"It's Only Love" is a song by the English rock band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

. It was first released in 1965 on the ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 by Parlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the sin ...

'' album in the United Kingdom and on the ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "We Can Work It Ou ...

'' album in the United States.

Recording

The Beatles recorded "It's Only Love" at

EMI Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music compan ...

in London on 15 June 1965. Lennon's working title for the composition was "That's a Nice Hat". The band recorded six takes of the rhythm track, two of which were incomplete, with a line-up of 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, bass and drums. The high register of the acoustic guitars was created through Lennon and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

each using a capo on the neck of their instrument. Lennon overdubbed his vocals onto the final take, and Harrison recorded lead guitar parts, including one with a heavy tremolo effect. According to musicologist Walter Everett's description of the recording, Harrison played all three of the electric guitar parts, including one that doubles the main

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

on a Rickenbacker 12-string. Author

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...

cites the varied sound treatment applied to Lennon's vocals and Harrison's guitars as an example of the Beatles' increasingly experimental approach to production during the ''Help!'' period. Take 2 of "It's Only Love" was included on the ''

Anthology 2 ''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' until the se ...

'' compilation in 1996, with a false start (the incomplete take 3) edited onto the beginning of the track.

Reception

Lennon was highly critical of "It's Only Love", describing it as a "lousy song" with "abysmal lyrics". In MacDonald's opinion, the song is a "twee make-weight" that, while "slightly redeemed by the vigorous chorus", features the "hollowest" lyrics of Lennon's career. Journalist Mark Hertsgaard says that although the song falls short of the high standard of Lennon's ''Help!'' track "

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon (though credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on the album ''Help!'' in August 1965. Composition and recording Len ...

", his dismissal of "It's Only Love" was overly harsh and fails to do justice to its "lovely lilting melody". In his review of ''Help!'' for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

considers "It's Only Love" to be one of the rare "minor numbers" on an album where Lennon dominates the songwriting with "great" contributions such as " Ticket to Ride", the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

and " You're Going To Lose That Girl".

Personnel

According to Ian MacDonald, except where noted: *

–

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

lead vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

– bass guitar *

– acoustic guitar, lead guitars *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

– drums, tambourine William J. Dowlding states Lennon's instrumentation simply as "acoustic guitar, tambourine, vocal."

Cover versions

*The song became a chart hit in autumn 1981 when it was recorded by Gary U.S. Bonds. His rendition reached number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{authority control 1965 songs 1981 singles The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs Gary U.S. Bonds songs