The Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy) - Bass Cover

Paul’s epic bass from one of The Beatles’ longest tracks! Improvising around the main progression, Paul lets loose with bending notes and non-melodic sliding phrases. This one’s fun to play!

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The basic track was recorded on February 22, 1969, at Trident Studios, about three weeks after the Get Back sessions ended. Session photos reveal The Beatles on some of their typical Get Back instruments, with Paul using his nylon-stringed Hofner bass (see the Hofner headstock poking out behind Ringo’s right cymbal here: http://www.beatlesebooks.com/files/16.... This conclusion is strengthened by the tone of the recorded bass, which closely matches the resonant sustain of Paul’s Get Back session tone. The bends on the track also feel much more natural on a Hofner compared to a Rickenbacker bass.

Paul begins “I Want You” playing root notes (0:00), keeping things simple behind George’s lead guitar. However, we already get a glimpse of things to come with the quick descending slide at 0:05. Into the first verse, Paul accents hits with the band using 3 note bass chords (0:13). He again keeps things simple in the transition to the D chord section of the verse (0:26). Some quarter note bends are thrown in the phrases starting at 0:37. Bluesy! He then plays a simple transition to the E chord section (0:48). The E section is played totally straight with primarily 8th notes (0:53) - he varies the rhythm later in the song.

For verse two, starts on a higher A note, using that as his center of gravity for the first section of the verse (1:05). He slides between an E note and the low A note, throwing in more bluesy bends on occasion. The playing gets more intense during the transition (1:17) before moving on to the D chord section, which features bends similar to the first verse (1:26). The E chord section is likewise played similarly to the first (1:44).

The first interlude sees Paul throwing in more sliding phrases (1:55) with a 4 note slide at 2:02. In the tab transcription (linked above), these slides are shown with approximate fret numbers, be loose with it! Paul sticks closely to the chord progression root notes before playing another 4 note slide at 2:14. He then walks up to an A fermata using at 2:19.

The guitar solo has a distinctive Latin feel, and Paul accentuates this using syncopated sliding notes, using the E and G notes to pivot between the low and high A notes (2:24). He then just uses the E note for accent (2:30) before returning to the syncopated high A figure. The D chord section is played in a similar manner, using the flat 7 note to accentuate the root (2:47). More ¼ note bends are included at 2:54. For the E chord section, Paul plays some E notes as 16th notes (3:09) and plays an accelerated walk up phrase. He uses the low E note to add in extra power (3:13). In the second interlude, Paul plays a fast sliding note (3:23) before walking up to a high A (3:28).

The final verse is at a slightly faster tempo, but Paul plays a similar phrase as in the guitar solo (3:45). To transition to the D chord, he plays a long descending sliding phrase (4:04). Another long slide is included at 4:13. In the E chord section, Paul plays octave Es in unison together (4:28) before sliding up to the high E to end the main section of the song (4:34).

In the outro, Paul experiments with further sliding phrases, becoming more daring as the progression continues. He starts out simple with single notes, much like the intro (4:36), however various slides are already included. At 4:59 an extended ascending slide phrase is played. The rhythmic beats are emphasized heavily for the progression starting at 5:01. Octave A notes are played at 5:12. At 5:28 staccato ascending slides are played to add emphasis to the low root notes. At 5:43 double staccato ascending slides are played. At 5:56 we see tripled staccato slides played! Starting at 6:04 Paul plays a syncopated rhythmic pattern between the root note and a high A note. At 6:13 Paul walks up to a high D using A major notes. The ascending phrase at 6:18 is played using heavy vibrato. A spastic sliding phrase is played at 6:27. More sliding phrases are added starting at 6:32. A fanfare like A note phrase is played at 6:52. Paul then alternates between the root and a high D at 6:54. Paul returns to simple phrasing starting at 7:07. At 7:12 a rhythmic octave phrase is played on the E chord before being echoed on the Bb. At 7:25 a different octave phrase is played on the E and Bb notes. The high walk up is again played at 7:33, this time with light vibrato. The song ends with a hard cut on the low A note (7:42).

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David Wiggins

Instruments Used:
Paul McCartney Bass: Hofner 500/1 '62 Reissue Violin Bass