Talk:Fixing a Hole

Genre

Daily News calls the track "baroque pop," which makes perfect sense (use of harpsichord is typical of baroque pop) http://www.dailynews.com/lalife/ci_22091693?source=rss — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.105.44.63 (talk) 20:01, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

First Time The Beatles Recorded An EMI Album Track Outside Abbey Road Studios

The article says that ‘Fixing A Hole’ was the first EMI album track to be recorded outside Abbey Road Studios. Wasn't ‘Can't Buy Me Love’ recorded in Paris? Esszet (talk) 13:07, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes, that is correct. The source specifies that this was the first British studio other than Abbey Road used for an EMI recording. Piriczki (talk) 15:27, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Ah. Esszet (talk) 16:32, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Bass and harpsichord

There appears to be a great deal of debate and controversy over whether or not John was on bass and Paul was on harpsichord or bass, but according to the liner notes to the 50th anniversary edition, Paul is on bass, harpsichord and guitar and John was on bass, but I'm not certain if John's bass, if he did indeed play it on the basic track, was intended to be replaced by a bass overdub from Paul or not, since he was the band's usual bassist.

Although the mystery was supposedly "cracked", according to www.beatlesebooks.com, the liner notes to the 50th anniversary box set belie it and in the personnel section made that error (Paul on harpsichord and John on bass) while in the citation given as well as the article, it clearly states that Paul is on bass.

61.69.217.3 (talk) 04:31, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

I've just requested the page be protected to keep it stable, due to a disruptive editor. This is an issue for many Beatle articles: there really is no official record (studio notes) and the otherwise-reliable sources have to use the same handful of fading memories from those who were there. Lots of it is guess work. When it's not obvious, or there is no clear consensus (such as on this song) we probably require a short introductory paragraph for the personnel section. Most sources do seem to say it's Paul on bass, and some say it's Martin on harpsichord. However, most of those sources appear to be basing this on hunches, on the usual routine in the studio (the bass player plays bass, duh), and recollections that are not always reliable. In at least one source (which I cannot find at the moment, but I'm assuming the current version is based on this) states that the song was mainly performed live, with Paul on harpsichord, meaning someone else plays bass. However, this source, if I recall correctly, asserts that Paul overdubs his bass, essentially doubling, or more likely burying, the (probably) inferior original bass (played supposedly by Lennon, never the most fluent nor enthusiastic bassist). I found a source that states McCartney is playing harpsichord and that the song was performed mainly live off the floor. If true, then someone else is playing bass. I don't have time at the moment to look for more sources but my suggestion is to start the section with a brief explanation that there is disagreement amongst critics on who plays bass and harpsichord, and who the suggested musicians are for each. Then we list McCartney on bass and harpsichord, Lennon on bass, Martin on harpsichord (all with sources) and hopefully if we write it well, the reader will understand that the sources are not in agreement on these issues and this is the closest to consensus that there is. freshacconci (✉) 13:38, 30 April 2018 (UTC)

Regarding my recent edits to the Personnel section, if the contention is really that there are TWO harpischords (Paul and then George Martin) and two bass tracks (John and then Paul) on the final track, then that really needs to be explained in the article body because it's confusing as hell to read that for the first time in Personnel. Pawnkingthree (talk) 16:16, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Maracas

According to Something Else and the 50th Anniversary SDE booklet, Ringo is the one, not George, playing maracas.

My edits keep being reverted when it's factually correct on this page and the maracas are attributed to Ringo. 14.201.204.176 (talk) 06:16, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

References

Mal Evans' Contribution To 'Fixing A Hole'

I know it's covered a bit on his personal page but i think it should be covered here as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Phil6875 (talk • contribs) 09:54, 20 May 2020 (UTC)