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| What too much echo will do to you. |
That John Lennon sure was a creative guy, wasn't he? With and without his buddy Paul McCartney, he created some of the most creative and classic rock tunes known in the universe. With Yoko Ono, he alienated and confounded a lot of folks, but he still remained true to his own artistic vision and did whatever the hell he wanted.
During his Beatles tenure, John found that he really liked the echo effect on his voice. Apparently (according to whatever tale you read and/or choose to believe) Lennon was self conscious of his own singing voice and felt a little more bolstered with having a bit of echo thrown on top. It wasn't as obvious in the beginning, but by the time 1965 and 1966 rolled around and the Fabs became more creative in the recording studio, John was all about the echo.
Under George Martin's tasteful guidance, the echo was pretty cool. Once the Beatles disbanded, however, the effect turned into a different sort of beast. Lennon was suddenly throwing it all over everything, and producer pals like Phil Spector were only too happy to indulge him. It's right there on "Mother" on Plastic Ono Band. It was ladled on in gallons on "Give Peace a Chance" and only held back slightly in a more compressed, gated effect on "Cold Turkey."
"Instant Karma," "Power to the People," "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and even the old favorite "Imagine" are echo city, baby. And if that wasn't enough, John also loved to throw in greasy saxophone solos that bogged down the tubes. Hey, have you ever heard "Beef Jerky" or "Touch Me"?
I think the sound of the tree falling in the latter says it all, really. Hoo boy.
