Plastic Beetle

“Plastic Beetle” is the opening track on the 2000 album “Liverpool Sound Collage.” It was credited to Paul McCartney and The Beatles.

It contains snippets of speech taking recording sessions with The Beatles:

• 0’39” – John Lennon: “’cause it’s our song anyroad, innit?” (‘I Call Your Name’ session, 1 March 1964)
• 0’46” – Paul McCartney: “Must be all right” (‘Think For Yourself’, 8 November 1965)
• 3’33” – George Harrison: “Chinga chinga ching, boom, boom, boom” (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 3’38” – Ringo Starr: “A lovely time” (‘Good Night’, 28 June 1968)
• 5’04” – instrumental outtakes from the Sgt Pepper sessions (1967)
• 6’00” – Harrison: “It’s OK. We know. I think we know”; Lennon: “This might be it. We’ll just go…”; Harrison: “Chinga chinga ching, boom, boom, boom. The bit that John finally got just after that” (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 6’08” – McCartney and Lennon: ad-lib singing (‘This Boy’, 17 October 1963)
• 6’15” – Lennon: “George’s tune, though” (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 6’17” – McCartney: “Who-sus” (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 6’18” – Lennon, McCartney and Harrison joking and ad-libbing; Lennon and McCartney pretending to be preachers (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 6’38” – Lennon singing ‘Mr Moonlight’ (18 October 1964)
• 6’38” – According to the book “That Magic Feeling: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy – Volume 2 (1966-1970)” by John C. Winn, we can also hear John Lennon saying “We’ll have the Massed Alberts on by then, won’t we?” (from Mr Kite session, on February 17, 1967)
• 6’55” – Lennon: “Okay, Paul, you ready, boy, this is it. All right, cut this tomfoolery out” (‘Think For Yourself’)
• 7’00” – Starr: “A lovely time” (‘Good Night’)
• 7’02” – laughter (‘Think For Yourself’)

Officially appears on

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 2) 1990-2012

This new book by Luca Perasi traces Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1990 to 2012 in the form of 250 song entries, filled with details about the recordings, stories behind the sessions and musical analysis. His pop albums, his forays into classical and avant-garde music, his penchant for covering old standards: a complete book to discover how these languages cross-pollinate and influence each other.

The second volume in a series that has established itself as a unique guide to take the reader on a journey into the astonishing creativity of Paul McCartney.

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