Mistakes in otherwise great songs

[Cuellar]

I don't normally start threads, but something has been getting on my nerves to such an extent that I didn't know what else to do.

The bass part in Visions of Johanna is a complete mess. Joe South gets the chord changes wrong so often and it's really starting to affect my enjoyment of the whole thing. I'm just fixating on it, and waiting for him to fuck up every time I listen to the song. And I love the song. I hadn't listened to Blonde on Blonde for a while, and I thought "I'll see if I can remember when the bass player fucks up" so I was listening to the bass part intently. Imagine my horror when I realised it wasn't just the once. It must happen 4 times at least.

What's really galling is Al Kooper saying how great the bass part is. Get a grip, mate.

[the science eel]

Quite a few in Beatles songs. John's bass playing in 'The Long and Winding Road' is sort of well-known (Ian MacDonald itemises them in Revolution in the Head) - worth a listen for the comedy value.

[PaulTMA]

There's a big cock-up in the piano intro for Prince's Anna Stesia.  How that one got by, I dunno.

Big organ fluff in the intro for Belle & Sebasatian's Lazy Line Painter Jane, but they were doing it in a live take, so I guess they thought whatevz.

The Jean Genie's first chorus.

Big Star's September Gurls is a odd one - during the guitar solo the chords are D D D D A A G G for the first line, where everywhere else in the rest of the song, including every live version, it's D D A A G G G or something.  May not be an actual mistake, but it seems like it only ever happened on the studio version.

[Icehaven]

On NIN's The Fragile there's a glitch on (I think) the first chorus. Possibly more of a production error and might not even be on every copy, and tbh it almost works and sounds like a slightly clumsy attempt at an ususual time signature, but it's not repeated in the song and they don't do it live. I know when I went to see them on that tour and met up for dinner with some people my friends knew, we all agreed it sounded more like a mistake.

I'm certainly not claiming to be any kind of actual musician by a long stretch, however having done a fair bit of studio recording over the years I'm astonished noticeable, crap-sounding mistakes get through onto the finished product. I'm not being superior or anything and God knows I'm no perfectionist, it's just that anyone who's done similar will know how the actual process of recording, particularly if you're doing it track by track, makes it almost impossible to fluff something and not have anyone including yourself notice. Even if you're doing a 'live' take, knowing the effort and expense and so on thats's going into it it's much, much better to just stop everyone and start again if you fuck up, as no one will thank you if it's left in until it's too late. I've just spent 1.5 days recording two songs with a band for a few hundred quid, and yes we had to do a few takes of a few things but better to get it right, and it's hardly a huge stretch to play the same thing 4 or 5 times until you're happy with it. Professional bands spend months and years and at least tens of thousands of pounds (and a lot more) making albums, and it's their actual jobs, the slackers.

[daf]

Here Today - The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUe1vLQwmXc

1:48 - 2:00 :
Surely the chunky (bass?) guitar riff is playing all the wrong notes in this section - sounds totally wonky to me!

[Glebe]

Apparently Kim Deal fucked up the "ri ri ri" bit in the Pixies' 'River Euphrates'. Sound's alright to me, though.

[momatt]

Tom Jones messes up the lyrics in his (fantastically funky) version of 'Venus'.
Says the same line twice instead of a line that rhymes.

[the science eel]

Jack Ely coming in too early with 'see Jamaica moon above' (big fuckin drum roll after the first word!)

but that's sort of become part of the song, hasn't it?

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

The Kingsmen version of Louie Louie (the famous one) has the singer start too soon after the guitar solo. https://youtu.be/wx-8_GI4d2c?t=2m49s

[SteveDave]

Here Today - The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUe1vLQwmXc

1:48 - 2:00 :
Surely the chunky (bass?) guitar riff is playing all the wrong notes in this section - sounds totally wonky to me!

I've never noticed that before.

[PaulTMA]

Here Today - The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUe1vLQwmXc

1:48 - 2:00 :
Surely the chunky (bass?) guitar riff is playing all the wrong notes in this section - sounds totally wonky to me!

It is quite a jarring sequence, but if there's a chance it was originally a mistake then I think it's something Brian Wilson chose to keep in.  Listen to this then-contemporary cover by the Rob Storme Group and how much of a feature they make of it - moved right to the start of the song, no less...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqoCMn8z4zU

[greenman]

The Kingsmen version of Louie Louie (the famous one) has the singer start too soon after the guitar solo. https://youtu.be/wx-8_GI4d2c?t=2m49s

Considering the whole track is trying to feel loose and live I think it works quite well though.

[the science eel]

Folk got me on ignore or something?

Jack Ely coming in too early with 'see Jamaica moon above' (big fuckin drum roll after the first word!)

but that's sort of become part of the song, hasn't it?

[Cuellar]

I also remember one Goon Show where Ray Ellington sings ABC Boogie and obviously can't remember the lyrics; he gets himself into a right mess.

[wosl]

The Mamas & The Papas - I Saw Her Again.  Denny Doherty's vocal comes in too early (here) on a late iteration of the song's title line, stops mid-line, and starts again at the correct point, the result of a timing mistake made during mixing by the recording engineer.   They didn't bother to do a 'corrected' mix because the mistake works quite well as a sort of 'pre-echo.'

[Black_Bart]

Ella and her version of Mack the Knife.

[manticore]

I don't normally start threads, but something has been getting on my nerves to such an extent that I didn't know what else to do.

The bass part in Visions of Johanna is a complete mess. Joe South gets the chord changes wrong so often and it's really starting to affect my enjoyment of the whole thing. I'm just fixating on it, and waiting for him to fuck up every time I listen to the song. And I love the song. I hadn't listened to Blonde on Blonde for a while, and I thought "I'll see if I can remember when the bass player fucks up" so I was listening to the bass part intently. Imagine my horror when I realised it wasn't just the once. It must happen 4 times at least.

What's really galling is Al Kooper saying how great the bass part is. Get a grip, mate.

Are you a musician, Cuellar? Sometimes I'm really glad I'm not a musician - I've just listened to Visions twice and the bass sounds absolutely fine to me - rolling, elastic and loose, perfectly in tune with the song.

I used to assume that all the mistakes on Trout Mask Replica were deliberate.

[pupshaw]

Then you'll (fucking hell) begin
To make it better

https://youtu.be/qyo1ScwcDAc?t=1m33s

[Cuellar]

Are you a musician, Cuellar? Sometimes I'm really glad I'm not a musician - I've just listened to Visions twice and the bass sounds absolutely fine to me - rolling, elastic and loose, perfectly in tune with the song.

I used to assume that all the mistakes on Trout Mask Replica were deliberate.

I am, and maybe that's a factor. If I had the energy, and the desire to ruin the song for others, I'd find the times at which the bass player messes up. I still might!

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Considering the whole track is trying to feel loose and live I think it works quite well though.

I agree. It's certainly never struck me as a flaw, it's just how the song goes.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That clanging, off-key chord at the end of The Harder They Come by Jimmy Cliff. It sounds like the whole band suddenly just deflated and fell apart.

[daf]

That is a shocker - with an emergency 'Crackerjack' ending too. 

Every time it pops up on Radcliffe and Maconie they can't resist pointing out the organist's fat-fingered sabotage ("eh, that'll do lads - everyone down the pub!")

[Crabwalk]

Scott Walker let off a few guffs while recording Corps de Gras. Everyone must've been too embarrassed to acknowledge them.

[non capisco]

Tom Jones messes up the lyrics in his (fantastically funky) version of 'Venus'.
Says the same line twice instead of a line that rhymes.

He of course later went on to blunder his way through the lyrics of his version of Prince's 'Kiss.' Prince sings "Women, not girls, rule my world/Yes, they rule my world/Act your age not your shoe size".  Old indiscriminate Tom honks right in going "WOMEN AND GIRLS RULE MY WORLD!" thus making the following shoe size line redundant and himself look a right old Yewtree.

[Dusty Gozongas]

The bass at 3:13 on Gong's Fohat digs holes in space always jumps out at me - even though it doesn't spoil anything at all baby.

[chippedandbattered]

Your mileage may vary, but in "Lucky Man" by The Verve, the bassline changes too early at 2 minutes in ("How many corners do I have to turn" bit). Always put be off.

Also, "Yes it is" on Past Masters by The Beatles, on the third verse ("Red is the colour that will make me blue"), Lennon sings "Yes it riz" which is really weird-sounding. And specific. But it always catches me out.

[poodlefaker]

"Everybody's rapping like it's a commercial / Acting like life is a big commercial" - Beastie Boys / Pass the Mic.

One of those commercials should have been "rehearsal", obv.

[non capisco]

"Everybody's rapping like it's a commercial / Acting like life is a big commercial" - Beastie Boys / Pass the Mic.

One of those commercials should have been "rehearsal", obv.

A bit like Vanilla Ice going "Alright stop, collaborate and listen." I reckon he meant 'congregate', the flat topped dilbert.

[Better Midlands]

A bit like Vanilla Ice going "Alright stop, collaborate and listen." I reckon he meant 'congregate', the flat topped dilbert.

I've noticed that line, never thought about congregate though -  makes total sense

[momatt]

"Everybody's rapping like it's a commercial / Acting like life is a big commercial" - Beastie Boys / Pass the Mic.

One of those commercials should have been "rehearsal", obv.

Really hate it when rappers use the same word several times instead of botherering to think of a rhyme.
'Rehearsal' would sound a lot better.  Beastie Boys are great other than this.