ACCIDENTS

The recent discussion of the "accidental" discovery of feedback and John's
use of it incorporated into the recording of I FEEL FINE brings to mind
other accidents...

...the accidental playing of the RAIN tapes in reverse (I think another John
accident)... and the accidental marriage of the two different takes of
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER... the recording of a radio playing King Lear into
the mix of I AM THE WALRUS... the purposeful accident of mixing tape loops
into TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS and MR KITE...it must have been very much like
being in a science lab and knowing that all things were possible if you just
worked at it... the Beatles were very adventurous when it came to their
studio recordings. By all accounts, it appears that John was the main
instigator of trying different ways of getting something on tape (this is
NOT meant to be a Lennon vs McCartney statement)... like his wanting to
sound like a Tibetan Monk high up on a mountain top for Tomorrow Never Knows
. I recall reading John thought he could plug his throat "direct" into the
mixing console for this or another song.

They took many chances and succeeded in using those "accidents" in their
brilliant recordings.

...any others?

Chris Jepson...

The wine bottle on "Long, Long, Long".

Lookingglass...

Hi Chris... I have heard this stated before but I don't know the story of
it... what is the wine bottle in LONG LONG LONG story... if you would please
tell us.

Thanks............. ;^)

dave (...how can I ever misplace you...)

Chris Jepson...

From what I remember, there was an empty wine bottle on top of a
speaker, and at the end of the song, whatever they were playing caused
it to vibrate and produce a strange noise... which they decided to leave
in. I have no idea if this is true.

Also, I forgot to mention one of the biggest accidents... "Her Majesty".
In case you don't know, it originally appeared between (IIRC) "Mean Mr
Mustard" and "Polythene Pam", but was cut out, the intention being to
leave it off the LP altogether. Some techie found the tape lying around
and, figuring better safe than sorry, spliced it onto the end of the
side, leaving a longer than usual gap between the end of "The End" and
it. After the Beatles heard it, they decided to leave it where it was.
So that big note at the beginning of "Her Majesty" was originally the
last note of "Mean Mr Mustard", and the final note of "Her Majesty" is
missing because it was going to segue into the first note of "Polythene
Pam".

Chris Jepson

Lookingglass...

Thanks Chris.............. I wonder if this wine bottle story is documented
anywhere??? Maybe some good Beatle soul here on RMB can point to it...?

I do know about the tail of HER MAJESTY......... very serendipitous... 8{

dave (...and she doesn't have a lot to say...)

"Molly lets the children lend a hand/Desmond stays at home and does his
pretty face..."

Some lyrics were certainly the result of serendipity if not accident,
like "The movement you need is on your shoulder", "Eight days a week",
"Octopus's garden", etc.

Chris Jepson

dave (...I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in...)