Drummer reacts to "I'm Only Sleeping" / "Love You To" by The Beatles 

A newly produced video for I'm Only Sleeping just won a Grammy for video of the year.

I'm only sleeping: ringo with the slumber-sesh on the drums...riding the ride cymbal all the way, lazily, ....he really served the song, that ringo.

'I'm only sleeping' John at his most enigmatic

God, what a great album. They recorded this entire album on 4 tracks. Think about that.

The backward solo is just brilliant in I'm Only Sleeping

I like the fact that you play the songs without interruption before commenting.

I'm Only Sleeping is very early psychedelic rock and Love You To is early raga rock. True innovators.

Only John could create a paen to laziness and make it seem the essence of wisdom

This remix just won a grammy for best video! Beatles still winning grammys 60 years later❤❤❤

A great companion to "I'm Only Sleeping", where John didn't want to wake up, was "I'm So Tired" from the White Album, where John couldn't go to sleep! Both great, low-key tunes, and they make a good pair.

George is actually playing a proper sitar on this tune.

Dude it tickles me no end to see your reaction to these guys. Born in 1954 I surely grew up with their soundtrack, saw them on Ed Sullivan, and I’ve never grown tired of hearing the same ~ 250 songs. There’s a reason they have their own radio station on satellite. There can be no argument: there are The Beatles, then everyone else. And that’s just the music!

I can't say it's their best, but Revolver is definitely my favorite Beatles album. If I had to grab 5 records and flee, this is one of them.

She Said, She Said is another great Lennon one off this album. Maybe my favorite

It's a Sitar. George is by himself with other indian musicians

I remember the day in the summer of 1966, when I bought this album in a record store. I brought it back to the office and some people just raised their eyebrows and shook their head. I couldn’t wait to get home and listen to it.

Over the course of my life I have developed an extensive and varied palate in music that includes classical, jazz, blues, folk and old time country. I attribute my appreciation of music to listening to the Beatles as a child.

Love You To is embarrassingly Brilliant..to think he is 23...My Favourite song with She Said, She Said on Revolver..damn

I’m so amazed when I think about how young these lads were when they write these incredible pieces of art. It’s mind boggling.

While you’re listening to Revolver, check out “And Your Bird Can Sing”. George and Paul play dual lead guitars in near perfect sync. The vocal harmonies are stunning.

Revolver and Rubber Soul - my favourite Beatles albums.

Some groups go out to lunch on one good song. (You know who they are). The Beatles produced over a hundred spectacularly good songs....

Rubber Soul widely regarded, back in the day, as the turning point

George is playing the indian sitar and indian musician playing the "tablas", two traditional indians drums

Not only did we have The Beatles in those years we also had The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, The Supremes, Jefferson Airplane, Stevie Wonder and, and, and......... Any limit on R&R was shattered and we were happily swept away in the flood. And The Beatles blasted that dam wide open for us.

Keep in mind when these were originally recorded and mixed it was done on 4 track, possibly 8 track, analog tape recorders. Their production techniques were an art in and of itself, let alone their genius music.

The backwards guitar solo on I’m Only Sleeping is one of the first, if not the first, ever.

I suppose you know - do you? - that Ringo had an unusual quirk in his playing: he was a left-handed drummer playing on a right-handed kit. In addition to being the 'king of feel', the 'man who always served the song' etc etc.

Revolver is my favourite album of all time. Still got the original pressing Mono version on vinyl.

Paul is such a mad lad on "I'm Only Sleeping", somehow evoking upright jazz bass even though he had no background with it whatsoever. "Love You To" was George's first foray into Indian music with lyrics inspired by Buddhist scripture, followed by "Within You Without You" in '67 and "The Inner Light" in '68. He really was way ahead of the curve in terms of "world music".

I call "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," and "Sgt. Pepper..." the "Holy Trinity" of Rock Music. You can see so much growth in the music of The Beatles. Truth be told, tho, you can take any three consecutive albums by The Beatles and claim they are the "Holy Trinity."

"I'm Only Sleeping" must be my favorite Beatles track. At least one of them. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" is another fav of mine. Both Lennon songs

The fact that these two tunes were recorded in 1966 - 1966! - is beyond comprehension. Think about all the other music that were around at the time - the contrast is beyond believable. Totally confirms how great these guys were.

I feel for younger generations who didn't have the benefit of listening to artists progress in linear time instead of having their entire catalog dumped on them all at once. It is the difference between sitting for a 7 course meal and appreciating each dish as it is served and having the waiter bring everything at once, including the check.

This is actually a very popular song among college students who discover the Beatles.

Love you to is so underrated one of my fav Beatle tracks

Consider this, when you get to the end of looking at the Beatles catalogue, consider the amount, quality and evolution of sound that occurs in just over 7 yrs.

I love that they are still getting stuck in heads and invoking thought. What a legacy.

Love the backup vocals on I'm Only Sleeping.

Revolver was about existential stuff - life at large, ordinary life, death, consciousness, etc.

In an interview John was asked about the LSD reference in Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. He said it wasn't about the drug,however he did say that the only song he wrote was about weed. I'm Only Sleeping. He must have been smoking an Indica lol. Always puts me to sleep. 🤤Love the young folks digging a band I grew up with. I'm 71 in 2 days and please don't wake,no don't shake me because I'm Only Seeping. I'll never out grow my homegrown. Lets face it,the Beatles experimenter A LOT .And yes that was George in Sitar. In a recent interview,Paul was asked who was the girl he was referring to on Got To Get You Into My Life. Paul laugh and said, girl??? no it was about he and John giving around London looking for weed. Too funny

When I see audiences at Paul’s concerts, I see all ages of people there. Dave Grogh passed his love for them down to his young daughter.

To me, the Beatles mark the beginning of the fantastic music era of the 1960s & 70's. The end came at the beginning of the electronic music and pop NEW WAVE era.

As a musician, i can't imagine them bring any better...it's rather depressing when you realize that you will never be thid good.

"love that driving beat, Ringo's layin' it down" The tabla player was actually Anil Bhagwat from the Asian Music Circle in London. Bhagwat confirmed that all the sitar playing was George - no other Indian musicians were involved. The tamboura was played by Paul, who also provided vocal harmonies. Neither Ringo nor John had anything to do with this track.

I was 10 when the Beatles arrived, and just graduated high school when they broke up. During that mere 6 years, music went from the cute, poppy rock'n'roll songs of the late 50s and early 60s to an open and brilliant art form with no boundaries. The Beatles invented or improved on musical styles and experimental studio tricks that led the way for everyone else. There were many phenomenal musicians at that time, but none of it (and many of the cultural changes as well) would have happened without The Beatles. And psychedelic drugs, of course. Their cultural and artistic importance cannot be overstated. Why these poor 4 kids from Liverpool? Who knows?

You should watch the movie “Hard days night” and see there personality’s so funny, also listen to the album. Amazing early stuff.

John was famous for sleeping, often late to the studio. He meant it.

This is when George begin to shine. Imagine this in 1965/6? Radios and general fans said what?? Is this the Beatles? Is this the quiet beatle? 😊 many turned their back to the band. Many more became Beatles nerds

My favorite Beatles album is....ALL OF THEM!!!🤘🥰🎶

I love that you love The Beatles, and especially that you apreciate the talents of George, my favourite Beatle. Thanks for this one. Keep em coming! x Linda

I’m an old fan from beginning to end! You will never hear any two songs alike. They wrote certain songs about social issues here that were not issues in England. Like segragation. They were very curious and explored a lot of ways and things to use and incorporate in their music. George was playing Sitar in Love You To. I can go on for hours about them! If you have any questions, you can ask me and I’ll try to answer them. Everyone needs to know they were much more than a perfect band, they were involved in humanity. RUBBER SOUL is the beginning of the shift musically.

Revolver was the first album I bought with my own money at age 15; still one of my top 10 of all time.

George Harrison has a trippy backwards guitar recording there on im only sleeping.

Loving your Beatles journey. And I love this album so much. It's like a cool mix of the older and what was soon to come. And believe me I love the early stuff just as much as the later stuff, just in different ways. But it's so compelling and there is so much history that goes with it that especially if you've ever played in bands you would really get a kick out of I think.

Abbey Road and The White Album are my two favorites. I know you said you don’t care much for other reaction channels, but I DO recommend JustJP. Real good reactions. I think Rubber Soul kind of started their more experimental stuff.

Wow. Hadn't heard Love You To for decades. So thank you for bringing it back to me. Both tracks were great

It all begins and ends with Beatles. ❤️✌️

So great to hear you digging these two amazing tracks. *Correction* George does play the amazing sitar solo, I always thought it was his teacher Ravi Shankar but they use hisfast slapping tabla player Alla Rakha. Both I'm Only Sleeping and Love You To employ backwards sounds a year or two before Jimi Hendrix and other people. The drum sounds on this LP have been favorites of mine for the last 50 years. Thanks Lee, keep plowin on to 20 k !

My favourite Beatles album!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️

Started my life with the Beatles!! Still love it all!! I am Beatle head!😁John Lennon was my favorite one!!!

Even though I've heard this entire LP hundreds of times, every once in a while, I'll hear something different. Such is the case here with this reaction. With the tune, I'm Only Sleeping, never before did I realize the harmony switch by Lennon and McCartney as they sing the line, "on the world flying by my window." The primary vocal for most of the song is sung by Lennon, but on this line, they switch it up whereas McCartney takes over the melody by singing the upper register and Lennon does the harmony and sings the lower part. It's a relatively minor detail to the average listener but it adds such a unique flavor to the song. (btw: I'm glad you caught the yawn. Most people miss it entirely. Incidentally, the yawn was added by McCartney.) In the song, Love You To, the one line that always makes me smile is, "Love me while you can, before I'm a dead old man." It's such an unconventional lyric and yet it's somewhat humorous. I think you may have missed it during your reaction, but nobody catches everything on the first listen. I certainly hope you get around to reacting to the tune that immediately follows these two songs: Here, There and Everywhere. In his post-Beatle days, Lennon was quite harsh with his evaluation on most of their songs, but for this one, he readily admitted that it was his favorite song composed by Paul. I found that a relief considering all the unkind comments he made on the songs I love so much. Here, There and Everywhere is facinating from a muscians standpoint because of the remarkable modulation in the midsection which goes from the key of G, into the key of B flat, then shifts back to the original key seamlessly. It's a masterful transition that works smoothly with the melody. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you will eventually react to it. Love your channel and reactions, bro. I always look forward to whatever comes next. Keep up the good work.

George Harrison playing the sitar on Love You To

I also liked your reaction to Pink Floyd Echoes... The Beatles to me are the pinnacle, they set it all in motion. But Pink Floyd is up there, basically taking it to another level. Like the Beatles took it as far as they could, and Floyd took over where they left off, they finished what the Beatles started. They both recorded at Abbey Road Studios. You see there was an artistic and creative explosion from the mid 60's through the 70's that all emanated from the Big Bang that was the Beatles Shockwave on the world when they arrived in America in February1964. I've listened to alot of music and gotten heavy into many bands and artists, but to me The Beatles are on their own separate level. Floyd is up there with them... Like the Beatles are the original Star Trek with Kirk, and Floyd is TNG with Picard. And really the only other one in that same stratosphere is Dylan. An argument can be made for the Dead especially in the realm of Jam band & touring band they are the kings and pioneers. I especially love the early Floyd like Meddle and Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother... If you want to expand your mind try some Dylan, I suggest A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall and Masters of War.

The Beatles were brilliant Now band come close

maybe just an old guy havering but seriously... who is breaking ground now like they did then? really fun to revisit... thanks for the excuse. glad you're enjoying.

Two of my most favorite Beatles songs. I’m glad you could get it without interference. Sidenote, the only way my parents could get me to go to sleep when I was five years old was to play Piggies by George Harrison. The White album. George is my favorite Beatle. Always has been.❤

I love your reactions and I love the idea of going back after you’ve heard them a few times and giving new analysis. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone doing that. Great idea!

The background organ was a Vox Organ Guitar - as seen on I've Got a Secret - they only made a couple of them On, Love You Too, George played a sitar

Frankly, John was notorious for liking to sleep a lot. Simple as that.

These are such great songs because they’re so unusual.

John was stoned a lot of the time. I’m only sleeping is really I’m stoned and not getting up. Been there myself.

John in I'm Only Sleeping: "When I'm in the middle of a dream / Stay in bed, float upstream ..."; then John later on the same album (Tomorrow Never Knows): "Turn off your mind, relax & float downstream ..." So which way we goin' here?

If you like John, you definitely should do Strawberry Fields Forever. John's voice is so good on it. Its also a good video, often credited as the first real music video. On a side note, if you have kids highly recommend the movie Yellow Submarine, its a kids movie about the Beatles!

Yesterday, today forever ❤ The Beatles. Your channel's doing great- following since you had about 5,000.

If I could only have one Beatles track to listen to…….”I’m only sleeping “ ……..oops then again “ Glass onion “ and “ Dear Prudence “ . 🎸👍❤️

A lot of firsts on this album. Backwards guitars, sitar, etc...

Man, I would LOVE to see you watching George’s sitar teacher Ravi Shankar opening the Monterey Pop Festival. It’s concert footage and certainly won’t be blocked. It will blow your mind. (sorry i can’t afford Patrion, fixed income)

2022 mix? I can't hear any difference from the original. Two great songs thanks, nice reminder of childhood.

Just found your Beatles reactions , good thoughtful reactions! Hope you do their 1966 non album single Paperback Writer / Rain... I believe its included on the Super Deluxe Revolver & also on the compilation Past Masters.

Rubber Soul is probably the "turn".

BEATLES ROCK!!!!

Yeaaaahhh. More Beatles please. I suggest for no one an incredible Paul song but also strawberry fields is a great drummer showcase and a masterpiece

You’ve got it right! Once saw a Billy Joel show in which he covered a Beatles tune and said “The Beatles, best band there ever was, best band there will ever be.” Need more be said? I love your Beatles reactions!

There were Indian musicians on Love You To, they were hired to do the session.

Yassss more beatles such a visceral experience every time woahhh😊

In 1966, the Beatles went to India, dabbled in Indian music. George in particular, fell in love with the sitar, which is featured on the 2nd song you played.

My favorite line from I'm only Sleeping.... Leave me where I am I'm only sleeping

Looking forward to your reactions of their earlier songs.

John just liked sleeping.

Sgt Pepper gets all of the kudos. Don't get me wrong, great album, but for me, Revolver is their best album overall. All killa, no filla.

40 minute video on Monterey Pop Festival. Find the section towards the end where Ravi Shankar performs and gets a standing ovation. He taught George to play and in return Shankar became world wide. Hell of a performance too! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OnV34yEby44.htmlsi=-OPex3pd7rDgQvmk

Yes, it's an Indian Sitar. George was learning from the great Ravi Shankar.

Awesome Job Love those Beatles, the best ever !

i'm the guy who hears everything, every little subtlety...but i've heard this song hundreds of times and never noticed the yawn until you mentioned it. and it's so obvious! pls tell me i'm not alone in this lol

Don’t sleep on the Beatles’ earlier songs. Some people will have you focus on Revolver and later albums. But it was the early music that took the world by storm and made them the top band around. Before Revolver the Beatles already had 13 #1 hits on the Billboard charts. Take a look back before moving forward. You’ve already started their story in the middle of the book.

I'm Only Sleeping, there's the Beatles' first experiment with the guitar playing backwards.

Sitar. Thanks for your videos !!!

That's George playing the sitar. And it wasn't Ringo on the tablas, it was Anil Bhagwat.

As long as its the beatles, keep on yammering.