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John Lennon - Imagine - Original Demo


Muad’Dib

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Would love to hear it without the delay.

 

John famously hated his voice, to the point where his attempts to mask it are why we have ADT as a tech today.

 

I cant say I like this more, but its always cool to hear these first-offs. Thanks for posting.

www.joshweinstein.com

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I like raw. ... I miss the bass, drums, the assertive bass piano get-back, and the song's signature smooth, vocal overdubs. But, the piano sounds sumptuous. ... And on my 2nd listening, loud, it's grown on me. ... So a beat taken, a beat added.
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I have always suspected that Nicky Hopkins anonymously played the final piano studio recording version. Yoko really wanted Nicky to do it, we'll never know...

Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and also helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 350 of Harry's jazz piano arrangements of standards, for educational purposes, and tutoring at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas

 

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I love how John did this vocal. it sounds multi tracked and pan sweeped, very psychadelic

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NumwxG3gYwY

Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and also helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 350 of Harry's jazz piano arrangements of standards, for educational purposes, and tutoring at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas

 

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The power of repetition:

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audDh1q8YhU

Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and also helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 350 of Harry's jazz piano arrangements of standards, for educational purposes, and tutoring at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas

 

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Would love to hear it without the delay.

 

John famously hated his voice, to the point where his attempts to mask it are why we have ADT as a tech today.

 

I cant say I like this more, but its always cool to hear these first-offs. Thanks for posting.

always loved his unique voice.....shame that he didnt appreciate it

 

 

.... Jeff /// Yamaha P515 /// Roll Tide
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I have always suspected that Nicky Hopkins anonymously played the final piano studio recording version. Yoko really wanted Nicky to do it, we'll never know...

 

I felt pretty sure that I knew the answer to this, which was that I knew (thought) that he recorded it at home, basically first take, including band, which always seemed amazing to me.

 

Turns out this is right and wrong.

 

They did a bunch of passes at it in the studio withindeedNicky Hopkins playing an octave above John. But then they bagged all those and ended up recording at Johns house with just him on piano, and the rest of what I knew (thought) was true from there.

www.joshweinstein.com

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I have always suspected that Nicky Hopkins anonymously played the final piano studio recording version. Yoko really wanted Nicky to do it, we'll never know...

 

I felt pretty sure that I knew the answer to this, which was that I knew (thought) that he recorded it at home, basically first take, including band, which always seemed amazing to me.

 

Turns out this is right and wrong.

 

They did a bunch of passes at it in the studio withindeedNicky Hopkins playing an octave above John. But then they bagged all those and ended up recording at Johns house with just him on piano, and the rest of what I knew (thought) was true from there.

 

Well its hard to separate the myth from the reality when it comes to John and Yoko. She really wanted Nicky Hopkins to play the final version because he was a better pianist. And she would likely have had Hopkins sign a non disclosure agreement, the legend is so much better if it matches the video they made of John playing a white piano alone in his living room while Yoko does the curtains ...Both men are dead so its hard to ever know what really happened...imo

Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and also helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 350 of Harry's jazz piano arrangements of standards, for educational purposes, and tutoring at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas

 

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Well its hard to separate the myth from the reality when it comes to John and Yoko. She really wanted Nicky Hopkins to play the final version because he was a better pianist. And she would likely have had Hopkins sign a non disclosure agreement, the legend is so much better if it matches the video they made of John playing a white piano alone in his living room while Yoko does the curtains ...Both men are dead so its hard to ever know what really happened...imo

 

Well, if it helps, they did NOT record it on that white piano. It was in his home studio. And I truly doubt Phil Spector was going to conspire with Yoko over John about anything, or undermine his meal ticket. But I guess you never know. However, I think the Nicky Hopkins story might have arisen because he was on early attempts at it...

www.joshweinstein.com

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MIM

 

Wow... was not familiar with this museum. Seems pretty cool!

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Hmm, normally I love raw demos due to the passion and honesty -- for instance, the demos of Strawberry Fields Forever bring me to tears. And I love his bedroom demos that were meant for the next album in 1980.

 

This one, however, doesn't sound too committed to my ears; more like a work-through to figure out what it needs. I also think the drumming by Alan White (later of Yes fame) and bass line by Klaus Voorman are superb and really add to the song, helping to accentuate key lyrical phrases as well.

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That effect sounds wonderful through certain well set uo Lexicon effects, those studio setups are for reasons, guys,

 

At some point, these people could probably be pretty much in their own way any way they wanted to sound like a certain character, completely meaning it, or not at all. It's a different type of integrity ..

 

T

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I always thought this was the scariest, most awful song ever written. Most people think it is about peace. Study the words and it is more about doing away with individualism. Like a cross between early Stalanizm and Nazi. No race. No religion., etc... Everyone exactly the same.

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This one, however, doesn't sound too committed to my ears; more like a work-through to figure out what it needs.

 

Exactly how I felt during the first listening.

 

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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I always thought this was the scariest, most awful song ever written. Most people think it is about peace. Study the words and it is more about doing away with individualism. Like a cross between early Stalanizm and Nazi. No race. No religion., etc... Everyone exactly the same.

 

I agree that I've always found some clumsiness in the lyrics, but have heard his point more along the lines of, what if we STOPPED finding reasons to blindly conform or differentiate based on what other people tell us to do, and start just being ourselves and loving others for themselves. (IOW, 70's flower-power fluffy happy bullshit.)

www.joshweinstein.com

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I always thought this was the scariest, most awful song ever written. Most people think it is about peace. Study the words and it is more about doing away with individualism. Like a cross between early Stalanizm and Nazi. No race. No religion., etc... Everyone exactly the same.

 

I agree that I've always found some clumsiness in the lyrics, but have heard his point more along the lines of, what if we STOPPED finding reasons to blindly conform or differentiate based on what other people tell us to do, and start just being ourselves and loving others for themselves. (IOW, 70's flower-power fluffy happy bullshit.) [

 

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