Birthday (Beatles cover)

Happy Birthday!! Well, if it's not your birthday, at least I had a one-in-365.25 chance that it was.

Here is a video for you featuring my re-creation of the Beatles song "Birthday" from their album "The Beatles" (more commonly known as "The White Album"). On the surface, it's a fairly simple song, however it was not so simple to re-create (more on that below).

This video was created as a gift to my cousin on his 50th birthday. Happy Birthday David! Better late than never... :)

A bit of technical info: The song features a very distinctive piano sound. On the original recording, this was achieved by running the piano track through a Vox Conqueror guitar amplifier. This amp had a special 3-position tone selector effect, known as MRB, or Mid-Range Boost. It was similar in principle to the effect circuit found in the Vox wah-wah pedal, however it only had three discrete positions (whereas the wah-wah pedal is continuously variable). Unlike the wah-wah pedal, the MRB effect was designed to be used as a tone control--select position 1, 2 or 3 and leave it on that setting for the duration of the song. Recording engineer Ken Scott came up with the idea to manually "play" the MRB switch in time with the music (and is the one doing so on the recording).

Even though I could have simulated this effect using various digital audio plug-ins, I sincerely wanted to be able to show how this effect was created using a real Vox Conqueror amplifier. Unfortunately, these amplifiers are hard to find, however, I was fortunate to be able to use a Vox Defiant (from the same product line as the Conqueror, featuring the same MRB effect).

As usual, I'm playing and singing all the parts (except for some of the backing vocals*). What you see in this video are the actual performances as I recorded them. There is no "lip-syncing" or miming. Enjoy!

*Thanks to Ben and Alexander for their cameo appearance on backing vocals!

Special thanks to Rick Purdy for the use of his Gibson Les Paul guitar, John Teto for the use of his Fender Jazz bass, and Royal Music in Merrick, NY for the use of their Epiphone Casino guitar.

VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Pie Studios for the use of their Vox Defiant amplifier. This video wouldn't have been the same without it.

[myrrhinerosemary]

Holy crap! This sounds nearly exactly like the recording!

[Firebrand]

Sings all the all the a neat film from
Who IS this guy?!
The Beatles would have approved of this rendition.

[TheOtherDJMattR]

You. Even. Got. The piano. Through. The. Vox. CONQUEROR.

UNBELIEVABLE. Brilliant!!!

[SuperDachshund]

Wait. Wut? One dude? All that? From. One. Dude?

You are THE man! For years I've been wanting to do the EXACT same thing. Same feel. Same vibe. With lots of other songs!

Hats off to ya me boyo! Ya done well!

[grandadsworkshop]

Human beings are amazing! (some more than others) Thanks for that👍

[AllYouNeedIsLub]

Thanks! I try to be as faithful to the original recordings as possible in creating these videos, using similar equipment and techniques whenever possible.

[Robertcowart]

That was definitely hilarious and also musically and technically impressive. Not just the video work but all of the musical performance and the humor. You left no stone unturned. All the handclaps and everything. Kudos from somebody who hunts out Beatles covers and goes to hear Beatles tribute bands in the San Francisco area pretty regularly.

[johnhenson]

Wow - 8 years ago. I wouldn't blame you a bit that if you look back at this work and feel some satisfaction. Awesome.

[BednariksGhost]

Astounding cover! And we finally know how the keyboard sound was made. You are a treasure, Sir! New subscriber, as of right now!

[roccophipps]

I love the piano / vox bit. Brilliant! You have an amazing ear and a tremendous talent for Beatle music.

The most impressive tribute that I've ever seen in my life... Thanks for sharing...
I really enjoyed the part when you do the boost scoop filtering with the piano through the defiant :) Cheers and keep doing such magic.

[downtherabbitholephotograp]

Dude very cool use of that amp I never knew that's how they did that.

[Isakbruford]

The best part is how you even recreated the vocal error at 2:08.

[waltermitty]

GREAT!!!! MAN, YOU'RE JUST SO GREAT! YOU ROCK, DUDE!!!! GREAT JOB!

[Myro]

you sir are a miracle, please keep up the great work !!!

[JamesTKirkCobain]

Shows how simple their songs really were but because they were written and produced so well they sound fantastic.

[Tulase]

Hey, that's really really AWESOME!!
What a perfect job

[dimitreze]

I'm always returning to see your videos. But what about more? I would love to see what more you can show us! :)

[peterlarter]

I watch this about once a fortnight, love it!

[VandoneAnimations]

This is the best cover of the beatles i have ever seen in my life so hilarious and well done. Wonderful !!!