Ringo's creativity and humbleness is unmatched, what an amazing drummer and all that after saying how much he hates flashy drumming; someone who always played for the song and was perfect for the Beatles
Ringo has a musical sensibility that can't be taught and many still don't understand. My favorite fill of his is not on "Rain"- it is literally 2 taps on the hi-hat followed by...nothing on ”Hello, Goodbye".
My favorite drummer. To be sure, there are flashier drummers out there that are technically spot on, but he was perfect for the group and their songs. Neil Peart has to be my second.
@phila3884 as a relatively new Beatles fan I came across one of Ringos fills that really blew me away but I can't remember what it was. I'm going to have to go back through their discography and find it
I don't believe it was a coincidence. I don't care what anybody says. I also don't believe that Mal's voice was not intended to be on the final mix. Why would they go to all the trouble to add tape delay to it (which gets "wetter and wetter" in the mix)? And his voice is on every take.
Right? It's too perfect to be an accident. Also, did they just have an alarm clock laying around in the studio? And why would it be wound up and programmed to ring during recording.
Yup I agree. It totally serves to illustrate the next lyric also, 'woke up, got out of bed'... Pity all the rehearsal recordings were wiped Also, if the reduction mixes were of take 4, which they further worked on, how did the alarm remain in the mix if it was on take 1? (Anthology take 1 is on youtube, can't find take 4 tho)
As a child in Glasgow Scotland we lived across from the television station STV and I saw them one day going into the front door for an appearance. A mob soon appeared outside.
Listening to Sgt. Pepper on stereo headphones allowed me to understand how this incredible recording was artistically and technically put together, with all of the cross fades, panning, razor blade edits, punch-ins, etc.. Because I understood what they were doing on this recording, it made me realize that I could be a recording engineer, and at age 14, I constructed the cabinet for my first loudspeaker and eventually after building all of the other electronics and after acquiring some good microphones, I did indeed become a professional recording engineer. later in my career, I won an Emmy for a location recording I did of the opera Faust, all because of my careful listening to Sgt. Pepper, thank you to the Beatles and George Martin! David Riddle
@JoePlett I've always thought that if stereo had been the historic recording method, the introduction of mono would have been seen as an amazing innovation.
@zunipusare you sure? I’m not certain but I believe you are incorrect about that. I looked up David Hartley on the internet, and it appears that he’s indeed a real person. I don’t mean to argue with you, and I may be wrong… it’s so hard to tell what’s real anymore.
Yeah, only you don't get ANY "real insight" from Emerick's fairy-tale book, only false information and made-up dialogue! I can't believe David STILL quoted pages and pages of that rubbish - I mean, everyone can hear that this "difficult punch-in" is simply NOT THERE!!
The chemistry between them is one for the history books and serves as inspiration no matter what your field of work is. They challenged each other, valued each other, contributed to one another, invited each other’s opinions! The more I learn about their work ethics, the more I admire them.
They had no doubt about their ability to fix problems in an idea, they put in the work while staying focused until it was fixed. They were hard workers.
@w.harrison7277they were hard workers and musically honest individually and together. They weren't fooling themselves or anyone else, they kept it real regardless of how imaginative.
A younger friend said to me once"I don't see what all of the fuss was, about The Beatles." I said to him that he needed to see what there was before them, with no disrespect to those artists.
Even those of us of that era have gotten used to it. Younger generations probably just shrug their shoulders. This video's content took me right back to my initial exposure to Sgt. Pepper.
That badly-ghostwritten, factually inaccurate, anti-George-biased book? "Great" is hardly the word I'd use for it. Emerick's accomplishments in the Beatles' recording history is incredibly important, but that book "by" him is... well, I own it and I've read it, and that's about all I can say about it. Hell, Tony Barrow's Beatle-focused autobiography is more factually accurate, and that one relies of some of Allan Williams' ridiculous anecdotes in HIS factually inaccurate biography, "The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away."
@Bart-rn1dp Plenty of things, starting with Emerick claiming to have been there for the first recording sessions, particularly him claiming to have been there for the "For starters, I don't like your tie" comment by George to George Martin. Basically, any personal anecdote is suspect. When they talk about the technical stuff it's decent, but you can get better technical info about the Beatles' recording history from the book Recording The Beatles by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew -- while they weren't there, they did compile their information from the EXTENSIVE notes taken at EMI at the time, so in that sense their "memory" is more accurate. And sometimes Emerick's ghostwriter just makes shit up.
@Bart-rn1dp (I don't know which episode Emerick's book is discussed in, but do yourself a favor as a fan of the Beatles and their story and check out the Something About The Beatles podcast. It's amazing.)
It's worth mentioning that they bounced tracks. That's mixing 2-3 tracks to an empty track. Common practice on my 4-track cassette recorder. Unfortunately, the more you bounce the worse the sound quality gets.
I've always maintained Ringo was great not only for the notes he played but also for the notes he didn't play. Even though they told him to get busy in this song, his tom fills have pauses that, in my mind, make them amazing.
@pauls5096 Claude Debussy is credited with saying "The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between them". I'll bet you and Claude would get along famously.
Agree. That’s the sound we’ll all hear when we die, I’m sure of it. It’s how we’ll know that we’re properly dead- CLUDARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
@istarkEmerick's book is a fairy-tale book with not a single word of authentic dialogue. Howard Massey made up most of it because Emerick didnt have ANY actual memories himself. Ken Scott called him out it, google it. Best proof this long story about that "difficult punch-in" is BS - there is NO CUT between the "dream" and the aaah, just Paul taking a breath, as everyone can hear on the isolated vocal track. It's inexcusable that this guy David STILL takes Emerick's word as gospel although he's LONG debunked.
Yes, almost beyond belief, to go from ' she loves you, yeah yeah yeah' to this, of classical complexity, in a few short years - did they ever play live concerts of this album, or of the white album, were they capable, just who's music did George Martin arrange.......
Serendipity happens alot and makes the world a better place. Makes me wonder what would have happened if Mick had met John that day on the train or Paul and Keith were at the party? To have such perfect collaborations moving in such close proximity at the same time... miraculous.
@karloulsnam9616People always think that but it was from their teenage years through their twenties, the epitome of being a group making rock music who had earned those studio rights and all that time.
It's an incredible stroke of luck that these early recordings still exist, and that those involved in the recordings were still around to recall it all. It all points to the fact that ALL of these folks knew what they were making was not just music, but history as well. Great deep dive into the process. A BIG thank you from a 72 year old lifelong Beatles fan!
Thank you for saying exactly what I would've said if you hadn't said it first. The only change I would make is that I'm 73 instead of 72. Other than that, a big thank you to YOU!
@MsVSandersonI am 76 and as part of a group called Sgt Potters played these songs. I can now appreciate their genius and creativity much more. So too George Martin.
I was lucky enough to record a demo at Abbey Road, the sound engineer said that they still have every piece of equipment there used to record the beatles, they could set it all up again if they wanted to. The piano for lady Madonna was also there in studio 4. It sounds exactly as it did. Was an amazing experience
This video appeared,seemingly at random in my RUclips feed. For some strange reason it drew me in and I watched to the end. I'm of a generation that grew up with that album but I'd never really paid great attention. As soon as the video finished, I listened to the official version of the track, with subtitles, and appreciated it in a way I could never have done before. Thank you. Great video and concept. Looking forward to hearing more of your insights.
EXACTLY SAME for me! It showed up in my feed at 10:30 at night and I almost passed it up. But then I thought I’ll listen to a few minutes of it. Stayed until the end and then listened to the entire original song again, and heard things I had never heard before!!
I recently heard Paul McCartney say that The Beatles had something very special, something that hasn't happened since. That hit pretty hard because so many of us knew that back when Lennon and McCartney were still writing songs together. When they announced The Beatles were breaking up, we felt as though we'd lost something irreplaceable. I cried. The individuals members of the band seemed unconcerned about the break up, but plenty of us were bereft. Then we were robbed of the chance at a reunion when John was murdered. They were the ones who killed the band.
Paul said he went I to a deep depression and isolated to his farm in Scotland after the breakup. We have no idea how they felt. It was like the end of an era and relationships and their lives turned upside down. It was turmoil for a while like a divorce. We will never understand what they lived through together.
A moment in time when musical genius collides with sound engineering brilliance to create a masterpiece, a modern abstract symphony to inspire musicians for generations.
This is really an outstanding examination and presentation. I'm a professional musician and producer, and often "song breakdowns" are a bit superficial and not ACTUALLY that interesting, being made only for the "layperson". I was enthralled the whole way through this video. It's amazing to think of all the songs I've agonized over, trying to come up with the most perfect "everything" before we even record a note, and sometimes you are bluntly reminded that many of the greatest recordings to ever tickle our ears, have a significant amount of "happy improvisational accidents" on them, and the magic is sometimes just in having the wherewithal to try them and capture them.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a bit similar: combining different song parts. For a playground some of the FAWM collaboration formats are similar. A four track cassette, is that what it's called!? And it's February 1st. I need to go check if it's there and work out if I'm participating. I still consider myself a layperson, the talent on fawm is massive but there's a good few of us might be considered outsider music. I'm more of a poet. Don't play. Check my channel if you're interested. There's several years worth of FAWM
A long term fan of the Beatles since the 1960s plus now retired to a small degree learnt to play piano and last year took up the flute, both I studied how to read music and play. MY point -could not agree more, it is great just enjoying music such as the Beatles but as you will know as professional musician with far more understanding of music than I ever will, ADDS so much to even more respect and admiration for went into the making of such music that played a great part in my life and I still enjoy so much.,
The combination of the Beatles (all of them) and all of their ideas- an accomplished symphony producer - a talented Engineer - all working within the confines and restrictions of the current technology and with very little reference since this was all new and they where right there at the beginning of true multi track recording - will probably never happen again in our lifetime anyway.
@ThreadBomb and the perfect time. I mean studios I think all the way into the 80s had lot's of possibilities if you where creative, but the key is you still needed to think outside the box and be imaginative. Now you can just have infinite tracks and pick apart every bit a million times, add any sound imagineable etc. You don't even need to be able to play a song really, you can just play a couple of chords or licks once, copy them, same with singing.
I get the impression London had an exceptional "creative village" thing going at the time - amongst quite a small number of talented and down to earth people. A bunch of very talented and charismatic Scousers were just the thing to bring it all together.
One evening I had Sergeant Pepper playing, my, dog was with me as usual. After the final chord faded out and there was silence my dog suddenly lifted her head with a look that said "What was that noise"? Bless her.
i remember the first time i ever heard this song, i was 14 years old and it literally changed my life. like my mind was blown and i couldnt even grasp why it was blown i just knew that i had listened to something crafted by otherworld beings LMAO like the beatles were so ahead of their time it blows my mind
Absolutely nothing by modern (or even 1970s-1980s) standards but yes, back then spending that amount of time in the studio was kinda unheard of. Only groups of the Beatles or Beach Boys’ stature could have entertained such costs.
I had a huge smile on my face during the entire video. Love behind the scenes with the Beatles. As fun and cheeky as they were, they were extremely hard workers.
These were ARTISTS not just musicians. That’s what separates most of that era from whatever we have today. It’s not subjective. We are talking about Art and just music (or muzak). People have been deprived of what music can actually be and it’s sad. I say all this as a musician myself.
@ibizazibiAnalysis/ theories, Opinion over a TV , AI can Never teach or explain these innate gifts. My Mom could figure out most any piece/piano - not just the melody; harmony,dynamics et al. At age 3; taken me a lifetime to access this; we all take different paths & Converge for times like I grew up in. Things fall apart when the artist must bow to Others, pressured, distracted from their essence..money perhaps, which has No bearing on individuals creative Souls. Thanks🎼🤹🦋
What I like about this video is that you took what was written in books and captured in the recordings of the takes, and put it together with the visuals to provide a chronology of the recording. It sticks with you better this way.
Immediately after watching this, I listened to "A Day In The Life" again, with a whole new perspective. Wonderful documentary. This is what RUclips was meant to be.
I was 15 when Sgt. Pepper's was released. My oldest brother bought the album but locked it in an album storage box. So when he was at work I picked the lock with a paper clip, played the album, put it back in the box and relocked it. I wish I could have told him about that before he died in 2015. Anyway, this was a fascinating breakdown of how A Day in the Life was created. Thank you.
No, it's crap, actually. Depending WAY too much on Emerick's long debunked fairy-tale book, which doesn't content a single word of authentic dialogue and countless factual mistakes.
A computer with a recording software should be able to do that for you again. But at a lower pitch. I'm guessing it will sound like a regular sine wave.
I always thought it was an intentional joke that they follow an E major chord with a really, really high Bb. Like a tritone. Slap in the face. But yeah, you can go to a website that does sine waves and ask for the highest Bb you can hear.
I'm pretty sure that I've always heard something there, very low volume and very high pitched, but high enough energy that it made so much sense when I heard it was created just so that dogs would hear it. I have to wonder if something happened in the process of mixing for CD, because I'm fairly sure that the CD format is designed to only reproduce sounds that humans can hear, so all the energy that was in the original track was reproduced as well as it could be using the CD format, making it just barely audible at the very highest pitches that CDs could reproduce.
For me, this song goes into orbit when Lennon starts singing the 'aaaaahhhhh' part together in harmony. As great as the orchestration part is, the AAAAHHHH to me encapsulates the entire band and era. Ringo's fills ARE daring and genius. Phenomenal doc. It's hard to believe someone can cover the Beatles in a new fresh but accurate way. Great job. Also, it occurred to me I was a toddler when this came out. Maybe that part connected to me then, so it gets me now. But I think it gets anyone who was listening, because Lennon was a bonafide genius and creatively fearless (and right) because I can think of almost no times when Lennon came up with something creative that he didn't end up being on point.
@denisvalente6844 obvious to me. John's tone is unmistakable, even quiet. They're both GREAT singers, but distinctive, though they merged into a third voice. Then they had George, and even Ringo was an intriguing singer.
It’s Paul singing the “Ahh”. Every novice Beatles fan thinks it’s John and eventually figures out it’s Paul. Look up the isolated track on RUclips. The isolated track reveals it’s Paul’s continued take. He takes a breath, and reverb is switched on making it a little trickier for those less acquainted with Paul’s voice. He’s doing his “Lovely Rita” intro voice, or check out “Let Me Roll It” for another even closer comparison. For extra proof: This type of singing is out of John’s range……The NOTES are not out of his range… the TONE is. He cannot, in any other song recorded, smoothly sing these notes in chest voice, and must belt/scream them as he does in his “This Boy” solo. On the same isolated track John is heard singing the background “Ooh” in falsetto. He sings the same identical falsetto tone and note that he does on “Sexy Sadie” at minute 2:13. It’s an identical match. John can’t be singing the “Ahh” if he is clearly busy singing the “Ooh”. And here is a clip I made matching Paul’s vocals with other song moments: ruclips.net/user/shortsF3zozPcYYvY?si=AIxExCHleE9C-Nk-
The Beatles art is simply unfathomable. Their music has been very important to me since the early 1970s when I heard them for the first time as a toddler. And when I think I know all I need to know about them, after all we've been together for half a century, they still manage to surprise me and put me in awe again and again... Many thanks for this wonderful video!
My first job ever was working at a public library and there, obsessed with The Beatles, I read Mark Hertsgaard's A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. And because I worked at the library, any time it was due, I'd go in and extend my due date just to read it again. I must have read it...6-7 times in the summer of 1999. You took those pages and really brought them to life- thank you!
Spoken like a true obsessive. Back in the late 60s, I must have listened to “Here comes the sun” 100 times, and thought I’d teased out all the subtleties. Then, on Listen 101, I thought, “What was that? Handclaps?” And sure enough, there they were. I get your repeated re-reading. To this day, I play the song every day on my guitar. Every RUclips “How to play” video throws out a new angle, so I keep on listening. Nothing comes close to the Fab Four.
“I am the Walrus” is the song that got me into the Beatles but “A day in the life” is the song that truly made the Beatles my favorite musicians of all time! I still remember hearing it for the first time and having to just stop what I was doing to thoroughly listen to it over and over again
@Steven-l7b1tEnglish has over 160 distinct dialects. Just cause you are more accustomed to hearing and reading the English you grew up and around with doesn’t mean the other 160+ doesn’t exist haha
@Sunking210A dialect is spoken not spelt. You Americans have no fucking idea what you're talking about. Thats why you are 50th in basic literacy. We all laugh at how dumb you are.
I’ve watched/ listened too the video 2-1/2 times. Excellent presentation. I was 6 yrs old at the time. My high school English teacher played the song for us. I’m confident he didn’t know as much bad I do now. The contrast between John’s & Paul’s sections, the half an orchestra playing 4x = two full orchestras, instruments playing from their lowest to highest note, the alarm clock, the 2 seconds of nonsense sounds. It’s fascinating! David, thank you for giving us a mini/class on this song!
Containing quite a bit of an actual fairy-tale book - Emerick's long debunked collection of fake dialogue and factual mistakes, made up almost completely by Howard Massey.
David Gilmour said the Beatles were not a band they were a miracle
David’s words carry weight! What a guy to this day! Ah, Between Two Points, the out at the end and all❤
I don’t know about miracle, but they were magical.
Ringo's creativity and humbleness is unmatched, what an amazing drummer and all that after saying how much he hates flashy drumming; someone who always played for the song and was perfect for the Beatles
Was thinking the same thing. His drumming on that song is amazing. It wouldn't be the same song without it.
The other three have said they didn’t feel professional until they first played with Ringo.
Ringo has a musical sensibility that can't be taught and many still don't understand. My favorite fill of his is not on "Rain"- it is literally 2 taps on the hi-hat followed by...nothing on ”Hello, Goodbye".
My favorite drummer.
To be sure, there are flashier drummers out there that are technically spot on, but he was perfect for the group and their songs.
Neil Peart has to be my second.
@phila3884 as a relatively new Beatles fan I came across one of Ringos fills that really blew me away but I can't remember what it was. I'm going to have to go back through their discography and find it
Absolutely fascinating! Thanks.
the alarm being an accident is just unbelievable!
I don't believe it was a coincidence. I don't care what anybody says. I also don't believe that Mal's voice was not intended to be on the final mix. Why would they go to all the trouble to add tape delay to it (which gets "wetter and wetter" in the mix)? And his voice is on every take.
Part of what made their work so interesting and often fun is their willingness to incorporate accidents like this into the recordings.
Right? It's too perfect to be an accident.
Also, did they just have an alarm clock laying around in the studio? And why would it be wound up and programmed to ring during recording.
The hand of God
Yup I agree. It totally serves to illustrate the next lyric also, 'woke up, got out of bed'...
Pity all the rehearsal recordings were wiped
Also, if the reduction mixes were of take 4, which they further worked on, how did the alarm remain in the mix if it was on take 1? (Anthology take 1 is on youtube, can't find take 4 tho)
I’m so glad I was living in the age of the Beatles.
Me too ❤
As a child in Glasgow Scotland we lived across from the television station STV and I saw them one day going into the front door for an appearance. A mob soon appeared outside.
Listening to Sgt. Pepper on stereo headphones allowed me to understand how this incredible recording was artistically and technically put together, with all of the cross fades, panning, razor blade edits, punch-ins, etc.. Because I understood what they were doing on this recording, it made me realize that I could be a recording engineer, and at age 14, I constructed the cabinet for my first loudspeaker and eventually after building all of the other electronics and after acquiring some good microphones, I did indeed become a professional recording engineer. later in my career, I won an Emmy for a location recording I did of the opera Faust, all because of my careful listening to Sgt. Pepper, thank you to the Beatles and George Martin! David Riddle
So interesting that the Beatles' vision for Pepper was as a mono album. The stereo version was done for the record company.
I'm looking for someone like you for an album . I'll be listening to Sergeant Pepper's tonight for sure
Wonderful !!!...
Wow! However, your observations would be even more impressive listening to the remastered version that Gilles did.
@JoePlett I've always thought that if stereo had been the historic recording method, the introduction of mono would have been seen as an amazing innovation.
THIS is the content that keeps me watching RUclips. Informative, entertaining, well written and produced… and no wretched AI voiceover! Thank you!
I hate that AI voiceover crap.
@nip24599% of the time accompanied by random clips, and no actual quotes.
@zunipusI give up. Can’t tell the difference any more.
@zunipusare you sure? I’m not certain but I believe you are incorrect about that. I looked up David Hartley on the internet, and it appears that he’s indeed a real person. I don’t mean to argue with you, and I may be wrong… it’s so hard to tell what’s real anymore.
Thank you for mentioning that. People don't seem bothered but I'm loving an actual person with an actual voice ❤
A+++ I can't imagine this story being told better.
Agreed
Agree!
Totally agreed, younger generations should know about these amazing stories about how music was made back then.
You said it much more eloquently than I could have.
I know this story inside out and back to front, so nearly didn't watch it.
Glad I did. Very well told sir. 😊
It’s extremely rare to get any real insight into the development of a masterpiece of any kind. This is pure gold. Great job.
Yeah, only you don't get ANY "real insight" from Emerick's fairy-tale book, only false information and made-up dialogue!
I can't believe David STILL quoted pages and pages of that rubbish - I mean, everyone can hear that this "difficult punch-in" is simply NOT THERE!!
@michaelmachtmusik5847urgh ...!!! ... cheers
The chemistry between them is one for the history books and serves as inspiration no matter what your field of work is. They challenged each other, valued each other, contributed to one another, invited each other’s opinions! The more I learn about their work ethics, the more I admire them.
They had no doubt about their ability to fix problems in an idea, they put in the work while staying focused until it was fixed. They were hard workers.
Don't forget Mal & Neil.
@w.harrison7277they were hard workers and musically honest individually and together. They weren't fooling themselves or anyone else, they kept it real regardless of how imaginative.
Tragic they fell out
prob boned each other 😆😆😆
What a story, After Sixty years still love them
Are you 64 ?
I'll be 64 on 30 March.
Sometimes one has to be reminded just how innovative The Beatles were.
Get Back did that for me a couple of years ago for sure. The only gripe I had was that I wanted to see more.
A younger friend said to me once"I don't see what all of the fuss was, about The Beatles." I said to him that he needed to see what there was before them, with no disrespect to those artists.
Even those of us of that era have gotten used to it. Younger generations probably just shrug their shoulders. This video's content took me right back to my initial exposure to Sgt. Pepper.
Especially when you put them in perspective of the times.
@cynicaldodgyknees6248Young people just say that to play devils advocate, because they didn’t happen in their time. I know one of them.
The real unsung hero is sound engineer Geoff Emerick. Read his book, its great. RIP Geoff
Indeed.
That badly-ghostwritten, factually inaccurate, anti-George-biased book? "Great" is hardly the word I'd use for it. Emerick's accomplishments in the Beatles' recording history is incredibly important, but that book "by" him is... well, I own it and I've read it, and that's about all I can say about it. Hell, Tony Barrow's Beatle-focused autobiography is more factually accurate, and that one relies of some of Allan Williams' ridiculous anecdotes in HIS factually inaccurate biography, "The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away."
@LeChaunce Interesting - what were some of the inaccurate parts? I agree with the anti George elements.
@Bart-rn1dp Plenty of things, starting with Emerick claiming to have been there for the first recording sessions, particularly him claiming to have been there for the "For starters, I don't like your tie" comment by George to George Martin. Basically, any personal anecdote is suspect. When they talk about the technical stuff it's decent, but you can get better technical info about the Beatles' recording history from the book Recording The Beatles by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew -- while they weren't there, they did compile their information from the EXTENSIVE notes taken at EMI at the time, so in that sense their "memory" is more accurate. And sometimes Emerick's ghostwriter just makes shit up.
@Bart-rn1dp (I don't know which episode Emerick's book is discussed in, but do yourself a favor as a fan of the Beatles and their story and check out the Something About The Beatles podcast. It's amazing.)
The amazing thing is that they did all this on a 4 track tape recorder
It's worth mentioning that they bounced tracks. That's mixing 2-3 tracks to an empty track. Common practice on my 4-track cassette recorder. Unfortunately, the more you bounce the worse the sound quality gets.
Limitations = Inspiration
2 inch tape
Multiple four tracks.
@crackawood I miss my 4-track cassette recorder. Hard to find any now.
The friendship of John and Paul changed the course of music
That final chord, drifting out into the eternal universe
Yes
They were the best songwriters but they didn’t really now how to end some of their songs
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh......ahhhhhh.....Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Aaaaaahhhhhhh.....
Yes what a perfect way to end the most perfect song
The longest final chord in history.
So that's how Ringo got that great tom-tom sound ... slackening the heads. Entire song is full of brilliant contributions. Great informative video.
Not only is that one of my favorite drum sounds captured, it’s one the most emotional
I've always maintained Ringo was great not only for the notes he played but also for the notes he didn't play. Even though they told him to get busy in this song, his tom fills have pauses that, in my mind, make them amazing.
@pauls5096 Claude Debussy is credited with saying "The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between them".
I'll bet you and Claude would get along famously.
@songs481 the drums are talking, trying to tell us something......
That last chord is how the world ends.
Agree. That’s the sound we’ll all hear when we die, I’m sure of it. It’s how we’ll know that we’re properly dead- CLUDARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Its how it began :)
As the great poet T.S. Elliot wrote: "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" or in this case, an E major.
*begins
It's the sound of our mind expanding into infinite enlightenment 🙏
John’s vocals are so pure and yet haunting at the same time
John’s Aaaaaah section is what gave this song it’s chilling depth.
His voice is so unique.
@Powertuber1000 That's Paul, thank you.
@michaelmachtmusik5847 Not according to Emerich's book, and this video.
@istarkEmerick's book is a fairy-tale book with not a single word of authentic dialogue.
Howard Massey made up most of it because Emerick didnt have ANY actual memories himself.
Ken Scott called him out it, google it.
Best proof this long story about that "difficult punch-in" is BS - there is NO CUT between the "dream" and the aaah, just Paul taking a breath, as everyone can hear on the isolated vocal track.
It's inexcusable that this guy David STILL takes Emerick's word as gospel although he's LONG debunked.
Serendipity was always on the Beatles' side. What they achieved in such a relatively short time is miraculous.
Genius!!!
Yes, almost beyond belief, to go from ' she loves you, yeah yeah yeah' to this, of classical complexity, in a few short years - did they ever play live concerts of this album, or of the white album, were they capable, just who's music did George Martin arrange.......
Serendipity happens alot and makes the world a better place.
Makes me wonder what would have happened if Mick had met John that day on the train or Paul and Keith were at the party?
To have such perfect collaborations moving in such close proximity at the same time... miraculous.
Theodore Adorno of the Frankfurt School
@karloulsnam9616People always think that but it was from their teenage years through their twenties, the epitome of being a group making rock music who had earned those studio rights and all that time.
It's an incredible stroke of luck that these early recordings still exist, and that those involved in the recordings were still around to recall it all. It all points to the fact that ALL of these folks knew what they were making was not just music, but history as well. Great deep dive into the process. A BIG thank you from a 72 year old lifelong Beatles fan!
Thank you for saying exactly what I would've said if you hadn't said it first. The only change I would make is that I'm 73 instead of 72. Other than that, a big thank you to YOU!
@MsVSandersonI am 76 and as part of a group called Sgt Potters played these songs. I can now appreciate their genius and creativity much more. So too George Martin.
I was lucky enough to record a demo at Abbey Road, the sound engineer said that they still have every piece of equipment there used to record the beatles, they could set it all up again if they wanted to. The piano for lady Madonna was also there in studio 4. It sounds exactly as it did. Was an amazing experience
I am 72 and a Beatles fanatic. You just took the words out of me. Thanks.
From your birth you were a Beatles fan?
The end product is legendary, but getting to know the process, takes it just to another level. This band will be remembered for 1,000 years!
Yeah, i agree. The process gives so much more context. Makes the whole song, already incredible, into so much more... A major human accomplishment.
Eternity
@DanielFletcher-p6mExcuse me you must be a Russian bot, The Beatles will be remembered and studied for many, Many years to come.
Although I knew most of the facts through different books I have to congratulate you sincerely: you presented and told that story brilliantly ❤🎉
Longer. They are an unerasable part of the human experience.
those piano parts are just haunting!
never tire of hearing them simply the best.
Paul’s dissonant, tense piano playing is very interesting. He knew how to set up the next section.
Pure magic. Don't be mistaken about The Beatles. Pure magic.
The miracle of The Beatles in the 20th Century almost compensates for two world wars.
This video appeared,seemingly at random in my RUclips feed. For some strange reason it drew me in and I watched to the end. I'm of a generation that grew up with that album but I'd never really paid great attention. As soon as the video finished, I listened to the official version of the track, with subtitles, and appreciated it in a way I could never have done before. Thank you. Great video and concept. Looking forward to hearing more of your insights.
EXACTLY SAME for me! It showed up in my feed at 10:30 at night and I almost passed it up. But then I thought I’ll listen to a few minutes of it. Stayed until the end and then listened to the entire original song again, and heard things I had never heard before!!
Same for me !!
Same!! Was going to watch a minute or 2 and watched the whole thing! I enjoyed this so much! And it was just serendipity that it popped up for me!!
This is, hands down, the best analysis of this iconic Beatles song on RUclips. I've learned a lot. Thank you very much.
Ripping analysis of this timeless classic! Well done, sir!
The story behind this masterpiece couldn't have been told any better... fascinating narrative
I was given Sgt Pepper LP when I was in my teens. I'm 70 now. Still have that LP and still play it. Sounds great
I like that your little lamp is perpetually asking a question.
this video will become a youtube classic, congrats man
Agreed ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💯💯
Very very good.
Mesmerizing.
I recently heard Paul McCartney say that The Beatles had something very special, something that hasn't happened since. That hit pretty hard because so many of us knew that back when Lennon and McCartney were still writing songs together. When they announced The Beatles were breaking up, we felt as though we'd lost something irreplaceable. I cried. The individuals members of the band seemed unconcerned about the break up, but plenty of us were bereft. Then we were robbed of the chance at a reunion when John was murdered. They were the ones who killed the band.
So true. It is why the Beatles breakup is stilll mourned.
Life is transition. It was what it was for the time it was and then it ended. They spawned a music revolution.
Paul said he went I to a deep depression and isolated to his farm in Scotland after the breakup. We have no idea how they felt. It was like the end of an era and relationships and their lives turned upside down. It was turmoil for a while like a divorce. We will never understand what they lived through together.
But we later got 3 new Beatles songs, with John singing lead: Free As A Bird, Real Love, then Now and Then!
Paul was bereft.
A moment in time when musical genius collides with sound engineering brilliance to create a masterpiece, a modern abstract symphony to inspire musicians for generations.
Beach ⛱️ Boys were doing it also.
@juniorjohnson5961 Absolutely innovative band. 👍
This is really an outstanding examination and presentation. I'm a professional musician and producer, and often "song breakdowns" are a bit superficial and not ACTUALLY that interesting, being made only for the "layperson". I was enthralled the whole way through this video. It's amazing to think of all the songs I've agonized over, trying to come up with the most perfect "everything" before we even record a note, and sometimes you are bluntly reminded that many of the greatest recordings to ever tickle our ears, have a significant amount of "happy improvisational accidents" on them, and the magic is sometimes just in having the wherewithal to try them and capture them.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a bit similar: combining different song parts. For a playground some of the FAWM collaboration formats are similar. A four track cassette, is that what it's called!? And it's February 1st. I need to go check if it's there and work out if I'm participating. I still consider myself a layperson, the talent on fawm is massive but there's a good few of us might be considered outsider music. I'm more of a poet. Don't play. Check my channel if you're interested. There's several years worth of FAWM
Nice to know a professional musician and producer had a similar reaction to mine which I then read two days later after commenting myself!
Ballad of a Thin Man and Within You Without You are tied for my favorite of 60s tunes. Oh dear, and White Rabbit🎉
A long term fan of the Beatles since the 1960s plus now retired to a small degree learnt to play piano and last year took up the flute, both I studied how to read music and play. MY point -could not agree more, it is great just enjoying music such as the Beatles but as you will know as professional musician with far more understanding of music than I ever will, ADDS so much to even more respect and admiration for went into the making of such music that played a great part in my life and I still enjoy so much.,
This was simply, bloody fascinating! Thank you !
The combination of the Beatles (all of them) and all of their ideas- an accomplished symphony producer - a talented Engineer - all working within the confines and restrictions of the current technology and with very little reference since this was all new and they where right there at the beginning of true multi track recording - will probably never happen again in our lifetime anyway.
The amount of perfectly-fitting talent that came together around the Beatles was a miracle.
@ThreadBomb and the perfect time. I mean studios I think all the way into the 80s had lot's of possibilities if you where creative, but the key is you still needed to think outside the box and be imaginative. Now you can just have infinite tracks and pick apart every bit a million times, add any sound imagineable etc. You don't even need to be able to play a song really, you can just play a couple of chords or licks once, copy them, same with singing.
@claudeheinrich3613Instead of being a huge asset it’s too often a liability. - lots of real crap out there, now.
Probably?
I get the impression London had an exceptional "creative village" thing going at the time - amongst quite a small number of talented and down to earth people. A bunch of very talented and charismatic Scousers were just the thing to bring it all together.
One evening I had Sergeant Pepper playing, my, dog was with me as usual. After the final chord faded out and there was silence my dog suddenly lifted her head with a look that said "What was that noise"? Bless her.
I did that at the start of the song...
the drumming makes the song
i remember the first time i ever heard this song, i was 14 years old and it literally changed my life. like my mind was blown and i couldnt even grasp why it was blown i just knew that i had listened to something crafted by otherworld beings LMAO like the beatles were so ahead of their time it blows my mind
Excellent telling of one of the greatest songs ever recorded. 34hrs for a 5min song, unbelievable.
Absolutely nothing by modern (or even 1970s-1980s) standards but yes, back then spending that amount of time in the studio was kinda unheard of. Only groups of the Beatles or Beach Boys’ stature could have entertained such costs.
Fantastic song, fantastic job, David!
I had a huge smile on my face during the entire video. Love behind the scenes with the Beatles. As fun and cheeky as they were, they were extremely hard workers.
Wow Johns voice is so beautiful and haunting
nothing like it
Puts today’s musicians to shame, what an album, what a band and what an era.
These were ARTISTS not just musicians. That’s what separates most of that era from whatever we have today. It’s not subjective. We are talking about Art and just music (or muzak). People have been deprived of what music can actually be and it’s sad. I say all this as a musician myself.
@ibizazibiAnalysis/ theories, Opinion over a TV , AI can Never teach or explain these innate gifts. My Mom could figure out most any piece/piano - not just the melody; harmony,dynamics et al. At age 3; taken me a lifetime to access this; we all take different paths & Converge for times like I grew up in. Things fall apart when the artist must bow to Others, pressured, distracted from their essence..money perhaps, which has No bearing on individuals creative Souls. Thanks🎼🤹🦋
I don't understand comparison and shame. Listen, enjoy, move on or repeat.
@susieb7305The difference is the dynamics of social interaction and musicianship, not just following a click track and using pitch correction.
Grow up.
What I like about this video is that you took what was written in books and captured in the recordings of the takes, and put it together with the visuals to provide a chronology of the recording. It sticks with you better this way.
Well put. This is high quality and just shows there’s still decent stuff on RUclips amongst the rubbish!
Immediately after watching this, I listened to "A Day In The Life" again, with a whole new perspective. Wonderful documentary. This is what RUclips was meant to be.
Same here, and I agree completely!
Wonderful documentary. Well organized, presented, and narrated.
Thank you David for making me love my favourite song even more!
Absolute genius of the Beatles. Thank you for putting this together in such a compelling way, superb ❤
Yeah, entire song has a backmask, brilliant
Outstanding story and production David! Thankyou for not cheating with AI!
Absolutely brilliant. As a Beatlemaniac and a musician, I appreciate everything about this video. Cheers!
This is not my favorite Beatles song, but the genius that put it together is incredible.
It’s my favourite.
Not my favourite album, but yes it was genius
Fantastic channel. Thanks for your hard work 👏👏
“Have the mic on the piano quite low” so Paul hits it harder.
the first best Beatles song i loved as a six year-old
Thank you for this!!
John’s haunting voice and the piano are BOTH FANTASTIC!!!
I was 15 when Sgt. Pepper's was released. My oldest brother bought the album but locked it in an album storage box. So when he was at work I picked the lock with a paper clip, played the album, put it back in the box and relocked it. I wish I could have told him about that before he died in 2015. Anyway, this was a fascinating breakdown of how A Day in the Life was created. Thank you.
No, it wasn't - he gives way too much room to Emerick's long debunked false account.
Not a single word in that fairy-tale book is true.
A great story of a childhood relationship with an older brother! I had two older ones ! We learn a lot from older siblings.
I bet you he knew!! And if not, he now knows!
Great, freaking awesome
The final hummed chord reminds me of the old THX sound.
I recently read that the final cord was achieved using four pianos.
And me of Moody Blues Om song :)
@ailigimmo9668
What a great group the Moody Blues were.
This video is youtube gold! Thoroughly enjoyed the narration style!
No, it's crap, actually.
Depending WAY too much on Emerick's long debunked fairy-tale book, which doesn't content a single word of authentic dialogue and countless factual mistakes.
Incredible! Total genius on display!!!
The video explains that the alarm clock isn’t so much an “accident” as an improvisation that was meant to be a joke, but it worked.
When I was a kid I could hear the tone at the end. So weird I can remember what it sounds like but I’ll never hear it again
A computer with a recording software should be able to do that for you again. But at a lower pitch. I'm guessing it will sound like a regular sine wave.
I always thought it was an intentional joke that they follow an E major chord with a really, really high Bb. Like a tritone. Slap in the face.
But yeah, you can go to a website that does sine waves and ask for the highest Bb you can hear.
I'm 33 and can hear it fine, although I haven't been very kind on my ears.
you're not missing much, it hurts :-(
I'm pretty sure that I've always heard something there, very low volume and very high pitched, but high enough energy that it made so much sense when I heard it was created just so that dogs would hear it. I have to wonder if something happened in the process of mixing for CD, because I'm fairly sure that the CD format is designed to only reproduce sounds that humans can hear, so all the energy that was in the original track was reproduced as well as it could be using the CD format, making it just barely audible at the very highest pitches that CDs could reproduce.
They played off each other’s strengths so impeccably. Magically. They complimented each other like a perfect marriage, or brotherhood. ❤❤❤
This is excellent
Shhh lil bro. We know
No, it's another disappointment.
WAY too much quotes from Emerick's long debunked fairy-tale book full of fake dialogue and factual mistakes.
For me, this song goes into orbit when Lennon starts singing the 'aaaaahhhhh' part together in harmony. As great as the orchestration part is, the AAAAHHHH to me encapsulates the entire band and era. Ringo's fills ARE daring and genius. Phenomenal doc. It's hard to believe someone can cover the Beatles in a new fresh but accurate way. Great job. Also, it occurred to me I was a toddler when this came out. Maybe that part connected to me then, so it gets me now. But I think it gets anyone who was listening, because Lennon was a bonafide genius and creatively fearless (and right) because I can think of almost no times when Lennon came up with something creative that he didn't end up being on point.
some poeple think it was Paul singing that bit. It's so obviously John, his voice is raspier and more nasal.
its paul!!
@denisvalente6844 obvious to me. John's tone is unmistakable, even quiet. They're both GREAT singers, but distinctive, though they merged into a third voice. Then they had George, and even Ringo was an intriguing singer.
It’s Paul singing the “Ahh”. Every novice Beatles fan thinks it’s John and eventually figures out it’s Paul. Look up the isolated track on RUclips.
The isolated track reveals it’s Paul’s continued take. He takes a breath, and reverb is switched on making it a little trickier for those less acquainted with Paul’s voice. He’s doing his “Lovely Rita” intro voice, or check out “Let Me Roll It” for another even closer comparison.
For extra proof: This type of singing is out of John’s range……The NOTES are not out of his range… the TONE is. He cannot, in any other song recorded, smoothly sing these notes in chest voice, and must belt/scream them as he does in his “This Boy” solo.
On the same isolated track John is heard singing the background “Ooh” in falsetto. He sings the same identical falsetto tone and note that he does on “Sexy Sadie” at minute 2:13. It’s an identical match. John can’t be singing the “Ahh” if he is clearly busy singing the “Ooh”.
And here is a clip I made matching Paul’s vocals with other song moments:
ruclips.net/user/shortsF3zozPcYYvY?si=AIxExCHleE9C-Nk-
@denisvalente6844100%
SUCH MEMORIES
I WAS SO YOUNG THEN
The Beatles art is simply unfathomable. Their music has been very important to me since the early 1970s when I heard them for the first time as a toddler. And when I think I know all I need to know about them, after all we've been together for half a century, they still manage to surprise me and put me in awe again and again... Many thanks for this wonderful video!
Didn’t we just love these guys! 😊
Wonderfully explained. TY❤
My first job ever was working at a public library and there, obsessed with The Beatles, I read Mark Hertsgaard's A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. And because I worked at the library, any time it was due, I'd go in and extend my due date just to read it again. I must have read it...6-7 times in the summer of 1999. You took those pages and really brought them to life- thank you!
👋 ✋
I did not know Ringo played piano ever
Spoken like a true obsessive. Back in the late 60s, I must have listened to “Here comes the sun” 100 times, and thought I’d teased out all the subtleties. Then, on Listen 101, I thought, “What was that? Handclaps?” And sure enough, there they were.
I get your repeated re-reading. To this day, I play the song every day on my guitar. Every RUclips “How to play” video throws out a new angle, so I keep on listening. Nothing comes close to the Fab Four.
@markdickens6426 Lol love it!
I really wanted to read that book too but unfortunately it was never available at the library... 😔😔😔
So many years later and this is still my favorite Beatle's song...
Ringo's drum fills almost sound like comments/descriptons to each line John sings.
“I am the Walrus” is the song that got me into the Beatles but “A day in the life” is the song that truly made the Beatles my favorite musicians of all time! I still remember hearing it for the first time and having to just stop what I was doing to thoroughly listen to it over and over again
Favourite*
@Steven-l7b1tI’m American, that’s just how we spell it here
@Sunking210English is English mate not American.
@Steven-l7b1tEnglish has over 160 distinct dialects. Just cause you are more accustomed to hearing and reading the English you grew up and around with doesn’t mean the other 160+ doesn’t exist haha
@Sunking210A dialect is spoken not spelt.
You Americans have no fucking idea what you're talking about.
Thats why you are 50th in basic literacy.
We all laugh at how dumb you are.
It was an unforgettable time that is impossible to understand without living through it.
The opening bars of this song with nothing but a piano, a guitar and John's vocal are still the most amazing to ever come out of modern music.
55 years after I first heard it, it still send shivers up my spine.
There's a totally unique and haunting quality about the opening. Astonishing song, unequaled by anyone.
not really
Lennon's vocals were absolutely from another world
I agree some of the greatest vocals ever ❤
I’ve watched/ listened too the video 2-1/2 times. Excellent presentation. I was
6 yrs old at the time. My high school English teacher played the song for us. I’m confident he didn’t know as much bad I do now. The contrast between John’s & Paul’s sections, the half an orchestra playing 4x = two full orchestras, instruments playing from their lowest to highest note, the alarm clock, the 2 seconds of nonsense sounds. It’s fascinating! David, thank you for giving us a mini/class on this song!
This was so great. My favorite song, and a whole new appreciation. Thank you for putting this together!
This was terrific storytelling ❤
Containing quite a bit of an actual fairy-tale book - Emerick's long debunked collection of fake dialogue and factual mistakes, made up almost completely by Howard Massey.
Amazing video. The genius of McLennon are just out of this world!
Amazing job. Great short documentary about their finest track.
Got home, fell on the sofa, saw this, of course I'm going to watch. Probably my favourite song of all time.
As I read this I automatically sung it in my head like the vocals in Paul's part. It almost worked. ;D
@timoelMe, too!
All roads lead to the couch grasshopper
So, somebody spoke, and you went into a dream, then?
I was waiting for that final chord, genius
Great analysis! Thank you❤
I remember that last chord when I first listened to the album and it absolutely stunned me. I just sat there for minutes after it was over.
Thank you so much, David Hartley !!!!! I absolutely Love this!!!! Please keep making these!!!! And thank your Family for sharing YOU with us !!!!!!
Fascinating. It's miraculous what they did with 4 tracks.
The entire time of Beatles was very prolific even for today's standard.
Excellent presentation.
Exquisite. EPIC! Thank you.
4:20 -- 1,000 listens and still get chills.
Yes.. same exact spot. So crazy
I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard it
Me too!
Dittto
Me too.
Such an amazing song and John's singing is just magical. RIP John and George.
...and George M
And Paul's orchestra swell
RIP Paul. Faul is a master of deception.
Super cool. Thanks for the video and the stories.
That hummed chord at 18:27 sounds familiar... compare to "Om" from Moody Blues: In Search of the Lost Chord!
Greatest audio ever recorded
Great Video!
The song has always been massively impressive, but now I’m even *more* impressed. The amalgamation of talent is simply staggering.
9:09 "o shit" 😭😭