Real Love vs. Free as a Bird

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:50 am

A friend of mine was arguing, not unconvincingly, that the Threetles, George Martin and Co., blew the call when it came to picking the single (last that it was) between these two.

By picking FAAB, they let a faster, catchier tune in Real Love get away (not that they necessarily did all they could have done with it they way they produced it.)

webhead · Post by **webhead** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:28 pm

I thought "Real Love" was a single as well.

fran4001 · Post by **fran4001** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:36 pm

Real Love was a single. It charted, and I have the CD single right in front of me now. I personally like it better than Free As A Bird.

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:54 pm

In an interview Paul mentioned that they didn't have nearly as much fun making "Real Love" compared to "Free as a Bird"....because RL was basically a finished song compared to FAAB.

I enjoyed both. The real question is, what were some of the other songs that they tried to collaborate on that never made it out on the studio, as Yoko gave them several tapes to work with.

bee_atles · Post by **bee_atles** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:13 pm

It would have been really interesting to hear them finish off a few more Lennon songs, especially since George H. died and now there is no chance of anything like that happening. But I guess we should feel lucky that they even did the two songs they did.

beefandbones · Post by **beefandbones** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:30 pm

I think they blew it by letting Jeff Lynne produce, no matter what George says. That drum sound will forever marr their 'reunion'.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:53 pm

Jeff Lynne should be banned from making any more music! His recordings always sound the same, and they sound terrible. I get annoyed when listening to Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever stuff because of the Jeff Lynne production.

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:10 pm

Interesting comments about Jeff Lynne and his obviously poor production techniques. I always liked ELO.

I'll have to pull out my CD of his best work (that I have not played in eons) and see if I can hear that awful production you guys are referring to.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:13 pm

hmmmm... I like both RL and FAAB, but I agree that RL is the better song.

As for "Full Moon Fever" I couldn't disagree more. IMHO that is Petty's best and a really great rock'n'roll album. I cant comment on Jeff Lynne work as a whole, but I dont think he screwed up on FMF at all.

webhead · Post by **webhead** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:27 pm

Jeff gave it that ELO feel to it. If they had Tom Scholtz involved he would have pulled out a Rockman.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:57 pm

I thought they did a marvelous job with FAAB. My main complaint with Real Love is the annoying way the bring up the original recording when Lennon's singing, then cut it off when he's not.

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:37 pm

What's all the hubbub? I liked 'em both and thought they were ok songs....I thought they did a good job with what they had to work with. I wasn't expecting the '60s sound, I was expecting clever little "twists" and , I believe, that's what was delivered. Pretty solid material IMHO.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:41 pm

I guess I should have clarified what I meant.

Real Love was released as a single per se, but it didn't get nearly the push that FAAB did, what with the broadcast showcase, the video which they obviously didn't have much to do with (and was mostly old footage vs. treating it like a "new" song, deserving its own original production.)

Also, the question wasn't which is a better song, or which you like better, but merely whether they blew the call as which should have been showcased, promoted heavily as the first single of the two.

I think they blew the intro of Real Love and could have done it differently, found a better solution.

As for Lynne, I've never liked him. But I've never loathed his production of others like I've loathed ELO. I know his snare drum sound is much maligned but it's not as bad as all the 80s snare mixes that came before it. I'm not keen on his vocals, though.

Production aside, he helped George make a much better album than George had been making on his own.

apollo11 · Post by **apollo11** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:48 pm

FAAB is much more enjoyable for me. In fact, I love the song, and really consider it a fantastic Beatles recording. I especially love the heavy bass sound. My only complaint is the fact that Paul & George's voice solos seem out of place, although Harrison's better fits the overall style and sound of the song. McCartney's solo is a little harsh and raw when compared to the sounds heard on the rest of record. Now the harmonies, on the other hand, are stellar.

As for Jeff Lynne, I have always felt that he wasn't the one for the job. It is virtually impossible to make solo albums by Tom Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison sound alike, but Lynne somehow managed to make records by these diverse talents sound the same, production wise. They all have the very same sound, starting with Cloud Nine. Tinny accoustic guitars dominate most Lynne-produced records in the Late 80's, early 90's. When Cloud Nine came out, it was fresh in its sound. And then Full Moon Fever and Mystery Girl had the same sound. Luckily the Traveling Wilburys' two albums didn't suffer as much from the Lynne sound. Both are great, great sounding albums, in a more traditional sense.

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:42 pm

One could argue that Jeff Lynne's sound is very identifiable as was Phil Spectors, as is Bob Rock's, as is Mutt Lange's and the list could go on.

I have found that if an artist is looking for a different dimension to their sound that they will seek out a producer who best represents what they are looking for. So Jeff Lynne may not be your cup of tea but there again is Phil Spector? Probably not.

In the end the artist knows what he is looking for. I would never presume that I or anyone else could have made a Beatle recording sound better than it was when it was released. There are just too many variables at play when you are "in the moment".

I would hazard a guess that not too many producers would have turned down the the opportunity to produce two songs created by a Beatles reunion of sorts. Jeff would have been an obvious choice for George regardless who else was able to do it.

Personally I like Jeff Lynne's body of work.