Yoko Ono material on Plastic Ono Band box BluRay

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Rfreeman, Apr 26, 2021.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    I wish it was a CD in the box at the very least.
     
  2. mikecarrera

    mikecarrera Forum Resident

    Location:
    Duluth
    Hello and greetings. Well, I'm not really a connoisseur of Yoko's material but what I can contribute is:

    What we have now in the Blu Ray Audio regarding "Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City" as part of the “Live Sessions”, is a combination of two different sessions:
    October 10, 1970 and October 25, 1970.

    October 10: starts from 1:35 and until the end with the original jam as it was recorded (for the final mix it was not only edited but also the speed was reduced). Tape box E099934-8T.

    October 25: 00:01 to 1:34 with the recording of “sitar” as registered on the tape E101281-8T and Recording Sheet from Nov 1st, 1970 IND81653 (described as “tanpura” in the book); that according to the internal information of this collection, the “sitar loop” is in charge of John Lennon (and you can hear him and not George Harrison at the beginning telling Yoko that he hit a string by mistake).

    In the book that accompanies this new collection it is reported that George only "helped", but it does not really say what his help was or if he was in the session or not and we cannot trust much of the information in the book from what we have seen these days. What we can hear at the beginning confirms that John is the one who plays the sitar or tanpura.

    Another excerpt from that October 25th session is on CD 6 JAMS on the track “Don't Worry Kyoko” where John is in charge of the sitar or tanpura again, although I have read reviews that say it is Harrison who is on the session (who confirmed that?), however in the credits for all the tracks within the box handled internally on the control sheet, in none is George mentioned as part of these two tracks.

    I do not know why the order of the session was not respected.
     
  3. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    It's bound to be something like this. Some years ago Gail Zappa started releasing alternate expanded versions of early Frank Zappa albums, but since Ryko had exclusive rights to release the catalog albums they had to be re-named (e.g., Freak Out became MoFo). Since this a Blu-Ray exclusive in a JOHN LENNON release, maybe it circumvents any such issues (and was part of the deal Yoko did with UMG to secure the rights to all these Lennon deluxe issues)?
     
    frightwigwam likes this.
  4. psychedeliceddie

    psychedeliceddie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Many thanks for your intel and insightful and thorough research as always, Mike! Its commonly believed this was a tape loop of George on sitar from the Beatles era (the Yoko Ono POB CD booklet mentions a “George Harrison sitar escapade and Ringo Starr drum take on ‘Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City’.) If John played the sitar, it certainly doesn’t lessen the power and edge of the track, but it’s a bit disappointing for us Fab 4 fans knowing that one less ex-Beatle can be heard on the album. Either way, it’s great the facts are finally out in the open, though the book still has it wrong!
     
    ODIrony and mikecarrera like this.
  5. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Ugh OK I pulled the trigger. My set is arriving tomorrow.
     
  6. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Wow that was fast. :0
     
    tug_of_war, ConnieGuitar and FJFP like this.
  7. It arrived already?
     
  8. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Yes! It must have just been in stock at a local Amazon warehouse
     
    FJFP and Shawn like this.
  9. mikecarrera

    mikecarrera Forum Resident

    Location:
    Duluth
    It is interesting that the documentation for the sessions is now being released. The details of the sitar recording are as follows:
    TAPE E101281-8T
    DATE: October 25, 1970.
    Studio 3.
    Engineers: Phil McDonald, Andy Stephens
    Five takes were recorded with sitar overdub (Tracks 1 and 2, and Yoko's Vocal channel 8), only three were complete.
    There is no mention of George Harrison and on the Blu Ray Audio as part of Yoko's “Live Sessions” we can only hear John and Yoko at the start of a take.
    Also recorded between Take 1 and 3, the other version of Don’t Worry Kyoko that appears on CD 6 JAMS.

    Let's hope for further info soon
     
    Floater, psychedeliceddie and Shawn like this.
  10. waterisnat

    waterisnat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    I think only two takes were complete on the 25th: take 1 lasted 11'00" (from 00:10 till 11:08 on the master tape), take 2 was a breakdown (starting @ 14:30), take 3 was a false start (starting @ 15:30), then take 4 ran for little over 2 minutes (from 16:20 till 18:40) and take 5 was another complete one (running from 19:10 until 30:22).

    This info is not exactly being released just now. The pictures of the 20 1 inch 8 track and 1/4 inch stereo tapes used in the production of Yoko's album have been out since the publication of the Thames & Hudson book last Fall.
     
    psychedeliceddie likes this.
  11. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I bought the box set solely for the Yoko tracks. I love John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and I know the following statement is heresy, but I think Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is a better album and even more groundbreaking. I wish they would make it available as a standalone release.
     
  12. fishcane

    fishcane Dirt Farmer

    Location:
    Finger Lakes,NY
    Working my way backwards to it now... with the kids

    plus a small art lesson from right here in the area...
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  13. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I've always loved the This Is Not Here artwork. Is yours an original?
     
  14. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

    I bought a Blu-ray player when Neil Young Archives volume one came out. It's not like Blu-ray audio is something new. That came out 10 years ago. How about moving into the 21st century and stop whining. How long did it take you to get a CD player? Still using a Victrola and 78s? I didn't think so. :rolleyes:
     
  15. fishcane

    fishcane Dirt Farmer

    Location:
    Finger Lakes,NY
    Yes, sure is! The Everson is our local gallery and they turn up locally once in a while. It’s uv glass but really deserves a proper framing
     
    ConnieGuitar and Cast Iron Shore like this.
  16. revolution_vanderbilt

    revolution_vanderbilt Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Any story behind the autographed Between My Head And The Sky?
     
    xanderb and ConnieGuitar like this.
  17. fishcane

    fishcane Dirt Farmer

    Location:
    Finger Lakes,NY
    No special story there, unfortunately. My kids got to participate in Yokos interactive exhibit in 2019 though! That was pretty special...
    [​IMG]
     
  18. mikecarrera

    mikecarrera Forum Resident

    Location:
    Duluth
    one take was really short although it wasn't labeled as "False Start" or "Breakdown"
    "the info being released now" could translate then: audio from that recording session being released now, of which we can hear John playing on that overdub session.
     
    psychedeliceddie likes this.
  19. Jon-A

    Jon-A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Been living with Yoko's Live Sessions for 5 days now, almost looping it - must have listened a couple dozen times. Even more impressed with her voice now. She's not just an audacious singer with a talent for provocation: she's got mad skillz. At the start of I Lost Myself Somewhere In The Sky, for example. It starts with some low moaning, until she takes hold of one of those moans and glissandos up a couple octaves into full banshee wail. Wow. And the rest - John with the incisive slide playing (does he do this elsewhere?), and Ringo with that awesome Instant Karma muffled thumpa-thumpa, and Klaus with the sturdy bass framework. Terrific.

    (Seems like a blueprint for PiL's Metal Box sound - anybody ever mention this?)
     
  20. ConnieGuitar

    ConnieGuitar Here in my balloon...

    Am going to posit that as Chimera (Yoko/Sean's label) was the entity that signed the manufacturing/distribution deal with Secretly Canadian for YOPOB, the estate already knew full well that a big Lennon POB box was a forthcoming project and as such specifically inserted language allowing them to release this material, but no doubt a) within the context of the boxed set only and b) in a non-conventional format like Blu Ray Audio. I doubt Secretly Canadian is too concerned about this BR cannibalizing their CD/vinyl sales because... well because. Two different markets altogether and they still have rights to six vintage YO albums, with Sean's blessing.

    All that said, glad you got sorted with the music!
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2021
  21. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Finally working my way through the Yoko Live Jams tracks...

    Why - begins with studio chatter and the band sort of warming up. After about two minutes John, Klaus and Ringo start to get into the familiar Why groove. It's those three jamming instrumentally for four minutes before we hear the familiar "Hey!!" from John. Yoko doesn't come in until around 9:30, about where the album version of Why starts. Then we have about ten more minutes!

    It's pretty cool, but I can understand why they edited it down for the album, basically distilling it to the most exciting parts. In that sense, the album version is "better" but it's cool to have the full version.
     
  22. NaturalD

    NaturalD The King of Pop

    Location:
    Boston, Mass., USA
    Isn’t it well documented that GH quit playing the sitar when got to know Ravi Shankar and he realized he was never going to play it properly? I can’t imagine him playing sitar on a studio session by the POB era. I cant wait to hear this material, but not in a box full of multiple takes and mixes of other stuff I don’t need.
     
    pghmusiclover likes this.
  23. Back into the box - the second blu-ray - jumped right to the end, the Yoko Ono Live Sessions. I started a separate thread because this album really is separate from the the Lennon album. If it genuinely belongs elsewhere, apologies and gorts please put it there.
    “Why?” might well be Lennon’s best, certainly most aggressive and experimental, guitar work. I love the Yoko album because of it. This version seems slightly more in your face... and the version they start with is eighteen minutes long.... ten minutes go by before Yoko shows up. “Why Not?” has Ringo continuing the Neu-like (think Hallogallo) like groove, only much slower than on “Why?” Greenfield Morning gets its own cool guitar riff going several minutes into the track. Touch Me reminds me of Sonic Youth playing over Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” drums.
    I wish they’d have put this on CD as well, I’d love to rip it to my iPhone and have it for driving around my town of Hiroshima.
     
    Elliottmarx and tug_of_war like this.
  24. DrAftershave

    DrAftershave A Wizard, A True Star

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Really enjoying the Yoko tracks on the box set. It makes for a much fuller overview of that period.
     
    frightwigwam likes this.
  25. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    "Why Not"
    As with "Why", it's essentially the same sort of jam as heard on the official POB album, but 21 minutes long! The first 2 minutes is sort of the band finding their footing. Klaus doesn't start his driving bassline until 6 minutes in. From there it's the schmello jam with Yoko improvising intonations, as we know from the album... At 12 minutes they briefly go into double-time, and the song breaks down, which is where the usual end of the song is (with the train overdub). The rest of Why Not is completely new! Then at 13 minutes, Ringo starts building up again to a new, more driving beat, that is a bit reminiscent of the second verse of "I Found Out". Yoko comes back with a number of "Joooohhhhnnnn!"s but John himself is subdued, playing the tremmed guitar in the background. At about 16 minutes, Ringo starts goofing around on his toms, and Yoko is wailing. Klaus is out. The band seems to be running out of steam. Then at 17 minutes the driving beat comes back and the band has a second wind. This is pretty cool, a more sure version of the jam at 13 minutes! Definitely has Can vibes. At 19 minutes it soudns like Klaus is attempting chords on the bass, to unimpressive results; then he sounds like he's detuning his bass as he's playing, until the sudden end at 21 minutes.

    Pretty neat. The first half of this is what we already know, but select pieces of the second half of "Why Not" were worth the listen. The breakdown in the middle was a bit meh, but what do you expect?
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine