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[Hello Goodbye]

Nowhere Man






I was just sitting, trying to think, and I thought of myself sitting there, doing nothing and going nowhere.  Once I’d thought of that, it was easy, it all came out. – No, I remember now; I’d actually stopped trying to think of something.  Nothing would come.  I was cheesed off and went for a lie down, having given up.  Then I thought of myself as Nowhere Man – sitting in this Nowhere Land.

John Lennon in 1967
The Beatles by Hunter Davies


On 21 October 1965 The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 PM to remake Norwegian Wood.  At 7:00 PM the song was complete and they began recording John's newly-written Nowhere Man.  After rehearsing for a while, they managed to record only two takes, a false start and an electric guitar rhythm track.  They returned to the studio the following afternoon at 2:30 PM, rehearsed a different arrangement of the song and began recording the rhythm track once again.  Takes 3-5 included John on acoustic rhythm guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums.  Take 4 was their best and at 7:00 PM they began overdubbing their vocals and lead guitar.  Sir George Martin arranged their a cappella intro.  Both John's lead vocal and Paul and George's harmony vocals were double tracked for added depth.  The guitar solo was performed by both John and George in unison on their identical Sonic Blue Fender Stratocasters.

The Beatles - Nowhere Man

Only two songs from the British Rubber Soul album were ever performed live by The Beatles, If I Needed Someone and Nowhere Man.

The Beatles - Nowhere Man (Circus Krone-Bau)

24 June 1966    Circus Krone-Bau  Munich, Germany



John Lennon - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1964 Gibson J-160E), Guitar solo (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster)
Paul McCartney - Bass Guitar (1963 Hofner 500/1), Harmony Vocals
George Harrison –  Lead Guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster), Harmony Vocals
Ringo Starr –  Drums (1965 Ludwig Super Classic Black Oyster Pearl)
   

[tkitna]

Has always been a favorite of mine.  Cant really say a bad thing about it.  Great harmonies, great guitar solo, great production.  Its a ringer.

[Hello Goodbye]

Paul's bassline is complex and beautiful...

Nowhere Man - The Beatle Bass Cover

[Moogmodule]

Yep. One of their best. Terrific melody, great words and gorgeous arrangement. Always loved the guitar solo. Simple but just spot on.

[Moogmodule]

Just listened to it during my lunch break. Paul's bass line is very melodic. He really started pushing the role of the bass in this period.

Now. A question for drummers. There's the oft told story from George Martin that Ringo couldn't do a roll. And still can't. But I often hear him doing things that sound like short rolls to me. This is a case in point. His work on the drums at the end of each verse sound to me what I'd call a drum roll. Or have I got the terminology wrong and he's doing something else?

[Hombre_de_ningun_lugar]

One of the songs that immediately impressed me when I was starting to be a Beatles fan. Great lyrics, harmonies and guitar solo. And the song is part of one of my favorite moments in the "Yellow Submarine" movie.

[Hello Goodbye]

And the song is part of one of my favorite moments in the "Yellow Submarine" movie.

Mine too...

Jeremy Hillary Boob PhD.

The Beatles- Nowhere Man

[Bobber]

A huge favourite since I started listening to The Beatles. Can't get enough of it.

[tkitna]

Now. A question for drummers. There's the oft told story from George Martin that Ringo couldn't do a roll. And still can't. But I often hear him doing things that sound like short rolls to me. This is a case in point. His work on the drums at the end of each verse sound to me what I'd call a drum roll. Or have I got the terminology wrong and he's doing something else?

Yes, its a buzz roll.  I don't know where George Martin is coming from.  Ringo can roll.  What about the roll at the beginning of 'All You Need Is Love'?  Now, some drummers are better at it then others and I'm sure old George Martin was used to his classical and jazz trained drummers, but to say Ringo couldn't do a drum roll is preposterous .

[Klang]

Great song. Energizing. The guys at their best.

 

[stevie]

For some reason the bass on this eludes me. I can play more complex stuff like Something and Penny Lane fine but a few Beatle songs are tough for me. Admittedly I've only been playing for 2 years and am self taught using tabs. But try as I might, I can get nowhere near this...pun intended lol.

[oldbrownshoe]

Great song.
Amazing that a song this strong was 'merely' an L.P. track.

In Britain it came out on the same day as 'Day Tripper', 'We Can Work It Out', 'Girl' and 'Norwegian Wood' (and the Who's debut LP!) among others.

The Beatles Monthly Poll of 1983 had it in 43rd place with 299 votes, which sounds about right to me, though I suspect many would place it higher.

[blmeanie]

All timer.  It has a mood that just soothes and let's the listener relax.  Has been part of the most often listened group of songs since the days of making mix cassettes.

[Dcazz]

One of the perfect Beatle songs. Interesting lyrics, awesome sound!

[Mr Mustard]

Only the most churlish and grumpy reviewer could pick fault with the truly sublime "Nowhere Man". My son and at least one of my friends rank it as their favourite Beatles song of all. I certainly put it in their top ten, and I aren't remotely surprised that the above reviews are unanimous in their praise.

What makes it so special? For me it distils everything that was cool and instinctive and... well, virtually telepathic about them into just two and three quarter magical minutes... each Beatle simultaneously plays a blinder on this one and when that happened we all know they were untouchable. Those rich layers of double tracked vocals, the rolling beat, irresistible harmony poured onto a magnetic melody with the gorgeous, clever bass line and that breathtakingly glistening twin guitar solo -  the whole thing is damn near perfect in my opinion, simple as that.

[Hello Goodbye]

Great song.
Amazing that a song this strong was 'merely' an L.P. track.

In Britain it came out on the same day as 'Day Tripper', 'We Can Work It Out', 'Girl' and 'Norwegian Wood' (and the Who's debut LP!) among others.

The Beatles Monthly Poll of 1983 had it in 43rd place with 299 votes, which sounds about right to me, though I suspect many would place it higher.

Here in the United States, Nowhere Man was released as a single on 21 February 1966 with What Goes On on the flip side.  It was on The Beatles Yesterday...And Today LP sounding real good...

The Beatles - Nowhere Man (Vinyl)

We also enjoyed the song on The Beatles Cartoons which aired Saturday mornings on TV...

THE BEATLES CARTOON Ep33a Nowhere Man

Cute reference to Herman's Hermits in there. 

[Hello Goodbye]

       

[oldbrownshoe]

Hello Goodbye, here's a small piece about the U.K./U.S. differences in this month's Mojo magazine.

February 5th, 1966:
It's reported that several U.S. radio stations have received telegrams urging them not to play four songs by The Beatles. The telegrams, from a leading music business attorney connected to Northern Songs, The Beatles' music publisher, concern 'What Goes On', 'Nowhere Man', 'If I Needed Someone' and 'Drive My Car', none of which have been released in the U.S.A. One programme director in Buffalo, New York, said he was puzzled by the telegram. "I've never heard of the songs," he claimed.

I wonder if U.K. stations were also steered away from those Beatles' songs which appeared in the U.S. before the U.K.?
Presumably, in the States, Import copies of 'Rubber Soul' were initially quite desirable for this very reason?

[Moogmodule]

Hello Goodbye, here's a small piece about the U.K./U.S. differences in this month's Mojo magazine.

February 5th, 1966:
It's reported that several U.S. radio stations have received telegrams urging them not to play four songs by The Beatles. The telegrams, from a leading music business attorney connected to Northern Songs, The Beatles' music publisher, concern 'What Goes On', 'Nowhere Man', 'If I Needed Someone' and 'Drive My Car', none of which have been released in the U.S.A. One programme director in Buffalo, New York, said he was puzzled by the telegram. "I've never heard of the songs," he claimed.

I wonder if U.K. stations were also steered away from those Beatles' songs which appeared in the U.S. before the U.K.?
Presumably, in the States, Import copies of 'Rubber Soul' were initially quite desirable for this very reason?

Is that because these were the songs held over for Yesterday and Today?

[Moogmodule]

Yes, its a buzz roll.  I don't know where George Martin is coming from.  Ringo can roll.  What about the roll at the beginning of 'All You Need Is Love'?  Now, some drummers are better at it then others and I'm sure old George Martin was used to his classical and jazz trained drummers, but to say Ringo couldn't do a drum roll is preposterous .

Thanks tkitna. That's what I thought (although hadn't heard the term buzz roll before). I think his rolls in Nowhere Man to my ears sound quite neat and deft too. Wasn't there also some rolls in the live versions of I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You.

It's funny how such stories become received wisdom.