This is an interesting track for a number of reasons, but the obvious one is the Paul/John lead part. I love how they harmonize (don’t we all?) but in this they just belt out a unison tag line “Any time at all (x3) all you gotta do is call and I’ll be there.” Also, the middle eight has no lyrics (apparently Paul suggested lyrics but they were never added, really interesting stuff). As a result the section is a strange kind of semi-musical solo. The piano part seems out of place for the song, and musically it’s strange but pretty sweet in actuality.
This song also moves from one lyric set to the next rather quickly, without a space between which is another quirk that makes for a memorable track.
Interestingly enough I also think the sheet music here is wrong in two spots. One is obvious as it writes an A7 as though the fretted notes were occurring on the third fret (they were not) but also it suggest the piano only exists in the chorus, but I hear it playing bass in the second verse. Considering the low fidelity of the track, it’s slightly excusable, but this book has the occasional let down. It also suggests that this track is two electric guitar which I don’t agree with. It almost sounds as though the lead part is tracked with an electric and an acoustic (unless that rick is really interestingly mic’d).
Hardest part: getting that guitar tone, playing the assorted solo parts, getting over the awfulness of the electronic drums. Also, getting the timing right for unisons and trying to affect two different voices proved to be a bit too difficult. I did experiment with a new overall master tone that seemed more appropriate to the time but we’ll see.
Audio sample: Any Time at All (look at how much smaller the file size is, hooray!)
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