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2.06pm
26 January 2017
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Old Soak said
My favourite track from The White Album , The Beatles playing as loud as it gets in what was virtually a cupboard space. Anyone who thinks McCartney is only about ballads get the dirtiest, raunchiest, most fabulous live jam going. The story as I heard it was The Beatles were sorely out of practice playing as a live band since their retirement from touring in 1966, most was done with overdubs and piecing songs together track by track from 1967. This track was an attempt to play as a live ensemble and all the better for it. Everything is cranked to 11, Ringo in particular hits the drums so hard and for so long it leads to the famous “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” Exclamation. Stonewall classic.
I thought it was Yer Blues that was played inside a cupboard.
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I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
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4.06pm
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1 May 2011
Offline QuarryMan said
I thought it was Yer Blues that was played inside a cupboard.
It was. ‘Helter Skelter ‘ was recorded in Studio Two.
One of the more rememberable events during the ‘Helter Skelter ‘ sessions was that George put a flaming ashtray on his head and ran around the studio!
‘HS’ is one where I go thru a phase of really liking it then don’t listen to it for months. I also like take 2 which some folk say is plodding – I think it works nicely and is good to hear such a different style of recording.
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4.12pm
2 May 2013
Offline I stand corrected, always thought it was Helter Skelter recorded in the cupboard. Doesn’t diminish my opinion of it though, still a top track.
4.27pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Old Soak said
I stand corrected, always thought it was Helter Skelter recorded in the cupboard. Doesn’t diminish my opinion of it though, still a top track.
Easy to get the two confused.
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4.40pm
18 April 2013
Offline This reminds me of that Mr. Rogers quote where he saw scary things on the news and his mother told him to look for the helper skelters.
"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
6.54pm
Moderators
27 November 2016
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meanmistermustard said
It was. ‘Helter Skelter ‘ was recorded in Studio Two.
One of the more rememberable events during the ‘Helter Skelter ‘ sessions was that George put a flaming ashtray on his head and ran around the studio!
‘HS’ is one where I go thru a phase of really liking it then don’t listen to it for months. I also like take 2 which some folk say is plodding – I think it works nicely and is good to hear such a different style of recording.
I’ve been wondering if that’s the noise at 0:50 for a while now. Anyway agree?
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7.55am
14 June 2016
Offline Ron Nasty said
While their closest approximation of heavy rock, I don’t think it’s their heaviest song; that goes to I Want You (She’s So Heavy) so far as I’m concerned.
I agree that the extended outro from I Want You is darker than anything Helter Skelter offers. But as a consistently rocking track I’d have to side with Helter Skelter . But hey, I’m a big fan of both.
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8.07am
14 November 2017
Offline Evangeline said
I’m almost sure that Paul heard The Who’s ‘loudest dirtiest rocknroll song’ (I Can See For Miles) and did try to out do them, not take inspiration from them.
I’m almost sure that Paul heard The Who’s ‘loudest dirtiest rocknroll song’ (I Can See For Miles) and did try to out do them, not take inspiration from them. @Evangeline: yep. Paul said in an interview with Slash (sorry,Howard Stern
) that he saw that ”dirtiest,grittiest rock record” quote in a music paper and showed it to John. Helter Skelter is a brilliant song,much better than I Can See For Miles. Just a shame that it’s tainted slightly by being associated with CM (I won’t type his name,we all know who i mean
)
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9.27am
Moderators
15 February 2015
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Ludwig said
Arghh, just realised I’ve got a typo in the title of this thread! Damn predictive text.
I only realised when I saw this post that the title says ‘Helper Skelter’. 
Autocorrect was trying to be too helpful, it seems. 
@Ludwig you can edit it since you’re the thread author.
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6.33am
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14 April 2010
Offline @Ludwig , I’ve fixed the Topic Title for you. When I first saw it, I assumed Helper Skelter was on purpose, as in “help me understand why you like it – looking forward to opinions”. I thought it was clever.
Anyway, it’s fixed. 
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4.30pm
5 July 2015
Offline I’ll admit it’s not the track I look forward to most when listening to the White Album , but the album just wouldn’t be the same without it. I’m glad they recorded and released it… and also glad that they didn’t keep moving in that direction musically! I’m not a fan of The Who or loud rock music in general.
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QuarryMan4.53pm
10 March 2017
Offline It’s a great song, reminds me of Kick Out The Jams which was released the following year. I especially love the drumming on this song as it sounds like Ringo’s really beating those drums to the point where got blisters on his fingers.
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6.34am
26 January 2017
Offline glazball said
I’ll admit it’s not the track I look forward to most when listening to the White Album , but the album just wouldn’t be the same without it. I’m glad they recorded and released it… and also glad that they didn’t keep moving in that direction musically! I’m not a fan of The Who or loud rock music in general.
Agreed. The Beatles could do anything they wanted… doesn’t mean they should have done.
I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound.
1.05pm
18 April 2013
Offline I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I prefer the mono mix with the fade-out at the end. I don’t like to hear Ringo scream about his blisters.
"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
1.07pm
18 April 2013
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Expert Textpert said
This reminds me of that Mr. Rogers quote where he saw scary things on the news and his mother told him to look for the helper skelters.
This comment was taken out of context and moved here from another thread–it isn’t really about Helter Skelter , it was just a poor attempt at a joke.
"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
1.25pm
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17 December 2012
Offline Giles Martin talks us through the recording of Helter Skelter , from the first sessions of blues jams through to the revisited loud and heavy sessions and how it became the iconic finished master. Now remixed for the 2018 release of the White Album .
[x-posted to the White Album 50th thread]
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2.30am
6 May 2018
Offline Ringo talks about blisters due to drumming:
“Get over it! Peace and love.” 
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5.36am
12 May 2015
Offline Always felt to me like John used the feel of the slower, blues version of “helter skelter” as a template for some of the “plastic ono band” album….particularly “well well well” and “i found out”.
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Richard, vonbontee, Rube10.41am
14 June 2016
Offline He was feeling the slower paced music, namely Revolution 1 , the Sexy Sadie demos, etc. But in those examples he eventually went for faster, energetic versions.
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4.07pm
1 December 2009
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castironshore said
Always felt to me like John used the feel of the slower, blues version of “helter skelter” as a template for some of the “plastic ono band” album….particularly “well well well” and “i found out”.
Wow, yes, I had that same revelation just days ago playing the expanded POB! Its true, really does seem like John & Ringo reaching back a coupla years, recalling that vaguely menacing one-beat-at-a-time feel to the otherwise fairly dull early versions. A much better use of that music! It’s a mystery to me why Paul originally tried the song that way; they’d have no chance at all of out-noiserocking The Who (or Jimi or the Velvet Underground for that matter) with a staccato plodding arrangement like that. I guess maybe they were just experimental rehearsals, or maybe Paul didn’t see Pete’s remarks until sometime between the song’s makeovers…
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
