While My Guitar Gently Reverses

Many listen to the Beatles to hear Paul McCartney’s smooth vocal ornamentation or the steady but strong beat of Ringo’s bass drum or just the melodic melodies of their music. But others see these beautiful technicalities simply as additions to the musical creativity and collaboration, the raw, pure talent, and The Beatles’ drive to work hard to “please please” themselves, and more importantly, others. One of the most mastered skills these men possessed was an ability to command guitar picking, strumming, and slamming. As a result of their continuous search throughout their careers for new creativity and innovation, George Harrison’s “reverse guitar” playing was born. Although “I’m Only Sleeping” is not amongst their many number one hits, it features a dreamy and wistful sound which was new to music audiences at the time. Harrison spent hours in the studio rehearsing to achieve the proper guitar sound which would be heard by reversing the normally-played guitar tape. Take a listen to the song and you’ll be given a historic backstage pass into The Beatles’ crazy and inventive guitar-playing methods

I’m Only Sleeping – The Beatles: