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RTH Labs Report: BigSteve’s Mystery Noise

Aug 182007

After receiving word that RTH’s Senior Correspondent in New Orleans, Townsman BigSteve, was flummoxed by the strange noise heard at roughly 2:40 in the “true stereo” mix of “Fool On the Hill,” RTH Labs engineers donned their white lab coats and went to work.

Upon cursory examination, it was clear to our engineers that the sound was a highly sped-up sample of something — but what? After applying industry-standard pitch manipulation software to the problem, RTH Labs has come to the conclusion that the Abbey Road engineers and/or producers simply grabbed a few feet of existing tape of a single instrument — possibly a guitar track, though horns are not out of the question — and, prior to speeding it up by perhaps as much as two octaves, applied a very heavy tape flange to the product.

Attached is our vastly slowed-down sample for your consideration. As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Yours sincerely,

Milo T. Frobisher
Chief Engineer
RTH Labs

Jennifer Gentle – Psych-Out!

Posted by sally_cinnamon

Aug 182007

This interview and post is dedicated to Mr. Mod and Mr. Ismine, whose Italian ties precede them this summer! Enjoy Italy to its fullest, whenever you are able to visit it, my friends!

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARCO FASOLO
of the band JENNIFER GENTLE

Catch them live:
TUESDAY AUGUST 28TH @ The Vacuum (Philadelphia PA)
2nd and Tilghman {Google Map!}
wsg/ The Soft People, The Dodos & Birds of Maya

Please enjoy the following email interview with Marco Fasolo of Padova, Italy’s fantastic psych-rock band Jennifer Gentle!

“The Fool on the Hill”…In True Stereo

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 182007

A Wizard, A True Star

On Day 2 of Rock Town Hall’s groundbreaking series on a reappreciation of The Beatles’ long-dismissed Magical Mystery Tour album on the strength of the 1971 German true stereo release we ask you to open your minds and hearts to the pleasures of one of the most-despised Beatles songs, Paul McCartney’s cloying “The Fool on the Hill”.

The Beatles, “The Fool on the Hill” (German true stereo mix)

The space that the true stereo version grants to the arrangement of this song helps greatly. I’ve always thought of this album as the most psychedelic of Beatles albums (and please don’t Pince Nez me on the album’s history as a collected ep and singles), and the true stereo mix increases the “head” appeal, let’s the mood of each song better seep into one’s consciousness, man. Previously unaccessible nooks and crannies of “The Fool on the Hill” – the slightly out of tune mellotron parts, the woodwinds and whatnot, the gentle rhythm guitar and piano – open up. Suddenly, it’s like one of those weird, wonderful songs from Roy Wood’s Boulders that only I and another half dozen people on the planet seem to get. McCartney actually delivers a heartfelt vocal, although I can do without the second “Ohhhhh…round and round…” part on the fadeout. Even in true stereo the song has worn out its welcome by this point.

The true stereo mix does not help the lyrics. It’s too bad he couldn’t have written some gibberish; this would have topped most of the filler songs on Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Speaking of McCartney lyrics, I’m reminded of a morning last week, when I played my wife the recent McCartney album for the first time, and four songs in she said, “OK, enough of this! When’s he going to try to write lyrics that have something to do with an adult man’s life?” Then she quoted a particularly bad lyric that just pushed her past her limits. “Can’t he take lessons from Nick Lowe?” God, I love my wife – in true stereo, fake stereo, mono, you name it.

“Magical Mystery Tour”…In True Stereo

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 172007

Roll up!

The Beatles, “Magical Mystery Tour” (German true stereo mix)

My promise of a slightly mind-expanding take on The Beatles’ oft-derided Magical Mystery Tour album is likely to be met with skepticism on Day 1, as I roll out the title track for review. Listeners who are familiar with the conventional release of this album may notice a little added brightness and definition in the horns and string – and the rhythm guitar is a little more distinct – but this song is still what it is, a poor man’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Perhaps you will hear more than even I hear. Hold tight for tomorrow’s first dramatic ear-opening selection!

All-Star Jam

Posted by Gerry Todd

Aug 172007

A gentleman by the name of “Kronik King,” a YouTube commenter, suggests that this will make a lot more sense if you “spark up a bud.”

Inherently Cool Artists That Failed to Capitalize on the Video Age

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 162007

Of all the inherently cool bands with enough label support and public interest to reasonably be expected to capitalize on the video age, have any artists failed as miserably as The Rolling Stones and The Clash?

Granted, the Stones were already old when videos became a major marketing tool, but compared with their peers, have they even come up with something as “anti-clever” as George Harrison’s “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” video? That one in which the sepia-toned Stones try to act cool while towering over New York City strives to be cool, but it’s quickly ruined its invasion of tired Victoria’s Secret models. Yeah, we know the ladies love you and you’ve collectively sired 107 illegitimate children to prove it.

Here’s what may be the most ambitious Stones video.

It plays like an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. While the producer hired every sweaty Hispanic extra available on short notice and willing to work for meal money, he or she couldn’t have found a better fake moustache and glue than the bargain-basement stuff Oliver Stone likes to use on his period pieces? Did Stone have something to do with the making of this video? Jagger, like any actor in a film by Oliver Stone whose character requires facial hair, must answer one question: You don’t have a desk job with a dress code, the Principal and your Mom’s not going to give you a hard time, your mate is understanding of the demands put on your career…can’t you take a couple of weeks out of your schedule to grow a real moustache?

All that said, I can write off the failed opportunities of The Stones in the video age to the fact that they’d already conquered the genre, the world, the underage models of Brazil. The Clash is another matter, and I have determined exactly what held them back.
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Magical Mystery Tour Reconsidered…In True Stereo

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 162007

A few of you have heard me rave about the 1971 German release of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour in true stereo. A few of you have had a copy of this album foisted upon you by yours truly. The release was the first true stereo release of a Beatles album, and I believe it greatly benefits this cinematically conceived album.

In the coming days, I’ll be posting a track at a time from the German true stereo release. Each track will be posted as an .mp3 with full knowledge that this somewhat defeats your Moderator’s rare mind-meld with audiophiles. To further deflate any audiophile’s expectations, these .mp3s have been burned from my copy of the album. I take decent care of my albums – better than some, much worse than others. Despite these limitations, I’m confident that you’ll hear some of the differences from the original release and hopeful that you’ll feel some of the benefits of the true stereo mix.
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