I wish I could give some great news today. Instead, all I have is great speculation and rumors. How exciting and mysterious!
First, Miley Cyrus. Yesterday, she was in the news for reportedly auditioning for Batgirl for the next installment of the current Batman franchise. But, Holy Hockeypads, there's more!
Today, a new song leaked. Titled "Party In The USA," it is obviously up for future release, as record labels had it pulled from youtube already. What the song is for is up in the air. Some say it will be used as a promotional tool behind Miley's Walmart-exclusive clothing line, perhaps as aprt of an EP. Others say it is from a new album. Miley herself twittered the other day that she recorded 3 songs in one day, and has apparently been working on music all summer, when not filming for the Last Song. Busy kid. Anyway, she seems to be working fast, and will probably have an album out soon. Perhaps it will come out before her tour? Or, like Demi, during her tour? It would be no surprise if Miley has eyes for an autumn release. She has enough time to promote it and such. And, like I said, she is already going to be a hot topic (I mean, even more so than usual) with her first tour in 2 years!
Okay, that aside, there are the Beatles.
Insider information says that "Now and Then," and 1979 demo by John, augmented by the rest of the Beatles in the nineties, is finished. More over, in someway, it, along with other rarities, will be released in conjuction with the Beatles downloadable catalogue. This has NOT been officially announced, but is rumored to be in the coming days or months. Songs rumored to be connected include "Granny Smith" (a non-Indian take 1 of "Love You To"), "Carnival Of Light" (the infamous sound-rave from '67), "Revolution 1" (the full 11 minutes, which has been leaked), and an instrumental "Doctor Robert" (yeah, I don't know either). I'd like to add to this rumor, with no source or backing, "What Goes On" as recorded solely by Paul.
I'm really excited about the future coming up. We also have Yoko's album, Selena's album (which is very close to getting a release date/press announcement), Emily Osment's album, Jennette McCurdy's album (my money is that it is finished, but Capitol is working on how to promote it, package it, etc), and a Miranda Cosgrove release (no word on her album, but she has done a song for the film "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs", one of my favorite books as a kid.)
And who can forget Selena's 3 new tracks on the "Wizards Of Waverly Place" soundtrack?
Also, since earlier this year, the Rolling Stones re-issued all their post-Abcko studio albums. Except "Exile On Main Street." That album is up for deluxe treatment. What that entails is right now unknown. However, the album suffers from poor mixing (Mick Jagger mixed it after the produced got to involved in drugs to function, and Mick Jagger is not known for his mixing). The Stones have not done bonus tracks for any albums, so this deluxe package, no matter what is will be, is quite the anomaly.
I'm out of breath just thinking about all these rumors/future releases.
Next post should be a review of Demi's "Here We Go Again", plus my story of how I got it.
Holy Hockeypads!
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Whole World Is Just One Big Love-In (And That Is Just Fine)
So, the theme of this post is Love. No particular reason, but it felt right, so I'll go with it.
First off, here is a link to a song called "Love'n"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx9pWgN0g2c
The song is credited to The Beatles. It may very well be a fake, but no one knows for sure at the moment. It is also listed as an early version of "Getting Better". This could be the Rutles for all we know, but I figured I'd share it anyway.
So, love. Everyone should love. Miley Cyrus has publically stated (perhaps somewhat unintentionally?) that she supports gay relationships, via Twitter comments @ Perez Hilton. "jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares!" This is came about after Hilton asked Miss California er posistion on gay marriage, to which she gave her "biblically" inspired negative response. It is interesting, because Miley is a Christian and very devouted to the Bible. I for one am glad that Miley is displaying to people a sense of openess and acceptance ('specially to fans who are either gay and perhaps forced into a corner of shame, or those who make them feel that shame.) If only this feeling of love could be embraced by our whole world.
Miley's twitter is found here:
http://twitter.com/mileycyrus
Following that, I must say Twitter is perhaps the coolest of all the internet crazes as far as following celebs is concerned. It only takes second to update, meaning even the busiest celeb can update often. There is no html coding or wierd things like that. Myspace and Facebook and Xanga (not that any celeb I know of ever did Xanga) took investments of time, and often become more like giant internet advertisements for celebs, which is kind of a waste since celebs can do the same with there own website.
At the same time, Twitter (and for that matter Facebook status) can become kind of creepy and stalkerish. Sometimes.
But, getting back to love, Paul McCartney got lots of love from indie fans at the Coachella festival. Also, McCartney showed love for The Fireman, his side project, which released a new album last November, by doing two Fireman songs live, the first time he ever did so. Paul performed "Sing The Changes" (the proper single, and one of my favorite new Fireman songs), and "Highway" (one of my least favorites.) Also, on the big screen behind Paul, footage from the Beatles Rock Band was shown. The game comes out September 9th, the same day as the remaster discography of the Beatles. Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison) says the game will feature previously unheard material.
I don't even know what love has to do with this, but in a seperate interview, Dhani Harrison talked about working on a box set of unreleased George Harrison material. The idea of this set is nothing new, going all the way back to when Harrison was alive. Dhani wants to get the set out, and thinks the material he would release is better than the bootlegs fans have of George outtakes (and George outtakes are somewhat slim, and often instrumental versions or rough mixes of songs, stuff that is often boring and similar to commercial material). Dhani is cheesed off at EMI, which instead of putting out the set, or even finishing the remaster series, is putting out a lame greatest hits. So sad.
Oh, just for kicks, here are some more Twitters:
http://twitter.com/MirandaBuzz - Miranda Cosgrove
http://twitter.com/jennettemccurdy - Jennette McCurdy
http://twitter.com/selenagomez - Selena Gomez
http://twitter.com/ddlovato - Demi Lovato
First off, here is a link to a song called "Love'n"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx9pWgN0g2c
The song is credited to The Beatles. It may very well be a fake, but no one knows for sure at the moment. It is also listed as an early version of "Getting Better". This could be the Rutles for all we know, but I figured I'd share it anyway.
So, love. Everyone should love. Miley Cyrus has publically stated (perhaps somewhat unintentionally?) that she supports gay relationships, via Twitter comments @ Perez Hilton. "jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares!" This is came about after Hilton asked Miss California er posistion on gay marriage, to which she gave her "biblically" inspired negative response. It is interesting, because Miley is a Christian and very devouted to the Bible. I for one am glad that Miley is displaying to people a sense of openess and acceptance ('specially to fans who are either gay and perhaps forced into a corner of shame, or those who make them feel that shame.) If only this feeling of love could be embraced by our whole world.
Miley's twitter is found here:
http://twitter.com/mileycyrus
Following that, I must say Twitter is perhaps the coolest of all the internet crazes as far as following celebs is concerned. It only takes second to update, meaning even the busiest celeb can update often. There is no html coding or wierd things like that. Myspace and Facebook and Xanga (not that any celeb I know of ever did Xanga) took investments of time, and often become more like giant internet advertisements for celebs, which is kind of a waste since celebs can do the same with there own website.
At the same time, Twitter (and for that matter Facebook status) can become kind of creepy and stalkerish. Sometimes.
But, getting back to love, Paul McCartney got lots of love from indie fans at the Coachella festival. Also, McCartney showed love for The Fireman, his side project, which released a new album last November, by doing two Fireman songs live, the first time he ever did so. Paul performed "Sing The Changes" (the proper single, and one of my favorite new Fireman songs), and "Highway" (one of my least favorites.) Also, on the big screen behind Paul, footage from the Beatles Rock Band was shown. The game comes out September 9th, the same day as the remaster discography of the Beatles. Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison) says the game will feature previously unheard material.
I don't even know what love has to do with this, but in a seperate interview, Dhani Harrison talked about working on a box set of unreleased George Harrison material. The idea of this set is nothing new, going all the way back to when Harrison was alive. Dhani wants to get the set out, and thinks the material he would release is better than the bootlegs fans have of George outtakes (and George outtakes are somewhat slim, and often instrumental versions or rough mixes of songs, stuff that is often boring and similar to commercial material). Dhani is cheesed off at EMI, which instead of putting out the set, or even finishing the remaster series, is putting out a lame greatest hits. So sad.
Oh, just for kicks, here are some more Twitters:
http://twitter.com/MirandaBuzz - Miranda Cosgrove
http://twitter.com/jennettemccurdy - Jennette McCurdy
http://twitter.com/selenagomez - Selena Gomez
http://twitter.com/ddlovato - Demi Lovato
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
News Of The Day
So, let's start off with some news bites.
Jennette McCurdy has written, or "twittered", if you will, that her debut album (still unfinished) may be hitting shelves June 30th.
Demi Lovato is going on tour, and David Archuleta will be the opening act. She also has done a song with Academy Is member William Beckett.
Paul McCartney has a few interesting bits. He may be doing some Fireman tracks live at the Coachella Festival (he has never done a Fireman song on stage before, and was originally going to do so last year on TV, but had to cancel in order to do his show in Israel.) Paul is also supposedly doing a new album, and has as many as 20 new songs already. Ringo is rumored to be involved. Paul may be considering a fall release date, to coincide with The Beatle Remasters. There are also rumors of a box-set of outtakes and such. Such rumors have persisted since the phrase "box-set" was coined, but with Paul's 40th anniversary as a solo artist approaching, it may finally be time (maybe.)
George Harrison has a new greatest hits package, which is cool for those who know little about him, but annoying to big fans who still await remasters of "Dark Horse" and "Extra Texture," not to mention a box-set of unreleased cuts.
"Hannah Montana The Movie" broke some records, and is estimated to make a bajillion dollars (okay, real numbers are much more modest than that.) I hope to see the film soon.
The Beatles remasters have conjured up rumors that the DVD accompanying the new discs will feature the acoustic "Love You To," an instrumental "Doctor Robert," and even a brand new, 10 minute remix of "Carnival Of Light." My bet is that take 20 of "Revolution 1" will also be included, seeing as EMI practically burst an artery when the song was leaked.
I am very excited about all these new projects and releases. I have long awaited Beatle remasters, and if the rumours of new songs being included are true, I all the more anxiously await September 9th (note 9/09/09 is the release date. Number 9, Number 9, Number 9...)
Jennette McCurdy's album also has me waiting. It will be the next new album to come out that I look forward too, and will be a great way to kick off the summer (and Jennette's 16th birthday is in late June, so it will be really cool for her to have her first disc out and all.)
I'm glad Demi is working on a new album, and can't wait to hear more about it. The only real items we know are that the guy from Academy Is... did a song with her, and that Demi likens her new direction more to "Behind Enemy Lines" than her previous work. (By the way, in film footage on the DVD, Demi is seen holding a 12 track CD of a rough "Don't Forget," meaning "Behind Enemy Lines" was at least considered to make the disc. I guess they originally cut it since it wasn't like the rest of the songs, but thought as a bonus track, that wouldn't matter.)
McCartney's stuff is always great, so I can't wait for more info on his projects. No one has reported any specifics on his new album, and I suspect Paul will keep the album under wraps until he has a release date. As for the box-set, Paul has been trying to do an outtakes album since "Hot Hits/Cold Cuts." The album was to be a double set featuring a disc of hits, and a disc of outtakes spanning from "Ram" up to "Back To The Egg". Paul decided just to release a hits disc, called "Wings Greatest." He worked on "Cold Cuts" up into the eighties, remixing and overdubbing, before giving up. Many songs from the proposed track list have since gotten out.
Jennette McCurdy has written, or "twittered", if you will, that her debut album (still unfinished) may be hitting shelves June 30th.
Demi Lovato is going on tour, and David Archuleta will be the opening act. She also has done a song with Academy Is member William Beckett.
Paul McCartney has a few interesting bits. He may be doing some Fireman tracks live at the Coachella Festival (he has never done a Fireman song on stage before, and was originally going to do so last year on TV, but had to cancel in order to do his show in Israel.) Paul is also supposedly doing a new album, and has as many as 20 new songs already. Ringo is rumored to be involved. Paul may be considering a fall release date, to coincide with The Beatle Remasters. There are also rumors of a box-set of outtakes and such. Such rumors have persisted since the phrase "box-set" was coined, but with Paul's 40th anniversary as a solo artist approaching, it may finally be time (maybe.)
George Harrison has a new greatest hits package, which is cool for those who know little about him, but annoying to big fans who still await remasters of "Dark Horse" and "Extra Texture," not to mention a box-set of unreleased cuts.
"Hannah Montana The Movie" broke some records, and is estimated to make a bajillion dollars (okay, real numbers are much more modest than that.) I hope to see the film soon.
The Beatles remasters have conjured up rumors that the DVD accompanying the new discs will feature the acoustic "Love You To," an instrumental "Doctor Robert," and even a brand new, 10 minute remix of "Carnival Of Light." My bet is that take 20 of "Revolution 1" will also be included, seeing as EMI practically burst an artery when the song was leaked.
I am very excited about all these new projects and releases. I have long awaited Beatle remasters, and if the rumours of new songs being included are true, I all the more anxiously await September 9th (note 9/09/09 is the release date. Number 9, Number 9, Number 9...)
Jennette McCurdy's album also has me waiting. It will be the next new album to come out that I look forward too, and will be a great way to kick off the summer (and Jennette's 16th birthday is in late June, so it will be really cool for her to have her first disc out and all.)
I'm glad Demi is working on a new album, and can't wait to hear more about it. The only real items we know are that the guy from Academy Is... did a song with her, and that Demi likens her new direction more to "Behind Enemy Lines" than her previous work. (By the way, in film footage on the DVD, Demi is seen holding a 12 track CD of a rough "Don't Forget," meaning "Behind Enemy Lines" was at least considered to make the disc. I guess they originally cut it since it wasn't like the rest of the songs, but thought as a bonus track, that wouldn't matter.)
McCartney's stuff is always great, so I can't wait for more info on his projects. No one has reported any specifics on his new album, and I suspect Paul will keep the album under wraps until he has a release date. As for the box-set, Paul has been trying to do an outtakes album since "Hot Hits/Cold Cuts." The album was to be a double set featuring a disc of hits, and a disc of outtakes spanning from "Ram" up to "Back To The Egg". Paul decided just to release a hits disc, called "Wings Greatest." He worked on "Cold Cuts" up into the eighties, remixing and overdubbing, before giving up. Many songs from the proposed track list have since gotten out.
- "A Love For You"- saw release in 2003 on the "In Laws" soundtrack. First done during "Ram"
- "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" - B-side of "Coming Up". Recorded during "Venus & Mars"
- "My Carnival" - b-side of "Spies Like Us" (also made into a "Party Mix.") Recorded during "Venus & Mars."
- "Hey Diddle" - released version from a home tape on "Wingspan." Studio version first done during "Ram," later worked on in 1974 Nashville, sort of early "Venus & Mars" sessions
- "Mama's Little Girl" - released on "Put It There" single. From "Red Rose Speedway" sessions
- "Same Time Next Year" - released on "Put It There" single. From "Back To The Egg" sessions, done for a film of the same name.
- "Wide Prairie" - a portion released on Linda's "Wide Prairie" album. Done after "Band On The Run" sessions
- "I Would Only Smile" - Denny Laine cut released on his album "Japanese Tears." Done during "Red Rose Speedway" sessions
- "Send Me The Heart" - Denny Laine and Paul duet released on his album "Japanese Tears." Done during 1974 Nashville sessions
- "Oriental Nightfish" - Linda McCartney song first released in a music video, later on "Wide Prairie." From "Band On The Run" sessions.
But, there are many songs still unreleased from this collection.
- "Tragedy" - a cover song from "Red Rose Speedway" sessions.
- "Night Out" - from "Red Rose Speedway" sessions
- "Tomorrow" - this song was released on "Wild Life", but during "Venus and Mars" sessions, Paul did an instrumental version
- "Proud Mum" - an instrumental from Nashville (plus a short reprise version)
- "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" - from "Back To The Egg" sessions, and a small portion was played in the film "Rock & Roll High School" but otherwise unreleased
- "Best Friend" - a concert song from 1972, with studio overdubs (like the song "The Mess")
- "Robber's Ball" - an outtake from "McCartney II"
- "Cage" - a "Back To The Egg" song originally slated to be on that album, before cut in favor of the similar "Baby's Request"
- "Waterspout" - a pre-"London Town" home studio recording
These songs have been overdubbed and remixed and many have new lead vocals from Paul done in the eighties. But a new box-set would feature much more, and will hopefull cover Paul from his early years up to the present.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Things I Like
So, some things that I like are happening.
First off, check this link:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/cyrus%20records%20imagine_1099984
Not only has Miley apparently recorded "Imagine," John Lennon's classic song from his sixth LP (2nd not counting collabs with Yoko), but it is also supposedly a duet with Emily Osment.
Each of these things would be good enough on their own, but together? Well, my head would have exploded from the excitement (please please please tell me this track will be released), but chunks of head matter had already been strewn all over my computer, because the Beatles are finally, after 22 years of sitting on them, are giving us remastered albums.
Here is the news, compiled from articles from http://thebeatles.com/core/home/
"Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released. The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release. The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ which became part of The Beatles’ core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections ‘Past Masters Vol. I and II’ are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set. Within each CD’s new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the ‘Past Masters’ set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. ‘The Beatles in Mono’ gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on ‘Past Masters’). As an added bonus, the mono “Help!” and “Rubber Soul” discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained. For the latest news and information, go to: The Beatles Official Website Additional information: The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set) The stereo albums have been remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee All CD packages contain original vinyl artwork and liner notes Extensive archival photos Additional historical notes by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley Additional recording notes by Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett * = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo) With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo) A Hard Day’s Night* (CD debut in stereo) Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo) Help!* Rubber Soul* Revolver* Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band* (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney) Magical Mystery Tour* The Beatles* Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes) Abbey Road* Let It Be* Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett) ‘The Beatles in Mono’ (boxed set only) The mono albums have been remastered by Paul Hicks, Sean Magee with Guy Massey and Steve Rooke Presented together in box with an essay written by Kevin Howlett + = mono mix CD debut Please Please Me With The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night Beatles For Sale Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+ Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+ Revolver+ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band+ Magical Mystery Tour+ The Beatles+ Mono Masters Re-mastering the Beatles catalogue The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title. From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn’t impact on the original integrity of the songs. In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today’s music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles’ music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings. When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson. Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three – a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there – and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team’s satisfaction. New Notes/Documentaries Team Kevin Howlett (Historical and Recording Notes) Kevin Howlett’s career as an award-winning radio producer spans three decades. His music programmes for the BBC have included many documentaries about The Beatles, including ‘The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes.’ He received a Grammy nomination for his involvement with The Beatles’ album ‘Live At The BBC’ and, in 2003, produced the ‘Fly On The Wall’ bonus disc for ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ Mike Heatley (Historical Notes) Mike entered the music business via HMV Record Stores in 1970, transferring to EMI Records’ International Division three years later. He eventually headed up that division in the early Eighties before joining the company’s newly created Strategic Marketing Division in 1984. In 1988, he returned to International, where he undertook a number of catalogue marketing roles until he retired in December 2008. During his career he worked with many of EMI’s major artists, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Kate Bush and Iron Maiden. However, during the last 30 years he has formed a particularly strong relationship with Apple, and has been closely involved in the origination and promotion of the Beatles catalogue, besides solo releases from John, Paul, George and Ringo. Bob Smeaton (Director, Mini-Documentaries) Bob Smeaton was series director and writer on the Grammy award winning ‘Beatles Anthology’ TV series which aired in the UK and the USA in 1995. In 1998 he received his second Grammy for his ‘Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys’ documentary. In 2004 he gained his first feature film credit, as director on the feature documentary ‘Festival Express.’ He subsequently went on to direct documentaries on many of the world’s biggest music acts including The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John, Nirvana and the Spice Girls. Julian Caiden (Editor, Mini-Documentaries) Julian has worked with Bob Smeaton on numerous music documentaries including ‘Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys’ and the ‘Classic Albums’ series, featuring The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John and Nirvana among others. He has worked on documentary profiles from Richard Pryor to Dr. John to Sir Ian McKellen, Herbie Hancock and Damien Hirst and on live music shows including the New York Dolls and Club Tropicana. The Abbey Road Team Allan Rouse (Project Coordinator) Allan joined EMI straight from school in 1971 at their Manchester Square head office, working as an assistant engineer in the demo studio. During this time he frequently worked with Norman (Hurricane) Smith, The Beatles’ first recording engineer. In 1991, he had his first involvement with The Beatles, copying all of their master tapes (mono, stereo, 4-track and 8-track) to digital tape as a safety backup. This was followed by four years working with Sir George Martin as assistant and project coordinator on the TV documentary ‘The Making of Sgt. Pepper’s’ and the CDs ‘Live at the BBC’ and ‘The Anthology.’ In 1997, MGM/UA were preparing to reissue the film ‘Yellow Submarine’ and, with the permission of Apple, asked that all of The Beatles’ music be mixed for the film in 5.1 surround and stereo. Allan requested the services of Abbey Road’s senior engineer Peter Cobbin and assistant Guy Massey and, along with them, produced the new mixes. Two years later, he proposed an experimental stereo and surround mix of John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ engineered by Peter Cobbin. Following lengthy consultations with Yoko Ono, the album ‘Imagine’ was re-mixed in stereo and the Grammy award-winning film ‘Gimme Some Truth’ in surround and new stereo. This led to a further five of John’s albums being re-mastered with new stereo mixes and the DVD release of ‘Lennon Legend’ being re-mixed in 5.1 surround and new stereo. Further projects followed, including The Beatles ‘Anthology’, ‘The First US Visit’ and ‘Help’ DVD and the albums ‘Let It Be…Naked’ and ‘Love’ along with George Harrison’s ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ DVD and album. For a number of years now, Allan has worked exclusively on Beatles and related projects. Guy Massey (Recording Engineer) Guy joined Abbey Road in 1994, and five years later assisted on the surround remix for The Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine.’ This led to The Beatles’ ‘Anthology’ DVD and later, along with Paul Hicks and Allan Rouse, they mixed and produced ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ In 2004 he left the studios to become freelance and has engineered The Divine Comedy: ‘Victory for the Comic Muse,’ Air Traffic: ‘Fractured Life,’ James Dean Bradfield: ‘The Great Western’ and Stephen Fretwell’s ‘Magpie,’ co-producing the last two. Since leaving, Guy is still a vital member of the team, and has been the senior engineer for the re-mastering project and was responsible for surround and new stereo mixes for the DVD release of ‘Help!’ Steve Rooke (Mastering Engineer) Steve joined Abbey Road in 1983 and is now the studio’s senior mastering engineer. He has been involved on all The Beatles’ projects since 1999. He has also been responsible for mastering releases by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Paul Hicks (Recording Engineer) Paul started at Abbey Road in 1994, and his first involvement with The Beatles was assisting engineer Geoff Emerick on the Anthology albums. This was followed by ‘Yellow Submarine Songtrack,’ ‘Anthology’ DVD and ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ Like Guy Massey, he has also become a freelance engineer and since leaving the studios he has been responsible for the surround mixing of Paul McCartney’s DVD ‘The McCartney Years’ and The Beatles’ ‘Love.’ Paul has been in charge of the mono re-masters. Sean Magee (Mastering Engineer) Sean began working at Abbey Road in 1995 with a diploma in sound engineering. With a wealth of knowledge in analog and digital mastering, he has worked alongside Paul Hicks on the mono re-masters. Sam Okell (Recording Engineer) Sam’s first job as a member of the team was in 2006, assisting Paul Hicks on Paul McCartney’s DVD ‘The McCartney Years,’ and during that same year he was responsible for the re-mastering of George Harrison’s ‘Living In The Material World’ CD along with Steve Rooke. This led to him restoring the soundtrack to the Beatles film ‘Help!’ in surround and stereo, in addition to assisting Guy Massey with the song remixes. Sam has re-mastered ‘With The Beatles’ and ‘Let It Be.’ Simon Gibson (Audio Restoration Engineer) Simon joined Abbey Road in 1990. He has progressed from mastering mostly classical recordings to include a much wider range of music, including pop and rock, with his specialized role as an audio restoration engineer. Apart from the re-mastering project, his other work includes George Harrison’s ‘Living In The Material World,’ John Lennon’s ‘Lennon Legend,’ The Beatles’ ‘Love’ and the ‘Help!’ DVD soundtrack. "
Well, I could not put it better myself. I was hoping for two rare Beatles' releases, their "Christmas Album" (comprised of seven fan club tracks for each year 1963-1969), and "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl" (a live album mixed from two shows of the Beatles at the venue in 1964 and 1965.) Maybe soon.
Also, perhaps the worst packaging era of the old Beatles CDs was that the large book from "Let It Be" was not reproduced. I hope this is fixed.
I imagine the price will be steep. I'll have to save up (maybe I can get them all in one shot with the stereo Box-set.) I shant be going for the mono set. Too excessive, even for me.
Well, I'll push off that promised review of "Hannah Montana The Movie" soundtrack for now, as the idea of Miley and Emily singing from the book of John, and the Beatles being presented in the high fidelity they deserve, is just too much for me to take in at once.
And it is only Tuesday.
First off, check this link:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/cyrus%20records%20imagine_1099984
Not only has Miley apparently recorded "Imagine," John Lennon's classic song from his sixth LP (2nd not counting collabs with Yoko), but it is also supposedly a duet with Emily Osment.
Each of these things would be good enough on their own, but together? Well, my head would have exploded from the excitement (please please please tell me this track will be released), but chunks of head matter had already been strewn all over my computer, because the Beatles are finally, after 22 years of sitting on them, are giving us remastered albums.
Here is the news, compiled from articles from http://thebeatles.com/core/home/
"Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released. The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release. The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ which became part of The Beatles’ core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections ‘Past Masters Vol. I and II’ are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set. Within each CD’s new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the ‘Past Masters’ set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. ‘The Beatles in Mono’ gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on ‘Past Masters’). As an added bonus, the mono “Help!” and “Rubber Soul” discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained. For the latest news and information, go to: The Beatles Official Website Additional information: The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set) The stereo albums have been remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee All CD packages contain original vinyl artwork and liner notes Extensive archival photos Additional historical notes by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley Additional recording notes by Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett * = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo) With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo) A Hard Day’s Night* (CD debut in stereo) Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo) Help!* Rubber Soul* Revolver* Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band* (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney) Magical Mystery Tour* The Beatles* Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes) Abbey Road* Let It Be* Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett) ‘The Beatles in Mono’ (boxed set only) The mono albums have been remastered by Paul Hicks, Sean Magee with Guy Massey and Steve Rooke Presented together in box with an essay written by Kevin Howlett + = mono mix CD debut Please Please Me With The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night Beatles For Sale Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+ Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+ Revolver+ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band+ Magical Mystery Tour+ The Beatles+ Mono Masters Re-mastering the Beatles catalogue The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title. From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn’t impact on the original integrity of the songs. In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today’s music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles’ music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings. When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson. Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three – a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there – and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team’s satisfaction. New Notes/Documentaries Team Kevin Howlett (Historical and Recording Notes) Kevin Howlett’s career as an award-winning radio producer spans three decades. His music programmes for the BBC have included many documentaries about The Beatles, including ‘The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes.’ He received a Grammy nomination for his involvement with The Beatles’ album ‘Live At The BBC’ and, in 2003, produced the ‘Fly On The Wall’ bonus disc for ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ Mike Heatley (Historical Notes) Mike entered the music business via HMV Record Stores in 1970, transferring to EMI Records’ International Division three years later. He eventually headed up that division in the early Eighties before joining the company’s newly created Strategic Marketing Division in 1984. In 1988, he returned to International, where he undertook a number of catalogue marketing roles until he retired in December 2008. During his career he worked with many of EMI’s major artists, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Kate Bush and Iron Maiden. However, during the last 30 years he has formed a particularly strong relationship with Apple, and has been closely involved in the origination and promotion of the Beatles catalogue, besides solo releases from John, Paul, George and Ringo. Bob Smeaton (Director, Mini-Documentaries) Bob Smeaton was series director and writer on the Grammy award winning ‘Beatles Anthology’ TV series which aired in the UK and the USA in 1995. In 1998 he received his second Grammy for his ‘Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys’ documentary. In 2004 he gained his first feature film credit, as director on the feature documentary ‘Festival Express.’ He subsequently went on to direct documentaries on many of the world’s biggest music acts including The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John, Nirvana and the Spice Girls. Julian Caiden (Editor, Mini-Documentaries) Julian has worked with Bob Smeaton on numerous music documentaries including ‘Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys’ and the ‘Classic Albums’ series, featuring The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John and Nirvana among others. He has worked on documentary profiles from Richard Pryor to Dr. John to Sir Ian McKellen, Herbie Hancock and Damien Hirst and on live music shows including the New York Dolls and Club Tropicana. The Abbey Road Team Allan Rouse (Project Coordinator) Allan joined EMI straight from school in 1971 at their Manchester Square head office, working as an assistant engineer in the demo studio. During this time he frequently worked with Norman (Hurricane) Smith, The Beatles’ first recording engineer. In 1991, he had his first involvement with The Beatles, copying all of their master tapes (mono, stereo, 4-track and 8-track) to digital tape as a safety backup. This was followed by four years working with Sir George Martin as assistant and project coordinator on the TV documentary ‘The Making of Sgt. Pepper’s’ and the CDs ‘Live at the BBC’ and ‘The Anthology.’ In 1997, MGM/UA were preparing to reissue the film ‘Yellow Submarine’ and, with the permission of Apple, asked that all of The Beatles’ music be mixed for the film in 5.1 surround and stereo. Allan requested the services of Abbey Road’s senior engineer Peter Cobbin and assistant Guy Massey and, along with them, produced the new mixes. Two years later, he proposed an experimental stereo and surround mix of John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ engineered by Peter Cobbin. Following lengthy consultations with Yoko Ono, the album ‘Imagine’ was re-mixed in stereo and the Grammy award-winning film ‘Gimme Some Truth’ in surround and new stereo. This led to a further five of John’s albums being re-mastered with new stereo mixes and the DVD release of ‘Lennon Legend’ being re-mixed in 5.1 surround and new stereo. Further projects followed, including The Beatles ‘Anthology’, ‘The First US Visit’ and ‘Help’ DVD and the albums ‘Let It Be…Naked’ and ‘Love’ along with George Harrison’s ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ DVD and album. For a number of years now, Allan has worked exclusively on Beatles and related projects. Guy Massey (Recording Engineer) Guy joined Abbey Road in 1994, and five years later assisted on the surround remix for The Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine.’ This led to The Beatles’ ‘Anthology’ DVD and later, along with Paul Hicks and Allan Rouse, they mixed and produced ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ In 2004 he left the studios to become freelance and has engineered The Divine Comedy: ‘Victory for the Comic Muse,’ Air Traffic: ‘Fractured Life,’ James Dean Bradfield: ‘The Great Western’ and Stephen Fretwell’s ‘Magpie,’ co-producing the last two. Since leaving, Guy is still a vital member of the team, and has been the senior engineer for the re-mastering project and was responsible for surround and new stereo mixes for the DVD release of ‘Help!’ Steve Rooke (Mastering Engineer) Steve joined Abbey Road in 1983 and is now the studio’s senior mastering engineer. He has been involved on all The Beatles’ projects since 1999. He has also been responsible for mastering releases by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Paul Hicks (Recording Engineer) Paul started at Abbey Road in 1994, and his first involvement with The Beatles was assisting engineer Geoff Emerick on the Anthology albums. This was followed by ‘Yellow Submarine Songtrack,’ ‘Anthology’ DVD and ‘Let It Be… Naked.’ Like Guy Massey, he has also become a freelance engineer and since leaving the studios he has been responsible for the surround mixing of Paul McCartney’s DVD ‘The McCartney Years’ and The Beatles’ ‘Love.’ Paul has been in charge of the mono re-masters. Sean Magee (Mastering Engineer) Sean began working at Abbey Road in 1995 with a diploma in sound engineering. With a wealth of knowledge in analog and digital mastering, he has worked alongside Paul Hicks on the mono re-masters. Sam Okell (Recording Engineer) Sam’s first job as a member of the team was in 2006, assisting Paul Hicks on Paul McCartney’s DVD ‘The McCartney Years,’ and during that same year he was responsible for the re-mastering of George Harrison’s ‘Living In The Material World’ CD along with Steve Rooke. This led to him restoring the soundtrack to the Beatles film ‘Help!’ in surround and stereo, in addition to assisting Guy Massey with the song remixes. Sam has re-mastered ‘With The Beatles’ and ‘Let It Be.’ Simon Gibson (Audio Restoration Engineer) Simon joined Abbey Road in 1990. He has progressed from mastering mostly classical recordings to include a much wider range of music, including pop and rock, with his specialized role as an audio restoration engineer. Apart from the re-mastering project, his other work includes George Harrison’s ‘Living In The Material World,’ John Lennon’s ‘Lennon Legend,’ The Beatles’ ‘Love’ and the ‘Help!’ DVD soundtrack. "
Well, I could not put it better myself. I was hoping for two rare Beatles' releases, their "Christmas Album" (comprised of seven fan club tracks for each year 1963-1969), and "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl" (a live album mixed from two shows of the Beatles at the venue in 1964 and 1965.) Maybe soon.
Also, perhaps the worst packaging era of the old Beatles CDs was that the large book from "Let It Be" was not reproduced. I hope this is fixed.
I imagine the price will be steep. I'll have to save up (maybe I can get them all in one shot with the stereo Box-set.) I shant be going for the mono set. Too excessive, even for me.
Well, I'll push off that promised review of "Hannah Montana The Movie" soundtrack for now, as the idea of Miley and Emily singing from the book of John, and the Beatles being presented in the high fidelity they deserve, is just too much for me to take in at once.
And it is only Tuesday.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
You Say You Want A Revolution...
Well, you want a Revolution? There are quite a few to pick from!
The Beatles have been in headlines recently after the discovery of the complete Take 20 (RM 1) of "Revolution 1." This track, nearly eleven minutes long, is the missing link between "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9." It had been unbootlegged until late last year. Rumor has it that it leaked whilst tapes being used to remaster the "White Album" were being moved about. Only two tapes of this recording were in the vaults, so it had long been sought after, but impossible to find.
But it is not the earliest version we have available. There is John's Esher demo, which has been bootlegged, part of a collection of homemade recordings the Beatles made in anticipation of the "White Album" (with titles appearing in final form on said album, plus "Abbey Road," and two George songs only first relased in his solo years in the seventies and eighties!) This version of "Revolution" is John's original, slow arrangement, but it is not as slow as the album version. Instead, it has a very upbeat, singalong feel, more akin to, say, "Give Peace A Chance." John's guitar is the only instrument, the song otherwise carried by his lead vocals, some backing vocals, and handclaps. It has a very bare, live feel (like many Esher demos) and has a sound that almost seems like a sixties cliche, the type of hipy peace numbers. Except that John has more bite.
John was happy with keeping a slower arrangement for "Revolution," and kept it slow when the Beatles brought it to the studio, their first session for the "White Album." The Beatles recorded what would be retitled "Revolution 1," but John's original idea was to give it a very experimental coda, with tape loops and the like (John had recorded the infamous "Two Virgins" only a week or so prior.) After twenty takes, the Beatles ended up with the now popular "Revolution 1" Take 20 RM 1 (which means Mono Remix number 1). The cut runs for about 10:46. At first, it sounds just like the album version (minus many overdubs). But as it runs past the album version, things get a little crazy. John's "Alright" 's start to have effects on them, and a tape loop of noise keeps going through the sound image. Behind John, backing vocals saying "Mama, Dada" can be heard, something not in the final version. Finally, the song wraps up with a recording we all know from "Revolution 9," of Yoko talking with John and wierd radio noises and some tinkering on a piano. The song ends there, with John and Yoko heard commenting on it before the tape cuts. The song would be edited later on, and the last half taken out. John's experimental coda would become its' own entity, "Revolution 9."
We also have bootleg recordings of the Beatles overdubbing Take 20, adding electric guitar, organ, more drums, and such. The tapes we have are from Yoko, who was recording a sort of audio diary. She delves into many topics, from her sex life with John, to her relationsip with the band, and she seems to be in a very stream of conscious sort of recitation of emotions and events. Behind her, the Beatles can be heard working on overdubs and jamming, making for a great background atmosphere (although I imagine everyone, including myself, is not listening just for Yoko's part). The jams are pretty light, with a nice organ giving an almost ethereal feel. With Yoko talking over it, it feels less like a recording session, and more like the soundtrack to some strange psychedelic movie.
"Revolution 1" was finished first, and made part of the "White Album"s tracklisting, but the other Beatles wanted John to make it into a faster number, and so the electric single version was recorded, and wound up being the first released. With the heavy guitars, and John's primal scream, this version took on a more forceful stance, a complete turn around from the lazy Sunday performance of "Revolution 1." Session man Nicky Hopkins played keyboard, one of the few times the band would be augmented by an outside musician. It was the B-side of "Hey Jude," and both the A & B recieved much airplay (though Paul would be the one to have a #1, fueling a little jealousy in John, already none to happy to have had his two songs, "Across The Universe" and "Hey Bulldog" left out of the Beatles ealry 1968 single, Paul's "Lady Madonna," and also not thrilled to have "I Am The Walrus" relegated to the B-side to give Paul's "Hello Goodbye" top billing.)
After their last concert at Candlestick Park in 1966, the Beatles had not appeared together on stage. In 1967, they gave only one live performance, "All You Need Is Love," for the TV broadcast. In 1968, they would again go on TV live, sort of. For a special segment on the David Frost Show, the Beatles would do "Revolution." It would not be a new recording, but rather new vocals on top of the backing track from the single. Paul would do the opening scream, and while John sings the lead, Paul and George would throw in some "sho-be-do-wa's" from "Revolution 1," reconciling the two versions.
I had first heard "Revolution" in the car with my Mother, not long after the Beatles "1" CD came out. It was one of the first songs I heard by them not on the CD, and I was intrigued by it (and wholly confused when "Revolution 1" would come on, and I would wonder where the riff went!)
"Revolution" was the birth of John making his lyrics politically aware. It says very little specifically (save for Chairman Mao) but it has the sort of urgency that pervaded the late sixties, and the agression foreshadowing the political activism John would be a part of in the seventies. John still wasn't sure where he stood, not sure whether to say "in" or "out" after "You say you want destuction/ well don't you know that you can count me...", (saying both in "Revolution 1".) But he knew he had to say something. And so he did.
The Beatles have been in headlines recently after the discovery of the complete Take 20 (RM 1) of "Revolution 1." This track, nearly eleven minutes long, is the missing link between "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9." It had been unbootlegged until late last year. Rumor has it that it leaked whilst tapes being used to remaster the "White Album" were being moved about. Only two tapes of this recording were in the vaults, so it had long been sought after, but impossible to find.
But it is not the earliest version we have available. There is John's Esher demo, which has been bootlegged, part of a collection of homemade recordings the Beatles made in anticipation of the "White Album" (with titles appearing in final form on said album, plus "Abbey Road," and two George songs only first relased in his solo years in the seventies and eighties!) This version of "Revolution" is John's original, slow arrangement, but it is not as slow as the album version. Instead, it has a very upbeat, singalong feel, more akin to, say, "Give Peace A Chance." John's guitar is the only instrument, the song otherwise carried by his lead vocals, some backing vocals, and handclaps. It has a very bare, live feel (like many Esher demos) and has a sound that almost seems like a sixties cliche, the type of hipy peace numbers. Except that John has more bite.
John was happy with keeping a slower arrangement for "Revolution," and kept it slow when the Beatles brought it to the studio, their first session for the "White Album." The Beatles recorded what would be retitled "Revolution 1," but John's original idea was to give it a very experimental coda, with tape loops and the like (John had recorded the infamous "Two Virgins" only a week or so prior.) After twenty takes, the Beatles ended up with the now popular "Revolution 1" Take 20 RM 1 (which means Mono Remix number 1). The cut runs for about 10:46. At first, it sounds just like the album version (minus many overdubs). But as it runs past the album version, things get a little crazy. John's "Alright" 's start to have effects on them, and a tape loop of noise keeps going through the sound image. Behind John, backing vocals saying "Mama, Dada" can be heard, something not in the final version. Finally, the song wraps up with a recording we all know from "Revolution 9," of Yoko talking with John and wierd radio noises and some tinkering on a piano. The song ends there, with John and Yoko heard commenting on it before the tape cuts. The song would be edited later on, and the last half taken out. John's experimental coda would become its' own entity, "Revolution 9."
We also have bootleg recordings of the Beatles overdubbing Take 20, adding electric guitar, organ, more drums, and such. The tapes we have are from Yoko, who was recording a sort of audio diary. She delves into many topics, from her sex life with John, to her relationsip with the band, and she seems to be in a very stream of conscious sort of recitation of emotions and events. Behind her, the Beatles can be heard working on overdubs and jamming, making for a great background atmosphere (although I imagine everyone, including myself, is not listening just for Yoko's part). The jams are pretty light, with a nice organ giving an almost ethereal feel. With Yoko talking over it, it feels less like a recording session, and more like the soundtrack to some strange psychedelic movie.
"Revolution 1" was finished first, and made part of the "White Album"s tracklisting, but the other Beatles wanted John to make it into a faster number, and so the electric single version was recorded, and wound up being the first released. With the heavy guitars, and John's primal scream, this version took on a more forceful stance, a complete turn around from the lazy Sunday performance of "Revolution 1." Session man Nicky Hopkins played keyboard, one of the few times the band would be augmented by an outside musician. It was the B-side of "Hey Jude," and both the A & B recieved much airplay (though Paul would be the one to have a #1, fueling a little jealousy in John, already none to happy to have had his two songs, "Across The Universe" and "Hey Bulldog" left out of the Beatles ealry 1968 single, Paul's "Lady Madonna," and also not thrilled to have "I Am The Walrus" relegated to the B-side to give Paul's "Hello Goodbye" top billing.)
After their last concert at Candlestick Park in 1966, the Beatles had not appeared together on stage. In 1967, they gave only one live performance, "All You Need Is Love," for the TV broadcast. In 1968, they would again go on TV live, sort of. For a special segment on the David Frost Show, the Beatles would do "Revolution." It would not be a new recording, but rather new vocals on top of the backing track from the single. Paul would do the opening scream, and while John sings the lead, Paul and George would throw in some "sho-be-do-wa's" from "Revolution 1," reconciling the two versions.
I had first heard "Revolution" in the car with my Mother, not long after the Beatles "1" CD came out. It was one of the first songs I heard by them not on the CD, and I was intrigued by it (and wholly confused when "Revolution 1" would come on, and I would wonder where the riff went!)
"Revolution" was the birth of John making his lyrics politically aware. It says very little specifically (save for Chairman Mao) but it has the sort of urgency that pervaded the late sixties, and the agression foreshadowing the political activism John would be a part of in the seventies. John still wasn't sure where he stood, not sure whether to say "in" or "out" after "You say you want destuction/ well don't you know that you can count me...", (saying both in "Revolution 1".) But he knew he had to say something. And so he did.
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