Favorite "mistakes" in great recordings

[MVE]

During the outro of Fire, Noel Redding goes back into a verse while they are just playing the chorus over and over.

On the Layla album “Anyday” (I think) someone starts singing a verse in the wrong spot and they just left it in because they liked the imperfection of it.

 

[LBS-bass]

Did you mean Will Lee or Paul Shaffer?
They're both reading it, Will is playing synth bass (not a common thing, but not unheard of, either) and Paul is probably thinking whether this keyboard part reminds him more of "Lorelei" or "Baba O'Riley", judging by how uncomfortably he's playing the line, when the bar with the extra beat comes up.
It's Paul that goes off the rails (doesn't help matters that, at that precise moment, he's got his back towards the rest of the band.

I thought it was Will because of the look on his face, but now that I'm thinking more about what part Will was probably playing, it's more likely it was Paul and Will was just reacting to that.

 

[2tonic]

How about JPJ not coming out of the guitar solo in "Good Times, Bad Times"?
The song goes into the chorus, but for a couple beats he's still playing the wrong part.
He recovers quickly, however.
And besides, no one listens to the bass player......
Right?!

 

[Bassaga]

Tennessee Ernie Ford's fingers snapping the beat on 16 Tons is probably my favorite. He was just giving the tempo to the band but they left it in, thank goodness!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Tommy Flanagan piano solo on Coltrane's giant steps.

Epic.

 

[Tom Kinter]

Interesting thread!

Miles Davis famously played a clam in the intro to the iconic live version of "My Funny Valentine".
(at about 2:11)

I've read that generally he didn't worry about it much. I think there's a quote from him when asked if he wanted a retake on a number due to a bad slip, to the effect of: 'Naw, leave it in, it let's' them know I'm human.' With Mingus, at least sometimes, if you didn't make any mistakes, you weren't trying hard enough. Jazz being improvisational, this all seems within its spirit. In fact if you consider genius players like Parker or Pastorius or Coltrane, IMO a chunk of that genius was in thinking so fast that they could resolve mistakes into gold.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Interesting thread!

Miles Davis famously played a clam in the intro to the iconic live version of "My Funny Valentine".
(at about 2:11)

I've read that generally he didn't worry about it much. I think there's a quote from him when asked if he wanted a retake on a number due to a bad slip, to the effect of: 'Naw, leave it in, it let's' them know I'm human.' With Mingus, at least sometimes, if you didn't make any mistakes, you weren't trying hard enough. Jazz being improvisational, this all seems within its spirit. In fact if you consider genius players like Parker or Pastorius or Coltrane, IMO a chunk of that genius was in thinking so fast that they could resolve mistakes into gold.

It's not jazz.
It's conversation music.

 

[lowphatbass]

More of a “technical mistake” but the vocal bleed-through on Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love”

 

[MichelD]

I saw her again last night:

While mixing the record, engineer Bones Howe punched in the coda vocals too early, inadvertently including Denny's false start on the third chorus ("I saw her..."). Despite attempting to correct the error, the miscued vocal could still be heard on playback. Producer Lou Adler liked the effect and told Howe to leave it in the final mix.[6]

 

[PWRL]

Another favorite goof.

The Flying Burrito Brothers song Christine's Tune (Devil In Disguise). Nearing the fade out, Chris Hillman in one channel and Gram Parsons on the other channel are trading the vocal.........in disguise. Gram's voice cracks, he stops and does an audible clearing of his throat.

I never noticed this until one day I listened to the song with headphones.

I can't hear it on the Youtube video but I'll include it anyway. (About 2:40 in.)

That was the first one that came to me!

 

[mikesmsp]

At around 0:20 you can hear John let the high notes ring out while he changes pickup. Apparently he accidentally knocked his pickup switch and began this take on the Bridge, but wanted a Neck tone for this track. Because this was the best take they got for this song, they left it in...

 

[tommyeadg]

In September by Earth Wind and Fire there is a little glitch in the bass time continuum around 0:15

 

[lowphatbass]

In September by Earth Wind and Fire there is a little glitch in the bass time continuum around 0:15

It’s been a while but I want to say this one gradually speeds up a fair bit.

 

[elberon]

At around the 7:25-7:35 mark on Weather Report's recording of Cucumber Slumber Alfonzo Johnson comes out of the vamp section during Wayne Shorter's solo too soon (or Joe Zawinul comes out of it too late) causing a few seconds of harmonic weirdness even for them. It sounds kind of "outside." It's the studio recording from Mysterious Traveller. I'll look for the interview excerpt of, I think, Johnson talking about it.

 

[Richland123]

At the end of "Be My Lover" by the band Alice Cooper, drummer Neal Smith dropped his drumstick. It was in perfect time to the song and left in the recording.

 

[Pings Bass]

Thelonious Monk, Blues Five Spot from Misterioso (1958), Monk and Johnny Griffin (tenor sax) come in a little off from each other after Roy Haynes' drum solo at about 7:22. They sync up by the second phrase, and Monk plays it off with a little flourish. You have to imagine him staring daggers at Johnny across the bandstand. The recording is from a live date at the Five Spot Cafe, and has a raw, intimate, spontaneous feel that you just don't get released on LPs these days. Thelonious in Action (1958) is tracks from the same club date. Both records are pure delights.

 

[Ewo]

I mentioned it in another thread, but SRV rushed like c-r-a-z-y in the outro of the studio recording of Crossfire. Drummer's trying like heck to rein him in...

 

[Tom Kinter]

Another favorite: and I love this recording; Louis and Duke! and I don't know of any other versions. Louis is in fine form, but at about 2:15, he just can't get the word 'magnificence' right... and if you were doing his herbal regimen back then, you might have kept singing it this way through 3 takes...

 

[Watchootognbout]

At around the 7:25-7:35 mark on Weather Report's recording of Cucumber Slumber Alfonzo Johnson comes out of the vamp section during Wayne Shorter's solo too soon (or Joe Zawinul comes out of it too late) causing a few seconds of harmonic weirdness even for them. It sounds kind of "outside." It's the studio recording from Mysterious Traveller. I'll look for the interview excerpt of, I think, Johnson talking about it.

I've always wondered whether he did that on purpose.

 

[Basslice]

1) Steve Gadd stick smack at 4:59 into Steely Dan Aja
2) Eminence front vocal/background goof

p.s. I will add that the Gadd solo is one of my favorite drum solos of all time.