This strangely titled song from the ground-breaking 1966 album Revolver is another Harrison composition, and the first to be based around the sitar. (Norwegian Wood also features the sound of a sitar but it is just a seasoning in that song). Later that year Harrison would meet sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar and travel to India to study under his mentorship. I think Love You To pre-dates this, and perhaps that’s why Indian elements are not yet as fully integrated or authentic as they would be in Within You Without You, for example.
The Beatles BibleFollowing the sitar motif on ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, ‘Love You To’ was The Beatles’ first full attempt at recording a piece of music in the classical Indian style.
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WikipediaThe song itself is not the strongest lyrically and for me it has a rather monotonous melody, but the new distinctive sound and abstract content was an important element in the of texture Revolver.
Love You To helps Revolver marks a further significant expansion of the Beatles horizons alongside songs like She Said She Said and Tomorrow Never Knows.
It’s perhaps telling that Lennon was not involved in the recording. Maybe it wasn’t quite getting the full Beatles treatment?
By coincidence it is the anniversary of George Harrison’s death (in 2001) today. I remember the day because I went to have lunch in an Italian restaurant in central London with my wife. They had a piano player, and he started playing a medley of Harrison songs – a really nice spontaneous tribute.