"
Carnival of Light" is an unreleased experimental piece by
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
. It was recorded on 5 January 1967, after the vocal overdubbing sessions for the song "
Penny Lane"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, and released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever". The song was later included on the Magical Mystery Tour LP...
". The track was created for
The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, an event held at the
Roundhouse TheatreThe Roundhouse is a former engine shed now used as an arts and concert venue in Chalk Farm, London. Built in 1846, it ceased to be used as an engine shed by 1867, and underwent various uses before being abandoned just before the Second World War...
on 28 January and 4 February 1967.
History
The genesis of the track came in December 1966 from designer David Vaughan (part of the designer trio Binder, Edwards & Vaughan), who had recently painted a
psychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλείν , translating to "mind-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly ordinary fetters...
design on a piano owned by Paul McCartney. About the same time as he delivered the piano to McCartney's Cavendish Avenue address, he asked if McCartney would contribute a musical piece for the upcoming
The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave. To Vaughan’s surprise McCartney agreed to make a contribution.
The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave (sometimes referred to as
The Carnival of Light Rave) was an art festival organised by Binder, Edwards & Vaughan as a showcase for electronic music and light shows. It was held at the Chalk Farm Road
Roundhouse TheatreThe Roundhouse is a former engine shed now used as an arts and concert venue in Chalk Farm, London. Built in 1846, it ceased to be used as an engine shed by 1867, and underwent various uses before being abandoned just before the Second World War...
and featured on the bill not only a public playing of 'Carnival of Light' but performances by Unit Delta Plus, whose members included early electronic music pioneers
Delia DerbyshireDelia Ann Derbyshire was an English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concrète. She is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.-Early...
,
Brian HodgsonBrian Hodgson is a British television composer and sound technician. Born in Liverpool, Hodgson joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1962 where he became the original sound effects creator for the science fiction programme Doctor Who...
from the
BBC Radiophonic WorkshopThe BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
and fellow electronic artist
Peter ZinovieffPeter Zinovieff is a British inventor of Russian ethnicity, most notable for his EMS company, which made the famous VCS3 synthesiser in the late '60s...
. "Carnival of Light" was created for this event.
Recording and mix
Beatles expert
Mark LewisohnMark Lewisohn is an English author and historian, regarded as the world's leading authority on British Rock band The Beatles.-The Beatles and related subjects:...
, who listened to the song in 1987 while compiling his book
The Complete Beatles Recording SessionsThe Complete Beatles Recording Sessions is a book by Mark Lewisohn, published by Hamlyn , and executively produced by Norman Bates for the record company EMI....
, says the song included "distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds, a distorted lead guitar, the sound of a church organ, various effects (water gargling was one) and, perhaps most intimidating of all, John Lennon and McCartney screaming dementedly and bawling aloud random phrases like 'Are you alright?' and 'Barcelona!'"
Barry MilesBarry Miles is a British author, luminary of the 1960s underground and businessman. In the 1960s, he was co-owner of the Indica Gallery and helped start the International Times.-Life and work:...
, the official McCartney biographer, wrote in
Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now that the song had "no rhythm, although a beat is sometimes established for a few bars by the percussion or a rhythmic pounding piano. There is no melody, although snatches of a tune sometimes threaten to break through."
"I said all I want you to do is just wander around all the stuff, bang it, shout, play it, it doesn't need to make any sense. Hit a drum, then wander onto the piano, hit a few notes and just wander around," said McCartney in November 2008.
The basic bed track of an organ playing bass notes and drums was recorded at a slow speed, giving them a deeper sound. There is also a huge amount of reverb used on the instruments and on Lennon's and McCartney's vocals (the only two voices on the track); Lennon and McCartney also recorded Native American war cries, whistling, close-miked gasping, genuine coughing and fragments of studio conversation. Other overdubs to the song include bursts of guitar feedback, schmaltzy cinema organ, snatches of jangling pub piano and electronic feedback with Lennon shouting 'Electricity!'. The track concludes with McCartney asking the studio engineer in an echo-soaked voice, "Can we hear it back now?"
Also, according to Barry Miles, musically it "resembles 'The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet' from
Frank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album...
's
Freak Out!Freak Out! is the debut album by American experimental rock band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Though often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the real unifying theme of the album is not musical, but a satirical attitude based on frontman Frank...
album, except there is no rhythm and the music ... is more fragmented, abstract and serious."
Dudley Edwards (one of the organizers of
The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave and friend of McCartney's) said that an early take of "
Fixing a Hole"Fixing a Hole" is a song mainly written by Paul McCartney and performed by The Beatles on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.-Recording:...
" (from
Sgt. Pepper's) with a piano appeared during the song. It is unlikely that a sample of an early take was heard since the recording of "
Fixing a Hole"Fixing a Hole" is a song mainly written by Paul McCartney and performed by The Beatles on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.-Recording:...
" did not commence until five days after the last
The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, but it is not impossible that McCartney played a few bars of the song on the track.
Some reports indicate that it is around fourteen minutes long and
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
has said it was around fifteen minutes. In
The Complete Beatles Chronicle it is listed as lasting 13 minutes and 48 seconds.
Although Lewisohn's book says that a rough mono mix was given to Vaughan, Miles claims that the mix down “was made with full stereo separation, and is an exercise in musical layers and textures”. Whether a second mix was made after the event or Vaughan was in fact given a stereo mix which was not logged in Abbey Road’s records is unspecified. Edwards has said the tape was taken to America by one Ray Anderson (who was brought over from the U.S. to assist with the light show). The master session tapes of Carnival of Light are still at
Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios, established in November of 1931 by EMI in London, England, is an iconic recording studio located at Abbey Road, in St John's Wood in the City of Westminster...
.
Unreleased status
"Carnival of Light" has not yet appeared on any release, either official or a bootleg recording. In 1996 McCartney tried to release the track on the compilation album
The Beatles Anthology 2Anthology 2 is a compilation album by The Beatles released in March 1996 by Apple Records as part of the The Beatles Anthology series. The album includes rare, live, and alternative tracks from the sessions for Help! through the sessions for Magical Mystery Tour and early 1968 sessions before the...
, but George Harrison voted to reject it. According to McCartney, the reason was that "he didn't like avant garde music" and referred to avant garde as 'avant garde a clue' ("haven't got a clue"). George Harrison had also created avant-garde music as a solo composer (in 1969 he released an experimental album using the then new
Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesizers....
called
Electronic SoundElectronic Sound is George Harrison's second solo album, and the second and final record released on the Beatles' short-lived Zapple Records , before it was folded at the insistence of The Beatles' then-manager Allen Klein...
), and dabbled in the avant-garde with a couple of his Beatles compositions.
In August 1996, McCartney claimed (in an interview for
MojoMojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom.Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
) that he was working on a photo collage film of the Beatles that was similar to a film made about the
Grateful DeadThe Grateful Dead were an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, and space rock—and for live performances of long musical...
in 1995 called
Grateful Dead -- A Photo Film. He was planning to use "Carnival of Light" in the soundtrack, but this project has yet to be seen and McCartney has not commented on the film's status since 2002.
In November 2008, Paul McCartney confirmed he still owned the master tapes, adding that he suspected "the time has come for it to get its moment. I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off piste." McCartney would need the consent of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, as well as Ringo Starr to release the track.
Fake releases
A minute-long mp3 file of backwards, sped up electric guitar noises showed up on filesharing networks under the title of "Carnival of Light." However, this track was a misnamed partial track (originally 1 minute 9 seconds long) by the Lord of Boothferry, a very keen Beatles-related music collector. It was recorded mid-2000, using a damaged Hondo guitar, on a digital eight-track machine, and was released under a pseudonym on
NapsterNapster was an online music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning while he was attending Northeastern University in Boston. The service operated between June 1999 and July 2001...
. The track was a response to misnamed files on filesharing networks that made outrageous claims. Although not released as "Carnival of Light," once circulating the name of the file was changed by various fans to fit descriptions of this unreleased composition. A follow-up track named "Joker's Relief" did not gain such a "following" or misnaming.
Since then, particularly in the wake of McCartney's announcement that he would release the track, multiple other faked constructions of the song have surfaced on YouTube and other such sites; some use samples from The Beatles recordings to create a more realistic interpretation of the track. The sixth volume of the remix bootleg compilation series
Tuned to a Natural E features a remixer's interpretation of "Carnival of Light", which partially includes versions of "
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by The Beatles originally released on the double-disc album The Beatles , and later released as a single. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney, though credited to Lennon/McCartney....
" and "
Yesterday"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. According to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3,000 recorded cover versions, the first hitting the United...
".
External links