Hi everyone,
I just watched the Kimmel videos again. Bill, thanks for posting the YouTube links. The only song broadcast last week was the 2nd, "Runaway." There WAS a weird b/g vocal thing just AFTER the first song, after they'd stopped playing, I thought odd, too. I have been to (only one) a Kimmel taping, & I can assure you the band was quite "live." Don't know what it's like on the smaller, inside stage, but Sir Paul was as live as it gets, out on Hollywood Blvd. If fact, we showed up way before they let ticket-holders in... stood in a nearby crosswalk, & watched their whole 4PM sound check, as well. 10 bonus songs in full, including some they didn't play later! While only 1 or 2 songs made it to air during the live show, McCartney & Co. played for a solid 1-1/2 hours! (And ROCKED!!) Not bad for FREE!
I've always assumed other bands all play live, as well, but who knows? There was recently a show where the singer got out of a car & danced down the street for a couple of blocks, with other dancers joining in, before they all turned into the studio & went onstage. It was "music video" to be sure... not sure how they did it - they had to have had street playback, but inside the band did seem live. It was well-done, to be sure.
As far as audience sound, yes, pre-show, they do have the audience make as much noise as possible to record it, & yes, they add that to the live sound, so your take on the sound bigger than the apparent audience was right. I can assure you, with at least 10,000 people filling about 6 blocks of Hwd. Blvd, for Sir Paul it wasn't necessary.
The Mellotron: I dunno, if it was a real 'Tron, what little you could see by the knobs on the control panel, they didn't look like the wide, flat knobs on my 400 #1485, typical of the time, but they did look like the right configuration. (Mine doesn't have the piano hinge either, though; it just has the brass cabinet "snaps," & the whole lid just lifts off.) But it's true, the back panel had "finger holes" in it that they don't have - it's not removable, unless that's changed since mid-70s. Those are in the front panel, under the keyboard. That was a little odd, on further study. And the cabinet did seem a little "tall & shallow." Frank, you've got great eyes & ears for the realism of it... I dunno. I heard "strings" fading in & out, but not very prominently... seemed like most of what the guy did was really irritating beeps & bleeps crap on the synth, which was all too real! I looked 'em up afterwards, & they credit 2 "keyboard" & synth players. No mention of Mellotron. I may be alone (don't think), but when I use Mellotron, it gets specific featured credit!
Thanks for all your comments! Cheers, everyone!
Berington
Berington Van Campen
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