The 'White Album' project ... a mix tape endeavor (sort of)
- Thread starter BlazeES
- Start date
Ok paisan ... have a cannoli and a double espresso.
*
So here's the genome of the next project:
If anyone is a big fan of the 'The White Album' you may or may not be aware that there's been endless discussion about the bloated nature of the double LP release and it's seemingly sloppy presentation of unfinished songs and filler material. Even George Martin stated along the way that he wished that 'the boys' had opted for a really good - 1 LP - release of their best efforts. There are BoobTube videos of folks attempting there own takes on a single disc ensemble, lots of discussion on audio forums, like the Steve Hoffman Music site, and lots of other stuff out there in the ether, in the same general vein.
Personally, I never gave it much thought and was unaware that this idea was even a "thing" until recently.
Much of it had to do with the fact that it wasn't anywhere near the top of what I would consider to be my favorite Beatles albums.
But that was before...
This is now...
Having a greater awareness of just how much material was even considered going into the studio recording sessions (1968) with the release of the 50 year anniversary remix last November - with some songs getting tossed to the side back-in-the-day and other stuff only making appearances on individual solo albums years later - I'm now interested in doing a mix project that answers the personal question: "What songs would I whack, how would I reorder stuff (if at all...) and what songs would I add back in that were finished & released a few years later on solo albums. And all of this bound to a 90 minute tape. So it has time constraints.
I can even envision someone not liking a lot of the songs and whittling it down to a collection that barely fits on a C-60.
So that's it, in a nutshell.
I'm going to try a swag at this by doing a few different recording layouts and picking the one that does it for me.
If anyone else is interested in a tape exchange surrounding this project concept, let me know.
I'd enjoy hearing other folks take on what could be a better 'White Album'.
*
I'm going to allocate a few Sony Metal Master C-90's for this endeavor, so anyone that wants to give this exchange a shot - you gots to have a deck that will do justice to playing back a metal.
Only make sense (for me...) to do this...
With this...
*
So here's the genome of the next project:
If anyone is a big fan of the 'The White Album' you may or may not be aware that there's been endless discussion about the bloated nature of the double LP release and it's seemingly sloppy presentation of unfinished songs and filler material. Even George Martin stated along the way that he wished that 'the boys' had opted for a really good - 1 LP - release of their best efforts. There are BoobTube videos of folks attempting there own takes on a single disc ensemble, lots of discussion on audio forums, like the Steve Hoffman Music site, and lots of other stuff out there in the ether, in the same general vein.
Personally, I never gave it much thought and was unaware that this idea was even a "thing" until recently.
Much of it had to do with the fact that it wasn't anywhere near the top of what I would consider to be my favorite Beatles albums.
But that was before...
This is now...
Having a greater awareness of just how much material was even considered going into the studio recording sessions (1968) with the release of the 50 year anniversary remix last November - with some songs getting tossed to the side back-in-the-day and other stuff only making appearances on individual solo albums years later - I'm now interested in doing a mix project that answers the personal question: "What songs would I whack, how would I reorder stuff (if at all...) and what songs would I add back in that were finished & released a few years later on solo albums. And all of this bound to a 90 minute tape. So it has time constraints.
I can even envision someone not liking a lot of the songs and whittling it down to a collection that barely fits on a C-60.
So that's it, in a nutshell.
I'm going to try a swag at this by doing a few different recording layouts and picking the one that does it for me.
If anyone else is interested in a tape exchange surrounding this project concept, let me know.
I'd enjoy hearing other folks take on what could be a better 'White Album'.
*
I'm going to allocate a few Sony Metal Master C-90's for this endeavor, so anyone that wants to give this exchange a shot - you gots to have a deck that will do justice to playing back a metal.
Only make sense (for me...) to do this...
With this...
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[expanded]
My head hurts ...
Just got through throwing down my 1st attempt at recording a 'White Album 2.0'.
Gaps between songs are slim to none on many portions of the album, so slicing & dicing is tedious work... but I got it done.
Brought some other 1968 'singles' back into the fold and ditched a few of the original songs to make room.
Oddly enough, all of George Harrison's tracks survived the final cut - which was different than I had originally intended.
Ringo wasn't so lucky ...
The Martin remixes warmed up nicely with the transfer to tape. The bass and percussion on these mixes are outstanding, along with an entirely different sound stage thanks to the mix-board, channel repositioning & added clarity by the Martin team.
I no longer despise this album.
I'm keeping the track listing secret for the time being - in case anyone ponies up to do a tape exchange on this project
So this one is 2.0.1 and I'll also reveal - in addition to what was already mentioned above - that I axed the Yoko inspired Revolution 9.
That's simply not music and it's a complete waste of tape space for a project like this.
That omission alone made room for a nice reconfiguration of the remaining, chosen songs from LP sides 3 & 4 into the second side of the C-90 recording.
So far the collection of songs (pseudo-album) sounds more like a complete package instead of a hodge-podge of goofy ordering and odds & ends.
*
Gonna try a few different arrangements in the coming days...
My head hurts ...
Just got through throwing down my 1st attempt at recording a 'White Album 2.0'.
Gaps between songs are slim to none on many portions of the album, so slicing & dicing is tedious work... but I got it done.
Brought some other 1968 'singles' back into the fold and ditched a few of the original songs to make room.
Oddly enough, all of George Harrison's tracks survived the final cut - which was different than I had originally intended.
Ringo wasn't so lucky ...
The Martin remixes warmed up nicely with the transfer to tape. The bass and percussion on these mixes are outstanding, along with an entirely different sound stage thanks to the mix-board, channel repositioning & added clarity by the Martin team.
I no longer despise this album.
I'm keeping the track listing secret for the time being - in case anyone ponies up to do a tape exchange on this project
So this one is 2.0.1 and I'll also reveal - in addition to what was already mentioned above - that I axed the Yoko inspired Revolution 9.
That's simply not music and it's a complete waste of tape space for a project like this.
That omission alone made room for a nice reconfiguration of the remaining, chosen songs from LP sides 3 & 4 into the second side of the C-90 recording.
So far the collection of songs (pseudo-album) sounds more like a complete package instead of a hodge-podge of goofy ordering and odds & ends.
*
Gonna try a few different arrangements in the coming days...
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So I took a break to give the brain (and ears) a rest and then went back and listened to the complete tape.
It's solid keeper and will be available as an exchange specimen.
2.0.1 is a lock.
One notable thing about Metal Masters is that they were consistently assembled with extra tape time - yielding something between 46 to 47+ minutes per side of a C-90. I've never found one to be under 46 minutes per side.
That gives me a little wiggle room with these version changes I'm doing...
I've done some more research, figured out a few changes for 2.0.2 that may be cool to do. Different 'takes' of some essential material, maybe George will go on a diet and some tweaks to the overall song order.
It's solid keeper and will be available as an exchange specimen.
2.0.1 is a lock.
One notable thing about Metal Masters is that they were consistently assembled with extra tape time - yielding something between 46 to 47+ minutes per side of a C-90. I've never found one to be under 46 minutes per side.
That gives me a little wiggle room with these version changes I'm doing...
I've done some more research, figured out a few changes for 2.0.2 that may be cool to do. Different 'takes' of some essential material, maybe George will go on a diet and some tweaks to the overall song order.
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Production notes:
(I'll be compiling these and re-posting from time-to-time as it gains detail)
5/10/19
Version 2.0.1 is 'hand made', meaning - level matching - cut ins - fades - and dead spaces all done by hand/eye/ear coordination. No 'puter manipulation.
So whoever gets this one gets a truely hand crafted, home-brew with all that decision on-the-fly & human error stuff included
Track List
5/12/19
Version 2.0.2 is being assembled with pure wave files into a red-book CD dedicated to each ~47 minute side; no spectral shaping whatsoever but will be have cross fades (blends), fade ups/downs done and a little volume normalization with Sound Forge Pro 12 - as needed & dictated by the song ordering. Silence gaps will be adjusted on the fly 'by hand' during actual recording session, to improve impact. Martin & team stretched things out between a few song transitions and I find it unnatural - so I fixed it.
2.0.2 is huge success. I think I nailed the song ordered this go around. No tellin' if I'll eat crow on that statement - one never knows what a new day brings ...
Nevertheless, it's a lock and preserved digitally. Just barely fit on the second MM C-90 I unwrapped for this project, with only seconds to spare on Side A.
//wipes the brow//
Track List
tbd
Version 2.0.3
I may try a touch of dynamic shaping on 'non-Martin' material to better match those tracks to the BIG dynamic range of the new 2018 remix material.
There's a bunch of Neutron 2 plug-ins within Sound Forge Pro I've not really messed with yet and they look pretty interesting + they seem more intuitive to my eyes than iZotope plug-ins of old. One or more of these may provide a benefit to a few of the tracks. There's also a huge list of de-clicking routines I've yet to try. Those may come in handy if I decide to take this project on a vinyl tangent ... but I digress ...
Track List
(I'll be compiling these and re-posting from time-to-time as it gains detail)
5/10/19
Version 2.0.1 is 'hand made', meaning - level matching - cut ins - fades - and dead spaces all done by hand/eye/ear coordination. No 'puter manipulation.
So whoever gets this one gets a truely hand crafted, home-brew with all that decision on-the-fly & human error stuff included
Track List
5/12/19
Version 2.0.2 is being assembled with pure wave files into a red-book CD dedicated to each ~47 minute side; no spectral shaping whatsoever but will be have cross fades (blends), fade ups/downs done and a little volume normalization with Sound Forge Pro 12 - as needed & dictated by the song ordering. Silence gaps will be adjusted on the fly 'by hand' during actual recording session, to improve impact. Martin & team stretched things out between a few song transitions and I find it unnatural - so I fixed it.
2.0.2 is huge success. I think I nailed the song ordered this go around. No tellin' if I'll eat crow on that statement - one never knows what a new day brings ...
Nevertheless, it's a lock and preserved digitally. Just barely fit on the second MM C-90 I unwrapped for this project, with only seconds to spare on Side A.
//wipes the brow//
Track List
tbd
Version 2.0.3
I may try a touch of dynamic shaping on 'non-Martin' material to better match those tracks to the BIG dynamic range of the new 2018 remix material.
There's a bunch of Neutron 2 plug-ins within Sound Forge Pro I've not really messed with yet and they look pretty interesting + they seem more intuitive to my eyes than iZotope plug-ins of old. One or more of these may provide a benefit to a few of the tracks. There's also a huge list of de-clicking routines I've yet to try. Those may come in handy if I decide to take this project on a vinyl tangent ... but I digress ...
Track List
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2/4/20
Version 2.0.4
Back to work on this project. Time to reorder the tracks a bit more and do a song replacement (or two). 2.0.2 sounds great but having omitted 'Revolution' in it's full blown, fast paced presentation has me wanting ...
2.0.3 started but now on hold. It's the vinyl project and I need to shop for some required LP's ... and a Sugar Cube.
Version 2.0.4
Back to work on this project. Time to reorder the tracks a bit more and do a song replacement (or two). 2.0.2 sounds great but having omitted 'Revolution' in it's full blown, fast paced presentation has me wanting ...
2.0.3 started but now on hold. It's the vinyl project and I need to shop for some required LP's ... and a Sugar Cube.
It's the same for me too. That last stretch on this particular one is taking longer than most though. I find it a lot easier to make a multi-artist mix tape and usually get it close to 'right' fairly quickly. But this type of project is more of a challenge because of the constraints of one band, the massive amount of extra material contained in the uber box set and hitting the time period of 1968 with outside additions, along with the feel - tempo - and flow. I'll probably rearrange things again on the vinyl shot too - for the heck of it.
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I'm enjoying your accolades Nando. I tried not to butcher it in terms of arrangement and spirit.
Adding in those songs that were only available as singles in the release year was pretty straightforward + adding other outside/demo stuff took a lot of re-listens before committing to disc. Always thought 'Hey Bulldog' belonged on this album and having trimmed 'Helter Skelter' down a bit was a long time, wish list kind of thing for me. I finally had a chance to give that a whirl. The original ending of that song just drags on too long...
Would love to hear more about your impressions after you've digested it a few more times.
Adding in those songs that were only available as singles in the release year was pretty straightforward + adding other outside/demo stuff took a lot of re-listens before committing to disc. Always thought 'Hey Bulldog' belonged on this album and having trimmed 'Helter Skelter' down a bit was a long time, wish list kind of thing for me. I finally had a chance to give that a whirl. The original ending of that song just drags on too long...
Would love to hear more about your impressions after you've digested it a few more times.
