Paul McCartney, Take it Away

Posted in Paul McCartney on June 21st, 2012 by Willie

“Tug of War” is one of the best solo Paul McCartney albums, and probably the best one from the 80s.  The record was produced by famed Beatle producer George Martin, sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle, and this music video, which I’ve never seen before all of ten minutes ago, Martin lives out that fantasy by rocking the piano with Paul, Ringo, Linda, and actor John Hurt.  I never took it upon myself to exhaustively plow through all the ex-Beatle catalogs in the way I carved the original Beatle records on stone tablets, which is great because it allows me to discover songs and video clips that I never knew existed.  “Take it Away,” is one such example, and the song and video is just a delightful treat for all Beatle fans, and all fans of charming good fun…oh, and happy belated 70th birthday Paul!

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The Beatles, If I Needed Someone

Posted in The Beatles on June 20th, 2012 by Willie

“If I Needed Someone” written by George Harrison in 1965, is one of my all time favorite songs.  George was listening to the Byrds, especially Roger McGuinn’s “The Bells of Rhymeny,” which George based his guitar riff on.  Like all great artists, the Beatles stole from other great artists, but what was special about them was how honest and appreciative they were of the source inspirations.  Before the song was released, George sent Roger a recording of the song and a note extolling the influence McGuinn had on George in that era.  The Beatles made few, if any, enemies of their contemporaries in their era.  The song is a gorgeous effort by George, fully fitting in the Rubber Soul vibe of heavy harmony and folk rock psychedelia.  I also like the bizarre message that the lyrics paint.  George is saying to a potential girlfriend that he would date her in a minute if he wasn’t already in love, but please, leave your phone number in case something happens.  Its kind of a dicey, yet honest admission from an international rock star who happened to be married.  For me though, the song’s greatest attribute is the full throated three part harmony courtesy of John, Paul, and George.  It’s powerful and wistful at the same time, and there is something tragically nostalgic in the sound of it, much like John and Paul’s “In My Life.”  The video below was made by the fantastic youtube uploader named Beatles Mirko, who finds and assembles some of the best Beatles clips on the internet, so thanks to him for cobbling together this nice video featuring performances of the song from their legendary Tokyo concert.

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The Beatles, I'm in Love, Ultra Rare Song

Posted in The Beatles, Youtube Favs on May 14th, 2012 by Willie

Well, its been a few weeks since I’ve updated the website.  Mainly I’ve been busy working on my next creative endeavor, covering the song I’m posting today.  Its the dream of many a Beatle fan/musician to do their own version of a famed Beatle or solo Beatle song.  I’ve toyed with this dream for years, wondering which of the endless stream of hits to put my own humble little stamp on.  No matter what song you pick though, always has the caveat of never living up to the Beatle recording.  Even the greatest Beatle covers by the world’s biggest acts simply do not live up to the perfection the Beatles achieved in the studio.  When I discovered, “I’m in Love,” a lost ballad written by John Lennon in 1963, I knew I struck gold.  Not only is the song mostly incomplete, leaving open some room for interpretation, it is hardly known save for a subset of hardcore Beatle audiophiles who have combed over every inch of cruddy bootleg tape.  The version below is a minute and thirty seconds of John and a piano, singing the song in 1963.  What’s remarkable about this demo is that it sounds like it could easily be John in 1971 working on a new track for a solo record.  The lyrics, the emotion, the spirit of genuineness, and universalism, are all present in this wonderful and fragile piece of pop songwriting.  My cover is coming along nicely, and I hope to have it done in a few weeks.  Until then, here is the preview, a priceless artifact of sonic soul.

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James Taylor, Something in the Way She Moves

Posted in James Taylor on April 27th, 2012 by Willie

I don’t know too much about James Taylor, but perhaps its time I start.  I’m just gonna rattle off what I know off the top of my head.  He was a recovering heroin addict, suffering from severe depression, when at some point he finally put his life together and allowed his incredible talent to flourish.  He was one of the early super star signings for the fledgling “Apple Records,” the Beatles hot new label, cutting his first record with the help of Paul McCartney and George Harrison among others.  Ever since the phenomenal success of his debut, he has sort of coasted along in the first class world of pop’s elder statesmen, performing his trusty hits, and melting hearts everywhere he goes with his perfect fragile style.  This video of “Something in the Way She Moves,” a clip I first saw in the Beatles Anthology documentary, has always stuck with me.  It’s just one of the purest examples of a man, his guitar, and a song.  Even with his acne, it is perfection with no adornment, one of the ultimate expressions of the folk pop format executed with heart breaking beauty.  James just has a way of drawing you into his intimate world, to a place we’ve all been to.  It’s just spellbinding.  Please watch this and appreciate the artistry and genius going on here.

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The Beatles, A Look Inside the Recording of Think For Yourself

Posted in The Beatles on April 26th, 2012 by Willie

You’d think by reading this website, that I’ve probably heard everything the Beatles have ever done.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Beatles left a treasure trove of outtakes, missing songs, and precious studio banter; all serving as glorious honey for Beatle fans starving for fresh material.  Last night, I stumbled upon the studio session for Rubber Soul’s “Think For Yourself.”  The person responsible for this bootleg, cleverly edited out the tedious audio takes, and left in all the truly hilarious Beatle conversations.  The record here is fascinating.  This being a George song, you can see him trying to carefully coral a stoned John and Paul into recording the proper backing vocals.  Its also funny to hear a snippy George Martin trying to manage the madness from the safety of his glass booth.  There isn’t really much I can add, other than if you want an insight into the Beatle creative process, and love to laugh, its worth the 15 minutes of your time to have this thing playing in the background as you work or relax.  Its gold.

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Yellow Submarine Week, It's All Too Much, All Together Now

Posted in The Beatles on April 19th, 2012 by Willie

A wise Beatle once said, all things must pass, and so must Yellow Submarine week.  The end of the movie, one of my favorite sequences, features the stunning George Harrison masterpiece, “It’s All Too Much.”  Following that brain scrambling skillet of wonderment are the Beatles themselves, appearing in an overly good mood (especially for 1968), introducing a slice of Paul McCartney camp fire brilliance, “All Together Now.”  Sometimes I just can’t help but repeat the live Beatle sequence over and over.  Each Beatle puts on a remarkably memorable performance.  Ringo comes across just like his cartoon character, sort of childish and naive.  Paul is at his corny best, making some self referential Beatle jokes, this one a plug for “Fixing a Hole.”  I love George’s halted speech, wondering eyes, and sly smiles.  John saves his Beatle charm for the end, stealing the scene with his warning of “newer and bluer meanies,” and expert pronunciation of the words “singing,” and “FOUR!”  Ever the leader, John is the captain with his pocket telescope, remaining still and calm while the other Beatles are bobbing away with crazy energy.  It’s just one of the greatest scenes in Beatle history, and my dream would be if someone came out with extended footage from that video session, or outtakes.  Haven’t seen anything like that though, so its probably on the scrapheap of history.  Ah well, beggars can’t be choosers, so we’ll make due with this priceless moment.  Enjoy.

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Yellow Submarine Week, It's Only a Northern Song

Posted in The Beatles on April 18th, 2012 by Willie

Most people point to John Lennon as the group’s most rebellious member, but the title really belongs to George.  He had no problem writing songs about telling girls, the media, and his fans to sod off.  Some people say he was preachy, especially when he started incorporating Eastern Mysticism in his songs, but I always saw him as just expressing his individuality, and really, what choice did he have?  John and Paul had left him to be a solo songwriter in the world’s greatest group, so when George built up his songwriting confidence, which really didn’t take that long in the scheme of things, he started speaking his mind, very clearly.  “It’s Only a Northern Song,” shown below in the awesome psychedelic sequence from Yellow Submarine, features George at his most sarcastic and rebellious.  He is writing a letter, in the demented pop song format, to his music publishing company, “Northern Songs,” in regards to the shitty royalties deal he signed when he was 19 years old.  George would actually end up being the lucky Beatle (along with Ringo), for when the general Beatle song publishing contract expired in 1968, he started his own publishing company called “Harrisongs,” allowing him to own a bunch of his later Beatle hits like “Something,” and “Here Comes the Son.”  Ringo started a similar company called “Startling Music,” which allowed him to own his few Beatle songs, while John and Paul reupped their contract, damning them to a lifetime of low royalties and the eventual non-ownership of all their wondrous hits.  However, until 1968, all the Beatles were under the oppressive umbrella of “Northern Songs,” the product of a contract signed before they were famous and before no one could predict the billions of dollars their songs would generate.  Luckily we have “It’s Only a Northern Song,” forever standing as a grim reminder to aspiring musicians everywhere on the verge of signing horrible record publishing deals.  Thank you George.

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Yellow Submarine Week, Eleanor Rigby

Posted in The Beatles on April 14th, 2012 by Willie

When the Yellow Submarine movie came out in 1968, the Beatles were already edging away from the psychedelic movement they helped flower across the world.  In 68, the Beatles were recording the “White Album,” a record more psychedelic in the abstract than the literal.  All and all they were inching back towards their rock and roll roots, so a movie which was basically a celebration of the Beatles psychedelic mastery was already a bit passe in the fast moving world of Beatle progress.  Still, their psychedelic work, which had no real visual outlet as the Beatles had no way of seriously replicating that sort of music live, to say nothing of the fact they had quit touring anyway, was not harmed by being enshrined in a glorious piece of pop art that was Yellow Submarine.  Just because the Beatles had left behind the days of Revolver, didn’t mean the world had.  Songs like “Eleanor Rigby” were still being played countless times by people the world over, transmogrified by its perfection.  As the Beatles, and the world would discover, the shelf life on Beatle music wouldn’t be a mere flash in the pan, but rather the songs would enjoy decades of endless relevance, seemingly increasing in power and myth as the years rolled by.  So, while its easy to imagine that the Beatles were nonplussed when informed that the majority of songs used for the movie would be culled from the Sgt. Pepper era, for the rest of us, its a privilege beyond words to enjoy these wizard like songs embossed forever in a film like Yellow Submarine.  The clip of “Eleanor Rigby” below, couldn’t be better.  It’s a stunning piece of post modern animated pathos, featuring the sad tired, black and white world of Liverpool, colorized by a Paul McCartney song of unlimited creativity.  There are no platitudes capable of summarizing its genius, so just watch it below as we continue to sail through Yellow Submarine week.

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Yellow Submarine Week, Part 1!

Posted in The Beatles on April 12th, 2012 by Willie

Ahh, Yellow Submarine, the movie responsible for injecting coolness in every child that comes across it at just the right age.  I personally believe that any age is the right age for Yellow Submarine, and that is why, naturally, Yellow Submarine Week is commencing today on this very website.  Yellow Submarine is infamous for not featuring the Beatles’ real voices, save for the music and a winning appearance at the end.  The film itself is a gorgeous post-modern piece of glorious pop art, providing music videos for a bunch of psychedelic classics from the Beatles absurdly genius 65-68 era.  For part 1, we have the first ten minutes of the movie which includes one of the greatest voice over openings of all time.  “Once upon a time, or maybe twice, there lie an unearthly paradise called Pepperland.”  The film, which wasn’t written by the Beatles, certainly captured a lot of the brilliant Lennonesque humor and writing style featured in John’s books, writings, and art.  Originally, the Beatles really wanted nothing to do with the movie, thinking it would be terrible, and only agreed to it as a way to satisfy their 4 film contract with MGM.  When it was completed, they were stunned at its quality, and thus agreed to contribute the famous ending, but that bit of fun will be saved for conclusion of our little celebration.  As for now, enjoy the wonderful opening, the Blue Meanies, and Ringo’s rendition of the Paul McCartney classic, “Yellow Submarine.”

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Stu Sutcliffe, Love Me Tender

Posted in Stu Sutcliffe, The Beatles on April 7th, 2012 by Willie

There is a lot of conjecture as to who the fifth Beatle is, or was.  Some think it was George Martin, their famed producer, others Brian Epstein, their cavalier manager.  Others think it was Pete Best, the drummer ousted on the precipice of the Beatles massive fame.  The real answer is the departed Stuart Sutcliffe.  Stu was John Lennon’s best friend in art college and was a massive influence on the man in their short friendship.  Stu died at 21 years old of a brain hemorrhage, also on the eve the of the massive Beatle tidal wave set to cover the planet, but his impact on the Beatles was real.  First, he collaborated on the name “Beatles” with John, probably coining it himself.  Second, he came up with the Beatle hair cut with the help of his girlfriend Astrid.  Lastly, with his skills as an abstract artist, Stu got John thinking about rock and roll as a conceptual art form, expanding John’s view of what the Beatles could really be.  Stu was the original bass player, not as terrible as it is portrayed in Beatle movies and Beatle literature; competent enough to be recruited by other local Hamburg bands during the Beatles stay in Germany.  It is true he left the band to stay in Germany and marry Astrid, but his friendship with the Beatles never ended.  Had he lived, his fame probably would have exploded in one form or another due to his Beatle association and movie star good looks.  It was also known, by those who heard him, that Stu was a more than decent singer, getting plenty of vocal time during the Beatles marathon 6 hour sets when John and Paul’s voices were fading.  Stu’s friendship with John, killer look, and burgeoning talent caused a small rivalry with Paul McCartney.  Paul was jealous of Stu’s place in the Beatles, but also rightfully critical of Stu’s full commitment to the group.  Stu was considered a brilliant artist by his teachers and his peers, and had a bright future painting.  When the pressure from Paul intensified as to where Stu’s priorities were, he resigned the group graciously without putting up much of a fight and wished his friends luck.  But still, his early tragic death created a lot of mystery and what if scenarios had he lived.  What was he really like?  Would he have ever been asked to rejoin the group?  Could he really sing?  The answer to the last question might have been solved with the release of Stu’s rendition of the great Elvis ballad, “Love Me Tender.”  Stu’s family claims that the vocalist on the record is absolutely Stu, recorded in Hamburg as a gift for Astrid, right after the Beatles left.  Critics have other theories, but no one knows for certain.  If it is Stu on this record, it leaves a spooky impression of a voice that might have had a major impact in global culture had he lived…We’ll never know, but check out this ghostly performance and ask yourself, what if…

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