First released: 1969, January 17

Original Vinyl Recording Remastered (2012)

Sheet music, guitar tabs, song books at Sheetmusicplus.com

1. Yellow Submarine (2:41)
   Recorded: May 26, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with special effects overdubbed June 1, 1966
   John Lennon - acoustic guitar, background vocal, blowing bubbles through a straw
   Paul McCartney - acoustic guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - tambourine, background vocal, swirling water in a bucket
   Ringo Starr - lead vocal, drums
   Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Alf, Geoff Emerick, Patti Harrison and studio staff - chorus on fadeout
   Session musicians - brass band
2. Only a Northern Song (3:28)
   Recorded: February 13, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England with lead vocals overdubbed February 14, 1967 and more overdubs added April 20, 1967
   John Lennon - piano, discordant instruments
   Paul McCartney - bass, discordant instruments
   George Harrison - double-tracked lead vocal, organ, discordant instruments
   Ringo Starr - drums, discordant instruments
   Session musicians - brass
3. All Together Now (2:13)
   Recorded: May 12, 1967 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - banjo, background vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar, acoustic guitar
   George Harrison - harmonica, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums, finger cymbals
4. Hey Bulldog (3:14)
   Recorded: February 11, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - lead vocal, piano, lead guitar
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, harmony vocal
   George Harrison - lead guitar, tambourine
   Ringo Starr - drums
5. It's All Too Much (6:29)
   Recorded: May 25, 1967 at De Lane Lea Music Recording Studios, London, England with overdubs added May 26, 1967 and June 2, 1967
   John Lennon - lead guitar, harmony vocal
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, harmony vocal
   George Harrison - double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar, organ
   Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
   Session musicians - two trumpets
   
   The verse that was in the movie but not on the album version is "Nice to have the time to take this opportunity/Time for me to look at you and you to look at me"
6. All You Need Is Love (3:48)
   Recorded: June 14, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios, London, England (backing track), overdubbed and shortened at an Abbey Road session, then overdubbed live on the "Our World" TV broadcast
   ::Backing track::
   John Lennon - harpsichord
   Paul McCartney - string bass played with a bow
   George Harrison - violin
   Ringo Starr - drums
   ::Abbey Road Track::
   John Lennon - lead vocal
   Paul McCartney - electric bass guitar
   George Harrison - guitar
   Ringo Starr - drums
   ::Live "Our World" track::
   John Lennon - lead vocal
   Paul McCartney - background vocal
   George Harrison - background vocal
   Session musicians - studio orchestra
   Mick Jagger, Gary Leeds, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull,
   Jane Asher, Patti Harrison, Keith Moon, Graham Nash - chorus
7. Pepperland (2:24)
   Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.
8. Medley: Sea of Time and Sea of Holes (5:21)
   Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.
9. Sea of Monsters (3:40)
   Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.
10. March of Meanies (2:22)
    Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.
11. Pepperland Laid Waste (2:15)
    Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.
12. Yellow Submarine in Pepperland (2:11)
    Performed by George Martin's Orchestra.

Hardly the best album in the world but still somewhat good. I love the lyrics in All Together Now: "Black, white, green, red. Can I take my friend to bed?" It's so freaky it's good! There is some great bass work on Hey Bulldog. And out of the George Martin compositions I love Pepperland and Yellow Submarine in Pepperland.

Not really a BEATLES album but still some great songs HEY BULLDOG,ITS ONLY A NORTHERN SONG and the brilliant ITS ALL TO MUCH MORE more for a completist than an average listener.

The only Beatles album that could really be classified as inessential, mostly because it wasn't really a proper album at all, but a soundtrack that only utilized four new Beatles songs. (The rest of the album was filled out with "Yellow Submarine," "All You Need Is Love," and a George Martin score that held little appeal to rock listeners.) What's more, the four new tracks were little more than pleasant throwaways that had been recorded during 1967 and early 1968. These aren't all that bad; "All Together Now" is a kiddieish singalong, "Hey Bulldog" has some mild Lennon nastiness, and Harrison's "It's All Too Much" is highlighted by some tidal waves of feedback guitar. It would have been far better value if it had been released as a four-song EP (an idea the Beatles even considered at one point, with the addition of a bonus track in "Across the Universe," but ultimately discarded). — Richie Unterberger

Review