The Beatles.
Hotsauce84
8,450 Posts
Okay, so I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I know very little about The Beatles. Of course, I've heard damn near everything they've done because it's impossible to grow up in the good ol' US of A without doing so, but I've never really listened, you know?This weekend I had the privilege of seeing Cirque Du Soleil's tribute to The Beatles at The Mirage in Vegas and I was blown away by the show.* It made me realize that I definitely need to spend some time familiarizing myself.I figure - as usual - my Soul Strut brethren can be of great assistance. I'm looking for stuff like "must hears," song meanings, subliminals, anecdotes, etc. (I'm also curious as to why "Jojo made his home in Tucson, Arizona." I always thought it was weird and fascinating that my own little hometown was namechecked by some British boys, even more so considering that Paul made this his home years later.)Thank you all in advance.HermP.S. As soon as I get a chance, I'll upload the show CD which features slightly-tweaked versions off the master tapes.
Comments
I hope you got some pussy outta that. what the hell?
Ha ha! I wish!
M*rs bought tickets for us (him, his girl and me). It was either that or spend time hanging out on the Strip with a sea of 4XL all-over-print-hoodie-and-Air Force One-wearing foolios that were in town for All Star Weekend. Shit was NUTS. Magic Convention (fashion not Houdini), All Star game, Chinese New Year's plus President's Day weekend made for an extremely crowded spot. Add to that the fact that I don't drink, smoke, gamble nor pay for pussy...what else was I gonna do?!
Herm
LUCKY!
I'm an ol' crusty Beatles fan who couldn't afford to see that show the last time I was in Vegas. (I sound poor)
It's difficult to compile a short, must-hear list for this band, as they had gems that span 4 distinct eras.
My highly subjective list of must-hear albums:
Early era (Beatlemania) must-hear album - "Hard Days Night"
Middle period (folky-type stuff) must-hear album - "Rubber Soul"
Psych era must-hear album - "Revolver" Though the other 2 albums from this era are probably more iconic, this is the most consistent.
Late period must-hear album - "Abbey Road"
SG
Yeah, I've heard that. This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for clarification on. I mean, I could see a track or three or ten, but was Purdie really chillin' in Liverpool BITD?
Aside from that, please understand that I'm aware of their significance in pop music history, I'm just looking for a deeper understanding.
It's rather amazing to me that such a popular group could make such a in-your-face-not-a-single-fuck-giving song like "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" in those days.
Herm
P.S. I'm hoping this thread will be somewhat informing rather than bashing, doyouknowwhatIamsaying?
Cop the following albums - UK versions if possible, as some of the US versions had different tracklistings/sequences that kind of ruin the mood of the records for me.
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Abbey Road
These are my personal favourites, and I've been listening to the Beatles for as long as I've known what music is, and they're the most consistently satisfying listens for me personally. Also, check out the late Ian McDonald's "Revolution In The Head" - it's an exhaustive track-by-track analysis of everything they ever recorded. He comes at it from a sort of academic perspective, but not in an intimidating way. It's not the kind of hagiographic big-up that most Beatles books are either. He's not scared to be critical, but in terms of understanding their shit musically and getting a handle on its cultural significance (in the UK, especially), there's nothing better out there.
The Purdie story is an urban myth. He's rumoured to have done some overdubs on the early Beatles shit that came out on Vee-Jay, but the story that he supposedly played on all their records up to and including Revolver has never really been taken seriously.
I think the rumor was that Purdie was brought in by ATCO to overdub new drum tracks on some of the Beatles pre-Capitol singles in America.
That's what I'm hoping for. Thanks so far, hoLmeses!
Herm
It's not remotely true, but it is one of the more entertainingly ignorant things I've ever seen posted on this site... by a dude who seemed deeply uncomfortable with the pleasurable feelings that the Beatles music gave him.
Honestly, if you're that curious, I know there's a whole shelf's worth of books about them--maybe someone on here could recommend one of the best ones.
Yeah, I'm hoping for suggestions, but this can be like Cliff's Notes for the ones I can't get through!
Herm
WTF herm i was down the street!! I wish i had known you were gonna be down there. We coulda hassled the guy at wax trax or whatever the spot is called.
I cannot overemphasize the truth of the above Lps being as great and perfect as they are. Truly my favorites as well in the canon......
What?!?! Where???
Word. I would add the White Album. I broke it out the other day and was just blown away all over again.
People who diss the Beatles hate music, fun, parties, and girls.
The Wynn... Shit was outta control.
my favorite lesser-known tracks from that era:
"no reply" from BEATLES '65
"yes it is" from BEATLES VI
"things we said today" from SOMETHING NEW
"baby it's you" from INTRODUCING...THE BEATLES (top-notch cover)
and the pretty much all of MEET THE BEATLES as well
Album-wise, it depends on what some of your favorite songs are. The most simplest way is to start at the beginning, and to be honest, you are probably better off with the two most well known Beatles comps out there:
1962-1966[/b]
1967-1967[/b]
The "red album" begins with their origins as "The Beatles" and goes right up until 1966, sometimes called the "mid" period of The Beatles. It was in late 1966 that the group stopped touring after only three years of hectic touring and media chaos. The red album can be considered the origins of the mania.
The "blue album" is when things got psychedelic, and for the non-weed and non-acid takers, "weird". Definitely the most creative time for the group, and you can hear them become creative, trippy, out there, and eventually heading back to their roots. Each of them wanted to play their own music and often felt limited by what "The Beatles" represented, and that was one of many reasons the group went their separate ways. Yoko has always been the excuse, but Paul was very much a big pussy.
Anyway, as far as books, the most readily available would be the ANTHOLOGY book that came out a few years ago, which featured a lot of input from Paul, George, and Ringo.
The Beatles Forever by Nicholas Schaffner is a good book which looks at their history up until 1977, and includes all of the solo stuff that some Beatles books tend to overlook.
If you're wanting to know the ins and outs of their recordings, there are two books you should check out:
The Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn
Apparently there's also an updated version of it, called The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, I would assume it has much of what was in the original, plus new information and corrections, so get that. Lewisohn was one of the first "outsiders" to gain access to EMI Abbey Road tape vaults and not only get a chance to hear them, but look at available track notes with each multi-track and master tape. If the variations in mixes on various world pressings of Beatles records make Beatle fans go nuts, this book had taken that one step further and headed into bootleggers paradise. In fact, around the same time Lewisohn was doing the book, some of the first ever bootleg CD's were being produced, which were The Beatles. After the book, it lead some to question if it was Lewisohn. It wasn't.
Then there's the big book that came out last year, which honestly makes The Beatles Recording Sessions seem like Romper Room. It's called Recording The Beatles
http://www.recordingthebeatles.com/
The subtitle is The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used To Create Their Classic Albums, and it covers everything from speakers, microphones, tape machines, sound boards, wood paneling, true echo chambers, effects, the dimensions of each studio they were in (they primarily played in one room, but had the option of going back and forth between three different rooms at EMI): I'm talking serious nerd shit. There were sections of the book that I had to skim through because the technical information went way over my head.
One of the great things the book does is describe recording technology, how it was done and how long they had existed before The Beatles set foot in the studio. As you might know, countless books and articles have often given The Beatles credit for developing every single studio trick known to man between 1963-1970. The book establishes facts, and states the group really didn't do a damn thing. Instead, the studio had a number of technicians whose role was to keep all of the equipment working and up to date. The equipment was meant to do one thing, and one thing only. When the group felt limited with what they had, they wanted to try a few things. Studio procedures back then made that an impossibility, but considering the surplus of unused equipment, The Beatles told their engineers and studio workers to try out a few things. Many of these "new things" were developed specifically for the group, which amazed a lot of people since no one had ever heard a record sound like that. If a production technique was "wrong", they would find a way to use it. The book gives proper credit to everyone who had a hand in that studio technology, and also describes what they were originally meant for, and how they were used in each song. Many of the techniques first tried out are now common effects and plug-ins that you can find in any audio program out on the market, much of which a lot of us take for granted.
THEN it gets into the music, and one is able to read and discover where all of the edits are, where the mistakes were left in, and how stereo mixing was second rate compared to the attention and detail they put into making a mono mix.
After reading it, you'll find out that much of The Beatles recorded legacy had to do with people whose names most people never heard of. Anyone who is into the behind-the-scenes, guts-and-glory style of music documentation as I am, you will eat this up.
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is a great fucking album and needs it's proper spot in Beatles canon. Check it out, as an album, it has a bit of everything.
Day Tripper, Tax Man, With a Little Help From My Friends, and Do You Wanna Know a Secret are kinda slept on. Get some anthologies and go nuts.
Drug lab 'ready to explode'
Anthony Dowsley
February 22, 2007 01:15pm
Article from: Herald-Sun
A BEATLES-loving suspected drug "cook" was arrested while smoking a cigarette in a fume-filled secret laboratory ready to explode, police say.
Police swooped on the clandestine lab before dawn today near the busy intersection of Warrigal and Centre roads in Oakleigh where the 36-year-old man lives.
Members of the clandestine laboratory squad were dismayed to find the man smoking and listening to music with his dog next to him as toxic fumes filled the disused shop.
Cooking equipment was turned down immediately before the clandestine lab reached "flash point".
A police chemist assessed the volatility as extreme.
Ice pipes, empty boxes of pseudoephedrine, cookers and glassware were found inside the premises.
The disused shop, which fronts Warrigal Rd, also housed a motorbike, framed pictures of John Lennon and the Beatles and stereo equipment.[/b]
The property was evacuated and ventilated for several hours before police re-entered.
Acting Detective-Inspector Glenn Davies said the chemist believed the man was lucky to be alive.
He was taken to a nearby police station to be interviewed.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21268298-2862,00.html?from=news
Dog knows about finding the best meth addicts, but insures that they are treated well. It would be too easy to joke, but...unfortunately there are too many people on the stuff, struggling to live while they're dying at a rapid pace. I watch his show just to be able to see home again, but hoping that I don't see any of my old friends. I had read an article from a well known surfer who lives on Kauai, he's around my age, and he says it seems his friends come from a "lost generation", because most of the people he grew up with are either in prison or dead.