As great as it will be to get 27 Esher demos if that's the case, I'm hoping whatever number we get are of the same sound quality as the ones used on the Anthology disc. I think at the time of that release it was claimed those were the only ones George could find. So A. Either they were holding them back at the time for some future release like what's coming. B. Considering the mess George's tape archive was in at that time, it's certainly not unreasonable to assume George really couldn't find any more demos. I've mentioned it in other threads but for super fans of the White Album like I assume most of us posting here are... It amazes me that we have an almost complete alternate unplugged-ish version of the album available to us to listen to. That seldom happened with bands then, or even now I guess . Lucky us.
Exactly. A little eclecticism is a welcome byproduct of having three distinct songwriters and singers in the same band.
The Smiths and The White Album Johnny Marr has said, “The White Album was the strongest influence on us towards the end, things like “Cry Baby Cry.”” I believe Morrissey sparked Marr’s inner Beatles spirit when he structured the song order of Louder The Bombs in spirit of Marr’s favorite Beatles album. That’s right, as a double album, Louder Than Bombs, sequence wise, is The Smiths similar to The Beatles White Album
A makes sense since Anthology was never intended to be complete. Same with the Decca audition. We know there are 15 tracks but we only got 5. Why not release it as a complete prequel to please please me?
Would be fun to hear OK computer or Dark Side of the Moon in flat mono . Totally new listening experience
Fantastic photo. Its hard to believe this is the same man who would one day go on to write 'Fuh You.'
Incredible site! Thanks so much for the link. The author flat-out says what I've felt since Christmas Day 1968 - this is my favorite album by anyone ever. And I love it in both mix formats. That a new, alternative stereo mix is coming is fantastic, in and of itself. But now, at long last, to also get to hear significantly more of this music in-progress, preceded by nearly 30 purely acoustic demos? Jeez, can it possibly get any better than that? And I think it would be lovely if the Esher Tapes are released as a stand-alone set. I've always thought that collection would be a huge "unplugged" seller. Maybe we'll see...
I suspect you're exactly right, and I think your criteria would make for the best possible alternates/outtakes set. Now, hopefully, the variations may be unique enough to qualify for release as those "privileged few" multiple takes!!
Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green fashion label are announcing a White Album collection later this week. I hope they don't just have white underpants for sale or his shops will go the same way as the Beatles Apple shop in selling Marks and Spencer pants.
Both scenarios are plausible. Holding most of the demos back for a potential 'stand-alone' release is a pretty typical business strategy, if Apple were indeed planning that. There's a lot of other outtakes they had to cover on Anthology 3 after all. Wasn't it rumoured at the time that Apple were planning on a stand-alone demos release..? On the other hand the "that's all George Harrison could find in his archive" makes sense if he hadn't kept up with organizing his archive, especially since the reissue side of the music industry in the early/mid 1990s was light-years from where it is now - I mean, where was the motivation? Still, even if EMI were twisting his arm to go and find more, he may have just been reluctant to trawl through the tapes until he was ready to. ("Ah, you can have the ones I found.. are there more? Maybe.. but there's so many tapes I have to sort through.. Those will do.")
No, you miss my point! Escher was a Dutch artist. Esher is a town in Surrey where the Beatles recorded their White Album demos!
“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” – Rolling Stone I keep reading Esher demos spelled as Escher. The Beatles were "especially keen" to sit in for the stereo mix of A Day In The Life. For the White Album, there was no longer a need to settle for mono. And it was seen via Sgt. Peppers how good stereo can be. Anyway, from the beginning George Martin was building the stereo into the basic mix track by track as he built the mix. Choosing what sounds would go on what track, where to position the microphones etc. The mix...which contained both the mono and stereo mix. Such propaganda over the years to keep restating that the Beatles only cared about mono. Certainly George Martin cared about stereo. So did the Beatles.
That is correct, by the White Album stereo was as important as mono for them (if not more), but not before. What does the fact that they only attended the stereo mix of one song in Pepper tell you? That mono was the main priority before 1968 is not propaganda, is a fact, corroborated by the same people who worked in the albums (including George Martin himself). But hey, it doesn't mean you have to like mono over the stereo. In fact, I prefer stereo for some of those pre-68 albums (Beatles For Sale, Help!, Revolver, MMT), I don't need an "alibi" to enjoy them.
And there is more available on the acoustic side than these. I have long wished they do Stripped White Album. Many of the master takes of the album tracks can be reduced to acoustic also. And there are some outtakes hat are more acoustic.
I grew up with only the stereo versions, didn’t know there were differences in the mixes until I was well into my 20’s in the 80’s, and by then I had all the stereo CD’s and was perfectly happy. Millions of Beatles fans follow that pattern. I find Mono fans very arrogant. Like faux wine connoisseurs adjusting their monocle and sniffing corks of a $19 Walmart bottle with pinky in air.
I don't understand that "mono fans"/ "stereo fans" narrative. There is music that was mixed better in mono, and some other in stereo. I wouldn't want them to make a mono mix of Abbey Road. Of course you can prefer the stereo mixes, but suggesting anyone who prefers mono is a "phony" or arrogant is just blind. Actually, to me it's a case by case scenario, I prefer the mono mix of some albums and the stereo of others. I don't understand what's "arrogant" about that.
Over the years I have found that posters in forums of all types of subject matter try to find credibility by playing the outlier and, while not as bad as Revolution 9 “fans”, there are some who play the “I only listen to mono” card too much. I get that some of the mono tracks are essential (Paperback Writer comes to mind) but the rest are merely personal preference and not some holy grail to be bandied about.
I think an official "Essential Beatles Mono" album is long overdue because some are key (and most likely I've never heard). It's many years since I used to put Paperback Writer on a jukebox regularly. It's just a shame I can't own it without spending some kind of fortune.
I had the first 4 in stereo on vinyl from age 0 to 23, in conjunction with The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics they taught me to read according to my parents. On CD it was forced on me and was very frustrating, mono sounded dull and flat, I scoured all the bootleg shops in Greenwich Village looking for them in Stereo on CD for years. Fond memories, so I have mono to thank for that I guess.
I agree completely. In fact, if not an official release I would love someone to give me a list of the 20 essential Beatles tracks in mono so I could at least try to track them down and build a good playlist out of it.
