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{{InfoboxLost
    |title=<center>The Beatles "Carnival of Light"</center>
|title=<center>The Beatles "Carnival of Light"</center>
    |image=Carnival_of_Light.jpg
|image=TheBeatlesCarnivalOfLight-MillionVoltFlyer.jpg
    |imagecaption=Advertisement for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave (January 28th).
|imagecaption=Advertisement for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave (January 28th).
    |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
    }}  
}}
On January 5th, 1967, shortly after vocal overdubbing sessions took place for "Penny Lane", The Beatles (on request) recorded an experimental track for use in a then-upcoming art, light and sound festival titled The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, that was to be held at the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhouse_%28venue%29 Wikipedia page on the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre.] Retrieved 09 Mar '13.</ref> in London on both January 28th and February 4th of the same year. The track, which they titled '''"Carnival of Light"''', is said to be 13:48 minutes in length, and besides the two original events in which the track was played, it has never been heard by the general public.
On January 5th, 1967, shortly after vocal overdubbing sessions took place for their song ''Penny Lane'', famed British rock band The Beatles (on request) recorded an experimental track for use in a then-upcoming art, light, and sound festival titled ''The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave'' that was to be held at the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhouse_%28venue%29 Wikipedia page on the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre.] Retrieved 09 Mar '13.</ref> in London on both January 28th and February 4th of the same year.


== History ==
The track, which they titled '''"Carnival of Light"''', is said to be 13:48 minutes in length, and besides the two original events in which the track was played, it has never been heard by the general public.


The song's origins began in December 1966 when designer David Vaughan (after having painted a psychedelic design on Paul McCartney's piano) asked McCartney if he would be willing to submit a track for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, organised, in part, by Vaughan himself. Much to his delight, McCartney agreed, and the track was recorded the very next month.
==History==
The song's origins can be traced back to December 1966 when designer David Vaughan (after having painted a psychedelic design on Paul McCartney's piano) asked McCartney if he would be willing to submit a track for ''The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave'' art festival at the Roadhouse in London on 28th January and 4th February 1967.  The event was organized, in part, by Vaughan himself. Much to his delight, McCartney agreed, and the track was recorded the very next month.


==Content ==
==Recording==
Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn (who was personally allowed to listening to the song in 1987, while compiling his book ''The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'') has been quoted as saying that 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!'".


Others who have heard the song, such as McCartney biographer Barry Miles added in his 1997 publication'' 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". The base track consists of an organ playing bass notes and drums, and was recorded in fast motion, as to create a slower, more droning sound when played in realtime. The song's instruments make heavy use of reverb, and it contains many vocal samples from Lennon and McCartney, from audible samples such as Lennon shouting 'Electricity!', to distorted gasps, coughs and the final echo soaked sample (heard just before the song's end) of McCarntney asking "Can we hear it back now?".
The recording session took place during the sessions of The Beatles' eight studio album, ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' on 5th January 1967 at Studio Two, EMI Studios.  After recording vocal takes for "Penny Lane", the band began work on "Carnival of Light".<ref>https://www.beatlesbible.com/1967/01/05/recording-penny-lane-carnival-of-light/ 5 January 1967. The Beatles Bible.</ref>


Other instruments heard throughout the track include bursts of guitar feedback, gushy cinema organ and fragments of clinking pub piano. McCartney himself described, in a November 2008 interview, the song's production, saying "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'".
<blockquote>"We were set up in the studio and would just go in every day and record, I said to the guys, this is a bit indulgent, but would you mind giving me 10 minutes? All I want you to do is just wander round all the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. Then we put a bit of echo on it. It's very free." - Sir Paul McCartney, 2008.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7732546.stm 'Mythical' Beatles song confirmed. BBC News. Sunday, 16 November 2008</ref><ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-weirdest-beatles-track-of-all-may-be-released-41-years-on-1020780.html The weirdest Beatles track of all may be released, 41 years on. The Independent. Sadie Gray. Sunday 16 November 2008</ref></blockquote>


== Status ==
There was only one take of the experiential piece, which was recorded with overdubs on 4-track tape. It was given no official title, listed as "Untitled" on EMI’s recording logs, later becoming known as "Carnival Of Light".  George Martin was the Producer of the sessions and Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer.


{{#ev:dailymotion|http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2peyy8|320x240|right|Segment from Paul McCartney's 2013 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, in which he briefly mentions the unreleased track (3:19-4:06).|frame}}
<blockquote>"When they had finished George Martin said to me, ‘This is ridiculous, we’ve got to get our teeth into something more constructive." - Geoff Emerick (Beatles recording engineer)<ref>The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn</ref></blockquote>
McCartney tried to have the track released in 1996, intending to include it on their compilation record ''The Beatles Anthology 2'', although George Harrison voted against it, stating that he "didn't like avant garde music", and as a result, the track never made it to the compilation. In the same year, McCartney also claimed that he had been working on a photo collage film for which he intended to use "Carnival of Light" in the soundtrack, although the project has never been seen, and the last time McCartney spoke of it was in 2002.


McCartney confirmed himself in the prior mentioned November 2008 interview<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-weirdest-beatles-track-of-all-may-be-released-41-years-on-1020780.html independent.co.uk article on the track, featuring quotes from BBC Radio 4's 2008 interview with Paul McCartney.] Retrieved 09 Mar '13.</ref> that he was indeed still in possession of the master tapes, and was still eager to release it, saying that he felt as though "the time has come for it to get its moment. I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off piste", although he also stated that such a release would require consent from the group's estate (Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, as well as Ringo Starr). As of 2013, the track has still not received a public release (though many fakes have shown up online). McCartney most recently mentioned it during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on September 23rd, 2013, in which he briefly described the tone of the song.
EMI logs also show that a mono mix was made at the end of the session. This mono mix was then given by McCartney to Binder, Edwards and Vaughan on a reel of quarter inch tape.  The Beatles’ recording was played a number of times during the two Roundhouse events.
 
==Content==
Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn (who was personally allowed to listen to the song in 1987, while compiling his book ''The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'').  According to Lewisohn the multi-track tape contents were:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Track No. !! Content
|-
| Track one || "distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds"
|-
| Track two || "a distorted lead guitar"
|-
| Track three || "the sounds of a church organ, various effects (water gargling was one) and voices ... perhaps most intimidating of all, John and Paul screaming dementedly and bawling aloud random phrases like 'Are you alright?' and 'Barcelona!'"
|-
| Track four || "various indescribable sound effects with heaps of echo and manic tambourine"
|}
 
Others who have heard the song, such as McCartney biographer Barry Miles added in his 1997 publication ''Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now'' that the song had:
 
<blockquote>''"no rhythm, although a beat is sometimes established for a few bars by the percussion or a rhythmic pounding piano"'', and that it also had ''"no melody, although snatches of a tune sometimes threaten to break through"''. The base track consists of an organ playing bass notes and drums and was recorded in fast motion, as to create a slower, more droning sound when played in real-time. The song's instruments make heavy use of reverb, and it contains many vocal samples from Lennon and McCartney, from audible samples such as Lennon shouting ''"Electricity!"'', to distorted gasps, coughs and the final echo-soaked sample (heard just before the song's end) of McCartney asking ''"Can we hear it back now?"'' - Barry Miles.</blockquote>
 
Other instruments heard throughout the track include bursts of guitar feedback, gushy cinema organ, and fragments of clinking pub piano. Miles also compared it to the Frank Zappa song "The Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet", the closing song from the album ''Freak Out!'' (McCartney himself said that Freak Out was an influence on ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'').
 
McCartney himself described, in a November 2008 interview, the song's production, saying:
 
<blockquote>''"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'"'' - Sir Paul McCartney</blockquote>.
 
==Release Status==
McCartney tried to have the track released in 1996, intending to include it on their compilation record ''The Beatles Anthology 2'', although George Harrison voted against it, stating that he ''"didn't like avant-garde music"'', and as a result, the track never made it to the compilation. Although the song was mixed into mono in 1967, Barry Miles described the version he heard as being in full stereo.  So it is possible that engineer Geoff Emerick remixed the song in stereo for ''Anthology 2'' and Miles heard the vetoed mix.
 
In the same year, McCartney also claimed that he had been working on a photo collage film for which he intended to use ''Carnival of Light'' in the soundtrack, although the project has never been seen, and the last time McCartney spoke of it was in 2002.
 
McCartney confirmed himself in the prior mentioned November 2008 interview<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-weirdest-beatles-track-of-all-may-be-released-41-years-on-1020780.html independent.co.uk article on the track, featuring quotes from BBC Radio 4's 2008 interview with Paul McCartney.] Retrieved 09 Mar '13.</ref> that he was indeed still in possession of the master tapes, and was still eager to release it, saying that he felt as though ''"the time has come for it to get its moment. I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off-piste"'', although he also stated that such a release would require consent from the group's estate (Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, as well as Ringo Starr). As of 2013, the track has still not received a public release (though many fakes have shown up online). McCartney most recently mentioned it during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on September 23rd, 2013, in which he briefly described the tone of the song.  
 
As of 2017, the track remains unreleased. Many anticipated that it might be included as a bonus track on the super deluxe edition of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', but it failed to appear in the released track listings. At a preview event hosted at Abbey Road Studios to unveil the new ''Sgt. Pepper'' stereo remix, Giles Martin commented that while "Carnival of Light" was considered for inclusion, "it wasn't really part of Pepper. It wasn't part of the Sgt. Pepper recording. It's a very different thing". However, he expressed an interest in "doing something interesting" with the track in the future.
 
==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =4
  |service1    =dailymotion
  |id1          =x2peyy8
  |description1 =Segment from Paul McCartney's 2013 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, in which he briefly mentions the unreleased track (3:19-4:06)
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =JcUircPIIqA
  |description2 =Paul McCartney interview with Stuart Maconie from 2007 explaining the history of the track and its non-appearance on ''Anthology 2''.
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =TCbIw5D_hCQ
  |description3 ="The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet" by The Mothers of Invention.  This has been described by McCartney biographer as a track "Carnival of Light" "most resembles".
  |service4    =youtube
  |id4          =SNdcFPjGsm8
  |description4 =“Revolution 9” another Beatles sound collage, parts from “Carnival Of Light” have been rumored to have been used here.
}}
 
==See Also==
*[[The Threetles (lost unreleased recordings from Beatles reunion sessions; 1990s)]]
*[[The Long and Winding Road (found workprint of unfinished Beatles documentary; 1970s)]]
*[[Help! (partially found deleted scenes from The Beatles film; 1965)]]
*[[Revolution 1 (Take 20) (found mix of The Beatles song; 1968)]]
*[[Late Night Line-Up (partially found Beatles "Abbey Road" special; 1969)]]
*[[The Beatles Cartoon (partially lost skits/bumpers of animated TV series; 1965-1967)]]
*[[Late Night Line-Up (partially found Beatles "Abbey Road" special; 1969)]]
*[[A Hard Day's Day - A Day in the Life of a Beatles Tribute Band (found parody film; 2002)]]
*[[Yellow Submarine (partially found production material for cancelled CGI remake of Beatles animated film; 2010-2011)]]
*[[The Beatles - Cavern Club tapes (partially lost recordings of British rock band; early 1960s)]]
*[["Now and Then" (lost overdub session of Beatles song; 1995)]]


==References==
==References==
<references/>
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Lost music|Beatles "Carnival of Light" (lost experimental track; 1967)]]
[[Category:Lost music|Carnival of Light]]
[[Category:Completely lost media|Carnival of Light]]
[[Category:Historic|Carnival of Light]]

Revision as of 23:10, 25 April 2022

TheBeatlesCarnivalOfLight-MillionVoltFlyer.jpg

Advertisement for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave (January 28th).

Status: Lost

On January 5th, 1967, shortly after vocal overdubbing sessions took place for their song Penny Lane, famed British rock band The Beatles (on request) recorded an experimental track for use in a then-upcoming art, light, and sound festival titled The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave that was to be held at the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre[1] in London on both January 28th and February 4th of the same year.

The track, which they titled "Carnival of Light", is said to be 13:48 minutes in length, and besides the two original events in which the track was played, it has never been heard by the general public.

History

The song's origins can be traced back to December 1966 when designer David Vaughan (after having painted a psychedelic design on Paul McCartney's piano) asked McCartney if he would be willing to submit a track for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave art festival at the Roadhouse in London on 28th January and 4th February 1967. The event was organized, in part, by Vaughan himself. Much to his delight, McCartney agreed, and the track was recorded the very next month.

Recording

The recording session took place during the sessions of The Beatles' eight studio album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on 5th January 1967 at Studio Two, EMI Studios. After recording vocal takes for "Penny Lane", the band began work on "Carnival of Light".[2]

"We were set up in the studio and would just go in every day and record, I said to the guys, this is a bit indulgent, but would you mind giving me 10 minutes? All I want you to do is just wander round all the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. Then we put a bit of echo on it. It's very free." - Sir Paul McCartney, 2008.[3][4]

There was only one take of the experiential piece, which was recorded with overdubs on 4-track tape. It was given no official title, listed as "Untitled" on EMI’s recording logs, later becoming known as "Carnival Of Light". George Martin was the Producer of the sessions and Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer.

"When they had finished George Martin said to me, ‘This is ridiculous, we’ve got to get our teeth into something more constructive." - Geoff Emerick (Beatles recording engineer)[5]

EMI logs also show that a mono mix was made at the end of the session. This mono mix was then given by McCartney to Binder, Edwards and Vaughan on a reel of quarter inch tape. The Beatles’ recording was played a number of times during the two Roundhouse events.

Content

Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn (who was personally allowed to listen to the song in 1987, while compiling his book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions). According to Lewisohn the multi-track tape contents were:

Track No. Content
Track one "distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds"
Track two "a distorted lead guitar"
Track three "the sounds of a church organ, various effects (water gargling was one) and voices ... perhaps most intimidating of all, John and Paul screaming dementedly and bawling aloud random phrases like 'Are you alright?' and 'Barcelona!'"
Track four "various indescribable sound effects with heaps of echo and manic tambourine"

Others who have heard the song, such as McCartney biographer Barry Miles added in his 1997 publication 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", and that it also had "no melody, although snatches of a tune sometimes threaten to break through". The base track consists of an organ playing bass notes and drums and was recorded in fast motion, as to create a slower, more droning sound when played in real-time. The song's instruments make heavy use of reverb, and it contains many vocal samples from Lennon and McCartney, from audible samples such as Lennon shouting "Electricity!", to distorted gasps, coughs and the final echo-soaked sample (heard just before the song's end) of McCartney asking "Can we hear it back now?" - Barry Miles.

Other instruments heard throughout the track include bursts of guitar feedback, gushy cinema organ, and fragments of clinking pub piano. Miles also compared it to the Frank Zappa song "The Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet", the closing song from the album Freak Out! (McCartney himself said that Freak Out was an influence on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band).

McCartney himself described, in a November 2008 interview, the song's production, saying:

"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'" - Sir Paul McCartney

.

Release Status

McCartney tried to have the track released in 1996, intending to include it on their compilation record The Beatles Anthology 2, although George Harrison voted against it, stating that he "didn't like avant-garde music", and as a result, the track never made it to the compilation. Although the song was mixed into mono in 1967, Barry Miles described the version he heard as being in full stereo. So it is possible that engineer Geoff Emerick remixed the song in stereo for Anthology 2 and Miles heard the vetoed mix.

In the same year, McCartney also claimed that he had been working on a photo collage film for which he intended to use Carnival of Light in the soundtrack, although the project has never been seen, and the last time McCartney spoke of it was in 2002.

McCartney confirmed himself in the prior mentioned November 2008 interview[6] that he was indeed still in possession of the master tapes, and was still eager to release it, saying that he felt as though "the time has come for it to get its moment. I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off-piste", although he also stated that such a release would require consent from the group's estate (Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, as well as Ringo Starr). As of 2013, the track has still not received a public release (though many fakes have shown up online). McCartney most recently mentioned it during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on September 23rd, 2013, in which he briefly described the tone of the song.

As of 2017, the track remains unreleased. Many anticipated that it might be included as a bonus track on the super deluxe edition of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but it failed to appear in the released track listings. At a preview event hosted at Abbey Road Studios to unveil the new Sgt. Pepper stereo remix, Giles Martin commented that while "Carnival of Light" was considered for inclusion, "it wasn't really part of Pepper. It wasn't part of the Sgt. Pepper recording. It's a very different thing". However, he expressed an interest in "doing something interesting" with the track in the future.

Gallery

Segment from Paul McCartney's 2013 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, in which he briefly mentions the unreleased track (3:19-4:06)

Paul McCartney interview with Stuart Maconie from 2007 explaining the history of the track and its non-appearance on Anthology 2.

"The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet" by The Mothers of Invention. This has been described by McCartney biographer as a track "Carnival of Light" "most resembles".

“Revolution 9” another Beatles sound collage, parts from “Carnival Of Light” have been rumored to have been used here.

See Also

References

  1. Wikipedia page on the Chalk Farm Road Roundhouse Theatre. Retrieved 09 Mar '13.
  2. https://www.beatlesbible.com/1967/01/05/recording-penny-lane-carnival-of-light/ 5 January 1967. The Beatles Bible.
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7732546.stm 'Mythical' Beatles song confirmed. BBC News. Sunday, 16 November 2008
  4. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-weirdest-beatles-track-of-all-may-be-released-41-years-on-1020780.html The weirdest Beatles track of all may be released, 41 years on. The Independent. Sadie Gray. Sunday 16 November 2008
  5. The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
  6. independent.co.uk article on the track, featuring quotes from BBC Radio 4's 2008 interview with Paul McCartney. Retrieved 09 Mar '13.