Beatles Audio Clips – Revealing Mistakes and More

posted by Rob on September 7, 2009 at 10:09 pm | Comments (34)

I realize this has become a Beatles-centric blog recently, but it’s only natural to write about one of my all-time favorite bands. Plus, I’m still riding on my excitement for the upcoming remastered boxed sets and Beatles Rock Band video game.

In my two Beatles mono vs. stereo comparison posts (post 1 and post 2), one of the reasons I defend the stereo mixes is because I can hear each instrument and vocal more clearly than in the mono versions. I enjoy listening closely to the recordings with my headphones and studying how the songs were constructed and pieced together in the studio. That insight has allowed me to apply similar recording strategies and techniques to my own music, given the limited equipment I have used throughout the years.

Another advantage of the stereo versions is that interesting sounds and mistakes are sometimes revealed. I have isolated and exposed two dozen bits of Beatles music which might have otherwise gone unnoticed. I recommend wearing headphones for these clips, as some of the anomalies are still fairly soft and/or buried in the mix, despite my attempts to unshroud them. Enjoy:

“Across the Universe” 1969
John Lennon blurts out “Blat!” or “Black!” in what seems to be the backing vocal track.

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“All You Need Is Love” 1967
Some people think Paul McCartney sings “She Loves You” in the background during the outro. Others think it’s John Lennon. Actually, it’s both! Paul starts singing “She Loves You” and then John joins him, starting with the word “you.”

Listen:

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13 second MP3 file – 0.5 MB (right-click to save)

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“Birthday” 1968
This clip reveals Pattie Boyd and Yoko Ono’s backing vocals more clearly, as well as their soft, pathetic echo of Paul’s “Come on!” It also reveals what seems like an edit in Paul’s “Dance!” scream later on in the song. Finally, it reveals a chuckle during the song’s fadeout.

Listen:

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55 second MP3 file – 2.1 MB (right-click to save)

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“For No One” 1966
Believe it or not, there’s a rock drum beat throughout “For No One,” but it’s buried way down in the mix. My guess is Paul and/or George Martin decided the song worked better without the drums, but there must’ve been some drum leakage in one of the other tracks…or the actual drum track remained, but was turned down almost entirely. The beat is barely audible in the final Revolver stereo mix, but I was able to expose it a bit more in this clip.

Listen:

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22 second MP3 file – 0.9 MB (right-click to save)

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“Helter Skelter” 1968
During the breakdown near the end of the song, John makes groaning noises and Paul says some random things, like “Come here son!” and “I’ll show you…get my bloody hands on you, come on!” Then, are are weird horn and saxophone noises.

Listen:

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43 second MP3 file – 1.7 MB (right-click to save)

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“I Feel Fine” 1964
If you listen closely during John’s guitar feedback in the intro, you can hear a cough or some sort of creaking noise. Maybe it was Ringo flipping up the switch on his snare drum?

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“If I Fell” 1964
Originally, Paul’s voice gives out during one of his high harmonies near the end of the song. This was fixed with the release of A Hard Day’s Night on CD in 1987.

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“I’m Only Sleeping” 1966
The backwards electric guitar solo and backwards electric guitar outro, played forwards. In both cases, two guitars are playing at the same time.

Listen:

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30 second MP3 file – 1.2 MB (right-click to save)

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“It’s All Too Much” 1969
I have no idea what George Harrison says in the intro, but here it is nice and clear. I also isolated some dissonant (sloppy?) electric guitar chords during the middle of the song and included the extra verse from the Yellow Submarine movie that was edited out of the album version.

Listen:

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33 second MP3 file – 1.3 MB (right-click to save)

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“Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand” 1964
You can hear some brief studio chatter, lip smacks, and a soft “hoo” during the intro of the stereo version.

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“The Long and Winding Road” 1970
This clip showcases Phil Spector’s orchestral and choral arrangement in stereo.

Listen:

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57 second MP3 file – 2.2 MB (right-click to save)

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“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” 1967
John lets out a flat “ahh” between the second verse and pre-chorus. This was removed in the 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack remixed version.

Listen:

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10 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” 1965
Someone coughs or sneezes in the middle of the mono version.

Listen:

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8 second MP3 file – 0.3 MB (right-click to save)

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“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” 1968
The isolated vocal track reveals a bunch of funny little bits, including: 1. John follows Paul’s “Yeah” with a “No!” 2. Paul’s “lend a hand” is followed by “Arm!” and “Leg!” 3. Paul’s “home sweet home” is followed by John’s “home, h-o-m-e.” 4. Paul’s “lend a hand” is now followed by George’s “Foot!”

Listen:

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30 second MP3 file – 1.2 MB (right-click to save)

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“Paperback Writer” 1966
One of the isolated vocal tracks reveals a heavy breath or throat clearing and some very soft vocal note finding during the guitar and drum break near the end of the song, as well as some sloppy high harmonies in the outro.

Listen:

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29 second MP3 file – 1.1 MB (right-click to save)

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“Please Please Me” 1963
The isolated vocal track reveals John’s lyric flub near the end of the song. Paul sings, “I know you never even try girl,” but John starts off singing, “Why do I…” before correcting himself. As a result, John begins the following chorus with a chuckle. This was fixed with the release of Please Please Me on CD in 1987.

Listen:

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16 second MP3 file – 0.6 MB (right-click to save)

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“Rain” 1966 (clip one of two)
From what I’ve read, the instrumental backing track in “Rain” was recorded in the key of A. Later, the music was slowed down one whole step to the key of G when the bass and vocals were added. In this clip, I sped the instrumental backing track up to its original key, so you can hear what the band must’ve sounded like in the studio during the recording session. Keep in mind, the bass in this clip is being played too fast, but the drums and guitars are at their original recorded speed.

Listen:

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58 second MP3 file – 2.3 MB (right-click to save)

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“Rain” 1966 (clip two of two)
John’s backwards vocals during the outro, played forwards.

Listen:

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25 second MP3 file – 1.0 MB (right-click to save)

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“Revolution” 1968
You can hear an edit in John’s vocal during the word “well” at the beginning of the song. Also, there’s some sloppy vocal double-tracking later on in the song (“head”) and some stray vocal noises during the outro. Was this deliberate?

Listen:

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25 second MP3 file – 1.0 MB (right-click to save)

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“Slow Down” 1964
John sang two different lines when he double-tracked his vocal. In one track, he sings, “But now you got a boyfriend down the street.” In the other track, he sings, “But now you don’t care a dime for me.” I’m surprised this went unfixed during the recording session.

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“Tomorrow Never Knows” 1966
The backwards electric guitar solo, played forwards. (It’s not the “Taxman” solo played backwards, like many people believe.)

Listen:

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25 second MP3 file – 1.0 MB (right-click to save)

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“What Goes On” 1965
Right before the guitar solo, Ringo’s “Tell me why” is followed by someone saying “We told you why” or simply repeating “Tell me why” in the background. I can’t quite make it out.

Listen:

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13 second MP3 file – 0.5 MB (right-click to save)

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“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” 1968
At the beginning of the guitar solo, immediately following Ringo’s drum fill, his hi-hat comes in slightly off beat. Either Ringo hit it late, but recovered quickly and perfectly, or it’s a noticeable edit.

Listen:

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9 second MP3 file – 0.4 MB (right-click to save)

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“You Won’t See Me” 1965
During the intro, right before Paul’s vocal comes in, there’s an extremely faint cough or throat clearing. This clip definitely requires headphones.

Listen:

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6 second MP3 file – 0.3 MB (right-click to save)

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