Beatles/George Harrison “Old Brown Shoe” what is George singing at end?

Go, let it go go let it go...

 

Mark Lewisohn says that in Complete Recording Sessions.

Good enough, I suppose.

 

Agreed on both counts--and I got ripped to shreds when I said that a while back!

 

Apparently Eric Clapton was a big fan of the song "Old Brown Shoe" to the point that he was the one who talked Harrison into adding it to the Japan tour setlist. Reportedly it received great response from Japanese audiences.

 

"It's too late, too late now"

That's what I've always heard.

 

After recently listening to this song again, I was struck by something...

Lewisohn says that John and Paul added backing vocals. I've always just accepted that, mainly because of the sound of the ending. Problem is, there's only the lead vocal and ONE harmony throughout the main part of the song (to my ears). What's more, it sounds like that harmony part is also George. The high vocal on the ending does sound like John (and is the way I've always heard it), but again there only sounds like two vocals, not three. I'm just wondering if Lewisohn also just assumed that John could be heard on the ending vocals (and so concluded that Paul sings too), but in fact the vocals might be all George (lead vocal and a harmony, just sounding a bit like John on the high vocal at the end)?

(I did a centre channel extraction to hear the vocals better. The shouts of 'hey' are definitely George, which sound like they were done on the harmony vocal track. I don't hear Paul at all anywhere, and only the ending sounds anything like John).

 

I seem to recall John mentioning something about "Old Brown Shoe" in the Beatles 1965 Christmas Message. Sorry if this is a digression

The Blue Album has lyrics to all its songs, are there any there for Old Brown Shoe for the ending?

 

No.

 

Even if it did, I wouldn't trust it. I never believe any lyric sheets. They are usually approximations. Close, but not exact. If I want exact lyrics, I listen for myself and maybe consult this forum. The only lyric sheet I have come across that has every little word and is 100% accurate is the one that comes with Thriller. Lyric sheets are only good guidelines.

 

One of my most favourite Beatle songs. A little cameo of fresh sounding Rock from George. With one of my all time best George guitar solos ever!
No idea what he's singing at the end

 

I can't make out what they're saying, but I can say that it's not just George, it's George and Paul harmonizing in falsetto voices.

Also, on an unrelated note, has anybody noticed how many dropouts/tape damage there is during the outro?

 

Here's what Lewisohn says:

The live instruments were drums (Ringo), lead
guitar and vocals (George), jangle piano (Paul) and
rhythm guitar (John). Onto take four was overdubbed
bass and lead guitars and fine backing vocals by John and
Paul. George also re-taped his lead vocal, huddled into a
small corner of the studio to lend a tight but natural echo.
The song's highly distinctive and impressive bass sound
was actually a fine combination of matching lead and
bass guitar notes played by George and Paul.
'Old Brown Shoe' was mixed for stereo at the end of the
session — remix three being 'best' — presumably
because the Beatles considered the song to be finished.
But additional overdubs taped on 18 April rendered these
mixes unusable.

Such an interesting song. Nice guitar solo and the overdubbed organ (which wiped John's rhythm guitar) adds some needed texture too. It's sooo hard to figure out the backing vocals. George, and Paul for that matter, could mimic John quite easily...but much of the backing appears to be John. I only hear Paul during the coda on the high harmony part and possibly on the last "hey." Is it John, George or Ringo singing the backing line "wearing rings on every finger" and the following line? Hard to tell. Surely a song I'd LOVE to hear the session tape for. Just four takes (the song was all but perfected during the Get Back sessions a few months earlier) but the backing vocals and original version/mix of the song would be quite interesting to hear. C'mon Jeff.... we want our Old Brown Shoe outtake session... sometime during our lifetime. Ron

 

On what release? The 2009 remasters? Ron

 

I notice it on both the 1988 and 2009 release of Past Masters.
It's also on the original UK pressing of 1967-1970 if I recall correctly.

 

That's weird Ron, my brain has always heard John at the end, not Paul. The 'wearing rings' line harmonies sound just like the other harmony parts of the song, I don't think it's Ringo at all.

The thing is, I only hear TWO vocals in total throughout the song (which means it can't be John AND Paul on harmonies), and they both sound like George to me, and BOTH have the same 'corner of the studio' sound. Extracting the centre channel gets rid of a lot of the instrumentation, making it clearer to hear. If you think 'George', the vocals could easily be all him.

 

This is the closest to what I have always heard too. Or "Do-wah / do-dat-do"...

 

Was this recorded just prior to Abbey Road??

Oh, and I've always heard "good old, good old shoe, good old, good old shoe".

 

Well, it was recorded April 16/18, 1969. Sessions for some of the songs that ended up on Abbey Road started around this time too, i.e., Octopus's Garden, Oh Darling, I Want You and Something were all recorded, or started this month. Ron

 

I always thought they were singing "put on, good old shoe...put on old brown shoe".

 

On Live In Japan it sounds like "Shooby shoop shooby" to me.

 

Say what?

 

Really? It sounds like Richie...pretty obvious spot for his vocals... Eric sings the part on Live in Japan...which would indicate someone other than george sand this part for the original.... all my preconcieved notions about this track have bitten the dust. The only part I hear John on is the "hey"

 

Is this like where Goerge channels Ronnie Spector at the end of "You"?

 

Shoe, shoe, brown. Brown, shoe, shoe

 

It has always sounded like:"little brown, little brown shoe..." to me. Still does.