Friday, March 04, 2022

Fab Four FryYay

A short video on the complicated making of superslice of superslices, Rain, the B-side to Paperback Writer. The song not only had Paul showcasing his up-front bass that they'd experimented with on Paperback Writer, but was a veritable lab for the band trying different studio "tricks", including reversing the tape playback or slowing down the tape speed, et al:

All of this was achieved using rudimentary 4-track recorders, decades before digital technology would make these effects so effortless that we now take them for granted. Like a skunkworks team, the engineers at EMI were constantly inventing creative solutions with limited resources. And many of the creative achievements pioneered that week in April at EMI would be used extensively throughout the latter part of their career and leave a lasting imprint on pop music. As a song, Rain is thrillingly unconventional for its time, a reflection of the band’s flourishing interest in styles outside of their comfort zone such as classical Indianmusic and the avant garde. 
 
Yes, just like you people I am now Googling "skunkworks"....

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