Strawberry Fields

[Mistral]

John Lennon version or the Across the Universe version?

Personally, I like the Across the Universe version better-I think it has more heart even amidst the (over-) production values.

The bottom line is that people deify Lennon and the idea that someone might have done it better usually meets opposition.

Your take?

 

[Deckerd]

On the other hand, they did some mighty fine cover versions which are arguably better than the original. Twist and Shout has some of the most committed vocals (from Lennon) I've ever heard.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Having a fondness for the 90's rave scene, my fave version of Strawberry Fields comes from Candy Flip.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I like Gemma Arterton's Strawberry Fields.

 

[Scout101]

Across the Universe, while being a pretty strange movie that didn't really work for me, had pretty amazing covers of almost all of their songs...

 

[Landed]

The bottom line is that people deify Lennon and the idea that someone might have done it better usually meets opposition.

Your take?

I think Lennon himself would readily agree that, of all songs, Strawberry Fields could easily have been done better by someone else. He never finished it. He had George Martin take two takes of the song and fuse them together, having liked the way one take began and having liked how the other take built up. But the two takes were in different keys and tempos, so one take had to be sped up so that they would match.

He had actually planned to go back and record it "the right way" once Double Fantasy promotion was out of the way, but he never got the chance.

 

[Mistral]

So I'm not (just) smoking something funny here. I always loved the original but felt it lacked something undefinable( in my simple mind). No wonder....

 

[Landed]

So I'm not (just) smoking something funny here. I always loved the original but felt it lacked something undefinable( in my simple mind). No wonder....

You can totally hear the merger, too. It's at about the 55 second mark when he sings "let me take you down cuz I'm [merger] GOING to..."

And you'll notice right at the end, when he says "Cranberry sauce" it sounds like "I buried Paul" because it was slowed down.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I think Lennon himself would readily agree that, of all songs, Strawberry Fields could easily have been done better by someone else. He never finished it. He had George Martin take two takes of the song and fuse them together, having liked the way one take began and having liked how the other take built up. But the two takes were in different keys and tempos, so one take had to be sped up so that they would match.

One was sped up, one was slowed down, and it was a happy accident that they even matched. It's not a perfect match, but it's close. That's probably George Martin's finest moment as their producer, and I believe it's the one he's proudest of.

Which is why he was seriously offended when...

He had actually planned to go back and record it "the right way" once Double Fantasy promotion was out of the way, but he never got the chance.

It wasn't just "Strawberry Fields." Lennon told Martin in their last dinner together that Martin hadn't recorded any of his songs properly, and Lennon wanted to redo them.

Yes, John liked to say controversial or mean things just to get a rise out of people, and people who really knew him knew that, but it didn't take the sting out of his words.

 

[LitmusDragon]

My favorite version might be the demo from the Anthology release, the one with just John picking out the melody on the guitar and working the lyrics out. It just sounds so innocent.

The version released as a single is a marvel of 4-track engineering. George Martin was truly a production genius. I'd love to see what he could have done if modern technology had been available back then.

 

[Caligula]

I think Lennon himself would readily agree that, of all songs, Strawberry Fields could easily have been done better by someone else.

Certainly not by Aretha Franklin. Maybe the most hideous cover of a Beatles tune I've ever heard, and I don't have anything in particular against Aretha. It's just that bad.

Joe Cocker's take on "With A Little Help From My Friends" (on the other hand) is not only superior to Ringo Starr's version, but it is a classic in its own right.

 

[Scout101]

Definitely a classic. Strange when that happens occasionally. Original song is good in its own right, but then someone covers it, makes a few small changes, and then it hits that THAT is exactly what it needed, and better than the original. All Along the Watchtower, by Bob Dylan, and then covered by Hendrix, is a perfect example. Dylan had a nice song, but Hendrix did it perfectly.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Having a fondness for the 90's rave scene, my fave version of Strawberry Fields comes from Candy Flip.

Me, too.

 

[I Grok Spock]

My favorite version might be the demo from the Anthology release, the one with just John picking out the melody on the guitar and working the lyrics out. It just sounds so innocent.

The version released as a single is a marvel of 4-track engineering. George Martin was truly a production genius. I'd love to see what he could have done if modern technology had been available back then.

I also liked hearing the uncut complete tracks of each version (take 7 and take 26). Both are good, but when merged it became a masterpiece - the completely unexpected shift from the Beatle-band version into the heavy brass/strings arrangement. I do prefer Lennon's version.

Take 7:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtOTUwh7LiQ[/yt]

Take 26:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unLwFqLj8FU[/yt]

 

[Nerys Myk]

One of my all time favorite Beatles song. It speaks to me in ways I still dont quite understand. Gotta go with Lennon.

 

[doubleohfive]

I like Gemma Arterton's Strawberry Fields.

OILFINGEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

[Zachary Smith]

The cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" in Across the Universe is EXACTLY that: a decent cover version. The original song was a deeply personal song from John as he explored aspects of his personality and character through its imagery. "Strawberry Fields" is one of my all-time favorite songs and I really felt I understood and identified with the portrait John painted of himself in it. It created a powerful connection with someone I never met but who made me feel less alone in the world.

The real standout from Across the Universe is "I Want to Hold Your Hand". No longer is it an exuberant celebration of young love but here it becomes a poignant cry of longing and melancholy and, in context of the film, brings a completely new meaning to the lines "It's such a feeling, I can't hide". BOTH versions of the song are brilliant but with completely different tones and meaning.

 

[Nowhere Man]

John Lennon version or the Across the Universe version?

Personally, I like the Across the Universe version better-I think it has more heart even amidst the (over-) production values.

The bottom line is that people deify Lennon and the idea that someone might have done it better usually meets opposition.

Your take?

Blasphemy! Heretic! Lennon's version!

 

[Yassim]

Personally, I like the Across the Universe version better-I think it has more heart even amidst the (over-) production values.

The movie had some awkward moments, when it tried to shoehorn a song into a moment. I felt this was one of the worst. The visual metaphor of strawberries as bombs, the weird "connect" between the characters... I've had no urge to re-listen to this cover.

Joe Cocker's take on "With A Little Help From My Friends" (on the other hand) is not only superior to Ringo Starr's version, but it is a classic in its own right.

Agreed. This was one of the finest moments in the movie, when they clearly segued from one version to the other. I also like the "Hold Me Tight" cover at the beginning, with the visual quotes from the Cavern. I didn't realize it WAS a Beatles song, until I went back to my albums and reheard the forgettable Beatles version.

The real standout from Across the Universe is "I Want to Hold Your Hand". No longer is it an exuberant celebration of young love but here it becomes a poignant cry of longing and melancholy and, in context of the film, brings a completely new meaning to the lines "It's such a feeling, I can't hide". BOTH versions of the song are brilliant but with completely different tones and meaning.

It was a standout in terms of re-interpretation, and a clever twist. It didn't make me want to hear it again though - I just don't think it holds up at that slow pace. But it was one of the better moments for suiting the song to the story.

 

[Nowhere Man]

My favorite version might be the demo from the Anthology release, the one with just John picking out the melody on the guitar and working the lyrics out. It just sounds so innocent.

The version released as a single is a marvel of 4-track engineering. George Martin was truly a production genius. I'd love to see what he could have done if modern technology had been available back then.

Thats probably what makes the Beatles so great; even if you strip away the "wall of sound" and just have an acoustic demo, you still get a wonderfull song. Sometimes you get a better or completely different song. Just think if they would have done an Unplugged album, not to mention if Lennon was still alive. It would have been a huge reunion, bigger than the Eagles or Zepplin. Nirvana was the same way, the album that came out a few years back had a lot of alternate versions of songs along with some "new" songs. You could have made a whole new album out of those other songs. Sublime also had some demoes and alternate versions of songs that I like better than the ones on the albums.