Hello!
I was just listening to this song, so I thought I would post it.
Usually, my ideal about music is that there should be a small group; un-amplified and without any effects other than the music coming from their instruments (I still haven't decided whether a quartet or a quintet is the perfect number though). My ideal about recording is that the mixers' goals should be to replicate that ideal as accurately yet as flatteringly as possible.
Yet the Beatles are the complete opposite of that ideal and they're great. Their music is full of multi-tracking, special effects, and just about everything. In fact, they're later work often borders on musique concrete.
Really, the reason I think they are an exception is that they were privileged to be in a special time. The technology to do those effects was new and experimental. It also had the advantage of not being digital. If you read about the reasons and the methods they used to make their music, the difference between them and the strange, computer-washed pop music of today is immediately apparent.
Eleanor Rigby is mostly by Paul McCartney with the brilliant string arrangement by George Martin ("the fifth Beatle").
I think it's an amazingly well-arranged song, and one of the best recording/mixing jobs ever. Try and listen to it on decent phones/speakers at a decent volume, and just enjoy it :D
-Luke
Really, really great song by the greatest band ever. I think one of the other things that made them great was the flow in each album from sound to sound throughout the songs. They didn't over-do the effects, they worked them in perfectly.
ReplyDeleteSo right. Someone said that their albums are more like symphonies than separate songs.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that the music is played by cellos, violas and violins. And especially since the balance is off with a heavy cello and viola emphasis. And catch the lack of vibrato..brilliant! This is one of my preferred Beatles songs, personally.
ReplyDeleteYes for sure! And this was one of the first songs to use true close-miking; the mics were maybe two inches from the instruments for that stark sound. I can (and do) listen to the strings on this all day! :D
ReplyDeleteI've always thought this one was unique, I actually like it! I like the fact that in some places you can hear the strings better than the voices!
ReplyDeleteIt would be so cool to play in something like this. :)
*sigh* the beatles...brought back memories of riding the rockin' roller coaster at disney...:)
ReplyDeleteyeah, i think dallas looks rather dashing in the bow tie. ;D
happy new year!