Скачать или смотреть The Beatles: Not A Second Time (Drum Cover)

“Not A Second Time” was written by John Lennon while trying to write something in a similar style of Smokey Robinson, who was a fan of Robinson. Credited to Lennon/McCartney, the song was released as the penultimate track on The Beatles’ second album With The Beatles in November 1963, as well as the final track on their second American album Meet The Beatles! released the following January. To me, it’s one of the darkest early Beatle songs. Not because of dark lyrics (though they are rather depressing), but because of its moody atmosphere with the low piano notes, the alternating between major and minor chords, all with a slight touch of reverb, just gives it a dark feeling. It’s a highlight on the album for me.

The song was recorded at EMI studios on September 11, 1963 in nine takes. The backing followed the group’s usual lineup of John on rhythm guitar, Paul on bass, George on lead guitar, and Ringo on drums. Overdubs were added afterwards which involved John double-tracking his lead vocals and George Martin adding a piano part. Martin also takes a piano solo after the first chorus. I thought about recreating this piano part, but decided not to. I’ve said it a couple of times before but my Yamaha keyboard just sounds too fake compared to what you hear in the actual song. I did record some takes with it and even made a full mix with the piano part included, but I thought it sounded too weak when it came to editing. Someday you will hear this, but not today I’m afraid.

Ringo’s Drums
There is a lot more going on in Ringo’s drum part than I thought. To start, its main groove is an open hi hat groove akin to the rest of the album, quarter notes on the bass drum for the entire song with a few eighth notes added here and there, and the snare on beats two, the “and” of two, and four. However, Ringo does add an additional eight note on the “and” of beat four. It occasionally happens in the first verse, but appears mostly in the second verse. Hard to pick out in the mix, but it’s much easier to pick out while listening to the isolated drum track. I knew he played this in the song, but I didn’t know he did it this much. Notice the fills Ringo plays during the song’s breaks. Ringo would again use this same exact fill in “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, which would be recorded about a month later. Of course Ringo would play similar fills again in “If I Fell”, “Tell Me Why”, and “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl.”

Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy!