The Beatles "Something" Isolated Bass And Drums

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Here's a wonderful insight into the backbone of The Beatle's ever enduring success, a listen to the isolated rhythm section of Ringo Starr on drums and Paul McCartney on bass. This is as solid and as creative a combination as modern music has ever seen. As you listen to just the bass and drums of "Something," be aware of the following:

1) Listen to how far behind the beat Ringo's snare is. He plays the song every bit the way a blues drummer would. Actually, "Something" uses somewhat of a blues song form, with 10 bars instead of the the normal 12.

2) Ringo doesn't play a high hat during the verse. It's just kick and snare. You hear the ride cymbal during the guitar solo section, and the hat only during the very last B-section of the song.

3) Listen to the constant tom fills during the bridge. It's easy to overlook this when all the instruments are in the mix.

4) Listen to how improvised the bass part is. The only part that seems written is the B-section ("I don't want to leave her now").

5) The sounds of both the bass and drums are great; big and round sounding with plenty of definition. This was done on the solid state TG console at Abbey Road Studios that no one particularly liked the sound of, but it holds up very well as compared to what came after.

If you'd like to read more about recording The Beatles and Abbey Road Studios, check out Ken Scott's book Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust.




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