Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Karl,

I understand what you mean about some of the SheaStadium tracks being "sweetened up", but "I Feel Fine" was the real thing! Sounded awesome, forgive the cliche'

Larry

Sorry to say Larry but even 'I Feel Fine' was sweetened up at George Martins request.

Do a little web searching and you will find out all the details.

Karl,

Can you define "sweetened up"? removing hisses or noise is one thing. I've heard "live" recordings of the Beatles which were nothing more than the studio versions with screams added! My Shea Stadium bootleg from the 70's (on vinyl)sounded as live as could be..

Respectfully,
Larry

Here's somethig I found in about 10 seconds of searching;

http://www.vostra.ca/toursworld/Shea.htm

I believe the sweetening sessions are mentioned in one of the Beatles recording/diary log books too if you need finite details.

Karl,

Looks like ol' George Martin and the guys fooled me! The vocals on "Ticket to Ride" were astonishingly good, under the circumstances; guess that should've made me suspicious.

Respectfully,
Eggman

I realize that this is an old thread, but .... I was just sitting reading the latest forum postings and listening to the "Live at the BBC" disk, and came across IFF. The recording which was done on Nov 17, 1964, also has the "strange sounds" in the beginning, underneath the feedback and opening riff.

I still think it is just Ringo engaging the snares on his drum. Actually, I can hear two sounds. The first I think is Ringo DISengaging the snare, right as the feedback starts. The second noise is during the opening riff. You can hear it just as John slides down to the G chord. That is the snare being re-engaged.

In fact, the darn snare is making noise all over the place. Listen to the instrumental break, and where John restarts the riff. It's so noisy it sounds like distortion.

I've heard that too.

I have come to a conclusion that it's a 'splice' in the tape at the intro of IFF.

I would say Lennon sat in the studio with his J160E and AC100 trying out several takes with the feedback intro. The drums would have been sitting in the corner as usual.

Best feedback take was spiced perfectly onto the band intro.

The guitar tones also sound completely different. You can hear the 'room' in the feedback section but suddenly the Gibson changes to a tight signal.

The snare switch we all think is what is engaged right before the into lick sounds like a splice.

The snare sounds already 'on' in the feedback section of the intro.

Hey Karl, have you ever heard the session outtakes of IFF? I've got them on cassette, but on loan for the moment....

They reveal a steady evolution of the song, starting out in the key of 'A', with no feedback in the intro. A few takes later and transposed to 'G', Lennon started the takes with feedback in the intro on these attempts, continuing with no edit. It's like this all the way to take 9 (I think) which was the best that made it to the radio. I'm thinking it's not an edit, but I may be wrong...it's been a while since I've listened to the tapes...

For a better listen I popped in The Beatles 1 CD.

Lennon's guitar tones change in the lick right before he begins to sing.

There is a slight 'delay' in the lick as well before he sings that is not heard throughout the rest of the song when the lick is played again. IMO the sound we hear is Lennon playing along with himself with the spliced feedback track

It sounds to me like a layered splice that was added to the beggining of the song and is gone by the last part of the guitar lick before Lennon begins to sing.

The snare/studio sound to me is from the 'band' channel that will become the song itself after the splice.

I also own a pre-1964 vintage Gibson J160E. I can see why Lennon transposed down a full step.

Lennon played the IFF guitar lick in 'bar' chords. Even though the J160E's body begins after the 15th fret the neck heel begins at the 12th which is where he would have originally started.

That lick has one of the best solo Beatle guitar tones (outside of the Strat on "Nowhere Man" and various Rick 12-string leads) that I have ever heard. For years I thought it was George's Gretsch; it sounds to me so "Filtertron-y".

Karl, I'm smoking a Cuban Monte Cristo #2 as I write this. Yum!

Mmmmmmm.... Monte Cristo!!

You are sooo lucky that you don't have a stupid embargo...

I get mine from Brasil. Back in '95, at the height of the cigar craze here in the States, I purchased a box of 50 Monte Cristo Coronas in a cigar store in Rio de Janeiro, for $104.00 US.

Thinking that I could always count on this type of pricing and availability, I smoked these as if they were common. They were delicious, very fresh, with a terrific taste and aroma.

By the time of my next trip to Brasil 8 months later, Cuban cigars were up to $10.00 US each. The craze had been adopted by Brasilians. I still bought a couple of MC#2s. Got 'em home and---they were counterfeits. Yup, the craze had hit.

Now MC#2s are $15.00 US, and I do have a store that's honest. But that's too rich for my blood, so maybe a couple per trip.

Ordinary US pipe tobacco (like Captain Black, which is $5/pack here in SF) is R$30.00 in Brasil, equivalent to 1/3 of a month's minimum wage. Very few Brasilians smoke pipes, compared to here in the USA.

I can't remember how much I paid for them, Paul. If you buy one or two on the spur of the moment and at the same time a case or two of beer and a few bottles of wine, it gets lost in the mix.

I've got to go that way today, so I'll check out the prices (if they still stock them, that is).

There is a shop in our Southbank (casino) district that sells nothing but cigars. The only problems is, I'm never there during business hours!

Is the embargo simply because they're Cuban?

That's right. It goes back to the Eisenhower era; I believe April of '59, four months after the US-backed revolutionary who toppled the dictator (Fulgencio Batista), rode into Havana and declared himself aligned with Moscow. I believe his name was Castro or something.

The embargo was almost lifted by President Clinton when the Cubans shot down a small plane which was helping some Cubans to escape to the USA. The hue and cry in the Senate killed the bill.

Considering that the Bushies are still living in the McCarthy era, it should be no surprise that nothing's changed from Eisenhower days. It is still illegal for a USA citizen to travel to Havana without special permission from the State Department. Citizens who enter Cuba via Mexico, South America, or Europe, stand to receive a stiff fine.