The 'Yoko diary tape' - your thoughts?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by TheLazenby, Feb 22, 2015.

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  1. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pittsburgh
    If you're a big Beatles collector, you'll no doubt be aware of the 'Yoko diary tape' - recorded while Yoko walked around the studio, speaking quietly into a tape recorder, as the Beatles listened to, overdubbed and finally mixed the 10-minute version of "Revolution 1".

    This tape has garnered a LOT of hate over the years - mostly for the petty reason that 'Yoko talks over everything' - but that's silly; I mean, it WAS her audio diary, she wasn't consciously trying to bootleg (and then spoil) the Beatles' session. No one was ever meant to hear it but John and herself.

    That said, though, I think it has a lot of merits:
    * It's still the ONLY place to hear the ten-minute "Revolution 1" without John's irritating harmony loop - mainly because he doesn't create that loop until the very end of her tape. (You hear it being set up, and then the first two minutes of the mix that leaked a few years back.)
    * It's more or less the only long piece of audio showing the Beatles at work in the studio, pre-January 1969 - jamming, listening to their own work, chatting, overdubbing, etcetera.
    * It's not impossible to just focus on the music and not pay attention to Yoko; I mean, she's not overbearingly loud or anything.
    * If you *do* care to listen to Yoko, it's quite interesting - other than the rather personal details about her relationship with John (sometimes WAY TOO personal), she does offer interesting tidbits of information, like her idea of only releasing "Two Virgins" privately to friends, or issuing it under the pseudonym 'Doris and Peter'.

    I dunno, I just feel like that whole recording gets far too much hate simply because Yoko's voice happens to be on it. It's the bloody Beatles recording "Revolution", enjoy it for what it is. :)
     
  2. Catch22

    Catch22 Forum Resident

    It's available on YouTube:
     
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  3. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I will never understand the hatred for her...John loved her and I respected that. I cannot imagine the pain he felt from all the hatred, but ppl love and live to hate.
    It's F'n ramped.
     
  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    thanks for the link!
     
  5. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I'm indifferent towards Yoko, I don't know enough about her or know her personally, so I don't feel the need to judge.
     
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  6. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
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    Well, part of it - the entire thing is around an hour long. :) (You hear the Beatles playback and try to overdub "Revolution 1" several times, and jam in between.)
     
  7. Turmatic

    Turmatic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charleston
    I find it is VERY easy to tune Yoko out. Very nice to hear the process. Fascinating stuff!
     
  8. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Yoko comes across as a bit of an airhead in this. Change the accent and this could be a Sloane Ranger (before the term was coined) bragging about her life since bagging a banker boyfriend.
     
  9. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    Ha! You are completely correct. :D
     
  10. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
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    She gets quite bizarre at some points - somewhere in the hour-long recording, we find out she carried a cyanide pill everywhere, ready to commit suicide at any moment.

    Geez, chill, Yoko! o_O
     
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  11. brainwashed

    brainwashed Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Seriously, you don't understand why so many fans dislike (sorry, I hate the word 'hate') Yoko? Could be that she came across as more brash, more outspoken, more in-your-face than John himself. John often overcame this behavior with his wonderful humor, engaging smile and of course, his music. I won't get into her musical (I know she has her fans) styles, but safe to say MOST Beatles fans back in the day simply didn't get or like it at all. Of course he loved Yoko, but many fans felt that she "took" him away from the Beatles, which in effect, she did. Yes, it was HIS choice, but he left because he wanted to do his thing with his wife in tow. That was NEVER going to happen with the Beatles. The release of the three joint albums in the late 60's didn't endear her to the fan base either. Ripoff, pointless and stupid were common themes heard amongst my friends back then. It's important to remember that the Beatles all loved one another too. The others were married or in long term relationships, but they remained band mates and didn't bring their significant others to work with them every day. Not only did John invite Yoko to the sessions (even while he was still married to Cynthia) she was inclined to offer her opinions and hardly left John's side. He was distracted by her presence, as were the others. Why should his girlfriend, then wife, be more important than the wives' of the others? I think that was what bothered fans and even his fellow Beatles more than anything. Yes, it's wonderful to be in love, but that doesn't mean spending every moment together. People in love go to work, play, live separate lives... John and Yoko for five or six years were nearly joined at the hip. Ron

    PS The Yoko audio diary IS interesting, but mostly for the recording process going on in the background. I can't recall a single thing she comments on that is interesting itself.
     
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  12. DrBeatle

    DrBeatle The Rock and Roll Chemist

    Location:
    Midwest via Boston
    Only if you neglect the 15-minute "Think For Yourself" session tape from 1965.:cool:
     
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  13. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

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    OH! I forgot about that one!! :)
     
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  14. TheLazenby

    TheLazenby Forum Resident In Memoriam Thread Starter

    Location:
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    If that's so true, then why does Paul insist she didn't drive the band apart?
     
  15. brainwashed

    brainwashed Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Because there were other factors in play too. For sure, the others did not like her influences on John, namely the hard drug use and constant presence. There would be no reason for Paul to specifically blame Yoko for the breakup. Anyway, my post was just my personal opinion. I wasn't speaking on behalf of ALL fans or any of the Beatles themselves. Ron
     
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  16. bluesbro

    bluesbro Forum Hall of Shame

    Location:
    DC
    Another thread that derails into "Yoko stole my John"
     
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  17. longaway

    longaway Senior Member

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC, USA
    Because he's scared she'll outlive him. ;)
     
  18. DrBeatle

    DrBeatle The Rock and Roll Chemist

    Location:
    Midwest via Boston
    I second what Ron said above, but also I think part of it may be down to Paul not wanting to be seen as the "bad guy" in this (he has always been VERY PR conscious, as we all know). It looks better for him to downplay the Yoko thing than to say what he probably feels (that it wasn't THE only reason but it certainly was A huge reason and it absolutely exacerbated things. Yoko coming into John's life may not have been the worst thing to happen to him or the band, but her coming into his life AT THE PRECISE MOMENT SHE DID certainly was).
     
  19. alchemy

    alchemy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sterling, VA
    Sorry you don't understand. I like "dislike" over "hatred". I don't think anyone begrudges John his love or respect for Yoko.

    The problem comes from those who of us who liked The Beatle "brand", and all of a sudden it is joined with the Yoko "Brand" . For some reason Yoko in John's eyes is am equal, but not to most of the paying public.

    It not to us a marriage where the sum is greater than the parts, no "Peanut & Jelly", "Rum & Coke" "Phil & Don" etc.

    John loves Yoko, thinks she's the bee's knees. Great. Great for him, great for her. I just got tired of him always having to push her on us. If Paul did the same for Linda, most of us would have felt the same.

    Maybe it is only me, but if I were to spend 40 minutes alone with John, I would prefer that Yoko wasn't there.
    Hey isn't that the length of an LP?

    Back to the OP's question. It's Yoko's Diary Tape, she can say or record anything she pleases. It's her tape. For histories sake, what The Beatles were doing is far more interesting than her input via her tape. But it IS her tape.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2015
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  20. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Remember that Paul is still tied by the hip to Yoko, Olivia and Ringo, as they are each tied to the other.
    In order to get anything Beatle-related that each one may want, they have to play nice together in the sandbox. I can imagine that trying to do business deals in that environment is incredibly frustrating and difficult. (especially with someone who probably consults her book of numbers and casts chicken bones to determine what she should do)

    And I'm with Ron on this. I don't hate anyone, but I certainly don't think highly of any of Yoko's alleged talents.
     
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  21. Music Geek

    Music Geek Confusion will be my epitaph

    Location:
    Italy
    Cough cough... but Paul did the same! I mean, Linda could not sing nor play and ended up in lots of Wings albums. Nobody made a fuss. At least Yoko Ono is not on any Beatles album. The reason for the dislike is that she was "strange". Linda was more "normal" hence the wider acceptance.
     
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  22. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Cough, cough....WRONG!
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2015
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  23. alchemy

    alchemy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sterling, VA
    You really think Paul pushed Linda as hard as John pushed Yoko? Ever listen to the John & Yoko solo LPs they did while he was with the Beatles? Linda was on a lot of Wings LPs . But was she featured in concert like Yoko was? I'm thinking Live In Toronto and the unedited One Plus One or Sometime In NYC.
     
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  24. Music Geek

    Music Geek Confusion will be my epitaph

    Location:
    Italy
    Well, I am not such a Beatles anal-ytical fan, but if she is in Beatles recordings she is not very noticeable.
     
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  25. Music Geek

    Music Geek Confusion will be my epitaph

    Location:
    Italy
    All that John/Yoko stuff is not under the Beatles banner. I don't understand what you say about Linda. She was also on stage with the Wings so obviously "featured in concert".
     
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