We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper (UK)

BEATLES NEW DISC

The new Beatles single is out on December 3. The top side is “We Can Work It Out” and the “B” side is “Day Tripper”. Both are Lennon-McCartney compositions.

On “We Can Work It Out”, Paul takes the vocals, being double tracked. He is joined on occasions by John who also plays harmonium.

John sings “Day Tripper”, also being double tracked. Paul and George give him vocal support.

The group’s next LP is titled “Rubber Soul” and is also due for release by Parlophone next month. All the tracks are Beatle compositions, two by George Harrison.

From Record Mirror – November 20, 1965

Beatles: new single chosen

THE Beatles are coming back! Next chart assault will be mounted on December 3 when the next single is released. It’s called “We Can Work It Out”, coupled with “Day Tripper”, both by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul sings “Work It Out”, double-tracking, and the harmonium is included in the backing.

“Day” is a rocker with double-tracked vocal by John with Paul and George singing in the background.

A new Beatles album will be released in early December, titled “Rubber Soul”.

This time all the compositions are by the Beatles, including two by George Harrison. The rest by Lennon and McCartney. The Beatles were still hard at work on the album up to last week selecting material.

The full line-up for the Beatles tour is now: the Paramounts, Beryl Marsden, Steve Aldo, the Koobas, Marionettes, Moody Blues.

From Melody Maker – November 20, 1965

BEATLES WINTER WINNER! Christmas hit set for top

PAUL—all dressed up for winter!—wrote “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” with John Lennon. These are the titles of the new Beatles single, out on December 3. They are joint A-sides, but “Day Tripper” gets top rating from John, Paul, George and Ringo. The Beatles’ new album, “Rubber Soul”, will be another Christmas disc collector’s item. It’s out early next month. It looks like being Christmas at the top of the hit parade for the Beatles!

THE Beatles look all set for Christmas at the top of the hit parade. Their new single, “Day Tripper,” backed by “We Can Work It Out,” is out on December 3—the day they start a new British tour at Glasgow. And a new Beatles LP, “Rubber Soul,” is coming out about the same time as the single.

John, Paul, George and Ringo feel their new single is their “best ever.” Said George Harrison this week: “We’re all made-up about it.”

“Day Tripper” is a rocker—but not in the old-fashioned sense. It’s a very “groupy” sort of record. It starts with guitar, then bass guitar, and John comes in on tambourine. “There’s a funny middle which stays on one chord.”

John is double-tracked on the lead vocal of “Day Tripper,” and he is joined by Paul and George.

The new single is rated as a “double A side,” but George added: “After a lot of talk, we decided ‘Day Tripper’ is really the top track. This is what I’d wanted all along.”

★ RINGO VOCAL

Had they planned the release so they could be at the top for Christmas? “Not especially, but it would be nice if we made it,” he replied.

Only one other “big name” single is timed to battle for the hit parade heights at Christmas—the WALKER BROTHERS’ “My Ship Is Coming In,” out on November 26.

The Beatles’ Christmas album contains all new Beatles compositions—two by George, the rest by John and Paul. One track is a Ringo vocal on the country-and-western styled “What Goes On.” Paul wrote this five years ago!

One of George’s new songs, “If I Needed Someone,” will probably also be the next HOLLIES single, out early next month.

“We’ve finished all our LP tracks—14 songs altogether,” Harrison added. “We’re very pleased with the way everything’s turned out. We all think it’s just about our best LP. I can’t wait for it to come out. The sleeve’s finished, too, and the picture on the front is pretty good.”

• BOTH SIDES OF THE NEW BEATLES SINGLE ARE FEATURED IN THE GROUP’S TV SPECTACULAR, SCREENED ON DECEMBER 17

From Disc Weekly – November 20, 1965

Their new single—a knockout!

WE CAN WORK IT OUT

OF all the singles the Beatles have put out, I liked this the best the very first time I heard it. An immediately arresting record, beautifully made and so obviously a number one it almost screams it at you. It changes tempo about three times and reminds me of the sort of song you might hear from a barrel organ standing in the snow in the centre of some mid-European city. Reeks of classical church harmonies with John playing an almost Fugue harmonium. Paul solos on words about being in love, and I love the way he calls the girl “my friend.”

Now it remains to be seen which side becomes the seller. For me, it’s this one all the way.

DAY TRIPPER

THIS is the side that’s getting all the plugs. This is aggressive and very John Lennon-ish. He sings most of the vocal on this—about this girl being a tease but it took him a long time to find out.

Starts with bass guitar, tambourine and drums and the tambourine plays a big part in the arrangement, brought in as a tinkling, shivering instrument half-way through. It’s very masculine as a record but I think it’s disappointing for the Beatles, even though I can see why they might favour this side more.

From Disc Weekly – November 27, 1965

A BEATLE DOUBLE – A season ticket to the top – but you can tell they’re trying too hard

FREEWHEELING, driving and original — the Beatles’ new single contains at least three Beatle elements, but lacks one more — spontaneity.

“Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” sound as if a lot of hard work went into their production. There isn’t the explosive immediacy of things that have got to be said in songs like “Yesterday” and “She Loves You”, which are so complete, they can’t be improved on.

Both sides of the new one released on December 3, are being plugged as A sides.

“Day Tripper” features a double-tracked vocal by John with Paul and George backing. It opens with a guitar riff, joined by bass, then rhythm guitar, tambourine and drums, one by one. In comes John in a blues wailing “Ride Your Pony” mood, and the group reaches a climax almost Yardbirdian in concept, followed by a fade-out coda.

“We Can Work It Out” features Paul double-tracking. Tambourine is used again with good effect, and a pleasant surprise sound is the use of harmonium providing fat sanctified chords. There are touches of three four emphasis to punch home the lyrics.

“We Can Work It Out”, is the most rewarding side and has Beatle sadness and meaningful lyrics. But “Day Tripper” has the more immediate beat appeal and will probably be the Beatles’ ticket to ride to the top.

From Melody Maker – November 27, 1965

Sales hammer another instant No. 1… BEATLES HIT HARDER WITH NEW SINGLE, LP

THE Beatles’ new single is one of their fastest-ever selling records! Sales of the disc—issued only last Friday—reached three-quarters of a million by Wednesday morning, and it seems almost certain to become the group’s fifth Gold Disc-winning single for sales in Britain alone.

“Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” (it has been impossible to work out which is the most popular since most customers are asking dealers for “the new Beatles single”) enters this week’s NME Chart as an instant No. 1—the sixth consecutive Beatles’ record to do so.

It is the group’s tenth to top the chart.

On present figures the new disc must soon notch up sales of a million. By last weekend EMI had fulfilled orders for 607,000. Another 90,000 were sent out on Monday, and Tuesday’s orders took the total past 750,000.

The Beatles’ four previous British “Gold” winners are “She Loves You,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and, a year ago, “I Feel Fine.”

The “Help!” single was expected to become the fifth when it passed the 800,000 mark two and a half weeks after release, but it stopped selling about 100,000 short of the million mark.

Also setting records is the new Beatles album “Rubber Soul,” which enters the LP chart at No. 1. By Monday EMI had shipped half a million copies to dealers—exactly twice as many as the group’s “Help!” LP had sold at the same stage of release.

From New Musical Express – December 10, 1965

BEATLES AT 3!

FOR the first time in two years, a Beatles single has failed to make the top of the Pop 50 in one jump. “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” was released on Friday — the first Beatles single to get two A sides for equal plugging. And this week’s Pop 50 shows it at only number three, blocked from the top by the Seekers and the Who.

Told the news, Beatles manager Brian Epstein was said to be “livid”. He said: “The chart must be made up of returns from inferior shops — fish shops and the like.”

Commented Ringo: “Coming into the MM at No. 3 is quite something. And in any case the main thing is that people seem to like both sides of the record.”

The MM conducted spot checks at stores throughout Britain. Typical was one large Bradford record shop which reported that the Seekers’ “The Carnival Is Over” had sold ten per cent more than the Beatles — though the Seekers had, of course, been selling over the whole week and the Beatles only on Friday and Saturday when they outsold all the opposition.

A Winchester shop manager said he had only sold three copies of the Beatles record while at Lymington, Hants, they had sold 29 of the Beatles, from Friday afternoon, and 50 of the Seekers over the full week.

At Barnsley the Seekers had a ten per cent lead, while a Hereford manager said he had sold 18 of the Seekers to 15 of the Beatles.

One record manager in the Midlands said: “Young record buyers may be saving their money for the new Beatles’ LP “Rubber Soul”, an excellent Christmas disc.”

The last six Beatles singles — “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Hard Day’s Night”, “I Feel Fine”, “Ticket To Ride” and “Help” — all went straight to the top of the Pop 50.

Current sales make “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” a near certainty to top the Pop 50 next week.

From Melody Maker – December 11, 1965

Beatles and Doddy win gold discs

THE Beatles and Ken Dodd — the Liverpool beat and buffoonery brigade — are Christmas millionaires. They are the only stars in Britain to sell a million records each in 1965.

The Beatles’ new single, “Day Tripper”/“We Can Work It Out”, was selling heavily this week and was confidently expected to top the million mark by Christmas Eve.

Ken Dodd won his Gold Disc for his recording of “Tears”, which took a long rest at the top of the Pop 50. No other artist sold a million records in Britain alone this year.

A spokesman for EMI said on Monday: “We confidently expect the Beatles’ record to hit the million before the weekend. It’s fast approaching it now and is well past the three-quarters of a million mark.”

Beatles press officer Tony Barrow told the MM on Monday: “Whether or not sales top the million before the holiday, the Beatles have the fastest selling record of the year, their 10th number one in a row. Even now, they never expect these things and each new hit is something really exciting for them.”

The Beatles’ new film will now definitely NOT be “A Talent For Loving”, as revealed in the MM last week. Producer Walter Shenson told the MM that the script for the film, a western which was to be shot in Spain, has been dropped. The script was written by Richard Condon from his own book.

“We are considering some ideas at the moment and we hope to have a decision on a new script at the beginning of the New Year,” said Shenson.

It is believed that the Beatles themselves did not like the script for the film.

From Melody Maker – December 25, 1965

CHANGED THEIR MINDS

The boys told me that long before it came out, they decided that “We Can Work It Out” should be the A side of their December release. But when they started playing it to friends and relatives the majority were in favour of “Day Tripper” so, as you know, the record came out as a double A sider.

Since its release, however, “We Can Work It Out” has definitely proved just as popular as the other side. So, the boys are pretty good judges of their own songs after all.

From The Beatles Monthly Book – January 1966