Wikipedia:Peer review/A Day in the Life/archive1

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A Day in the Life[edit]

The usual, Beatles song article, have expanded it... Johnleemk | Talk 16:05, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Well written and excellent information about the origin and development of the song. Maybe too much, because not much else is covered. Especially how did it do in the charts/sales? What about this ban? Was it permanent? Did it impact anything? How was it famous? Similar reactions in the US or elsewhere? - Taxman 04:12, Sep 9, 2004 (UTC)
The charts in those days did not include individual songs unless they were released on singles. I've added more on the ban. (It took me ages to find anyone that said anything about the ban beyond just that "the BBC banned it, how could they?" or for the satanic conspiracy theorists, "the BBC banned it, see, the Beatles were evil.") Unfortunately the ban's become so famous that it's drowned out other items of interest about the song — I can't find anything related to the American public's response. Johnleemk | Talk 16:04, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)

"The ban remains in place until today" oh yeh? True it hasn't played on Radio One, but it has been played (partially at least) on BBC radio three, specifically on an arts program in the early 70s evaluating the musical abilities of the Beatles. Ogg 12:04, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Well, that's the exact problem I'm having. People focused too much on the ban, and never mention when it was lifted. I'll need to ask some Beatle-maniacs about this. Johnleemk | Talk 07:52, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

There are two minor problems. The first is that there's some confusion about the length of the final chord; Martin mentions 15 bars, while a quote from McCartney says 24 bars. As both are direct quotes, one deserves a [sic], to indicate a mistake that is being quoted in context. The second is that a number of elements are being quoted as occuring "at the end of the song", and it may be helpful to include what sequence they actually occur in, which I recall as being in the following order:

  • The end of the third verse, with "four thousand holes", etc., concluding with "I'd love to turn you on..."
  • The second orchestral crescendo, including Mal Evans counting the measures
  • The E Maj piano chord, which continues for over 30 seconds and includes a squeaky chair and the air conditioner hum
  • About two seconds' worth of a dog whistle
  • The sped-up chatter in the runout groove

Also, we may wish to check sources as to how the Beatles kept that final chord going. Boosting the gain was one way, but there's a semi-famous photograph of George Harrison underneath a grand piano manipulating it somehow...perhaps inserting the mic directly into the piano itself. All my sources are at home, so I'll have to check later. - Beatlemaniac Scooter 19:29, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Okay, William J. Dowlding's Beatlesongs gives nothing for the last chord other than the engineer pushing down the input faders at the moment of impact. However, I got a date for the Tara Browne crash, so I'll put that in. - Scooter 04:38, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)
The article clarifies which part comes after the other, but not at the same time. The elements are all addressed in the order they appear anyway. Johnleemk | Talk 14:29, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)