10 Things I Love About The Beatles
1. John's "fucking hell" after playing the wrong chord in 'Hey Jude' at 2:58
2. Paul's drum beat in 'Dear Prudence'
3. John's bass line in 'Rocky Raccoon'
4. The weird 'Strawberry Fields' edit at 0:59 (left speaker)
5. Paul's guitar solo in 'Taxman'
6. George's bass line for 'Hey Jude'
7. Another weird edit for 'Revolution' during the word "Head" (left speaker)
8. What seems to be a degenerating tape issue causing 'Savoy Truffle' to warp out and then kick in at... I don't have the record in front of me... listen closely to the left speaker during the first verse
9. John's overloaded scream before the Wagner-ish vamp during 'I Want You', clearly distorting on accident
10. 'Day Tripper', 2:33, right speaker, the guitar drops out
When I began recording and producing this album... I was a bit uptight about the sound quality. I thought, "Oh shit, I've been given the opportunity to make this thing fantastic and I've got to make certain that it doesn't sound amateurish."
After working for a few weeks, I brought a copy of my recordings with me while I drove around town. After listening to a few mixes I tossed 'Abbey Road' into the CD player. Figuring that it was The Beatles most technically advanced recording, I thought I'd compare the two for fidelity's sake. Much to my surprise, The Beatles sounded as though they'd recorded in a wind tunnel compared to my virtual vacuum of an engineering job.
It occurred to me that I had never paid much attention to the quality of Beatle recordings... only listened to the words and music. I can remember the day (many years ago) when I made myself a mix tape with 'Rubber Soul' on side A and The Rolling Stones 'Let It Bleed' on the flip. When the tape did flip from A to B, the Stones sounded like a badly beaten demo compared to the quality of 'Rubber Soul.'
I suppose my point is, with technology today... we can make records that sound every bit as warm and bright and clear as any Beatle recording (and beyond) right in the comforts of our own living rooms. To my ears, the state of modern Rock & Roll in the past 20 years has been relatively lifeless and crummy. Why don't you buy your own studio and record your band exactly the way you want it to sound? It's not too expensive. The most difficult task is bringing the sounds to life... that also happens to be the most fun. If you think 'JET' sucks and you wish bands like that would go away... do something about it. Make an album that's superior. It's in your hands. When you make a recording, listen back, and if it's not as atmospheric as Led Zeppelin’s 'No Quarter'... you've failed. Try it again. Those guys were NOT angels sent from heaven to deliver music to the underprivileged children of god. The Beatles were NOT offspring from an advanced alien race sent to earth to deliver us all from the 1950s. Chuck Berry was NOT a genius... neither are you... see, you've got something in common. Keith Richards is not a superman... he's a nasty drunken goofball ex-junkie that plays the guitar. Glamorous? I don't think so. Phil Spector was brilliant... so are you... now go write the next 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' and don't come out of your room until the bridge gives your mother goose-bumps.
That's your home work.
I've got to get back to the album... good luck. -b
2. Paul's drum beat in 'Dear Prudence'
3. John's bass line in 'Rocky Raccoon'
4. The weird 'Strawberry Fields' edit at 0:59 (left speaker)
5. Paul's guitar solo in 'Taxman'
6. George's bass line for 'Hey Jude'
7. Another weird edit for 'Revolution' during the word "Head" (left speaker)
8. What seems to be a degenerating tape issue causing 'Savoy Truffle' to warp out and then kick in at... I don't have the record in front of me... listen closely to the left speaker during the first verse
9. John's overloaded scream before the Wagner-ish vamp during 'I Want You', clearly distorting on accident
10. 'Day Tripper', 2:33, right speaker, the guitar drops out
When I began recording and producing this album... I was a bit uptight about the sound quality. I thought, "Oh shit, I've been given the opportunity to make this thing fantastic and I've got to make certain that it doesn't sound amateurish."
After working for a few weeks, I brought a copy of my recordings with me while I drove around town. After listening to a few mixes I tossed 'Abbey Road' into the CD player. Figuring that it was The Beatles most technically advanced recording, I thought I'd compare the two for fidelity's sake. Much to my surprise, The Beatles sounded as though they'd recorded in a wind tunnel compared to my virtual vacuum of an engineering job.
It occurred to me that I had never paid much attention to the quality of Beatle recordings... only listened to the words and music. I can remember the day (many years ago) when I made myself a mix tape with 'Rubber Soul' on side A and The Rolling Stones 'Let It Bleed' on the flip. When the tape did flip from A to B, the Stones sounded like a badly beaten demo compared to the quality of 'Rubber Soul.'
I suppose my point is, with technology today... we can make records that sound every bit as warm and bright and clear as any Beatle recording (and beyond) right in the comforts of our own living rooms. To my ears, the state of modern Rock & Roll in the past 20 years has been relatively lifeless and crummy. Why don't you buy your own studio and record your band exactly the way you want it to sound? It's not too expensive. The most difficult task is bringing the sounds to life... that also happens to be the most fun. If you think 'JET' sucks and you wish bands like that would go away... do something about it. Make an album that's superior. It's in your hands. When you make a recording, listen back, and if it's not as atmospheric as Led Zeppelin’s 'No Quarter'... you've failed. Try it again. Those guys were NOT angels sent from heaven to deliver music to the underprivileged children of god. The Beatles were NOT offspring from an advanced alien race sent to earth to deliver us all from the 1950s. Chuck Berry was NOT a genius... neither are you... see, you've got something in common. Keith Richards is not a superman... he's a nasty drunken goofball ex-junkie that plays the guitar. Glamorous? I don't think so. Phil Spector was brilliant... so are you... now go write the next 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' and don't come out of your room until the bridge gives your mother goose-bumps.
That's your home work.
I've got to get back to the album... good luck. -b
