Mistakes in famous recordings

[bmack]

I recently heard a mistake in the Clash's song Koka Kola on the c.d.version of London Calling. I wore out my vinyl copy of this album after playing it for 20 some years and I decided to pick up the c.d. version when they re-mastered it.
The song koka kola begins with the ding of an elevator bell. On the c.d. it sounds like the tape machine was cued too far in and instead of a crisp "ding" you hear "dwwiiinnggg" as the tape machine comes up to speed in the middle of the ding. Then the line right after the ding "Elevator goin up . . " winds down at the end like the tape machine is stopping. I know this album well and when I heard this mistake I nearly fell off my chair because I was expecting the crisp ding. I cant believe they left this in. I have checked other copies of the same c.d.'s since then and it is on all of them.

[;ivlunsdystf]

How about that trick where they put one little false entry (made-up word and definition) into a dictionary so other dictionary manu's can't readily plagiarize for their own dictionaries. Also the trick of screwing up one little thing on a map for the same reason, if you are making a map.

Maybe the guy remixing the Clash did that on purpose. That would be totally weird though.

How about the legend of weaving one little error into Navajo rug so as to avoid being too perfect which would offend the gods.

How about that "Hard Rain" album since we are talking about Bob Dylan and the RTR. Fabulous. One big well-implemented flub after another for two long sides of vinyl. Enough with imitating the Beatles and the Kinks: why don't more people try to imitate those late RTR aesthetics.

I can't believe that two short years after Hard Rain and we were suddenly live (dead) at Budokan. Breaks my little heart.

EDIT: Added a lowercase 'l' to complete the word 'vinyl'

[Autodidact]

Maybe its just me, but i've always hear this muted guitar note on stairway to heaven at around 3:32 (C chord)

[JGriffin]

When is this fabled Gadd click? 4:57?

Precisely.

[Stephen B.]

In John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", does McCoy Tyner make a boo-boo during his solo, or am I just imagining it?

Well, how about Tommy Flanagan's entire solo on "Giant Steps?" The poor guy's been playing that tune on every gig of his life since then to prove to people that he actually went and learned the changes.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

But yet...on the alternate takes, he does pretty okay that Tommy Flanagan! It's just that the take that has the best Trane solo has the weakest piano solo. Poor guy...

Yeah, if they had played to a click, they could have spliced two different takes together. Heh. Just kidding.

On a completely unrelated note, I've always liked the choked note on the intro of Pearl Jam's Immortality. Works for me.

[chuckfurok]

In John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", does McCoy Tyner make a boo-boo during his solo, or am I just imagining it?

That was the first one I thought of to mention in this thread. Sure sounds like a boo-boo to me.

[BradG]

The ghosting on Whole Lotta Love is pre-print, innit?

You know, it's been pretty well accepted that that's what it is. More than one engineer has used it as an example of why we use tails-out, when inducting interns.

However... since the advent of digital editing, has anyone ever opened the mix up and actually measured it's "pre-delay" for comparison to tape-speed, just to be sure? I guess a stop watch would work to, though.

[NewAndImprov]

One of my favorites: Miles Davis, "Jack Johnson", at 2:10 into Right Off, Michael Henderson misses the cue to change key to Bb, and keeps jamming the bass line in E. John Mclaughlin vamps in Bb. 5 bars later, Miles starts his solo on a C#, which is consonant in both keys, and ties it all together. Henderson doesn't catch the change until 12 bars later.

[JGriffin]

Henderson doesn't catch the change until 12 bars later.

We used to have this guitarist that never seemed to listen to the other players. We had this bit where he soloed over a I-IV progression in C for what seemed like forever. One night we decided to all modulate to C# without telling him and see how long it'd be before he realized he was not in the same key with us. After a very painful 48 bars we gave up and went back down to C.

[billiamwalker]

Maybe its just me, but i've always hear this muted guitar note on stairway to heaven at around 3:32 (C chord)

yes... jimmy fumbles slightly about 3:30. i'm glad you said this because i was always like "he freaking plays this entire song" and the songs soudns alot like it was tracked live. therefore he probably played in one take (it's led zepplin they don't mess up) but yes..he messes up!

[thesimulacre]

How about in "What's Goin on" by Four non-Blondes? I used to think maybe she was stuttering for effect when she says "in the inst-institution," but if so she stuttered one quarter-note shy of the correct place to come in if she were not actually stuttering. Sounds like a bad punch-in to me.

Great thread for us lowly mortals!

[cgarges]

But yet...on the alternate takes, he does pretty okay that Tommy Flanagan! It's just that the take that has the best Trane solo has the weakest piano solo. Poor guy...

The only alternate take I've ever heard is the one with no solos aside from the tenor. I think it was Tommy Flanagan who took a look at the chart after Coltrane passed it out and assumed it was a ballad.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[cgarges]

How about that trick where they put one little false entry (made-up word and definition) into a dictionary so other dictionary manu's can't readily plagiarize for their own dictionaries. Also the trick of screwing up one little thing on a map for the same reason, if you are making a map.

If you've ever played in an orchestra, you've very likely played a Calmus arrangement. Calmus used to steal arrangements from other publishers, add mistakes, and re-publish them. Those charts are a nightmare to deal with and notorius for that reason.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[LeedyGuy]

How about that trick where they put one little false entry (made-up word and definition) into a dictionary so other dictionary manu's can't readily plagiarize for their own dictionaries. Also the trick of screwing up one little thing on a map for the same reason, if you are making a map.

If you've ever played in an orchestra, you've very likely played a Calmus arrangement. Calmus used to steal arrangements from other publishers, add mistakes, and re-publish them. Those charts are a nightmare to deal with and notorius for that reason.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I have some small Calmus study scores, but i havent really noticed too many mistakes, but ive never really played a Calmus arrangement of something. so why the heck would they steal, put mistakes in and then republish?

[cgarges]

I have some small Calmus study scores, but i havent really noticed too many mistakes, but ive never really played a Calmus arrangement of something. so why the heck would they steal, put mistakes in and then republish?

Presumably for the same reason anybody else would steal something a re-sell it: To make money without doing the necessary work. They would add the mistakes so that there was a difference in their arrangements and whoever's they stole. Lame.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC