Embedded Files
Post date: Jul 30, 2012 6:19:40 AM
Over the years, as with most musicians, I've learned a lot of Beatles songs. What I also learned about them is they are incredibly difficult to play just right and difficult to sing (thanks to Theresa for the vocal track - in one take no less). Lennon and McCartney wrote some amazing songs, but my favourite Beatles songs are by George Harrison. George never really got his due as a song writer as evidenced by the fact that Frank Sinatra once proclaimed this song as "the greatest love song that Lennon and McCartney ever wrote."
The song in question is "Something" from Abbey Road. Many think that George wrote the song about Pattie Boyd (his wife at the time - if you want to read an interesting story research her subsequent relationship with Eric Clapton). However, prior to his death in 2001 he claimed that he was thinking about Ray Charles when he wrote the song (although this may also be George's dry sense of humour). Nevertheless, it bears a tonal resemblance to "Georgia on My Mind" making his statement seem reasonable. Given George's spirituality at the time of the recording it is also unsurprising that the song may in fact refer to something more abstract.
I hadn't really intended on recording this song, though I've been playing it for years. One of the reasons is because it is logistically difficult to do as I typically use a backing track (MIDI) with some parts stripped out in order to play along. A MIDI file is basically a recording of keyboard strokes; it doesn't actually record sound. Over the years the sounds used have improved (think how different sound is from the original Nintendo to the XBOX360 for a similar comparison). The current incarnation of sounds are based on professional recordings of instruments in famous studios, sampled over and over until they sound very realistic. I've included the original MIDI file for comparison to the MP3 below. Can you tell which instruments aren't "real"?
Production notes: MIDI file resequenced using BFD ECO 1.5 and KONTAKT Free Player. Substantial reverb was used in order to emulate the late '60s sound present on the original recording. Rhythm guitar tracks are a Telecaster ()both pickups) run through an AC4TV into a G12H30 speaker (Dr. Z combo). The solo and main theme are done using a Gibson ES on the bridge pickup through a distorted AC4TV (using the same speaker and attenuator). The guitar theme and solo parts are triple tracked (R/L/C). The pre-theme parts are recorded using the Tele except for the last repeat. All MIDI parts were stored in a separate Reaper RPP file and rendered to wav prior to vocal, guitar, and all other parts.
Something (MP3)
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