Fans of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, from The Beatles‘ White Album, say they can no longer listen to the original version of the song.
Instead, they are taken with the Take 3 version which features on the Anthology 3 release. A fan posting to the r/Beatles subreddit suggested it was a far superior version to the originally released song, written by Paul McCartney. One fan wrote: “I can’t listen to the album version of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da anymore, Take 3 ruined it for me. The album version is too slow and I prefer the overall vibe of Take 3. The piano intro is iconic, but I think it’s an example of Paul taking it too far in the studio.”
Other users agreed with the Take 3 superiority and say Take 5 of the song, too, has merits over the studio version. One wrote: “The tempo and stripped nature of Take 3 gives it a brighter and maybe even more modern sound than the album version. Take 5 is also good. It adds some instrumentation while retaining the faster tempo of Take 3 for a happy medium between Take 3 and the album version.”
Not everyone was a fan of the song, though, and suggested the album release is better as it has a tempo which matches the rest of the song. They wrote: “I feel like Take 3 is rushing it. I like the moderate tempo, it fits the song better in my opinion. It lets the vocal melody take center stage. Take 3 feels like it’s just going through the paces.”
According to engineer Geoff Emerick, McCartney and John Lennon had a series of tense disagreements over the recording of the song. He recalled: “This was a McCartney composition that Lennon openly and vocally detested.
“When Paul announced several nights later that he wanted to scrap everything that had been done so far and start the song again from scratch, John went ballistic. Ranting and raving, he headed out the door, with Yoko trailing closely behind, and we thought that we’d seen the last of him that evening.
“But a few hours later he stormed back into the studio, clearly in a highly altered state of mind. ‘I am f**king stoned!!’ John Lennon bellowed from the top of the stairs. […] ‘I am more stoned than you have ever been. In fact, I am more stoned than you will ever be!’ […] ‘And this,’ Lennon added with a snarl, ‘is how the f**king song should go.’
I can’t listen to the album version of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” anymore, Take 3 has ruined it for me.
byu/RedSpecial22 inbeatles
“Unsteadily, he lurched down the stairs and over to the piano and began smashing the keys with all his might, pounding out the famous opening chords that became the song’s introduction, played at a breakneck tempo. […]
“‘Okay, then, John,’ [McCartney] said in short, clipped words, staring his deranged bandmate straight in the eye. ‘Let’s do it your way.’ […] The remake, I had to admit, was quite good.”
But McCartney, in an interview with Howard Stern decades after recording the White Album, rubbished the scenario and instead suggested Lennon was “really enthusiastic” about recording Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It’s one of the Beatles’ worst songs & one of the worst songs ever. I recall my school teacher playing the Marmalade cover version no.1 single to the class in ’69 and thinking it was embarrassing, puerile crap for toddlers (when I was 6).