I believe that's the take I'm referring to which I used and the team used (minus the sax) mixed in with take 3(?) for the final version on CD 1. It begins with Brian telling Van Dyke (who is playing the piano) "Van...a little more of a...a little lighter feeling...a little lighter on the hands...not quite so hard." The only reason the "ba ba" between lines isn't heard in what I posted is because I have it turned off for the various reasons I mentioned above. Do you think it would sound better with the piano continuing with the passing chords (essentially no pauses/breaks)?

Thanks for the feedback, I'll try and include those suggestions in a future tweak. I wasn't sure whether to let the studio piano continue playing through the gaps between lines (as it was recorded) or stay silent in the pauses like in the master take with sax/bass and on BWPS. It seems the concept changed at some point whether to have pauses there or not. No surprise. Any opinion on which sounds more pleasing?

Also, could the knowledgeable folk here tell me more about this particular piano take (with sax)? Since it's not on the box I'm not sure whether it was recorded before or after the versions we hear on Disc 2. Same day? Different day? It's played the same way as on the demo without pauses and with leading change chords. Just curious.

By the way, I did make a few minor changes/fixes after posting. So, if you grabbed it yesterday and care it have the "latest and greatest" try downloading it again.

Try http://rapidshare.com/files/1496843325/gs_new.wav

Hi everyone, I still want to give Barnyard a proper pass, but for now I took a stab at removing the demo piano from I'm in Great Shape. The released track on the box is a bit of a mish mash. It seems they took a piano take from the studio recordings (on some of the boots but not the new box) and mixed it in to the master take in order to create the intro. Maybe the idea was to make it less jarring when the demo piano comes in (piano leading to piano), or maybe it was done just because it makes the track sound fuller. Problem is it wasn't lined up properly. That first uptake chord that Brian plays on the demo (and is on the mixed in piano take) is not beat 1. It wasn't recorded on the master instrumental take that way, nor was it on the BWPS version. It creates a dissonance by mixing the two chords together so I lined them up correctly.

Anyway, enjoy!

http://oron.com/m6whllytlpll

Yes, gap free.

Wow, I'm glad people have enjoyed my Barnyard tinkering. It was just a quick pass from the weekend. I felt compelled to do it after listening to the box set a couple of times. I'll try and give it my full attention as soon as I have free time to address the remaining artifacts and also add back some depth to Brian's voice after the piano removal. I believe that pop at around :45 is from the sourced acetate. Maybe it was missed? I'll take that out too in any revised version.

I'll certainly give I'm in Great Shape a go too when time permits.

I usually use different tools for different bits whenever doing cleaning-type jobs. I think for this I used reNOVAtor, sonicWORX, iZotope RX, and a couple other standbys--a hodge podge really. Also the Altiverb Cello Studios (AKA Western) echo chamber impulse responses for some authentic Brian reverb.

Thanks!

I posted this in the Barnyard thread...

They could have digitally removed the piano from the demo and just added the vocals to the acetate like this: http://oron.com/qcxlb2ls4ib7
It takes a little bit of work, but I think it sounds significantly better.

I haven't got the box yet but isn't the mixed version with lead, bvs and animal sounds on CD1?  If so, this isn't a big deal.

I posted this on another thread but the online sample of "I'm in Great Shape" sounds really bad when the vocal kicks in.  Is this the case on the CD or just a result of a bad mp3 conversion?

It doesn't sound amazing as all they had was the radio demo of that and Barnyard to get the vocals from. Not much else they could do sadly.

Gotcha.  Thought Barnyard sounded better than my boots so I guess I expected better for "Shape".  Thanks for the info!  Looking fwd to getting my box.

I certainly mean no offense to him, he's done a great job. I work in a pretty specialized post-production field and use several tools (and have certain experience) I'd imagine he might not have in the more music-oriented side of things. Anyway PM me and hear for yourself.

The main reason the fly-ins for Barnyard don't work is because of the piano. I'm not sure why it wasn't dealt with for the Disc 1 assembly. It really wasn't that difficult to remove the piano from the demo and fly-in just Brian's vocals. The rest of the track is exactly the same. I made sure to put in the animal sounds in the first verse (like on Disc 1) that are absent in the instrumental Master Take on Disc 2. Admittedly, I do this for a living so it might not be easy for everyone. You can PM me if you want to swap out the track in your iTunes library (which is what I did).  It sounds much, much better with lead vocals but without that jarring piano.

I'd like to believe you, but that's a mighty big claim, considering Mark L. is a pro and couldn't find a way to remove the piano.

The main reason the fly-ins for Barnyard don't work is because of the piano. I'm not sure why it wasn't dealt with for the Disc 1 assembly. It really wasn't that difficult to remove the piano from the demo and fly-in just Brian's vocals. The rest of the track is exactly the same. I made sure to put in the animal sounds in the first verse (like on Disc 1) that are absent in the instrumental Master Take on Disc 2. Admittedly, I do this for a living so it might not be easy for everyone. You can PM me if you want to swap out the track in your iTunes library (which is what I did).  It sounds much, much better with lead vocals but without that jarring piano.

My first impression when seeing the pictures was probably sourced from 1960s era B&W video. Look at the edge issues and ringing artifacts on some of the pictures and the contrast on the shot of Carl and his mother. Looks like very early video. Also the resolution is oddly low for any kind of film I can think of.

How did you virtually isolate Brian's lead on Wonderful?

[Guess: you meticulously syched-up an out of phase version of the instrumental-only take w/ w an in-phase version w/ the vocal? And if you did, my hat's off to you!!]

Well, without giving away the store, I first had to spectrum match the acetate-derived instrumental you mention to the released safety copy with the lead vocal. Then synch up and phase cancel (which of course, in this instance is not perfect), and finally noise learn/cancel the remaining harpsichord chord by chord. When married to the 2004 instrumental it actually works amazingly well.

I think there is a vocals-only version of the 1971 version floating around, which would at least provide you with Brian's isolated demo vocal for the second half of the song, with Carl's 1971 vocal for the first half.

ya, it's on Get the Boot

Using software one could nearly isolate the piano or vocals.

someone must do this!

I have (and then some), but to say much more would probably get me into trouble.  E-mail me if you want to know more.

Now ask me how I (virtually) isolated Brian's original lead on Wonderful!