is John or Paul singing this?
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The problem with it being John is it sounds exactly like Paul. It's Paul. That part of the song was composed by Paul, it's the tail end of Paul's bit, the "Woke up, fell out of bed..." sequence. Paul sings "Then I went into a dream..." then he GOES into a dream. Paul does. Then it returns to John's part and John sings. Hey, for decades I thought it was John because it is more in the SPIRIT of John. But the isolated track clearly shows it is Paul.
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I just posted this question to another group of Beatles fans, and out of 14 responses so far, only 2 think it's Paul. Plus someone pointed out that Beatles tribute bands always have the John character doing that part.
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McCartney fans on a McCartney fan forum can't recognize their hero's voice? Those tribute bands have it wrong. I trust my own ears. It's Paul!
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My ears hear that nasal quality and are absolutely certain it's John. If you listen to "Aaahh, look at all the lonely people" in "Eleanor Rigby," you can easily pick out John's voice from Paul's because of that nasal quality, and that's what you hear in this song, too. Maybe the Paul fans here are biased to think that everything is him!
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favoritething:
My ears hear that nasal quality and are absolutely certain it's John. If you listen to "Aaahh, look at all the lonely people" in "Eleanor Rigby," you can easily pick out John's voice from Paul's because of that nasal quality, and that's what you hear in this song, too. Maybe the Paul fans here are biased to think that everything is him!
I disagree. There is actually NO nasal quality, especially what one would attribute to John. That is one reason WHY I am convinced it's not John. Listen to the controlled inflections in the voice. The little trills and movements are pure Paul, not something John ever did. Watch it live in recent concerts. Paul's voice is perfect on that part. I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on this one! Maybe Paul himself can chime and say, "It's me!" or "It's John!"
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RMartinez:
favoritething:
My ears hear that nasal quality and are absolutely certain it's John. If you listen to "Aaahh, look at all the lonely people" in "Eleanor Rigby," you can easily pick out John's voice from Paul's because of that nasal quality, and that's what you hear in this song, too. Maybe the Paul fans here are biased to think that everything is him!
I disagree. There is actually NO nasal quality, especially what one would attribute to John. That is one reason WHY I am convinced it's not John. Listen to the controlled inflections in the voice. The little trills and movements are pure Paul, not something John ever did. Watch it live in recent concerts. Paul's voice is perfect on that part. I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on this one! Maybe Paul himself can chime and say, "It's me!" or "It's John!"
I'm happy to remain civil on this and accept that we just hear it differently. (Although now 23 out of 26 people agree with me in the other poll. )
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favoritething:
RMartinez:
favoritething:
My ears hear that nasal quality and are absolutely certain it's John. If you listen to "Aaahh, look at all the lonely people" in "Eleanor Rigby," you can easily pick out John's voice from Paul's because of that nasal quality, and that's what you hear in this song, too. Maybe the Paul fans here are biased to think that everything is him!
I disagree. There is actually NO nasal quality, especially what one would attribute to John. That is one reason WHY I am convinced it's not John. Listen to the controlled inflections in the voice. The little trills and movements are pure Paul, not something John ever did. Watch it live in recent concerts. Paul's voice is perfect on that part. I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on this one! Maybe Paul himself can chime and say, "It's me!" or "It's John!"
I'm happy to remain civil on this and accept that we just hear it differently. (Although now 23 out of 26 people agree with me in the other poll. )
Where would we be if all we did was follow polls?
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It's Paul. I'm 100% sure of it.
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RMartinez:
The problem with it being John is it sounds exactly like Paul. It's Paul. That part of the song was composed by Paul, it's the tail end of Paul's bit, the "Woke up, fell out of bed..." sequence. Paul sings "Then I went into a dream..." then he GOES into a dream. Paul does. Then it returns to John's part and John sings. Hey, for decades I thought it was John because it is more in the SPIRIT of John. But the isolated track clearly shows it is Paul.
Exactly.
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Listen to his vocals on McCartney II. Same style.
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Shawn:
Listen to his vocals on McCartney II. Same style.
That's thirteen years later. I'm listening to John and Paul circa 1966-67. Their voices changed over the years. In my survey of other Beatles fans, over 90% of them say it's John. But you're entitled to your opinion.
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Hi, Then 90% of Beatle fans are wrong on this one. No disrespect intended.️
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You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, too.
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I know, 90% doesn't REALLY mean anything, and I looked in several books to look for definitive proof, but no one said specifically when Paul's vocals end. What I will say is that it's possible that Paul came up with the melody of that part and then let John sing it. In the Anthology book, John says that Paul wrote the "I'd love to turn you on" part, even though that's obviously John singing it. Still, for me, it comes down to what my ears tell me. And I know you feel the same way, with opposite results!
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favoritething:
I know, 90% doesn't REALLY mean anything, and I looked in several books to look for definitive proof, but no one said specifically when Paul's vocals end. What I will say is that it's possible that Paul came up with the melody of that part and then let John sing it. In the Anthology book, John says that Paul wrote the "I'd love to turn you on" part, even though that's obviously John singing it. Still, for me, it comes down to what my ears tell me. And I know you feel the same way, with opposite results!
We can certainly agree to disagree.
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Is there anyone like Mark Lewisohn or one of the other authors we could write to to ask their expert opinion? I have this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Beatles-Recording-Sessions/dp/1454910054 Maybe there's something in it. Will check tomorrow (or rather later today since it's almost 2:30 am!)
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Nancy R:
Is there anyone like Mark Lewisohn or one of the other authors we could write to to ask their expert opinion? I have this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Beatles-Recording-Sessions/dp/1454910054 Maybe there's something in it. Will check tomorrow (or rather later today since it's almost 2:30 am!)
I checked that, and it only says that John recorded a bunch of echoey vocals before Paul recorded his vocal, but it doesn't specify what part of the song they're talking about for the echoey vocals. Lewisohn's "Chronicle" book doesn't get that specific, and neither does Allen Weiner's "Ultimate Recording Guide" or the "Anthology" book or the Beatles Bible website. They always talk about the alarm clock and Mal Evans and the orchestral buildups, etc., but not that particular section after "went into a dream." It is mentioned that Paul's "Woke up, fell out of bed" sequence was already a "party piece" of his that he would play, but whether it even had lyrics, or if it was just contained to that jaunty little piano section, is not known.
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favoritething:
It is absolutely John. Compare this nasal "aaah" to the sound of John's vocals over the end section of "Lovely Rita", or the way John sings "eyes" in the line "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes." Paul has a throatier way of singing "ahhh", as in "ahhh, look at all the lonely people," whereas John sings it with more of a flat "a" sound. There is no question in my mind that it's John. I looked back at Lewisohn's "Recording Sessions" book, and just before the quote referenced above in this thread, about all the echo on John's voice, Lewisohn wrote that there was no Paul McCartney vocal yet, on the day all of those echoey John vocals were recorded. Maybe he made mistakes in the book, but this is not one of them.
I agree it's John lead vocal, but Paul is harmonizing as well. Their voices blend so well together it's hard to distinguish them. I hear both in that clip.
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I suggest listening to the opening "Aaah's" at the beginning of Lovely Rita. Same voice - both belonging to Paul.
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There are other voices in the back doing "oooooos" probably Paul, John and George. The main voice doing the "aaaaaaaaah" has reverb and delay, which creates the illusion of double tracking or that two voices are singing in unison. But it is one voice. I believe it is Paul.