I'm Only Sleeping | Page 3 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

What is interesting to me is the Anthology version, not sure whether this is a home demo or extremely embryonic studio version, but essentially this version is actually easy to copy and play with two vocalists, as Paul does a more standard (for them not planet Earth!) lower harmony in the verse and a higher one in the chorus. I’ve done many an acoustic gig trying to emulate that pretty damn fine pacy acoustic version and the song at that point sounds extremely Kinks-influenced, if indeed Sunny Afternoon was out then? Or maybe the Lovin’ Spoonful whom I knew they admired and knew personally in 66.

The acoustic I’m Only Sleeping is perhaps my favourite of all items on Anthology 2 , but I am biased because I’m Only Sleeping in general would be in my top 5 all-time favourite Beatles songs; it has all the melodic ‘feel-good-ism’ of McCartney, with his harmonies and obviously the very ‘overt’ tuneful melody line being extra catchy for John (any period) but with the hypnotic (and I mean almost literally hypnotic) Lennon vocal, coupled with the trance-like, psychedelic instrumentation with the *second* best backwards overdubs on Revolver (second to TNK) and a production that kind of came-and-went, another trick the Beatles dropped on a gaping mouthed world, incredible production they invent, then move on from!

All up, this would be, alongside TNK on same album, my highlight of Revolver and psychedelic era Beatles, I love the entire album more than Pepper as do many others, in fact there’s a very detailed Podcast on Youtube discussing just that- the fact that Revolver is a better album. And I’m Only Sleeping is a torchbearing heavy hitter that makes this a Lennon masterpiece. I’m also happy that unlike on later albums where subsequent interviews have shone divisive and ambivalent hindsight onto the supposed lack of unity in the band (especially from 1970’s Lennon interviews), this song and indeed this album show such pulling together of talents and a ‘oneness’ that make me so profoundly sad that I have never and will never hear I’m Only Sleeping live by John Lennon or better still, by a 1970’s or 80’s (or 90’s) BEATLES.