Was Paul's notebook specifically for Rishikesh and when he got back he switched to another one? It could be that he kept writing in that same notebook throughout summer and fall of '68, and in that case Maxwell may have been written in the notebook after they returned from India?
The first instance of Honey Pie being written down by Paul is on a page in the songbook after the page with Maxwell's Silver Hammer, so I doubt it.
Very cool then. I wonder if he was picturing Mal swinging a hammer against an anvil even in the calm environs of the meditation camp then
During the presentation on YouTube that aired recently, I think Giles made a point of saying that the Mellotron patch actually was from the same instrument used on the original recording - now in Paul's possession apparently. Being that the Mellotron is basically an analog tape-based sampler (or more accurately, a sample playback instrument), I would imagine the original patch itself is fairly noisy, and they kept the volume lower on the recording so as not to make the noise so noticeable.
This remix is everything I'd hoped it would be. On first listen, only I'm So Tired & Julia seemed a bit off, everything else is a huge improvement to me over the original stereo mixes. Back in the late 90s I mowed lawns for a month as a 16 year old to save enough money to buy a bootleg CD-R needledrop copy of the mono White Album...which was my favorite until now. I didn't even have to sweat at all for this one.
First impressions of the 2018 remix. "Dear Prudence" is one of my absolute favorite Beatle songs and the new mix just feels odd. This is more of a total remix than trying to duplicate the original and I just wasn't into it. I felt disc one was pretty solid overall from "Glass Onion" through "Martha." I also noticed the panned Yoko vocal on "Bill" as Arnett mentioned earlier. You can tell John and Yoko were recorded on the same track so panning this one line seems unnecessary. "I'm So Tired" is another favorite that felt a bit off. "Blackbird" was lovely and things are pretty good to the end of the disc. The pig sounds at the end of "Piggies" seemed too dry and it felt like the song abruptly ended. They faded "Don't Pass Me By" too soon which is sloppy. "Why Don't We Do It..." rocks hard while "I Will" and "Julia" are simply beautiful. Disc two was more inconsistent for me. "Birthday" just didn't gell in this new mix and it feels like the vocals are missing some reverb or something. It's the same for "Yer Blues" just lacking the oomph on John's voice. Things got better through "Mother Nature's Son," "...Monkey" and "Sexy Sadie." Ringo's drums are mixed into stereo in places during "Sadie." "Helter Skelter" was fine until the very end. Ringo's "blisters" comment doesn't roar out like the original. "Long, Long, Long" benefits greatly from the remix and is pulled from the mud. Well done, Giles. "Revolution 1" was my least favorite of the new mixes. The edge is gone and it feels like a parody of itself now. We did get an extra second or two on the fade for what it's worth. "Honey Pie" was fine but then "Savoy Truffle" sounded imbalanced every time the title line came around. "Cry Baby Cry" also felt a bit weak on first listen. "Revolution 9" had some work done. I think it's the original mix but parts of the track were EQ'd or made louder. "Good Night" was fine. Overall I give it a C. Many tracks had parts where I felt something was too far forward in the mix. Some songs sounded pretty darn close to the original even if something had been placed elsewhere in the stereo balance. It was only my first listen so I know my opinion will change over time.
Did "Cry Baby Cry" always have an accordion underneath the last couple choruses? That sounded *very* different to me.... "Revolution 9" seems odd to these ears - the timing seems off on some of the loops? Things pop up and leave at the wrong times, if that makes sense.
Oh yeah, one nice thing I noticed is that the particularly harsh edits in "Sexy Sadie" and "Yer Blues" have been smoothed out.
Good Lord, what's with the botched edit in the Esher "Glass Onion"?! I'll be replacing THAT with the A3 mix....
So I'm trying to round up all the "stray" White Album alternate takes (or radically different mixes) that have been officially released but aren't on the new boxed set. Obviously, most of the alternates come from "Anthology 3" but I can't simply grab all of those tracks since some (like "Rocky Raccoon") are the exact same take as found on the new boxed set, and there are some other alternate takes found on other albums (like the alternate "Inner Light" backing track found only on the Wonderwall CD). In any event, here's what I came up with in terms of officially released White Album alternates not on the new box. All are from "Anthology 3" unless otherwise noted. What am I missing? Don't Pass Me By (Take 3 & 4) Blackbird (Take 4) Good Night (Take 34) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Take 5) Cry Baby Cry (Take 1) Sexy Sadie (Take 6) While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Take 1) While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Take 1, with strings, from the 'Love' CD) Hey Jude (Take 2) Not Guilty (Take 102, same as on the boxed set, but a much different mix and edit) Mother Nature’s Son (Take 2) What’s The New Mary Jane (Take 4) I Will (Take 1) I’m So Tired (Takes 3, 6 & 9) Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? (Take 4) Julia (Take 2) The Inner Light (Alternate take, instrumental, from expanded 'Wonderwall' CD) Lady Madonna (Takes 3 & 4) Across The Universe (Take 2) Across the Universe (Take 7, same take as the master, but a much different mix)
Yes. No offense meant, but I have to say I'm kinda stunned at some of the comments on the remix like this one...makes me wonder, what kind of gear have people been listening to this album on previously? The accordion (or actually I think a harmonium) has always been at that point in "Cry Baby Cry" and easy to discern in the original mix, albeit not foregrounded. I'll be interested to hear the new mix to see if it's that much more prominent. Someone mentioned they'd "never heard" the Spanish guitar at start of "Bungalow Bill" for goodness sake!
I haven't listened yet but I'm puzzled by the comment about "no tape hiss" on Martha since others have said there is still a ton.
Wouldn't mind the original mix done one - step MoFi 45RPM ( 4 Discs)style some time in the f u t u r e.