Sped-up vocals in Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four"

(Sped-up, or recorded slowly. Whatever.)

What’s the reason for Paul McCartney’s sped-up vocals in “When I’m Sixty-Four?” I can think of a couple possible options:
a) Paul (or John, or George Martin, or George or Ringo or Neil or Mal or Yoko or whoever was coming up with the wacky ideas that day) wanted the vocals to sound like the quavering, wizened voice of an old man.
b) Since Paul wrote the song when he was fifteen or sixteen (and it was what the Beatles played in the early days as a joke when their amps stopped working), it was a way of making him sound like a teenager again.
c) It’s an imitation of the high, nasally vocals on old records whose style “When I’m Sixty-Four” emulates.
d) High-speed vocals on Sgt. Pepper signify escape in its many forms, including drug-induced highs, simple distraction, and childhood memories. Cf. “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and the vocal part after “…I went into a dream” in “A Day in the Life.” While “When I’m Sixty-Four” is ostensibly about Paul’s future, it’s on a deeper level about Paul’s father, who was a bandleader and apparently was 64 years old at the time of the Sgt. Pepper release, and therefore also about Paul’s memories of a childhood and adolescence surrounded by music.
e) Some or all of the above.

Thoughts?

I’ll go with option c. I think they were trying to imitate the vocal distortion you hear on many old 78 RPM recordings. IMHO.

f) They were all stoned out of their minds, and one of they said “you know what would be cool? <puuuuuffff> If we sped it up and shit!”

:smiley:

According to the bible, aka The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn (actually a fascinating read for musicians and Beatles fans alike - surprisingly worth it), page 91 at the bottom:

This, therefore, strongly suggested it is Already in Use’s option B.

The sped-up vocals on I’m Only Sleeping, on the other hand, were intended to suggest an old man’s voice.

Hmm, Lewisohn usually knows what he’s talking about. Still, I find the Beatles’ repeated use of sped-up vocals to be an interesting exercise in conceptual continuity. Then again, they screwed around in the studio so much that it’s not like it’s that unusual. Although I can’t think of any slowed-down vocals on Beatles songs offhand. “Rain” maybe? I know the rest of the instruments were slowed down, but I’m not sure about the vocals.

Yes, I am obsessed.

I’ve purchased Vinyl Albums where some tracks seem to be recorded faster
than the song in memory.

case-in-point:  The Seeds....."Pushin Too Hard"

                        This generation vinyl recording is "Too Fast" from the original
                        Crescendo Album.

                        If the track time is 2:36, and the song plays at 2:26, oops,
                        you've been ripped-off!

DING DING DING DING DING DING! WE HAVE A WINNER! Show him what he’s won Bob. “Anonymous Coward: You have won 24 carot cubic zerconium diamonds in the sky. That’s not all, Anonymous. You’ve also won…A NEW SUBMARINE.”

If you mean a vocal that was recorded to a speeded-up rhythm track, thus playing back slower in the final mix, then no, I don’t think they ever did it. A few Beatles masters are slowed down from their original tempo. Phil Spector’s mix of “Across the Universe” comes to mind, and “Ticket to Ride” and “Strawberry Fields” were both slowed down to end up about a quarter-tone below their native keys.