I Want You (She's So Heavy)

[paulman]

This is one of my favorite Beatles songs, and all my life I've wanted to record a cover of it that goes supernova fuzz on the second half (the part that, in the original, repeats over and over with a fake wind noise getting louder and louder until Lennon literally just pulled the plug). This is without a doubt the most ambitious track (and the longest) I've ever recorded. The first half is pretty much a straight cover (aside from the improvised guitar leads), but the second half is a new animal. As much as I love the song, I never much saw the point in repeating the end for so long without anything new happening musically. So I built my own thing over it, with guitar harmonies and a real hurricane that threatens to sweep the whole thing away. I have a feeling that some may not appreciate what I was going for at the end, with the hurricane overpowering. I have considered reworking the mix to where you can hear each instrument more distinctly at the end. I've been agonizing over it forever. What do you guys think?

Full disclosure: The organ part on this right now is canned. Everything else is me, but I haven't yet figured out an organ part that suits both the song and my keyboard skill set. So for now it's just a canned copy of the original Billy Preston performance. I'll eventually replace it but keep the same tone.

[rammer24]

Fantastic. I love this tune.

You're got a really nice voice. I'd even say it suits this tune as well as McCartney's.

I'd bring up the drums a bit, or at least the kik. I usually don't like panned drums, but this being a Beatles tune, it doesn't bother me at all.

The little bass breaks tell me that maybe you can compress the bass a bit more. The last 4 notes of the "solo" bass lines sort of pop out more than the beginning of the line.

Really love your voice. I'm envious.

[paulman]

Fantastic. I love this tune.

You're got a really nice voice. I'd even say it suits this tune as well as McCartney's.

I'd bring up the drums a bit, or at least the kik. I usually don't like panned drums, but this being a Beatles tune, it doesn't bother me at all.

The little bass breaks tell me that maybe you can compress the bass a bit more. The last 4 notes of the "solo" bass lines sort of pop out more than the beginning of the line.

Really love your voice. I'm envious.

Thank you! When you talk about bringing up the drums, do you mean in general, or at the end? The bass has been a struggle to get right. One of those situations where the tone could have been set up better, but I wanted to keep the performance. So I end up bending over backwards trying to tame it without killing it. I'll look into your suggestion. My upstairs neighbor is learning to play drums at the moment, so I can't listen to it or anything else.

[rammer24]

When you talk about bringing up the drums, do you mean in general, or at the end?

I think the snare level in the first half of the tune is ok, but the kik can come up. In the heavy part, the whole kit can probably come up a bit. But for me, it's mainly the kik. Even in the softer part of the song, it's hard to hear.

[JD01]

Nothing to add over what rami says, sounds cool as fuck though.

Totally forgot about critically listening to this by the end and just enjoyed it. The last minute is awesome.

[Bubba]

I think this sounds absolutely ace. I've always loved the song and I really like where you've gone with it. The performances are great - if there is a (very slight) weak point, it might be the drums. But you have a pro voice and the guitars are great. I think the bass might be quieter on your version, particularly in the solo runs.

I'm sure there are a couple of other slight mix nits but I can't offer them at the moment because I'm not in a critical listening environment. I've listened to it twice so far, once on my laptop and once on my computer speakers at work (just now) and really, really enjoyed it.

I'm going to put it on again.

[rayc]

Cool cover. It's an album & song that really left me underwhelmed. I like what you've done in the 2nd half. My underwhelmednessness with the album is the fact that so many things were left underdone or undone. It was a goldmine for interpretive singers as we all know - people who had people who arranged the songs to a conclusion.
The fuzzed guitars are cool and the build has some elements of Journey to the Centre of the earth to it which is proggyly cool too, (now that was an album that just dragged things on until they died rather than finishing them).
Loved the 2nd half!

[paulman]

Wow. Thanks guys! It's a pleasant surprise that everyone likes what I did with the end, I was really expecting more criticism on that. I do need to give it another listen for the bass, apparently. I thought I had the bass hitting pretty hard, so either I was mistaken or maybe I weakened it without realizing it when I did the final mastering touches the other night. I have an idea what may have happened. Thanks for the comments!

[paulman]

I think this sounds absolutely ace. I've always loved the song and I really like where you've gone with it. The performances are great - if there is a (very slight) weak point, it might be the drums. But you have a pro voice and the guitars are great. I think the bass might be quieter on your version, particularly in the solo runs.

I'm sure there are a couple of other slight mix nits but I can't offer them at the moment because I'm not in a critical listening environment. I've listened to it twice so far, once on my laptop and once on my computer speakers at work (just now) and really, really enjoyed it.

I'm going to put it on again.

You know, sometimes it was tempting to fix some of the drum imperfections (since it could so easily be done because it's MIDI), but I'd rather have my imperfect playing on the song rather than have someone think I programmed it. So it kind of brought a smile to my face to see you mention that as a slightly weak spot. Now if you hadn't used the "slightly" modifier, I might be hurt.

I welcome any nits you find on monitors. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[miroslav]

I'm listening to it on some small computer speakers...so I can't make any critical mixing suggestions...I think it's very well done, the whole thing. 8-)

[ido1957]

Great recording and performance ! That ending fits really well with the Beatle vibe where they do that massive orchestral thing on their tune. Good choice there and it was crazy good. I found the panning cool too.

[Bubba]

You know, sometimes it was tempting to fix some of the drum imperfections (since it could so easily be done because it's MIDI), but I'd rather have my imperfect playing on the song rather than have someone think I programmed it. So it kind of brought a smile to my face to see you mention that as a slightly weak spot. Now if you hadn't used the "slightly" modifier, I might be hurt.

I welcome any nits you find on monitors. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

When I said the drums were a very slight weakness, it wasn't the playing I was referring to. The playing is fine - very good, in fact. It's the sound of the snare that's bugging me. It's a bit too sharp and brittle. I'd want to shelve off some of the top from 4k upwards and turn the kick and snare up a bit. I've been listening to the whole thing a couple of times on my mixing phones and I still love it. Just fix that snare.