The one thing I like about being a Beatles fan is the level to which you can mine to find new gems. Once the BBC recordings were out of the bag, it became obvious that there was more to the catalogue than just what the band put out. I'm talking here about the catalogue of songs they gave away. There are some obvious gems in this oft forgotten part of Beatledom. Songs like Bad To Me and I'll Be On My Way for example. In the case of Bad To Me it's difficult to understand why they didn't do themselves? It could easily have fitted on a b side, or indeed on the first couple of albums. Whilst With The Beatles is fairly strong overall, Please Please Me could have dropped Chains in favour of say, Love of the Loved? I can understand that by giving these tunes to others, it created a scenario where it was advantageous for them to spread out the publishing to make a few extra bucks. It was also good for the receiving artist, many of whom were new names and breaking into the market. Perhaps more deviously though, it also allowed them to add to their already dominant position in the market place by putting tracks out that didn't have The Beatles brand name directly on it. It also gave them the chance to develop their reputations as tune smiths; "bigging up" on the Tin Pan Alley muscle. Songs like Nobody I Know, World Without Love and From A Window. These are solid and competent examples of a writing style obviously under serious and rapid development. They are becoming professionals. There is such a wealth of material that they have spawned albums in themselves, like the excellent "Unheard Melodies" set which includes most of the good ones. For me, it was a must have. Whilst I was learning to play the guitar, I (of course) bought a couple of Beatle chord books. Quite a few of these books contained songs I'd never heard, like Love Of The Loved, Step Inside Love and That Mean's A Lot and I was desperate to hear them. P.J Proby's version of That Mean's A Lot is just amazing! Which voice will he use on this tune? He had a gift, a fantastic set of pipes, but man what a ham!! The way he sings that song MUST have had the boys on the deck laughing their heads off! So bad in fact, that it's great!
When I first heard I'm In Love, I was floored by it's simplicity. John's demo of it is simply beautiful. I love the line when he sings "according to my friends - I'm In Love". A good early example of John using a device in the lyric to stand the song on it's head. I'm in Love is one of two personal favourites, the other being It's For You released by Silly... sorry.. Cilla Black in 1964. I can't understand why that one wasn't kept in-house? It's such a well produced piece of work and seems to be more developed than most of their 1964 output. Granted it probably wouldn't have been at home on say, A Hard Day's Night, but it might have made a brilliant single or E.P track. A song of this calibre left out and released in the same year which brought some of the dubious content of Beatles For Sale seems to defy artistic logic. There were a couple of suspect decisions made around that time, witness putting Mr Moonlight (a C side if there ever was one) on the album as opposed to Leave My Kitten...I mean WHAT?...(knock, knock) HELLO?? ...any one at home here? Surely a crazy idea?
The songs given away probably give more of an insight into the business end of things rather than the artistic. Perhaps a song like It's For You might have been seen as being not being poppy enough, not Beatley enough? Maybe it may have been too sophisticated for the average fan at that time? No doubt Ms Black's audience were probably just that little bit older than the average Beatle fan in 1964? So, perhaps it was the right business decision. In most cases maybe it was the right thing to do i.e. give the songs away. However, it doesn't stop you wanting to hear a Beatle version does it?
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Friday, 30 May 2008
The National Trust
I read yesterday that one of the custodians of the National Trust Beatles properties in Liverpool has now lived in the house longer than the original Beatle! In this case John Halliday, who gave up his job as a machine fitter to take up residence at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, Liverpool. Reading this made me think about my own visits to all of the Beatles original houses in Liddy over the years. Until the National Trust acquired Forthlin and Mendips they were still private dwellings. It's amazing that the residents lasted so long against the constant flow of people visiting. Can you begin to imagine what that must have been like? It must have been hell. Having a gazillion visitors arriving by the bus load, standing outside every day pointing, staring and photographing your house like it was some sort of a public monument?
Yip...must have been hell.
I can't help but feel a tad guilty because over the years I've been one those visitors. My first visit to Mendips was during my first safari to Liverpool nearly 30 years ago. The Liverpool of then and now is totally different. Thirty years ago Liverpool was, by and large, not particularly interested in Beatle fans and to be honest there were probably less fans willing to make the pilgrimage to the city than there are today. Nor was it set up like it is today, with it's Beatle museums, it's Cavern Quarter and it's City of Culture tag. Not by a long chalk. Liverpool is a tough place - let there be no doubt about that and as a result it can be quite intimidating. This is more noticeable when you start straying away from the city centre which is what you need to do when heading out to the Beatle houses. In those days there wasn't a Beatle tourist bus offering guided tours. So it wasn't quite as easy as buy a ticket and get on board whilst a nice man tells you to look left and oh, by the way if you look to your right...etc. My first visits to these places was done by local bus and taxi. Then you had to seek out the place you were looking for. Eventually after finding Mendips, I can remember approaching the gate with some trepidation, thinking, this is all a bit silly and why am I doing this? I could see the (then) current occupant looking out of the window as if to say, don't you DARE stop at my front gate you Beatles fan you. Grrr..! I must have looked that obvious! Looking back though it may have been the collarless suit, winklepickers and Rickenbacker guitar I was sporting that gave the game away:-) Anyway, I decided to walk by as slowly as I could without stopping, but at the same time trying to take in as much as I could about the house where John lived...wondering what it was like beyond the gate, in the back garden, the porch, what was the inside like and all of that kind of stuff. After passing by several times I crossed the road to take a photograph. That was all I needed. Then I walked back to the gates at Strawberry Fields which is a stones throw from John's house. Again, a quick photo and back to town by bus. Somehow, I felt as though I'd gained a bit of insider knowledge having "visited" Mendips. My imagination of what life might have been like there, enhanced by seeing the house and being able to place it in its environmental context.
Now cut to a couple of years back.
When I heard that the National Trust had restored the property back to what it had been when John lived there and better still, that there would be public access, albeit limited, I couldn't resist completing the circle and just had to book a visit. Heading to Mendips this time was a lot easier. You would be picked up in town by minibus and taken there. As I waited my turn to enter, I remembered all of the times I had stood outside, beyond the front gate just wondering and no doubt looking like a lurker! All of that was about to change. A lurker no more - I had a ticket! Quite oddly, you enter the property through the side door to the left of the front entrance and make your way into the "morning room" which is a little public reception room where probably most people would have gone rather than to the spotless front door! I looked around the whole house and was left with a bit of an odd feeling. I felt somehow as though I had intruded. Not sure why really. I've never quite been able to work it out. Looking through the window of John's bedroom out on to Menlove Avenue, I got a shivering sense of what John would've seen from the same spot all the way up to the time when Mimi left the property... partly I suppose, due to people coming to stare outside of Beatle John's house! All in all a fairly strange experience but it did complete a circle for me. It was much easier again with this further layer of knowledge to imagine the laughs and tensions that must have existed in that house during the crazy years of the Sixties. It's easy to forget too, that when the boys came back home to Liverpool to see their families from conquering the world, it would be to these houses that they went. Almost beyond belief, Paul's council house at Forthlin Road in Allerton was the place he came back to rest his head after the groundbreaking, all engulfing trip to America in 1964 for example! Can you imagine the culture shock of that? From New York razzmatazz to the "what are you looking at?" attitude of the downtown council run Allerton estate. It must have been very strange to deal with. It also, no doubt, must have helped the boys to get their feet back firmly on the ground after reaching such lofty heights.
Sitting back on the minibus waiting to go back to Liverpool city centre, I felt I had gained something unique in Beatle tourism. Yes, these places are important to the Beatles story overall, but more importantly, they are places which evoke the atmosphere of a time before ALL of that. They give you much more of the real picture. The background to how the story would develop. You are struck by the sheer ordinariness of the opening chapters of what was to be a pretty unbelievable tale yet to unfold. The houses relay much more of the atmosphere of how such a story could have occurred in the first place. You also come to realise that real people lived here, and that when they closed their door at night, they had a private and ordinary life just like the rest of us.
Yip...must have been hell.
I can't help but feel a tad guilty because over the years I've been one those visitors. My first visit to Mendips was during my first safari to Liverpool nearly 30 years ago. The Liverpool of then and now is totally different. Thirty years ago Liverpool was, by and large, not particularly interested in Beatle fans and to be honest there were probably less fans willing to make the pilgrimage to the city than there are today. Nor was it set up like it is today, with it's Beatle museums, it's Cavern Quarter and it's City of Culture tag. Not by a long chalk. Liverpool is a tough place - let there be no doubt about that and as a result it can be quite intimidating. This is more noticeable when you start straying away from the city centre which is what you need to do when heading out to the Beatle houses. In those days there wasn't a Beatle tourist bus offering guided tours. So it wasn't quite as easy as buy a ticket and get on board whilst a nice man tells you to look left and oh, by the way if you look to your right...etc. My first visits to these places was done by local bus and taxi. Then you had to seek out the place you were looking for. Eventually after finding Mendips, I can remember approaching the gate with some trepidation, thinking, this is all a bit silly and why am I doing this? I could see the (then) current occupant looking out of the window as if to say, don't you DARE stop at my front gate you Beatles fan you. Grrr..! I must have looked that obvious! Looking back though it may have been the collarless suit, winklepickers and Rickenbacker guitar I was sporting that gave the game away:-) Anyway, I decided to walk by as slowly as I could without stopping, but at the same time trying to take in as much as I could about the house where John lived...wondering what it was like beyond the gate, in the back garden, the porch, what was the inside like and all of that kind of stuff. After passing by several times I crossed the road to take a photograph. That was all I needed. Then I walked back to the gates at Strawberry Fields which is a stones throw from John's house. Again, a quick photo and back to town by bus. Somehow, I felt as though I'd gained a bit of insider knowledge having "visited" Mendips. My imagination of what life might have been like there, enhanced by seeing the house and being able to place it in its environmental context.
Now cut to a couple of years back.
When I heard that the National Trust had restored the property back to what it had been when John lived there and better still, that there would be public access, albeit limited, I couldn't resist completing the circle and just had to book a visit. Heading to Mendips this time was a lot easier. You would be picked up in town by minibus and taken there. As I waited my turn to enter, I remembered all of the times I had stood outside, beyond the front gate just wondering and no doubt looking like a lurker! All of that was about to change. A lurker no more - I had a ticket! Quite oddly, you enter the property through the side door to the left of the front entrance and make your way into the "morning room" which is a little public reception room where probably most people would have gone rather than to the spotless front door! I looked around the whole house and was left with a bit of an odd feeling. I felt somehow as though I had intruded. Not sure why really. I've never quite been able to work it out. Looking through the window of John's bedroom out on to Menlove Avenue, I got a shivering sense of what John would've seen from the same spot all the way up to the time when Mimi left the property... partly I suppose, due to people coming to stare outside of Beatle John's house! All in all a fairly strange experience but it did complete a circle for me. It was much easier again with this further layer of knowledge to imagine the laughs and tensions that must have existed in that house during the crazy years of the Sixties. It's easy to forget too, that when the boys came back home to Liverpool to see their families from conquering the world, it would be to these houses that they went. Almost beyond belief, Paul's council house at Forthlin Road in Allerton was the place he came back to rest his head after the groundbreaking, all engulfing trip to America in 1964 for example! Can you imagine the culture shock of that? From New York razzmatazz to the "what are you looking at?" attitude of the downtown council run Allerton estate. It must have been very strange to deal with. It also, no doubt, must have helped the boys to get their feet back firmly on the ground after reaching such lofty heights.
Sitting back on the minibus waiting to go back to Liverpool city centre, I felt I had gained something unique in Beatle tourism. Yes, these places are important to the Beatles story overall, but more importantly, they are places which evoke the atmosphere of a time before ALL of that. They give you much more of the real picture. The background to how the story would develop. You are struck by the sheer ordinariness of the opening chapters of what was to be a pretty unbelievable tale yet to unfold. The houses relay much more of the atmosphere of how such a story could have occurred in the first place. You also come to realise that real people lived here, and that when they closed their door at night, they had a private and ordinary life just like the rest of us.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Red Hot!
John Lennon used to wonder if the Beatles concerts "were any good"! It is a valid question because, as the musician up on stage, you don't really get a sense of what the audience get. You can't "see" yourself whilst you perform. Furthermore, whilst on stage the sound can be pretty appalling, even today. If you are right next to the drum kit for example, it is quite difficult to hear what you are playing. It sounds a bit odd given the volume rock'n'roll bands play at, but it's the truth! One loud sound cancels another loud sound! Sometimes, the whole band blends into a kind of mush and you don't know if you are singing flat or if your guitar is out of tune. Bands get over these obstacles by rehearsing and playing regularly. Familiarity in this case breeds confidence and well, familiarity! Sometimes, just knowing the song VERY well is enough to get you through a very bad stage set up. I say all of this from a view which takes into account todays fairly high tech stage set ups, which includes something that the Beatles rarely had (if ever): on stage monitors! The monitor on stage is there to assist with the melee which comes from raw rock'n'roll. A good monitor can make all of the difference! So, with that in mind were the Beatles any good?
There are stark differences between their live performances of say The Star Club in 1962 and the Budokan in 1966! My own personal opinion is that they were a GREAT live band with great swagger, drive, power and plenty of Mach Shau! Undeniably though they were at times affected by the madness of cicumstance and of course - various substances . However, you do have to look at that Japanese gig and think WHAT was going on there? and, don't they sound WILD at the Star Club?
The footage of the 1966 gigs in Japan shows that they were very "relaxed", sorry...er.. completely stoned on stage. In fact SO relaxed one might conclude that some "Jazz" ciggies were used before hand? From the footage, George looked completely stunned during the incredibly slow performance of If I Needed Someone...and I might add as flat as a pancake on vocals - though he seemed to be more amused than bothered! However, there is still a bit of a swagger underneath, which indicates great ability albeit laced with boredom and familiarity. Witness the version of Rock'n'Roll Music at the "dark suits" performance.
It was a different story during the Star Club performances.
One word folks - "Prellies!"
Some of those tracks are played with high octane rocket fuel on board! Witness "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You"!!! A thousand miles per hour and it's coming atcha!
I tend to think that their performances were "assisted" in order that they reach those kinds of nose-bleed tempos! However, cutting through the poor sound quality of those recordings it is obvious that there is a hunger and ability within the band that is just breathtaking.
In Hamburg, they tore it up. They blew the back wall down.
The Hollywood Bowl album didn't seem to go down too well with critics of the time of release. It has still not been released on CD and it is one that divides the fans. My own view is that it would take something unique to beat their version of Long Tall Sally from that gig! The band are set on stun during this blistering performance. Doesn't sound like there are too many "medicines" assisting them at that point! It is just pure, honest to goodness brilliance on display. It is bottled fire! They are yet to lose their enthusiasm and one senses there is still a hunger there waiting to be fed. That one live performance captures all of the swagger, confidence and their sheer ability in bucket loads. Remember they were playing through backline amps with no monitors and were relatively miles apart on stage. It must have been hell trying to hear each other. This is an indication of how good they were. Even when they couldn't really hear each other or themselves with dreadfull equipment and no proper P.A, they still managed to work on instinct and sound "pretty darned good". I think there can be no question of if they were "any good". They were good. Sometimes though, perhaps the boredom of repetition set in and the various "medicines" got in the way.
There can be no denying it, there are some dreadful examples of the Beatles live credentials out there. However at the core, I think the Beatles were an extraordinary live band which came from playing "millions" of gigs, great natural ability and of course the explosive shared chemistry found only once in a lifetime.
There are stark differences between their live performances of say The Star Club in 1962 and the Budokan in 1966! My own personal opinion is that they were a GREAT live band with great swagger, drive, power and plenty of Mach Shau! Undeniably though they were at times affected by the madness of cicumstance and of course - various substances . However, you do have to look at that Japanese gig and think WHAT was going on there? and, don't they sound WILD at the Star Club?
The footage of the 1966 gigs in Japan shows that they were very "relaxed", sorry...er.. completely stoned on stage. In fact SO relaxed one might conclude that some "Jazz" ciggies were used before hand? From the footage, George looked completely stunned during the incredibly slow performance of If I Needed Someone...and I might add as flat as a pancake on vocals - though he seemed to be more amused than bothered! However, there is still a bit of a swagger underneath, which indicates great ability albeit laced with boredom and familiarity. Witness the version of Rock'n'Roll Music at the "dark suits" performance.
It was a different story during the Star Club performances.
One word folks - "Prellies!"
Some of those tracks are played with high octane rocket fuel on board! Witness "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You"!!! A thousand miles per hour and it's coming atcha!
I tend to think that their performances were "assisted" in order that they reach those kinds of nose-bleed tempos! However, cutting through the poor sound quality of those recordings it is obvious that there is a hunger and ability within the band that is just breathtaking.
In Hamburg, they tore it up. They blew the back wall down.
The Hollywood Bowl album didn't seem to go down too well with critics of the time of release. It has still not been released on CD and it is one that divides the fans. My own view is that it would take something unique to beat their version of Long Tall Sally from that gig! The band are set on stun during this blistering performance. Doesn't sound like there are too many "medicines" assisting them at that point! It is just pure, honest to goodness brilliance on display. It is bottled fire! They are yet to lose their enthusiasm and one senses there is still a hunger there waiting to be fed. That one live performance captures all of the swagger, confidence and their sheer ability in bucket loads. Remember they were playing through backline amps with no monitors and were relatively miles apart on stage. It must have been hell trying to hear each other. This is an indication of how good they were. Even when they couldn't really hear each other or themselves with dreadfull equipment and no proper P.A, they still managed to work on instinct and sound "pretty darned good". I think there can be no question of if they were "any good". They were good. Sometimes though, perhaps the boredom of repetition set in and the various "medicines" got in the way.
There can be no denying it, there are some dreadful examples of the Beatles live credentials out there. However at the core, I think the Beatles were an extraordinary live band which came from playing "millions" of gigs, great natural ability and of course the explosive shared chemistry found only once in a lifetime.
Monday, 26 May 2008
This Boy
Something that really sticks in my craw is people who undermine the ability of the Beatles and their level of musicianship. Ringo seems to come in for particular criticism. During the recent 40th commemoration and celebration of the Sgt Pepper album, a project was devised to get modern bands to recreate the album, track for track, with Geoff Emerick at the controls. Most of the bands did a reasonable job in covering the songs, but it was interesting to get Oasis songwriter, Noel Gallagher's view. Firstly, being Oasis, they insisted their version was recorded in Studio Two at Abbey Road. Fair enough I can relate to that. In one throwaway comment he said, "Look, you can have the studio, you can have the same mics and desk, you can even have the same drum kit, but you've not got the drummer!" His drummer at the time?....Zak Starkey!! Reading between the lines, what he was saying was that they were about as close to a proper recreation of the circumstances of that particular track and it STILL wasn't quite right.
Great pop music is built from the bottom up, with perhaps the most important part of a band - THE DRUMMER. If the drumming isn't right, the production is sunk. It has been astonishing to me just how many people seem to undermine the man's ability for the job. After all, Ringo Starr was handpicked for the job by the boys themselves. Witness the differences in the Beatles sound when Pete Best was playing for them. They weren't cohesive; a tight unit. It just didn't sparkle. Something not quite right. They needed a solid beat, a definitive crack from the snare drum and pow from the kick drum. Ringo brought this with him into the Beatles. If I were to hazard a guess on what that might have meant to the guys themselves in the band, I'd say first off that the difference would have been night and day. They would have felt a collective sigh of relief and it would have been smiles all 'round, just knowing, just feeling that the final piece of the puzzle was in place. Great songs would be made greater still. Why? Because the platform on which they were built was solid. A good foundation for the house of Beatle.
It bugs me no end when it's said that Ringo was just some lucky so and so who jumped on the bandwagon at the last minute. It wasn't an accident. The Beatles CHOSE him because he gave them that extra edge. Ringo's great gift apart from his unbelievable timing, is his musicality. Strange thing that eh? A musical drummer. Drummers just beat things loudly don't they? Ringo's parts in the arrangements belie a sensitivity to the song. He recognised the importance of the song and not to overplay but to simply underline its best qualities. This is essential to an arrangement achieving it's objective. Try to imagine a guitarist just widdyling all over the place, having no regard for the song. It would be irritating and messy right? Less is best and if in doubt? Less is best! He also understood the sound of his drums. His tuning is great. An out of tune drum kit is as bad as an out of tune guitarist or vocalist. In short Ringo PLAYED his drums, he didn't just batter them in time. Those familiar with the Beatles outtakes will have noticed that by and large, the Beatles played songs right through, and then maybe played the ending again, or the solo section again if it was required. Take after take after take. At which point George Martin and the team upstairs would edit the takes together to complete the recorded performance. This wouldn't have been possible but for Ringo's immaculate timing. These days that job would be done using a computer generated "click track" set to tempo to ensure stability. For the Beatles, Ringo was the click track. I've played Beatles tunes many times with various drummers. Almost to a man they will come the table, thinking that it is an easy gig! However, they always leave with a new found respect for Mr Starkey and not because it is difficult to recreate what Ringo played. They learn that it is difficult to sound that easy, to play with that type of subtlety and yet retain the power and drive. It could be argued that Ringo was the first of the modern pop drummers, and to this day his name is synonymous with the drum kit. If the Beatles were a firework, then it was Ringo who lit the touchpaper.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
The Industry of Music (part two)
As I discussed previously, the creation of the CD has changed how we get and use our music almost beyond the imagination...well certainly that of the original consumers of music - the people who bought vinyl records. The data held on the compact disc together with the rapid development of personal computers and software, has meant that we can both use and listen to our music in a huge variety of ways hitherto not possible. It has become portable and sturdy in ways that the LP record simply could never have been. Cassette tape was just tragedy. The biggest change of all is the ability to download those files, again, only possible through the rapid rise of technology and broadband connections.
Perspective time...How quickly?
Just three to four years ago, most of the UK was using a dial up connection to access the internet. That would not have been cost effective to be able to download some of the larger files available. As I said previously - the genie is out of the bottle now.
So, what does this mean for us Beatles fans?
Whilst it was possible to build up a reasonably decent collection of illicit goodies in the pre internet era on cassette tape and vinyl, new additions to such a library were a rare treat, usually bought in some slightly shifty manner at a fan convention from under the counter or perhaps even through the post. Whatever method one came across these "products" there was always a tendency to feel good about hearing something most people hadn't. Now whilst I loved the official catalogue, I was always on the look out for something I hadn't heard. There was always something you'd read in some book or other, alluding to the possibility that there was some secret stash of classic unreleased material held in the "long dark corridors" of Abbey Road Studios. Clues and snippets of information coupled together with the sometimes stark differences between the UK and US releases, or even the mono and stereo versions meant that it was highly likely that there was indeed a "secret vault" which might require say, Indiana Jones to release?
It was in the days when Beatle news was delivered by good old Johnny Dean at the Beatles Monthly that I came across something that really turned me on and clued me up - the first article unearthing the Beatles BBC archive written by the right royal Mr Lewishom. I just couldn't believe that there were all these tracks I hadn't heard. I wondered what Soldier of Love might be or what their version of Dream Baby would sound like. So, the scene is set then - for me it became a bit of an obsession to find out more about the outtakes, rare tracks etc and please bear in mind, that this is all pre internet so real progress was slow!
The first bootlegs I heard that I felt were of any real interest, were the quite stunning Unsurpassed Masters, which a friend had given me. I was blown away by the quality of these recordings even if they were on "mind expanding" cassette tape! These recordings were fascinating to me. As a musician even more so, as you could hear the band making mistakes, chatting and so on...can it be true?....the Beatles are human?
Cut to the present day. No longer does a friend somehow happen by these recordings because they are now widely available online. Of course, there are many sites out there offering a bewildering range of unofficial "products", many of which rival the official releases. These products are created by the demands of the hard core fans. Books like John C Winn's "Way Beyond Compare" publish lists that few completists could ignore. Some people are absolutely hell bent on trying to have a complete.... and I mean complete and total catalogue.
I admit it's not really for me to say, but I don't think these recordings threaten the Applelites, the Beatles or anyone else. It's not as if they were going to release the breakdown of take 7 of any of the tracks anyway is it? It's educational and more to the point just plain fascinating for the scholar, the serious fan or indeed the casual passer by. Stuff you'd read about for years is now suddenly VERY available. So, as I said before the internet is not ALL bad where music is concerned.
The Beatles, who have been at the fore front of many developements in the music industry through the years have missed the boat in a lot of respects. No doubt the official catalogue, all polished up and shiny, will make a big noise when it finally becomes available to the iPod generation. All indications are that the band's sales will go through the roof and that there will be dearth of new number ones sealing their position as THE band of bands once more. But, will it be enough to help save what is a crumbling industry? An industry that now has to consider it's business model, re think its strategy. Or is it pay back time from the consumer? The consumer who is genuinly hacked off and feeling ripped off? The consumer who reckons that music is free? It's a tough question and one which has no straight forward answers. Although I would say that while piracy was a problem before the internet, it just wasn't on the same scale as today - after all you couldn't send a vinyl record down a phone line could you? Going back to the beginning of this article in part one, I described the "tea ceremony" of going to buy a new record. That kind of process just doesn't exist anymore. I can't help but think that in a lot of ways, it's a bit of shame for the generation who miss out on that type of excitement. Then again, for the generation who DID do that, how many are complaining when all they really have to do is a spot of google-ing to find riches Way Beyond Compare?
The question is.... how can anyone compete now?
Perspective time...How quickly?
Just three to four years ago, most of the UK was using a dial up connection to access the internet. That would not have been cost effective to be able to download some of the larger files available. As I said previously - the genie is out of the bottle now.
So, what does this mean for us Beatles fans?
Whilst it was possible to build up a reasonably decent collection of illicit goodies in the pre internet era on cassette tape and vinyl, new additions to such a library were a rare treat, usually bought in some slightly shifty manner at a fan convention from under the counter or perhaps even through the post. Whatever method one came across these "products" there was always a tendency to feel good about hearing something most people hadn't. Now whilst I loved the official catalogue, I was always on the look out for something I hadn't heard. There was always something you'd read in some book or other, alluding to the possibility that there was some secret stash of classic unreleased material held in the "long dark corridors" of Abbey Road Studios. Clues and snippets of information coupled together with the sometimes stark differences between the UK and US releases, or even the mono and stereo versions meant that it was highly likely that there was indeed a "secret vault" which might require say, Indiana Jones to release?
It was in the days when Beatle news was delivered by good old Johnny Dean at the Beatles Monthly that I came across something that really turned me on and clued me up - the first article unearthing the Beatles BBC archive written by the right royal Mr Lewishom. I just couldn't believe that there were all these tracks I hadn't heard. I wondered what Soldier of Love might be or what their version of Dream Baby would sound like. So, the scene is set then - for me it became a bit of an obsession to find out more about the outtakes, rare tracks etc and please bear in mind, that this is all pre internet so real progress was slow!
The first bootlegs I heard that I felt were of any real interest, were the quite stunning Unsurpassed Masters, which a friend had given me. I was blown away by the quality of these recordings even if they were on "mind expanding" cassette tape! These recordings were fascinating to me. As a musician even more so, as you could hear the band making mistakes, chatting and so on...can it be true?....the Beatles are human?
Cut to the present day. No longer does a friend somehow happen by these recordings because they are now widely available online. Of course, there are many sites out there offering a bewildering range of unofficial "products", many of which rival the official releases. These products are created by the demands of the hard core fans. Books like John C Winn's "Way Beyond Compare" publish lists that few completists could ignore. Some people are absolutely hell bent on trying to have a complete.... and I mean complete and total catalogue.
I admit it's not really for me to say, but I don't think these recordings threaten the Applelites, the Beatles or anyone else. It's not as if they were going to release the breakdown of take 7 of any of the tracks anyway is it? It's educational and more to the point just plain fascinating for the scholar, the serious fan or indeed the casual passer by. Stuff you'd read about for years is now suddenly VERY available. So, as I said before the internet is not ALL bad where music is concerned.
The Beatles, who have been at the fore front of many developements in the music industry through the years have missed the boat in a lot of respects. No doubt the official catalogue, all polished up and shiny, will make a big noise when it finally becomes available to the iPod generation. All indications are that the band's sales will go through the roof and that there will be dearth of new number ones sealing their position as THE band of bands once more. But, will it be enough to help save what is a crumbling industry? An industry that now has to consider it's business model, re think its strategy. Or is it pay back time from the consumer? The consumer who is genuinly hacked off and feeling ripped off? The consumer who reckons that music is free? It's a tough question and one which has no straight forward answers. Although I would say that while piracy was a problem before the internet, it just wasn't on the same scale as today - after all you couldn't send a vinyl record down a phone line could you? Going back to the beginning of this article in part one, I described the "tea ceremony" of going to buy a new record. That kind of process just doesn't exist anymore. I can't help but think that in a lot of ways, it's a bit of shame for the generation who miss out on that type of excitement. Then again, for the generation who DID do that, how many are complaining when all they really have to do is a spot of google-ing to find riches Way Beyond Compare?
The question is.... how can anyone compete now?
Thursday, 22 May 2008
The Industry of Music (part one)
It can be argued that when the Beatles exploded into consciousness in the Sixties, they practically invented the modern music industry. They created massive sales, enormous public interest, unprecented viewing figures, stadium tours and the list goes on and on and then some. When the Beatles released a new record, it was an event. It was a reason for saving up your pocket money. For the ordinary punter there was a kind of "tea ceremony" in gaining this valuable new artifact. Heading into town, perhaps on a bus, going into the record shop, maybe asking for it to be played in the shop, asking the assistant for the record and the inevitable exchange of wonga, spondoolies - the cash sale - ker-ching!! Then perhaps, back on the bus, looking at this sacred and tactile purchase, checking out if there were any scratches on the vinyl, the sound of static from the inner sleeve, looking at it over and over again in case you missed some small but vital detail...jeez...even the smell of it meant something! From studio to Dansette in one neat operation. No confusion there then - a direct hit in every way for everyone involved. Today we (annoyingly) call that Win, Win! A purchase made of say the She Loves You single in 1963 here in the UK most likely still exists today, and if it was looked after, probably still does what it was charged to do in the first place, that is ... play! Now that's value for money isn't it? If only things were that simple today.
In this world full of high tech equipment, instant information and the ever increasing demands of the consumer hovering over everything, there is a quite bewildering range of methods in which to "consume" music... (you know even that phrase, "consume" music says something doesn't it?) ...When the Beatles released the Anthology in the mid 1990's, the method of releasing music wasn't too much different from the time of She Loves You, though there were signs that we were on the cusp of something and that things were changing...there was a bit of a preamble with build up promo on radio and magazines, a release date and a physical product (albeit a CD as primary release in that case and not the artform that was the vinyl product) and then hopefully a chart position in, what was and still is fast becoming extinct - the singles chart. A song could take a few weeks to get to the top, then building slowly in the nation's mind en route to becoming a classic. Whilst at the time of Anthology, if a release didn't hit number one in the first week of release, then somehow it had failed?
For me, at the time, this whole thing was quite strange; odd.
Something had changed and looking back now it might be regarded as the death knell for the music industry as we had known it. The personal computer and the internet were both just around the corner for most people. Few people can argue that the advent of the CD changed everything. With it came the word DATA and then data extraction. There you have the problem. When you take the emotional beauty of an artform such as The Beatles music, convert it to a series of 1's and 0's and marry it to a computer connected to the internet, you were surely asking for trouble. Trouble, that in my opinion will eventually and surely kill the music industry as we know it. To briefly go back to vinyl, one must remember that although bootlegs existed, they were harder to come by, nowhere near as easy to reproduce and there certainly wasn't the mass "theft" of product that exists now. The genie was out of the bottle when music ceased to be a physical product and became something measurable on a data sheet. There are some up sides though and it's not all bad....it's just different. In the next column, I'm going to look at what we've gained by these developements and specifically what impact this has meant to Beatle fans in particular. I started this piece by saying that arguably it was the Beatles who started the modern music industry as we knew it and were at the forefront of it's developement even as far up the line as the groundbreaking Anthology in the Ninties, where it was the Beatles who replaced the Beatles as the biggest band on earth. The question is, can the Beatles somehow set a new bench mark and save the industry we all know and love?
In this world full of high tech equipment, instant information and the ever increasing demands of the consumer hovering over everything, there is a quite bewildering range of methods in which to "consume" music... (you know even that phrase, "consume" music says something doesn't it?) ...When the Beatles released the Anthology in the mid 1990's, the method of releasing music wasn't too much different from the time of She Loves You, though there were signs that we were on the cusp of something and that things were changing...there was a bit of a preamble with build up promo on radio and magazines, a release date and a physical product (albeit a CD as primary release in that case and not the artform that was the vinyl product) and then hopefully a chart position in, what was and still is fast becoming extinct - the singles chart. A song could take a few weeks to get to the top, then building slowly in the nation's mind en route to becoming a classic. Whilst at the time of Anthology, if a release didn't hit number one in the first week of release, then somehow it had failed?
For me, at the time, this whole thing was quite strange; odd.
Something had changed and looking back now it might be regarded as the death knell for the music industry as we had known it. The personal computer and the internet were both just around the corner for most people. Few people can argue that the advent of the CD changed everything. With it came the word DATA and then data extraction. There you have the problem. When you take the emotional beauty of an artform such as The Beatles music, convert it to a series of 1's and 0's and marry it to a computer connected to the internet, you were surely asking for trouble. Trouble, that in my opinion will eventually and surely kill the music industry as we know it. To briefly go back to vinyl, one must remember that although bootlegs existed, they were harder to come by, nowhere near as easy to reproduce and there certainly wasn't the mass "theft" of product that exists now. The genie was out of the bottle when music ceased to be a physical product and became something measurable on a data sheet. There are some up sides though and it's not all bad....it's just different. In the next column, I'm going to look at what we've gained by these developements and specifically what impact this has meant to Beatle fans in particular. I started this piece by saying that arguably it was the Beatles who started the modern music industry as we knew it and were at the forefront of it's developement even as far up the line as the groundbreaking Anthology in the Ninties, where it was the Beatles who replaced the Beatles as the biggest band on earth. The question is, can the Beatles somehow set a new bench mark and save the industry we all know and love?
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Fab and Gear!
One of my favourite releases, perhaps of all time is the Concert For George. I wasn't fortunate enough to attend in person, but the concert disc gives a great account of what must have been an absolutely incredible event. The sheer love for the man is vividly displayed by the 5000 souls in the audience and by the musicians on stage. The great thing about the performers is that it's obvious every single one of them is there to bat for the team. It's a joyous celebration of the man who played such an underrated role in life and as a musician. His songs probably never sounded so good and the real tragedy is that he wasn't there to lead the band himself. In some ways it's a kind of greatest hits concert; a "best of" compilation. What it shows is the strength and depth of his work particularly post Beatles. Songs like Isn't It A Pity, All Things Must Pass and Beware of Darkness just shine and stand up as solid pieces of work which would have made brilliant additions to the Beatle catalogue. His body of work is littered with classics. Give Me Love...as poppy as it gets and just fantastic stuff. The Beatle material is played very well and with love by an incredible array of musicians. I think Mr Clapton did well with that job, given that there wasn't much time to get the whole thing together. I mean doesn't Old Brown Shoe for example just come in like a truck?
There is a glimpse of the Beatle "family" on display here too. When Paul and Ringo are playing on For You Blue, it's nice to see them remembering in jokes that must originate from when the song was written. There is a kind of "bubble" around both of them on stage during that song. It's kind of like, "we were in the Beatles by the way!" Notice how Paul hangs around at the end to ensure Olivia is escorted off stage, or how his obvious pride in the young Mr Harrison is displayed when he mentions how much like his Dad he is? It's also an unusual view of Paul as we don't get to see him in "someone else's band" type situation that often, (if at all actually?) Apart from his obvious main contributions, we also see Paul just being a musician in the band...witness how he is checking Eric out on stage, giving him that look musicians often give when playing together - one of "I played a great bit there - did you notice?" Nice to see. By the time Joe Brown steps up to do I'll See You In My Dream (er...and not a dry eye in the house I might add) you realise that a life has passed and his songs live on as a permanent reminder of the man. George's life unfolds in front of you throughout the set, from the boyish throws of I Need You to grown up and cynical Horse To The Water.
Again and again you get this feeling of the high regard in which George was held at a personal level. One of the great touches is that George's guitar is sitting on stage, on a stand, throughout. A nice, understated touch to give some kind of physical presence of the man and serving as a reminder of his understated brilliance.
Yes, decidedly fab and indeed gear!
There is a glimpse of the Beatle "family" on display here too. When Paul and Ringo are playing on For You Blue, it's nice to see them remembering in jokes that must originate from when the song was written. There is a kind of "bubble" around both of them on stage during that song. It's kind of like, "we were in the Beatles by the way!" Notice how Paul hangs around at the end to ensure Olivia is escorted off stage, or how his obvious pride in the young Mr Harrison is displayed when he mentions how much like his Dad he is? It's also an unusual view of Paul as we don't get to see him in "someone else's band" type situation that often, (if at all actually?) Apart from his obvious main contributions, we also see Paul just being a musician in the band...witness how he is checking Eric out on stage, giving him that look musicians often give when playing together - one of "I played a great bit there - did you notice?" Nice to see. By the time Joe Brown steps up to do I'll See You In My Dream (er...and not a dry eye in the house I might add) you realise that a life has passed and his songs live on as a permanent reminder of the man. George's life unfolds in front of you throughout the set, from the boyish throws of I Need You to grown up and cynical Horse To The Water.
Again and again you get this feeling of the high regard in which George was held at a personal level. One of the great touches is that George's guitar is sitting on stage, on a stand, throughout. A nice, understated touch to give some kind of physical presence of the man and serving as a reminder of his understated brilliance.
Yes, decidedly fab and indeed gear!
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
The Conventions
It's Abbey Road on the River Fest this weekend. It got me thinking about conventions and fan gatherings generally. I've been to quite a few myself as a musician and have enjoyed them immensely, though I've also been infuriated by them too. When it comes to bands at these get togethers there seems to be two types - the look-alikes who try to be the Beatles and the fan types who want to represent the Beatles in the best and honest way possible. I have to say straight off, I'm always embarrassed by the look-alike thing...because with that always comes the acting like them too, it then becomes "we are them" and then they call each other by Beatles names...it's toe curling for me! There are I suppose, maybe one or two places where this is ok (well....ish).... say...the BIG theatre tour or stadium show, where it's "biographical" and the main art form on display is acting and not some self fulfilling ego. The other place where it's fine to think you are the Beatles is er...in your dreams!
I've seen bands dressed up in the 1964 suits for example, coming on stage in make up and wigs, looking immaculate, paying attention to detail, playing the same guitars through the same amps and to all intents and purposes being the Beatles...and then the quasi Liverpudlian accents, then the Hollywood Bowl rhetoric, and before you know it, it's a bad movie with a terrible soundtrack set up inside a grimy pub where it's really out of place. Perhaps that's why it might be more believable to accept from half a football field away. Then it's easier to suspend your disbelief, and that's supposing the band are cohesive and have half a clue about the music. The sight of four tiny suited and booted figures, with Gretch, Rick, Ludwig and Hofner for company MIGHT have you with them then- hell, you might even enjoy the show! No. For me, if you see a kick ass band ten feet away from you playing Rock'n'Roll Music or While My Guitar Gently Weeps, who are really giving it large, sounding great and having a good time on stage just being themselves, then it's game over. There is no competition and it serves proper justice to the songs, which are after all, what it's all about. I've always said it - be inspired by it, don't try to BE it! There's nothing worse than sitting there thinking, "he's not a bit like Cagney is he?"
I've seen bands dressed up in the 1964 suits for example, coming on stage in make up and wigs, looking immaculate, paying attention to detail, playing the same guitars through the same amps and to all intents and purposes being the Beatles...and then the quasi Liverpudlian accents, then the Hollywood Bowl rhetoric, and before you know it, it's a bad movie with a terrible soundtrack set up inside a grimy pub where it's really out of place. Perhaps that's why it might be more believable to accept from half a football field away. Then it's easier to suspend your disbelief, and that's supposing the band are cohesive and have half a clue about the music. The sight of four tiny suited and booted figures, with Gretch, Rick, Ludwig and Hofner for company MIGHT have you with them then- hell, you might even enjoy the show! No. For me, if you see a kick ass band ten feet away from you playing Rock'n'Roll Music or While My Guitar Gently Weeps, who are really giving it large, sounding great and having a good time on stage just being themselves, then it's game over. There is no competition and it serves proper justice to the songs, which are after all, what it's all about. I've always said it - be inspired by it, don't try to BE it! There's nothing worse than sitting there thinking, "he's not a bit like Cagney is he?"
Paperhack Writer
Without naming the journo or the newspaper that created it, the recent list of the 50 best British songwriters separated John and Paul. George barely got a look in. In a list where, "Led Zeppelin" and "Coldplay" exist, it's annoying that the greatest songwriting team to emerge from the human race so far, gets the surgical treatment...In my opinion, that's a fairly low blow and is done only to spark debate and underline this sort of unwritten code certain journos have, John was a genius, Paul was just a pop star tat.
John was a genius. Paul is a genius.
Of course if you said that to the journo...he might come back with the usual, McCartney? a genuis?...oh yeah? ...how about the Frog Chorus then?....to which I'd have to come back with, well yeah...how ABOUT the Frog Chorus then?....Do you know a child who doesn't like it? It's part of a soundtrack for a kids cartoon. Clearly, it was never meant to be Helter Skelter was it?...It may not be my favourite Paul track, but it's a large scale piece of work nevertheless which works very succesfully for the purpose for which it was written.
It's a soft and tired target.
I admit it's difficult to come up with a top 50 anyway, but I'd argue Lennon/McCartney should have joint number one based on achievement, influence and longevity alone. It's not like he uses John's solo material to put him above Paul...no, he uses Beatles material to do that of which Paul most certainly had a big input!
So, who is in between these two giants that splits them up then?
It's Kate Bush!...now, yes she can write, boy can she write and I have enormous respect for her...but how about overall body of work?, how about extended and continued influence? It's not like she overshadows anything is it? Not seen too many Kate Bush conventions around the world recently have you? Then we come to Morrisey/Marr...again, yes, yes it's great stuff...I personally loved the Smiths....but to paraphrase Paul talking about Radiohead here; is it that great?
Certainly, this author doesn't think so...ok, it's notable and yes it's influential, but will it still be referred to in say 100 years time? I think a very long "mmmmmm...." whilst-stroking-my-chin type reaction required.
George Harrison should have made the top ten in this list simply for writing Something, which is about as complete as a song can be written in almost every measurable way - end of story.
Lists like this come along every now and then for whatever reason I simply don't know. The Beatles are always on there as they simply cannot be left out - doesn't that tell you something? They were the blue print for the modern music industry. Thirty eight years after they ceased to be, they are still at the top of the tree, top of the heap -"A" number one!
Everybody knows that right?
....nuff said...
John was a genius. Paul is a genius.
Of course if you said that to the journo...he might come back with the usual, McCartney? a genuis?...oh yeah? ...how about the Frog Chorus then?....to which I'd have to come back with, well yeah...how ABOUT the Frog Chorus then?....Do you know a child who doesn't like it? It's part of a soundtrack for a kids cartoon. Clearly, it was never meant to be Helter Skelter was it?...It may not be my favourite Paul track, but it's a large scale piece of work nevertheless which works very succesfully for the purpose for which it was written.
It's a soft and tired target.
I admit it's difficult to come up with a top 50 anyway, but I'd argue Lennon/McCartney should have joint number one based on achievement, influence and longevity alone. It's not like he uses John's solo material to put him above Paul...no, he uses Beatles material to do that of which Paul most certainly had a big input!
So, who is in between these two giants that splits them up then?
It's Kate Bush!...now, yes she can write, boy can she write and I have enormous respect for her...but how about overall body of work?, how about extended and continued influence? It's not like she overshadows anything is it? Not seen too many Kate Bush conventions around the world recently have you? Then we come to Morrisey/Marr...again, yes, yes it's great stuff...I personally loved the Smiths....but to paraphrase Paul talking about Radiohead here; is it that great?
Certainly, this author doesn't think so...ok, it's notable and yes it's influential, but will it still be referred to in say 100 years time? I think a very long "mmmmmm...." whilst-stroking-my-chin type reaction required.
George Harrison should have made the top ten in this list simply for writing Something, which is about as complete as a song can be written in almost every measurable way - end of story.
Lists like this come along every now and then for whatever reason I simply don't know. The Beatles are always on there as they simply cannot be left out - doesn't that tell you something? They were the blue print for the modern music industry. Thirty eight years after they ceased to be, they are still at the top of the tree, top of the heap -"A" number one!
Everybody knows that right?
....nuff said...
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Actually In The Studio
As a musician, I get to travel around which is sometimes a bit tiresome, but there are occasions when my Beatle soul is lifted when my quest to visit as many of the sights I've read about collides with my everyday job. In the last year I've been lucky enough to "be required" to be in New York and at a London studio by the name of Abbey Road! (You know, even as I write that down I get a feeling of excitement!)
At the tail end of 2007, I packed up my guitar and headed out to New York to play a couple of engagements. I'd been there once before, but never to play my own music - so, a scary prospect indeed. Walking around in Manhattan is a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would add a couple of ticks to my "places visited" list and head up to West 72nd Street to the Dakota, out of the centre of the city. It's quite a walk from Times Square but a pleasant one heading up towards Central Park, past Carnegie Hall and the Plazza Hotel. These are sights on their own merit and as I've said previously, it's sometimes like the colour drains from your view to reveal some black and white movie!..Looking at these places you realise that the Beatles were indeed a long way from home and the Cavern! You know they must have found all that stuff hard to take in at a personal level. As I said, overwhelming enough when you're just there to do a couple of small gigs and no one knows who you are! Eventually, I get to the Dakota and it's then you realise where you are....this is the place that the late great Johnny Rhythm lived and died..."died" being the word which echoed around my head....the Beatle fan in me began to shrink somewhat as the straight forward member of the human race took over and I began to think why am I here?... looking at this place, what am I? some sort of ghoul? There was an (unexpected) impact on me. I suppose as the time has passed since that news broke in 1980, time has taken over and there is now some kind of "historic" significance at that spot...I mean is it much different from visiting say, Dealy Plaza? Maybe it's because I remember the impact of the news like it was yesterday that I feel a bit "odd", because it's unlikely that I'd feel that way about Dealy Plaza...that in fact would perhaps be number one on my to do list if I was visiting Dallas. Soon though, the thoughts pass and I decide to go visit the Strawberry Field remembrance garden across the road. It's there that I find a bit of space to think and reflect, to gather my thoughts and send good vibes skyward to Johnny Ace. It was a great idea to have this peaceful spot just there.
It's time to head back to the madness of Manhattan.
On the way back I'm pleasantly surprised to unexpectedly come across the Ed Sullivan Theatre and all I can think of is the Maysles Brothers film which so brilliantly captures the moment of Beatle impact in the States. All of it inside that building. Because it was inside that building the Beatles came face to face with the inevitability of their destiny...and somehow, in doing so, my own and perhaps yours too. All of that said, I still had a gig to do...and just because of what I'd discovered during my visit, I thought I'd just throw in a couple of Beatle related tunes for the hell of it....so I played If I Needed Someone and threw in Besame Mucho at the end with a dedication to George and John...the audience (thankfully!) seemed to like it and all was well. The gig was a success and it was mission accomplished.
So it's back to the UK and time to work on the latest project.
I can barely believe my luck. I'm going to record in Abbey Road Studios and better still, it's going be in Studio Two!
As you walk up to the studios, it's like walking straight into an album cover - nothing has changed. You walk up the steps to enter the building and it's hard not to remember the interviews with the boys on "that very spot" during the Pepper period.
I'd been to the studios on a number of occasions before, but never to record there, to set up my Vox amp and Rickenbacker on the floor and watch it being set up for recording by the studio engineers. As I walked through big blue doors downstairs the Beatle fan in me just wanted to scream like a kid at a concert, but the "cool" musician in me soon took control and I walked in trying very hard not forget that "it's just another studio". Fundamentally, that is what it is. But the room has got an atmosphere all of it's own. First of all, it's quite a tall room with a pretty high ceiling, and although quite big, it's also quite intimate at the same time...As I set up my gear, every now and then I'd remember what I was doing, where I was and try to take it in. Looking over my shoulder at the drummer who'd set up in the corner at the back wall with the doors and the big clock where Ringo set up. Looking at the famous staircase and thinking about the incredible range of legendary individuals who walked up and down them. 'Tis mad! Then a sound which was hard to comprehend. The studio engineer's voice boomed out of the big studio monitors whilst my back was turned and I got this bizarre experience...the dreamer in me woke up realising that I wasn't listening to some tape here...I was "actually in the studio!" Being very familiar with a lot of the out takes from that studio, one gets used to hearing phrases like "take 7", "take 48" booming across the room and so on. It's got a sound all of its own. It's the sound of that room. So to hear that sound... er...LIVE! in that room at your session, well...the shivers went down my back! It was like transporting yourself into those out take tapes but without the hiss. As the band went through some sound checks and run throughs, I quickly settled down and the professional in me came out to play.
A consequence of being in that room with a band, is that I can really hear the ambiance of the room on all of the Beatle tracks I hear that were recorded there. I now really appreciate, and with startling clarity I might add, the importance of that room and how it helped to shape their sound... At the end of the session, it struck me that this studio is a working studio and not a museum. It's a place of great importance. It's a roomful of ghosts....but above all, it's a great studio where amazing music has been born.
At the tail end of 2007, I packed up my guitar and headed out to New York to play a couple of engagements. I'd been there once before, but never to play my own music - so, a scary prospect indeed. Walking around in Manhattan is a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would add a couple of ticks to my "places visited" list and head up to West 72nd Street to the Dakota, out of the centre of the city. It's quite a walk from Times Square but a pleasant one heading up towards Central Park, past Carnegie Hall and the Plazza Hotel. These are sights on their own merit and as I've said previously, it's sometimes like the colour drains from your view to reveal some black and white movie!..Looking at these places you realise that the Beatles were indeed a long way from home and the Cavern! You know they must have found all that stuff hard to take in at a personal level. As I said, overwhelming enough when you're just there to do a couple of small gigs and no one knows who you are! Eventually, I get to the Dakota and it's then you realise where you are....this is the place that the late great Johnny Rhythm lived and died..."died" being the word which echoed around my head....the Beatle fan in me began to shrink somewhat as the straight forward member of the human race took over and I began to think why am I here?... looking at this place, what am I? some sort of ghoul? There was an (unexpected) impact on me. I suppose as the time has passed since that news broke in 1980, time has taken over and there is now some kind of "historic" significance at that spot...I mean is it much different from visiting say, Dealy Plaza? Maybe it's because I remember the impact of the news like it was yesterday that I feel a bit "odd", because it's unlikely that I'd feel that way about Dealy Plaza...that in fact would perhaps be number one on my to do list if I was visiting Dallas. Soon though, the thoughts pass and I decide to go visit the Strawberry Field remembrance garden across the road. It's there that I find a bit of space to think and reflect, to gather my thoughts and send good vibes skyward to Johnny Ace. It was a great idea to have this peaceful spot just there.
It's time to head back to the madness of Manhattan.
On the way back I'm pleasantly surprised to unexpectedly come across the Ed Sullivan Theatre and all I can think of is the Maysles Brothers film which so brilliantly captures the moment of Beatle impact in the States. All of it inside that building. Because it was inside that building the Beatles came face to face with the inevitability of their destiny...and somehow, in doing so, my own and perhaps yours too. All of that said, I still had a gig to do...and just because of what I'd discovered during my visit, I thought I'd just throw in a couple of Beatle related tunes for the hell of it....so I played If I Needed Someone and threw in Besame Mucho at the end with a dedication to George and John...the audience (thankfully!) seemed to like it and all was well. The gig was a success and it was mission accomplished.
So it's back to the UK and time to work on the latest project.
I can barely believe my luck. I'm going to record in Abbey Road Studios and better still, it's going be in Studio Two!
As you walk up to the studios, it's like walking straight into an album cover - nothing has changed. You walk up the steps to enter the building and it's hard not to remember the interviews with the boys on "that very spot" during the Pepper period.
I'd been to the studios on a number of occasions before, but never to record there, to set up my Vox amp and Rickenbacker on the floor and watch it being set up for recording by the studio engineers. As I walked through big blue doors downstairs the Beatle fan in me just wanted to scream like a kid at a concert, but the "cool" musician in me soon took control and I walked in trying very hard not forget that "it's just another studio". Fundamentally, that is what it is. But the room has got an atmosphere all of it's own. First of all, it's quite a tall room with a pretty high ceiling, and although quite big, it's also quite intimate at the same time...As I set up my gear, every now and then I'd remember what I was doing, where I was and try to take it in. Looking over my shoulder at the drummer who'd set up in the corner at the back wall with the doors and the big clock where Ringo set up. Looking at the famous staircase and thinking about the incredible range of legendary individuals who walked up and down them. 'Tis mad! Then a sound which was hard to comprehend. The studio engineer's voice boomed out of the big studio monitors whilst my back was turned and I got this bizarre experience...the dreamer in me woke up realising that I wasn't listening to some tape here...I was "actually in the studio!" Being very familiar with a lot of the out takes from that studio, one gets used to hearing phrases like "take 7", "take 48" booming across the room and so on. It's got a sound all of its own. It's the sound of that room. So to hear that sound... er...LIVE! in that room at your session, well...the shivers went down my back! It was like transporting yourself into those out take tapes but without the hiss. As the band went through some sound checks and run throughs, I quickly settled down and the professional in me came out to play.
A consequence of being in that room with a band, is that I can really hear the ambiance of the room on all of the Beatle tracks I hear that were recorded there. I now really appreciate, and with startling clarity I might add, the importance of that room and how it helped to shape their sound... At the end of the session, it struck me that this studio is a working studio and not a museum. It's a place of great importance. It's a roomful of ghosts....but above all, it's a great studio where amazing music has been born.
Arrive without travelling
As a young fan I was totally intrigued by the locations and backgrounds to the Beatles story I was reading about...Liverpool....Hamburg....London....the U.S...It became an ambition that I would try to visit as many of the places as I could. Reading books like Allan Williams', "The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away" was the first step on what's become a lifelong journey. He described in great detail places like The Jacaranda (The Jac) in Liverpool where the boys hung out in some sort of terminal boredom, staring aimlessly into the street at the passers by...eventually, I did get to the Jac and most of the other places in Liverpool featured in that book. As a result, I now have a much better understanding of what the atmosphere might've been like around that time. In some respects it's like stepping straight into a black and white photograph.
I still do travel and tend to try to visit as many of Beatle locations as possible. I was in London recently and decided to go to the Linda McCartney photographic exhibition in Saville Row...I'd never been there before. When I turned into the street, I immediately recognised the building of course. What was odd, was that somehow I thought that the building would be occupied; which it wasn't. It looked a bit sad somehow. The famous front door was covered with a very small sign on it saying that a particular security company is looking after it...mm, I thought, now there's a place where tons of stuff happened in Beatledom and look at it now...not derelict as such, but empty and appearing to be unused. Of course within a few minutes of looking, I noticed that there were about 30 people coming towards on the Beatles walking tour of London, where they stopped on it's steps...THEN I had an idea of what it was like at the time, with people constantly hanging out on the steps waiting for a glimpse somebody important...I was also struck by the location and it's relationship with the rest of central London and therefore just how big the rooftop concert's impact must have been on that very cold January day in 1969...now that was a stroke of genius!
I have also had the great privilege to go to the National Trust houses in Liverpool at Menlove Ave and Forthlin Road. These two places are in my top five Beatle locations as they really (really) convey an important part of the story which up until they were made museums (effectively) were off limits as people still actually lived there. The differences between the two properties is stark and gives a further insight into John and Paul's relationship. John was no working class hero. His house (even by today's standards) is in a nice area and is very comfortable thank you very much. Paul's place is different...the estate where Forthlin is is VERY much working class...one visit to either of these places and you instantly get a more informed view of their teen years. The areas are as dramatically different as the houses themselves. One is in an nice suburb of a blue skyed Liddy, the other a council estate - not quite Fort Apache. Paul's house is somehow, more "real", there's a bit more dirt, it's a bit more worn and lived in, whereas Mendips is shiny, almost smelling of fresh paint...somehow I think there was more pain in Forthlin than Mendips. I would recommend all fans who go through Liverpool to book a ticket. What you have is in some respects, less of a Beatle sight and more a slice of what helped to make the Beatles set against the atmosphere of the post war years . Totally fascinating.
I will continue my journey for as long as I'm able to travel and will always gravitate to those Beatle locations....look out for another slice coming soon, where I will talk about my visit to the Dakota and my own personal Holy Grail - Abbey Road Studios!
I still do travel and tend to try to visit as many of Beatle locations as possible. I was in London recently and decided to go to the Linda McCartney photographic exhibition in Saville Row...I'd never been there before. When I turned into the street, I immediately recognised the building of course. What was odd, was that somehow I thought that the building would be occupied; which it wasn't. It looked a bit sad somehow. The famous front door was covered with a very small sign on it saying that a particular security company is looking after it...mm, I thought, now there's a place where tons of stuff happened in Beatledom and look at it now...not derelict as such, but empty and appearing to be unused. Of course within a few minutes of looking, I noticed that there were about 30 people coming towards on the Beatles walking tour of London, where they stopped on it's steps...THEN I had an idea of what it was like at the time, with people constantly hanging out on the steps waiting for a glimpse somebody important...I was also struck by the location and it's relationship with the rest of central London and therefore just how big the rooftop concert's impact must have been on that very cold January day in 1969...now that was a stroke of genius!
I have also had the great privilege to go to the National Trust houses in Liverpool at Menlove Ave and Forthlin Road. These two places are in my top five Beatle locations as they really (really) convey an important part of the story which up until they were made museums (effectively) were off limits as people still actually lived there. The differences between the two properties is stark and gives a further insight into John and Paul's relationship. John was no working class hero. His house (even by today's standards) is in a nice area and is very comfortable thank you very much. Paul's place is different...the estate where Forthlin is is VERY much working class...one visit to either of these places and you instantly get a more informed view of their teen years. The areas are as dramatically different as the houses themselves. One is in an nice suburb of a blue skyed Liddy, the other a council estate - not quite Fort Apache. Paul's house is somehow, more "real", there's a bit more dirt, it's a bit more worn and lived in, whereas Mendips is shiny, almost smelling of fresh paint...somehow I think there was more pain in Forthlin than Mendips. I would recommend all fans who go through Liverpool to book a ticket. What you have is in some respects, less of a Beatle sight and more a slice of what helped to make the Beatles set against the atmosphere of the post war years . Totally fascinating.
I will continue my journey for as long as I'm able to travel and will always gravitate to those Beatle locations....look out for another slice coming soon, where I will talk about my visit to the Dakota and my own personal Holy Grail - Abbey Road Studios!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
The Authors
These days' I'm fairly picky as to what new Beatle or related products I'll buy. This is due, mainly because of the sheer amount of complete and utter garbage that has been released or published. Leaving the audio and video side of things out for now, I'd like to talk about what I consider the essentials from the literary world. In reality there are really three genres to look at. It's either going to be a memoir type, a research type or a technical type. For me there are a few authors of whom I'll just instinctively reach out for my wallet. John C. Winn, Doug Sulpy, Bruce Spizer, Keith Badman spring to mind. Between them, these guys have sorted the wheat from the chaff, laid down the actual background with dates and times, providing an informative and definitive timeline of events.
There are a few other guys out there also worth a mention. These are the guys who have written and researched "one off" books like The Beatles Gear by Andy Babuik. A superb book for fans and in particular musician fans who really understand and appreciate the detail he has gone into regarding the differences between the various Vox amps, guitars and gadgets....and it's also a book with a very spooky photograph taken in a German music shop of John Lennon's future Rickenbacker BEFORE he purchased it! Looking at it is odd; the poor instrument had no idea what it was in for!! It went on to be one of the most famous guitars in the world...and you know, having owned one myself, they're not even that great, as guitars go. They just sort of have something only a Rick could give you. Other notable tomes include the definitive Hamburg releases by way of Hans Olf Gottfriedson's "From The Cavern To The Star Club". A mighty piece of work and a free record into the bargain (a 7" vinyl reproduction of My Bonnie) Of course the average fan could tell you it would take a huge book to tell you about the amount of times we've been ripped off by the Polydor recordings from Germany!
One of the very best books I think I've ever seen comes in a reproduction 2" EMI Tape box and is entitled "Recording The Beatles". What an amazing piece of work. This book is very technical and even with 25 plus years of sound engineering experience is quite difficult to follow and completely understand, as the language of recording has changed so much since EMI Abbey Road were in the music making business during the early 1960's up until now. However it provides a totally fascinating glimpse into how those brilliant records were made. It's one of those books which is a must have in my opinion. It's also very expensive and very big and very heavy...in short it's just ...er...very!
I've left the last author until last as it was he who ultimately defined the "new" generation of respected writers and created the genre in which most of the authors above now exist. It can only be the mighty Mark Lewishom. From his early writings in the The Beatle Book Monthly, he has systematically changed how not just Beatle fans but (modern) musical historians and archivists think over a period which must be coming up towards 30 years now. He was the guy who wrote Sessions and The Beatles Live as well as many other landmark works. He is currently preparing the "definitive history of the group" and I for one simply cannot wait to get my teeth into it as it will, without doubt, be the most exhaustively written account yet published. By the time all three (yes three!) volumes are in the public domain, an unbelievable 17 years will have passed by! The first volume, which will take the reader up to the end of 1963, is expected in stores by 2010. God only knows what it will unearth, but one thing is for sure, Mr Lewshom has an eye for detail, and if it's in there, it's probably been corroborated over and over across many primary and secondary sources. As he has said himself, the "time is now" to complete such a project as the band and it's first hand witnesses are fast fading into history. Sad but true. However, we are promised "thorough, balanced, comprehensive histories", and not just another sensationalist rip-off rehash retelling of the same wrong facts with a couple of pics thrown in. The Beatles were the ultimate band - warts and all! Therefore, ultimate book telling their story should reflect that. Bring it on I say, bring it on
There are a few other guys out there also worth a mention. These are the guys who have written and researched "one off" books like The Beatles Gear by Andy Babuik. A superb book for fans and in particular musician fans who really understand and appreciate the detail he has gone into regarding the differences between the various Vox amps, guitars and gadgets....and it's also a book with a very spooky photograph taken in a German music shop of John Lennon's future Rickenbacker BEFORE he purchased it! Looking at it is odd; the poor instrument had no idea what it was in for!! It went on to be one of the most famous guitars in the world...and you know, having owned one myself, they're not even that great, as guitars go. They just sort of have something only a Rick could give you. Other notable tomes include the definitive Hamburg releases by way of Hans Olf Gottfriedson's "From The Cavern To The Star Club". A mighty piece of work and a free record into the bargain (a 7" vinyl reproduction of My Bonnie) Of course the average fan could tell you it would take a huge book to tell you about the amount of times we've been ripped off by the Polydor recordings from Germany!
One of the very best books I think I've ever seen comes in a reproduction 2" EMI Tape box and is entitled "Recording The Beatles". What an amazing piece of work. This book is very technical and even with 25 plus years of sound engineering experience is quite difficult to follow and completely understand, as the language of recording has changed so much since EMI Abbey Road were in the music making business during the early 1960's up until now. However it provides a totally fascinating glimpse into how those brilliant records were made. It's one of those books which is a must have in my opinion. It's also very expensive and very big and very heavy...in short it's just ...er...very!
I've left the last author until last as it was he who ultimately defined the "new" generation of respected writers and created the genre in which most of the authors above now exist. It can only be the mighty Mark Lewishom. From his early writings in the The Beatle Book Monthly, he has systematically changed how not just Beatle fans but (modern) musical historians and archivists think over a period which must be coming up towards 30 years now. He was the guy who wrote Sessions and The Beatles Live as well as many other landmark works. He is currently preparing the "definitive history of the group" and I for one simply cannot wait to get my teeth into it as it will, without doubt, be the most exhaustively written account yet published. By the time all three (yes three!) volumes are in the public domain, an unbelievable 17 years will have passed by! The first volume, which will take the reader up to the end of 1963, is expected in stores by 2010. God only knows what it will unearth, but one thing is for sure, Mr Lewshom has an eye for detail, and if it's in there, it's probably been corroborated over and over across many primary and secondary sources. As he has said himself, the "time is now" to complete such a project as the band and it's first hand witnesses are fast fading into history. Sad but true. However, we are promised "thorough, balanced, comprehensive histories", and not just another sensationalist rip-off rehash retelling of the same wrong facts with a couple of pics thrown in. The Beatles were the ultimate band - warts and all! Therefore, ultimate book telling their story should reflect that. Bring it on I say, bring it on
Just a little song
I saw a trailer for the new Beatles film "All Together Now" which is a close look at the development and roll out of the Cirque de Soleil's amazing production of "Love"...in it, there's a bit where Paul McCartney and George Martin are just sitting in the auditorium with Paul remarking how small and "little" the process was to create the songs, with "yer little guitar, paper and pencil", and "look what happened to it"...referring of course to the sheer scale of the Love show in front of him, but also underlining the world changing phenomenon of his old band; them Beatles. His comment about the writing process is right on the money. As a songwriter myself, I have often wondered where "it", the song, comes from...you know you could be sitting one minute, with your guitar just drinking a coffee and then you play a particular chord. Now there's something about that chord, you've played it a million times, but this time it switches a light on in very small room in your head and compels you to find the next one and then the next one...before you know it, you're humming along. Then the humming starts to sound like a bit of a word which again somehow compels you to find the next one and so on...As this process continues, the shape of a song has somehow, magically presented itself to you...you weren't looking for it, but there "it" is, standing there right in front of you, just you. No one has heard it before, no one knows it, it came just to you, it just sort of popped out your head on to your "little piece of paper" and out of your "little guitar". Is it some kind of voodoo? Because in essence, a song is just a thought with a backbeat as Johnny Rhythm once said right?.....As you try to rationalise it, you realise that it is that same single thought in your head physically, but the real mind blower is how, and perhaps more importantly why, did it manifest itself with you? Is it like you are some kind of "radio tuner" and you just turned the dial to find something no one has ever heard before? If you thought too much about it, your head would explode it really would!
No, Mr McCartney is right on the money with that comment that it's a "little" process, because for a time it is just you and "it"...the real trouble of course starts when you let other people hear it and then they form opinions about it, they want to buy it, they want to own it, they want to know about every single "little" detail about "it" before moving on to you... or in the Beatles case - planet altering events. They are just small pieces of work in and of themselves, but songs somehow can and have changed minds, opinions and even this world. Yes, it's a very powerful "little" process from start to finish is the writing of a song.
No, Mr McCartney is right on the money with that comment that it's a "little" process, because for a time it is just you and "it"...the real trouble of course starts when you let other people hear it and then they form opinions about it, they want to buy it, they want to own it, they want to know about every single "little" detail about "it" before moving on to you... or in the Beatles case - planet altering events. They are just small pieces of work in and of themselves, but songs somehow can and have changed minds, opinions and even this world. Yes, it's a very powerful "little" process from start to finish is the writing of a song.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
the bootleggers
Bootlegs open up a private world to the listener where one might get the chance to hear things the artist would rather you didn't...snippets of conversation, bad versions of well known tracks, early versions and so on - so as fans it's very difficult to find anybody who doesn't or wouldn't want to hear something different, something out of the norm, something you shouldn't have - a back stage pass with access all areas basically. This must be a nightmare for the artist..as a musician myself, when you see something up on you tube or hear a recording someone might play to you saying "I came across this the other day...sounds great", you tend to feel in some small way violated there is no doubt about that. I've had some small experiences of this myself due to the dreaded camcorder at a gig syndrome and it's not particularly nice. However, as a Beatle fan, "it's historic innit?", so therefore somehow ok?...it isn't really, but you can't help but want to hear it anyway right? Better still, if you can get it on a silver disc inside some well designed packing - EVEN better! This is where the artist and fan collide. The artist would rather keep their "dirty washing" in the wash house thank you very much, whilst the fan is desperate to hear that extra 6 seconds and studio chat after the fade! It's fairly bizzare when you think about. There's the artist putting blood, sweat and ears into making the track sound the very best it can possibly be, and there's the fan wanting to hear the first take break down after the verse was played badly! Again, is it different for the Beatles? The recent (and I may say brilliant) series by the shadowy figures of Purple Chick are a great example of 21 first century (er..schizoid) fans, the modern bootleggers and the band. Those of you in the know will instantly understand this. For those unaware, here's an example of they might do with a release. Let's use the album Please Please Me as an example. Officially, The Beatles (in the modern era of CD etc) put out the mono version of the same album released on record in 1963. This is great, but simply not enough for the discerning mega fan...Purple Chick fill the substantial gap like this - First of all they whett your appetite by creating an expanded version of the album and call it Please Please Me - Deluxe editon. As a fan you're hooked right there, wondering what might be on that album and what makes it "deluxe".
First thing you notice is that there is specialist art work with expanded and extensive information about the sessions concerned. Next up there are TWO discs containing the best possible versions in the best available quality of both mono and stereo versions. That in itself is perhaps good enough, but the good folks at Purple Chick then reckon you'll maybe want to hear other tracks from the timeframe, the b sides, the unreleased? In this example, How Do You Do It? makes an appearence, different mixes of the tracks with dates times, room numbers, trousers, outlines...nothing left to the imagination!. So what could be on disc two then? Well, here are all the available takes of each song in the best quality (for example, There's A Place contains all the takes from 1 to 10) It's astonshing to me coming from the time when the vinyl was it and was all she wrote!
Overall it's a package the fan CAN'T ignore...it's the whole damned thing in one place in a nice box! The question is, why don't the Applelites understand that people want it and that ilk of presentation? OK, so the market probably doesn't cross over to the general public and mass sales on the scale of the "1" album, but surely it's better that they control these types of release and taking up the revenues as opposed to leaving it in the hands of the bootleggers who basically do what THEY want in terms of the presentation and content..and worse they give it away under the "made by the fans for the fans" banner...it's the word on the street, it's a groundswell of opinion, it's a FACT...there is a market for the material and there are two routes for the artist....First, go for the bootleggers down the legal route? No, it's expensive and messy and you don't look good for it or cut the supply off by releasing it your self? Makes the most sense. In other words, give the fans (and history) what they want and take the money (honey!)
All of this is easy for me to say as I don't control a multi million pound industry!
The fact is though, you're never going to stop people putting up their phone films of your concerts on you tube, or stop people having the nerve to be interested in the whole studio tape are you? No is the answer. If you can't beat(le) them? then you may as well join them.
First thing you notice is that there is specialist art work with expanded and extensive information about the sessions concerned. Next up there are TWO discs containing the best possible versions in the best available quality of both mono and stereo versions. That in itself is perhaps good enough, but the good folks at Purple Chick then reckon you'll maybe want to hear other tracks from the timeframe, the b sides, the unreleased? In this example, How Do You Do It? makes an appearence, different mixes of the tracks with dates times, room numbers, trousers, outlines...nothing left to the imagination!. So what could be on disc two then? Well, here are all the available takes of each song in the best quality (for example, There's A Place contains all the takes from 1 to 10) It's astonshing to me coming from the time when the vinyl was it and was all she wrote!
Overall it's a package the fan CAN'T ignore...it's the whole damned thing in one place in a nice box! The question is, why don't the Applelites understand that people want it and that ilk of presentation? OK, so the market probably doesn't cross over to the general public and mass sales on the scale of the "1" album, but surely it's better that they control these types of release and taking up the revenues as opposed to leaving it in the hands of the bootleggers who basically do what THEY want in terms of the presentation and content..and worse they give it away under the "made by the fans for the fans" banner...it's the word on the street, it's a groundswell of opinion, it's a FACT...there is a market for the material and there are two routes for the artist....First, go for the bootleggers down the legal route? No, it's expensive and messy and you don't look good for it or cut the supply off by releasing it your self? Makes the most sense. In other words, give the fans (and history) what they want and take the money (honey!)
All of this is easy for me to say as I don't control a multi million pound industry!
The fact is though, you're never going to stop people putting up their phone films of your concerts on you tube, or stop people having the nerve to be interested in the whole studio tape are you? No is the answer. If you can't beat(le) them? then you may as well join them.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Hello from The Beatcomber
it's another Beatle based blog...oh no!!...ok...let's lay out a line on this...I am a Beatles fan and I have been for a long time.
So why this blog?
Well, I would simply like to occasionaly share my views on the best band in the world with other like minded souls - simple as that. I've been a collector, I've been to the Conventions, and damn it I've even played the songs live on stage! I'm very aware of the Beatle "scene" (man!) and what people want ...mainly because it's probably the same as myself...you know the score, let's trot out the usual suspects then...a DVD of Let it Be would be nice, a remastered back catalogue blah blah...look you've heard it all before, so I'll probably steer clear of all that sort of tosh. Those products will come out when they (the Apple-ites that is) are happy with the TERMS of sale, what's in it for them and obviously walk that fine line between keeping bottom line healthy and giving the people what they want. In other words, we'll get what we want when they are ready and we'll just have to like it or lump it. In saying that though, there hasn't been much in the way of headline grabbing releases though eh? Although that might change fairly dramatically with the change of head honcho's at the Apple HQ...one thing I've heard recently alarmed me greatly - please god no beatles tunes in adverts of any description..never ever....as the band themselves have said, those tunes weren't written to sell daipers or anything else! Those are great works of art in their own write and in my humble opinion, would be the beginning of the end of their status as the greatest pop songs yet written. Any suggestion of going down that route surely, belongs in a daiper and that's the bottom line! (ooer...sorry for that last one)
it's a blog in folks
So why this blog?
Well, I would simply like to occasionaly share my views on the best band in the world with other like minded souls - simple as that. I've been a collector, I've been to the Conventions, and damn it I've even played the songs live on stage! I'm very aware of the Beatle "scene" (man!) and what people want ...mainly because it's probably the same as myself...you know the score, let's trot out the usual suspects then...a DVD of Let it Be would be nice, a remastered back catalogue blah blah...look you've heard it all before, so I'll probably steer clear of all that sort of tosh. Those products will come out when they (the Apple-ites that is) are happy with the TERMS of sale, what's in it for them and obviously walk that fine line between keeping bottom line healthy and giving the people what they want. In other words, we'll get what we want when they are ready and we'll just have to like it or lump it. In saying that though, there hasn't been much in the way of headline grabbing releases though eh? Although that might change fairly dramatically with the change of head honcho's at the Apple HQ...one thing I've heard recently alarmed me greatly - please god no beatles tunes in adverts of any description..never ever....as the band themselves have said, those tunes weren't written to sell daipers or anything else! Those are great works of art in their own write and in my humble opinion, would be the beginning of the end of their status as the greatest pop songs yet written. Any suggestion of going down that route surely, belongs in a daiper and that's the bottom line! (ooer...sorry for that last one)
it's a blog in folks
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