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Love - deconstructing the songs
13 March 2010
1.23pm
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Joe
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Note by Ahhh Girl 27 August 2014: For various reasons, mmm and I thought it best to bring the threads on the topic of de-constructing Love together. Here are the threads merged into this one:

De-constructing Love: Glass Onion –> posts 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38.
De-constructing Love: Strawberry Fields –> posts 28 and 50.
De-constructing Love –> posts 39-49.
Thunder and Rain –> posts 72, 74, 75.
Hey Jude Baseline –> posts 85 and 86.

OK, I thought I’d start this after the discussion on the ‘best-sounding albums’ thread about who performed the solo on Lady Madonna (it was Eric Clapton in While My Guitar Gently Weeps ).

Later in the year I’m going to put together a feature on Love, and I’d like to detail as many of the sources in each song as possible. I presume George ‘n’ Giles have never put together a definitive list – does anyone know of anything else out there?

If not, can we have a go here? I’ll start at the start:

Because :

Anyone fancy picking up the baton? It might be useful to go through the album in sequence, rather than just firing out suggestions randomly, but I don’t mind all that much.

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13 March 2010
1.53pm
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I found a website once that had comments by George and Giles Martin on all the songs although it didn’t give much away. I can’t seem to find it again right now.

I seem to remember that the bird sounds are from Across The Universe plus new bird sounds they taped just for Love to make the song sound “more British”. I can’t remember what the bird was, it might have been a blue jay.

Wikipedia gives information about the songs although not sure how reliable it is. The references it gives may be better as sources of information.

13 March 2010
2.03pm
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Joe
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Thanks for that. Here’s the source for the wood pigeon quote: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1562172,00.html

I just had a look at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L…..les_album) – about a secret code in the album. That’s quite intriguing. Maybe we can crack it here!

Wikipedia on the songs:

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13 March 2010
2.10pm
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McLerristarr
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Wood pigeon – that was it!

Even within those songs, I’m sure there are more hidden parts to them than mentioned. Octopus’ Garden contained vocals from Yellow Submarine as well as sound effects. I’ve read multiple times that the end of Because is A Day In The Life orchestral stuff but I’m sure it’s the chord played backwards – I played it backwards once and I thought “Hey! That’s in Love!”

I’ll do some research on the album and report back when I’ve got a substantial amount.

13 March 2010
2.10pm
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Get Back :

Have I missed anything? There’s something odd going on behind McCartney’s vocals. It sounds like crowd noise but I can’t be sure.

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13 March 2010
2.25pm
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McLerristarr
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I don’t think you missed anything besides the song Get Back itself. Plus it was shortened. Some of the crowd noises might be from Sgt. Pepper ‘s.

Some links:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1562172,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ent…..159426.stm

http://www.norwegianwood.org/b…..ve2006.htm

The third one is the site I found a while back – it’s a fan site, I’m not sure where they got the info from. The site has short info on all the Beatles songs.

I know what the code is, although I cheated and looked it up on the internet a while ago.

13 March 2010
3.57pm
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mjb
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I Want To Hold Your Hand ” has always confused me as it was stated that it was the studio version overlaid onto the live Hollywood Bowl version, but how could it be as what we hear is, without question, the studio version (truncated). So my guess is they’ve just used the screaming kids in the background. Anyone else have ideas on this?

 

BTW – great thread to start Joe. I know I’m going to love this one (excuse the pun) as I have stated elsewhere that I think this album is terrific and the more I keep learning about it the better.

"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"

13 March 2010
4.00pm
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mjb
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Joe said:

Get Back :

Have I missed anything? There’s something odd going on behind McCartney’s vocals. It sounds like crowd noise but I can’t be sure.


 

I can hear crowd noises too. Very discreet mind you…..

"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"

13 March 2010
11.34pm
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paulsbass said:

Well, Giles MArtin himself states in the liner notes that he thought: “That chord was a great way of ending Sgt. Peppers, let’S turn it around as a great beginning of Love!”


 

Well that clears it up then! I’ve never read the liner notes so I didn’t realise. How much info does it give?

 

14 March 2010
12.23am
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McLerristarr
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Glass Onion :

Can’t find any good lists on the internet. Although I did find out that they used Sibelius 4 to plan it so there you go…

Anyone else want to pick it up at Eleanor Rigby /Julia (Transition)?

14 March 2010
12.53am
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skye
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McLerristarr said:


Well that clears it up then! I’ve never read the liner notes so I didn’t realise. How much info does it give?
 

 


 

Not a lot more. Giles Martin does mention that the AHDN chord was used to cover up the cut from The End ‘s drum solo. Which is interesting.

mjb said:

I Want To Hold Your Hand ” has always confused me as it was stated that it was the studio version overlaid onto the live Hollywood Bowl version, but how could it be as what we hear is, without question, the studio version (truncated). So my guess is they’ve just used the screaming kids in the background. Anyone else have ideas on this?


 

Actually, that’s what Sir George said they did in the liner. He wanted to make an allusion to Beatlemania and add a sizzling sound.

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo! So little time! So much to know!

14 March 2010
3.40am
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skye
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Ok, it took me an hour, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a universal list to keep track of our findings. I’ve added some relevant quotes from the Martins and I have tried to credit the observations of forum members (plus a few of my own).

  • Because – An interview in Entertainment Weekly revealed that the opening track includes the bird sounds used in the

    World Wildlife Fund version of “Across The Universe “. In addition, a new recording of a Wood Pigeon was implemented “to make it more British,” according to George Martin. 

  • Get Back – As reported, the track utilizes the opening guitar from “A Hard Day’s Night “, the drum and guitar solos from “The End “, percussion from “Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”, and the orchestral swell from “A Day in the

    Life”.

  • Glass Onion
    • Glass Onion (obviously) but with extended intro (more “Oh yeah’s”, “Hello, hello” from Hello Goodbye , “nothing is real” from Glass Onion ) and only the second chorus (not sure how to break it up) plus longer ending strings
    • Guitar from Things We Said Today (heard at the start and end of Things We Said Today )
    • Brass (paulsbass reckons its Penny Lane and Magical Mystery Tour )
    • Freaky echoey voices at the end (not sure where from – any ideas?) (McLerristarr)
      • In Eleanor Rigby , the intro and bridge is “Ah, look at all the lonely

        people”. The “Ah” is what is drawn out in various places in Love. (McLerristarr/ paulbass)

  • Eleanor Rigby/Julia
  • I Am The Walrus
  • I Want To Hold Your Hand – An interview with George and Giles Martin stated that elements from both the studio recording and the Hollywood Bowl live performance were mixed to create this version.
     
    • SIR GEORGE: “Actually, the front speakers [in the 5.1 mix] have the studio recording, and the rear speakers have the band performing at the Hollywood Bowl. They’re in tune with each other, and we found a way to match them. We wanted to put across Beatlemania at some point. The crowd is like white noise… like something frying.” a
  • Drive My Car / The Word / What You’re Doing – As reported, the medley features the guitar solo from “Taxman ” and the horns section from “Savoy Truffle “.
  • Gnik Nus – As suggested in its title, the track contains the vocal arrangement of “Sun King ” played in reverse.
  • Something /Blue Jay Way – The track contains vocal elements from “Nowhere Man “.
     
    • SIR GEORGE: “”Something ” is a good example: Sometimes if you change just one thing, people really start listening in a new way. The guitars are taken off the front, and it really makes you hear the whole thing differently. These are not definitive versions, of course. But if we were taking anything off, we were careful to not remove any of the soul of what’s there.” a
    • Paul McCartney ’s bass line in “Something ” emerges, with the rhythm guitar track removed, as a true counter-melody. d
    • sounds from “Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite” (paulbass)
  • Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! I Want You (She’s So Heavy)/ Helter Skelter
  • Help !
  • Blackbird / Yesterday
  • Strawberry Fields Forever – A review of the album noted that this version builds from an acoustic demo. It includes the orchestral section from “Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, the solo piano from “In My Life “, the brass included in “Penny Lane “, the cello and harpsichord arrangement from “Piggies ” and the coda of “Hello, Goodbye “.
  • Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows – This track combines the vocals from “Within You Without You ” with the bass and drums from “Tomorrow Never Knows .”
  • Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
    • in the chorus parts of that strange sound from “Baby you’re a rich man” brass from “Sgt. Pepper ‘s” (paulbass)
  • Octopus’s Garden / Sun King – According to USA Today and PopMatters, this track contains the string arrangement from “Good Night “, sound effects used in “Yellow Submarine ” and elements from “Lovely Rita ” and “Helter Skelter “.
     
    • (Giles) “A good example is “Octopus’s Garden,” which initially I’d tried with Ringo’s voice and the strings from “Glass

      Onion.” It was great, but it sounded creepy. It sounded like he was about to murder someone.” b

    • Vocals from “Polythene Pam ” (“great!”) (paulbass)
  • Lady Madonna – The song includes the guitar riff from “Hey Bulldog “, Eric Clapton’s guitar solo from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps ” and Billy Preston’s organ solo from “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”.
     
    • (Giles) “We wanted a dance number for the show and I put in “Lady Madonna .” We did that.” c
    • drums from “Why don’t we do it in the road” (paulbass)
  • Here Comes The Sun / The Inner Light

    As mentioned by Giles Martin, the track includes backing vocals from “Oh! Darling ” and a bass line from I Want You (She’s So Heavy).

  • Come Together / Dear Prudence / Cry Baby Cry
     
    • (Giles) “I always keep the main vocal in the center of the speaker, and on occasions, background vocals round the back, like on “Come Together ” I did that. In the main, it’s like 5.1 should be seeing a band you love, or hearing

      the music you love, with reflections going on that envelope you, not being a novelty thing.” c

    • vocals from “Cry Baby Cry ” (Paul’s bit at the end)
    • piano from “A Day In The Life ” (paulbass)
  • Back in the U.S.S.R. 
  • Revolution
  • While My
  • Guitar Gently Weeps – A BBC article reported that George Martin chose to use an early version of the recording for the album and wrote a new orchestral backing for the track. This was also stated in the fifth chapter of The Beatles ‘LOVE’ Podcast.
     
    • It wasn’t his idea according to Giles
    • (Giles) “It was amazing how he weaves around a song that changes tempo dramatically. You may not notice it. He speeds up and slows down. Just him and the guitar.” c
  • A Day In The Life
  • Hey Jude  
  • Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise) 
  • All You Need Is Love

Outside Sources

a.)

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0…..72,00.html

b.)

http://magazine.wsj.com/hunter…..es-martin/

c.)

http://www.waves.com/Content.a…..px?id=3568

d.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11…..9pare.html

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo! So little time! So much to know!

14 March 2010
8.20am
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McLerristarr
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paulsbass said:

McLerristarr said:

Glass Onion :

  • Freaky echoey voices at the end (not sure where from – any ideas?)

 

That’s the “I (look at all the lonely people)” from “Eleanor Rigby “, also heard at the end of that song.


 

OK, cool, thanks. Although I’m quite sure it’s “ah” not “I”.

 

14 March 2010
8.34am
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skye said:


 

Also the sitar (and possibly other instruments) from Within You Without You . It starts with the start of Tomorrow Never Knows and also uses those weird noises from that song.  It’s also shorter than the original Within You Without You . It ends with all sorts of weird stuff and transitions into Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds .

 

14 March 2010
8.37am
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paulsbass said:

McLerristarr said:


OK, cool, thanks. Although I’m quite sure it’s “ah” not “I”.

 


 

Hihi, break down the “I” (means say it veeeeery slowly) and you’ll notice it sounds as if starting with “a”! 😉


 

I suppose but I still thinks its “Ah” and not “I” said slowly. Lyrics sites agree with me as does my

(dad’s) book of the complete Beatles lyrics.

14 March 2010
10.35am
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mjb
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Blimey, you lot have been busy! I need to sit down in front of the PC to read through this whilst listening to the tracks.  Hopefully will find time tomorrow!

"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"

14 March 2010
10.48am
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paulsbass said:

McLerristarr said:


I suppose but I still thinks its “Ah” and not “I” said slowly. Lyrics sites agree with me as does my (dad’s) book of the complete Beatles lyrics.

 

 


 

I didn’t mean it’s “I” said slowly, it’s just the beginning of it. To realize that I suggested YOU said “I” slowly, thus hopefully noticing it starts with “a”.

 

Listen to it and you’ll notice

1.) it’s Paul’s voice

2.) it’s the same note Eleanor Rigby starts with

3.) it’s the same vowel Eleanor Rigby starts with (“I” which sounds like [ai: or something like that ;-)])

 

To which lyrics do you refer to?


 

In Eleanor Rigby , the intro and bridge is “Ah, look at all the lonely people”. The “Ah” is what is drawn out in various places in Love. That’s what you were talking about, wasn’t it? It’s not “I”.

 

14 March 2010
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skye
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Ok, I updated the list. I would ‘love’ to know why the spacing changes everytime I do. a-hard-days-night-paul-1

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo! So little time! So much to know!

14 March 2010
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Joe
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skye said:

Ok, I updated the list. I would ‘love’ to know why the spacing changes everytime I do. a-hard-days-night-paul-1


The forum seems to force certain HTML markup, even if it’s incorrect. That’s why the font size on some of the quotations is off – the words fall outside <p></p> (paragraph) tags and there doesn’t seem to be a way to put them inside, even if you go back and edit the HTML in the message.

I hope this will be fixed in a new revision of the forum software – I need to flag it up with the developers.

If you’re updating the list, it might be better to just copy and paste it into a new message, so the latest version is always near the end of the thread.

Great response guys – thanks to all. I’ll keep listening and see if I can spot some more – I’m sure there are some things hidden away at a very low level. If I’m feeling brave I’ll run the whole thing backwards through Audacity and see if anything else pops up a-hard-days-night-ringo-6

So… the Love code?

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14 March 2010
8.21pm
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Joe said:

If you’re updating the list, it might be better to just copy and paste it into a new message, so the latest version is always near the end of the thread.

Great response guys – thanks to all. I’ll keep listening and see if I can spot some more – I’m sure there are some things hidden away at a very low level. If I’m feeling brave I’ll run the whole thing backwards through Audacity and see if anything else pops up 

 


 

Good thinking. I’ll do that from now on. I think there’s a blog option in MS Word – maybe it will like it better.

Would this help in the analysis? Loveology  It looks like the links are still good.

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo! So little time! So much to know!

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