White Album + Black Album = Grey Album (1 Viewer)

I was at a friends house, who is a muscian and he put on the grey album for me. A DJ remixed the Beatles White album with Jay-Z's Black Album. I think most Beatle fans fall into the "Love the Beatles and Don't care for Rap" catagory.
I am not a huge fan but I do like it at times.

I like the mix a lot. It gives a new take on Music 40 YO and makes it fresh. Not everything works but it's pretty cool. Revolution #9 never sounded better!!!!! And to hear Rap over the Helter Skelter riff makes "The walk this Way" rap remake sound 2nd Rate.

Sound Quality is not the greatest but that's life.
Jack, have you got a chance to hear it???? Curious to hear what other Beatle fans think

Didn't Prince do the Black Album quite a while ago?

And Metallica.

I think even spinal tap did a fictious black album

Black Album [1980] - Damned
Black Album [1987] - Prince
Black Album [1998] - LSG [2]
Black Album [2000] - Edenpark
Black Album [2000] - Mad Trucker Gone Mad
Black Album [2000] - Junction Creek
Black Album [1990] - Kino
Black Album [2002] - K Otix
Black Album [2003] - Jay Z

Is it available in any other colours? Maybe mixed with the Pink Faries for a creamy look or with the Moody Blues for a stylish shade of robin's egg? BTW, the discs came yesterday!

I'd like to hear it just so I could fill myself with rage, get my sledgehammer, start tearing down the wall in my basement and finally begin work on the planned dedicated HT.

I like some rap, mostly late 80's and early 90's stuff..But there are a handful of rock bands whose music I think should just be left alone, as is, and the Beatles are at the top of that list. No need to freshen up the Beatles my friend, just....

Let It Be.

Rachael
Glad they got there; let me know what you think.

Carl
On the whole I fully agree with you. Most Beatle covers make me run for cover....
I had it playing most of the day and I gotta admit I like it a lot.

Grant & Carl,
Mind you, NONE of the Beatles songs on the Grey Album are covered, but ALOT of them are sampled, using specific beats or tones to create a whole different sound. I really like the album, but some of the songs are better than others. Specifically great tracks are "December 4th," "Change Clothes" and "Public Service Announcement." The level of sampling and beat-making on these songs rivals anything done by the early Dust Brothers. There are about 4 other songs which I think are equal to that of what's on the original Black Album, while the rest are not as good as the original beats. The use of the Beatles is a way of freshening up Jay-Z and his beats, which sometimes come off a little overbearing and overproduced, even with such great ones as Kanye West, The Neptunes, and Just Blaze.

A good thing to do is compare the original track from Jay-Z's album to the Grey Album counterpart. Amazing how the mood of a beat can change the tone of the lyrics, even though the lyrics are untouched.

I think it's a cool concept, with a few stunning results. I am just getting into mixing, but I have thought for a long time about sampling the Rolling Stones and other classic rock to create new beats, such as the beginning of Gimme Shelter and Monkey Man, as well as some of their other stuff

BTW, I am a Beatles AND a Jay-Z fan.

Yep, that's what needs to be done: the Beatles sound so dated, while Jay-Z's music is timeless.

I received an email about this from a musician buddy of mine. EMI had apparently tried to censor this work on the grounds of copyright infringement. This past Tuesday an organized protest was staged online where over 170 sites provided the album for download. From the email:


Mods: All apologies if I'm straying too far into the political arena. I'm trying to keep this post clean, but wanted to provide some history on this album.

Except the Grey Album isn't "Beatles done hip-hop" style. It's not a cover album. It's someone using the White album as their only source of samples & instrumentation to remix another artist's album. It's an interesting use of the Beatles' music, and it's an interesting album to listen to. It's not perfect, but when it works, it works really well.

as far as i am concerned, the grey album is a piece of concept art. when you consider that most hiphop is made using anything the producer can get his hands on, to be able to take such a small palette of sounds as a single album and create a work that sounded this good is a testament to dangermouse. what i would have liked to see was a little more mashing of jayz's lyrics into something new, but as i really love some of the stories he tells on the black album im not that upset.

ps. evolution control committee has also done some really amusing mashing of hiphop and other songs, specifically their rendition of public enemy's by the time i get to arizona.

I never meant that. I have worn out so many copies of the white album I know it inside an out. It's still nice to hear something different.

And thanks for explaining the album better, I hope it does find an outlet.
I might be off base a bit, but I have every album John Lennon ever did including things like Life with the Lions and Two Virgins. In a way I can kind of see this as an extension of his experimental recordings using sound loops and such and mixing it with real life. I think he would be happy someone is using his music and making something new. Just wish he was around to say so.

I was really kidding about the rage part of my post...but not the rest of it!

I do realize that this isn't an album of covers and I don't want to turn this into a sampling thread but I will tell you why this particular thing would bother me.

I have many many good memories attached to Beatles music. Hearing a particular Beatles song just triggers some potent recollections of good times, people, events in my life, etc.

To hear a part of Revolution for example, and then not to hear Johns voice but instead Jay Z's would sort of crash my memory so to speak. Like someone who doesn't belong in my house knocking the door down and barging in.

I remember this happening to me when Jimmy Page and P Diddy did a song together using Led Zep's Kashmir. That song literally killed Kashmir for me for quite a long time, and all the good memories that I associated with that song.

I know it may sound weird, but that's how my brain works.

Of course, the other part of it is just a feeling I have that some things should just stand on their own and remain as they were, unspoiled and untouched. The Mohave Desert, Fenway Park....Beatles music.

Carl
Understand.
I spent more hours than I like to admit converting tapes that I made to CD. Even though I have most of the songs on CD it was retaining the "one day out of my life" when I put the tape together that brings back how I was feeling etc.
Peace

Puffy is the Rap Anti-Christ, along with Chingy and Cassidey. Puffy is the absolute WORST producer out there, and all he does is replace lyrics to great songs, instead of using some kind of skill to use the hooks of the songs in a novel way. I almost forgot about that horrible monstrosity of song completely until you mentioned that. Oh well, I guess I will have to go through CIA brainwashing again just so I don't convulse the next time I want to put on Physical Graffiti

"A Testament to danger mouse"

So this is what hes up to these days? I guess with Baron Greenback behind bars he needed something to do. Does Penfold contribute in anyway?

Why yes it is, as a matter of fact. There also remixes called White Albulum, Brown, and Silver though I'm not sure what sample material they are mixed with.

Slightly off topic : Does anyone remember the George Harrison documentary which was playing in movie theaters 1 1/2 years ago? This was on the movie screen before the coming attractions. Well George was quite clear about his distaste towards today's music and even mentioned Rap. Poor guy!

OK, I'll see if I can locate it and check it out. I'm willing, and I am curious now that I've read such high opinions of it.

I just hope it doesn't traumatize me. But if it does, it's on all of your heads!