Mind Games - cuthbert covers Lennon for Beatles "Black Album" Fest

[cuthbert]

John Lennon, 1973

Here's my first entry for "Black Album" Fest. Hopefully, more entries to come before the festival ends...  

Once the Beatles "Black Album" fest started, I had a few candidates in mind to cover, but this one jumped to the front just because I've always loved it. I started out with a uke with vocal, recorded LitLR-style on a single track (which was pretty rough - when first learning the song, it wasn't easy to sing absolutely everything and also play all the chords smoothly), but I had enough to start with. I added a guitar track, and then sang a (mostly) complete guide vocal (both of which remain in the final recording). Slide guitar and lap steel tracks followed, and then a couple of different Mellotron string sounds which seemed to blend together well.

For the vocals, I tried to emulate one of the vocal production techniques I had read that Lennon used a lot in his solo career: record a vocal track, pan it, and then delay a copy of it on tape by a bit less than 100 ms, add compression and reverb, and pan it opposite the dry vocal. I did my version using Adobe Audition, and I'm not sure it's a complete success, but I guess it's a pretty fair approximation of "that" sound. I found the most difficult part to be not running out of breath during the drawn out "l-o-v-e" section toward the end. Originally, I did this part in two takes: the first two glissando notes as part of the original vocal takes, and then recorded separate takes of the last two glissandos and mixed them together. I wasn't entirely happy with how it sounds, so I decided to record that section alone in its entirety, which I think sounds a bit more natural. Maybe that's how Lennon did it in the studio without running out of lung power?

And so to wrap it all up, I still think John Lennon had incredible breath control.  

Anyway, this second mix has that re-recorded vocal section, and some spare piano on the bridge parts that I didn't include in the first cut as well as a few more EQ tweaks.

Thanks again for listening,
cuthbert

Mind Games
John Lennon

performed by: cuthbert
instruments used:
Gibson SG Melody Maker
Electromuse lap steel guitar
acoustic guitars (Guild & Wishnevsky)
Mellotron strings (M-tron Pro & Sampletron)
5-string Appalachian dulcimer
PrecisionSound Nordic Piano (Kontakt)

recorder: recorded and pre-mixed with Boss Micro-BR, final-mixed and mastered in Adobe Audition.

[Oldrottenhead]

one of my favourite songs, love it great version Cuthbert loving that mellotron too.

[Redler]

Stunning job on every way, as always! You've created laid back feel on your recording, well played and sung, too.

I love the way you mix and produce your music! The panning is done very well - the wide stereo sound-scape works really fine!

Piepod bound, absolutely!

[Geir]

WOW !!!!!

Really fantastic work Cuthbert !! Crystal clear production, and the performance is absolutely stellar !!!

Well done !

[Farrell Jackson]

I love what you've done with this song Cuthbert! The dreaminess of the production is great.....and who can resist the combo sound of a mellotron and lapsteel? Well done!

Farrell

[64Guitars]

Great song choice and done superbly. I love the mellotron and lap steel, and the vocals are excellent. You sound a lot like Lennon. Excellent production too. Everything's so clear and well-placed.

[Mike_S]

Eerily like John Lennon... wow that is a weird feeling to listen to that... it really feels like he is alive listening to that!!

Really enjoyed this, well put together, very hypnotic.

Cheers

Mike

[Groundy]

Cuthbert, This is class, well done.........Alex

[ODH]

Really love that mellotron sound.  Really well done Cuthbert.

 

[Johnny Robbo]

Excellent work, mate. I think you nailed that vocal sound: You also do a pretty good job singing in a Lennon-esque way too. Great version