# Aberrations/outtakes kept in a song's final mix **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513 "2018-05-20T17:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/1 "2018-05-20T17:24:17Z")
Even though a search failed me, it still feels like there’s been a similar thread about this, so please post a link, if so. When I say aberration - basically anything that you would deem entirely extraneous to the song. Three that immediately come to mind: - the cough in the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun”. At [1:05](https://youtu.be/jdfMZa9o0nc?t=63) - Carl Palmer saying “shit” (among other pre-recording verbalizing) at the beginning of “The Sheriff”. At [14:59](https://youtu.be/eDImOjuImc8?t=897) - Plant’s “below!” (or whatever the hell he’s irrelevantly blurting) in “Rock and Roll”. At [2:40](https://youtu.be/4bv_ALKkTjQ?t=158) There are oodles of “1…2…3…”'s out there so hopefully your offering will have a bit more distinction.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/2 "2018-05-20T17:36:53Z")
There’s an error in _I Saw Her Again_ by The Mamas and the Papas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_Her_Again) describes it: > [@](#): > > While mixing the record, engineer Bones Howe punched in the coda vocals too early, inadvertently including Denny’s false start on the third chorus (“I saw her…”). Despite attempting to correct the error, the miscued vocal could still be heard on playback. Producer Lou Adler liked the effect and told Howe to leave it in the final mix. It sounds like there were two mistakes; Denny coming in early, and the engineer including Denny’s track too early. It works, though. I wonder if they decided to do it that way in live performances. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/3 "2018-05-20T17:55:24Z")
Astral Weeks is one of my favorite moody albums… evoking the Irish countryside, and you forget that it was a young Van Morrison sitting in a windowless recording studio. Until he turns a page of lyrics in the middle of [Slim Slo Slider](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMEExDZEgoo&list=RDAMEExDZEgoo&index=1) (at the 1:26 mark). \*that’s what it sounds like, but there’s also a “hitting wood” sound…any Audio Sherlocks have an opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/4 "2018-05-20T18:53:55Z")
On Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” there was a track bleed-through that as a teen in the 70s I thought was some kind of defect in my vinyl. It was indeed a defect, but one they decided to keep. > [@](#): > > …at one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love”. It was the middle part where Robert screams “Wo-man … You need … Love”. Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy said, “Great! Just leave it.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/5 "2018-05-20T18:59:27Z")
In the Who’s “Eminence Front” there’s a flub in Pete’s singing of backup to the chorus (he gets out of step with Roger). Not clear why they left it in, but it gets cleaned up on a re-released version. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/6 "2018-05-20T19:17:35Z")
In the song “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen — Drummer Lynn Easton drops his stick and can be heard yelling “Fuck!” Singer Jack Ely comes in too early after the guitar break. In the song “Second Wind” by Billy Joel, Joel flubs one of the lines and laughs. He left it in at the urging of then-wife Christie Brinkley since it illustrated the song’s point that it’s okay to be fallible. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/7 "2018-05-20T19:27:16Z")
After “Get Back”, there’s John’s dumb “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition.” followed by obsequious laughter, and then John’s impersonation of Gracie Fields: “That was ‘Can You Dig It’ by Georgie Wood, and now we’d like to do ‘Hark, the Angels Come’”, which leads into “Let It Be”. Does Niel Young slightly muff it up, in the title track to _After the Gold Rush_, when he goes “when the sun burst through the sk_ **R** _y”? At [1:23](https://youtu.be/1e3m_T-NMOs?t=81). heh or is it “this guy”? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/8 "2018-05-20T19:45:58Z")
The opening to the Bonzo Dog Band’s “[Doctor Jazz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QU0lOIaBOY)” has a bit of talk before things start. Knowing the Bonzos, that could have been deliberate. Their version of the [Monster Mash](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-MP1LHEkbo) starts out with a drum beat, which stops, then starts again. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/9 "2018-05-20T19:49:41Z")
I Brook Benton and Diana Washington’s [You’ve Got What It Takes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPFP_I1p1w8), Brook steps all over Diana’s spot at about the two minute mark. They both recover nicely. This makes me think that there wasn’t much editing or post production mixing back in the '50s and '60s. Or do you think the producers thought it sounded cute? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/10 "2018-05-20T20:17:12Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > After “Get Back”, there’s John’s dumb “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition.” followed by obsequious laughter, and then John’s impersonation of Gracie Fields: “That was ‘Can You Dig It’ by Georgie Wood, and now we’d like to do ‘Hark, the Angels Come’”, which leads into “Let It Be”. \ “Let It Be” has that one piano chord Paul whiffs just after the lead guitar solo. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/11 "2018-05-20T20:31:01Z")
Just before the “na-na-na” fade in Hey Jude, Paul hits a wrong chord on the piano and says “Fucking hell.” ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/12 "2018-05-20T20:38:16Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > In the song “Second Wind” by Billy Joel, Joel flubs one of the lines and laughs. He left it in at the urging of then-wife Christie Brinkley since it illustrated the song’s point that it’s okay to be fallible. I’m not sure I buy this one; I always thought he was laughing because he did the stuttering effect, which was presumably on purpose? Do you have a cite where you heard the Christie Brinkley story? Not trying to be “that guy”, just surprised I never heard that before, being a huge Billy Joel fan. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/13 "2018-05-20T20:41:23Z")
There’s two studio versions of “Under Pressure”, the original version and a remastered one that came out in the 90’s that sounded better but removes Freddie Mercury’s shouting “that’s okay!” at about a minute in, which makes me think that him shouting that wasn’t originally planned to happen. [Original Studio](https://youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I?t=55s) [Remaster](https://youtu.be/YoDh_gHDvkk?t=46s) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/14 "2018-05-20T20:53:00Z")
The stereo version of “Please Please Me” has John singing the first line of the second verse while Paul correctly sings the first line of the **third** verse. John catches himself a couple of words in. But the all-time leader of extraneous noise from a classic band has to be the Beach Boys. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/15 "2018-05-20T21:35:53Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I’m not sure I buy this one; I always thought he was laughing because he did the stuttering effect, which was presumably on purpose? Do you have a cite where you heard the Christie Brinkley story? Not trying to be “that guy”, just surprised I never heard that before, being a huge Billy Joel fan. If you’ll accept Wikipedia, > [@](#): > > During the song, Joel audibly laughs after briefly hesitating and stuttering during one of the verses. At the prompting of Paul Simon and Christie Brinkley, who were listening in the studio, he decided to keep it in the finished song as it seemed to illustrate his point in the song about personal fallibility. > **[You're Only Human (Second Wind)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_Only_Human_(Second_Wind))** > > "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel that originally appeared on Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II in 1985. The song deals with teenage depression and suicide. It became a top-ten hit, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. > Joel, who said he once attempted suicide himself, stated in a 1985 interview that he wrote the song as a way to help young people struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. > In its original draft, he was concerned the... If not, here’s a link to an AP interview with Joel from 1985, recovered by Google. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YIsvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pNwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1560,403216&dq=you-re+only+human+billy-joel&hl=en](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YIsvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pNwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1560,403216&dq=you-re+only+human+billy-joel&hl=en) > [@](#): > > He was also bugged because that (Rolling Stone) writer said the mistake he made singing “You’re Only Human” wasn’t spontaneous. It was, he said. He tried to sing one phrase faster, flubbed, laughed and said they’d have to do it again. Both Paul Simon and Christie, listening in the studio, suggested that since the song is about making mistakes, being human, he should leave it in. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/16 "2018-05-20T21:36:27Z")
The aimless piano and ringing phone at the end of Bowie’s “Life on Mars” really detracts from the tune, AFAIC. Trying to go for the irreverent, artsy thing, especially after such a [grand, orchestral conclusion](https://youtu.be/ySh_YqtyZdM?list=PL523480D2E52C2C2B&t=200) - whatevs; meh. Otherwise my DB fave. (Heh, well, maybe tied with “Look Back in Anger” and _Station to Station_ title track.) Just before “Monsters”, David Yow of The Jesus Lizard yells [this](https://youtu.be/OvM9xJjgHgI?t=267) out. (“dude…ooooo Doug!” “Yeah?”)? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/17 "2018-05-20T21:47:12Z")
Supposedly the clanging piano chord and laugh at the beginning of Roxanne were originally Sting accidentally sitting on a keyboard and reacting to it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/18 "2018-05-20T21:55:30Z")
Another Beatles: At the end of “A Day in the Life,” they hit the final piano chord and hold it (forever) while you hear someone shushing someone else, chair squeaks and the AC ducts blowing. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/19 "2018-05-20T22:13:12Z")
No one has mentioned Ronnie Van Zant and ‘Turn it up.’ in _Sweet Home Alabama_? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513/20 "2018-05-20T22:47:56Z")
Pretty much the entirety of _Louie Louie_ by the Kingsmen. 😃 But especially (from Wiki): > [@](#): > > A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurs just after the lead guitar break. As the group was going by the Wailers version, which has a brief restatement of the riff two times over before the lead vocalist comes back in, it would be expected that Ely would do the same. Ely, however, overshot his mark, coming in too soon, before the restatement of the riff. He realized his mistake and stopped the verse short, but the band did not realize that he had done so. As a quick fix, drummer Lynn Easton covered the pause with a drum fill, but before the verse ended, the rest of the band went into the chorus at the point where they expected it to be. This error is now so embedded in the consciousness of some groups that they deliberately duplicate it when performing the song. ETA: On re-reading the OP, I see he was asking about entirely extraneous elements, not flubs. But since most of the other examples are flubs, here’s another. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aberrations-outtakes-kept-in-a-songs-final-mix/814513.md?page=2)