Pretty Purdie on Beatles records (BS related?)

spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
edited September 2007 in Strut Central
I ran across this tonight and had no idea that Purdie had been talking up this story for so long. It sounds like it's pretty much false, but I was interested if non-Beatles collectros thought there might be any truth to the story, or if anyone knows why Purdie would come up with what sounds like a pretty outlandish claim.http://www.jimvallance.com/03-projects-folder/purdie-project-folder/pg-purdie.html

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  • There's an early Beatles recording called "Ain't She Sweet" that was released Stateside on the Atco label. Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer then. For some reason, Atco decided to beef up the drumming for American ears and hired Bernard Purdie to play over it.

    That's the story I heard.

    Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    There's an early Beatles recording called "Ain't She Sweet" that was released Stateside on the Atco label. Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer then. For some reason, Atco decided to beef up the drumming for American ears and hired Bernard Purdie to play over it.

    That's the story I heard.

    Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

    i would like to hear this, purdies drumming from about 66-on is pretty distinct, but some aspects might shine through here.

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    There's an early Beatles recording called "Ain't She Sweet" that was released Stateside on the Atco label. Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer then. For some reason, Atco decided to beef up the drumming for American ears and hired Bernard Purdie to play over it.

    That's the story I heard.

    Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

    i would like to hear this, purdies drumming from about 66-on is pretty distinct, but some aspects might shine through here.

    That record is good strictly for selling on eBay. Otherwise it truly sucks, and this is coming from someone who likes early Beatles a lot more than late Beatles. I got like $89 for it on eBay several years back.


  • Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

    i would like to hear this, purdies drumming from about 66-on is pretty distinct, but some aspects might shine through here.

    The Atco mixes are available, I'll hunt down an MP3 of both the original Polydor mix and the Atco overdubbing.

    Basically, Atco gained the rights to release four of the eight Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers tracks (the other four went to MGM). Atco did not like the sound of them, and they wanted to fatten up the sound. While "Ain't She Sweet" is singled out, it is possible that he played on all four. However, there are noticable differences between the two mixes, and on the Purdie version you can still hear Best's playing in the background.

    The Atco 45 was reissued over the years and moved to Atlantic's "golden oldies" series right up to the late 80's.

    Purdie has said that he re-did a lot of Ringo's drum tracks, but Ringo has denied it, probably because the recordings in question were done when Ringo was not in the band. Plus, EMI has all of the studio documentation showing who showed up in the studio, who played on what. If Paul McCartney played drums, it was written out. Alan White *did* play on a take of "Love Me Do", and that was the only time a non-Beatle played drums on any of their EMI recordings (outside of orchestral drummers and Indian percussionists), that includes that funky beat at the end of "Lady Madonna".


    Anyway, if I remember right, you can definitely hear a difference during the guitar solo and after John sings "ain't that perfection?"

  • There's an early Beatles recording called "Ain't She Sweet" that was released Stateside on the Atco label. Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer then. For some reason, Atco decided to beef up the drumming for American ears and hired Bernard Purdie to play over it.

    That's the story I heard.

    Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

    i would like to hear this, purdies drumming from about 66-on is pretty distinct, but some aspects might shine through here.

    That record is good strictly for selling on eBay.

    Strong disagreement - IMO, this is a pretty good "beat group" record ("beat group" = the UK version of a US frat-rock band).

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    There's an early Beatles recording called "Ain't She Sweet" that was released Stateside on the Atco label. Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer then. For some reason, Atco decided to beef up the drumming for American ears and hired Bernard Purdie to play over it.

    That's the story I heard.

    Evidently Purdie decided to embellish this tale by saying he played on ALL the tracks.

    i would like to hear this, purdies drumming from about 66-on is pretty distinct, but some aspects might shine through here.

    That record is good strictly for selling on eBay.

    Strong disagreement - IMO, this is a pretty good "beat group" record ("beat group" = the UK version of a US frat-rock band).

    Can't stand Ain't She Sweet or most of the Tony Sheridan stuff. The Decca Demos are some of the worst rock music ever recorded. But that's just me. I do like 99.9% of everything they did for EMI/Capitol.

    I have one of those 13 record box sets and went on a search for the worse Beatles song. I found an early song that I thought was the worse, but no longer remember it.


  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts

    i would like to hear this

    thanks, im assuming this is the atco version?

  • Is this the ATCO or the Polidor version ??? And could someone post the "other" version ???

    I hear those snarerolls described in that article, and I can hear those cymbals in the guitar solo break, but to me the snare rolls sound like they were played by the original drummer.


    By the way, to me "beefin up the drums" would mean that they are fatter in the bass department, but not only adding some snare rolls and a cymbal part.


    Does someone know if the term was used diffrent back in the days ???



    Peace
    Hawkeye

  • kicks79kicks79 1,338 Posts
    I heard this a few years back. regardless if it is true or not its a really funny way to start an instant argument with any beatles fan.

  • I heard this a few years back. regardless if it is true or not its a really funny way to start an instant argument with any beatles fan.

    I wonder if someone's gonna have the balls to hire Bernard Purdie to speak at a Beatles convention?


  • By the way, to me "beefin up the drums" would mean that they are fatter in the bass department, but not only adding some snare rolls and a cymbal part.


    Does someone know if the term was used diffrent back in the days ???

    I don't know how the term was used "back in the days," but when I said the drums were beefed up, I just meant that it was given a stronger beat. I didn't think some expression I just tossed off the top of my head would be taken THAT literally!

  • WoimsahWoimsah 1,734 Posts
    Fuck the Beatles! These dudes knew what time it really was!



    Boss hogs to the death!

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    I heard this a few years back. regardless if it is true or not its a really funny way to start an instant argument with any beatles fan.

    I wonder if someone's gonna have the balls to hire Bernard Purdie to speak at a Beatles convention?

    It occasioned one of the greatest asides in the history of SoulStrut: "The Beatles, which if you think about it were really just a Bernard Purdie studio project,..."

  • I heard this a few years back. regardless if it is true or not its a really funny way to start an instant argument with any beatles fan.

    I wonder if someone's gonna have the balls to hire Bernard Purdie to speak at a Beatles convention?

    It occasioned one of the greatest asides in the history of SoulStrut: "The Beatles, which if you think about it were really just a Bernard Purdie studio project,..."

    You dispute the words of Bernard Purdie, funkiest man alive?

    Maybe you need to start reading and stop writing, son.

    May I suggest you start here?



    You're welcome.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    I heard this a few years back. regardless if it is true or not its a really funny way to start an instant argument with any beatles fan.

    I wonder if someone's gonna have the balls to hire Bernard Purdie to speak at a Beatles convention?

    It occasioned one of the greatest asides in the history of SoulStrut: "The Beatles, which if you think about it were really just a Bernard Purdie studio project,..."

    You dispute the words of Bernard Purdie, funkiest man alive?

    Maybe you need to start reading and stop writing, son.

    May I suggest you start here?



    You're welcome.

    Haha... I don't think even Purdie would claim that "the Beatles" were merely one of his studio projects.

    The above quote is what happens when the words of the fonkayest man alive fall into the hands of a little dude whose entire approach to music appreciation revolves around the concept of "beats, yo"...

  • All these little dudes need to learn about the Power Of The One.
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