Any new Beatle grails lately? (The group, that is, not solo...)

[Chance]

"Pink Litmus Paper Shirt," "Colliding Circles," "Deckchair" and "Left Is Right (And Right Is Wrong)" are long rumored Beatle titles that, it turns out, never existed. A teenage music journalsit named Martin Lewis (later a legitimate Beatle authority) was doing an article on Beatle rarities for UK music mag "Disc And Music Echo" in 1971 and he simply made these up to spruce up his article. In 1999 he finally came clean, saying he never thought the article would spark such a long lasting legend around these titles.

"Watching Rainbows" would seem to have never been properly finished by the Fabs..

I love "Piece Of Mind (The Candle Burns)." I hadn't heard that it was proven to be false, what have you heard? I know most Beatle scholars don't believe it's an authentic Beatle recording, but some do. The guy who originated the tape swears it's legit, I forget the story on how he got it, maybe I can find the article, but he says it's from '67 and he got it from somebody connected with the band in '69. He also says it was labelled "Piece" rather than "Peace." I'd love it to be true, it's such a cool littlel trippy song. The other side of the coin is that there's a story going around saying that it's indeed a fake, and that the guys who did it were actually intending to pass it off as Syd Barrett outtake.

[dogbreath]

About Mark Ellen and Carnival of Light - I'm confused. I think I remember a piece he wrote after this, after he'd heard it. I do remember the interview quoted above, but I'm pretty certain Mark Ellen got to hear the track, and described it later.

I've written to rockingvicar to check. I probably need to check my meds.

Just got this back from the Man Himself:

"Tim, you're not hallucinating completely. McCartney told me all about its existence in 2001 and how it was recorded bu I still haven't heard it. It clearly does exist though and was only off Anthology because George Harrison didn't like it. "

So yeah ... those meds ... (and George effing Harrison, god rest his soul ...)

[Chance]

Another interesting thing about that '65 tour and "We Can Work It Out." It was their last UK go-round, only 11 shows in December, just as "Rubber Soul" was released. In addition to WCWIO, McCartney did "Yesterday" accompanying himself on organ, rather than acoustic guitar. That would be pretty interesting to hear as well.

[Mitchell]

Is it wrong that when I read Paul saying George didn't like it, I thought of George Martin and not Harrison? I guess that's where my head is at in regards to The Beatles.

[pavlos brenos]

A couple of interesting links about  Beatles out-fakes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outfakes
http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-3711.html
http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-3659.html
and most interesting of all, a story of The Candle Burns/Piece/peace of Mind:
http://www.komputamuso.blogspot.com/

[dogbreath]

Aaaargh. The link to download the song is dead.

[Chance]

20x4 wasn't the first appearance, it came out in '75 on CBM.

Here's a link to the song, it's the clearest version I've got:

http://s57.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RUSJDS7EZ2BJ0YXLK81W1Q701

[dogbreath]

Thanks!

First impressions: a nagging, haunting little melody, with lovely psychedelic feel and touches. Really very nice. But I don't think it sounds like the Beatles singing - there's a little too much fey English upper-class e-nun-ci-ation, and no hint of real scouse in there. It's fascinating, and definitely Beatley, but my money's on it being not Beatles!

[onkster]

I don't quite think Piece of Mind is the Fabs, but really, it comes very close.  To me, it sounds like it could be one of the Esher demos, though I seriously doubt they would put enough work into it to speed up the tape like that.  It still makes me wonder who it is.  (Maybe the All-Night Radio/Beachwood Sparks gang as teenagers?)

Or...maybe the Beatles were listening to "She's Goin' Bald" and decided to take a stab at pitch-control...

[I. Spaceman]

Have You Heard The Word sounds more like the Beatles, and we know that turned out to be the Bee Gees.

[onkster]

Oh hey, a grail or two I forgot to add in, because of dubious circumstances:

- the slow Roy Orbison styled version of "Please Please Me", which reportedly has been erased.
- the 78-shellac recording of 'Fever' with Walter Eymond on lead vocal

The reason I mention these things anyway is because the craziest, most unlikely stuff HAS turned up--namely, things like the tape of the Woolton Church Fete--which I would NEVER have even guessed would have existed!

Some day, more stuff will likely turn up.  Who knows what!

[pavlos brenos]

What about more stuff recorded during the Indian sojourn (along the lines of "Happy birthday Mike Love" and "Spiritual Regeneration")?

[I. Spaceman]

There's about 15 minutes of acoustic singalong jams that were filmed and recorded for a newscast. That stuff's been around for a while.