The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations1962Version 2 compiled by Joseph Brennan
SEARCHIN' [audition tape]basic recording- 1 January 1962, Decca Studios, Londonadditional recording- none master tape- mono tape copy
This and the next four are from a tape believed to be the Decca audition of 1 January 1962. The only known source of this material is a mono tape compilation that was first used to create a series of seven bootleg singles on the Deccagone label in 1977. The canonical set of all 15 songs was the bootleg LP The Decca Tapes in 1978, and this was followed in the 1980's by questionably legal releases, usually omitting the three Lennon-McCartney songs, and all directly or indirectly from that same source tape. In "The 910" vol 2 no 3 (1993), Doug Sulpy and Greg Panfiles reported the tape appeared to be offspeed, enough to raise the songs a full halfstep in pitch. The speed correction was done for subsequent bootleg CDs, and also has been done, at a slightly different ratio, for the Anthology, which presumably continues to rely on the same source used since 1977. But where does that come from? Probably Brian Epstein took a copy of the session tape, and although he is supposed to have had a sample reel before the Decca date, this was probably better recorded, and it may have been songs from this set that he brought to George Martin at Parlophone. The Beatles had a tape with some of these songs with them in their Spring 1962 Hamburg trip. The identification of this tape with the Decca audition is less than perfect, and the best argument may be that they had no other opportunity to record 15 songs this cleanly. The tape's legal status also remains murky: the Beatles were still under exclusive contract to Bert Kaempfert Produktion in January 1962 (dating from the Hamburg recordings of 1961). On the Anthology, Apple claims ownership. THREE COOL CATS [audition tape]basic recording- 1 January 1962, Decca Studios, Londonadditional recording- none master tape- mono tape copy
THE SHEIK OF ARABY [audition tape]basic recording- 1 January 1962, Decca Studios, Londonadditional recording- none master tape- mono tape copy
LIKE DREAMERS DO [audition tape]basic recording- 1 January 1962, Decca Studios, Londonadditional recording- none master tape- mono tape copy
HELLO LITTLE GIRL [audition tape]basic recording- 1 January 1962, Decca Studios, Londonadditional recording- none master tape- mono tape copy
Tony SheridanSWEET GEORGIA BROWNbasic recording- 24 May 1962, Studio Rahlstedt, Hamburgadditional recording- 7 Jun 1962, 3 Jan 1964, Studio Rahlstedt, Hamburg, and 1964, USA master tape- 2 track 2d generation?
Only the stereo mix [a], available on an EP included with Gottfridsson's book, and the mono reduction [a1] issued on one German EP in 1962, uses the 1962 lead vocal with the song's correct lyrics. The much more common [b] and its reduction [b1], using the new lead vocal recorded in 1964, first appeared on German single 52 324 of April 1964, Skinny Minnie by Tony Sheridan (the A side is not the Beatles). It then appeared again on German single 52 906, often dated January 1964 but really about June 1964 based on "The Gramophone" and the catalog number, again coupled with a non-Beatles number, a Tony Sheridan solo re-make of "Nobody's child" (which he had recorded previously with the Beatles in 1961). Both stereo mixes [a] [b] mysteriously go into mock stereo for the "vamp" at the end of the song. This presumably shows an edit in the May 24 instrumental track done by June 7. Given the live mix, maybe the stereo image was different on the take used for the ending and they made it less jarring by processing it? No one knows. Atlantic's [c] is was made from [b1] with added drums and guitar. Complicating the release history is that Tony had previously recorded the song on Dec 21 1961, and this 1961 version was used on the My Bonnie LP. The LP was released in June 1962, just after he'd done the vocal for the Beatles version! The non-Beatles recording has no backup vocals, among other differences.
BESAME MUCHO [outtake]basic recording- 6 Jun 1962additional recording- none? master tape- twintrack [no longer exists]
LOVE ME DO [outtake]basic recording- 6 Jun 1962additional recording- none? master tape- twintrack [no longer exists]
HOW DO YOU DO IT [outtake]basic recording- 4 Sep 1962additional recording- none? master tape- twintrack [no longer exists]
LOVE ME DO [1]basic recording- 4 Sep 1962additional recording- 4 Sep 1962 master tape- twintrack 2d generation [no longer exists]
The vinyl transfer [a1] on Capitol's Rarities is from a slightly noisy 45rpm copy owned by EMI and sent to Capitol intended as a reference but used as the best available copy. In 1982 a better 45rpm vinyl copy was made available to EMI by a collector just after EMI issued Love Me Do [2] on the twentieth anniversary single (because they were unhappy with the quality of Love Me Do [1], which should have been used for authenticity). The master [a2] made from this disk immediately became the standard and has been used ever since, most easily available on Past Masters. Oddly considering its generally better quality, [a2] has a little distortion noticeable on harmonica not heard on [a1], apparently caused during "declicking", so a further improved copy may be made someday. P.S. I LOVE YOUbasic recording- 11 Sep 1962additional recording- none master tape- twintrack 2d generation [no longer exists]
LOVE ME DO [2]basic recording- 11 Sep 1962additional recording- 11 Sep 1962 master tape- twintrack 2d generation [no longer exists]
PLEASE PLEASE ME [outtake]basic recording- 11 Sep 1962additional recording- none master tape- twintrack [no longer exists]
Like the Love Me Do outtake, this copy of an otherwise lost recording was found in 1994- perhaps another disk George Martin took home? After this point, EMI started keeping master recording tapes by the Beatles. PLEASE PLEASE ME [1]basic recording- 26 Nov 1962additional recording- 26 Nov 1962 master tape- twintrack 2d generation
PLEASE PLEASE ME [2]basic recording- 26 Nov 1962additional recording- 26 Nov 1962 master tape- twintrack 2d generation
The stereo version [2] has the famous collision in verse 3 on "You know you never even try"/"Why do I never even try", followed by the laugh on "Come on come on". Some have explained this difference by saying the mistake was repaired for [1] by editing in a replacement for just this section. However, the two versions have differences all the way through, so they must be two different complete takes. For example, in verse 1, compare the sound of the word "try" in the second line, and in the bridge, compare "reason with you, oh yeah" in stereo [2] against "reason with you, whoa oh yeah" in mono [1]. John's voice is rougher all the way through the mono take [1]. In stereo, the harmonica appears in the right channel, the same as the vocal. During the first 4 segments, which occur between vocal lines, the bass guitar sound also comes way up on the right, and the whole ambience changes much more than in mono. During the last segment, which overlays vocals, the harmonica is less audible than in the mono mix, which is puzzling. Lewisohn reports in Recording Sessions that the mono mix was from "unknown takes", meaning he saw no studio documentation for takes. The easiest explanation is to suppose that the mixing information was already missing in February 1963 and that it led to the staff accidentally editing the pieces into the wrong take when they did the stereo mix, three months after the mono. The changes in ambience therefore are the difference between two takes. David Prokopy on r.m.b. has proposed that a tape reel was lost, so that the harmonica survived only on the mono mix itself, and that therefore the stereo mix was made by synchronizing the mono mix with an alternate take. This explains why the first 4 segments don't have just the harmonica by itself on the right, but have bass and some of the other sound as well (i.e. the right channel is a processed version of the mono mix), and why the last harmonica segment is at lower volume, namely to hide that it doesn't really match. The last particularly would mean they were deliberately using a different take for want of the correct one. ASK ME WHYbasic recording- 26 Nov 1962additional recording- none master tape- twintrack
[ Star-Club performances ]basic recording- dates in Dec 1962, Star-Club, Hamburgadditional recording- none master tape- mono Excerpts of this tape collection of at least 30 songs have been issued many times. There have been several attempts to electronically alter the sound to improve the abysmal sound quality of the original tape and to deal with missing parts of a few songs. Further edits have rearranged the song order, allowing different parts of the between-song sound to survive. One of the four sets, unprocessed and sounding not much worse, has appeared on a bootleg called The Beatles Vs the Third Reich. The Beatles were under exclusive recording contract to EMI as of June 1962, and this material was first released under the ruse that it was recorded during the Beatles' Star-Club shows in April (when, though it is not well known, they were signed exclusively to Bert Kaempfert!). However, Paul wishes the crowd "seasonal greetings" and John mentions that "Christmas comes but once a year". All releases are essentially bootlegs. The book Every Little Thing goes over the releases and differences, and Gottfridsson's From Cavern to Star-club includes further information on the original arrangement on four tapes. previous | next |