The Beatles - A Day In The Life Cd

(TITLE REVIEW)

This Cd begins with a series of remixes of the same takes (6 & 7) which differ by the way the voice and instruments are distributed to the left and right channels. It's interesting to see how in the middle of a track the channels are switched, which creates a fascinating aural experience. Next there is a half a minute of chat from the "Rubber Soul" recording sessions, just before John begins to play "Norwegian Wood". This is followed by a take of "Lady Madonna", which begins with some banter by George and Ringo, and where the bass line figures very prominently but Paul's voice sounds rather distant. The most interesting feature of this track is that the saxophone overdub, which doubled George's lead guitar, is entirely missing. Without the sax overdub the listener can therefore hear the line played by the sax played by George's lead guitar instead. Next is the well-known acoustic demo of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (with the extra stanza), which was included in the 3rd volume of "Anthology", followed by the a-cappella version of "Because" also included in that volume of the "Anthology". Next is a take of "Rain" which is nearly identical to the officially released version (but differs by a slightly longer fade-out). There is then another take of "Lady Madonna", with Paul's vocal now in the forefront of the recording. The bootleg ends with a take of "Hey Jude" with a prominent acoustic guitar and without John and George's chorus in the long coda at the end.



1. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 4:56

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS-1 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles New. Complete mix.

2. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 1:53

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS2 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles New. Aborted in the third verse.

3. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 4:48

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS3 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles Previously available on Rare Tracks (Red Square).

4. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 1:59

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS4 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles Previously available on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 3, but the remix number announcement is intact this time.

5. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 0:39

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS5 - Takes 6 & 7. 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles Previously available on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 3.

6. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 2:40

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS6 - Takes 6 & 7. 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles Previously available on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 3.

7. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 4:44

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS7 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles New. Complete mix.

8. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 4:44

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS8 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles Aired on the Roger Scott's Sgt. Pepper radio show, but that version had reversed channels.

9. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) 4:47

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RS9 - Takes 6 & 7 10 Feb 1967

The Beatles New. Complete mix.

10. Norwegian Wood (Intro) (Lennon/McCartney) 0:30

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Studio Chat 12 Oct 1965

The Beatles May be complete for the first time from an in-line source.This is the studio dialogue which must belong to a take of Run For Your Life and not to Norwegian Wood (John mentions his "Jumbo Gibson"). Previously available on the Sgt. Pepper radio show (copied on Hodge Podge Vol. 3) and the soundtrack bootlegs of so-called "Abbey Road Show" too. But this time it is complete and not clipped by a word or two.

11. Lady Madonna (Overdub Mix) (Lennon/McCartney) 2:25

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take 4 6 Feb 1968

The Beatles The same mix of Take 4 as previously available on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 7, but this is complete. It includes the intro where George and Ringo chat about marmite crisps. On UM7 this introduction is cut out.

12. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) 3:23

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take 1 (date unknown)

The Beatles The same dry mix of Take 1 as previously released on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 7. On UM7 the intro is incomplete and the post-performance comment from George ("Let's hear that back.") is not included. Here they are. The count in from George ("2," tape cuts, "2, 3, 4") is also available at the beginning.

In the 910's guide Doug Sulpy states this version just derives from one channel of the "Abbey Road Show" mix (it has reverb on the right channel). I beg to differ. Because this new version has the count-in (the "Abbey Road Show" mix doesn't have) and other tracks on this CD are also alternate mixes to the "Abbey Road Show" tracks. I'm guessing Barrett mixed these tracks at least two times.

13. Because (Vocals) (Lennon/McCartney) 2:19

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take 16 4 Aug 1969

The Beatles The same mix included on Not Guilty (Condor). You can hear all of their breaths and lip noises, if you listen very closely.

14. Rain (Lennon/McCartney) 3:07

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take 7 16 Apr 1966

The Beatles Basically same as the track on The Ultimate Collection Vol. 3, but this time the song's opening drum fill is complete (TUC3 lacks it slightly). Although I could not find any difference between this and the released stereo mix (other than the hiss and tape speed), the fade is very slightly longer than the legitimate CD track. The TUC3 track also has this slightly longer fade as John Winn states in "That Magic Feeling". But on this CD, you can faintly hear the intro of the next track (Lady Madonna), which, unfortunately, is printed through at the very end of the fade.

15. Lady Madonna (Lennon/McCartney) 3:07

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take 5 6 Feb 1968

The Beatles There does not seem to be any significant difference between this track and the released stereo mix (again, other than the hiss noise and speed). Like the previous track, this one has a very slightly longer fade-out compared to the Past Masters Vol. 2 version. This might be from the same tape used on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 4, but on that one the track has reversed channels and the intro of it is a bit incomplete.

16. Hey Jude (Lennon/McCartney) 6:05

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Takes 8 & 9 30 Jul 1968

The Beatles Previously released on Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 6 and Rare Tracks (Red Square). But this CD is the best source in my opinion. Here are my reasons: - a) slightly longer at the beginning than on UM6 (Rare Tracks is also longer), - b) each channel is correctly separated (separation on Rare Tracks is narrower), - c) Ringo's comment about getting his trousers caught in the pedal can be heard "louder and clearer" (just slightly) at the very end (this can be heard longer and louder on the documentary "Music" booted on White Sessions, etc.), and - d) less noise reduced and muffled than UM6.