Identify noise in Yesterday Once More

[Harry]

This is just something that's been bugging me for years. I ran it past our Chris May and he's coming up with not hearing anything. Now I know my ears aren't all THAT good, but I hear something in "Yesterday Once More" that I've not been able to identify. There are two components to this little "noise" that occur at around 3:23 and 3:24 in the song. No part of it exists in the original album mix or original single mix. One component of it first appeared in the '85 remix. Both components are there in the '91 remix.

What to listen for:

At around 3:20 in the song, Karen's singing:
"...every whoa-oo-oa still shines." Then there's an oboe fill and an electric guitar fill. On the third note of the oboe fill (at 3:23), I hear something that sounds like studio chatter or something higher-pitched like a guitar string scratching (?). One second later in this '91 remix (3:24), on the electric guitar part of the fill, I hear another instance in this same higher-frequency range, like a squawky noise.

Chris claims he can't hear anything, and thought maybe one of our golden-eared members can hear and identify this.

Where to hear it:

If you have any of these typical compilations:

- 40/40 (US) or (JP)
- BY REQUEST
- GOLD (US)
- ORIGINAL MASTER KARAOKE
- SINGLES 1969-1981
- SINGLES 1969-1981 SACD (stereo mix)
- YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (98)

...you should be able to hear it.

If you have CLASSIC VOL 2 or YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (85) you might be able to hear the first component, sounding for all the world like whispering or studio chatter. But the second little squawk sound is missing on the '85 remix.

None of this happens on the original album mix or original single mix.

Harry
...hoping he's not hearing things that aren't there, online...

 

[Rudy]

Well, after about half a dozen repeats, 1200 watts, 115 decibels, four Ibuprofen (one for each speaker), and two squad cars, the only thing I am hearing at 3:24 on or just after the third oboe note is... "...still shiiiiiiineS". That final "s" is emphasized at that point. This is on the SACD multichannel version--I figured that if the instruments were split out to separate speakers, it might make something stand out more.

Into two channel mode: the "S" is more subdued. But that's all I hear. Just after the S is part of subdued guitar lick, but nothing that sounds like studio noise.

Are you listening straight from CD? If it is a WMA or MP3 file, there are artifacts in the sound that could be triggered. MP3 is the worse of the two--it can "chirp" based on input (percussion, "S" sounds, etc.) or has a warbly sound during sustained passages.

Headphones, or speakers? A slight rattle in a speaker or earpiece (at a specific resonant frequency) could cause an added noise also.

And on that note, I'm out of ideas. Back to Side 7 of Led Zep's Mothership on vinyl...

 

[Rudy]

Well actually, there was that noise where Richard had a Steinway concert grand dropped on top of the castanet player (after all, he was a Baldwin artist)...but that was in "Masquerade." And I think it got edited out in a bizarre razor blade accident at A&M Studios.

 

[Harry]

Doesn't matter. I hear it on WMA's ,MP3s, WAV files, or straight from the CDs. I've heard it in noisy cars, on the home system big speakers, on good headphones, bad headphones on MP3 players while walking, or on a crappy boombox.

I can't believe neither you nor Chris are hearing this. It's just a slight squawky kind of sound.

I posted the same thread idea over at Hoffman. So far, greelywinger says it sounds like whispering.

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Maybe it's Karen saying to Richard, "We really should remix this."

 

[Harry]

I can't say for certain if it appears in the 5.1 mix on the SACD - I've not hooked up surround speakers here in Florida - the room layout doesn't really allow for extra speakers, so I only have a 3.0 setup.

I know for sure this little noise is there on the stereo layer and other 91 remix versions.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

I could really give it a shakedown if I had my Martin-Logan Sequels in...most revealing speaker I've ever heard. But I don't, so I can't. Did KeithH check it out? I know he could probably pick something out on his system (he has the Sony SCD-777ES) and I'm thinking he may have at least one of those compilations. He uses the 777 in stereo mode (in fact, I think that player only plays in stereo, not multichannel).

I had thought about getting out the quad mix, but that was done before all the remixes in later years. This wasn't on the LP Singles: 1969-1973 was it? That is all I have in playable vinyl these days. I think I have my dad's cassette of the Yesterday Once More two-tape set from the mid 80s or so. But it won't be all that revealing.

The "S" I'm hearing actually has a bit of a "chirpy" quality to it, which did make it sound a bit like a noise as opposed to a vocal sound. KC's voice sort of tails off on "shiiine..." but then the "S" punches right through.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Could it be a tape glitch or maybe even a "digital" glitch? I only have one of the compilations mentioned but I'm not sure my sound setup would reveal this noise.

 

[Harry]

The "S" I'm hearing actually has a bit of a "chirpy" quality to it, which did make it sound a bit like a noise as opposed to a vocal sound. KC's voice sort of tails off on "shiiine..." but then the "S" punches right through.

It's right near that trailing "S" sound in "shines", but I don't think it's related. And then a second later another chirpy/squawky noise occurs.

Mike, I can hear it in a noisy car, so if you have ANY kind of CD player, you should hear it. Headphones help you concentrate on it.

Harry

 

[Chris May]

Maybe it's Karen saying to Richard, "We really should remix this."

LOLOL!!!!!

 

[Chris May]

It's right near that trailing "S" sound in "shines", but I don't think it's related. And then a second later another chirpy/squawky noise occurs.

Mike, I can hear it in a noisy car, so if you have ANY kind of CD player, you should hear it. Headphones help you concentrate on it.

I'm really thinking this is a harmonics thing between the woodwind and electric guitar, that you've maybe developed an auditory illusion to? I'm just not hearing it!

 

[JMK]

Harry, you're not crazy (well, not about this anyway). I can hear it, but it sounds to me that it's either a bent/sliding note on the guitar or a quick left hand moment on the Rhodes.

 

[JMK]

BTW what I am hearing is at 3:23, and in fact it almost sounds like a sitar.

 

[Walkinat9]

All right, this got me curious, so I took out my newly acquired Original Master Karaoke CD and I heard it too.
I agree with JMK, it sounds like an accidentally picked note on the electric guitar.
I heard it on 3:23, right before the 4th note of the oboe fill and pitchwise it's exactly the same note as Karen's lead vocals on "shing-a ling-a-ling" (or, the 2nd note of the same oboe fill). If you listen to that part leaving out what's mixed to "the middle", it's even more obvious that it must be a sound on the electric guitar.

Nothing wrong with your ears, Harry!

 

[Harry]

Well, good. There's two more who've joined the "I-can-hear-it" club. And yes, these latest descriptions are exactly what I'm hearing!

Thanks!

Harry

 

[Rudy]

I was listening for non-musical sounds (such as studio noises), so I wasn't focused on listening for musical "noises" of sorts. I did hear a few vague musical things buried in the mix, but didn't think that was what we were looking for.

I'll have to give it a listen, but it won't be for a couple of days...

 

[Toolman]

Listened to the versions on "Gold" and "Classic Vol. 2" over the best sound system I've got...four Altec speakers connected to my PC. Sign me up for the Beans in Your Ears club...I'm not hearing it. Can't hear dog whistles either.

 

[Chris May]

Yeah, just hearing the same as everyone else...there is some overlapping of instrumentation which can create an auditory allusion, but nothing out of the ordinary :/

 

[Rudy]

Yeah, just hearing the same as everyone else...there is some overlapping of instrumentation which can create an auditory allusion, but nothing out of the ordinary :/

To me it just sounds like there is a lot going on in the mix.

 

[Song4uman]

I did hear something. Took "Singles 69-81" in the car and turned up the volume pretty loud. Not sure what it is, but did hear something....

 

[andywithaz]

I can hear it at 3:23, but I really don't hear anything at 3:24, though not really sure what I'm listening for. Harry, did you notice that if you do back to back comparisons of Yesterday Once More, after a while you didn't hear the "blip" at 3:23 anymore? I didn't! I guess it means I'm too tired to hear correctly at 1:43AM in the morning!

 

[Dave]

To me it sounded like "muffled studio chatter"... Almost as though someone "talked over that part of the track" and it just couldn't be completely edited out...

("How's this sounding so far?", might have been what's been said...?)

-- Dave

 

[Harry]

I've heard it every time I listen to the track in that mix, and have for over ten years - and still do - every time. I've just not brought it up before because it's not really all THAT important - it's just a curiosity really. Frankly I'm surprised at the number who say they can't hear anything at all. Perhaps to them it's just a twangy guitar sound and nothing more, but I hear something else going on.

The 3:23 mark is the bigger of the two. The 3:24 is almost like a faint echo - and I hesitate to use the word echo, because I know it isn't - of the first. The 3:23 mark is where I hear the "muffled studio chatter" as Dave puts it.

Harry

 

[Chris May]

So, I went back in to the '91 instrumental mix, and I'm finally hearing what you're talking about Harry! I think I was so focused on the mix itself that I dulled any sensitivity to any other disturbance. Whereas I can't be quite as specific (i.e. studio chatter etc), my first thought was that I was hearing some upper harmonic distortion. I went into the SACD stems, and I don't hear it at all, so apparently wherever it was coming from, it had been fixed in later mixes.

 

[Harry]

Well Hallelujah! Chris hears it!

Agreed that it seems to be missing in the 5.1 mix, though I haven't properly hooked up a 5.1 system to completely conclude that - I don't hear it in the 3.0 downmix my system is currently providing.

I'm still puzzled by the chronology of it:
- not there on original album or single mix
- appears slightly on the '85 remix
- loudest on the '91 remix
- gone(?) on the 5.1 mix

Harry