Trust me #124
It's All Too Much by The Beatles
With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue
You're too much
Tucked away on the second side of The Beatles Yellow Submarine soundtrack, It's All Too Much is six minutes of psychedelic bliss. It is the sound of George Harrison tripping off his nut, hopelessly in love with his wife Pattie. Intoxicated, overwhelmed by the drug and Boyd's incredible beauty. What a trip to be on! It grooves and drones, there is uplifting brass that cuts through and above everything else, while George Harrison sounds like the happiest guy on the planet, loved up in more ways than one.
No wonder! Pattie Boyd was absolutely knockout stunning. The pair met in March 1964 while filming It's A Hard Days Night in 1964 and were married by January 1966. George would go on to write Something about Boyd, and his great friend Eric Clapton wrote Layla while falling for Boyd and later 'stole/won' Boyd, subsequently writing the beautiful Wonderful Tonight. George, amazingly, never held a grudge and even attended their wedding.
Harrison described taking acid as like a light bulb going on in my head. Was he the most psychedelic of The Beatles? Quite possibly! Although I'm sure a case could be made for all 3 of the main songwriters.
George was famously introduced to the drug in the spring of 1965 when a London dentist secretly spiked his and John’s coffee. While terrifying initially, Harrison later recalled that the experience fundamentally altered his perception of reality, opening his mind to a sense of universal oneness and spiritual presence.
Written in 1967, the summer of love, It's All Too Much, the song wasn't released until 1969 on the Yellow Submarine album. It had been considered as a stand alone single and was muted for the Magical Mystery Tour album and film. Somehow, it was overlooked. Or, maybe it just didn't fit with the vibe. It's something I don't understand as its an incredible song.
Maybe the song found its rightful home in the animated world of Pepperland! In the Yellow Submarine movie, it serves as the ecstatic climax. An edited version plays during the sequence where the Fab Four finally liberate Pepperland from the Chief Blue Meanie, turning a grey wasteland back into a technicolour paradise. Pure psychedelia, the height of the trip.
George Martin, correctly, gets a lot of credit when it comes to Beatles arrangements and production. However, It's All Too Much was largely self produced by the Fab Four at De Lane Lea Studios in London on 25th and 26th May 1967. Incredibly, the latter date is the day that Sergeant Pepper was released! The Beatles were not a band to hang around! Martin assisted with additional music and arrangements in early June.
Later that summer, at the start of August, Harrison and Boyd traveled to San Francisco to the so called heart of the hippy scene in Haight Ashbury. The two of them look sensational, walking through the crowd in shades, the scene within the scene. George was handed a guitar and played a few chords, but was apparently unable to play any more than that due to the strength of the LSD he was on. There are also several photos of Harrison smoking a large joint.
However, the trip actually turned Harrison off acid. He thought Haight Ashbury was full of bums and lost souls who'd come looking for an answer and just dropped out. On return to the UK, George threw himself into meditation, introducing The Beatles to the Maharishi who was lecturing in London. Impressed, The Beatles then booked to go to a seminar in Wales.
These few months in the life of Harrison and Boyd are a film in the making - It's All Too Much - the drugs, the scene, Sgt Peppers, It's All Too Much, the summer of love, Haigh Ashbury and the Maharishi.
Back to the song, while nowhere near as famous as Something, Wonderful Tonight or Layla Harrison's psychedelic gem is just as beautiful as the former two, just as (maybe even more) powerful than the latter, in its own unique way.
The intro is glorious, Lennon spitting to your Mother, then 16 seconds of fuzzy feedback, followed by a beautiful and soothing organ sound, a superb Ringo drum roll and then huge beats, handclaps, a hammering organ and a wall of brass. It's All Too Much finds a groove and marches like Sgt Pepper leading a psychedelic parade with Harrison chanting the title. It's heavy, droning, relentless and a sensory explosion for a full 60-seconds.
Part of me wishes it went on longer, but then we are into the song, with George singing about gazing into the eyes of his love, sounding head over heels, walking on air and into the sunshine.
When I look into your eyes, your love is there for me
And the more I go inside, the more there is to see
The Beatles tumble and flow straight into the chorus with Harrison nailing his colours to the mast. It's joyous, a celebration of love and the times ... even if it was 2-years too late. Imagine if this had been released in the summer of 67! It would have been perfect.
It's all too much, for me to take
The love that's shining all around you
Everywhere, it's what you make
For us to take, it's all too much
Floating down the stream of time, of life to life with me
Makes no difference where you are, or where you'd like to be
Harrison is in the psychedelic zone with his writing and sounds, George Martin (who allegedly never took LSD) creates all kinds of wonderous sounds over The Beatles groove. The chorus sounds bigger every time it arrives, McCartney's bass flourishes at times, Ringo is on fire and Harrison is firing off delicious riffs and guitar sounds. Does it get any better than this?!
There is a long instrumental with Paul and Ringo locked in a groove, horns and more delicious feedback that is extended into the next verse and the final double chorus simply explodes.
Harrison and The Beatles aren't finished though, there is a long and beautiful 2-minutes and 45 seconds outro. It grooves, horns soars and a mantra is introduced. I adore when George comes in with his simple declaration and then admission.
With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue
You're too much
What a glorious technicolour delight! I've listened to It's All Too Much a fair bit in the last couple of weeks while researching the song and events around it. And I haven't tired of it! The Beatles sound like they are having loads of fun - again, why the hell was this not released as a single? OK, The Beatles were in sensational form in 67, releasing Sgt Peppers but also the singles - Strawberry Fields / Penny Lane (February) , All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man (July) and Hello Goodbye / I Am The Walrus (November). Wouldn't it have been the perfect double a-side for All You Need Is Love?
It's All Too Much is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
