Edit for headphones. Bass clearer audible, as well as drums (yes, there are drums here and there). Sitar widely spread, as well as lead singing. Video art by paullonden http://www.youtube.com/user/PAULLONDEN
See his art at http://paullonden.deviantart.com/gallery/
This was the first Pop song to use a sitar - George Harrison played it. Harrison was new to the sitar and took many takes to get it right. He bought the instrument, which he described as "crummy," and taught himself to play. It was David Crosby of The Byrds who introduced Harrison to the sitar shortly after the folk musician Shawn Phillips had shown him the basic steps. A few months later Harrison studied the sitar with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, who helped Harrison explore Eastern music and religion.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1971, John Lennon explained why it was decided to use the sitar on this song. He recalled: "I think it was at the studio. George had just got the sitar and I said 'Could you play this piece?' We went through many different sort of versions of the song, it was never right and I was getting very angry about it, it wasn't coming out like I said. They said, 'Well just do it how you want to do it' and I said, 'Well I just want to do it like this.' They let me go and I did the guitar very loudly into the mike and sang it at the same time and then George had the sitar and I asked him could he play the piece that I'd written, you know, dee diddley dee diddley dee, that bit, and he was not sure whether he could play it yet, because he hadn't done much on the sitar, but he was willing to have a go, as is his wont, and he learned the bit and dubbed it on after. I think we did it in sections."
Norwegian Wood is a fake wood that was used to make cheap furniture. John Lennon Lennon claimed he had no idea where the title came from, but Paul McCartney said he came up with it, inspired by the Norwegian Wood in the Asher household, where he was staying. McCartney was dating Jane Asher, and was good friends with her brother, Peter Asher from the duo Peter & Gordon.
The Beatles recorded this on October 12, 1965, the first day of the "Rubber Soul" sessions. The first take of the song, which is included on the Anthology 2 CD and includes George's sitar much more prominently, was originally going to be put on "Rubber Soul" until a remake was made a week or two later. The notes in the Anthology 2 album verify this.
It was Paul McCartney who came up with the album title "Rubber Soul". Lennon told Rolling Stone that he supposed it was a pun meaning English Soul. He added: "There is no great mysterious meaning behind all of this, it was just four boys working out what to call a new album."
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