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Paul McCartney is said to have wanted to include Carnival Of Light on Anthology 2, but the decision was vetoed by George Harrison. Since then, McCartney has occasionally mentioned a desire to see it released.
In April 2002, Mark Ellen of the Rocking Vicar website revealed that he had questioned McCartney about the recording towards the end of an interview for The Word magazine.
Rocking Vicar: Just one last question - Carnival Of Light: does it actually exist?
Paul McCartney: It does exist, yeah. We recorded it in about fifteen minutes. It's very avant garde - as George would say 'avant garde a clue' - and George did not like it 'cos he doesn't like avant garde music.
RV: Who wrote it?
PM: It's officially me. I instigated it. No there's no lyrics, it's avant garde music. You would class it as... well you wouldn't class it actually, but it would come in the Stockhausen/John Cage bracket... John Cage would be the nearest. It's very free-form. Yeah man, it's the coolest piece of music since sliced bread!
RV: This is early '67?
PM: I was asked about '67 to do it by Barry Miles - you know, who did my book Many Years From Now - and he asked me to do it for this event at The Roundhouse called Carnival Of Light, so that's how it got its title. And he asked me to write a fifteen to twenty minute piece, and I was into that kind of thing, not on record with The Beatles, but just for that. I went into the studio and said to the guys, Look we've got half an hour before the session officially starts, would you mind terribly if I did this thing?
RV: So this is with the other Beatles?
PM: With the other Beatles. This is a Beatle record. And they all just fell in with the spirit of it and I just said, Would you go on that and would you stay on that and would you be on that and we'll just take twenty minutes to do it in real time? And they all just got into it.
RV: Why don't you release it?
PM: I actually have a project I would like ... I'm involved ... One of the many things I did, I did a thing called The Grateful Dead Photo Film, using Linda's snapshots and making them move, dissolving between them and making them into a film, a short art film, which I showed at festivals and things. And I'm actually in the process - although everything else and its uncle is holding it up - but I've got a Beatles photo film on the go and I would love to use it as part of the soundtrack of that.
RV: There was a rumour it was going to come out on Anthology. What happened with that?
PM: It was up for consideration on The Anthology and George vetoed it. He didn't like it. Maybe its time hadn't come.
In the studio
The piece was made under the name 'Untitled', and was taped in a single take on 5 January 1967. It followed the overdub of vocals onto Penny Lane.
Carnival Of Light, as it has since become known, lasted 13'48", and constituted the basic track along with a series of overdubs. During the recording McCartney briefly sang Fixing A Hole on the piano, according to Dudley Edwards of Binder, Edwards and Vaughan.
A breakdown of the piece was given by Mark Lewisohn in 1988:
Track one of the tape was full of distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds; track two had a distorted lead guitar; track three had the sounds of a church organ, various effects (the gargling of water was one) and voices; track four featured various indescribable sound effects with heaps of tape echo and manic tambourine.
But of all the frightening sounds it was the voices on track three which really set the scene, John and Paul screaming dementedly and bawling aloud random phrases like 'Are you all right?' and 'Barcelona!'
Paul terminated the proceedings after almost 14 minutes with one final shout up to the control room: 'Can we hear it back now?'
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions
Carnival Of Light took up the majority of the 5 January session, which lasted between 7pm and 12.15am.
When they had finished George Martin said to me, 'This is ridiculous, we've got to get our teeth into something more constructive.'
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
According to Lewisohn, a mono mix was made at the end of the session, which was then given by McCartney to Binder, Edwards and Vaughan on a quarter inch tape.
The Beatles' recording was played a number of times during the two Roundhouse events. Dudley Edwards has claimed that it was subsequently taken to America by Ray Anderson, who assisted with the events' light shows.
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Thanks for the detail on this story. Sounds like Doris gets her oats! I dig a pygmy.
I would imagine that this song along with several others might have been released except for the M.Jackson thorn in the buttocks. Maybe any new song or program might well see the preceeds go to Michael Jackson beings he purchased the catalogue of Beatles Music out from under the noses of the composers. I would hate to release something that's supposed to be the most sought after tune in their catalogue and allow the glory, money, go to some freak that has nothing to do with it except have a lkot of money which is depleting as I type or so I've heard. It might be different if MAC owned his own songs.
thanks for the intel, but i just wish that we could hear Carnival Of Light so we could get a feeling of the good old beatles raw and undisputed talent
Well i believe that if carnival of light is a pure beatles track, than we, the public, have a right to hear the track..... and yes this is William Campbell
This article contains as much information about this particular recording as I've been able to glean so far on the internet. Thank you for this, TBB! While I'd love dearly to be able to have an opportunity to give "Carnival of Light" a listen, the thought of never hearing it at all doesn't exactly keep me awake at night either.
Perhaps Beatle George had it right in the first place. Avant garde = "'avan't garde a clue". I must admit to having enjoyed all of the Fab's dabblings into that experimental realm however, at least as much of it which has already been released, on bootlegs or otherwise.
"Revolution #9" is an essential component of the "White Album, imo.
I looked CoL up on YouTube, and I don't think that I actually found the recording. That really sucked, because I really want to hear it.
Yeah, I did the same. Most of them are fakes, I think. But Paul did mention some sort of release of the song in an article I read, so there still is hope!!!
All youtube Carnival Of Light are fakes.
Neither in official, unofficial or bootleg.
This is one of the real unreleased songs of The Beatles, along with some other alternate takes (like Twist & Shout Take 2), or other unreleased songs.
paul , please release the song!
This is i think the most famous unreleased Beatles song.
I want it to complete my tribute of Sgt. Pepper in a new remixed (from original multitracks and three channel separation left, center, right) album by myself, called: The Sgt. Pepper's And His One And Only Lonely Hearts Club Band, with 17 songs in the followed order:
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- With A Little Help From My Friends
- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
- Getting Better
- Fixing A Hole
- She's Leaving Home
- Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
- (OPTIONAL: Carnival Of Light i might put it here or...)
- Within You Without You
- When I'm Sixty-Four
- Lovely Rita
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Penny Lane
- Only A Northern Song
- (OPTIONAL 2: Carnival Of Light i want it more here)
- Good Morning Good Morning
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
- A Day In The Life
Please Sir Paul, let's hear it!
I have something that i want that all beatle fans have to know:
Supposedly, a 13:48 minute track in a 2009 released Russian bootleg called ''Now And Then'' contains: Carnival Of Light!
I heard partially this track and includes this that may indicates that this is the real:
''The shouting of Are You all right? and Barcelona! of Paul & John''.
''Drumming of Strawberry Fields Forever''
''Reverb practically in all the mix''
''The track last exactly 13:48''
But here's some other things that may prove that is a fake:
''Sounds from a concerto used on Revolution 9 (1968), this mix was recorded and taped on 5 January 1967. An explanation could be that this was used here, but because it was unreleased they may recycled this concerto on revolution 9.''
''What's The New Mary Jane (1968) shouts; another explanation is that maybe this sounds we're recorded during the Pepper sessions and used in this other unreleased track.''
''The ending echo voice ''Can we hear it back now?'' is not in this track''.
I'll upload it and comment about it.
Yeah, I heard that fake. Interesting track, but it is most definitely fake. I think they lifted the barcelona yells off of this humorous fake, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPw-cAuR9wo&feature=related
It's all hype ya'll! The song is garbage! Might make you laugh, or cry. If it's anything related to "Revolution #9" then I'll pass.
actually my freind Nick has a copy of the unreleased album its tracked on its really good or ...well i like it anyway. and yes he really does say “Can we hear it back now?” its soaked in echo though
(Carnival of light is a title track btw)
Dave - which album are you talking about? I'm not aware of this track having ever been bootlegged.
Carnival Of Light was never the title track of anything - it was the name of an event, and the recording was actually called Untitled. If your friend Nick has a copy, could you please upload it to webspace and share it with this rest of us?
no bootlegging invoved it has a alternative version of the word but i dont remember the other songs there were like5 or 6 he has copies of the original film tapes(master tapes) the track was meant to be realesed for an event yes but i guess afterward they were going to realease it as an album
and im not in contact with nick at the moment but when i am i will get him to put it up on his site
that version of the word is completly different too i was shocked at the fact that he had so many different takes and versions of these songs i had no idea Carnival of light was so sought after
If this is legit, please let us know when your friend has uploaded it or keep us updated.
I've got this thread bookmarked so I can easily come back and click links
I don't think I knew what wonderful music was until I heard the Beatles!!!!
in fact you can ask him your self i may not be able to contact him i have his info if you'd like to here it you should ask him to put it up on the web he is on myspace and twitter as well ashis own web site http://www.KingNi2.webs.com
http://www.myspace.com/kingni2
on xfire as
http://www.xfire.com/profile/kingni2/
and twitter
http://www.twitter.com/dr_ni2
i have been begging him to put it up but if you bug him about it enough he'll do it
Thanks Dave. I was in two minds about posting the links here, but if someone wants to contact him and enquire about Carnival Of Light, please report back. And of ni2 wants me to take down these links, I'd be happy to oblige.
I'm happy to help out with any one that wants to hear it, I like it so it's something I'd like to share with others btw on his website be sure to sign the guest book so he knows just how many people are asking I've been trying to get him to put it up for a year or so
PLEASE go on to one of these links and ask nick to put it up_dc
I heard that it was once played at the beginning of a Pink Floyd-show, end 60's, begin 70's, and THAT was captured on tape (visual, not sound), I have a tendency to trust the source as he knew a lot about the Beatles.
listened to the Now and then-fake...
I don't believe that it's gonna sound anything like that, but hey: Whatever people do to strengthen the myth...
i hate avant-garde music... especially revolution nine. but then again, this isn't john and yoko. i suppose id like to give it a hear
Don't ever release this... Revolution #9 contained no musical talent at all
They could of put another 2 or 3 songs on instead of this.
George Martin agrees