Deconstructing The Beatles
For students of the music of the Beatles, there are many
ways to dissect the recordings of the Beatles, to learn
more about how the recordings were made.
A method known as the OOPS effect can be used on all of your
stereo recordings to hear them in a way you've never heard
them before. The OOPS process has also been used by some
unscrupulous bootlegers to create and sell "new mixes" of
previously available material.
What is OOPS?
OOPS stands for Out Of Phase
Stereo. It is a simple technique used to
process the two channels of modern stereo recordings into a
"new", third channel, enabling us uncover "hidden" sounds in
stereo recordings. The resulting OOPSed signal is a single
channel, mono signal.
This process is also known as "Left Minus Right". When
Quadraphonic recording was the rage in the seventies, OOPS or
Left Minus Right was used as a cheap way of creating a new,
third channel to increase the stereo listening experience.
Why OOPS Works
The speakers (or headphones) of your stereo system convert an
electrical signal into sound, by moving the speaker cone in
relation to the postive and negative waves in the signal.
In the simple example of a pure tone, the electrical
signal makes the speaker "oscillate" (move back and forth
rapidly) by moving one way, outwards for example, on the positive
(+) halves of the electrical waves, and move back the other way on
the negative halves. The speaker cone movement makes the air in
front of it move, and this frequently oscillating air reaches your
ears as sound. This single wave is a "frequency" (how frequently
the sound moves back and forth) and you hear it as a tone.
Recorded sound is made up of many of these elecrtrical waves
in various combinations relating to the frequencies in the
sounds being recorded.
Now, imagine two signals that are identical, except they are
"out of phase" with each other, that is, that when one signal is
having a postive wave peak, the other is having an identical
negative peak.
If these signals are mixed together, they will cancel each
other out. The positive peak of the first signal tries to make
the speaker move out, but as it does, it is counteracted by the
equal but opposite negative peak from the second signal,
which tries to pull the speaker cone back in, so no sound
results.
Now the good part!
In a stereo recording, some of the sounds are recorded on the
left channel, and some are recorded on the right channel.
However, because of the mixing done during the recording process,
some sounds are on BOTH channels. It is very common in modern
stereo recordings, for example, for the instruments to be in
stereo (different) on both sides, and the vocal to be "in the
middle", by having it mixed into both channels.
Now, if you took one of the channels of the above example
and combined it OUT OF PHASE (plus to minus and minus to plus)
with the other channel, whatever was THE SAME in both
channels would cancel out, and you would hear only what was
DIFFERENT in both channels. In our example, you would cancel
the vocal, and hear only the instrumental accompaniment.
Here are some
instructions on various ways to hear OOPS in your very own home!
For more about OOPS, also see Beatles Tracks: Behind The Scenes.
Recommended OOPSable CD List
The following recordings sound very dramatically changed when
listened to using the OOPS technique. (Of course it's fun to
listen to everything this way!) CDs OOPS the best of
any home playback medium because there is no possibility of phase
difference from the original source material, unlike a tape or LP.
Unless noted, only the rhythm track remains after being OOPSed.
Notes indicate what is left when track is OOPSed.
The Beatles
The list of OOPSable Beatles CDs starts with Help!
because the CDs before that are mono and cannot be OOPsed.
- Help!
- Help!
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
- Rubber Soul
- [none]
- Revolver
- Taxman
Eleanor Rigby - Vocals Only
She Said She Said
For No One
Tomorrow Never Knows - John Vocal and Sound Effects
- Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Getting Better
Sgt. Peppers Reprise - vocals and background sounds
- Magical Mystery Tour
- Magical Mystery Tour
I Am The Walrus (first half)
Hello, Goodbye
Strawberry Fields Forever (sounds just like the boots!)
Penny Lane - Flute and Horns
Baby You're A Rich Man
All You Need Is Love
- Yellow Submarine
- It's All Too Much - vocals and background sounds
All You Need Is Love
- The White Album
- Back In The U.S.S.R.
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - vocals and background sounds
Birthday - vocals, clapping and background sounds
Yer Blues (all of it sounds like the standard mix last verse)
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Revolution 1 - fuzz guitar and horns
- Let It Be
- Across The Universe - Everything Phil Spector Added
I Me Mine
One After 909
Long And Winding Road - Everything Phil Spector Added
For You Blue
Get Back
- Abbey Road
- Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Mean Mr. Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Carry That Weight
- Past Masters Volume One
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
Slow Down
Bad Boy
I'm Down
- Past Masters Volume Two
- The Inner Light
Revolution
Old Brown Shoe
- Anthology 1
- Free As A Bird
Leave My Kitten Alone
Kansas City
- Real Love CD Single
- Real Love - New backing track
Baby's In Black - Instruments and crowd
Yellow Submarine - All of the effects
Here, There And Everywhere - Backing vocals isolated at end
- Anthology 2
- Real Love
If You've Got Trouble
And Your Bird Sing - no laughing
Taxman
Penny Lane - Backing instruments
Only A Northern Song
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Within You Without You - no percussion
You Know My Name (look up my vocals)
I Am The Walrus
- Anthology 3
- Don't Pass Me By
Good Night - George Martin track only
Cry Baby Cry - percussion and bass guitar
Not Guilty
What's The New Mary Jane
Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias
For You Blue
All Things Must Pass
Get Back
Old Brown Shoe
Octopus's Garden
Come Together
- Yellow Submarine Songtrack
- Yellow Submarine - background vocals and sound effects
Hey Bulldog
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - various interesting isolations
With A Little Help From My Friends
Baby You're A Rich Man (did you know there's clapping?!)
All You Need Is Love
When I'm Sixty Four - vocals and wind instruments
- LOVE
- Get Back
Glass Onion
I Am The Walrus (All of it for the first time)
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing
Something
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
Help!
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Lady Madonna
Revolution
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Sgt. Peppers Reprise - vocals
All You Need Is Love
Paul McCartney
- Flaming Pie
- The Song We Were Singing
The World Tonight
If You Wanna
Young Boy
Flaming Pie
Heaven On A Sunday
Little Willow
Beautiful Night
- Run Devil Run
- She Said Yeah
All Shook Up
Run Devil Run
What It Is
I Got Stung
Ringo Starr
- I Wanna Be Santa Claus
- Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On
I Wanna Be Santa Claus
The Little Drummer Boy (uncovers buried background vocals)
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
The Beach Boys
- Pet Sounds (the stereo mixes)
- Wouldn't It Be Nice (like Stack O' Tracks but with backing vocals)
You Still Believe In Me
That's Not Me
I'm Waiting For The Day
Sloop John B (very different sound from version on Stack O' Tracks)
God Only Knows (like Stack O' Tracks but with backing vocals)
I Know There's An Answer - mostly lead vocal and bass
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Caroline, No
This page last updated July 6, 2007.
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