It's All Too Much

"It's All Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Yellow Submarine. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The Beatles recorded the track in May 1967, a month after completing their album Sgt. [Wikipedia]

It's All Too Much is a song by The Beatles, written by Harrison and led on vocal by George Harrison. Feedback-laden George psychedelia; 'sail me on a silver sun' refrain. Within the catalogue, its george-original thread connects it to Don't Bother Me, I Need You, You Like Me Too Much. George Harrison's psychedelic composition for Yellow Submarine, recorded at De Lane Lea's basement studio opposite Holborn station, emerged from numerous rehearsals and multiple sessions bridging May and June 1967. The track showcases Harrison's exploratory approach to extended structures, with the song running to over 8 minutes during early versions. Brass and woodwind overdubs featuring David Mason on trumpet and bass clarinet were added in June, with Harrison himself directing the session's technical decisions (Lewisohn 1988, p.112, 116). Recorded at De Lane Lea in late May 1967 alongside orchestral overdubs on 2 June, Kozinn characterizes it as "a magnificently dense, heavy metal precursor," with the brass and woodwind sessions extending substantially beyond scheduled time (Kozinn 1995, p.167).

The session work falls within the band's Yellow Submarine (1969) period, recorded 25 May 1967 at EMI Studios. George Martin produced; Geoff Emerick (1967 sessions); George Martin orchestral score side B engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.112 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). Four takes of the rhythm track were recorded with organ, lead guitar, bass, and drums at De Lane Lea on 25 May, followed by tape reduction and vocal/percussion overdubs on 26 May. A subsequent brass and woodwind session at De Lane Lea on 2 June ran substantially over its scheduled three-hour window, reportedly extending to 2:00am, with George Martin and engineer Dave Siddle present. The extended session time and Mason's diary comment that 'George didn't really know what he wanted' suggest Harrison's exploratory rather than prescriptive directorial approach (Lewisohn 1988, p.112, 116).

Emerick's memoir contains no direct coverage of this De Lane Lea session; recording details documented elsewhere indicate extended orchestral overdub sessions requiring coordination beyond standard rock-ensemble practice. Harrison's psychedelic exercise stands apart in its density and orchestral ambition, representing a creative peak during the experimental mid-1960s when the band pursued increasingly elaborate studio techniques (MacDonald 1994, p.113).

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP Yellow Submarine. Documented alternate versions include 2009 Stereo Remasters. Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. George Harrison vocals appear in 28 canon songs (2 in Yellow Submarine era), making this among his primary vehicles. At 6m 25s, it reaches the 99th percentile of canon duration and 100th within era, extraordinary length for a Beatles song and the longest in its era. Its psychedelic feedback textures and extended instrumental passages positioned it among the Beatles' most experimental recordings and established Harrison as capable of ambitious sonic exploration beyond his earlier work (Lewisohn 1988, p.112, 116).

• From here, the accepted version of Beatles history has them flailing in Pepper's long shadow and succumbing to tripped-out wooliness.
• In Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald claims that their appetite for illicit substances had started to "loosen their judgement" ...
• Although Yellow Submarine has attained the status of a classic children's animated film, many Beatles biographers consider the band's post-Sgt.
• Pepper 1967 recordings to be substandard work. Among these authors, Mark Hertsgaard cites Martin's view that the soundtrack album was made up of "bottom of the barrel" material and dismisses "It's All Too Much" as "little more than formless shrieking". Ian MacDonald also holds the track in low regard, ...
• Writing for Rolling Stone in 2002, Greg Kot admired the song, saying: "once again, a raga-flavored groove brings out Harrison's best in the walloping 'It's All Too Much.'" That same year, Nigel Williamson of Uncut described it as "a psychedelic classic" that, had it been reco...
• Pepper sound – that combination of acid-rock momentum and brass-band frippery. 'It's All Too Much' would have been the second or third best song on Sgt.