Song hiccups?

songs May 17, 2020

I guess, if you’re really into music, you’ll pick up the occasional flub/hiccup in the recording of – or playing on – a song. Maybe they are deliberate or perhaps I’m just imaging them.

Here are a few ones that jump out at me (best with headphones on, usually. Makes it easier)

(*cough* pedantic *cough*) 🙂

The Sopranos Theme

Besides being one of my favourite shows of all time, The Sopranos also had superb music. This Spotify playlist gives an idea as to the range they used.

But one little thing jumps out at me. They use an existing song for the theme. They picked a bit in the middle, meaning the song had already started. If you listen carefully you can hear the end of the last vocal line, just as the title-song fades in. It’s just after the HBO logo/sound fades. It sounds like “..down”. Great song!

Monkees – Daydream Believer

Not sure if someone told me of this or – wearing headphones in a very quiet room – I heard it. It’s in the fade-out of one of my favourite songs of all time. The bass player appears to hit one (1) wrong note. Yes, get your money back if you paid for it 🙂 But it is in the fade-out and is normally very quiet. I’ve boosted the volume on this little clip.

It’s the bass guitar just as Davey does the final ‘cheer up’. The bass has just done a quick descending run.

Carole King – It’s Too Late

Sacrilege! Yes, it’s one of my all-time favourites too, but I just can’t help it. About 1:34 in (below), just as she’s singing “oh no, no…” the instrumental lead break (solo) kicks in, but it seems to be a ‘drop-in’ edit and you can hear the (fading) final note of the previous bar or note of the solo, just before the ‘real’ one starts.

Seems like they missed this on the edit, but it was the days of cutting tapes by hand and manually fading dials and slider. #forgiven

Louie Louie – The Kingsmen

Another classic, apparently quickly recorded (and subject to the most scurrilous rumours 🙂 ) . So quickly that the singer came in one bar early – during the instrumental break and just after 1:56, below – and had to stop, wait, then continue.