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Who Hit The Wrong Note In Unchained Melody?
- Thread starter PolkaHero
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- carol kaye kaye wrong
I listen to old country on Wiilie's Roadhouse on Sirius XM, there are quite a few clunkers on hit songs. The way I understand it alot of the (Wrecking Crew) sessions could be 12-18 hours long, playing no more than 2-3 takes per song. I bet the arrangements changed on the fly too sometimes. But if the vibey take was the one with one wrong bass note, then that's the keeper.
I highly recommend the vids about the Wrecking Crew, Muscle Schoals, Sun Studios, etc. The WC one talks about how unheard of it was for the record company to give Brian Wilson $500,000 to record "Good Vibrations."
I highly recommend the vids about the Wrecking Crew, Muscle Schoals, Sun Studios, etc. The WC one talks about how unheard of it was for the record company to give Brian Wilson $500,000 to record "Good Vibrations."
That's not a mistake...that's a artistic "slide embellishment". That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Quit making that stink-face!
You've got to remember that back then mono recordings were still around and often songs were released in both formats. 4-track boards were as good as it got back then and although they did sound on sound, you could run out of tracks quickly. Here's basically how it worked:
• record on tracks 2, 3, and 4. Then copy those tracks onto track one.
• record on tracks 3 & 4. Then copy those to track 2
• record track 3 and then copy 1, 2, and 3 onto 4
• record over track 1 and 2. Then copy onto track 3
• record over track 1
• record over track 2
• then final mixdown and master onto stereo
That's a lot of work to get what? - 10 tracks recorded. Plus, once you started combining multiple tracks onto one track, that one combined track was not editable. My guess would be that the mistake was missed in one of the tracks and by the time it was combined onto another track, it was too late to change. Remember, recording companies didn't want to spend a lot of money in the recording studio unless someone else was paying for it.
As a point of reference, the Beatles
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Respectfully, two tiny errors: you mean the album Sgt. Pepper...and it was 4 track. Their first 8 track was the White Album.
50 years later and someone is nitpicking a recording over one note
Welcome to TB! If we didn't do it, who would?
I was about to say "It's Jazz! That's not a wrong note. The bassist was just moving out a bit."
Definitely check out those two documentaries along with 20 Feet from Stardom. Flat out fascinating in places.
(FWIW I'll take the Muscle Shoals Swampers over the WC any day.)
i like the tune: even the wrong note.
I've heard it so many times now, I anticipate it and I think it gives a special unique human quality to the song. It now sounds "normal" to me. Not an outright trainwreck of a bad note, but it is wrong nonetheless.
Alkali Ike
Gold Supporting Member
- Jan 1, 2011
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- I never actually learned to play very well
As far as the bass line being simplistic or unremarkable, well it's a slow ballad with the core of the song being the vocals. Would a busier bass line help the song? I mean arguably the rhythm section is incidental window dressing on that recording.
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So, the Kinks tune, yeah that solo is just not right. Unchained Melody I've probably heard it hundreds of times and I could hear it another hundred times and never even notice the clam...
One vote in a nearly buried bass track; much ado about nothing. How about the appallingly out of tune flute solo on "California Dreaming"? That came through loud and clear on even the crappiest transistor radio.
When I'm searching for fresh idea to incorporate into my bass playing this is not a tune that crosses my mind, so let the bad note(s) fly.
The beginning of "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who always strikes me as particularly bad. "Unchained Melody" clam? De minimus, imo.
Like this ? Marshall Grant hits a major clam at around 1:55 in this. You can see his head snap to the left to correct his position, but he plays it cool from then on. Of course none of us have ever done that.
okcrum
in your chest
To what? Is CK hanging around on here and will I feel her wrath?
Edit: Happy now?
You should be thanking @40Hz for this little prodding. He's saved you the embarrassment of having this (soon to be) zombie thread resurrected every couple of years forever with another wave of "CK didn't even play bass on the track!" bashings, by the tiny minority (sarc) of TBers who don't read the thread and just react to the title.
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#1 I never noticed that wrong note, and I learned that song by ear. So apparently, I've been playing it "wrong" all this time too. 
#2 Given the success and timelessness of that song, I don't think it matters. There is a certain beauty in imperfections. In fact, much of what we call "tone" or "personal style" is made by creating and organizing our own imperfections. So leave that human analog touch in there, because even if it was a "mistake" in the purest technical sense, it was meant to be there.
#2 Given the success and timelessness of that song, I don't think it matters. There is a certain beauty in imperfections. In fact, much of what we call "tone" or "personal style" is made by creating and organizing our own imperfections. So leave that human analog touch in there, because even if it was a "mistake" in the purest technical sense, it was meant to be there.
