‘Twist and Shout’ – The Beatles

Given how prolific The Beatles were, it comes as no surprise. Famously, the entire Please Please Me album was recorded in a day, as the band bid to recapture the raucous energy they had gained a reputation for in The Cavern Club.

But perhaps where the impressiveness of this fact lies is in Lennon’s brutally raw vocal take. It straddled the line between beautiful and caustic, straining at every note with the irreplicable passion of a band recording their debut album. But the creative leader of the band was in fact suffering a cold during the relentless day of recording, which undoubtedly lended itself to the more raw outcome of the recording, proving how a sense of unique magic can be captured in a one-take wonder.

It’s a triumphant track that feels as though it could descend into a fit of laughter at any minute and acts as one of the truest representations of the joy that exists in a live recording.

‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ – James Brown

There’s a certain stare frontmen reserve for a mistaken note during a live performance. Somewhere between anger and disappointment, it’s designed to send an unflinching warning to the recipient, whereby they know not to repeat such a slip-up. James Brown was famously an owner of such a gaze and reportedly struck fear into the heart of any session musician looking to join him on stage. So given how tight his band had undoubtedly become, it’s somewhat unsurprising that the king of soul could churn out a classic in one go. 

But perhaps more importantly to Brown was the presence of energy in his songs. He’s undoubtedly a legend of the live stage, and his sweaty performances have gone down as some of the greatest in history. It’s an energy that can be replicated in a recording, but within a finite window, for labouring over takes within the confines of four walls slowly drains it. And so on this recording, every brass staple pops, the rhythm section is razor tight, and Brown subsequently feels every word he sings, to deliver a track bursting with soul. 

‘House Of The Rising Sun’ – The Animals

Okay, so let’s dig into Eric Burdon’s vocals first of all, for they remain to this day one of the most iconic takes of all time. The depth, power and character were the envy of his contemporaries, and were you told he laboured over the timbre of his delivery for hours in the studio, you’d soon forgive him. But this slick and powerful take came straight out of the gates, and straight from the stage as the band wasted no time laying down a track that had just finished a relentless tour. 

Burdon showed no sign of fatigue, and his bandmates kept up, delivering the tricky arpeggiated guitar lines and expansive organ melodies without any hiccups. The large part of the band’s success in laying this down so quickly was due to their extensive touring of the song, but rather than capturing the sort of live show magic that say The Beatles did with their track, The Animals are slick and precise throughout, creating something that is mind-blowingly polished given the time and equipment at their disposal.

‘I Say A Little Prayer’ – Aretha Franklin

Franklin’s seminal track is an absolute vocal masterclass, and the fact that it took only one take further proves that she possessed a truly once-in-a-generation voice. Her vocal melodies flows over the piano section like smooth running water before breaking out into deeply emotive chorus. The kind that can’t be overthought or structured, but instead hangs on a deep sense of sentimentality to feel the very lyrics she sings.

Such is the ease with which Franklin operates, the only element potentially jeopardising it’s one-take status are the backing vocals in the bridge, which stab in between her lines with razor tight precision. With Franklin’s power, there are ample opportunities throughout the song for her to expand into wild ad-libs but instead, she keeps it relatively contained, conversing with the piano to deliver one of the most innately beautiful vocal performances of all time.

‘Maggot Brain’ – Funkadelic

As I said, it’s the imperfections of a live performance that bring the magic. This song typifies the improvisational beauty of music, the unpredictability of jam sessions, and the transcendent feeling a good guitar part can create. It’s a song that exists entirely outside the confines of normal structure and instead follows its instincts from one bar to the next.

The story goes that LSD-influenced George Clinton, told a similarly intoxicated Eddie Hazel to play “like your momma had just died”. What followed was a sprawling 10-minute take that ebbed and flowed through the mellow soundscape created by the remaining instrumentation. It’s a certified mind-bender of a track that quite simply couldn’t be replicated on a separate take. And at four-minutes in, Hazel descends into a lick that feels as hallucinogenic as the LSD that inspired it, confirming to the listener that this is no ordinary track, and no ordinary recording, so submit yourself to it and enjoy the magic of live music.