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Joined: Jun 2009
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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I don't know how many vocal enthusiasts there are on this board. I was just listening to in my opinion one of the best vocal 4 part vocal arrangements I ever heard in pop music. It's the Beach Boys accapella version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." What an incredible arrangement. Their voices not only moved with fluidity but their blend was incredible. Having worked with vocal bands in the past, you can put four guys together that can hit their notes, but it is magic when they can do so where you can not distinguish where one voice ends from where the next begins.
I wish I had a link to it on line someplace. What an awesome legacy those guys gave to the art of music.
RickegG
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Awesome thanks much for finding the link!
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I don't think they sung that cut as an acapella. Rather, it is the Remix taken from the multiple track tape and added to the Pet Sounds album. They were singing and tracking along with the backing tracks in their headphones at the time. Still, strong performance, wonder how many takes that took.
--Mac
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Yes, Mac, you are absolutely right... These are the same 'Pet Sounds' vocals we know so well, just remixed. What impresses me is that, for the early sixties, there is little or no "bleed-through" or whatever you engineers call it, from the backing tracks -- great isolation. Of course, by the time of Pet Sounds, they could afford the very best LA studios. To hear a little more "bleed through," listen to "God Only Knows" from the same remixed a capella album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Z-6p7Hag4&feature=relatedYou can hear just a little of the backing tracks at about 23 seconds. Brad
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Bleedover may not have been a problem if they were still using the sel-sync system where each of maybe three possible tracks available were running on a separate deck, that might explain the separation.
If the vox were on one tape, just don't play the other tapes.
--Mac
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Everyone is right about the accapellas being from the Pet sounds with the music tracks stripped out. I have heard folks say they did this thru studio magic but If you want a real test of their abilities to do accapellas take a taste of this one done live at the Reagan Inaugaration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vy4eVYJQrs
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Zoom Livetrack L-8
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I for one know that strong performance comes from one thing and one thing only -- the thing we call talent mixed with lots of hard work and perseverance.
The Beach Boys obviously were of that caliber and I'm certain that many many hours and days of practice, likely singing things in genres other than the one they are so well known for (I always suspected there may be some Barbershop work behind the scenes as well) coupled with vocal coaching, ear training, solo singing, breathing excercises, the whole nine yards.
Because the first rule of recording should be this:
Prepare yourself and your performance until you possess something worth making into a permanent record.
The famous (infamous? heh) "Wrecking Crew" -- studio session musicians extraordinaire -- often but not always, played the backing tracks for The Beach Boys hits. You didn't get into that category by being hit or miss. You first had to nail it every time.
--Mac
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Here’s another acapella song by the Beatles…stunning. This was lifted from the Anthology 3 CD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJEpkskeBsGeoff Emerick (The Beatles engineer for most of their songs from Revolver thru Abbey Road) talks about the recording of this song for about 3 pages in his book, “Here, There & Everywhere; My Life Recording The Beatles.” BTW, this is, hands down, the best book written chronicling The Beatles music. There are more detailed books (read “minutia”), but this is the guy who recorded, engineered and mixed some the best Beatles music. Here are a couple of excerpts regarding this song: “The following Monday everyone returned to the studio fresh and rejuvenated from a weekend off, ready to tackle the vocals. The only problem was that George Martin had worked out nine harmony parts for the Beatles to sing, but we only had five tracks to record them on. That was resolved easily enough when it was decided to have John, Paul and George Harrison sing their 3 part harmony together, instead of overdubbing each part one at a time, and then have them do two additional passes in order to add on the remaining 6 parts. It was as much an aesthetic as it was a technical decision, because their voices had always meshed so well naturally…” “To get the phrasing spot-on, Paul was making hand gestures, conducting the others. It would take more than 5 hours to get those vocals done, and though John’s patience was sorely tried that afternoon, no one gave up. Perfection was the goal, and nobody was prepared to accept anything less.” “They knew they were doing something special and they were determined to get it right. There was no clowning around or joking; everyone was very serious, very focused. Their goal was to be able to sing each pass all the way though from start to finish-it was almost a matter of pride…” (Emerick did not use any compressors or limiting in the tracking of the song) “I (Geoff Emerick) was so enamored of the sonic results of not using compressors or limiters that I even decided to mix the entire track without them…. Yet every word, every syllable is crystal clear on the final mix, due to the time and effort we all expended on getting the song recorded right in the first place.”
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Excellent Links, Keep them coming....
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These posts just remind me that there is no instrument as beautiful as the human voice when "played" by skilled and dedicated artists. Wow!
Tom
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Quote:
Alright, but don't knock it unless you've tried it!
Wonderful, This recording was actually used to close an episode earlier this week on The Simpsons TV show on Network distribution. Congradulations to the Singers and Arrangers, they have hit the big time.
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Quote:
These posts just remind me that there is no instrument as beautiful as the human voice when "played" by skilled and dedicated artists. Wow!
Tom
My wife is an RN and she is quick to remind me how wonderful nurses are. And I have to agree, However, listening to this material reminds me also how wonderful musicians are. What a GIFT.
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You might find some Nurses who are also Musicians or Vocalists to show her...
I've known many skilled and wonderful people who are in the Medical field who also have highly developed music skills. Matter of fact, I think that the early development of music skills is part and parcel of a well rounded individual's basic education. At one time, our public school systems thought that also. And music enjoyed a much better situation, for those who have more knowledge of a subject are beter suited to reap more enjoyment from that subject.
--Mac
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Apprentice
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A few of the Beach Boys got their wish, and did get older.
Like the man said, "ain't that a kick in the head!"
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Journeyman
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I just love Brian Wilson's naivete in this song.... "We could be mar-ried, And then we'd be hap-py." I think Brian probably has Asperger's syndrome. Brad 
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