John Lennon Bragged That The Beatles’ Song ‘Rain’ Pulled Off 1 Recording Trick Before Anyone Else
John Lennon established himself as a forward-thinking artist with The Beatles. He had many opportunities to prove it once the band gave up touring to focus on studio experimentation. Ringo Starr called ‘Rain’ one of The Beatles’ weird tracks because of his drumming, but Lennon bragged that he pulled off one recording trick on the song before other artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin did.
‘Rain’ was one of the earliest studio experiments by John Lennon and The Beatles
The 1966 album Revolver remains one of The Beatles’ finest efforts. It also sets the table for the studio effects the band showed on later albums such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road.
But “Rain,” released as the B-side to “Paperback Writer” in late May 1966, predates Revolver by roughly two months. It telegraphs some of what came soon after on Revolver.
Ringo achieved a massive drum sound on “Rain” thanks to some studio trickery. Producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick recorded the Beatles at a higher speed, but then they slowed it down to get it to the tempo fans heard. Lennon’s lead guitar is shimmery sounding (rain-soaked?), but there was another studio trick he bragged about doing before other English bands.
Lennon bragged about backmasking his vocals on ‘Rain’ ‘before any f—–’
“Rain” never made it onto a Beatles album, but it impacted the band’s sound. Lennon bragged about one recording trick he pulled off well before other artists of the era.
Roughly two minutes and 35 seconds into “Rain,” Lennon’s vocals spill out backward. Jimi Hendrix employed backward tacking more than a year later on the 1967 song “Are You Experienced?” Led Zeppelin used backmasking on “Whole Lotta Love” in 1969, but in 1980, Lennon bragged about being the first to use the trick on record with “Rain,” author George Case notes in Led Zeppelin FAQ:
“Before Hendrix, before the Who, before any f—–. I got home from the studio, and I was stoned out of my mind on marijuana, and, as I usually do, I listened to what I’d recorded that day. Somehow I got it on backward, and I sat there, transfixed, with the earphones on, with a big hash joint. I ran in the next day and said, ‘I know what to do with it, I know. Listen to this!’ So I made them all play it backward.”
John Lennon brags about being a backmasking pioneer with his vocals on “Rain”
Lennon’s Beatles bandmates must have liked what they heard on “Rain” because they echoed that song on two Revolver tracks. “I’m Only Sleeping” introduces backmasked guitars 45 seconds into the song and employs the trick at other points. Meanwhile, “She Said She Said” is a “Rain” soundalike (at least in terms of drum and guitar sounds).
A stoned Lennon might have perfected backmasking before any of his fellow English artists, which he boasted about years later.
‘Revolver’ features some of The Beatles’ earliest studio experiments on an album
Only eight months separated the releases of Rubber Soul (December 3, 1965) and Revolver (August 5, 1966). They were both defining albums for the band, but the latter expands on the studio experimentation The Beatles showed on “Rain.”
In addition to the backmasking Lennon bragged that he perfected first, the album is rife with layered textures.
“Eleanor Rigby” relies on strings for its melodies, something The Beatles never had time to try when they were flying through recording sessions between tour dates early in their career. Revolver also showcases added sound effects on “Yellow Submarine,” George Harrison’s sitar on “Love You To,” layered guitars on “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and Ringo’s transcendent drumming on “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Revolver was The Beatles’ first foot through the door of full-fledged studio experimentation. Yet John Lennon bragged about his pioneering backmasking technique on “Rain,” which predated the landmark album.
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