John Lennon, George Harrison, Oh My Love

Posted in George Harrison, John Lennon, Youtube Favs on September 18th, 2011 by Willie

When the Beatles split in 1970, it was mainly a split between John and Paul.  It’s odd because George, Paul, and Ringo would have kept the group going, but because John wanted to end it, George and Ringo became as enthusiastic as John about kiboshing the whole affair.  I suppose John had more good will with the “sidemen” then Paul did, and as a result, John collaborated much more frequently with his former mates than Paul did.  In this video, I have an intimate portrait of John and George rehearsing one of Lennon’s more tender ballads, “Oh, My Love,” from the Imagine album.  It’s a cool scene where you George fiddle around with a steel guitar, and John ruminate with Yoko on their philosophies about love and sex.  You also get to see George lay down those awesome electric licks that instill in the ballad its beautiful perfection.  This video also serves as a great preview for the upcoming Martin Scorsese HBO documentary on George Harrison’s life, “Living in the Material World,” which premieres in early October.  Enjoy.

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The Rolling Stones, Play With Fire

Posted in The Rolling Stones, Youtube Favs on August 1st, 2011 by Willie

“Play With Fire,” a 1965 B-Side by the Stones, was credited to Nanker Phelge, a pseudonym the Stones used when they attributed the songwriting to all the members.  Still, its mainly the work of Jagger and Richards, with Phil Spector on bass oddly enough.  In fact, Mick and Keith are the only Stones to appear on the track. It was recorded on a late January night in 1965 Los Angeles; what a scene that must have been.  This song is pure attitude.  Richards came up with the perfect guitar line to match Jagger’s ferociously deadly delivery.  It’s one of my favorite Stones songs ever, and the video below captures the Victorian hellishness of the song’s power.  The Rolling Stones were truly a one of a kind phenomenon coming along at the ground zero for rock and roll phenomenons.  This song is proof of their unique singularity in music history.  Enjoy.

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John Lennon, Instant Karma

Posted in John Lennon, Youtube Favs on May 24th, 2011 by Willie

Part 71 of my youtube countdown begins in a flash with John Lennon’s 1970 release “Instant Karma.”  “Instant Karma” is one of the fastest released songs in rock history.  John wrote it in the morning, recorded it in the afternoon, and released it ten days later.  The urgency of its release convinced karmic minded George Harrison to throw on his electric guitar.  Other Plastic Ono’s include Yoko on backing vocals, Alan White of YES fame on drums, Klaus (Revolver cover designer) Voorman on bass, and Billy Preston on grand piano.  The message of the song is awesome.  John is pleading for people just to achieve a modicum of self awareness regarding their cosmic role in the universe, and how in light of that, they should drop their petty prejudices, quibbles, and fears, and thus embrace a more meaningful existence.  It’s a beautiful message, and it rings true and instantly every time you play it.

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John Lennon, Jealous Guy

Posted in John Lennon, Youtube Favs on April 29th, 2011 by Willie

For part 49 of my youtube countdown, I found an awesome clip of John talking about love and relationships before launching into “Jealous Guy,” his song from 1971’s Imagine.  “Jealous Guy,” was originally written when the Beatles were in India as “Child of Nature.”  The original lyrics were about self discovery, but the new words are about John’s real self discovery, that he was an asshole towards women most of his life.  Read any Beatle biography, and the picture one gets of John is that of a misogynist, a cheater, and a hitter.  Not a pretty portrait, especially for a guy who fronted so many revolutions for progressive social change, and not to mention, wrote some of the greatest love songs ever written.  But we all know that John was never a saint, and this clip is fantastic because you can just tell John is a more mature person, and vulnerable in a completely honest and modern way.  Enjoy.

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George Harrison, Bob Dylan, If Not For You

Posted in Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Youtube Favs on April 16th, 2011 by Willie

The hits keep rolling, and for part 37 of my youtube countdown I present this incredible and rare video of George Harrison and Bob Dylan playing Bob’s “If Not For You.”  Holy shit, where to begin.  First of all, this was a rehearsal for George’s “Concert for Bangladesh” show, the first rock charity show ever.  George was Bob Dylan’s biggest fan, worshiping all his music, his whole life.  At this point in Dylan’s life, he was in exile in Woodstock not wanting to make any public appearances, but somehow George convinced to appear at his Madison Square Garden mega show to play a set.  Bob was nervous as fuck, having panic attacks and throwing up back stage before the actual show.  George wasn’t sure if Bob would have the nerve to do it, but he did, and it inspired Dylan to get out there on the road again.  This video speaks for itself.  Two icons of musical genius expression, playing one of Bob’s most gentle songs from his New Morning album, (George covered the song on his All Things Must Pass record just the year before.)  Just a fantastic moment in music history.  Enjoy.

 

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