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Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:36 pm
by 1965
Dan, you don't like Let it Be Naked more than Let it Be?
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:46 pm
by deaconblues
1965 wrote:Dan, you don't like Let it Be Naked more than Let it Be?
You're right, Wes. 'Naked' is a LOT better. When I want to hear Let it Be, 'Naked' is the version I reach for.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:12 am
by 1965
dpowell wrote:You're right, Wes. 'Naked' is a LOT better. When I want to hear Let it Be, 'Naked' is the version I reach for.
That's what I thought
. Same for me.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:12 pm
by beefandbones
Well trying to include Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, and Only a Northern Song on Sgt. Pepper, made me wonder... Usually 'Only a Northern Song' gets binned as a somewhat snarky joke on John and Paul's 'Northern Songs' publishing company. But in this context, could George have been attempting to write something that would dovetail thematically with homey, nostalgic psychedelia of SFF and PL? Perhaps it didn't make Pepper because SFF and PL were left off, and it wasn't needed to fit with the theme.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:08 am
by 1965
beefandbones wrote:Perhaps it didn't make Pepper because SFF and PL were left off, and it wasn't needed to fit with the theme.
They were left off because, at the time, singles still weren't included on proper albums. I don't think Only a Northern Song is very strong, and the horns and swirly noises on the album version suck.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:47 am
by wolfgang
to me, in retrospect, Only a Northern Song is far better than,say, When i'm sixty four.
It is one of the best Beatles' "experimental" songs along with Kite, Walrus and so on...
Wolfgang
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:30 am
by Bosifis1
It was one of the worst Beatle songs, hands down. You can hear how George didn't give a sh** when writing it. Better than "When I'm 64"?????? Uggg man! Uggg!
To quote Peter Griffin. "Well sir, while I might not like what you say, I'll defend to the death your right to say it!"
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:36 am
by deaconblues
I'm with you, Brian...'Only a Northern Song' is nowhere near George's best work. I think it deserved exactly what it got.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:23 pm
by beefandbones
I wasn't arguing the worth of Only a Northern Song, just noting the possible similarity to the subject matter of the songs that John and Paul were writing at the time. I hadn't looked at it in that light before.
But on the subject of its worth, I have to say that many people seem to feel that Within You Without You is the weakest song on Sgt. Pepper, but I think it's a highlight, and that George Martin's string arrangement is genius. (And both Within You Without You and When I'm 64 are testament to George M's scoring abilities!) I think that if Only A Northern Song was also included on Pepper, many people would still think Within You Without You to be the 'skipper'. No matter, Only a Northern Song didn't make the cut one way or the other.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:15 pm
by Bosifis1
Ethan, I see your point. I do believe that if Northern Song was on Pepper, it would've been more highly regarded. Within You Without You, I feel is a great track(I love George's Indian stuff, hence my avatar!). I think that "Only A Northern Song" would be the "skipper". Just my two cents.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:14 am
by shamustwin
As a toddler when Sgt. P. was first released, I'd skip Within You...
Now it's one of my faves. I skip She's Leaving Home now.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:00 am
by kennyhowes
beefandbones wrote:I understand that the mono mix of Sgt. Pepper was created with input from most if not all of the Beatles, and is thought to represent most clearly their intention, but there are aspects of it that I find oddly sloppy. For example, the transition from "Good Morning Good Morning" to the Reprise is much rougher in mono - the cluck and the guitar note are two distinct sounds. (Perhaps it was a mistake of the stereo mixers that the two sounds were joined?) And in the Reprise, you can actually hear the tape machine with the crowd noise start to play, rather than having the crowd noise fade up. There's a distinct 'bwah' as the tape gets up to speed. It seems uncharacteristically inattentive. It's strange to me that much less time was spent on the stereo mixes, and yet the stereo mixers were able to nail the transition between the songs and fade up the crowd noise much more realistically.
I always wondered about that too. Seemed too sloppy for surrealism.
Re: The Beatles in Mono. Part I – Sgt. Pepper
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:53 am
by Folkie
Bosifis1 wrote:Ethan, I see your point. I do believe that if Northern Song was on Pepper, it would've been more highly regarded. Within You Without You, I feel is a great track(I love George's Indian stuff, hence my avatar!). I think that "Only A Northern Song" would be the "skipper". Just my two cents.
+1!!!
"Within You Without You" is among my all time favorite George Harrison songs, and I was shocked that no one mentioned it in my "Favorite George Harrison Songs" thread about a year ago. I do think it's a much stronger track than, say, "She's Leaving Home," which has always felt pretty maudlin to me, or "When I'm Sixty-Four," which is a little too jaunty for my tastes. I think it's even better than "Love You Too" from Revolver, both of them with that hypnotic drone from the sitar.
To get back on topic, I wasn't as offended by the stereo mixes as some here, but now that I know how unique the mono mixes sound, I'll certainly have a listen to them. Thanks to all the contributors to this thread for educating me about the nuances of these seminal recordings!
