I was born in the 1970s and was a teenager in the 80s, so I remember all the panic surrounding backwards messages in music. The question is, do any of the records in my collection – or yours – actually contain secret hidden messages? I played 10 infamous tracks backwards to try to answer that question.
#vinyl #secrets #records
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There was a small error in my original version of this video. I did a quick edit and uploaded it again. If your original comment is missing, this is why. I deleted the first video and replaced it with this version.
Frank
The intro to Def Leppard’s “Rocket” from Hysteria has the line “We’re fighting with the gods of war”, played in reverse which is from the chorus to the song “Gods of War”.
Electric Light Orchestra – opening of Face the Music album (Fire on High)
You're dealing with sounds, and played in reverse, they can sound like anything. Play one of those anti-rock documentaries from the 1980s in reverse, and I bet you'll hear things that sound "Satanic."
My favorite one of all time. On J.Geils Band's hit album, Love Stinks which is easy to find and cheap. On Side 2, the track "No Anchovies, Please" there is a line that talks about the character being abducted and "whisked off to some strange and foreign-speaking land" after which there is some backward ramblings clearly heard…intended to be strange foreign language. When played backwards, clear as day, a voice undeniably proclaims, "It doesn't take a genius to tell the difference between chicken shit and chicken salad." 😂😂
Jeff Lynne did a few of them on the ELO albums. Nothing sinister though.
hmm, I think it is dumb. There is also some English songs that sound like (close to with a bit of imagination) different meaning German words or names: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP_jnrcBOaI (one is even interpreted as: "My grandmom fell into the toilet" and another one "you must order drunk!" and another one in Italian should mean "nobody can pay that!"). So there you go.
Someone would have to find an answer on how high the chance is that any spoken words (or combintation of words) may be interpreted differently backwards. Maybe it's not that uncommon because it's the same sounds, so probably it is not that uncommon to be able to interpret something into something.
Back in the very late 1970s/early1980s, when my dad wouldn't allow me to listen to rock and roll, I had to hide my albums I got for a few years. I remember hearing of the backward masking in the late 1970s but didn't figure there was much to it even though I wondered.
Of course I had to play my Led Zeppelin 4 LP backwards first which probably ruined it. I thought it sounded too indiscernible even though I could hear some of what people were saying.
On Blondie's Auto American LP, and it wasn't the song Rapture I don't think, that was the first one to give me chill bumps. I remember hearing what sounded like Blondie singing in a spooky kind of voice "ooh, it's so cold down here" (some other words I don't remember) and then something like "I'm falling, help me" if I remember the last part right. It was almost like she was moaning and shrieking haha. But that was the cleanest vocals I could get off of numerous albums I was checking out and trying to find anything on (and likely ruining).
I was listening one night to an Art Bell type of show on my HF radio and they had some guy on that was talking about The Beatles and the backward masking they did. This was one of those call-in types of shows and I decided to call and see if I could get in and ask does that mean that on the bootlegs I have, if I play them backwards, will I hear the same thing haha. I was just calling in to see if I could get on the radio and record myself to a computer. The guy seemed a little lost for words when I asked that question. But then he went on to say yes, it should be on those outtakes, demos, and live recordings too. I then asked him, if things have to be Time and spaced just right to get the words backwards to come out right, wouldn't it make any change in what you heard if you played it backwards? He seemed a little flustered and never really answered me.
The thing I never understood is why would it matter if there was a backwards track since you were listening forwards. I don't remember if the common thought was that you subconsciously hear it or what it was? But I was always leery of it. But to be honest, I have no idea and I wasn't really even aware that some people really did do it purposely like in the examples you showed 🙂
Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
I doupt I have any records that plays hidden messages & I am not buying a TT that play backwards having said that would that have happend in the mastering of the record or would you get the same result with am MP3 and playbthe track in revers with lkke say audacity Curiouse to know
Blue oyster cult has one where they are playing ping pong, don’t remember the song though.
I've done some dabbling in paranormal investigation. When listening to what we call EVP. The human ear and brain can do some strange things when listening to what should be incoherent noise. I find it hard to believe that a band would put that much into putting a backwards message into a song. Not to mention trying to cut something like that with the available tech at the time would be kinda tough.
Most of it is just stupid but it’s funny when bands do it purposely….
You forgot chicago
https://youtu.be/Nm5z-Ij-rB8
Years ago i used Audacity (why risk your stylus or vinyl!) to play in reverse a passage from Alan Parson's Project "Maybe a Price to Pay" which sounds like "Escucha baby al demonio" ("listen do the devil baby).. why in Spanish, go figure. I have that .wav somewhere…. along with the passage you mentioned to Stairway to Heaven and Pink Floyd's "Empty Spaces" which I can't really make out what's the supposed backwards message!
I well remember hearing "turn me on, dead man" for the first time. I was amazed. How could "number nine" sound like that when played in reverse? Makes me wish I'd played my Rutles album backwards.
That is so cool that you're doing this video. A bit of a departure for you, but I have ruined a few needles in my day recording backward messages and if you do enough of them you will find many that were not really there but sounding like they were. Great video.
Two of the most noted backward messages that immediately come to mind are Pink Floyd's "Empty Spaces" where he says: "Congratulations. You’ve just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink…" (I forgot the rest)
And ELO's "Fire On HIgh" where I think he says, "Music is reversable, but time is not!"
I played Shout at the Devil a few times backwards when I first bought it, I couldn't make out anything. The CD of Yield by FooFighters had a backwards passage after the last track that said "what are you looking for". It was only on the first run cd's, and not on the vinyl.
Ozzy's hellraiser has something going on. I'm not sure what it is.
I suspect the “Paul is dead” stuff were deliberate jokes. I also suspect if you run an audio Bible or even a Dickens novel backwards you’ll hear all sorts of stuff your mind will try to comprehend as words.
The Satanic Panic! For Kids born in the 70's – especially those of us who grew up in church – it was very real. A dark chapter in music history and, personally speaking, my own history. My mom bought into it hook-line-and-sinker and had us burning our records. Anyone remember that? Churches would actually have record burnings?? A dak chapter indeed. Keep on spinning, Frank!
I have heard the one in Zeppelin IV!!
Also here in Latinamerica there was this very popular brazilian singer called Xuxa, who recorded a song called "Danza de Xuxa"("Xuxa's dance") that in a part of it, played backwards, sounds like "el diablo es un magnìfico…"("the devil is magnificent ").
Maybe the most controversial point is that she used to sing it in a children's tv show.
No kidding!!😁
Hysteria
The ELO album "Secret Messages" that came out in 1983 was purposely filled with backmasked messages, hence the title.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Messages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-3PS5sdv3c
And of course we have the ELO song Fire On High: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzmeKHv5k3o
As for mistaken backwards masking, you can’t forget the lawsuit against Judas Priest when lawyers claimed to find the phrase “do it” on Stained Class (I don’t recall what track. It turned out to be the combination of guitar feedback and inhalation on the vocal track. Halford quipped something to the effect of “Do what? Mow the lawn, walk the dog?”
Something else that's interesting. Weird Al has a song called "Bob." It's a "style parody" of Bob Dylan. But since the name Bob is a palendrome, so is the whole song. If the play the notes in the reverse order from back to front, the song sounds the same as if you play it front to back. Kinda genius.
When you play Queen’s Another one bites the dust backwards parts of it says it’s fun to smoke marijuana.
Hi Frank, there's a very obvious reverse-speak at the beginning of the ELO song "Fire On High". How disappointed I was as a kid playing it backwards to discover it said "the music is reversible." What? Nothing asking me to start a black mass cult or instigate revolution? I got gypped.
I remember the controversy in the 80's about Stairway to Heaven having hidden messages on it. When they played the track backwards I at first thought maybe there was something to it. Now when I hear it I don't think there is an intentional message.
Great vid! Another intentional one is on Judas Priest – Love Bites from Defenders.
oh i got the message alright if you do this long enough you will stuff up your stylus
If I recall correctly, there is another one from the Beatles White Album between I'm So Tired and Blackbird. It can be heard someone saying "Paul is deadman, miss him, miss him". Forwards, it sounds like French. I think these are mostly all coincidences, but who knows?
The song Snowblind from Styx supposedly says “Satan moves through our voices”.
Intentional backmasking on ELO's Fire on High. "The music is reversible but time is not. Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back…"