Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, Inspired by that recent video of the Fab Faux doing side 2 of Abbey Road, I just finished recording a cover version of "Because". It's on my website; click on the Beatles tab. Comments/suggestions are welcome. http://www.beatbyrd.com
Tom

Tom: I'm not the easiest guy to impress, but that showed some real depth of understanding. I'm curious if you did all the vocals as overdubs, because the cohesivenes and timbre do sound like one. From the notes on your website, it sounds as though you did all but the harpsichord part. If so, good on yer, as they say.

If I have one criticism (and I say this purely as a listener, not as a player) it's that there are three bass notes that are just a hair off-time (and I really mean a thin hair):

0:28
1:01-1:02
1:28

But all in all, a fantastic job. You've captured the spirit of it and created a great version.

The vocals sound damn near spot on. Did you manage to get 9 vocal tracks?

That's probably without a doubt the second best rendition that I have ever heard. The Beatles being the best of course.........

Tom -- very well done, and that is a challenging song to perform !!!

Enjoyed it very much. Bravo, Tom!

Being a huge Beatle fan, I can be very critical of covers of their songs. Frankly, I thought this was one of the best covers I have heard. Well done! (if my opinion matters.. lol!)

Hi, Thanks very much to all for the comments.
John, the first 2 'times' that you mentioned can probably be chalked up to 'feel', but the one at 1:28 is something that just really got past me. I hear 2 notes there, which makes me think it was a punched in correction that went bad. Good ears and thanks for catching it. I do all the parts by myself, so it's take after take, day after day. Your ears can get fatigued and you can start missing things. My sister-in-law did do the harpsichord part. This was done using the complete Beatles scores book and I really don't read. She did it to save me some time. BTW, there were a few wrong keyboard notes written in the book.
Hal, I did the 3 vocal parts, as written, and doubled each one, for a total of 6. Nine would have been overkill. I went a little off the page near the end and split the bass vocal line into two parts, so there are times when it goes into 4 part harmony.
Brian, I think the Fab Faux did a better cover version, but your reply was very much appreciated and encouraging.
Thanks to all. Tom

mikharr123 wrote:Being a huge Beatle fan, I can be very critical of covers of their songs. Frankly, I thought this was one of the best covers I have heard. Well done! (if my opinion matters.. lol!)

Sorry I missed you, Mike. I was typing the above general reply. All opinions matter, especially the positive ones. Again, check out the video of the Fab Faux doing side 2 of Abbey Road. That's impressive! Thanks, Tom

Hey Tom: I know what you mean about "ear fatigue" and "feel." I don't want you to get the impression that the bass notes were all I have to say about this work of yours; this is a fantastic rendition.