Comments on: It’s All Too Much

By: Jack Suggs

Jack Suggs — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 13:28:15 +0000

The Beatles began recording “It’s All Too Much” on 25 May 1967 at De Lane Lea Studios,[41][42] located on Kingsway in central London.[43] With producer George Martin not in attendance that day, nor for the subsequent session, on the 26th,[44] the band produced the recording themselves.[35] The song had the working title of “Too Much”,[45] a phrase that journalist Robert Fontenot terms “beatnik vernacular for an experience that was exceptionally mind-blowing”.[46] The group taped four takes of the basic track, the final version of which extended to over eight minutes,[41] with Harrison playing Hammond organ, Lennon on lead guitar, Paul McCartney on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums.[4] The following day, they added overdubs, comprising vocals, percussion and handclaps.[41][44] In addition, according to authors Ian MacDonald and Kenneth Womack, Harrison also played lead guitar on the track.[35][47] – Wikipedia

By: Gregory

Gregory — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 06:20:30 +0000

George forgot about singing the long blonde hair part, but I doubt he would have credited the out of this world guitar work on this to Paul if he was really himself. I think it was a live take, sounds like it. That puts john on bass!

By: John Maritato

John Maritato — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 21:13:36 +0000

It’s a great debate about the lead guitar here. Credited as John, the opening does sound like his The End/Plastic Ono Band multi-string roars and squeals. Ahh but then! We get into the Pauly Ticket To Ride/Taxman rocking out wild flamboyant runs, Then we have the George-like Indian influenced/Echo the melody lines going on. My vote is for Pauly though – it’s more his style. Discuss.

By: Mike Razza

Mike Razza — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 03:17:52 +0000

“To your Mother” Definitely George.. After all he wrote the song!!

By: Mike Razza

Mike Razza — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 03:11:31 +0000

Sounds like George for sure !!

By: David

David — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 18:11:26 +0000

“To Jorma” as in Jorma Kaukonen.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 14:48:35 +0000

This clearly is one of those songs where we need to be able to hear a session outtake to hear the voices of them talking to figure out whose playin that guitar. In the outtakes released with the anniversary pepper it was nice to hear voices and conversation that gave clues as to what they were playing. For example in with a little help George asks John what he’s playing and he hits the cowbell a few times. In songs where you don’t hear the bass you then know Paul is on keyboards or guitar. Come on Apple just release it all. Let the fans enjoy this stuff

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 07:45:37 +0000

Actually, this is the one song that was not remixed for the soundtrack album (though the short version was for the movie itself). It’s still the same crappy mix – who would do it that way twice?

By: dgw28

dgw28 — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 21:20:04 +0000

George Martin has stated in an interview that they rejected this song for Pepper as it was not ‘good enough’. Hard to see where it would fit into the Pepper running sequence and the ‘long blond hair’ lines are not Pepper worthy, although as a stand alone track they work. George Martin did wish they had included Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.

By: Nina

Nina — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 05:59:45 +0000

It sounds so much like Paul, especially considering George actually says it in an interview, in answer to a question about that song I think, that Paul played the feedback. He had Paul play it because he himself was playing the organ. The feedback seems to lead into the actual guitar playing thus if Paul is playing the feedback, Paul is playing the guitar part. In an interview in Rolling Stone in June 1999 I think. Why would George credit Paul with anything unless Paul actually did it? If he could have thought of any reason to “think” John played it, he’d have credited John before Paul.

Plus it seems like people are going by their stereotypes again and forgetting just how into Jimi Hendrix Paul was during this period and he was playing a lot of guitar too. Paul definitely would have been into this sort of thing AND it was George’s idea to play the feedback anyway, it just happened to be Paul playing the guitar to do it. So it was George’s idea, he wanted it that way.

That’s Paul playing on It’s All Too Much, if I had something worthwhile to bet, I’d bet on it. LOL

In any case there is more evidence Paul played it than John played it and it sounds far more like his style(plus if I remember correctly John was at this period kind of sometimes not really wanting to work much on George’s songs, for whatever reason(I could have the time period wrong but I swear it was this Sgt Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour period where John seemed to become reluctant to put much work onto George’s songs). So I don’t know why John is listed so definitively as the lead guitarist. The bass part isn’t all that complicated, it’s the sort of thing John could play.

That’s why in a way it’s funny that George was so outright resentful of Paul, Paul would at least put time and effort into his songs – even if only after making them do 250 takes of his songs whereas John half the time couldn’t be bothered. I really put most of it down to Paul and George being friendly before they were in a group together and being close in age(they were only 9 months apart) and George never quite losing that adolescent hero worship of John. Not saying Paul didn’t earn his enmity but I think George gave John passes for things he’d never give Paul passes for.

By: Jester marston

Jester marston — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 06:19:13 +0000

Songtrack best thing that’s been done. A beautiful job done and the mixes might be better than what Giles is doing. I wish they’d released the album in surround.

By: Jester marston

Jester marston — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 06:16:56 +0000

Makes one wonder… In 1967 the Beatles recorded three great album closers… Day in the Life, All You Need is Love and All Too Much. That Would have made an awesome side on Pepper. I too am a big fan of OANS and though it’s kind of a lark it’s a good song though truly incomplete. Lennon and McCartney both take pains to say that You Know My Name wasn’t much of a melody… which makes me think BOTH of them wish they’d taken a crack at really doing that one because I think it would have been an interesting idea for a song if an album had been made during the MMT to Lady Madonna era!

By: Jester marston

Jester marston — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 06:09:44 +0000

Hope you got the reissued vinyl Songtrack! I hope they rerelease it in 5..1

By: Jester marston

Jester marston — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 06:08:05 +0000

The backing vocals are quite chaotic but listening close to them brings out some lovely moments. I like McCartney harmonizing this Indian type vocal melody just before the TOO MUCH stuff begins with Harrison.. then McCartney and Harrison do it again right at the end… also some nice ad libbed singng by McCartney. Although the song falls apart at points I think any new mix should go longer than 6 27 and maybe go all the way to the 8 minute ending with a little editing!

By: Jester marston

Jester marston — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 06:01:20 +0000

Any vocals for this song would have been overdubs. Whoever is shouting at the beginning doesn’t really impact who is playing lead guitar on this song. This part is rather precise and complex and if this was John I’d think he would have mentioned this song at some point. I think McCartney is the most likely choice here.. it shares a lot in common with his guitar work in 1966-67 not to mention his guitar on McCartney and Ram(Maybe I’m Amazed, Too Many People) and the soloing on Wild Life . Let’s not forget Harrison on Hey Bulldog and Revolution and Everybody’s Got Something… so I’m open to it possibly being Harrison or McCartney and Harrison in combination.

I’m surprised that no Beatle has spent much time talking about this song. Either it is not much liked by Harrison a la Don’t Bother Me or McCartney’s guitar participation here was more of a sore point as the organ and guitar work generally fade to the background against George Martin’s horn arrangement and the overdubbed percussion. I’m thinking that the recording of this song and it’s eventual release 18 months later possibly points to some conflict and hard feelings over it’s recordings. Might have been something they didn’t want to revisit and it would be two years until the disdain for Harrison as a Beatle songwriter began to lift.

One more possibility is that a third party is involved. The guitar work does sound like the Beatles and it does have that Taxman, Good Morning, Hey Bulldog quality to it but maybe someone else help out using one of the guitars on hand. Also.. whoever did the Songtrack remix might have some insights.

By: Tex

Tex — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 17:32:16 +0000

This fits with the comments that you and Ethan had earlier in this thread. Truth is, George wasn’t very interested in being a lead guitarist in 1967, and Paul was quite happy to take up the slack on numerous songs and have a ball doing it in his own inimitable way. (Somewhat true of ’66 as well — as with “Paperback Writer” and George’s own “Taxman”.)

By: speffley bass

speffley bass — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:32:17 +0000

I found the interview with George on Billboard.com for the original article titled “A New ‘Yellow Submarine Songtrack’ Due in Sept.” by Timothy White, and originally dated June 19, 1999.
On page 77 of this article, George states (in reference to “It’s All Too Much”):
“But, now, I don’t think I was playing the guitar feedback; as I say, I was playing the organ, so I think that was probably Paul that did that.”
Now, I’ll admit that this is not firmly conclusive, it’s clearly hard for the Beatles to remember every detail within a song so many years later. But using my musician’s ears together with my familiarity of each Beatle’s style, this is enough for me to believe that it was indeed Paul who played the playfully expressive lead guitar lines, with feedback, in this unique song by George Harrison.
And by process of elimination, the bass must have been played by John; all of the Beatles working as a collective to fully flesh-out George’s vision of a bombastic, psychedelic song which he led from the organ.

By: Wil1972

Wil1972 — Thu, 18 May 2017 13:10:07 +0000

I am not totally convinced John is playing lead here either. In fact I seem to remember an interview with George back after the new version of the Yellow Submarine Songtrack album came out where George said it was Paul.

By: steve

steve — Tue, 02 May 2017 14:31:04 +0000

I think it’s George too

By: steve

steve — Tue, 02 May 2017 14:30:21 +0000

All the tracks on the songtrack were spectacular. I remember getting it and being blown away by the number of instruments you could now hear. The piano on Hey Bulldog never sounded better. I think all the tracks should be remixed because there are so many layers to Beatles tracks and it would be nice to hear them in the clarity of remixes.