Guest
In my remix of the 2022 official remix of The Beatles' 1966 recording of 'Eleanor Rigby,' I have made a few changes that I believe add to better continuity in the overall recording. First, you will now consistently hear Paul's lovely lead vocal coming from the center, including during the chorus; it never deviates. Additionally, I have removed the hard-panned artificial double tracking of his voice that was present at the refrain following each verse. This process became popular in the 1960s but quickly fell out of favor. I'm not sure why this wasn't done in the official remix, unless it was thought to be an integral part of the original's character. Also, I have added a touch of air to Paul's lead vocal by applying a small amount of carefully regulated reverb. All versions of this song that I have heard since 1966 have had the lead vocal completely dry. I thought it would be nice and an interesting change of pace to add some space around it for a fresh perspective. I've always liked the intimate dryness of the vocal, but now I also enjoy hearing it expanded a bit. Secondly, I have separated the harmony vocal in the chorus, which was prominently in the left channel, and placed each voice in a separate channel: one voice to the left and the other voice to the right, with Paul's lead voice now in the center, remaining consistent with the body of the song. A touch of psychedelic 1960s-style stereo panning towards the end was added as a tribute to what was soon to follow with 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' The real star of this show is the strings, which were so masterfully remixed from their original mono position in the original to their wonderful stereo spread in the official remixes. I did not touch or have any desire to change this instrumentation. As always, no pseudo-artificial acoustics were used in my remix; in fact, some were removed! Nothing has been added that was not part of the original recording. It is strictly a de-mixing and remixing of the vocals. Thank you so much for listening!
