Beatles Audio Clips – Revealing Mistakes and More

posted by Rob on September 7, 2009 at 10:09 pm | Comments (30)

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.

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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30 Comments

• 

  By Dave, September 8, 2009 @ 3:07 pm

  Rain sounds too fast to be the right speed…no one can play at that tempo very long.

• 

  By Rob, September 8, 2009 @ 4:09 pm

  I agree with you that “Rain” sounds weird at this speed, but that’s what it sounds like sped up to the key of A. Maybe the bass was added after the backing track was already slowed down and that could be what’s making the sped up version sound too fast. That, combined with the fact that we’re so used to hearing it at the slower tempo.

  Or, the information I’ve read about the song being recorded in A major is incorrect. Maybe is was really recorded in A flat major?

  Either way, the sped up version is pretty fast, but so is the song “Help!”

• 

  By Pete, September 8, 2009 @ 6:35 pm

  I’ve never noticed this before, but I’m pretty sure now that it’s John at the start of It’s All Too Much – it’s the thick comedy Scouse accent/voice he sometimes did when fooling about in the studio (especially here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qgrzz2IZ7s at 6:08). I’d always assumed it was George since it was his song, but your clip seems to prove otherwise.

  Also, I really love Rain at that speed – as a drummer, it’s always been my favourite Beatles song anyway, and I reckon it sounds more natural at that speed (even if the bass doesn’t). I’m going to have to make my own version with the full song now :)

  Cheers!

• 

  By Pete, September 8, 2009 @ 6:42 pm

  Forgot to mention – the cymbal splashes don’t sound as “slow motion” as they do on the released version, and the pitch of the tom toms sounds more natural on your sped up version – perhaps the key would be to compare the toms to some other Revolver-era recordings? I suspect it may only have been a semitone difference (i.e, recorded in A flat), but matching the pitch of the toms to other tracks should seal it one way or another. Am I the only one anal enough to have a go?

• 

  By Sherman, September 8, 2009 @ 7:07 pm

  Not sure if the technology was available in 1966, but maybe the pitch was changed without the tempo? Just a thought. Thanks for these.

• 

  By Rob, September 8, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

  Pete, I’ll look into trying to match the pitch of the toms in “Rain” to some of the songs on Revolver. Good idea, though Ringo could’ve changed their tuning from song to song to get a different sound. I’ll see what I can find out.

  For the record, the recording engineer for “Rain” Geoff Emerick stated, “The Beatles played the rhythm track really fast so that when the tape was played back at normal speed everything would be so much slower, changing the texture.”

  According to an About.com article by Robert Fontenot, “While the recording is in the key of G, the actual song was played in A.”

  According to The Beatles Bible, “They recorded the rhythm track of Rain at a fast tempo, then slowed the tape down so the song was a tone lower.”

  Plus, as I suspected, “The Beatles recorded Rain over two sessions. On April 14, 1966, the group taped five takes of Rain’s rhythm track, performed quickly and later slowed down. They finished the song on April 16, adding overdubs including tambourine, bass, and extra vocals.”

  So yeah, the bass is too fast in my sped up version of “Rain,” which probably makes the whole song sound like it’s sped up too much. Either that, or like you and I suggested, maybe the backing track was only slowed down a half step instead of a whole step. It could happen. After all, Beatles authorities have been wrong before! However, if that’s the case, the song would’ve been more difficult to play on guitar. Playing the guitar part in A instead of A flat just makes more sense, so for now, I still believe “Rain” was originally recorded really fast in the key of A (without the bass and vocals).

  Sherman, you’re welcome! The technology to change a song’s pitch without changing its tempo definitely didn’t exist in the 1960s. Back then, the tape could be slowed down or sped up. It was as simple as that. Good suggestion though.

• 

  By hymen, September 14, 2009 @ 11:42 am

  The initial rhythm take of ‘Rain’ was likely recorded at 44 cycles/sec, resulting in a fairly substantial drop of three semitones.

• 

  By Paul, September 15, 2009 @ 12:28 pm

  Très joli travail !!! Very nice Work !!! I need a headphone now now now !

• 

  By Vincent Truman, September 15, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

  This is AMAZING. You’re a genius or completely off your nut or both but… thank you for this!!

• 

  By Magic Alex's Repair Service, September 15, 2009 @ 3:06 pm

  The guitar solo on A Hard Day’s Night was sped up, I wounder what that sound’s like slowed down?

• 

  By Etidel, September 15, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

  You’ve done a brilliant work Rob!!!
  But why don’t you continue and go further in your researches? I’m pretty sure you could fullfill a CD! I mean by including for example
  “Hey Jude” where John shouts just before the “na na na” part “[I played the wrong] chord – fuck it out”, or the piano part of “In my life” played at the right speed, or the “chair” noise made by Mal Evans at the very end of “A day in the life” etc… etc…
  Anyway you can contact me at apple120 [Email address: apple120 #AT# hotmail.fr - replace #AT# with @ ]
  Cheers

• 

  By Rob, September 16, 2009 @ 3:25 pm

  Thanks Vincent. You’re right, I’m a little of both. :)

  Magic Alex and Etidel, I agree, there are plenty more interesting bits to reveal. This blog post was getting pretty long, but I’ve been keeping a list of more clips I can share with everyone in part two…coming soon!

• 

  By Etidel, September 16, 2009 @ 3:43 pm

  You’re welcome Rob.
  I’m so impatient to hear the follow-up!

• 

  By bushwick is beautiful, September 16, 2009 @ 3:59 pm

  What a great read. Loved it.

• 

  By Holtet, September 16, 2009 @ 6:12 pm

  VERY interesting. By the way, been out lately?

• 

  By Rob, September 16, 2009 @ 7:47 pm

  Holtet, not really. Why?

• 

  By Dmitry, September 17, 2009 @ 5:37 am

  Yes, Rob, could you correct a note about It`s All Too Much, please. 1000% it is John`s voice in the intro!

• 

  By Gary, September 17, 2009 @ 9:20 am

  Very cool, especially Ob-La-Di. Had no idea that those mumbles were actually pretty funny lines. Thanks!

• 

  By Willard, September 22, 2009 @ 10:53 am

  Nice work Rob. For decades I’ve always wonders about something and you seem like the guy that might have the answer. What is being said at the end of “Hey Bulldog?” Starting with “Don’t look at me man, I…”
  Keep up the great work.
  W

• 

  By joe, September 22, 2009 @ 1:19 pm

  One huge overall mistake that’s always made “rain” a little hard for me to listen to, even though I love the song, is the timing issues. Being recorded at a fast tempo, then slowed down, reveals major percussion and overall timing issues. There are several spots where the whole thing goes slower, then faster, then slower…if I remember it slows down noticably right before one of the chorus’.

• 

  By Bill, September 25, 2009 @ 2:43 pm

  Realy nice.

  Anyone hear the second “keep me waiting here” on The Long And Winding Road at 3:14?

• 

  By npdrn, October 5, 2009 @ 9:47 pm

  In What Goes On according to wikipedia “In the verse before the lead break after Starr sings “tell me why,” Lennon can be heard saying “We already told you why!” in reference to the Beatles’ “Tell Me Why” from the previous year”

• 

  By Tim, October 8, 2009 @ 3:29 pm

  @Willard:

  I always thought, at the end of “Hey Bulldog,” Paul is saying, “Don’t look at me, man, I only want to pet you!”

  But I’ve read at least one other source that claims it’s the nonsensical “I only have grandchildren.”

• 

  By Mat, October 12, 2009 @ 2:04 am

  Hey Rob. Loved all these clips. Good work. What I want to know is how you did them?

• 

  By Mat, October 12, 2009 @ 2:08 am

  Also just thought I’d say that I listened to my 2 copies of Please Please me on Vinyl and I have both the original and corrected versions. I was pretty happy about that!

• 

  By Willard, October 13, 2009 @ 6:56 pm

  “I only have grandchildren,” or “I don’t even have grandchildren” is what it SOUNDS like he’s saying at the end of Hey Bulldog, but you’re right. It doesn’t make any sense. I figured Rob or someone else might be a definitive source on the topic, but I guess it’s just all down to guessing. Thanks Tim.

• 

  By wayne, October 18, 2009 @ 10:15 pm

  okay…great stuff….i think you’re right on rain…..now ,can we prove once and for all who does the “ahhs” in the middle of A Day in the Life?…I have always contended it was Paul but most think it was John…Help!

• 

  By Rob, October 19, 2009 @ 12:32 pm

  Wayne, it’s John singing the “ahhs.” I’ll see if I can isolate those vocals when I get home. If so, I’ll post an audio clip.

• 

  By !!!, October 31, 2009 @ 10:53 am

  EXCELLENT!!!

  LOVE IT!!!

• 

  By BCM, December 5, 2009 @ 2:46 pm

  Two things:

  * I’ve always assumed that “ahh” in “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was a punch-in artifact — an earlier vocal take that was (mostly) covered up by the subsequent punch-in.

  * Thanks for clearing up that “Slow Down” line. I’ve always tried to figure out what John’s mistaken double-track was there, but never could quite make it out.

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