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Momentum, as all thinking people know, is crucial to many aspects of life, especially creative ones. Last week The Beatles had it as they laid down what would become the title track of their next album. But then they lost it; after taking a few days off they reconvened in the studio today, but seemed directionless. In his book Geoff Emerick says:
The Beatles… spent some seven hours in a stoned haze, jamming endlessly… and pointlessly. In search of a new kind of high, Lennon had brought a big strobe light in, so at one point they turned out the lights and started running around as if they were in an old film. That lasted about five minutes, after which everyone started complaining of a headache. All four of them were completely out of it – tripping on acid, probably – and it was the first Beatles session I’d ever attended where absolutely nothing was accomplished.
Of those seven hours, all that was recorded was a 16-minute instrumental featuring detuned guitars, harmonium, and Ringo’s drums. It remains unreleased, probably for good reason — though maybe it sounds like Sonic Youth, who knows. In any case, they seem to have gotten all this out their systems, as they would return to recording actual songs on Thursday.
Momentum & knowing what the shot is. The two most important things in life.