A good Beatles television appearance

Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:37 am

Ran across this last night. You can actually hear them play in this one. I think "Help' was my favorite song when I was a kid. ( actually I still really like it now ;-)




[youtube]yWP6Qki8mWc[/youtube]

Re: A good Beatles television appearance

Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:38 pm

glvourot wrote:I think "Help' was my favorite song when I was a kid. ( actually I still really like it now ;-)


Now the lyrics are reality. :twisted:

Nice, didn't think the song could sound like that played live, with just 3 voices. Always thought the record is overdubbed. :banana:

Re: A good Beatles television appearance

Wed Apr 10, 2013 2:48 pm

I remember the early-60s Beatles' TV appearances, at the time, sounding pretty much as the records.
I'd be very surprised if any English pop of that era was anything more technical than straight-to-mono. Some singers and players could focus on "performance" to an extent that amazes some people today.
Sergeant Pepper was only made by bouncing between two 4-track machines, and that was much later.

Re: A good Beatles television appearance

Wed Apr 10, 2013 3:05 pm

Nice, didn't think the song could sound like that played live, with just 3 voices. Always thought the record is overdubbed.


No overdubbing in those days. The first Beatles recordings were only 2 tracks. The would basically record a live performance. If you can get your hands on the George Martin documentary (not sure of the name) it gives some fascinating insights to the world of recording the Beatles in those days.
George Martin was truly the 5th Beatle.

Re: A good Beatles television appearance

Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:42 pm

That's pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing. Not a foldback speaker in sight either. I don't know how JL could hear himself sing, let alone in tune!

I believe the George Martin book/documentary you refer to is All You Need Is Ears.

There were basic overdubbing facilities in those days, but usually restricted to vocals or backing vocals while the group backing performance was bounced down to mono or 2-track. I believe Please Please Me, the first album, was the only one recorded direct to 2-track stereo. Even then, there is the odd bit of piano etc. dropped in here and there.