Not Guilty

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Not Guilty is a song by George Harrison. The Beatles recorded a version in 1968 during the sessions for The Beatles. It was written by George Harrison.

Contents

Writing

Although the song was written in 1968, George did not release his own version until 1979, when he released his self-titled album. George told Rolling Stone for their April 1979 issue, "I wrote that in 1968. It was after we got back from Rishikesh in the Himalayas on the Maharishi trip, and it was for the White Album. We recorded it but we didn't get it down right or something. Then I forgot all about it until a year ago, when I found this old demo I'd made in the Sixties. The lyrics are a bit passe - all about upsetting 'Apple carts' and stuff - but it's a bit about what was happening at the time. 'Not guilty for getting in your way/While you're trying to steal the day' - which was me trying to get a space. 'Not guilty/For looking like a freak/Making friends with every Sikh/For leading your astray/On the road to Mandalay' - which is the Maharishi and going to the Himalayas and all that was said about that. I like the tune a lot; it would make a great tune for Peggy Lee or someone." Even though it is about 1960's counterculture, the song is also largely about George's often small role in The Beatles. Part of the lyrics are:

"Not guilty
For getting in your way
While you’re trying to steal the day ...

I won’t upset the apple cart
I only want what I can get
I’m really sorry that you've been misled
But like you heard me said:
Not guilty"

Even though most of the album The Beatles was done individually, George still needed the others' support for his songs in order for them to be included on the album. Much of the problem with recording the song was it's many time signature changes, which broke down several takes.

Recording

The earliest known recording is a demo at Kinfauns, George's home in Esher, made in May 1968. Formal recording work on the song began on August 7, 1968, when 46 takes of the basic track were recorded. These included guitar, bass, electric piano and drums. The first 18 takes were recordings of just the intro. Beyond that, only five takes were complete. On August 8, takes 46-101 of the basic track were recorded. In these takes, the electric piano had been replaced by a harpsichord. On August 9, a reduction mix of Take 99 was made and dubbed Take 102. Onto this, they overdubbed extra lead guitar, bass and drums in a six-hour session. Engineer Brian Gibson recalled, "George asked us to put his guitar amplifier at one end of the echo chambers, with a microphone at the other end to pick up the output. He sat playing the guitar in the studio control room with a line plugged through to the chamber." The Beatles' version was completed on August 12, when George recorded another lead vocal part, once again insisting on recording in the controlroom. Engineer Ken Scott recalled, "George had this idea that he wanted to do it in the control room with the speakers blasting, so that he got more of an on-stage feel. So we had to monitor through headphones, setting the monitor speakers at a level where he felt comfortable and it wouldn't completely blast out his vocal." A mono mix was made after this session, although it did not make it onto the final album. George eventually recorded it for his album George Harrison in 1979, though his version was much mellower, with acoustic guitar played by George Harrison and harmonium played by Steve Winwood. A stereo mix of The Beatles version was made by Geoff Emerick in the early 1980's for an aborted rarities album called Sessions. It edited roughly a minute out of the full version. This mix was eventually used for Anthology 3 in 1996.

Recording Sessions


Trivia

The recording of this song was the first time George used his cherry-red Gibson guitar, a gift from his friend Eric Clapton.

Personnel

The Beatles

Production

Available Beatles Versions

Available On

Source

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