Comments on: Getting Better

By: Dave Best

Dave Best — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 22:46:02 +0000

Just imagine if George Martin hadn’t taken Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields off the record for a single. The two songs I would delete to add them back would be Getting Better and She’s Leaving Home, making this remarkable album even more brilliant
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By: MikeP

MikeP — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:35:26 +0000

“Getting Better” wasn’t.
I usually skip this one and “Fixing a Hole”.

By: Mr. Kite

Mr. Kite — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 19:07:14 +0000

I could easily have done without this song on Sgt Pepper, as well as “She’s Leaving Home”.

By: John Pepper

John Pepper — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 14:58:29 +0000

Listen for the high G note ringing out through verse one in the left channel (00:10 onwards). The virginal is also ringing throughout the third verse (I used to be cruel to my woman…) alongside the tamboura.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 03:28:31 +0000

Yep. They didn’t have the Rhodes until later, and never used a Wurlitzer. (all great electric pianos, each in their own way).

By: Claudio

Claudio — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 21:23:57 +0000

Actually it is a Hohner Pianet

By: Yeah Boy

Yeah Boy — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 03:46:33 +0000

I can’t hear the virginal.

By: J Neo Marvin

J Neo Marvin — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:00:45 +0000

Because that’s his verse as well as a drastic mood change?

By: Don

Don — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 21:27:23 +0000

Yes, I admit “Getting Better” is one of my favs. The structure is perfect.

After the Beatles broke up, there were John and Paul camps. We were mostly in the John camp. But it felt like a divorce in the family. Now, it’s easy to appreciate the synergy and brilliance of both of them.

My fav Beatles songs are still mostly John songs, but “Getting Better” just stands out as one of the best Beatles songs to me.

Assuming John and George on backing vocals; they carry out the “s” sound on the end of the word “worse.”

When Paul sings “yes” toward the end of the song (the greatest “yes” in Rock) the two “s” sounds from “yes” and “worse” blend and carry out the “s” sound brilliantly.

I don’t know if they planned that but it is pure brilliance in a brilliant song.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:48:03 +0000

Hello.
I love writing on this lovely Beatles Bible page about the songs I love… and I love everything on “Sgt. Pepper.”
“Getting Better” is a work of genius… Confessions of beating and cruelty were rare in 1967. To say that this was wrong was so fabulous. To confess to having done it and then to show regret and promise not to do it again? Absolutely fabulous. I can’t see why people don’t see the evolution from “Rubber Soul”‘s “I’d rather see you dead” to the humanity of “Getting Better”. Anyone who prefers the earlier songs has to justify excusing that kind of violence towards women, violence in general, and hatred… Yet there are many who actually prefer the earlier albums. Well, this is one reason I feel that “Sgt. Pepper” is so much better. Well, it IS so much better. My opinion, anyway. Cheers.

By: Mikey59

Mikey59 — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 01:40:13 +0000

The only electric piano I’ve seen them using in pics is the Hohner Pianet, which they used a lot. This kybrd can sound similar to a Wurlitzer especially, on the low end.
I always thought it might be a Wurly on this song but never saw one in studio pics.
I owned both a Wurly model 200 & a couple Rhodes pianos so I’m familiar with both.
Tell Me What you See & The Night Before are good examples of the Pianet where you can hear it clearly in the mix. But you’re correct– they didn’t use the Rhodes, AFAIK, until Billy used one on LIB.

By: Graham Paterson

Graham Paterson — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 08:43:56 +0000

Love this song from the time I first obtained”Sgt Pepper”. A great example of Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s contrasting styles and attitude creating a great song. John Lennon’s line, “I used to be cruel to my woman….”etc, is the making of this song. John Lennon’s brutal honesty about his own past in explaining the line is so typical of his tell it like it is and was approach to life.

By: BeatleKen

BeatleKen — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 02:05:42 +0000

they definitely used a Hohner Pianette durin that time.

By: Julian

Julian — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 17:24:20 +0000

Do you seriously think that Yoko had something to do with the graphics of the game? It’s probably like that because Paul has the lead vocal in the song. I think the designers were not looking THAT deep into things like “Who wrote which lyrics?”
Confirmation bias against Yoko is strong.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 02:54:28 +0000

From playing Beatles Rock Band over the years, it’s interesting to me that *every time* you come to the “I used to be cruel to my woman…” lyrics, the video focuses on Paul and only Paul in an extreme close-up. As this article states, John owned up to his mean streak, so good for him. But this dictate strikes me as another piece of Yokoian revisionism.

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:44:28 +0000

It’s a tambura. 😉 Instrument being used as a constant drone. It seems as if Beatle fans who aren’t knowledgeable about Indian stuff call every instrument like that a “sitar”.

By: ManInTheMac

ManInTheMac — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:09:17 +0000

Surprised no one has commented on the sitar that starts right before the second bridge. Gives the break a like quality before we emerge back into the lightness of the verse

By: ScouseMouse

ScouseMouse — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:59:44 +0000

The Beatles didn’t have a Fender Rhodes in the studio. The top of the page states:

George Martin: piano, pianette

I believe this is a simple typing mistake, there was a Hohner Pianet available for their use (an early electric piano). The Beatles used the instrument on a few tracks from 1964.

I don’t think a Fender Rhodes was used by the Beatles until the Let It Be album.

By: Gaz Hunter

Gaz Hunter — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:36 +0000

There are pictures of Paul with a Fender Esquire and a Selmer amp, so it could be this guitar as it only has one pickup in the treble position, or George’s SG?

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:52:30 +0000

It’s not true. McCartney first took LSD with Tara Browne, who died in December 1966 (see Many Years From Now for an account of the trip). It’s generally thought that his first trip was around November 1966.

McCartney once (in Rolling Stone, 1984, IIRC) said the Getting Better incident was his first time, but I think he meant it was the first time with another Beatle. In Many Years From Now he said:

“I thought, Maybe this is the moment where I should take a trip with him. It’s been coming for a long time. It’s often the best way, without thinking about it too much, just slip into it. John’s on it already, so I’ll sort of catch up. It was my first trip with John, or with any of the guys. We stayed up all night, sat around and hallucinated a lot.”