If The Beatles Performed Live After 1966?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Benjamin Edge, Apr 9, 2017.

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  1. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    They could've gone on the road with a mellotron (Lennon was friends with Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, who could have shown them the ropes re: touring with one). But the main problem would have been audiences: they needed a different type of audience, one that would sit and listen. A sort of Bob Dylan/Simon & Garfunkel audience.
     
  2. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Neither of those two TV performances were what I would call live.
    Live vocals (in Hey Jude's case, live vocals AND studio vocals together) over studio instrumentation.
    The 1967 All You Need is Love TV performance was a bit closer, but still not really live. "The Beatles, the orchestra and the guests overdubbed onto the pre-recorded rhythm track. In addition to the lead and backing vocals and the orchestra, the live recorded elements were McCartney's bass guitar part, Harrison's guitar solo and Starr's drum."
     
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  3. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    And even Today, artists still do it.
     
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  4. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    No argument there. Still doesn't make it live.
     
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  5. Rhett

    Rhett Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cool City
    They didn't have those types of keyboards back in the day that were capable of samples like what Fab Four do. Wouldn't they have to use actual tapes for that stuff? Then you'd be dealing with more equipment to fail on the road.
    I just can't see your premise working with equipment of the 60's in comparison to the equipment of our day.
     
  6. JayB

    JayB Senior Member

    Location:
    CT
    I don't think the newer material would have translated well live. They were smart to hang it up and focus on studio material.
     
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  7. jeighson1

    jeighson1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Revolution No. 2?
     
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  8. Egg Crisis

    Egg Crisis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    It's such a shame they didn't play a series of live concerts in 1969 as they'd originally planned to do (instead playing the one rooftop concert).
    In the 2 and a half years since their last live shows sound systems had improved a great deal, as had light shows. It'd have been a whole new experience for them and might even have given them a new lease of life that might have enabled them to continue well into the 70's.
     
  9. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    But he'd say it just to reach them.
     
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  10. SixOClockBoos

    SixOClockBoos The Man On The Flaming Pie

    If songs from Sgt. Pepper were played live, here is what I think would have been included in the show, considering that they kept things the way they did in the 1966 tour.

    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
    With A Little Help From My Friends
    Getting Better

    That's it. Not to much from the album since it's what usually was done on Beatle tours with new songs. Speaking of new songs. Let's add songs from Revolver

    Taxman (or I Want To Tell You)
    I'm Only Sleeping
    And Your Bird Can Sing
    Doctor Robert
    Got To Get You Into My Life

    Maybe a new song from Rubber Soul too
    Drive My Car

    And keeping it a 12 song show, Repeats from previous tours would be Day Tripper, I'm Down (or Long Tall Sally) and Paperback Writer
     
  11. I never miss these guys when they play the starlight bowl in Burbank. waiting for the show to be announced
     
  12. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    The Get Back tour 1969 would have been the best time to do it.
    Don't let me down, indeed.
     
  13. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    I think the concert favorites would have been "Come Together," "Revolution," "Here Comes The Sun" and the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends" medley.
     
  14. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    They would have gotten the sort of system Bob Heil built for The Who and overpowered those screaming ninnys in the audience.
     
  15. maccafan

    maccafan Senior Member

    It's simple really, they would perform songs that they could play live!

    They would approach them more straight ahead then try all the weird sounds and stuff.
     
  16. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    That is really, really good.
     
  17. georgwithoutane

    georgwithoutane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    I think they could have done what the Stones did in '69 and come back to larger audiences, larger audio systems, etc., and played more of a stripped-back set based on what the Revolution video set. Here's what I imagine would have worked, had they gone out in February '69:

    Revolution
    Getting Better
    I've Got a Feeling
    Back In The U.S.S.R.
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    Dig a Pony
    Drive My Car
    Helter Skelter
    One After 909
    Don't Let Me Down
    I Me Mine
    Yer Blues
    It's All Too Much

    Encore:
    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends/Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
    Get Back
     
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  18. maccafan

    maccafan Senior Member

    @georgwithoutane, I like your setlist except I would make...

    Revolution and Helter Skelter the Encores!

    They have to end the show rockin hard!
     
    Beatles Floyd likes this.
  19. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around this concept because

    • There was absolutely zero value that the Beatles saw in touring after having endured Beatlemania. As I think George said, the Beatles gave up their nervous systems. While they could have made a huge amount of incremental money by touring, how much more did they need?
    • The closest they got to playing live again was in '69, but George and Ringo had a firm stance of no freaking way, so no go.
    • We all know how bad the breakup was, both personally and from a business perspective
    All that said, and indulging in the fantasy that they did go back on the road, I cant say that playing live would have given justice to their post '66 songs unless they waited until the mid 70's to do it.

    Before that, the sound reinforcement technology was just good enough to cover the relatively simple rock of the majot acts of the time, but wouldnt have had the refinement to support the vocal/harmony heavy Beatles songs.

    Post '66, the Beatles didnt play guitars and drums, they played an instrument called EMI studios. Try putting that on the road!
     
  20. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    I like this thread - it's an interesting question.

    What did we see on the roof-top in '69? A straight-up rock band. It speaks to how The Beatles saw themselves in performance.

    If they had not split up, and inevitably performed again, what sort of template might they have used? Would they have an orchestra on stage, backing singers, etc? Or would they have simply re-arranged the material they chose to be rock-band presentable? One could argue that it would be really cool to see the Beatles live on stage with a full orchestra playing the album version of Day in the Life. Alternately, might it be cooler still to see them rock it up, and make it about just the 4 of them as a band?
     
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  21. Wombat Reynolds

    Wombat Reynolds Jimmy Page stole all my best riffs.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    probably so. They couldnt even play a great Paperback Writer in Tokyo in 66.

    From everything i've read, George hated the touring the most and the end result of more touring would more than likely been that he would quit.
     
  22. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I've always felt the same.... Here's part one of the same performance (the early Beatles)

    And here's the link to part 3...It's always amazed me how much the member that plays
    George looks exactly like him.....
    The Fab Four - The Ultimate Tribute (Part III)
     
  23. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    The guy that plays Paul has his mannerisms down perfectly and Ringo's vocals are perfect mimic.
     
  24. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    "Nearly identical" doesn't quite cut it. The real Beatles didn't have electronic keyboards at their disposal that could have replicated the myriads of sounds needed. Nor could they have used pre-recorded sounds like the Fab Four do.

    In this performance by the Fab Four, if you look closely you can see they are faking parts. Some effects in "Strawberry Fields" don't come from those keyboards – those horns are too similar to the recorded version to have been played sampled like that, especially not in a live situation by that "George" who is pretty sloppy in his playing. Also, look at how "Paul" tries to convince us he's bowing that bass. Nuh huh.

    And the effects in "Day in the Life" are also being cued in by an invisible member off-stage. All four have earpieces, so you can be sure that they play with a click and cue in pre-recorded segments. The singing is live, though, and so are the drums, guitar and basic keyboard figures. But the rest is all there thanks to modern technology.
     
  25. Benjamin Edge

    Benjamin Edge Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Milwaukie, OR, US
    "Don't Pass Me By" was written by Ringo Starr in 1962, and he tried as early as 1963 to get the rest of the band interested in it.

    ~Ben
     
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