"Abbey Road"-John Lennon, which songs did he sing?*

28IF, baby.

Seriously, if Oh Darling is not Paul, I will give up my quest for a BT AR.

Brian

 

Oh! Darling is most definitely Paul.

 

They could mimick each other pretty welll, then - i just was listening to a new version of Abbey Road last night and today and noticed that track especially and tbelieved this to be John's most expressive vocals - only to find out it's Paul..
Ridiculous. But :
That album is the bomb anyway - Side A is the best Beatles Side by a mile . Come Together followed by Something is an opening with a killer 1,2 punch and the Side ends with the best guitar battle this side of Helter Skelter ..It is the best sounding Beatles Lp as well. T
he production and sound of COME TOGETHER is unique and there are a lot of good sounding versions available. Besides the black triangle it is that AMPEX reel L 383- with it's a fluid sound close to master tape quality...

 

In all seriousness, what songs (besides the ones he wrote) does John sing background harmonies on? I know there are some songs that he has nothing to do with, but I'm not sure which songs. Octopuses Garden perhaps?

 

You spelled Side B incorrectly.

Brian

 

Paul could mimic John very well even after The Beatles, check out the studio version of Let Me Roll It from Band On The Run.

Always wondered if he was imitating John or paying tribute to John or sending a message of some sort to Lennon.

Love this live version from 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P2MOrWrsk8

woody

 

When I was younger (so much younger than today), who sang what on side two always confused me, mainly beacuse (sic) I had read John saying that side two was all Paul's idea, and yet there were songs on there which did sound like John. I know now of course, but back then, most peculiar momma!

 

The one about the flat-top? Nope, that was Chuck Berry.

That was Bob Dylan.

That was The Dave Clark Five.

 

When I was 11 and first getting into the Beatles, I couldn't tell them apart on a lot of tracks. I thought John sang Within You, Without You, for instance. But I was 11.

 

A friend of mine has been listening to the Beatles since the first Ed Sullivan appearance and she still can't tell the difference between John and Paul. It seems bizarre to me that someone who's been a fan for 45 frickin' years can't tell the difference, but these people do exist!

 

I could have sworn Oh Darling was John,
I luved Octopus Garden already as a boy and since that reminds me of Yellow Submarine I thought that was a tune that was written & performed by Ringo as well.
Bet I am wrong again ?
Usually I am pretty good a spotting vocals - but since they ( John + Paul ) sang harmonies together that often ( and reached a level of perfection with that in 1964 already with AHDN ), they often sound very similar and that is why it is not always easy to tell them apart for some, even if you are lifelong Beatlemania victim..LOL..

 

"Oh Darling" does sound like Paul snuck in a session with John's pal Dr. Janov.

I understand the original poster's situation. I have similar issues with the Beach Boys, and I flatter myself I know a little about them.

 

Of course it's Paul on Oh Darling (those whooo's are unmistakable) But I kinda see how people get confused when either of them scream and get intense, 'cause they both do it so well. When just a wee lad I thought it was John on "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" , "Golden Slumbers" and some others. Both of them can wail like nobody else...

 

I wish we had an alternate of John doing Oh! Darling, just to see. My guess is he would've made it much more desperate.

 

But what that have translated into "good"? Or "better than Macca's"?

 

I don't think so. I really, really like the track as it is and don't think it could be improved upon. But as an example of how John's and Paul's different personalities and attitudes informed their singing styles, I think it'd be cool to have. Paul is often a bit more in control in the emotional situations he presents in his songs; John is often hurt or scorned. Even on Oh Darling, Paul sounds a little confident; he sounds like he knows he could be good to his girl if she stays with him. I think it works well. But I'd be curious to see how John's vocals differed when he got into those expressive, intense parts. My guess is we'd have heard his vulnerability in there.

 

I agree 100%. I love hearing the "differences" between Len & Mac. Even though stuff like Macca doing "I'm So Tired" are rare, they are great to have just to show the contrasts between the two. And as I'm a hardcore fan, even better.

 

Don't tell me it is not John on "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" ?
You know what is missing ? The kind of visual prominence, that modern groups have ( the movies are no real substitute for that ) , so that you can see who is singing what and learn how that exactly sounds compared to aperformance by another group member etc.
The fact that the credits usually are always only written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney - without actually listing who did the lead vocals on which track makes the guessing even more complicated....
So most people start making up a kind of list for themselves about who sings what only to find out they mixed certain qualities up. That loud wailing for example is something I simply do not connect with Paul's character, he is more the blackbird guy, but i guess that was sung by John Lennon ?
You see it is hopeless for me and at the end of the day it makes zero difference - the songs are by Lennon & McCartney and The Beatles and as long as i don't mix that up with The Stones or whatever group I am fine...

 

Yeah, I understand your confusion. Thinking that Paul is the "gentle ballad" guy, and John the "rock/experimental" guy is what trips people up over these two. Paul can sing in the most powerful, classic R&R style - and scream like a banshee (Helter Skelter being a fine example). John can also rock like a madman (Twist & Shout). Clear your head and listen to the ballads of each to hear the difference in vocal tonality - try "I Will" (Paul) followed with "Julia" (John) You can train your ear to hear them as very different voices.

 

On the back of 'Meet The Beatles' it said who sang each song and who sang harmony. Even said the two songs John double tracked. After that I never had a problem. I had never seen that before. Did 'With The Beatles' have that?

 

Is PocoFan still on this forum? I would think think he told us all to jump in a lake after reading the first few replies. Some folks here are just mean!

 

Good advice !

and yeah there are a couple old LP's (depending on the region where they were pressed) that list the exact vocal. Most songs have both singing at least the refrain or some adlibs anyway , so
Unless there is a web-site that lists exactly who sings which line i doubt i will ever learn it... guees there will e a few out there ? Any links ?
I heard John & Paul even debated who wrote and performed what after The Beatles broke up, without always agreeing about every line or song...

 

Regarding the "I Want You" acetate version mentioned earlier in this thread, many debates seem to indicate that this version was recorded by Apple band White Trash.

 

John was involved in a car crash (not to mention quietly left the band) during the Abbey Road sessions so he is not on "Golden Slumbers" at all.

Other than his own compositions, I detect him singing back up on "Octopus's Garden", "You Never Give Me Your Money" (the '1 2 3 4 5 6 7' bit) and maybe some brief 'ahhs' on "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window".