Across The Universe

Across The Universe - Lennon McCartney

Across The Universe has always been one of my favorite songs..  It has John’s ‘wonderful sleepy quality’ he can summon when he feels a song need mystique..  It has an emotional simbiance to some of Georges spiritualness that seeps thru his music..  And like they sometime did (John and Paul would take stabs at writing in the style of the other)..

At the time of recording this I had been in a resurgence of PinkFloyd listening..  They would go to Abbey Road studios put the tape into record and just play, jam improvise on the spot,  shooting each other looks or arm waves to indicate next chord, get heavier etc.  They then would play back this very long piece of music and pick sections to use in a song.

They would listen to their jam, remember what they did, then perform it again, stringing together the sections of jamming they liked.  The Beatles earlier had done a similar thing.. where they would just run a two track, and play what ever came out. Often while jamming, they would stay in that spot, repeating, refining their parts, till it was somewhat more concise.

Since I compose alone,  it’s somewhat hard for  me ‘jam’, but certainly The Yamaha Genos (this was done on Tyros). You can improvise chords and melody in real time, with a reasonable rhythm section..

I started by listening to Across The Universe dozens of times alone.  Figured out the chords, and just played around with the sections..  I sometimes just jammed 8 bars over and over, finding perhaps an alternate motif they might have used, or created an additional part, that Martin would have added later,   

I usually prefer Beatles covers to be pretty close to the original.  Sometimes a talented artist, does come up on a unique angle on a song.  And it is the nature of music, that it is not written in stone.  As I played around with it,  I put it Beatles trademarked Leslie guitar, quasi George Martin string lines, and tried to do it in the spirit of perhaps the Beatles might have done it this way, had they the time and the technology of 50 years later.

I certainly did take liberties with it,  sticking in brief wanders from the chord progression.. And part of that is for me is to ‘loosen up’..  I have sometimes gotten comments from other musicians, that I never loosen up (God forbid I play something really bad).. and I certainly used to when younger.

With this I wanted to expand on the scope of the original song,  but stay within ‘emotional values’ of what I perceive to be John’s original intent.  This piece was recorded in 2016, and judging by the take number 737, I probably spend close to 6 weeks on it.  A lot of that was making parts, refining, decided by brilliant idea of a week ago , sucked the big folotus (For fans of The Expanse), I would toss that part totally out,  and create a part to substitute in..  (a lot of expirementation, which I love to do)  Hell - Life is on big experiment is it now?

Lastly, I’ll quote Paul McCartney.   An interviewer was going on and on about the power, the scope, the profound effect of ‘Yesterday’..  Paul listened politely and then responded.  ‘Hey it’s only a song’.   

Hi 

I'm a fan of this song and I , love, as usual, the huge palette of colors you have put in it. Nice counterpoints en many parts, that gives a sensation of great quality. The entrance of the acoustic guitar + cello, also beautiful. And those many many sounds you get from "I don't know where..." The length of the work is perfect, it's interesting all the time. Wow, suddenly I hear unexpected instruments (mandolins). The development sections hase sense (3:45 on, for example). You work is peculiar and I always fall in love ...