Ganulopp

March 7, 2017 1:34 PM

Due to my kids interest in the Beatles, I have had the chance to listen to "It's All Too Much" many times over the last month or so.

I am a born and raised Beatle fan, and never really paid much attention to the Yellow Submarine Sountrack, certainly love all the songs, but always felt the original tracks that they had to write to fulfill a contractural obligation were more filler than anything.

But that was a naive stance on my part.

Anyway, I have started loving "It's All Too Much" a lot and am fascinated by something I hear in it.

The hand clap?

The hand clap to me sounds like it is layered with multiple tracks, all that the recording info from Mark Lewishon's book and the Wiki page refer to is "automated double tracking", but there is definitely more on that track. I hear voices for sure and who knows what else.

I know how inventive the group was in the studio, particularly after reading Geoff Emmerick's wonderful book.

But that hand clap, it is insane to me. It is one of those rare occasions where a sound feels like a three dimensional object, it also evokes a reaction inside of me, very hard to explain, but not unlike the reaction that people have to hearing a shepard tone.

So, what gives? Any ideas why I have such a interest in this hand clap? Is it just me...

posted by silsurf to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

There is a recording diary of the Abbey Road sessions as a book that should have the details. Mal Evans did a lot of the effects duties so that might be a place to start
posted by Freedomboy at 3:10 PM on March 7, 2017

I listened to what may be the wrong version on YT, and didn't hear any sort of clap--where in the song does that happen?
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 3:26 PM on March 7, 2017

The handclap sounds like it's either one clap layered or a few different people clapping and then compressed. But then there's an added effect with the clap that is not the clap, which gives it that layered sound you might be hearing. There's a ton of feedback/noise on that recording, so they might have even used a clip of some of that to layer it and give it that "wooomp" sound. I don't know. It's a cool effect though.
posted by Lutoslawski at 4:53 PM on March 7, 2017

I think you're hearing stereo artifacts of the ADT. The effect is prominent on those handclaps (at least for the first section, then it drops way down in the mix). Try listening in mono and see if you still notice it.
posted by sportbucket at 5:54 PM on March 7, 2017

Where was the hand(s) clap? What is "ganulopp"?
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:11 PM on March 7, 2017

Well, I checked the late, great Steve's Beatles page and there is no reference to any anomalies or interesting things in the track.. that was usually my go-to for stuff like this.
posted by ApathyGirl at 8:19 PM on March 7, 2017

Can't help you, but, yeah, that is a remarkable recording. The horns, the handclap/tambourine/cowbell/Israeli-rifle-butts-against-a-wooden-floor-for-all-I-know, the bouzouki/bagpipe lead guitar sound, etc. Trip and a half, as we used to say in the old days.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:13 PM on March 7, 2017

the handclaps were layered with ADT. not sure if it's all stereo artifacts like sportbucket says or something more, but wikipedia cites 2 books that might be useful in going into detail about this specific song and its handclaps:

- Lewisohn, Mark (2005) [1988]. The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970.
- Winn, John C. (2009). That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970.
posted by aielen at 10:39 PM on March 7, 2017