The Beatles *sigh*

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

It's kinda fun "discovering" something that lots of people liked but you always scratched your head over, until you finally check it out and "get" it. After some while of checking out their stuff and reading all you can about them, you've absorbed most of what you're reasonably going to absorb, and the initial obsession wears off. Then you don't listen to the music as often - which can actually be nice because on the occasion you do listen to it, it's a bit "fresh." There's a few Beatles albums I've been deliberately avoiding for about a year just so that I don't get tired of them.

Oh hell  yeah...that's where the fun is. I'm excited about how much there is for me to discover. It's downright eargasmic. Yeah, I just came up with that, all by my lonesome   But seriously, I feel like a big musical void in my life has now been filled. I've been through the Beach Boys catalogue, released and unreleased, booted and (extremely rarely) unbooted, and it feels good to hear something were an entire world basically awaits me.

[Jay]

Now I need to get you listening to The Who and Jimi Hendrix. 

[JohnMill]

How were the "reunion" cuts received when they were first released? I imagine most people were going crazy for them...

Does anybody still listen to those songs? They seem more like something you listen to once or twice out of intrigue and then kinda forget about (which I did, until just know  )

They weren't received very well from memory.  "Real Love" was actually banned by the BBC for some reason which I can't recall which resulted in massive "Beatlephobia" press.  All these years later while I appreciate the sentiment of Paul, George and Ringo wanting to include John Lennon in the project, the quality of John Lennon's home demos along with the rather limited technology available at the time made for some uneven recordings.  John Lennon sounds like his vocals on "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" have been pumped full of helium which was the major complaint a lot of fans and critics had at the time and still do to this day.  It also didn't help that the original Lennon demos of the reunion tracks had already been heard via the LLT and the untouched demos are actually quite beautiful (especially "Real Love" which in it's demo form has a haunting quality to it that does not translate to the "Anthology" track)

Jeff Lynne did an interview last year where he mentioned I believe that the chance for any future reunion tracks from The Beatles is slim to none.  For those unaware there is actually a third (and possibly fourth) reunion track that has yet to be heard.  The track that could possibly see completion at some point in the future is "Now And Then" (aka "I Don't Want To Lose You") which is another Lennon demo actually recorded in the same sitting as "Free As A Bird".  "Now And Then" was the second song that Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr worked on in 1994 but the technology available to them at the time did not allow for a tape hum present on Lennon's original demo to be removed.  Although the trio did return to the song a year later allegedly completing a new backing track for it, it was ultimately abandoned.  For what it's worth the tape hum issue was eventually rectified several years later so that would no longer be a issue should Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr wish to return to the track someday.

The fourth reunion track is perhaps the most mysterious and may have actually been the better option available to Paul, George and Ringo instead of trying to resuscitate John Lennon's demos.  The original plan for the "Anthology" was for the trio to record some incidental music for the film but once they got into the studio they weren't keen on that and instead hit upon the idea of recording some new music.  This is when the idea was proposed for McCartney to approach Yoko Ono to see if they could procure some John Lennon demo tapes.  However in 1995, the trio actually attempted something which in my opinion should have been the crux of the entire "Anthology" project all along and that was they actually recorded a brand new song of their own.  This track allegedly a McCartney-Harrison composition entitled "All For Love" was recorded around the time of the completion of "Real Love" but failed to appear on "Anthology 3".  It's been suspected that the track is either unfinished or one member of the trio (many presume to be George Harrison) was not keen on releasing a Beatles track to the public with no John Lennon involvement.

One final footnote.  In June of 1994, McCartney, Harrison and Starr gathered at Friar Park to record a new version of "Let It Be".  It is suspected that this didn't get very far allegedly because both the somberness of the tune and absence of John Lennon weighed too heavy on all hearts involved.  Instead of resulting in a new version of "Let It Be", this session gave birth unto the oldies jamming session that can be seen on the "Anthology" DVD set although one track from this session ("Blue Moon Of Kentucky") was broadcast on ABC as early as 1995 I believe.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

"Real Love" was actually banned by the BBC for some reason

Tradition? 

[Jay]

I would quite literally give my left nut to be able to hear All For Love, unfinished or not.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

No....not the left one!!!

[SMiLE-addict]

Speaking of left ...

Y'know what I always wanted to know? When did Paul get his first left-handed guitar.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Great segue! I do remember something I read a LONG time ago...might have been in the Chet Flippo bio of Paul.

[Jay]

Well, the right one is the biggest so....

























































































What, to much info? 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

[Jay]

Seriously though Billy, have you checked out Free As A Bird and Real Love? Thoughts? Somebody on YouTube posted a "speed corrected" version of the "Beatles" version of Real Love, and it almost makes me dislike the released version. I didn't realize just how much John's original demo(and therefore, his voice) was sped up.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Back in 1995 I heard them and liked Real Love more. Its funny... my wife reminded me that I wrote the reviews of the Anthology CDs for the school paper (we've known each othcker since 1989) and that I was just starting to get into them until I discovered the Beach Boys. I found it in a box in my attic. I should do a scan....I was a pretentious yet sarcastic guy back then. Still am the latter. Huh...I barely remember that.

[Jay]

I did a project for school where I wrote about the decade of 1960 to 1970. It ended up being several pages long, going as far as having a bibliography in the back, and even a front cover. 

[Jay]

I'm not sure if this is allowed, but here's one of the Get Back album mixes by Glyn Johns. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yZig-VAcaU

[guitarfool2002]

There is always something interesting to be found in revisiting and relistening to something like Free As A Bird or Real Love. My listening tastes have changed through the years, anymore I can't help but to listen for the hooks of anything new I hear, no matter the style or the artist. If it doesn't grab my attention in some way, even in the overall groove of a track minus the individual elements, I don't latch on immediately.

Short attention span? I don't know. Maybe I just don't have as much patience as I did when I was younger. But I like songs that jump out of the speakers in some way.

Revisiting Free As A Bird and Real Love, I think they have actually aged better than expected. A lot of folks needed to remove the novelty factor from the songs, get over the issues around them, and just listen to what's in those grooves. They are good records, good hooks, the songs are good songs...

...I will say Real Love has a better studio groove than Free As A Bird. I know *why* they went with "Bird" first, as the lead-off on Anthology 1 and with the countdown schtick and all that, but Real Love has just a bit of an edge. Maybe the faster tempo? Less dirge-like? Again, I know why they went the way they did.

Now onto the main point...*emphasis*

There was an interview with Geoff Emerick in one of the studio recording magazines a few years ago. He, of course, was brought back into the group to engineer the "new" tracks as well as sift through all the tapes for Anthology, as many people feel it was that magic of him being 20-22 years old with a willingness to experiment that lined up perfectly with the direction the Beatles were going in 1966 when they joined forces.

What he said about Free As A Bird was a game-changer, and to be honest I choke up if not get a tear running down my face whenever I listen to what he zeroed in on from that song. Real Love too, but to a much lesser degree.

George Harrison's guitar.

On Free As A Bird, George plays some of the most intense, emotional, and vocal lead guitar I think he's ever played, bar none. He's at the same time crying, screaming, talking, laughing, and everything in between with the way he plays those notes. It's incredible.

And I had not noticed that or picked up on the raw emotion of what George played until someone intimately involved like Emerick mentioned it in a public interview.

Listen to George's lead guitar on Free As A Bird, but with the mindset that Emerick suggests, that it was George speaking to John, perhaps as he said a "thank you" to an old friend, or as I'd add someone basically pouring everything that made their style their own onto a track - not knowing they wouldn't be around for more than a few years after this, but wanting to sum up a life of music by putting their best on display for the ages, in the company of the group of folks (minus one) that was there back in the glory days.

There is always something beautiful if not essential to be found if you take the time to find it, in many a song like Free As A Bird.

That's why it does sort of bug me, just a bit, to still hear the carping about Lennon's voice or the other sonic things folks have had issues with for years...for me, that guitar work alone is worth the price of admission, and I'd challenge anyone willing to revisit the song to spend some time with it and pick out the hidden gems in that track. And Real Love, which I feel has some terrific drumming that only a few folks can do right, and correctly, yet every drummer seems to think they can because it's so "basic"...oh yeah? Try it! 

[JohnMill]

I think the Reunion Sessions themselves are far more interesting than the two songs they produced if that makes any sense.  Much like guitarfool mentioned, I feel that with a band such as The Beatles who performed at such a high standard throughout their career, that you can look at any song you wish in their catalog and pick out something worthwhile about that particular song.  It doesn't necessarily mean that some songs aren't better or weaker than others.  I'm going to be honest.  In my opinion "Free As A Bird" is a mediocre Lennon song.  It's something that he fiddled with for all of ten minutes on tape at least back in 1977 and to our knowledge never returned to it.  It does have a melancholy haunting feel to it but then again that could be said for much of Lennon's work during the househusband years as he was certainly going through a very reflective period of his life and that was borne out in his writing.

I think McCartney, Harrison and Starr did the best they could do with what they were handed.  Of the four tracks they were given, "Real Love" was the most complete and that is why in my opinion it's the better song of the two that were released.  I'll get back to this in a moment, but first I want to touch on the rumors that have existed basically since the "Anthology" project became known to the public back in the early nineties and that was that George Harrison wasn't necessarily a willing participant in the sessions.  Paul McCartney had been talking up a potential "Beatles reunion" project since the mid eighties and at that point was actually enthusing about working on new music with Harrison and Starr.  However, George Harrison was consistently lukewarm to the idea of a potential reunion claiming among other things that McCartney was only name dropping the phrase "Beatles reunion" in order to help market his latest LP (which I believe at that time was "Flowers In The Dirt").  He also later made the statement that he would much rather continue working with The Traveling Wilburys than reunite with McCartney.

As the story goes, at some point in the early nineties, George Harrison suffered some financial reversals.  I'm not sure if this was fallout from the disaster that was Handmade Films or not but as the rumor goes, Harrison lost a lot of his fortune.  He was subsequently informed that a easy way to recoup some of his losses (i.e. cash grab) would be the proposed "Anthology" project that was being bandied about at the time.  Therefore, if you believe this version of the story the main impetus for George Harrison even participating in the "Anthology" project was for financial gain not necessarily due to any desire to record once again with McCartney.

So that being said, that all ties in very well with the reports that we've gotten back regarding The Reunion Sessions including the mixing of the "Anthology" albums themselves.  The reports basically state that Harrison was often the voice of dissent when it came to many different aspects of the project from vetoing tracks off the album, to griping with McCartney during The Reunion Sessions themselves and finally calling the entire shebang off after the completion of "Real Love" when both McCartney and Starr wanted to continue on with more reunion activities.   In fact there was a quote from McCartney from around the time of the release of "Flaming Pie" where he mentions that while he was able to get Ringo Starr around for a couple of sessions, Harrison made himself unavailable to him to the point where Macca couldn't even get in touch with him.

So forgive me if I really can't latch onto anything stemming from The Reunion Sessions with any emotional depth.  The songs just don't do it for me and as I mentioned the demo of "Real Love" specifically packs a heck of a lot more emotional punch than the "Anthology" version.  So as I mentioned of the two songs we've heard "Real Love" is in my opinion the better of the two because it is the more complete composition of the two and it is something that Lennon worked on like crazy over the course of five years as opposed to "Free As A Bird" which was forgotten after one sitting.  Oddly enough there are some Beatles scribes who believe that "Now And Then" (again a one and done performance but significantly more developed than "Free As A Bird") might have been the best song of the lot.  Unlike the other two songs, "Now And Then" wouldn't have been able to be turned into a Beatles celebration piece and instead would have been a somber, reflective piece in the vein of McCartney's "Here Today" with the ability to stir strong emotions from the listener given the events that had befallen the song's author.  

It's always been a possibility in my mind that this is the reason why we've yet to hear "Now And Then" released in any form that despite the fact it's one of Lennon's strongest unreleased works, it's just too damn sad considering the events of 12-8-80.

[Jay]

There is always something interesting to be found in revisiting and relistening to something like Free As A Bird or Real Love. My listening tastes have changed through the years, anymore I can't help but to listen for the hooks of anything new I hear, no matter the style or the artist. If it doesn't grab my attention in some way, even in the overall groove of a track minus the individual elements, I don't latch on immediately.

Short attention span? I don't know. Maybe I just don't have as much patience as I did when I was younger. But I like songs that jump out of the speakers in some way.

Revisiting Free As A Bird and Real Love, I think they have actually aged better than expected. A lot of folks needed to remove the novelty factor from the songs, get over the issues around them, and just listen to what's in those grooves. They are good records, good hooks, the songs are good songs...

...I will say Real Love has a better studio groove than Free As A Bird. I know *why* they went with "Bird" first, as the lead-off on Anthology 1 and with the countdown schtick and all that, but Real Love has just a bit of an edge. Maybe the faster tempo? Less dirge-like? Again, I know why they went the way they did.

Now onto the main point...*emphasis*

There was an interview with Geoff Emerick in one of the studio recording magazines a few years ago. He, of course, was brought back into the group to engineer the "new" tracks as well as sift through all the tapes for Anthology, as many people feel it was that magic of him being 20-22 years old with a willingness to experiment that lined up perfectly with the direction the Beatles were going in 1966 when they joined forces.

What he said about Free As A Bird was a game-changer, and to be honest I choke up if not get a tear running down my face whenever I listen to what he zeroed in on from that song. Real Love too, but to a much lesser degree.

George Harrison's guitar.

On Free As A Bird, George plays some of the most intense, emotional, and vocal lead guitar I think he's ever played, bar none. He's at the same time crying, screaming, talking, laughing, and everything in between with the way he plays those notes. It's incredible.

And I had not noticed that or picked up on the raw emotion of what George played until someone intimately involved like Emerick mentioned it in a public interview.

Listen to George's lead guitar on Free As A Bird, but with the mindset that Emerick suggests, that it was George speaking to John, perhaps as he said a "thank you" to an old friend, or as I'd add someone basically pouring everything that made their style their own onto a track - not knowing they wouldn't be around for more than a few years after this, but wanting to sum up a life of music by putting their best on display for the ages, in the company of the group of folks (minus one) that was there back in the glory days.

There is always something beautiful if not essential to be found if you take the time to find it, in many a song like Free As A Bird.

That's why it does sort of bug me, just a bit, to still hear the carping about Lennon's voice or the other sonic things folks have had issues with for years...for me, that guitar work alone is worth the price of admission, and I'd challenge anyone willing to revisit the song to spend some time with it and pick out the hidden gems in that track. And Real Love, which I feel has some terrific drumming that only a few folks can do right, and correctly, yet every drummer seems to think they can because it's so "basic"...oh yeah? Try it! 

That was a great post. I've always loved George Harrison's guitar work in Free As A Bird. That was one of the things that first caught my ear when I heard it and Real Love. I think I might now have a new appreciation or respect for it now(even though I loved it to begin with). Although I do agree with JohnMill about the reunion tracks being very emotional and somewhat tough to listen to. The fact that George may have only accepted being involved with the "reunion" because of financial issues kind of puts an overall bittersweet feeling to it, but...just listen to them doing the harmony vocals at the end. So it's not all four of them singing in 1995, and they're singing with a pre recorded performance from John. But it's still all four of them singing together again, along with some of the best guitar playing George ever out on tape, with the ever present and loyal Ringo Starr back beat.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Question for you long time fans...if you had to choose, which period to you end up gravitating to the most? So far for me, I like each era very much for different reasons (how many other  bands could have several different periods within a span of 7 years) but right now I find myself really digging some of the earlier work especially so right now.

[EgoHanger1966]

I will always gravitate towards the early period because that's where you can find the sheer enthusiasm and excitement that isn't really there for me in the later records. It's all good, though, mostly.

(edit: I find it kind of funny that you're just getting into The Beatles now, being a hardcore music fan for such a longtime - but ultimately it's great, you're getting to discover this stuff that most people have held near and dear to their hearts for a long long time. To listen to some of the Beatles music with absolutely fresh ears - that's something, man)

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I'm listening to the early 'One After 909' right now...God...they were so much more vital than so much of what their contemporaries were doing. I see what you mean about the enthusiasm...it is so damn contagious. I wish I could play guitar and sing songs like I'm hearing right now...'All My Loving' just came on.  Love the groove, man.

Yet, when I hear things like 'Strawberry Fields Forever'...I'm really  hearing a mix of psychedelia and (in) spots proto-trip hop and Iwonder...how can anybody top this? Or 'Penny Lane', for that matter. No wonder Brian scrapped Smile...it certainly would've been awesome but if I'd heard those two songs back then I'd sh*t myself. Sometimes listening to stuff like that and 'Paperback Writer' is intimidating as f***!

[JohnMill]

I'm listening to the early 'One After 909' right now...God...they were so much more vital than so much of what their contemporaries were doing. I see what you mean about the enthusiasm...it is so damn contagious. I wish I could play guitar and sing songs like I'm hearing right now...'All My Loving' just came on.  Love the groove, man.

Yet, when I hear things like 'Strawberry Fields Forever'...I'm really  hearing a mix of psychedelia and (in) spots proto-trip hop and Iwonder...how can anybody top this? Or 'Penny Lane', for that matter. No wonder Brian scrapped Smile...it certainly would've been awesome but if I'd heard those two songs back then I'd sh*t myself. Sometimes listening to stuff like that and 'Paperback Writer' is intimidating as f***!

The Beach Boys gave birth unto "Paperback Writer", at least the vocal arrangements.  George Harrison speaks about it a bit in the "Anthology" about how The Beatles had to change their sound a bit vocally in order to compete with The Beach Boys citing "Paperback Writer" as an example of the shift in terms of vocal arrangements.  So yeah for the record: The Beach Boys were one of the only (if not the only) act to really challenge The Beatles enough to the point where they actually chose to alter their sound a bit.

Anyhow in response to your original question.  "White Album", "Let It Be", "Abbey Road".  To me that is the period I gravitate to.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

That's the incredible thing... the two IMHO greatest rock bands of all time were pushing each other to new heights, and us the listeners were the winners. Can you imagine, though, if Brian hadn't broke down, what he possibly could've done in response to Sgt Pepper? Or, what the Beatles would've done in response to Smile?! It's mind-boggling.

Good album choices John (of course, they're all good )...as of right now, the White Album might be my second favorite after Revolver.

[pixletwin]

Interesting that through the 70's Lennon would slag off Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and pretty much anyone else. But I can't recall one quote of him slagging off Brian or The Beach Boys.

[EgoHanger1966]

I don't think John was really into The Beach Boys in the same way Paul was. He did express interest in "The Little Girl..." single and of course probably did keep up with them during that time, but it doesn't seem they really motivated John to make more exploratory music....John was moved in that direction by drugs more than anything else, I'd estimate.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I think you're right on that.