SAPA
Contributor
Posts: 54
|
Post by SAPA on Feb 11, 2004 9:15:39 GMT
I've been listening to alot of rarities and with each new James Paul vocal I hear I'm only more convinced.The way JL and JP harmonise on tracks like "I'll Be Back".Devel in her Heart" "That means alot" done in 65 shows his developement with melodies his voice is unmistakable, sorry faul but his voice could not ever have been replaced.  |
|
|
|
Post by SunKing on Feb 11, 2004 9:41:49 GMT
...just listening to....the truth  |
|
|
|
Post by Perplexed on Mar 12, 2004 8:19:27 GMT
If, of course, Paul is Paul and there was never a replacement, then this next observation is not valid.
But, after getting "Beatles for Sale" and listening to the "Kansas City" medley (with the Little Richard song), and then listening to "Helter Skelter" a number of times (and I like BOTH of them a lot) I have difficulty imagining the '65 vocalist ever making the Helter Skelter vocal. The Paul vocal from '65 is singing at the top of his range, it seems, and hovers around high "G", while "hooking" up to high "Bb's" a number of times in a bluesy, raunchy placement.
Helter Skelter is high B's and C's, and higher, and apparently from a take that agonized on long enough to inspire tireless Ringo to shriek, "I've Got Be'-listahzz on My Fingahzz" at the end. We read in sources that the 4 minute, or so, tune came from a very long take. That the "Kansas City" city voice, already topping out where we hear it, could ever grind out the ultra-stressed stratosperic gymnastic cries of Helter Skelter seems impossible. And, they did multiple takes to boot! Holy raw meat vocal cords! Say hello to permanent laryngeal fatigue!! The '65 James Paul vocal does not suggest that this kind of a vocal "top" is available to the singer. But, maybe it was.
And I would find that to be amazing. Well, I've been off base before.
Should I try to steal second?
So you see, "BOTH" voices, and people WILL still be analyzing Beatle minutia a hundred years from now, have their unique strengths.
|
|
|
|
Post by SilverBeatle on Mar 12, 2004 16:49:34 GMT
The lead vocal was almost certainly recorded separate from the music tracks for Helter Skelter. This is usually status quo when recording -- you concentrate on the instruments first (w/ a "scratch" vocal...called "scratch" because it is for reference only and will later be scratched) and later come back and do the lead vocal when the singer is fresh. According to studio notes, the music and a rough vocal was recorded Sept 9 with overdubs (probably incl the lead vocal) done the next day Sept 10.
Regardless, to me it sound slike the same scream we hear later in Oh Darling! "Kansas City" to me is more singing than screaming (Skelter and Darling are screams)
Regarding recording of Skelter:
Recorded during a less than disciplined session on 9 September (acting producer Chris Thomas remembers George Harrison running around the studio with a flaming ashtray held above his head) it features a somewhat odd instrumentation line-up, with John Lennon playing an unskilled saxophone track and group assistant Mal Evans doing likewise on trumpet, and with a considerable degree of feedback and distortion deliberately applied to the sound in keeping with Paul's premise that Helter Skelter be one of the dirtiest and most raucous songs ever made. Ringo drums with steely determination through, prompting his preserved shout at the end of the song, "I've got blisters on my fingers!".
The Beatles recorded three takes of 'Helter Skelter' on July 18, 1968. These takes lasted 10'40", 12'35" and 27'11". All three versions were similar; drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitars played live, with a heavy drum sound, heavy guitars and a vocal. None of these three takes was ever released in their entirety, however take two was edited to under 5 minutes and released in both the US and the UK on October 29, 1996 on "The Beatles Anthology Volume 3."
The Beatles recorded 18 more takes (4 - 21) on September 9. Take 21, with additional overdubs taped September 10, was the released take. John Lennon played bass guitar and saxophone, Mal Evans played trumpet, there were also two lead guitars, heavy drums, a piano, built-in distortion, backing vocals by John and George Harrison, and Paul McCartney's lead vocal. The mono mix was prepared September 17, in one attempt, the stereo mix was completed October 12 in five attempts (remixes 1 - 5 from take 21).
The stereo version runs considerably longer than the mono due mostly to the two versions' different endings. In mono, there is no second fade-out, and Ringo's line "I've got blisters on my fingers" is missing. In the spring of 1976, George Martin remixed a stereo version of this track in Los Angeles for the US release of the "Rock 'N' Roll Music" album. This album was released in the US on June 7, 1976. The UK release of this album features the original stereo mix of this track.
An unidentified rehearsal take from the June sessions was recorded when Tolly Bramwell shot a private 16-mm film inside Abbey Road Studios. This film has never been broadcast publicly, however, this take has been bootlegged and can be found on "The Beatles: The Ultimate Collection Volume 1" (CD).
The Beatles recorded an acoustic version of this song in July of 1968 which was aired on Dutch television's "Vara Puntje" on September 27, 1968. This recording has been bootlegged and can be found on the "1989 Beatles News Christmas Record."
|
|
|
|
Post by Elidor on Mar 12, 2004 21:05:30 GMT
You know, you learn something new every day...I had always thought that it was Lennon who shouts "I've got etc" at the end of Helter Skelter, cos his fingers were raw from hammering away at that bass line. I can hear Ringo's voice so obviously now - weird. Thanks for that SilverBeatle.
|
|
|
|
Post by abbey on Apr 13, 2004 14:10:25 GMT
The same with me SAPA. I started REALLY listening to the old tunes and then those recorded after 1966.....anyone who truly listens can tell James Paul from Faul. Faul just does NOT have Paul's talent and singing voice! And, yes, the harmony of John and Paul is utterly perfection. No wonder John and "Paul" broke up  John didn't care about recording with the False Paul. If Paul had lived, would Yoko have had as much power over John? One of the songs I like with John and Paul's harmony is "There's a Place". ;D |
|
|
|
Post by BillyJones on Apr 13, 2004 14:48:59 GMT
Abbey - good choice. There's a place, I can go, when I feel low, when I feel blue...
The strange thing is, before coming here I hadn't even given the Beatles a thought for many years. I found out that even after all these years I still remember alot of the lyrics to their songs. Weird.
|
|
John didn't care about recording with the False Paul. If Paul had lived, would Yoko have had as much power over John?