Song of the week - A Day in the Life

[nimrod]

I'm sure that we Beatle maniacs don't need me to write anything about this song that you don't already know, let's just have a discussion on it and what we think of it.

https://youtu.be/usNsCeOV4GM

[Moogmodule]

I love this one. A perennial top ten Beatles song for me.

A bit like Strawberry Fields, John's verses are gorgeous by themselves and stand on their own, but it's lifted even further by the unique arrangement and turned into a brilliant mini suite by Paul's middle eight. And Ringo's drumming is at its distinctive best. One of the great recordings of modern popular music as far as I'm concerned.

And John's aaaahhhhs are great 

[blmeanie]

it is and always has been in my top 3 or 5 at most.  It is a song that my mind thinks, ok, its a longer song, buckle up lets go, then is over way too soon as I have been taken to a different place altogether now.  Have heard Paul tell the story of the middle part, would love to have been a fly on the wall when it was first discussed.  Did John say, he Paul, I need a bit to connect my parts...or was it George Martin that suggested it, or Paul outright that said, Hey John - love what you have, what if you put...

[Loco Mo]

I am too tired to post right now but I will revisit this on the weekend.  I am in awe of this piece.

[Hello Goodbye]

It was Paul

[Hello Goodbye]

Creaking musician's chair during the final piano chord...


https://youtu.be/YSGHER4BWME
4:49

[nimrod]

it is and always has been in my top 3 or 5 at most.  It is a song that my mind thinks, ok, its a longer song, buckle up lets go, then is over way too soon as I have been taken to a different place altogether now.  Have heard Paul tell the story of the middle part, would love to have been a fly on the wall when it was first discussed.  Did John say, he Paul, I need a bit to connect my parts...or was it George Martin that suggested it, or Paul outright that said, Hey John - love what you have, what if you put...

Good points I've often thought that if a day in the life was just a normal song without the orchestral crescendos etcetera then the woke up fell out of bed middle 8 could be replaced by the middle 8 that Paul wrote for Free as a bird in other words ...Whatever happened to the life that we once knew etcetera,  the melody of both are very similar.

[Hello Goodbye]

https://youtu.be/Uen8xEsLm3w

[nimrod]

Regarding the ahhhhhh's  ha2ha ha2ha

Editing in this vocal was quite tricky for Richard Lush, who had only just recently been recruited to work on Beatles sessions.  Emerick continues: "Paul's vocal...was being dropped into the same track that contained John's lead vocal, and there was a very tight drop-out point between the two – between Paul's singing '...and I went into a dream' and John's 'ahhh' that starts the next section. Richard was quite paranoid about it – with good reason – and I remember him asking me to get on the talkback mic to explain the situation to Paul and ask him not to deviate from the phrasing that he had used on the guide vocal."

"I was really impressed when Richard did that – I thought it showed great maturity to be proactive that way. John's vocal, after all, had such great emotion, and it also had tape echo on it. The thought of having to do it again and re-create the atmosphere was daunting...not to mention what John's reaction would have been! Someone's head would have been bitten off, and it most likely would have been mine. But Paul, ever professional, did heed the warning, and he made certain to end the last word distinctly in order to give Richard sufficient time to drop out before John's vocal came back in. Listening carefully, you can actually hear Paul slightly rush the vocal; he even adds a little 'ah' to the end of the word 'dream,' giving it a very clipped ending."

[nimrod]

The above quote from Geoff Emerick, who was an eye-witness to the events on this day, clarifies that it was indeed John who sang the dreamy "aaah" vocal passage on the song. This should be enough to satisfy readers who insist that Paul sang this passage, their insistance being due to a passing comment from engineer Sam Okell during an interview five decades later that appears to indicate McCartney as singing this passage. Geoff Emerick was there, so he should know. The above quote also indicates that John's dreamy "aaah" vocal of the song must also have been recorded on this day, but prior to Paul's lead vocal section. This can confidently been said since the last day they worked on the song was on January 20th, this resulting in the "take six" mono mix of January 30th, which did not contain John's vocals in that section.

[tkitna]

The Beatles biggest masterpiece.  Awesome song, but I once again am tired of it and dont want to hear it for awhile.

[blmeanie]

The Beatles biggest masterpiece.  Awesome song, but I once again am tired of it and dont want to gear it for awhile.

Booo, I get it but boooo

[nimrod]

Booo, I get it but boooo

ha2ha

I think it was the precursor for prog rock, orchestral, different movements, poetic lyrics etc.

[Hello Goodbye]

It was Paul

[nimrod]

It was Paul

Why doesn't someone ask Paul ?  ha2ha