I’m not sure - I think the problems with the “Let It Be” album were more along the lines of “it’s finished - put it away and forget about it.” After all, they (Beatles/Klein/Eastman) were still wrangling during “Abbey Road,” and that was released first. It was only after “Abbey Road” was released that someone went back to the vault, pulled out the “Let It Be” recordings, and gave them to Phil Spector.
I think that the two released versions of “Get Back” are really one; it’s just that one version (the single, I believe) includes the extra 30 seconds or so of music. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t check around right now (they expect me to WORK here!!) :rolleyes:
The reason that “The long and winding road” was overproduced was John’s bass guitar playing in the background was terrible(which he, not Paul, did on that track) but by then the band had fallen apart with so much acrimony that there was no chance of getting it re-recorded.
According to The Billboard Book of Number One Hits:
Even though the book isn’t explicit in that regard, I still believe that there are two versions of the song. First, the 45 RPM version is much too ‘clean’ (i.e. devoid of extraneous sounds) to have been lifted directly from the album (the ‘rooftop’ version); I don’t think they had the technology to do so at the time. Remember that most of the Beatles’ songs were recorded on four-track tape!!
Concerning the ‘Let It Be’ album, here’s what Billboard had to say:
I used to have all sorts of Beatle books (about 20 or 25). I lent them to someone who was writing a paper about them, and she left them in her car. As ou can guess, they were stolen, and her insurance check did not cover the cost of replacing them.
All I have left are the albums and singles I’ve collected (even though I have nothing to play them on anymore), and “The Beatles Anthology” that my wife gave me for Chanukah.
Is “Let It Be” available on video? I’ve never seen it.
Well, it was available in Beta format when I rented it many many years ago. You could try Blockbusters perhaps; they could take it out of their vault:D.
I’ve listened to “All You Need Is Love” twice cranked up (one speaker fell over, it was so loud!) and there isn’t anything there. The “Looooooove” background vocal starts about a second before John sings, so maybe that’s it.
I can’t hear the pedal release on “A Day in the Life”, though I can hear what sounds likes a sheaf of papers falling down. Also, what I thought was a vocative (Aw!) at the start of the crescendos I now recognize as Mal Evans counting the bars. It’s easier to recognize now that I’ve heard him on Anthology 2. On the master, what I heard was “Four!” and I can hear all the way to “Nine!”
I haven’t looked at “Get Back” yet. Past Masters 2 should give some details about the recording session, if nothing else.
You’re freaking me out now! The couple of words I’m talking about are uttered at precisely 24-25 seconds into the song. John begins to sing at 26 seconds. And I’ve checked both the Yellow Submarine and the 1 CDs. It’s there alright:D. It’s no more than one or two short words. As for the pedal thing, I don’t have the disc handy, but it’s most probably from ‘Anthology’ (you hear it at the very end, I’d say one or two seconds before sound is cut off). IIRC, on Pepper the creaking isn’t there (perhaps a different take?). Instead, they inserted a very high pitched sound that only dogs could hear.
Being an apartment dweller, I always listen to music with headphones on. That’s how I picked up the ‘fanthom’ words on AYNIL. Perhaps you could give it a try, if you have them…
As far as the original question goes, it’s the sound of inspiration leaving the studio. They finished the record anyway. And Phil Spector did not mess with it, much.
Yeah, I definitely hear the spoken bit in “All You Need Is Love”. It’s only in the right channel, turn your balance all the way over and it should be clearer. In fact, it seems to go on a bit longer than I first thought when I heard it listening to both channels, well into John’s first line. Still can’t decipher what it says, though; almost, but not quite clear enough. (This is from the “One” CD, by the way, I haven’t tried any others).
The plot thickens. Usually, I’m plugged directly into the CD player, which strangely enough doesn’t have a ‘balance’ function. So this time I switched to the amplifier and played with the ‘balance’, left and right, and pumped up the volume.
NOTHING!!
I re-tested with headphones in CD player: ‘spoken bit’ back!!!
Now THAT’s a new twist:D. I had figured it lasted half a second to a second at most and definitely didn’t go ‘well into John’s first line.’
“All You Need Is Love” - I’ll try that. My headphones are antiquated, but I’ll try the balance shift.
“A Day in the Life” - I used Sgt Pepper, with the dog noise. I’ll try the 1967-1970 blue album next time. The big chord is missing from Anthology 2, replaced by McCartney talking about how the public might react to it. The chord appears tacked onto “The End” on Anthology 3.
“Get Back” - From Past Masters 2:
According to Anthology 3, the roof concert was January 30. So the album AND the single are separate versions taped inside, not on the roof.
I also hear it when listening with headphones, in the right channel…I’d never noticed that before, but then I’ve never listened to that song with headphones before.
I’m sure I’m hearing the same thing you are, at least the part before the vocals begin. It’s debatable whether the spoken bit continues through the first line “There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.” I think I hear a little more there, but it’s so far back in the mix that it’s possible I’m hearing something else and just confusing it as a continuation of the speaking part; the continuation is most clear to me during “can do that can’t”, but that’s not saying much.
Anyway, I can definitely hear the part before the vocals, it begins just as the violin begins to go up the scale; one of the words sounds like “change”, but that’s as close as I can come to making any of them out.
By the way, I can’t hear it on the version on Magical Mystery Tour. My copy of that, however, is a cassette tape that’s about to fall apart.
not of Bungalow Bill but of the mysterious word(s) at the start of AYNIL. I gave my Magical Mystery Tour CD another listen and came to two conclusions:
Those engineers really did a bang-up job on that song before re-issuing it on the ‘Yellow Submarine’ CD. WOW! Whereas the sound of AYNIL on MMT was (at least for the intro) what I would describe as ‘canny’ or ‘tinny’, the one we have on Yellow Submarine (and on the ‘1’ CD) is positively luscious.
However, MMT had the virtue of allowing me to come to my second conclusion.
I’m now pretty sure we’re talking about one word and that word would be
:::drum roll:::
Change (possibly chain but doubtful).
Change could make sense, one of the Beatles “leading” one of the others with the positioning of the fingers on the guitar. My interpretation, of course.
I went back to ‘Yellow Submarine’ with the bit of info I had gathered from my listening to MMT and, this time, the word came in a bit more clearly (or so I thought).
According to The Beatles on Record by J.P. Russell, these are two different versions. The MMT version is the international TV broadcast from Our World. The YS version is one of the rehearsals for that show; it has the same rhythm track, but a different main track and lead vocal. I never was able to tell if the spoken bit is on MMT.
Anyway, I agree with you on the word “Change”, but I still think I hear more than this.
It took right balance, amplifier noodling, and HIGH volume on several tries, but now I can pick it up. I don’t know what they’re saying either.
“Change it,” seems possible. So, for that matter, does “Take it,” which could have been a joke. This is really faint, even with the strings blowing my eardrums out. I used 1967-1970.
I also took the opportunity to check for the “Lady Madonna” click. It’s at about 1:40-1:41. Probably just an editing error. “A Day in the Life” I’m still working at - I can hear the papers, the hum of the AC, and somebody coughing.
Just noticed your contribution (URL). Wow, talk about overkill:). As far as AYNIL is concerned, sure doesn’t sound like “Check it Steve” to me, mainly because it’s much too long. Could be ‘Then check it’, but it wouldn’t make much sense. As for the click in Lady Madonna, after further review I’d say it’s either a click or endingk, as was suggested in the URL.