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11.05pm
8 February 2014
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meanmistermustard said
I know that there are mixes out there that have isolated the vocals on all tracks as well isolating the three part harmonies on This Boy and Because to reveal what each Beatle is singing so it probably is possible. How to do it i have no idea.
If you try hard and have a good ear, you can often discern the three voices, despite their being in perfect harmony. Especially if you know what to listen for. Especially in the early years, John’s low harmony was pretty sandpapery and didn’t sound nearly as good as it did 2 years later (about 1962). Paul, being in the middle and always exactly on key, is hard to pick out, but George (high) and John (low) can be distinguished, at least in some takes.
I think most of the 3 parts were John, bass; Paul, tenor; George, alto. Sometimes George and Paul switched up I think. Also not sure if John was a pure bass…his voice was so amazing (to take nothing away from Paul and Georges’ excellent voices!)…think of Mother …his vocals just skate on a plane…he minimizes most of the hard consonant sounds and just emotes!!! I think the Beatles were amazing and unsurpassed in their ability to just join in anytime in perfect harmony…many obviously unrehearsed live versions of George (esp., but the others sometimes) walking up and joining another at a mike. Just at random times (but of course they were the perfect random times 
I assume you know that each of the 3 voices was triple-tracked for a total of 9 voices in Because . The um…Anthology cd set I think has this vocals-only version. If I listen close I can just make out the 3 voices (well the triples of each man’s voice)Like I said in another recent post (hopefully in another topic!), only the Beach Boys surpassed the Beatles in harmonizing, but they had more voices and a lot of studio work. Whereas the Beatles could just harmonize effortlessly. I’m sure I’m not the first who’s said that (in fact, it’s the second time I’ve said it in this post – but it deserves the emphasis!)
Ok getting to the actual topic: I like John’s screaming better, but Paul did it well too, and it’s just a personal thing. There’s a fairly early version of Twist And Shout where he sang most of the verses clearly and only screamed at the loud endings of lines, and it sounds really good (some live version, cavern club maybe or hamburg?).
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vonbontee, Beatlebug3.55am
3 February 2014
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PeterWeatherby said
Paul had the naturally higher vocal range, so he’s able to do more with the full-voice screaming than John. The top note in the “Mr. Moonlight” intro is a B-flat, I believe, but the Anthology outtakes reveal that John had a hard time getting there. Heck, he had a hard time getting to the high A in the chorus of “No Reply ” (“I saw the liiight“), so he eventually relegated that part to Paul, just as he handed over the bridge of “A Hard Day’s Night ” to Paul because he couldn’t hit the repeated high G’s, F#’s, and screamin’ high A at the end. “Anytime at All” is another example – Paul gets the second “anytime at all” in the chorus because it went too high for John, and again, it was only an A.All of that to say, John could hit the occasional high screamer note if it was a somewhat isolated instance in the song, but even then he seems to have topped out around an A or maybe a B-flat on a good day. With that in mind, “Oh Darling” has that bridge that just freakin’ camps out on high B’s and A’s, and I have absolutely no doubt that this would have been way out of John’s range and ability. Not only does that bridge go higher than I’ve ever heard John sing, but it stays up there for longer than John could have done. (Listen to the end of “Instant Karma ” and how the repeated high G’s in the chorus eventually force John to start speak-singing because his voice can’t sustain the punishment – and those are lower notes than the ones found in “Oh Darling”.)
They could both scream, but John had a limit as to how high he could go and how often he could go there. Paul’s screaming stuff is more razor-sharp and closer to the actual notes as well, whereas John’s screams tended to splatter a bit (as in “Mother “).
I’m not sure this is the best way to judge their screams.
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9.40pm
8 January 2015
Offline John. It’s not about range or power, he lights a fuse. Not to knock Paul, he just comes from a different place, it’s just the way you’re made.
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3.00am
27 March 2015
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Paul. He’s got such a wide array of screams and when he goes for it, it’s just out of this world. Having said that, both John and Paul have their own distinct style and I have to admire how they always knew which type of screams to add to which song. I love both!
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3.11am
27 March 2015
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Matt Busby said
meanmistermustard said
I know that there are mixes out there that have isolated the vocals on all tracks as well isolating the three part harmonies on This Boy and Because to reveal what each Beatle is singing so it probably is possible. How to do it i have no idea.If you try hard and have a good ear, you can often discern the three voices, despite their being in perfect harmony. Especially if you know what to listen for. Especially in the early years, John’s low harmony was pretty sandpapery and didn’t sound nearly as good as it did 2 years later (about 1962). Paul, being in the middle and always exactly on key, is hard to pick out, but George (high) and John (low) can be distinguished, at least in some takes.
I think most of the 3 parts were John, bass; Paul, tenor; George, alto. Sometimes George and Paul switched up I think. Also not sure if John was a pure bass…his voice was so amazing (to take nothing away from Paul and Georges’ excellent voices!)…think of Mother …his vocals just skate on a plane…he minimizes most of the hard consonant sounds and just emotes!!! I think the Beatles were amazing and unsurpassed in their ability to just join in anytime in perfect harmony…many obviously unrehearsed live versions of George (esp., but the others sometimes) walking up and joining another at a mike. Just at random times (but of course they were the perfect random times
I assume you know that each of the 3 voices was triple-tracked for a total of 9 voices in Because . The um…Anthology cd set I think has this vocals-only version. If I listen close I can just make out the 3 voices (well the triples of each man’s voice)Like I said in another recent post (hopefully in another topic!), only the Beach Boys surpassed the Beatles in harmonizing, but they had more voices and a lot of studio work. Whereas the Beatles could just harmonize effortlessly. I’m sure I’m not the first who’s said that (in fact, it’s the second time I’ve said it in this post – but it deserves the emphasis!)
Ok getting to the actual topic: I like John’s screaming better, but Paul did it well too, and it’s just a personal thing. There’s a fairly early version of Twist And Shout where he sang most of the verses clearly and only screamed at the loud endings of lines, and it sounds really good (some live version, cavern club maybe or hamburg?).
I would disagree. Paul usually sang the high harmony, John the middle, and George the lower. John and George would mix it up quite a bit, and there are even a few songs where Paul sings the lowest harmony, but it’s most often Paul -> John -> George if you list them high to low.
Because is no different. George sings the low harmony, although it must be noted that at a few points, that one goes up whilst John’s middle (and main) harmony dips down, so that John sings lower notes than George there. It’s only on 4 occasions, though: a few words in each verse (“it turns me on”, “it blows my mind”, and “it makes me cry”) and the “love is old, love is new’ line in the bridge. If you listen closely, you can hear each harmony quite well, and they’re a lot of fun to sing along. Paul’s is challenging, though. Even as a girl, I sometimes find myself straining to sing that part in full voice. Falsetto tends to be easier, and sounds a bit better.
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6.06am
28 March 2012
Offline Paul has his moments, but John nails these songs virtually every time. So John.
2.05pm
18 April 2013
Offline I agree, John screams much more convincingly than Paul.
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2.19pm
27 March 2015
Offline That doesn’t necessarily mean John’s screams come from a deeper place, though. I’ve often seen people suggest John’s screams are “real” and “heartfelt” as opposed to Paul’s. But is that the case? I’m pretty sure John could scream at will without having to dig deep for it, and we know Paul often had to make an effort to get outside of his head so he could belt out those screams – both he and John have mentioned that. Also, I’ve always wondered what makes Paul’s screams “less convincing”. Is it because they’re pitch-perfect? Can you hold that against him, or is that just fuelled by the biases some people have against Paul in general?
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2.33pm
18 April 2013
Offline It’s the emotion behind it. Paul seems like he’s having fun when he screams. You even see him smiling/almost laughing on old concert films as he screams.
When John screams it just seems more rock and roll.
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2.38pm
27 March 2015
Offline Emphasis ‘seems’.
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2.45pm
5 November 2011
Offline I don’t have an opinion on who I think was more convincing or powerful at screaming, but I do prefer Paul’s screaming songs better. I just generally like most everything about Paul better than John.
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7.21pm
24 March 2014
Offline Four Thousand Holes said
Paul has his moments, but John nails these songs virtually every time. So John.
I agree
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9.48pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline Matt Busby said
meanmistermustard said
I know that there are mixes out there that have isolated the vocals on all tracks as well isolating the three part harmonies on This Boy and Because to reveal what each Beatle is singing so it probably is possible. How to do it i have no idea.If you try hard and have a good ear, you can often discern the three voices, despite their being in perfect harmony. Especially if you know what to listen for. Especially in the early years, John’s low harmony was pretty sandpapery and didn’t sound nearly as good as it did 2 years later (about 1962). Paul, being in the middle and always exactly on key, is hard to pick out, but George (high) and John (low) can be distinguished, at least in some takes.
I think most of the 3 parts were John, bass; Paul, tenor; George, alto. Sometimes George and Paul switched up I think. Also not sure if John was a pure bass…his voice was so amazing (to take nothing away from Paul and Georges’ excellent voices!)…think of Mother …his vocals just skate on a plane…he minimizes most of the hard consonant sounds and just emotes!!! I think the Beatles were amazing and unsurpassed in their ability to just join in anytime in perfect harmony…many obviously unrehearsed live versions of George (esp., but the others sometimes) walking up and joining another at a mike. Just at random times (but of course they were the perfect random times
I assume you know that each of the 3 voices was triple-tracked for a total of 9 voices in Because . The um…Anthology cd set I think has this vocals-only version. If I listen close I can just make out the 3 voices (well the triples of each man’s voice)Like I said in another recent post (hopefully in another topic!), only the Beach Boys surpassed the Beatles in harmonizing, but they had more voices and a lot of studio work. Whereas the Beatles could just harmonize effortlessly. I’m sure I’m not the first who’s said that (in fact, it’s the second time I’ve said it in this post – but it deserves the emphasis!)
Ok getting to the actual topic: I like John’s screaming better, but Paul did it well too, and it’s just a personal thing. There’s a fairly early version of Twist And Shout where he sang most of the verses clearly and only screamed at the loud endings of lines, and it sounds really good (some live version, cavern club maybe or hamburg?).
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6.36pm
1 December 2009
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In considering my years-ago answer, I was thinking mostly of full-on screamed songs, and screamed lines within songs (like in “Revolution ” or “I’ve Got A Feeling “); while overlooking another aspect entirely: those random ad-libbed exclamations used to boost/react to rocking excitement when going into instrumental parts, and during the solos themselves, or just whenever, most common in the Beatlemania days. I’d say Paul is pretty much the king of those. (Even as far back as “Cry For A Shadow”).
(Not that John didn’t manage a few of those himself…)
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7.49pm
7 November 2022
Offline Mademoiselle Kitty >^..^< said
That doesn’t necessarily mean John’s screams come from a deeper place, though. I’ve often seen people suggest John’s screams are “real” and “heartfelt” as opposed to Paul’s. But is that the case? I’m pretty sure John could scream at will without having to dig deep for it, and we know Paul often had to make an effort to get outside of his head so he could belt out those screams – both he and John have mentioned that. Also, I’ve always wondered what makes Paul’s screams “less convincing”. Is it because they’re pitch-perfect? Can you hold that against him, or is that just fuelled by the biases some people have against Paul in general?
Good question. “Soul” in singing is as elusive as love in real life — yet also has that “I know it when I see/hear it” quality which at the end of the day is a je ne sais quoi factor. Although my answer to this question is Paul is my favorite screamer without a doubt, I can tell there’s an absence of “soul” in his screaming, while John seems to tap into it naturally. I don’t mind Paul’s “soullessness” since I enjoy his technical talent so much.
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10.15pm
14 June 2016
Offline I love songs with meaning behind them, when a singer gets into the lyrics and belts out their truth in an emotional way. John does that for me, and I prefer his voice. But when anybody does that I get into the song big time. Real expression is thrilling to me.
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12.50am
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1 May 2011
Offline Depends on the song. I cannot fathom the idea of Paul singing ‘Twist And Shout ‘ or ‘Yer Blues ‘ but neither can I see John screaming ‘I’m Down ‘. But that may be due to familiarity.
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4.17am
7 November 2022
Offline meanmistermustard said
Depends on the song. I cannot fathom the idea of Paul singing ‘Twist And Shout ‘ or ‘Yer Blues ‘ but neither can I see John screaming ‘I’m Down ‘. But that may be due to familiarity.
Nor could I fathom Paul doing justice to “Mother ” or John trying “Get On The Right Thing”
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