know this has been done to death, but I would love your take on the opening chord of A Hard Day’s Night.

[@StereoClassics]

Jimmy Page also played rhythm guitar on "Ringo's Theme"! Quote: "One day in 1964 [Page] walked into EMI studios in Abbey Road and found he was making incidental music for the Beatles’ first film, A Hard Day’s Night. “I turned up and, lo and behold, there was George Martin,” he recalls now, “and I recognised the music and realised what it was.” He ended up contributing background guitar to ‘Ringo’s Theme’, the instrumental of the song ‘This Boy’ that accompanies a morose Ringo Starr as he wanders off by the River Thames. Page’s session experience wasn’t limited to playing guitar. “I loved the blues so much that I learned to play harmonica - pretty badly, but I did play on a few sessions; I did one for Cliff Richard and one for Billy Fury.”

[@denmorris8384]

Wow...a massive increase in production values! With cut in videos and better graphics. Thanks guys. Ryan finally got off that dumb couch and now has a professional presentation. Keep up the good work. The "old" show was rather lackadaisical and unfocused. Can't wait for each new episode.

[@GearThereEverywhere]

Don’t disrespect the couch 😎

[@MichaelSokil]

@@GearThereEverywhere😂

[@robertbyrne522]

Great show guys. What a way to dissect a Beatles song. You guys were very thorough. I do think the rhythm guitar after the acoustic intro and the slide guitar (which I believe is one guitar) we're both done on the Gent. Awesome job guys. Thank you for your persistence and dedication. Love your show 🙂

[@ryanbaker0]

Great video! The clip of John watching Some Other Guy is indeed real and is from the BBC TV Special “24 Hours - The World Of John and Yoko”

[@GearThereEverywhere]

WOW! Knew you guys would come through in the clutch! Incredible.

[@robertblanks9602]

I don’t play many Beatles songs because of their complexity and I have no other voices with me when I perform. But I kept this one in my song list because I love it so much.👏👏👏

[@zvjzik]

Really happy I stumbled onto this site. Thanks guys. When I was 12, a friend in school asked me to his home after school to listen to an album his father brought home. It was a pre-release of "Meet The Bestles". His father was an Exec at Capitol Records, L.A. That album set my world on fire. After a few days went by, he and I made a deal and we traded. I gave him my new bicycle my father bought me for hitting a home run in Little League ‐ and I walked off with the album and had no way of playing it. Within a few days he and his father, along with me and my father, who was a L.A. Deputy Sheriff, found ourselves in a meeting with the Principal of Joshua Elementry School in Lancaster, Ca., to discuss the trade. We were both severely chastised and later whipped by our fathers. Yes, whipping was acceptable back then. I have been a Beatle lover since that day. Wish I had that album today for sure.

[@graniterhythm53]

Years ago, someone who became a good friend told me that about aged 9 in '63 he was invited by a relative in the business to a TV recording by The Beatles. Warming up, he was drawn to George playing slide! Until your episode I had been somewhat sceptical that George was into slide this early!

[@fhorquin4391]

I can't get enough of you guys, you should do a live stream. Greetings from Argentina!!

[@ricknorris1466]

Glad you mentioned “Anna” as one of those Lennon Vocal moments. I would put “Baby It’s You” there as well. In fact that’s one of many things that I love about the Please Please Me LP. Lennons ripping solo Vocals.

[@gdholmfirth]

Most excellent. Good to see George the dog by the way.

[@ronanfitzgerald1507]

Love this style of editing. Keep it up guys

[@GearThereEverywhere]

Thanks so much!

[@mschiano1]

whoa, GTE’s gone hollywood, stepping up the production game! very nice. nice episode, all around. extraordinarily high nerd quotient on this one. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 i was surprised you didn’t mention Blue Moon, from Elvis’s first album, as an influence.

[@JP5466]

Great channel. A lot of the things you guys discuss on these vids I've been wondering about since 1980.

[@NUKE.2024]

awesome discussion. No doubt The Mirales, "I've Been Good To You" inspired the instrumentals ! Thanks for isolating Smokey's piano & the guitars.

[@jacquescousteau217]

The beauty of the Beatles is having two baritones, and a high tenor . I’m sure you I don’t have to tell you which one is which . Was that Sean Lennon singing the bridge on “ This Boy “ ? If so I had no idea he sang that well. Frudua is a master at all Beatles vocals, and instruments as well …

[@Glicksman1]

II recall reading or hearing somewhere that what John (who, in my opinion, possessed one of the greatest voices in all of pop) wanted most was to sound like Smokey, was forever frustrated because he thought that he did not and that this is why he liked effects on his voice to mask what he thought was not a good sound. This is one more bit of evidence that Produces, or at least another good pair of ears are essential when making recordings as artists are often not the best judges of their art. As so many otherwise excellent singers have admired Smokey’s voice and wished in vain that they sounded like him, John was in good company. Ironically, so many singers have wished that they sounded like John, which I think that he would have found to be absurd. I love what you guys are doing. Thank you.

[@josephkelly7881]

Loved this. Watched you guys since Ep1. And you have improved so much. The little touches with the editing have improved the videos massively. How about a deep dive into the paperback writer and rain single?

[@AllYouNeedIsLub]

Enjoyed the episode, guys. Michael, you might remember my version, posted to KZbin in 2011 (and the discussions on BeatGearCavern). If you watch my version (link below), please read the video description. You'll see that I addressed so many of the same points you talk about here. I definitely feel that a slide (or similar device) was used for the end overdub. When you don't use the slide, it's not so much "fret noise" that you get--it's that the pitch rises in discrete half-steps (caused by the frets). What we hear in the Beatles' recording is a glide between notes with a continuous change in pitch (a smooth rise), including everything in between the F# and the A. Here's the link to my video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpK4ep-efZyGZtEsi=_PbpBms9Y3X9r7GN

[@GearThereEverywhere]

(This is Mike) I do remember your incredible video! You describe my thoughts much more eloquently than I did. Absolutely, it's not so much lack of fret noise as the pitch rises, which are otherwise impossible. Great to see you're a viewer! We'll need to have you on as a guest!

[@marcdanielnelson317]

Terrific!

[@marcdanielnelson317]

The yellow submarine mug! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@junekamilleelo7555]

I have to agree with Sam on this one I'm split between the 160 and the Gent for the solo section but definitely a slide nonetheless. The picture shown of George using a slide was a lighter from the looks of it. The material of the slide I've heard it personally CAN change the sound but that's the most unnecessary deeper dive possible

[@tommy36012]

Great episode guys! I’ve always been curious about this topic (specifically the ending bit).

[@williamknell864]

Maybe swinging London youth guitar genius for all occasions, JImmy Page, was hired to play what no one else could possibly play, since he played on 104% of all of England's pop and rock and roll recordings!

[@randallpinkfloyd]

I had a feeling about this one when Paul posted his short about what guitar is at the end of

[@EliteOneTV]

Love this! Can you do one on “ I Want to Hold Your Hand”?

[@MrWinstonOBoogie]

3:10 agree to disagree with the "possibly" comment. GH was watching himself & JL both playing a J160 when he said .."I GAVE THAT GUITAR AWAY" no Gent in the video. Very enjoyable thanks lads!

[@mr_bassman6685]

It doesn't really explain it entirely since the J-160E was (and is) still in his collection-we know the movements of the guitars (and their recipients) that were given away and then returned to him/his estate (e.g. the rosewood Telecaster and his Gretsch Duo Jet), but I can't find any other records of the J-160E being given away besides that clip. It even appears in the photos of his collection from the 1980s.

[@wdwd11tr]

My Bigsby drops a whole step. Start there, release and bend 1/2 step. That's how I do it. Made sense to me all these years.

[@TheJeffRoadProject]

In the picture of George playing something that looked like a slide, he is actually using a lighter as a slide (a square metal lighter as they had in those days)

[@bassplayer8815]

21:23 Most important part of the Early Beatles catalogue

[@BehindTheBeatles]

Nice job guys! you should do something like this but with Twist and Shout!🎉🎉🎉

[@Renshen1957]

The Granada Program has a variety of still pictures on KZbin uploaded by Elena. Performance is mimed/lip synced and the guitars are played but no cables. So on the recording played played are mimed, which upset the UK musicians union…but live performances broadcast in the UK were not at that time protected by copyright law. Same reason Ready Steady Go was recorded live before the show, the recording was played for the broadcast…Only time Shout was performed… Dave Clark owns the Programs the last time I checked. Smart businessman, rich, but as a human being didn’t share the wealth with his band mates.

[@andrewg8791]

George sliding on the Gent, looks like a lighter.

[@fhqwhgads1670]

George and Steve Cropper both knew the power of the lighter as a slide.

[@ricknorris1466]

Agree

[@blossomsquirrel]

Definitely

[@edryba4867]

I remember using a Bic lighter as a slide at a number of sessions at different small studios… those memories just sort of materialized while watching this video. I can remember where those California studios were and who I was with. But WHEN did these things happen? Weird!

[@BeatlesGuitarSecrets]

What's missing from your tests is the compression. It makes the J160-e very punchy.

[@marcdanielnelson317]

That photo of George with the slide. That triangle thing looked HEAVY like a pedal steel slide.

[@telsonboy]

Hey guys! Love your channel! This Boy is perhaps my favorite vocal performance by John, up there with Baby, It's You and Misery! But the topic I would absolutely LOVE to hear y'all tackle is Baby, You're a Rich Man. Nobody talks about George's amazing guitar work!

[@robertblanks9602]

I don’t play many Beatles songs because of their complexity and I have no other voices with me when I perform. But I kept this one in my song list because I love it so much.👏👏👏. Also I looked at the picture of George playing the slide item. It looked like a zippo lighter to me 🤔🫡🤷‍♂️ This was so cool

[@rafaelramos2731]

Hi guys a fan of ur podcast. Meticulous and thorough. I appreciated ur show on the j-160e’s. Will you talk about the 70th anniversary issues that were made per yoko’s request? I have one with all provenance. I believe they were made in 2010 according to my papers. Three models were made, the sunburst, the psychodelic and peace versions. Hope u guys mention this and I’ll be watching and listening. Thank u and I love ur work. From another beatle fan in Puerto Rico, Rafael.

[@JohnDoe-tw8es]

I also love this song, has so much emotion in it. Thinks you are right it was the 160 and a slide.

[@BobcatOneManBand]

Bad Girl is CLEARLY the inspiration for "This Boy"

[@chrisanderson8094]

The minutia discussion on last 3 bars of This Boy is pure joy! You really think George had a slide in '63?

[@family_jules]

I'm thinking George used a metal cigarette lighter, like a Zippo, rather than an actual slide. It looks like such a lighter in that photo you showed where he's playing the Gretsch.

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

"You've made a fool of someone" is referenced in Sexy Sadie ("you made a fool of everyone.")

[@NBProdt]

Great Ep! Great editing!

[@jeffbensoncarcompany8745]

Michael is right. Epiphone EJ-160 is a really good guitar!

[@homemovies751]

Great show. Have followed Michael from way back (I bought a DVD from him). Haven't listened to a podcast this long. Wonder what tribute bands make the cut for each of the hosts with the Lennon solo.

[@beatlesfan_1737]

Amazing work!

[@joshuaross4644]

BINGO !!! 29:35 This looks to be backstage at a gig, however there is another pic from the WTB Sessions of him using a Zippo or a Zippo style lighter

[@breft3416]

The tag octaves at end sounded very Gretchy to me 60+ years ago and today. If the amps were Vox, it mellows it out a tad. They bridged the gap of popular music from old to new. Radio played everything in the 50's.

[@schumacherphotographs1464]

Great input guys ty. Regarding Paul's vocal on This Boy, did anyone ever notice out of the 3 verses and nine lines in those verses Paul sings a D in just spot and on one all the rest he sings the ma7 note. I always wondered if it was intentional or not but when he hits D 3rd line in first verse it just totally elevates the the song. I'm talking the recorded version not live. Love to hear your input on that.

[@TheAerovons]

Yeah I love it when hits that D...

[@VoxMax1200]

A similar guitar solo effect was used by Clapton years later on a song by Cream. Wrapping paper. The Beatles influenced everyone! Best band ever.

[@Powerlines_]

My fav song of the fab four always❤

[@Renshen1957]

John and George used the strings supplied by Rickenbacker. Also, the Abbey Road Engineers used tube compressors frequently on Beatles recordings.

[@timothyflyte9443]

Great video. Sounds like a slide. But in all the books & interviews I've read , I've never heard anyone say anything about using a slide , although there's talk about the vocals. I enjoy your videos. I like how you separate the tracks. I would've liked to hear the three vocals separated .

[@GearThereEverywhere]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5POXpKdbrJohcUsi=a9ZvdVmonXMgGTjr This guy separated the 3 part harmony in stereo, might be what you’re looking for

[@pavotibio]

Acording to The Beatles Recording Reference Manual, Vol 1, by Jerry Hammack, the guitars used in that songs were John's J160 and George's 1962 Country Gentleman (with Bigsby B6 vibrato). The 1962 Rick 425 was an option in that session, too.

[@GearThereEverywhere]

Unfortunately I don't think Jerry analyses the songs to the degree that we do. In my (Ryan) personal interaction with Jerry a few years ago, he claimed that Gibson J-160e was always plugged in on every song it's used on (including all of those acoustic rhythm parts on A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale), so I wouldn't take his claims in the Recording Reference Manuals terribly seriously outside of maybe what tracks the parts of the song are on.

[@pavotibio]

@@GearThereEverywhere Thanks, I'll keep ot in mind. It is a great video the one you made. Cheers!

[@DevlinDomini]

About harmonies; it’s my impression that Martin spent a great deal of time helping them work out their parts. And that their earlier harmonies were rudimentary in comparison.

[@stans4184]

Great work guys. This won me over. You may have covered the before but what track isolation software do you use?

[@GearThereEverywhere]

We use Lalal.ai and there’s KZbin channels like DLD2 Music and Rock Band Stems that have good isolations for a lot of Beatles songs!

[@BobcatOneManBand]

This Boy is a Beatles re-write of the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles song "Bad Girl" you will not un-hear this. Listen to those songs back to back

[@LanceHall]

Maybe they used an empty prelli tube on the pinky as a slide. They could have also use two amps to get a slightly doubled sound.

[@adrianagras7745]

Thank you for the new content boys, may I suggest an episode with Mr. Mike Pachelli?

[@davidd.perata2085]

I don't know where it fits in chronologically but the Beach Boys "In My Room" also has the same basic rhythm.

[@jckistan]

Absolutely, you don't need a slide to do slide, in my opinion. I've seen footage of Robby Krieger from the Doors using a lighter for Moonlight Drive in a concert. I think that's what George is doing in that photo

[@emmanuelgalan]

I love the video edition

[@ruppertale3319]

A+ I keep thinking that the topic of The Beatles is exhausted, and I keep realizing that I am wrong. The stripped down vocals are great, and the whole deep dive was fascinating. I also like the clip you shared of George Harrison in the 70s, watching his old band and laughing at the outfits, but adding, "good song, though." I think he meant it, but he also feared the wrath of John Lennon. The slide edit at the end: I think George played it on the record, but it could have been Paul or even John.The J160, flat wound strings, cigarette lighter slide, back pickup, treble turned way down. I don't hear double-tracking, and I can't believe it's two guitars played in unison. Bass amp? Different mic, or mic placement? The records that John and Paul "borrowed" from add to the huge playlist of songs that they knew. They must have spend thousands of hours playing 45s (and not buying them) and listening to the radio. It also cracks me up that there are so many similarities between this song and "Woman" (1980) a song that starts with Paul's (unreleased) "Thinking of Linking." I have no doubt that John KNEW Paul would recognize it. Could you do a dive into all of the ways that The Beatles used each others' songs in their solo careers? And did anyone ever find John's D-28 that was stolen after he gave it to Ronnie Hawkins?

[@guitargearconnection]

They didn’t use flat wound strings on the J-160e’s.

[@ruppertale3319]

@@guitargearconnection I didn't know that.

[@Pappahobo]

About influences, check out "Cuando calienta el sol", by Rigual brothers (1961).

[@Wedontwantnowarnomore]

On Let it Be, the Movie. Lennon use a lighter. Maybe only that last part was played by John and the first part played by Harrison or maybe Macca played it. Add;; -Now, we see it’s a metal lighter George got in the picture

[@Thestripper1]

Have you ever considered that it might just be a mic stand that he is experimenting with and using that as a slide?

[@mr_bassman6685]

Seems like it'd be more trouble than it's worth to use a mic stand as a slide when so many smaller objects could be used as one.

[@Thestripper1]

@@mr_bassman6685 That is true but sometimes it just happens by itself. It could have started that way and then they just went along with it.

[@norguz7777]

The overdubbed slide sounds like Duojet!

[@joshuaross4644]

There’s pics of George using a Zippo lighter as a slide during the WTB sessions 25:55

[@drakeholliday5671]

I wish you guys would’ve explored the possibility that the overdub was the gent a little more. That thickness of sound that’s driving Paul nuts might possibly have been achieved with the gent. The lead track with the J, the overdub with the gent. Idk though

[@mr_bassman6685]

It's also possible that the extra thickness came from the studio compressors.

[@culpritcanine6059]

Could the Beatles pressed against the spring arm of the tape reel as Lennon created before. George playing the C- octave position. Last returning to the D chord slightly put pressure against the spindle dropping the pitch then returning?

[@mr_bassman6685]

Seems unlikely, pressing against the tape reel isn't an efficient method of achieving a part as small as this one, and a change in sound quality would have been audible on the overdub-there's no audio artifacts that suggest the tape speed was altered mid-note.

[@allanmills6540]

Sold at 30seconds 😂

[@lltb67]

Maybe George Martin changed the relative volume and or tone at the last slide sound to emphasize it. That would account for a lack of guitar overdub?

[@nazfrde]

The ovedub was the Gent with the slide, finger-picked.

[@marcusphelan57]

I vote for the Gent.

[@seanhoward5562]

The lead part at the end I always thought it was George on his 12 string and sliding on the last notes.

[@sampopkin]

He didn’t have the 12 string yet, but it’s a good thought

[@stevesuv]

Its the vocal!

[@abatista78]

❤❤

[@stevesuv]

Rimgod theme is Vic Flick

[@norguz7777]

I wonder if the main rhythm is really on the Duojet!