THE BEATLES - FREE AS A BIRD (UNRELEASED TAKE 1 OF OVERDUB SESSION ACOUSTIC)

[snape3harry]

Every time I listen to this song I have to cry. There's no other music that expresses exactly what I feel like the music of the Beatles does.

[whittingham4665]

its as if johnis telling us how at last HE is free as a bird!

[isaacbateman76]

Wonderful Song :) ~ eventhough it didnt be overdub yet xD

[Gauraonline]

The first part of the melody reminds me of a song I used to hear as a kid in the 60s called "Standing On The Corner, Watching All The Girls Go By" Free as a bird was an expression I remember my Mom using when I was a kid. It was a commen saying

[tebuboss]

It's sad to see a picture with only three person.



[whittingham4665]

john took the photo!

[albuorkka]

he sounds normal, wtf?? So they made him sound like "an angel" on purpose. And the official version, Lennon can't even been heard singing the other verses

[beatlestoneful]

@albuorkka he's humming ....the song is unfinished!!!

[beatlestoneful]

@albuorkka and the official song is NOT suppose to be a john solo project...its the Beatles!!

[MrNatwill2]

People, things are only as metaphysical as you imagine them to be. All I am hearing is free as a bird. A beautiful song, well colaborated lyrics, nice voice.

See things as they are. You're free to do so, and you are free not to.

[Gauraonline]

What does it really mean to be as free as a bird ? Free to be a slave of our desires and senses ? Only when we understand nothing belongs to us, and everything belongs to God, and is meant to serve God's / Krishna's loving will , can we be free. THe 3 modes of material nature, goodness, passion and ignorance are there to bind us to this material world as long as our consciousness is not Krsna conscious. I learned this from the Beatles guru, Swami Prabhupada, who lived at John's house for 3 mos

[DasGoldenBoy]

@Gauraonline What does it mean? I think John may have heard "Freebird" by Lynard Skynard and liked the lyric "I'm as Free as a bird now, and this bird you cannot change."  That's just my speculative 2 cents. You have to think that when he became a house husband that was the first time since he was 15 or 16 that he didn't have to be "The toppermost of the poppermost" He didn't have to be the Walrus he could just be John.

[Tobunshi]

@Gauraonline

Plus they can fly, and that's pretty cool.

[dannyofthededd]

one of the best songs i've heard that describes the human condition..yearning..questioni­ng..confused..uncertain..hypoc­ritical..envious..beautiful..g­ood that some peeps can find the words where others fail..

we're still listening and learning..

that is a good thing surely..

that is what we are here to do..

y live and y look and y listen and y learn..

love xx

[the13er]

This version is much better than the Jeff Lynne-killed quasi ELO.

[TheFpuff]

@the13er Pfft. Jeff did a great job.

[Yoshi5020]

I like John's enigmatic line "it's the next best thing to be", acknowledging there is something better for humanity than mere peace; but when all else fails, mere peace offers undeniable relief at times. I imagine this song's about John's temporary heroin use.

[gazzymodo]

@johnybleed : thankyou for this excellent upload, and for the detailed discription ! I tried in vain to get a copy of the bootleg CD 'THREETLES', Camden Town etc, but to this day, have never seen one. Gary T.

[Robotdrummerzzk]

Better.

[terryperring104]

Like many others, I toothought the distortion came from it being a crude recording on cassette tape.

Who is doing the backing vocals here is it George and Paul, years later. And John at the time?

[TheFpuff]

This song's beauty is beyond words.

[jimidee33]

"Free as a bird" reminds me in a way of "Across The Universe". Different, but it has that same level of '"just being". Great tune by John.

[jimidee33]

I have never thought John was better than Por Paul was better than John. They were equals and George was as necessary to the group as Paul or John. Rings was a good fit. The group dynamic made them what they were and remain to this day; a huge band with a unique quality and sound. And also tremedous cultural influence. They are as famous as ever and will remain so far, far into the future.

[redletter2008]

@jimidee33 Here here! All four were uniquely critical to the Beatles' success. Yes, John & Paul drove their success with unparralled songwriting (even today it is head-over-heels superior to most). Yet George added much with his proficient-from-the-get-go guitar work, ever expanding musical and songwriting abilities plus his vocal contributions. Ringo was a rock-steady drummer, with a unique style that superbly underpinned their musical tracks. He also was a popular singer in his own right.

[anoel06]

Simpy beautiful...(tears)

[schillwah]

This is not an unreleased version of Free as A Bird by the Beatles its just the unfinished version by John Lennon that you can find on the 9 box cd set 'BEHIND THE LINES" that someone t has put the arangements and backing vocals over Johns voice piano mono track and panned it left with some reverb. Almost convincing. There are a few takes on the behind the lines cd that have clearer vocals but Jeff Lynne and George Paul & Ringo must have went with the other takes for whatever reason.

[TheFungirl27]

@XDPeruMan maybe maybe not wow this comment is from a year ago but still be a true beatles fan

[gretschviking]

@Veeno00

You are correct. It's the finished product out of phase with the clearer sounding demo synched up. A little extra echo and voila, a rather cool mix of "Free As A Bird". It is by no means "unreleased take one of overdub session acoustic".

[menoziinrevoltado]

This song is very moving. It was beautiful since the beginning. Created in the 70's, recorded in the 90's but it's timeless. Today, it's still better than anything that plays on the TV or the radio. There's no other band that can create such melody, lyrics and... it will get frustrating if I continue. We just have to be thankful to live at the same time of these guys because, really, they are the reason for many people to be proud even though just a few of us practice their legacy. Cheers!

[dmenkhau]

@menoziinrevoltado I so agree with you. Too many people at my generation and age (10 years old) don't understand the Beatles were one of the major inspirations that formed the lesser (in my opinion) music today. I think the world woud be so happy if we all though about how much they were a soul creater of wonderful music. What you said was very moving. I've just begun to play the guitar and have done nonstop Beatles songs. Only a few of us at this time understand. Thank you so much.

[dw909]

@Veeno00

Pretty sure this takes the 5.1 surround sound mix off the DVD...uses somes of the channels only and mixes that over the top of the original demo with some reverb. Would take a while to get it to this stage but I am sure it could be replicated in this method. I don't believe this is a take 1 overdub either. Those harmonies would not be so final and perfect on a take 1.

[Veeno00]

@dw909 Yes, that's also a possibility, that procedure would probably produce a cleaner mix. I've done it from a stereo recording from the Free as a Bird single, removing the centre channel and mixing the John's recording in, and it sounded almost exactly like this but with less echo because I used less reverb.

[splintercell2002]

John's voice is so much clearer. The song should've sounded like this.

[DasGoldenBoy]

@splintercell2002 That was one of the things I didn't like about the Beatles version was how they distorted John's voice but then again wayback when Lennon liked to use certain effects on his vocals.

[redletter2008]

@DasGoldenBoy Wow. I never realised there was a version this clear. I see what you mean about the Beatle version. I had assumed it was a very old, crude taped version of John & his piano. Yes, John was fond of distorting his vocals on Beatle songs, especially from Revolver on, but I think, after hearing this amazingly clear (& still superb Lennon vocal) that they should have used this version on the released record. IMO, John's singing voice was the best in the Beatles. A legendary man & voice.

[Cml725]

@DasGoldenBoy I often thought that it was distorted due to the quality of the tape?

[llewesa100]

@DasGoldenBoy The finished version was a tad too bombastic I think.This is much gentler.

[DasGoldenBoy]

@llewesa100 Its not bad at all!

[ced95570]

great photo at 2.17!!!!!!

[scheissdreckhass]

they were the greatest that simple it is

from germany

[MARI007100]

Ja ja no habia escuchado ésto está genial en su esencia impresionado en verdad.

[tortadelabardaomar]

niiiiiceeeeeee

[ant4love]

This sounds beautiful. ;)

[thebarrens]

@Veeno00 What the FUCK is your problem shitbird?

[MrTriss83]

You can hear bleeding from george's slide guitar right at the start. listen with some in ear headphones. clear as a bell

[MrTriss83]

@JohnyBleed why would there be both instrumental and back vocal overbubs in take 1???

[k0stil]

no bass

[EdmondLau2007]

Makes me wonder what could've been in Lennon was killed in 1980. It's amazing how many kids were not even alive when Lennon was killed, nonetheless when the Beatles as a band existed and yet they still have such a huge influence on music today.

[Gripweed94]

The two songs were great, but I do wish George Martin were with them.

[Nachax85]

Me too... but you can't really have a half-deaf producer now, can you?

[Darkit2099]

Yeah dude, JohnyBleed has a point. Do you know anything about mixing?

[XDPeruMan]

i know somethin, im not an expert, but dude, i think it is not real becuase I have done this, and ive uploaded the video on youtube a long time ago. it's pretty much the same thing, if you find any diferences. but as he said, its nothin to fight over

[XDPeruMan]

i meant to say "if u find any differences, u tell me, please" on that part. idk why i didnt write it

[JohnyBleed]

It's all good.....

thanks for your comment...

[XDPeruMan]

sorry if i offended u dude. if u want, you can delte the comments, i dont really care :)

[LennonForever38]

What the hell are you talking about? He didn't lie

[XDPeruMan]

Listen to the beginning of the song, if you listen carefully, you can hear the slide guitar from the intro. the drums can be slightly heard too. I think it's cool, but i don't think he should be telling people stuff that it's not true.

[LennonForever38]

Ok, you do have a point. I've always hear the oping guitar on the acoustic mix and some signs od drums. But it's nothing to fight over =) Peace And Love to you