Special Features - 1:22:46
1. Recollections – June 1994 [16:51] - Paul, George and Ringo spend a happy summer's day together; singing, playing and warmly remembering early days of room sharing, haircuts, Beatle boots, first cars and meeting Elvis.
* "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (Reed)
* Raunchy (Justis-Manker)
* "Thinking of Linking" (McCartney)
* Blue Moon of Kentucky (Monroe)
* Ain't She Sweet (Yellen-Ager)
2. Compiling The Anthology Albums [10:48] - Paul, George, Ringo and George Martin detail the process of how they choose the tracks for Anthology Albums 1, 2 and 3.
* A Day in the Life (Take 1)
3. Back At Abbey Road – May 1995 [14:51] - Returning to Studio 2, Paul, George, Ringo and George Martin reflect on recording at Abbey Road Studios in the Sixties and some of the inventive techniques used in creating these recordings.
* Golden Slumbers (Take 1)
* I'm Only Sleeping
* Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1 & Final Take)
4. Recording “Free as a Bird” And “Real Love” [10:57] - Paul, George, Ringo and Jeff Lynne reveal how they were able to produce the two new Beatles tracks from John's original demos provided by Yoko. This section includes intimate footage filmed in the studio during the recording of the tracks.
* Free as a Bird (Lennon/Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey)
* Real Love (Lennon)
5. Production Team [13:03] - Neil Aspinall, Derek Taylor, Geoff Wonfor, Chips Chipperfield and other key members of the Anthology production Team explain the process of how The Beatles Anthology series was created.
6. Making The “Free as a Bird” Video [11:12] - An intriguing insight into how the Grammy award winning video for Free as a Bird was made. Director Joe Pytka explains how he and Apple developed the concept and discusses the innovative techniques that were used in the production.
* Free as a Bird (Lennon/Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey)
7. “Real Love” Video [4:07] - The video that was not featured in the Anthology series, now remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.
* Real Love (Lennon)
8. Credits (0:57)
Wikipedia
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Beatles' Comments on the Rooftop Concert
Recorded January 30, 1969
George: If anybody wants to sing and play on their roof, what's the law say as to why you can't do that?
John: Disturbing the peace.
George: How disturbing the peace?
Paul: Peace means like peace, the noise, they think peace is noise.
John: Well, they may as well ban planes and cars.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: Disturbing the peace mans traffic jams, people, planes, that sort of thing.
John: With a bit of doctoring, we'll be good. I missed a line on "Don't Let Me Down." Can you use another shot?
Paul: We'll edit it.
George Martin: It's come off actually much better than I thought it would.
John: Yes, just the whole scene is fantastic!
George Martin: As Michael was saying, this is a very good dry run for something else too, apart from the value of its own as it stands.
George: Yeah, I think for taking over London.
John: Try the Hilton tomorrow.
George Martin: The idea is, we'll have a whole squadron of helicopters flying over London with loud, mounted speakers underneath them, you see.
John: That's fantastic, yeah.
George: And every rock group in the world, in London, all on top of the buildings playing the same tunes.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: This will edit fine, because we've got all the cops, which we covered downstairs as well. The bad thing was that not enough people in the street could see us. Is there a concert next week? What are you feeling about today? Do you want to work more today or not?
Paul: Yes, we should record the others now.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: We've got to get the stuff down first.
George: We'll have a break for a bit.
Paul: We'll have lunch and that and then we'll record the other stuff we didn't do up there. The acoustic stuff.
George: There won't be more rooftops.
Paul: No more rooftops. That was the rooftop. That's it, but we'll do it down here and you'll sort of film it and clap us like the rooftop.
George: If we got the police, we could pretend in the film that we had to get down because of them and that here we are doing it.
John: It's just the way it happened. It'll just be it.
George: If anybody wants to sing and play on their roof, what's the law say as to why you can't do that?
John: Disturbing the peace.
George: How disturbing the peace?
Paul: Peace means like peace, the noise, they think peace is noise.
John: Well, they may as well ban planes and cars.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: Disturbing the peace mans traffic jams, people, planes, that sort of thing.
John: With a bit of doctoring, we'll be good. I missed a line on "Don't Let Me Down." Can you use another shot?
Paul: We'll edit it.
George Martin: It's come off actually much better than I thought it would.
John: Yes, just the whole scene is fantastic!
George Martin: As Michael was saying, this is a very good dry run for something else too, apart from the value of its own as it stands.
George: Yeah, I think for taking over London.
John: Try the Hilton tomorrow.
George Martin: The idea is, we'll have a whole squadron of helicopters flying over London with loud, mounted speakers underneath them, you see.
John: That's fantastic, yeah.
George: And every rock group in the world, in London, all on top of the buildings playing the same tunes.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: This will edit fine, because we've got all the cops, which we covered downstairs as well. The bad thing was that not enough people in the street could see us. Is there a concert next week? What are you feeling about today? Do you want to work more today or not?
Paul: Yes, we should record the others now.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: We've got to get the stuff down first.
George: We'll have a break for a bit.
Paul: We'll have lunch and that and then we'll record the other stuff we didn't do up there. The acoustic stuff.
George: There won't be more rooftops.
Paul: No more rooftops. That was the rooftop. That's it, but we'll do it down here and you'll sort of film it and clap us like the rooftop.
George: If we got the police, we could pretend in the film that we had to get down because of them and that here we are doing it.
John: It's just the way it happened. It'll just be it.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Ringo Starr on Acting in Candy, 1969
"In Candy, I tried very hard to be convincing as the Mexican gardener. I'd read the book and realized that Emmanuelle was a very nervous sort of fellow. I was nervous too, as it happens. And that was how I played the part. I personally was happy with the result. It was a very good film and will make a lot of money. But people couldn't seem to forget it was me. I would really like to convince people that I can play someone else. In the first two Beatles films, it wasn't really acting. We didn't know what we were doing. We just said the lines as they were. We had read them and then we would just go out and say them in front of the cameras."
Monday, December 27, 2010
George Harrison on Cream's "Badge" (1969)
"I helped Eric write 'Badge.' Each of them had to come up with a song for the Goodbye Cream album and Eric didn't have his written. We were working across from each other and I was writing the lyrics down and we came to the middle part, so I wrote down 'bridge.' Eric read it upside down, and cracked up laughing. 'What's "badge?"' he asked. After that, Ringo walked in drunk and gave us that line about the swans living in the park."
Sunday, December 26, 2010
John Lennon on "Because"
"This is about me and Yoko in the early days. Yoko was playing some Beethoven chords and I said play them backwards. It's really 'Moonlight Sanata' backwards."
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Chrimble: The Curious Case Of The Beatles Christmas Records
by Roger Cormier
Despite the fact that none of them were available on iTunes until a few weeks ago, it's a safe bet that most people on planet Earth have heard most of the 196 songs The Beatles wrote and recorded. (Somehow they heard them. Somehow.) What most people have never heard are the seven records that the Beatles recorded and sent out to fan club members exclusively every holiday season. Because The Beatles were The Beatles, they made a seemingly perfunctory exercise in appeasing a fan base and justifying a yearly fan club fee into entertaining clusterfucks that can at times be mistaken for true art.
1963
In the beginning, they kept it simple, simply getting high on egg nog and reading copy. John is the loud drunk at the holiday party, shouting nonsense in lieu of singing the actual lyrics to holiday songs and dominating most of the conversation (sometimes in German for no apparent reason). He also leads the group in inventing the phrase "Merry Crimble", an interesting substitute for "Happy Holidays." Meanwhile Paul is his own diplomatic charming self, thanking all of the fans for making them about to be millionaires but letting them kindly know they're no longer into jelly beans (save those for Reagan). Ringo, as expected, gets the least airtime and barely gets one sentence out without being tickled or interrupted. George gives props to the fan club secretaries ("Good old Frita!"). He hopes they can go on "pleasing you" for a long time, a reference to their number one hit "Please Please Me", which is totally about oral sex (John Lennon was, of course, the writer of that song).
Drug of choice: Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Thank you Ringo. We'll phone you..."
1964
Paul leads off after a little piano intro by unsuccessfully swallowing a smile in admitting he's now fucking rich. John does not even bother pretending that he isn't reading off of a script as he thanks fans for buying his Lewis Carroll wordplay inspired book "In His Own Write". Taking John's lead, George also doesn't bother with the pretense and even points out the typos while thanking the Beatle People for seeing their movie "A Hard Day's Night", sometimes "more than once." (cha chinggggg.) Ringo's attempts at playing it straight fail when the other three keep giggling and distract him.
Drug of choice: Pot, Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Don't know where we'd be without (the fans)." "In the army."
1965
Eschewing the taking turns in their mocking script reading routine, the Fabs stumble their way through singing "Yesterday" and mash-ups of Christmas songs with contemporary music numbers (including a funny piss-take on Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" which many considered at the time to be a lame Dylan ripoff.) While the group bothered with rehearsing their lines, manager Brian Epstein probably wasn't a fan of Lennon's Goon Show inspired fake newscaster bit or of the Vietnam references on a holiday record.
Drug of choice: Pot, Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Copyright Johnny!"
1966
Instead of parody, by 1966 the Beatles decided to reinvent the Holiday record: after the group goes through one verse and chorus of an original Christmas tune called "Everywhere It's Christmas", listeners are treated to vignettes involving two cheese eaters high in the Swiss Alps, a festive evening at the King's, a toast to her Highness on the H.M.S. Tremendous, Podgy and Jasper's trip to the supermarket and a Count Boulder leading a singalong about growing sick of banjos before returning back to "Everywhere It's Christmas". It's either genius or insanity. Or both. Or just British humor.
Drug of choice: LSD (John, George and Ringo), Pot (Paul)
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Candles." "Matches." "Candles." "Matches."
1967
This record is similar to the 1966 one, but better. Instead of simply bookending an original holiday song, the Beatles stop "Christmas Time Is Here Again" for sometimes minutes at a time to get their bits in. These involve the gang auditioning at BBC House by singing two lines of a song about trousers (which we hear once again for good measure), Ringo as a General poorly elaborating on the job him and his troops had done, the group topping their earlier trouser song with a song about jam jars, George receiving applause and a nomination for independent candidate of parliament by erroneously claiming he is 32 and Ringo failing to make a phone call with his life seemingly hanging in the balance, as we are lead to believe with ridiculously dramatic sound effects. The last minute of the record devolves into the group maniacally laughing, followed by their producer George Martin announcing that they thank you for a wonderful year, in an "I know they seem fucking insane but they really mean well" tone.
Drugs of choice: LSD
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "And with the recent heavy fighting near Blackpool Mrs. Gee Evans of Sully Hall is gradually injured. She wants for all the people in hospital: 'Plenty of Jam Jars' by the Ravelers."
1968
The Beatles were a band that always evolved, and within a year, the band went from wildly inventive to incredibly depressing with their 1968 Christmas single. Because of all of their fighting, the band found their yearly fan club obligation of making a Christmas single to be a chore and literally mailed in their performances - all four of the Moptoppers recorded their greetings from their houses, with the exception of Ringo, who supposedly taped his from the back of his van in Surrey.
Radio 1 disc jockey Kenny Everett pieced together the snippets he received with clips from the just released White Album to make the record. Contents include a poem John wrote about Yoko and himself and George finally giving longtime roadie Mal Evans his due.
Who profited the most from the four Beatles not bothering to be in the same room with each other around the holidays? Tiny Tim, who George had perform his, uh, unique, cover of "Nowhere Man" while on vacation in America.
Goddamn Yoko ruined Christmas.
Drugs of choice: Heroin (John), Downers, Women
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Well I think it's INSANE!!!!!!!!"
1969
1969 had a man land on the moon, but it didn't include The Beatles getting all of their asses in the recording studio for Christmas.
The funniest segment of the 1969 Christmas record would have to be that George Harrison contributed only one entire sentence to the festivities, possibly for punishment over inviting Tiny Tim over to the party the previous year. The second funniest aspect would have to be Ringo taking the rare opportunity to sing and to shamelessly promote his critically panned movie The Magic Christian. John wishing to have his cornflakes blessed in a specific manner was also humorous, but was overshadowed by him and Yoko taking up most of the record with their newlywed bliss and wishing of peace in the seventies. There wouldn't be nearly as much peace as the power couple was hoping for in that decade, and perhaps not coincidentally, the decade would be one without The Beatles.
Drugs of choice: Cocaine, Alcohol, Women
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "I'd like some cornflakes prepared by a Peruvian hand and have it blessed by a Hare Krishna mantra."
Despite the fact that none of them were available on iTunes until a few weeks ago, it's a safe bet that most people on planet Earth have heard most of the 196 songs The Beatles wrote and recorded. (Somehow they heard them. Somehow.) What most people have never heard are the seven records that the Beatles recorded and sent out to fan club members exclusively every holiday season. Because The Beatles were The Beatles, they made a seemingly perfunctory exercise in appeasing a fan base and justifying a yearly fan club fee into entertaining clusterfucks that can at times be mistaken for true art.
1963
In the beginning, they kept it simple, simply getting high on egg nog and reading copy. John is the loud drunk at the holiday party, shouting nonsense in lieu of singing the actual lyrics to holiday songs and dominating most of the conversation (sometimes in German for no apparent reason). He also leads the group in inventing the phrase "Merry Crimble", an interesting substitute for "Happy Holidays." Meanwhile Paul is his own diplomatic charming self, thanking all of the fans for making them about to be millionaires but letting them kindly know they're no longer into jelly beans (save those for Reagan). Ringo, as expected, gets the least airtime and barely gets one sentence out without being tickled or interrupted. George gives props to the fan club secretaries ("Good old Frita!"). He hopes they can go on "pleasing you" for a long time, a reference to their number one hit "Please Please Me", which is totally about oral sex (John Lennon was, of course, the writer of that song).
Drug of choice: Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Thank you Ringo. We'll phone you..."
1964
Paul leads off after a little piano intro by unsuccessfully swallowing a smile in admitting he's now fucking rich. John does not even bother pretending that he isn't reading off of a script as he thanks fans for buying his Lewis Carroll wordplay inspired book "In His Own Write". Taking John's lead, George also doesn't bother with the pretense and even points out the typos while thanking the Beatle People for seeing their movie "A Hard Day's Night", sometimes "more than once." (cha chinggggg.) Ringo's attempts at playing it straight fail when the other three keep giggling and distract him.
Drug of choice: Pot, Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Don't know where we'd be without (the fans)." "In the army."
1965
Eschewing the taking turns in their mocking script reading routine, the Fabs stumble their way through singing "Yesterday" and mash-ups of Christmas songs with contemporary music numbers (including a funny piss-take on Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" which many considered at the time to be a lame Dylan ripoff.) While the group bothered with rehearsing their lines, manager Brian Epstein probably wasn't a fan of Lennon's Goon Show inspired fake newscaster bit or of the Vietnam references on a holiday record.
Drug of choice: Pot, Alcohol
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Copyright Johnny!"
1966
Instead of parody, by 1966 the Beatles decided to reinvent the Holiday record: after the group goes through one verse and chorus of an original Christmas tune called "Everywhere It's Christmas", listeners are treated to vignettes involving two cheese eaters high in the Swiss Alps, a festive evening at the King's, a toast to her Highness on the H.M.S. Tremendous, Podgy and Jasper's trip to the supermarket and a Count Boulder leading a singalong about growing sick of banjos before returning back to "Everywhere It's Christmas". It's either genius or insanity. Or both. Or just British humor.
Drug of choice: LSD (John, George and Ringo), Pot (Paul)
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Candles." "Matches." "Candles." "Matches."
1967
This record is similar to the 1966 one, but better. Instead of simply bookending an original holiday song, the Beatles stop "Christmas Time Is Here Again" for sometimes minutes at a time to get their bits in. These involve the gang auditioning at BBC House by singing two lines of a song about trousers (which we hear once again for good measure), Ringo as a General poorly elaborating on the job him and his troops had done, the group topping their earlier trouser song with a song about jam jars, George receiving applause and a nomination for independent candidate of parliament by erroneously claiming he is 32 and Ringo failing to make a phone call with his life seemingly hanging in the balance, as we are lead to believe with ridiculously dramatic sound effects. The last minute of the record devolves into the group maniacally laughing, followed by their producer George Martin announcing that they thank you for a wonderful year, in an "I know they seem fucking insane but they really mean well" tone.
Drugs of choice: LSD
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "And with the recent heavy fighting near Blackpool Mrs. Gee Evans of Sully Hall is gradually injured. She wants for all the people in hospital: 'Plenty of Jam Jars' by the Ravelers."
1968
The Beatles were a band that always evolved, and within a year, the band went from wildly inventive to incredibly depressing with their 1968 Christmas single. Because of all of their fighting, the band found their yearly fan club obligation of making a Christmas single to be a chore and literally mailed in their performances - all four of the Moptoppers recorded their greetings from their houses, with the exception of Ringo, who supposedly taped his from the back of his van in Surrey.
Radio 1 disc jockey Kenny Everett pieced together the snippets he received with clips from the just released White Album to make the record. Contents include a poem John wrote about Yoko and himself and George finally giving longtime roadie Mal Evans his due.
Who profited the most from the four Beatles not bothering to be in the same room with each other around the holidays? Tiny Tim, who George had perform his, uh, unique, cover of "Nowhere Man" while on vacation in America.
Goddamn Yoko ruined Christmas.
Drugs of choice: Heroin (John), Downers, Women
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "Well I think it's INSANE!!!!!!!!"
1969
1969 had a man land on the moon, but it didn't include The Beatles getting all of their asses in the recording studio for Christmas.
The funniest segment of the 1969 Christmas record would have to be that George Harrison contributed only one entire sentence to the festivities, possibly for punishment over inviting Tiny Tim over to the party the previous year. The second funniest aspect would have to be Ringo taking the rare opportunity to sing and to shamelessly promote his critically panned movie The Magic Christian. John wishing to have his cornflakes blessed in a specific manner was also humorous, but was overshadowed by him and Yoko taking up most of the record with their newlywed bliss and wishing of peace in the seventies. There wouldn't be nearly as much peace as the power couple was hoping for in that decade, and perhaps not coincidentally, the decade would be one without The Beatles.
Drugs of choice: Cocaine, Alcohol, Women
Best Liverpoolian witticism: "I'd like some cornflakes prepared by a Peruvian hand and have it blessed by a Hare Krishna mantra."
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Beatles Anthology - Episode Eight
Episode Eight (July '68 to The End) - 1:21:59
"I'm really glad that most of our songs were about love, peace and understanding." - Paul McCartney
1. The “White” Album [9:23]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode
* Yer Blues – Blackbird – What's The New Mary Jane – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Good Night – Rocky Raccoon – Sexy Sadie – While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) – Mother Nature's Son - Piggies – I Will – Julia – Why Don't We Do It in the Road? – I'm So Tired – Don't Pass Me By (Starkey) - A musical collage taking excerpts from live studio recording during The White Album sessions
2. “Revolution” [3:21]
* Revolution
3. The Apple Boutique Closes [1:52]
4. Hey Jude [8:27]
* Footage of the Beatles performing live on 8 September 1968 at the FROST ON SUNDAY tele-show
* David Frost Theme (Martin)
* Hey Jude
5. Recording At Twickenham Studios [9:52]
* I've Got a Feeling - Jamming at the Twickenham Studios
* For You Blue (Harrison) - Apple Recording Studio, Savile Row, London
6. Billy Preston Sits In [2:59]
* Get Back
7. “The Long And The Winding Road” [3:49]
* The Long and Winding Road
8. The Rooftop Concert 30 January 1969 [10:03]
* Don't Let Me Down performed at the Rooftop Concert
* Get Back performed at the Rooftop Concert
* Wedding Bells (Fain-Kahal-Raskin) - Performed by Paul McCartney during recording of the Anthology Series
9. “Let It Be” [4:08]
* Let It Be - 'AN INTIMATE BIOSCOPIC EXPERIENCE WITH THE BEATLES'
10. Paul Marries Linda, John Marries Yoko [2:57]
* Paul marries Linda on 12 March 1969
* John marries Yoko on 20 March 1969
11. “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” [2:55]
* The Ballad of John and Yoko
12. Comments On The Break-Up Of The Band [5:28]
13. “Abbey Road” [8:56]
* Something (Harrison)
* Golden Slumbers – Octopus's Garden (Starkey) – Here Comes the Sun (Harrison) – Come Together - A musical collage taking excerpts from live studio recording during the Abbey Road sessions
* Because - The End - Showing footage of the last photo sessions on 22 August 1969
14. “Free as a Bird” [7:49]
* Free as a Bird (Lennon/Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey) - The video.
* Credits: A musical montage consisting of studio outtakes of - I Saw Her Standing There – Got to Get You Into My Life – Misery – Sie Liebt Dich – And I Love Her – Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! - Rocky Raccoon – All You Need Is Love - played over the 'Credits'
Wikipedia
"I'm really glad that most of our songs were about love, peace and understanding." - Paul McCartney
1. The “White” Album [9:23]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode
* Yer Blues – Blackbird – What's The New Mary Jane – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Good Night – Rocky Raccoon – Sexy Sadie – While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) – Mother Nature's Son - Piggies – I Will – Julia – Why Don't We Do It in the Road? – I'm So Tired – Don't Pass Me By (Starkey) - A musical collage taking excerpts from live studio recording during The White Album sessions
2. “Revolution” [3:21]
* Revolution
3. The Apple Boutique Closes [1:52]
4. Hey Jude [8:27]
* Footage of the Beatles performing live on 8 September 1968 at the FROST ON SUNDAY tele-show
* David Frost Theme (Martin)
* Hey Jude
5. Recording At Twickenham Studios [9:52]
* I've Got a Feeling - Jamming at the Twickenham Studios
* For You Blue (Harrison) - Apple Recording Studio, Savile Row, London
6. Billy Preston Sits In [2:59]
* Get Back
7. “The Long And The Winding Road” [3:49]
* The Long and Winding Road
8. The Rooftop Concert 30 January 1969 [10:03]
* Don't Let Me Down performed at the Rooftop Concert
* Get Back performed at the Rooftop Concert
* Wedding Bells (Fain-Kahal-Raskin) - Performed by Paul McCartney during recording of the Anthology Series
9. “Let It Be” [4:08]
* Let It Be - 'AN INTIMATE BIOSCOPIC EXPERIENCE WITH THE BEATLES'
10. Paul Marries Linda, John Marries Yoko [2:57]
* Paul marries Linda on 12 March 1969
* John marries Yoko on 20 March 1969
11. “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” [2:55]
* The Ballad of John and Yoko
12. Comments On The Break-Up Of The Band [5:28]
13. “Abbey Road” [8:56]
* Something (Harrison)
* Golden Slumbers – Octopus's Garden (Starkey) – Here Comes the Sun (Harrison) – Come Together - A musical collage taking excerpts from live studio recording during the Abbey Road sessions
* Because - The End - Showing footage of the last photo sessions on 22 August 1969
14. “Free as a Bird” [7:49]
* Free as a Bird (Lennon/Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey) - The video.
* Credits: A musical montage consisting of studio outtakes of - I Saw Her Standing There – Got to Get You Into My Life – Misery – Sie Liebt Dich – And I Love Her – Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! - Rocky Raccoon – All You Need Is Love - played over the 'Credits'
Wikipedia
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Stephen Stills on Recording Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy"
"Ringo came in with this little song; that is, he sat down and played eight bars, and said, 'That's it.' So, we all made suggestions . . . and it came along very nicely. George told me that the session was for Ringo's 'surprise single' and I guess that could be right."
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
George Harrison on Paul McCartney, 1969
"He will go his own particular way in 1970. He's got that incredible combination of knowing exactly what kind of music to write, with lovely melody and the result is always bang up to date and commercial in the nicest aspect of the word. He can't go wrong."
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Beatles - Limo Interview For 'This Week,' November 1963
Coming at the height of Beatlemania in Britain, the Beatles were interviewed in a limo for This Week Programme.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Beatles Anthology - Episode Seven
All songs are written by Lennon/McCartney and performed by The Beatles, unless otherwise noted.
Episode Seven (June '67 to July '68) - 1:13:40
"We got backstage to see Maharishi and I said to him: 'Got any mantras?'" - George Harrison
1. Satellite Broadcast of “All You Need is Love” [10:10]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* All You Need Is Love - 'Our World' Global Satellite Broadcast on 25 June 1967.
2. Meeting The Maharishi [4:17]
3. Brian Epstein's Death [8:16]
* You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - 18 February, 1965 (Take 5) - Brian died on 27August, 1967; some state that this song is a reference to Brian Epstein, the group's manager, who was homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offense in Britain at the time).
4. “Magical Mystery Tour” [10:05]
* Magical Mystery Tour - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* You Made Me Love You (McCarthy-Monaco) Performed by: Jessie Robbins and The Magical Mystery Tour Passengers; footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* The Fool On The Hill - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* Your Mother Should Know - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. This scene, known as the 'staircase' scene, was filmed in the disused aircraft hangars at RAF West Malling in Kent, in September 1967.
* Flying (Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey) - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. In this sequence, the music is accompanied in the film by color-altered images of landscape in Iceland, taken from an airplane; these shots were provided from outtakes of Stanley Kubrick's famous comedy Dr. Strangelove.
5. “I Am The Walrus” [5:11]
* I Am The Walrus - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. This scene was filmed on the disused airfield runways at RAF West Malling in Kent, in September 1967. The soundtrack was changed from the original VHS edition of Anthology to the DVD: a new all-true-stereo mix of the song was introduced, eliminating, for the first time, the use of "fake stereo" after the second verse of the song.
6. “Hello, Goodbye” [3:45]
* Hello, Goodbye - A promotional film for the Ed Sullivan Show.
7. The Apple Boutique [2:20]
8. Rishikesh, India [8:42]
* Across the Universe - 3 February, 1968 (Take 2).
* Dear Prudence
* I Will - 16 September, 1968 (Take 1).
* Dera Dhun (Harrison) - Performed by George Harrison.
* Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
9. Apple Records [7:58]
* Footage of Apple Press Conference, New York, 14 May, 1968.
* Sour Milk Sea (Harrison) Performed by: Jackie Lomax.
* Something In The Way She Moves (Taylor) Performed by: James Taylor.
* Maybe Tomorrow (Evans) Performed by: The Iveys.
* No Matter What (Ham) Performed by: Badfinger.
* Goodbye (Lennon/McCartney) Performed by: Mary Hopkin.
10. “Lady Madonna” [2:26]
* Lady Madonna - 3rd and 6 February 1968.
11. “Yellow Submarine” [4:05]
* Yellow Submarine - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
* All Together Now - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
12. John Meets Yoko Ono [6:23]
* Happiness Is a Warm Gun - May, 1968 (Esher Demo).
* Two Virgins (Lennon-Ono) Performed by: John Lennon & Yoko Ono
* While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) - Demo acoustic version (25 July, 1968) — Played while showing the credits.
Wikipedia
Episode Seven (June '67 to July '68) - 1:13:40
"We got backstage to see Maharishi and I said to him: 'Got any mantras?'" - George Harrison
1. Satellite Broadcast of “All You Need is Love” [10:10]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* All You Need Is Love - 'Our World' Global Satellite Broadcast on 25 June 1967.
2. Meeting The Maharishi [4:17]
3. Brian Epstein's Death [8:16]
* You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - 18 February, 1965 (Take 5) - Brian died on 27August, 1967; some state that this song is a reference to Brian Epstein, the group's manager, who was homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offense in Britain at the time).
4. “Magical Mystery Tour” [10:05]
* Magical Mystery Tour - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* You Made Me Love You (McCarthy-Monaco) Performed by: Jessie Robbins and The Magical Mystery Tour Passengers; footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* The Fool On The Hill - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour.
* Your Mother Should Know - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. This scene, known as the 'staircase' scene, was filmed in the disused aircraft hangars at RAF West Malling in Kent, in September 1967.
* Flying (Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey) - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. In this sequence, the music is accompanied in the film by color-altered images of landscape in Iceland, taken from an airplane; these shots were provided from outtakes of Stanley Kubrick's famous comedy Dr. Strangelove.
5. “I Am The Walrus” [5:11]
* I Am The Walrus - Footage from the film Magical Mystery Tour. This scene was filmed on the disused airfield runways at RAF West Malling in Kent, in September 1967. The soundtrack was changed from the original VHS edition of Anthology to the DVD: a new all-true-stereo mix of the song was introduced, eliminating, for the first time, the use of "fake stereo" after the second verse of the song.
6. “Hello, Goodbye” [3:45]
* Hello, Goodbye - A promotional film for the Ed Sullivan Show.
7. The Apple Boutique [2:20]
8. Rishikesh, India [8:42]
* Across the Universe - 3 February, 1968 (Take 2).
* Dear Prudence
* I Will - 16 September, 1968 (Take 1).
* Dera Dhun (Harrison) - Performed by George Harrison.
* Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
9. Apple Records [7:58]
* Footage of Apple Press Conference, New York, 14 May, 1968.
* Sour Milk Sea (Harrison) Performed by: Jackie Lomax.
* Something In The Way She Moves (Taylor) Performed by: James Taylor.
* Maybe Tomorrow (Evans) Performed by: The Iveys.
* No Matter What (Ham) Performed by: Badfinger.
* Goodbye (Lennon/McCartney) Performed by: Mary Hopkin.
10. “Lady Madonna” [2:26]
* Lady Madonna - 3rd and 6 February 1968.
11. “Yellow Submarine” [4:05]
* Yellow Submarine - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
* All Together Now - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
12. John Meets Yoko Ono [6:23]
* Happiness Is a Warm Gun - May, 1968 (Esher Demo).
* Two Virgins (Lennon-Ono) Performed by: John Lennon & Yoko Ono
* While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) - Demo acoustic version (25 July, 1968) — Played while showing the credits.
Wikipedia
Mary Hopkin Recording "Those Were the Days" / The Beatles Original "Revolution" Promo Film
Black and white footage of Mary Hopkin in the studio (Peter Asher in the control booth) recording the Spanish version of "Those Were the Days" ("Que Tiempo Tan Feliz"). At the end of the video, the Beatles' promo video for "Revolution" is shown, with what sounds like to me more of the "live" audio than most versions that later circulated (which largely overdub the official recording).
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Apple Employee Jean Nisbet on the Rooftop Concert
"We were used to odd events, and so the sight of John, Paul, George and Ringo plus the TV people climbing onto the roof didn't faze me. But, when they started playing right above me, and my office ceiling began to vibrate, I thought it was time to move. I rushed out the front door into the street to find the other office girls hanging out of windows screaming and hundreds of passers-by gazing up to the roof.
"The traffic was, naturally, at a standstill. Everyone was in good humor, except a few of our neighbors, who weren't too keen on having Apple next door."
"The traffic was, naturally, at a standstill. Everyone was in good humor, except a few of our neighbors, who weren't too keen on having Apple next door."
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Ringo Starr on Bad Press, 1969
"One minute the press will be all over you, saying, 'Good old Beatles boys,' and then the next, they'll be saying, 'Those dirty old scruffs!'"
Can you put a finger on one of the main turning points?
"Drugs. But there was always a lot before that. It has always depended on the journalist or the paper, you know, how they felt at that time. They can write a story good or they can write it bad. You might find in one paper, it was 'Beatlemania in Bradford,' while in another, 'Beatles Protesters Smash Up Bradford.'"
Can you put a finger on one of the main turning points?
"Drugs. But there was always a lot before that. It has always depended on the journalist or the paper, you know, how they felt at that time. They can write a story good or they can write it bad. You might find in one paper, it was 'Beatlemania in Bradford,' while in another, 'Beatles Protesters Smash Up Bradford.'"
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Paul McCartney on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
"This epitomises the downfalls in life. Just when everything is going smoothly, 'bang bang,' down comes Maxwell's silver hammer and ruins everything."
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Beatles Anthology - Episode Six
Episode Six (July '66 to June '67) - 1:10:49
"I should have said television is more popular than Jesus; then I might have got away with it." - John Lennon
1. Trouble in the Philippines[8:35]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* The Word
2. “Eleanor Rigby” [9:25]
* Eleanor Rigby - Solo performance of Paul McCartney segueing into the performance by The Beatles, ending with the solo performance.
* Footage of the Brian Epstein Press Conference at New York on 6 August, 1966 regarding an early 1966 interview that John Lennon gave to the Evening Standard
* Footage from the Beatles' Press Conference at Chicago on 11 August, 1966 where John Lennon talks on the Bigger than Jesus controversy.
* I'm Only Sleeping
3. Touring Takes It Toll [2:35]
4. The Last Concert – San Francisco, 29 August 1966 [4:52]
* For No One played over the footage from the Concert.
5. Individual Directions [5:44]
* Footage from the movie How I Won the War directed by Dick Lester showing John Lennon acting.
* Footage showing Ringo Starr hanging around with John Lennon in Spain during the shooting of How I Won the War.
* Footage of the six week visit of India by George Harrison.
* Footage from the film The Family Way where Paul McCartney wrote the film score teaming up with George Martin which eventually won the Ivor Novello Award for the Best Film Song for Love in the Open Air.
o Music from The Family Way (McCartney) - Performed by The Tudor Minstrels
o Love in the Open Air (McCartney-Martin) - Performed by The Tudor Minstrels
6. The Making of “Strawberry Fields Forever” [5:50]
* Strawberry Fields Forever
* Release Me (Miller-Williams-Yount) – Performed by Engelbert Humperdinck
7. “Penny Lane” [5:17]
* Penny Lane
8. “Sgt. Pepper's” [5:35]
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
* With a Little Help from My Friends
* Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
* Within You Without You (Instrumental) (Harrison)
9. “A Day in the Life” [10:08]
* A Day in the Life
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
10. Reaction to “Sgt. Pepper's” [3:07]
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – Footage showing live performance by Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1970.
11. Drugs Reflect The Times [4:38]
12. “Baby You’re A Rich Man” [5:03]
* Baby You're a Rich Man
* Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1) - Played while showing the Credits.
Wikipedia
"I should have said television is more popular than Jesus; then I might have got away with it." - John Lennon
1. Trouble in the Philippines[8:35]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* The Word
2. “Eleanor Rigby” [9:25]
* Eleanor Rigby - Solo performance of Paul McCartney segueing into the performance by The Beatles, ending with the solo performance.
* Footage of the Brian Epstein Press Conference at New York on 6 August, 1966 regarding an early 1966 interview that John Lennon gave to the Evening Standard
* Footage from the Beatles' Press Conference at Chicago on 11 August, 1966 where John Lennon talks on the Bigger than Jesus controversy.
* I'm Only Sleeping
3. Touring Takes It Toll [2:35]
4. The Last Concert – San Francisco, 29 August 1966 [4:52]
* For No One played over the footage from the Concert.
5. Individual Directions [5:44]
* Footage from the movie How I Won the War directed by Dick Lester showing John Lennon acting.
* Footage showing Ringo Starr hanging around with John Lennon in Spain during the shooting of How I Won the War.
* Footage of the six week visit of India by George Harrison.
* Footage from the film The Family Way where Paul McCartney wrote the film score teaming up with George Martin which eventually won the Ivor Novello Award for the Best Film Song for Love in the Open Air.
o Music from The Family Way (McCartney) - Performed by The Tudor Minstrels
o Love in the Open Air (McCartney-Martin) - Performed by The Tudor Minstrels
6. The Making of “Strawberry Fields Forever” [5:50]
* Strawberry Fields Forever
* Release Me (Miller-Williams-Yount) – Performed by Engelbert Humperdinck
7. “Penny Lane” [5:17]
* Penny Lane
8. “Sgt. Pepper's” [5:35]
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
* With a Little Help from My Friends
* Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
* Within You Without You (Instrumental) (Harrison)
9. “A Day in the Life” [10:08]
* A Day in the Life
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
10. Reaction to “Sgt. Pepper's” [3:07]
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – Footage showing live performance by Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1970.
11. Drugs Reflect The Times [4:38]
12. “Baby You’re A Rich Man” [5:03]
* Baby You're a Rich Man
* Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1) - Played while showing the Credits.
Wikipedia
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Paul McCartney's Statement on the Death of John Lennon
"I have hidden myself in my work today [December 9, 1980]. But it keeps flashing into my mind. I feel shattered, angry, and very, very sad. It's just ridiculous. He was pretty rude about me sometimes, but I secretly admired him for it and I always managed to stay in touch with him. There was no question that we weren't friends -- I really loved the guy.
"I think that what has happened will in years to come make people realise that John was an international statesman. He often looked a loony to many people. He made enemies, but he was fantastic. He was a warm man who cared a lot and, with the record 'Give Peace a Chance,' he helped stop the Vietnam war -- he made a lot of sense."
"I think that what has happened will in years to come make people realise that John was an international statesman. He often looked a loony to many people. He made enemies, but he was fantastic. He was a warm man who cared a lot and, with the record 'Give Peace a Chance,' he helped stop the Vietnam war -- he made a lot of sense."
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
What Was John Lennon's Last Interview?
Usually the Lennon interviews from December 1980 that receive the most attention are:These are sometimes referred as the "last Lennon interview," but in fact, the last interview with John Lennon took place on the morning of December 8, with RKO Radio's Dave Sholin.
- December 5, 1980: Rolling Stone interview with Jonathan Cott
- December 6, 1980: BBC interview with Andy Peebles
Thoughts on the Legacy of John Lennon
The lasting impact of John Lennon can be found almost anywhere rock music is heard today. Through creating the Beatles and the formation of a songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney, he modernized popular music and expanded the boundaries of creativity of the art form.Reading about the Beatles over the years, it surprised me to discover the extent to which Lennon paid attention to the music charts; one would think he would have needed to seek this kind of validation for work that is so obviously of high quality. Regardless, the Beatles dominated the charts in almost every way and are still a benchmark in the measurement of popular music and its influence ("It's nice to be liked," he once remarked.) That caring about public opinion translated into an incredible personal availability to admirers who dropped by to see him, whether at his home in Surrey, England or out on the street in New York City.
After having revolutionized music by the time he was 30, he turned his attention and talents towards working for positive change. Interestingly, it was a letter from filmmaker Peter Watkins in 1969 that seemed to push his private beliefs on war and peace into the public domain. Recognizing that when he sang millions listened, he channeled his message through songs like "Give Peace a Chance, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," and "Imagine."
References to Lennon are so culturally ubiquitous now I almost forget they are there. It's common to see his visage in stores, homes, and restaurants (a few weeks ago I saw a painting of him with Santa Claus while at lunch). His influence is so strong that it's not surprising to hear his name referred to as a musical inspiration from the young and old or brought up directly in song, as in the Arkells' "John Lennon":
John Lennon on "A Day in the Life"
"I was writing the song with the Daily Mail propped up in front of me on the piano. I had it open at their News in Brief, or Far or Near, whatever they call it. There was a paragraph about 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire being discovered and there was still one word missing in that verse when we came to record. I knew the line had to go 'Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.' It was a nonsense verse really, but for some reason I couldn't think of the verb. What did the holes do to the Albert Hall? It was Terry [Doran] who said 'fill' the Albert Hall."
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
News Reporter on the Marriage of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman (March 12, 1969)
"As a hint to the press, he told us not to arrive at Cavendish Avenue before 9 a.m. But, at 7 a.m., the first reporter and photographer had arrived. Mr. McCartney and Miss Eastman, with Heather, aged six, arrived at Marylebone's register office shortly before 10 a.m. and entered the office, in the town hall, by a side door, to foil the press and enthusiasts. About three hundred of them, nearly half of them from newspapers and television, waited for hours in the cold, driving rain. While the wedding party was inside the building, the teenagers made their presence felt. A group of girls, who had pledged their lives to Paul, and were feeling a sense of betrayal, ran through the Beatles' repertoire more than once. They wistfully, "How I long for yesterday," and frequently sang their own words, "Oh, Paul, we love you," to a Beatles tune.
"A dozen policemen tried to fend off teenagers, outstretched hands and microphones, as the couple made their way to the car. A rubbish bin went flying, feet were trampled, the teenagers screamed shrilly and poor Heather, looking bewildered, was carried in the arms of a policeman. For two girls, it was no less than the end of the world, as they broke down and screamed hysterically, inconsolable. He received the press treatment befitting his status, and was speeded on his way by the teams of young supporters who loved him to the last. Linda was wearing a daffodil-yellow coat over a fawn dress, and looked very pretty. Paul was wearing a dark-grey suit with a white shirt and a yellow tie."
"A dozen policemen tried to fend off teenagers, outstretched hands and microphones, as the couple made their way to the car. A rubbish bin went flying, feet were trampled, the teenagers screamed shrilly and poor Heather, looking bewildered, was carried in the arms of a policeman. For two girls, it was no less than the end of the world, as they broke down and screamed hysterically, inconsolable. He received the press treatment befitting his status, and was speeded on his way by the teams of young supporters who loved him to the last. Linda was wearing a daffodil-yellow coat over a fawn dress, and looked very pretty. Paul was wearing a dark-grey suit with a white shirt and a yellow tie."
Monday, December 06, 2010
John Lennon on Filming the "I Am the Walrus" Scene in Magical Mystery Tour
"I filmed 'Walrus' there [West Malling's USAF Airbase] and I had all these policemen there on top. We couldn't find a studio so a guy got us this aeroplane hangar to film in. I was doing this Fellini thing where we were dressed as walruses, but I ended up confusing myself, you know, with all these Eggmen. I didn't know about real filming and the cameraman apparently didn't know either and nobody else did!"
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Glyn Johns on Allen Klein and Let It Be
"In my opinion Allen Klein was a disaster area altogether. He wrecked that film. It could have been an extremely good film, and it was directly as a result of his involvement with it that it wasn't, in my opinion. There clearly was a lot of humour, and the feeling that was on the original record existed on film. It could have been magnificent. I mean, they actually filmed an enormous amount of footage, and that was probably the problem. That they actually had so much. And it wasn't directed well. There was no continuity on a lot of it, and all the rest. There were hours and hours and hours--weeks and weeks of film--with no continuity, no direction, and God knows what else, so a lot of it obviously was unusable. However, I did see the very first rough cut of the film, which was extremely good. But Allen Klein saw it evidently and said he only wanted to see the four Beatles. He didn't want to see anybody else in it. Which is a bit difficult in a documentary when everybody and their mother was wandering around."
Saturday, December 04, 2010
John Lennon, Pattie Boyd, and Lulu
On December 21, 1967, the Beatles held a party for Magical Mystery Tour at the Westbourne Suite at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
Pete Shotton: "I had originally planned to turn up as a Musketeer, but at the last minute, John suddenly exclaimed, 'Let's go as Teddy Boys, and dress the way we always wished we could when we were at school. Let's do it properly this time.' We both made a terrific impression at the party, but were nonetheless eclipsed by such inspired impersonations as Peter Brown's periwigged King Louis XIV of France, and Apple press officer Derek Taylor's Nazi-uniformed Hitler. Cilla Black and her husband, Bobby Willis came as, respectively, a Cockney labourer, and a nun. However, Freddie Lennon, who appeared as a trash collector, achieved the most realistic impression of all."
"By the time we were seated for the screening, John had, in best Teddy Boy style, got himself smashed on good old-fashioned booze! An unpleasant scene developed towards the end of the party, when the band, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, took the stage and most of the guests paired off to dance. Totally ignoring Cynthia, who was decked out for the occasion as a fairy princess, John instead lavished all his attentions on Pattie Harrison, with whom he actually went so far as to dance, probably for the first time in about five years."
Cynthia Lennon: "John made a bee-line for Pattie, who was looking incredibly sexy in an eastern dancer's seven-veils-and-not-much-else outfit. John hogged Pattie for quite a time and I was left sitting primly and stiffly, very much out in the cold."
Pete Shotton: "Though Pattie had, undeniably, made herself especially desirable as a scantily clad belly dancer, neither Cyn nor George were the least bit amused by John's open flirtation with her. In the end, however, it was Cyn's close friend, the diminutive pop singer Lulu, impersonating Shirley Temple, complete with an over-sized lollipop, who elected herself to give the inebriated Beatle cum Teddy Boy a good talking to."
Cynthia Lennon: "It was such a lovely sight, Lulu cornering John and giving him what for. John was much taken aback by Shirley Temple's serious lecture on how to treat his wife."
Pete Shotton: "I had originally planned to turn up as a Musketeer, but at the last minute, John suddenly exclaimed, 'Let's go as Teddy Boys, and dress the way we always wished we could when we were at school. Let's do it properly this time.' We both made a terrific impression at the party, but were nonetheless eclipsed by such inspired impersonations as Peter Brown's periwigged King Louis XIV of France, and Apple press officer Derek Taylor's Nazi-uniformed Hitler. Cilla Black and her husband, Bobby Willis came as, respectively, a Cockney labourer, and a nun. However, Freddie Lennon, who appeared as a trash collector, achieved the most realistic impression of all."
"By the time we were seated for the screening, John had, in best Teddy Boy style, got himself smashed on good old-fashioned booze! An unpleasant scene developed towards the end of the party, when the band, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, took the stage and most of the guests paired off to dance. Totally ignoring Cynthia, who was decked out for the occasion as a fairy princess, John instead lavished all his attentions on Pattie Harrison, with whom he actually went so far as to dance, probably for the first time in about five years."
Cynthia Lennon: "John made a bee-line for Pattie, who was looking incredibly sexy in an eastern dancer's seven-veils-and-not-much-else outfit. John hogged Pattie for quite a time and I was left sitting primly and stiffly, very much out in the cold."
Pete Shotton: "Though Pattie had, undeniably, made herself especially desirable as a scantily clad belly dancer, neither Cyn nor George were the least bit amused by John's open flirtation with her. In the end, however, it was Cyn's close friend, the diminutive pop singer Lulu, impersonating Shirley Temple, complete with an over-sized lollipop, who elected herself to give the inebriated Beatle cum Teddy Boy a good talking to."
Cynthia Lennon: "It was such a lovely sight, Lulu cornering John and giving him what for. John was much taken aback by Shirley Temple's serious lecture on how to treat his wife."
Friday, December 03, 2010
The Beatles Anthology - Episode Five
All songs are written by Lennon/McCartney and performed by The Beatles, unless otherwise noted.
Episode Five (August '65 to July '66) - 1:11:47
"We were all expanding in all areas in our life; opening up to a lot of different attitudes." - Ringo Starr
1. Shea Stadium Concert – 15 August 1965 [15:37]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* Ed Sullivan welcomes The Beatles to the concert at Shea Stadium, New York, 15 August 1965 – “Ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their Queen and loved here in America … Here are the Beatles!”
o Twist and Shout (Russel-Medley) [Live]
o I Feel Fine [Live]
o Baby's in Black [Live]
o I'm Down [Live]
o Help! [Live]
2. Meeting Elvis Presley [5:04]
* Mohair Sam (Frazier) - Performed by Charlie Rich
* Hound Dog (Leiber-Stoller) - Last notes of the song, performed by Elvis Presley
3. More Tour Pressure [2:31]
* Run for Your Life
4. New Musical Directions – “Rubber Soul” And “Revolver” [8:20]
* In My Life [Overdub on 22nd October, 1965 – Take 3] – Played in the background over footage showing the band talking about the new musical directions.
o George Martin: “… They were finding new frontiers all the time.”
o Ringo: “… Our whole attitude was changing. … I think grass was really influential in a lot of our changes.”
o Paul: “The direction was changing away from poppy stuff. … We branched out into songs that are a bit more surreal, more entertaining. … Dylan was starting to influence us quite heavily at that point.”
o John: “When it got sort of contemporary as it were, a contemporary influence … I think Rubber Soul was about when it started happening.”
* Drive My Car [Recorded on 13 October 1965 – Take 4) – Nowhere Man [Remake recorded on 22nd October, 1965 - Take 4] – A musical collage played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band in studio during recording of Rubber Soul.
* Rāga Charu Kishi – Footage showing snippets of a Sitar Recital of the Rāga by Ravi Shankar; George discussing the context of using sitar in Norwegian Wood.
* Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (12 October 1965 - Take 1) – Played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band recording the song.
* Nowhere Man [Remake recorded on 22nd October, 1965 - Take 4] – Played in the background over Paul discussing the stretched photo on the cover of the album Rubber Soul; the photo being the result of backward falling of the album-sized piece of cardboard on which photographer Bob Freeman was projecting photos at Lennon's house.
5. “Yellow Submarine” [3:40]
* Yellow Submarine[Recorded 26 May, 1966 – Take 5] - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
* Taxman (Harrison) [Overdub on 22nd April 1966 – Take 12] - Played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band recording the song; and George discussing the social context of the song – “… In those days we paid 19s.6d. out of every £1. … That was with super-tax, surtax and tax-tax and stuff.”
6. “Tomorrow Never Knows” [1:27]
* Tomorrow Never Knows — “That's me in my Tibetan Book of the Dead period ... ...” - John
7. Technical Limitations in the Studio [2:56]
* Nowhere Man – Footage of the Beatles’ live performance of the song at Circus Crone, Munich.
8. LSD (3:15)
* “We were just insane. We all thought there was a fire in the lift. Just a little red light and we were all screaming, all hysterical.” - John
9. “Day Tripper” [3:15]
* Day Tripper [Recorded on 16 October, 1965 – Take 3) - Taped TV promotional film of the song. — “Day Tripper – that was a drug song, I just liked the word.” - John
10. “We Can Work It Out” [2:47]
* We Can Work It Out (Overdub on 29 October, 1965 – Take 2) - Taped TV promotional film of the song.
11. Taped TV Promotional Films [1:34]
* “Going to the TV studios to promote our records was too much of a hassle. We’ll just make our own little films and we’ll put them out.” – George
12. “Paperback Writer” [2:55]
* Paperback Writer [Overdub on 14 April, 1966 onto recording of 13 April, 1966 - Take 2] - Footage of promotional film of the song.
o “... ... we can’t go everywhere. We’ll send these things out to promote the record. These days, everybody does that. It's just part of your promotion for a single, so I suppose in a way we invented MTV.” - George
13. “Rain” [3:02]
* Rain [Overdub on 16 April, 1966 onto recording of 14 April, 2006 - Take 7] - Footage of promotional film of the song. — “That's the first record with backwards music on it.” - John
14. World Tour 1966 [15:24]
* Got to Get You into My Life – Played over footage showing the Beatles arriving at the Haneda Airport, Tokyo on 30 June, 1966.
* Footage of the Beatles’ live performance at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo on 30 June, 1966:
o Rock and Roll Music (Berry)
o Paperback Writer
o Yesterday
* The Word – Played over footage of still photographs and video recordings of “trouble in the Philippines”.
* And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 2) - Played while showing the Credits.
Wikipedia
Episode Five (August '65 to July '66) - 1:11:47
"We were all expanding in all areas in our life; opening up to a lot of different attitudes." - Ringo Starr
1. Shea Stadium Concert – 15 August 1965 [15:37]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* Ed Sullivan welcomes The Beatles to the concert at Shea Stadium, New York, 15 August 1965 – “Ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their Queen and loved here in America … Here are the Beatles!”
o Twist and Shout (Russel-Medley) [Live]
o I Feel Fine [Live]
o Baby's in Black [Live]
o I'm Down [Live]
o Help! [Live]
2. Meeting Elvis Presley [5:04]
* Mohair Sam (Frazier) - Performed by Charlie Rich
* Hound Dog (Leiber-Stoller) - Last notes of the song, performed by Elvis Presley
3. More Tour Pressure [2:31]
* Run for Your Life
4. New Musical Directions – “Rubber Soul” And “Revolver” [8:20]
* In My Life [Overdub on 22nd October, 1965 – Take 3] – Played in the background over footage showing the band talking about the new musical directions.
o George Martin: “… They were finding new frontiers all the time.”
o Ringo: “… Our whole attitude was changing. … I think grass was really influential in a lot of our changes.”
o Paul: “The direction was changing away from poppy stuff. … We branched out into songs that are a bit more surreal, more entertaining. … Dylan was starting to influence us quite heavily at that point.”
o John: “When it got sort of contemporary as it were, a contemporary influence … I think Rubber Soul was about when it started happening.”
* Drive My Car [Recorded on 13 October 1965 – Take 4) – Nowhere Man [Remake recorded on 22nd October, 1965 - Take 4] – A musical collage played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band in studio during recording of Rubber Soul.
* Rāga Charu Kishi – Footage showing snippets of a Sitar Recital of the Rāga by Ravi Shankar; George discussing the context of using sitar in Norwegian Wood.
* Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (12 October 1965 - Take 1) – Played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band recording the song.
* Nowhere Man [Remake recorded on 22nd October, 1965 - Take 4] – Played in the background over Paul discussing the stretched photo on the cover of the album Rubber Soul; the photo being the result of backward falling of the album-sized piece of cardboard on which photographer Bob Freeman was projecting photos at Lennon's house.
5. “Yellow Submarine” [3:40]
* Yellow Submarine[Recorded 26 May, 1966 – Take 5] - Footage from the film Yellow Submarine.
* Taxman (Harrison) [Overdub on 22nd April 1966 – Take 12] - Played over footage of still photographs showing different moments of the band recording the song; and George discussing the social context of the song – “… In those days we paid 19s.6d. out of every £1. … That was with super-tax, surtax and tax-tax and stuff.”
6. “Tomorrow Never Knows” [1:27]
* Tomorrow Never Knows — “That's me in my Tibetan Book of the Dead period ... ...” - John
7. Technical Limitations in the Studio [2:56]
* Nowhere Man – Footage of the Beatles’ live performance of the song at Circus Crone, Munich.
8. LSD (3:15)
* “We were just insane. We all thought there was a fire in the lift. Just a little red light and we were all screaming, all hysterical.” - John
9. “Day Tripper” [3:15]
* Day Tripper [Recorded on 16 October, 1965 – Take 3) - Taped TV promotional film of the song. — “Day Tripper – that was a drug song, I just liked the word.” - John
10. “We Can Work It Out” [2:47]
* We Can Work It Out (Overdub on 29 October, 1965 – Take 2) - Taped TV promotional film of the song.
11. Taped TV Promotional Films [1:34]
* “Going to the TV studios to promote our records was too much of a hassle. We’ll just make our own little films and we’ll put them out.” – George
12. “Paperback Writer” [2:55]
* Paperback Writer [Overdub on 14 April, 1966 onto recording of 13 April, 1966 - Take 2] - Footage of promotional film of the song.
o “... ... we can’t go everywhere. We’ll send these things out to promote the record. These days, everybody does that. It's just part of your promotion for a single, so I suppose in a way we invented MTV.” - George
13. “Rain” [3:02]
* Rain [Overdub on 16 April, 1966 onto recording of 14 April, 2006 - Take 7] - Footage of promotional film of the song. — “That's the first record with backwards music on it.” - John
14. World Tour 1966 [15:24]
* Got to Get You into My Life – Played over footage showing the Beatles arriving at the Haneda Airport, Tokyo on 30 June, 1966.
* Footage of the Beatles’ live performance at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo on 30 June, 1966:
o Rock and Roll Music (Berry)
o Paperback Writer
o Yesterday
* The Word – Played over footage of still photographs and video recordings of “trouble in the Philippines”.
* And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 2) - Played while showing the Credits.
Wikipedia
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Little Eva - The Loco-Motion (Live on Shindig, 1965)
An early favorite of John Lennon's, this is Little Eva performing "The Loco-Motion" live on the U.S. TV program Shindig, March 3, 1965, nearly three years after its original release:
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
John Lennon on "One After 909"
"One of the first songs I ever wrote, which we revived for the film Let It Be."
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
John Lennon on "Across the Universe"
"This was one of my favourite songs, but it's been issued in so many forms that it's missed it as a record. I gave it at first to the World Wild Life Fund, but they didn't do much with it, and then we put it on the Let It Be album."
Monday, November 29, 2010
Questionable Obscenity Ruling
February 25, 1969
The recent ban of a record album of Beatle John Lennon by a New Jersey court raises a new and threatening aspect of standards in our obscenity laws.
That the picture on the album cover depicts Lennon and a young woman naked cannot be disputed. What can be disputed is the basis for ruling the cover obscene.
Judge Nelson K. Mintz said the contents of the picture are "suggestive of sexual activity."
Mintz said such displays are "offensive to community standards and are aggravated when known celebrities engage in this suggestive naked spectacle."
It is apparent that a basis for the decision was not one of content or standards, but on the relative notoriety of the individuals depicted. Nowhere in U.S. laws or in major court decisions have such grounds been established.
Recent rulings have shown that sales to youngsters can be judged with obscenity guidelines which are stricter than those pertaining to adults. Prosecutors pointed out that the album had been sold to minors. The picture was also charged with being pornographic by community standards. The decision could have been reached on the basis of these two arguments.
But to rule an album cover obscene on the basis of who is depicted is an extremely dangerous and pompous judgement.
First, the subjects' consent to the picture is obvious. Second, few persons today would judge Michelangelo's works or the Naked Maja on this basis and expect to be on sound legal ground.
If a subject is to be deemed obscene and therefore banned, it should be judged within the framework of the constitution and the numerous supreme court decisions to date. In this particular case, the court is tampering with the First Amendment.
The recent ban of a record album of Beatle John Lennon by a New Jersey court raises a new and threatening aspect of standards in our obscenity laws.
That the picture on the album cover depicts Lennon and a young woman naked cannot be disputed. What can be disputed is the basis for ruling the cover obscene.
Judge Nelson K. Mintz said the contents of the picture are "suggestive of sexual activity."
Mintz said such displays are "offensive to community standards and are aggravated when known celebrities engage in this suggestive naked spectacle."
It is apparent that a basis for the decision was not one of content or standards, but on the relative notoriety of the individuals depicted. Nowhere in U.S. laws or in major court decisions have such grounds been established.
Recent rulings have shown that sales to youngsters can be judged with obscenity guidelines which are stricter than those pertaining to adults. Prosecutors pointed out that the album had been sold to minors. The picture was also charged with being pornographic by community standards. The decision could have been reached on the basis of these two arguments.
But to rule an album cover obscene on the basis of who is depicted is an extremely dangerous and pompous judgement.
First, the subjects' consent to the picture is obvious. Second, few persons today would judge Michelangelo's works or the Naked Maja on this basis and expect to be on sound legal ground.
If a subject is to be deemed obscene and therefore banned, it should be judged within the framework of the constitution and the numerous supreme court decisions to date. In this particular case, the court is tampering with the First Amendment.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Aunt Mimi Smith on John Lennon's Music
"He used to drive me mad with his guitar playing, and I'll always remember telling him, 'The guitar's all right for a hobby, John, but it won't earn you any money.'"
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Beatles Anthology - Episode Four
Episode Four (August '64 to August '65) - 1:10:33
"She (The Queen) seemed pleasant enough, you know; made us relax." - John Lennon
1. First Major U.S. Tour – Summer, 1964 [9:12]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* Rock and Roll Music (Berry)
* Footage of the Beatles performing at The Hollywood Bowl on 23rd August 1964 —
o All My Loving
o She Loves You
2. Meeting Bob Dylan [3:01]
* Footage of discussions on Bob Dylan and his music:
o Paul: “He was our idol.”
o Ringo: “Bob was our hero. … I heard of Bob through John. He played the records to me. It was just great.”
o George: “Not an idol but we heard his record; we’d listen to his album. It really gave us a buzz and we played it over and over again. … I think he was Freewheelin’.”
o John: “We loved Bob Dylan.”
* Footage of live performance of Bob Dylan —
o The Times They Are a-Changin' (Dylan)
o A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Dylan)
3. The Pressures of Touring [6:13]
* Slow Down (Williams) – Played in the background of footage of the Beatles returning from America, photographed at the London Airport on 21 September 1964, where they played 32 shows in 34 days in 24 different cities.
4. Feedback – “I Feel Fine” [3:50]
* I Feel Fine – The group discussing the use of sound effects like feedback in their music:
o George Martin: “John had mucked around with feedback for a while. Yes, it was intentional. … I think it was the first time that feedback was used on a record. … It was his idea, it was great.”
o George: “He figured out how to do it. We used to do it on stage then. … In a way, he invented Jimi Hendrix.”
o Paul: “It probably was, actually.”
5. Recording “Beatles for Sale” [8:49]
* Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (Leiber-Stoller/Penniman) – Footage from the Shindig TV Show, London
* I'm a Loser – Footage from live performance at the Palais des Sports, Paris
* Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby (Perkins) – Footage from live performance at the Palais des Sports, Paris
6. Filming “Help!’ [14:27]
* Footage from the film Help! showing glimpses of various episodes, and, playing the following songs:
o Another Girl
o The Night Before
o You're Going to Lose That Girl
o You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
o Help! (Live on the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool)
7. "Yesterday" [5:09]
* Footage from the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool – the Beatles’ only British television appearance to promote Help! ... and the first solo stage performance of Yesterday. Recorded and broadcast on Sunday, 1st August, 1965 from the ABC Theatre, Blackpool from 9:10 to 10:05 p.m.
o "Yesterday"
o "I'm Down"
8. NME Poll Winners’ Concert – 11 April 1965 [2:00]
* "I Feel Fine"
* "She's a Woman"
9. George Talks About His Songs [4:07]
* George: "They’d been writing since we were at school. They’d written all – or most of their bad songs before we got into the recording studio. I had to come from nowhere and start writing and to have something at least quality enough to put in the record with all their wondrous hits."
* "Act Naturally" (Russell-Morrison) (Live on the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool) — “Now something we don’t often do. Give someone a chance to sing who doesn’t often sing. And here he is. All out of key and nervous, singing 'Act Naturally'." — Intro by Ringo
10. "Ticket to Ride" [2:44]
* Ticket to Ride - Footage of two versions of the song, the live version at Blackpool and the taped TV promotional film version, are merged with one another.
11. The Beatles Receive The MBE From The Queen [11:01]
* "Eight Days a Week" - Played behind the footage of people storming gates of the Buckingham Palace, London on the day of the Beatles receiving the MBEs from the Queen.
* "If You've Got Trouble" (Take 1) - Played while showing the credits.
Wikipedia
"She (The Queen) seemed pleasant enough, you know; made us relax." - John Lennon
1. First Major U.S. Tour – Summer, 1964 [9:12]
* Help! - Title song played at the beginning of each episode.
* Rock and Roll Music (Berry)
* Footage of the Beatles performing at The Hollywood Bowl on 23rd August 1964 —
o All My Loving
o She Loves You
2. Meeting Bob Dylan [3:01]
* Footage of discussions on Bob Dylan and his music:
o Paul: “He was our idol.”
o Ringo: “Bob was our hero. … I heard of Bob through John. He played the records to me. It was just great.”
o George: “Not an idol but we heard his record; we’d listen to his album. It really gave us a buzz and we played it over and over again. … I think he was Freewheelin’.”
o John: “We loved Bob Dylan.”
* Footage of live performance of Bob Dylan —
o The Times They Are a-Changin' (Dylan)
o A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Dylan)
3. The Pressures of Touring [6:13]
* Slow Down (Williams) – Played in the background of footage of the Beatles returning from America, photographed at the London Airport on 21 September 1964, where they played 32 shows in 34 days in 24 different cities.
4. Feedback – “I Feel Fine” [3:50]
* I Feel Fine – The group discussing the use of sound effects like feedback in their music:
o George Martin: “John had mucked around with feedback for a while. Yes, it was intentional. … I think it was the first time that feedback was used on a record. … It was his idea, it was great.”
o George: “He figured out how to do it. We used to do it on stage then. … In a way, he invented Jimi Hendrix.”
o Paul: “It probably was, actually.”
5. Recording “Beatles for Sale” [8:49]
* Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (Leiber-Stoller/Penniman) – Footage from the Shindig TV Show, London
* I'm a Loser – Footage from live performance at the Palais des Sports, Paris
* Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby (Perkins) – Footage from live performance at the Palais des Sports, Paris
6. Filming “Help!’ [14:27]
* Footage from the film Help! showing glimpses of various episodes, and, playing the following songs:
o Another Girl
o The Night Before
o You're Going to Lose That Girl
o You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
o Help! (Live on the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool)
7. "Yesterday" [5:09]
* Footage from the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool – the Beatles’ only British television appearance to promote Help! ... and the first solo stage performance of Yesterday. Recorded and broadcast on Sunday, 1st August, 1965 from the ABC Theatre, Blackpool from 9:10 to 10:05 p.m.
o "Yesterday"
o "I'm Down"
8. NME Poll Winners’ Concert – 11 April 1965 [2:00]
* "I Feel Fine"
* "She's a Woman"
9. George Talks About His Songs [4:07]
* George: "They’d been writing since we were at school. They’d written all – or most of their bad songs before we got into the recording studio. I had to come from nowhere and start writing and to have something at least quality enough to put in the record with all their wondrous hits."
* "Act Naturally" (Russell-Morrison) (Live on the Big Night Out TV show, Blackpool) — “Now something we don’t often do. Give someone a chance to sing who doesn’t often sing. And here he is. All out of key and nervous, singing 'Act Naturally'." — Intro by Ringo
10. "Ticket to Ride" [2:44]
* Ticket to Ride - Footage of two versions of the song, the live version at Blackpool and the taped TV promotional film version, are merged with one another.
11. The Beatles Receive The MBE From The Queen [11:01]
* "Eight Days a Week" - Played behind the footage of people storming gates of the Buckingham Palace, London on the day of the Beatles receiving the MBEs from the Queen.
* "If You've Got Trouble" (Take 1) - Played while showing the credits.
Wikipedia
Robert Freeman Photo of George Harrison
Does anyone have or know a source for a better quality version of this Robert Freeman photograph of George Harrison (at right)? If so, leave a comment below.Magazine article source, featuring the Beatles and Astrid Kirchherr:
Friday, November 26, 2010
James Taylor - Something in the Way She Moves - Apple Promo Film
Footage recorded live in June 1968 at Trident Studio, London, England.
"How Do You Do It?"
"How Do You Do It?" was the debut single by Liverpudlian band Gerry & The Pacemakers. The song was number one in the UK Singles Chart on 11 April, 1963, where it stayed for a total of three weeks.
The song was written by Mitch Murray. Adam Faith had been offered the song but turned it down and The Beatles recorded a version of it, which was not released until it appeared on the group's retrospective "Anthology 1" album in 1995.
Gerry & The Pacemakers' version was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, until being replaced at the top by "From Me to You," The Beatles' third single.
The song was also title song to an E.P. 7" record featuring the songs: "How Do You Do It?"; "Away From You"; "I Like It" and "It's Happened To Me" (Columbia SEG8257, released July 1963).
Single by Gerry & The Pacemakers
B-side: "Away from You" (Marsden-Chadwick)
Released: March 1963
Format: 7"
Recorded: 1963 Flag of England
Genre: Merseybeat, Beat, Pop
Length: 1:59
Label: Columbia DB4987 (EMI), Laurie 3162 (USA)
Writer: Mitch Murray
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
The song was written by Mitch Murray. Adam Faith had been offered the song but turned it down and The Beatles recorded a version of it, which was not released until it appeared on the group's retrospective "Anthology 1" album in 1995.
Gerry & The Pacemakers' version was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, until being replaced at the top by "From Me to You," The Beatles' third single.
The song was also title song to an E.P. 7" record featuring the songs: "How Do You Do It?"; "Away From You"; "I Like It" and "It's Happened To Me" (Columbia SEG8257, released July 1963).
Single by Gerry & The Pacemakers
B-side: "Away from You" (Marsden-Chadwick)
Released: March 1963
Format: 7"
Recorded: 1963 Flag of England
Genre: Merseybeat, Beat, Pop
Length: 1:59
Label: Columbia DB4987 (EMI), Laurie 3162 (USA)
Writer: Mitch Murray
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
