Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Beatles - Unsurpassed Demos

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 008
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1991
Total time: 69:17

1 Back in the USSR 3.06
2 Dear Prudence 4.32
3 Ob-la-di Ob-la-da 2.55
4 The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill 2.41
5 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 2.35
6 I'm So Tired 3.05
7 Blackbird 2.30
8 Piggies 2.06
9 Rocky Raccoon 2.42
10 Not Guilty 3.06
11 Jubilee work title for Junk 2.34
12 Julia 2.51
13 Yer Blues 3.25
14 Mother Nature's Son 2.21
15 Everybody's Got Someting To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey 3.00
16 Sexy Sadie 2.20
17 Sour Milk Sea 3.30
18 Revolution 3.57
19 Honey Pie 1.59
20 Cry Baby Cry 2.23
21 What's The New Mary Jane? 2.35
22 Circles 2.16
23 Child Of Nature 2.34
24 Julia 2.53

The Beatles Way: Fab Wisdom for Everyday Life

by Larry Lange

The Beatles as personal-growth gurus, you ask? Sure! Everyone knows that the Beatles were brilliant musicians. But there was much more to them than just great music. John, Paul, George, and Ringo created a living legacy of joy, elegance, and peace. The Beatles Way shows how to bring the attitude and ingenuity of the Fab Four into our own lives and achieve Beatle-like success at our work, in our homes, and with our dreams.

"The Beatles' music and message remain timeless. In this wise and entertaining book, a fresh new light is cast on the genius of the Fab Four. The Beatles are like a time-release capsule: They never stop giving you that love--that's all you really need."
--Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love

"The Beatles. Some people say it really was [about] the music, but that was only part of it.... They represented hope, optimism, wit, and lack of pretension, that 'anyone can do it' provided they had [the] will."
--Derek Taylor, former Beatles press agent

Author Larry Lange reads between the lines of Beatles lore and finds the secrets to their success, secrets that any of us can employ to rock our own lives: taking risks, creating a team to support you in your dream, and letting yourself evolve as your spirit moves you. Read it and be fab!

A first-generation Beatles fan, Larry Lange is a journalist and professional songwriter, producer, and consultant in the music industry. He has written, edited, and reported for leading consumer and business magazines and newspapers, including Newsday, InformationWeek, and Spectrum as well as music-industry publications like Hit Parader, EQ, and Mix. Currently, Lange is editor of CMP Media's publication TechWeb, a popular resource for technology professionals. He lives in New York.

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Beatles - Celluloid Rock

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 006
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1991
Total time: 55:11

1 I've Got A Feeling (Lennon-McCartney) 4:06
2 Shake, Rattle And Roll (Calhoun) 2:06
3 Medley:
Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller/Penniman)
Miss Ann (Johnson-Penniman)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price) 3:49
4 Blue Suede Shoes (Perkins) 2:07
5 You Really Got A Hold On Me (Robinson) 2:56
6 Get Back (Lennon-McCartney) 2:38
7 The Long And Winding Road (Lennon-McCartney) 3:37
8 Let It Be (Lennon-McCartney) 3:54
9 Don't Let Me Down (Lennon-McCartney) 3:47
10 For You Blue (Harrison) 2:59
11 The Walk (McCartney) 0:56
12 Teddy Boy (McCartney) 5:57
13 Two Of Us (Lennon-McCartney) 3:53
14 Dig A Pony (Lennon-McCartney) 4:06
15 Dig It (Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey) 8:28

Paul McCartney

by Alan Clayson

"Clayson's knowledge of the period is probably unparalleled and always unerringly accurate"
-- Q

"A very thorough researcher"
-- Uncut

When the most successful pop group in the world, The Beatles, disbanded in 1970, its four members went off to spearhead radically different projects, and none was more successful than Paul McCartney. Free at last to take control of his own songwriting destiny, his new group, Wings, produced a steady stream of quality music, most notably the Band On The Run album and the million-selling single 'Mull Of Kintyre'.

Since those early days of freedom, Paul has established himself as one of the most creative artists of his generation and a British showbusiness treasure. With wide-ranging projects such as the soundtrack to the movie Give My Regards To Broad Street and the more recent and critically acclaimed Liverpool Oratorio, he has also proved that his talents have transcended the writing of what ex-bandmate John Lennon once called 'granny music'. Celebrating his four decades of unparalleled success in the business, Paul McCartney is a multi-faceted account of one of the world's most fascinating musicians.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Beatles - Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 7

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 013
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1991
Total time: 61:14

1 Do You Want To Know A Secret? Take 7 2:06
2 Misery Take 1 1:55
3 One After 909 Mono 3:01
4 Hold Me Tight Take 25 and 26, track 2 3:05
5 Can't Buy Me Love Take 2 and 3 3:04
6 I'm A Loser Take 3 2:53
7 I Feel Fine Take 5 2:26
8 Yes It Is Take 14 2:56
9 Norwegian Wood Take 4 2:28
10 Penny Lane Mono Promo mix 3:06
11 Lady Madonna 2:15
12 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da "Sessions" mix 2:54
13 Not Guilty "Sessions" mix 4:25
14 Revolution early mix 3:20
15 While My Guitar Gently Weeps Demo, "Sessions" mix 3:17
16 Come And Get It Paul's Demo 2:32
17 Think For Yourself Studio Talk 15:40

On Lead Guitar: George Harrison

George Harrison and barbers don't get on well. He constantly says that his pet hate is having his hair cut. He first met fellow Beatle John Lennon in the fish-and-chip shop by his school and his immediate reaction was: "He's a good lad. He doesn't get his hair cut, either."

Quick to smile, alert, George operates on lead guitar but is also efficient on drums and piano. Guitar is the main hobby of his life, though, and he says: "One day I want to sit down, give it a lot of thought--and come up with a completely revolutionary idea for a new guitar. They could call it the Harrison Guitar . . ."

Spare Time

"Chet Atkins is, for me, the greatest instrumentalist of 'em all. A fabulous technique. But I'm also very fond of the Duane Eddy group. Duane is a fine musician, too. Really, that's how I spend most of my spare time, just listening to records by favourite artists--and they inspire me to get out my own guitar and play a little just to an audience of only me."

George, at school, found it easy to express himself in art classes but slumped badly when it came to marks for subjects like mathematics or history. At Dovedale Road Primary School in Liverpool, he was a sports fanatic. Any sports: soccer, cricket, athletics, swimming. Had he persisted, he could have reached quite a high standard. "But by the time I went to Liverpool Institute High School, I'd lost all interest in sports," he says.

Clothes

"I suppose I quite enjoyed those school-days--what a long time off they all seem now. But I must say my version of the school uniform didn't go down very well with the masters, specially the headmaster. I used to do myself up in tight trousers, waistcoat and suede shoes. I reckoned it was all very fashionable, but obviously the ones in charge had a different view of what should be worn."

George is just short of six feet tall, weighs more than a stone less than the other two at 5 ft. 11 in. He weighs in at 10 stone 3 lb. He has a sister, Louise, and two brothers, Peter and Harry. And he was born on February 25, 1942, just four months before Beatle Paul McCartney.

"Apart from girls, and listening to records with girls, I put driving as my big hobby. I thoroughly enjoy a long drive, but though I rate myself good behind the wheel, I'm not so sure the police agree."

One Day

"Now the money is coming in, I can indulge myself that bit more than before. But I'm not a big spender. One day, I'd like to buy a big house somewhere quiet, but for the meantime I just buy whatever I like in the way of clothes and records.

"S'Funny. Once I just used to date girls and that was that. Now people seem interested in why I like certain types of girls and they ask for tips and hints and that sort of thing.

"Well, my own tastes run to small blonde girls who can share a laugh with me. That sense of humour is all important to me, but I do like to be able to switch moods as quickly as I do. Anyway, I date as often as we get a night free, which doesn't add up to much dating these days! No, there's nobody regular. It wouldn't be fair on her, not with us as busy as we are right now."

Jelly Babies

George cops at least his fair share of the fan-mail for individual Beatles. His taste for jelly-babies--he shares this with John Lennon--caused panic at one time. Hundreds of pounds of "babies" poured in for him. He once sang a song called "Three Cool Cats" and was besieged by parcels containing china cats. And Teddy Bears--he gets plenty of those.

"With so much travelling, I sometimes get behind on answering fan-mail," he confesses. "I don't seem to get marriage proposals through the post, but I do try and answer any letters that really need an answer. Lots of girls ask what age I feel is best for marriage. The truth is there is no such age--it's just when you feel you ought."

Perfectionist

George lavishes praise on his parents, Harold and Louise Harrison. Though not particularly musical themselves, they helped him a great deal . . . "simply by not complaining at the racket I kicked up when I first started learning instruments," he says. "I think they're very proud of all of us now."

Through R and B music figures so strongly on the Beatles' scene, George likes listening to C and W and to Spanish guitar, as long as both are well played. He's a perfectionist. He's a key figure in the Beatle sound. He's thoroughly likeable. And he's unhappy only when he HAS to go to get a haircut!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Beatles - Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 6

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 012
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1991
Total time: 57:28

1 There's A Place take 1
2 I Saw Her Standing There takes 2 & 3
3 From Me To You takes 6 & 7
4 Thank You Girl take 1
5 Don't Bother Me take 10
6 A Hard Day's Night take 3
7 I'm A Loser takes 1 & 2
8 She's A Woman take 2
9 If You've Got Troubles
10 Help! takes 8 & 9
11 Here There And Everywhere monitor mix
12 I Am The Walrus take 7 monitor mix, instr.
13 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
14 Hey Jude
15 Not Guilty Stereo, "Sessions" mix
16 Let It Be
17 Because vocals only
18 Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues Sessions mix
19 What's The New Mary Jane stereo, "Sessions" mix

The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001

by Keith Badman

"Until now, The Beatles story has been simply incomplete"

From 1970 onwards the disbanded Beatles were at last free to follow their individual interests. From that point on there were four separate stories... but they were stories that would form a complex overlapping history of quarrels and reconciliations, personal projects and sporadic collaborations.

For the first time ever, a noted Beatles expert has meticulously documented the entire period of The Beatles after the break-up.

Keith Badman has produced a dazzling and astonishingly detailed day-by-day chronicle of what each of the ex-Beatles did from April 1970 onwards!

It's all here, day by day. All the...concerts...solo releases...known meetings between ex-Beatles...film, TV and radio appearances...business deals, legal battles and personal feuds...Beatles-related births, marriages and deaths.

A lifelong Beatles fan, Keith Badman is a regular contributor to The Beatles Book monthly magazine and Record Collector. He was a consultant on The Beatles Anthology documentary series, and he has presented video shows at Beatles fan conventions throughout Europe.

Starkly punctuated by the murder of John Lennon, the result is the as-it-happened story of four individuals emerging from the straitjacket of pop music's great ever success story.
And for the first time ever their solo careers are shown to be every bit as fascinating as their legendary decade together.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

The Beatles - Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 5

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 005
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1991
Total: 57:59

1 Octopussy's [sic] Garden 2:51
2 Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight 3:16
3 You Never Give Me You're Money 5:54
4 Oh! Darling 3:29
5 Maxwell's Silver Hammer 3:38
6 Something (take 37) 5:43
7 A Huge Melody (Part 1):
You Never Give Me You're Money
Sun King
Mean Mister Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window 10:55
8 A Huge Melody (Part 2):
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End 5:16
9 Her Majesty 0:27
10 Stand By Me 2:54
11 I've Got A Feeling 3:16
12 Two Of Us 2:49
13 For You Blue 3:15
14 Let It Be 4:17

Revolution: The Making of the Beatles' White Album

by David Quantick

Most books about the Beatles reveal the big picture first and ask questions afterward. This book reverses that approach. Revolution takes a fresh and often funny look at the magnificent and sometimes idiotic career path of the Beatles through the prism of one vital album--a record considered by many (including John Lennon) to be the one on which they reached their peak as songwriters. It focuses not just on the intimate recording details and creative process, but on the politics, music, and culture of the era, as well as the band's individual development amid increasing dissolution. In crisp and witty prose, the inside stories behind the making of the album are revealed: how the White Album got its look and name; why it included the most experimental track the Beatles ever recorded; how it inspired the bloody massacres of Charles Manson and his "Family"; why Ringo Starr walked out on the session and who replaced him; the actual identities of "Dear Prudence," "Sexy Sadie," "Martha My Dear," "Julia," and "Bungalow Bill"; on which song Yoko sang lead; which song is about Eric Clapton's teeth; what songs were left off the album, and much more.

David Quantick has written for most music journals, from Spin and the New Musical Express to Q and Blender. He wrote Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill with Eddie Izzard, writes comedy for television and radio, and is responsible for www.thejunkiestv.com, the world's first Internet sitcom. He stars in the show Lloyd Cole Knew My Father, the only touring production to ask what it's really like to be a music journalist, and soon to be a BBC radio series. He is also the author of The Clash and Beck.

Some albums are so extraordinary that they influence generations of aspiring artists, and even redefine entire genres. The Vinyl Frontier is a distinguished series of books that examine the making of these groundbreaking records.

The Beatles' White Album is at once familiar, obscure, humorous, and iconoclastic. Lyrically and musically diverse, it emerged out of a time that saw a transition from peace to love to violence and unrest, while the Beatles themselves were falling apart both personally and professionally.

This intelligent and entertaining book is an in-depth analysis of the songs, the times, and the personalities that together made this album so memorable. David Quantick reveals the intimate creative processes of the band, and examines the ultimate significance and lasting legacy of this genre-defying album.

Monday, September 08, 2008

The Beatles Come to America

by Martin Goldsmith

"Yes, I was there and this wonderful, indispensable book brings it all back to life. I love it."
--Tom Paxton

On February 7, 1964--"B-Day" as one disk jockey called it--the Beatles landed in New York. As John, Paul, George, and Ringo walked down the gangway of their plane, thousands of fans, their shrieks competing with the wails of jet engines for sonic supremacy, welcomed them to America. It was pandemonium--an airport official declared, "We've never seen anything like this here before. Never. Not even for kings and queens"--and just the start of the adulation the Beatles were about to experience. Over the next two weeks, the Beatles would appear twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, play two concerts at Carnegie Hall and one in Washington, and charm reporters with witty interviews wherever they went. By the time they departed, the Fab Four were the idols of a new American generation--and would go on to have a defining impact on the music, fashions, passions, and generational conflicts of the 1960s.

In this captivating cultural history, Martin Goldsmith recreates the excitement of that first Beatles visit, which came less than three months after the tragedy of President Kennedy's assassination, and explains how four lads from Liverpool came together to create a sound and a style that would win America's heart. From the roots of John and Paul's songwriting partnership and the band's first Liverpool appearances to their grueling Hamburg apprenticeship and their climb to the top of the British charts, Goldsmith brings to life the hardships, hard work, and joy that made the Beatles' music without parallel in the twentieth century. He describes the initial difficulty they had getting their records released in America--until "I Want to Hold Your Hand" took off when a British copy was smuggled to a DJ in Washington, D.C. And he tells the story of the Beatles' most resounding American triumph--their unforgettable first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, an event that drew 73.9 million viewers, at the time the largest audience in television history.

Engagingly written, thoroughly researched, and embellished with personal recollections and trenchant reflections, The Beatles Come to America recounts a magical and important time in our nation's history. Whether you've loved the Beatles for forty years or are meeting them anew, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Martin Goldsmith is director of classical music programming for XM Satellite Radio. From 1989 to 1999, he hosted Performance Today, National Public Radio's daily classical music program. Since 1984 he has been co-host of Songs for Aging Children, a radio program devoted to the singer-songwriter generation. He is also the author of The Inextinguishable Symphony. Martin Goldsmith lives in Maryland with his wife, Amy Roach.

"Two dates our generation remembers all our lives: November 22, 1963, and February 9, 1964. One brought sudden and inexplicable death, sorrow, and tears. The other brought overwhelming joy and the reassurance of life-affirming art. That Sunday night when we first met the Beatles on Ed Sullivan's show was the beginning of something deeply wonderful for us and piercingly threatening for some elements of the older generation, an event both timely and timeless. For the Beatles themselves, it was just the latest plateau achieved in their ever-ascending mythical journey. Forty years later, it remains the greatest musical story ever told."
--Martin Goldsmith

Sunday, September 07, 2008

The Beatles - Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 4

Label: Yellow Dog, YD 004
Country: Luxembourg
Year: 1989

1 Lady Madonna - 3-6 February 1968
2 Across The Universe - 4-8 February 1968
3 Brian Epstein Blues - Date unknown
4 Hey Jude/Las Vegas - Song rehearsal - 30 July 1968
5 I Hate To See The Evening Sun Go Down - Date unknown
6 Back In The USSR - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 22-23 August 1968
7 Rocky Raccoon - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 15 August 1968
8 Wild Honey Pie - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 20 August 1968
9 Mother Nature's Son - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 9-20 August 1968
10 Sexy Sadie - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 19 July - 21 August 1968
11 Don't Pass Me By - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 5 June - 22 July 1968
12 Yer Blues - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 13 -20 August 1968
13 Goodnight - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 28 June - 22 July 1968
14 Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 27 June - 23 July 1968
15 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 3-15 July 1968
16 Blackbird - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 11 June 1968
17 Not Guilty - Mono mix - Peter Sellers Tape - 7-12 August 1968
18 What's the New Mary Jane - Take 4 - 14 August 1968

The Beatles In Cleveland: Memories, Facts & Photos About The Notorious 1964 & 1966 Concerts

by Dave Schwensen
Foreword by Bill Harry

Memories, facts and photos are your tickets for two of the wildest, out-of-control concerts in Beatle - and rock - history. Follow behind the scenes dealings that brought John, Paul, George and Ringo to Cleveland, then grab a front row seat for back stage and on stage excitement through eyewitness accounts from the promoters, concert MC's, rival deejays, journalists, opening acts and fans, along with rare, never-before published photos, video stills and memorabilia. A concert by the Beatles was not just about the music, but also the emotions stirred by the most influential group in the history of popular music.

"As John Lennon once said, "You had to be there." Well, Dave has created the nearest thing to actually witnessing the Cleveland concerts and it's a worthwhile contribution to the growing canon of works about the greatest rock group of them all."
-- Bill Harry, Founder and Editor of Mersey Beat

"Dave Schwensen did the impossible. Through his writing he took my mind from the California coastline to Cleveland and made me enjoy it. I was mainly skeptical that he could write a whole book about a single happening - the two Beatle concerts in said city and hold my interest. Not only did he accomplish both impossibilities, he totally drew me into the whole experience and gave me new insight into something I thought I knew something about. It was like looking into a microscope at a single object and when the proper focus was brought about I was amazed at how many things there were to see. It was the minutiae of it all that were so fascinating. I particularly like the simplicity of his reporting in that it allows the reader to live the complicated depth of the experience. Good show, mate!"
-- Ken Mansfield, Former U.S. Manager Apple Records