Marrakesh Express (Stereo Mix)

[cameron]

When this amazing mythical recording came to light a couple of weeks ago, I created a quick sync up of the CSN demo with the Hollies' backing track to create a "finished" track. I promised to have another go to improve it and include the third and fourth verse that I missed out the first time around! 

I went back to the original CSN demo and tried to clean the vocals up again from scratch. Sadly Stephen Stills' bass part was impossible to remove completely without eroding too much of the vocals. So I went for a traditional "vocals in the right channel, everything else in the left" approach, as it probably would have ended up in 1968! This was partly due to only having two tracks to work with (the Hollies' mono demo and the CSN mono vocal track) but also, the extreme panning dramatically reduces bass, so it served to remove some of Stills' bass line, which really clashes with the Hollies' version. Amazingly, Graham's acoustic guitar in the CSN demo matched quite well with the Hollies' backing. I think the different tempo and very different pitch threw those in the know off for years and lead them to describe the Hollies' mythical backing track as "unrecognisable" from the CSN version. But once the rather epic task of syncing up all the vocal phrasing up with the Hollies' backing took place, it's amazing how it all fitted exactly into place. The only bits that were hard to sync were the "blowing smoke rings from the corner of my-my-my-my-my mouth" and the "all aboard the train" which wouldn't fit at all, but this was mainly down to the vocal phrasing. 

Anyway, I'm waffling a bit, here's the end result: 


soundcloud.com/theholliesrareandunreleased/marrakesh-express-stereo

[cameron]

I wonder if they would have released this track as a single had they finished it or confined it to an album track?

[dirtyfaz]

Nice job Cameron. Noticed the separation was small. Is it possible to widen the stereo field and keep Graham's voice in the centre?

Like I said a nice job.

[cameron]

I've got my hands tied with a stereo mix as there is only the mono mix of the backing track. I toyed with the idea of doubling up Graham's guitar myself by recording it fresh to separate it, but with David Crosby already on the vocal harmony in the chorus, I wanted to keep it strictly a Hollies affair. I did attempt to separate out the bass from the track, but that just sounded odd with he bass panned to one side. Also tried double tracking Graham's vocal and panning it (like those later Herman's Hermits stereo mixes and the mixes that Ron Furmanek did for the early Hollies tracks) but that just bought Stephen Stills' ill-fitting bass line and the guitar parts that wouldn't remove right to the fore.

I should have just mixed it to mono really as that hides more flaws. I've saved the mono mix for my '1968 Lost Hollies Album' mix and thought people might like a stereo mix. I think I'll have a go at re-syncing that final verse too as the vocals don't fall in line as well as they do in the first verse.

[dirtyfaz]

Still a nice job. Maybe mono was the way to go.