I played bass in bar bands for 25 years, moving and setting up our own equipment. I have no complaints. And for a lot less money, believe me. Does that qualify?
I think a short version for wider audiences would be great!!! Just the best moments, all killer no filler. Maybe 150 minutes.... A little less talk and a little more action (music), as Elvis would put it...
Guys, double check on this before ordering. For whatever reason,the product description says 120 minutes. I could be misreading.
Forthlin Road, consisting of council houses (public housing), is off a busy main road, Mather Avenue which is lined with, in many cases, upmarket private houses. It's a strange mix which means Paul was raised in a nice area of the city if in a fairly basic house. It's a good six or seven miles from the Dingle area where Ringo lived.
I don’t think Peter Jackson has much interest in doing that. When he was supposed to be working on a two-hour(ish) version, he apparently couldn’t figure out a satisfying way to achieve that. That’s why the limited theatrical previews were just one studio day plus the rooftop, as opposed to a proper shortened edit. (I can’t say I blame him!)
In terms of the development it's hard to know how far along it was without having heard it, but with George there is a pattern in how he operated which helps. More often than not he'd have the melody down first, then it would be a matter of filling words in, and given the title/subject matter of the song, he must've had at least a general idea of the lyrics. His demos are often pretty complete as well so I'd love to know if a demo for Art of Dying exists. From my understanding the reason it wasn't on Revolver was because it was too similar in theme to Tomorrow Never Knows which makes sense. With Sgt. Pepper it wouldn't have fit into what they were going for on that album and neither would Isn't It a Pity. I always think of Sgt. Pepper as being very bright whereas those songs are more brooding. I think with George there was always a conflict between his growth as an individual artist and the type of band The Beatles were, especially when they got to the point of distancing themselves from the Maharishi and the whole meditation thing. He's said in interviews that the songs he was writing that meant the most to him were the ones he knew weren't going to be as commercially viable so he felt he couldn't push for them as much as the ones which were light and catchy. Art of Dying wasn't brought up directly, but he mentions a song he's had for ages that was too "out there" and I suspect that was it. From The White Album onwards you really see him trying to suppress his spirituality and only alluding to it in a vague way. It seemed like George and what The Beatles were doing at a specific moment just never quite lined up with the right timing. In the case of All Things Must Pass it didn't fit with the live performance angle on Get Back because George wanted to use overdubs. It could've gone on Abbey Road but that's a whole other conversation. Let It Down was given up on because John found the chords too difficult. Hear Me Lord was no doubt too religious. Wah-Wah was written when he quit the band and curiously he kept that one in his pocket. What Is Life was written when he was working on Billy Preston's album which was the same period as Abbey Road. Maybe if The Beatles had kept going these songs would've found a way out eventually. Other songs on ATMP like Ballad of Frankie Crisp weren't written until 1970 when he moved to Friar Park which was a huge source of inspiration for him. From 1969-70 it was like songs were constantly popping in his head. As for the songs which made it on Let It Be v.s. the ones which didn't, I like both For You Blue and I Me Mine. They're cute, fit with the album, and For You Blue brought out a level of enthusiasm in John rarely seen in those sessions. However, I do think the others he had available were stronger and would've been equally as appropriate musically. They just weren't the best for the band playing live. Does that makes sense?
Surely what he is saying here is that he is a hero too the working class. John was never middle class, his Mother and Father were very working class, so was Mimi, even though she had pretensions of being middle class. Mimi grew up in a working class family, living in a small terraced house in Allerton with her sisters. Her Father George was a merchant seaman (like Freddie Lennon), she married well, to George Smith whose family owned a dairy farm and a shop. The Smith family were quite well off hence buying Mendips upon marriage. Brian Epstein was truly middle class.
Bewareofchairs…..you wrote up a highly detailed, extraordinary answer that pulled together and analyzed bits and pieces of what I’d read but I was unsure of some things. Thanks so much..I need to bookmark your answer for reference as I have memory problems now due to a physical problem. My partial confusion is the oft repeated various places notion that Beatles rejected George’s songs and that he had all of these songs completed but held back..but you laid out these songs in a timeline and show why some songs weren’t offered ….thanks again. My favorite song from ATMP is hear me lord. I agree that the George LIB album and single B side song by far matched LIB album style better.
Sure, though I think it’s clear that he had a materially more comfortable upbringing than George and Ringo, at least. Perhaps something in between working and middle class?
That’s probably right from my reading. Also, after Paul’s mom died who made twice what his dad made, john definitely had more material comfort than paul after after Hamburg return Paul’s dad once made him work on Liverpool docks think I read for extra money for the family. After Paul’s mom died, I’ve read his dad restricted the number of eggs they ate a week.
Dumb question. Why did TV Guide feature the band on the rooftop if Let It Be was only shown in movie theaters? Unless it was only a news piece to keep the band in the public eye to advertise what they thought would be Get Back before morphing into Let It Be the following year after Abbey Road?
Americans who were wondering what the Beatles were up to during the first part of 1969 got their first answers in TV Guide. The magazine’s April 19-25 issue contained a two-page spread featuring four individual and one group photo of the band in action. The brief article, titled “Four cats on a London roof,” informed readers of a TV documentary detailing the making of a new Beatles album. It stated that the filming was done to “let the world—all over which the Beatles hope to sell the documentary in a few months—know just how the Beatles go about their work.” Readers also learned that the album was recorded in a studio in London’s elegant Savile Row and that neighbors had called the bobbies (police) to quell the noise. We later learned that the concert has held on the roof of Apple headquarters. Shortly after the magazine was mailed to households and distributed to stores, radio stations began playing the Beatles new single, “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down.” The former song got the most spins, with its pure rock ’n’ roll sound, propelled by Ringo’s galloping drums, blasting out of radios throughout the land. Paul’s energetic vocal and nifty guitar work by John and George added to the excitement. The flip side, “Don’t Let Me Down,” was more of a soulful blues number with John on lead vocal. The image of the Beatles shown in TV Guide sprang to life about two weeks after its debut on the evening of Wednesday, April 30, when film of the band performing “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down” was shown on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. The “Get Back” clip featured the Beatles performing the song during their London rooftop concert with Paul on lead vocals and John playing the song’s rockabilly-styled guitar solo. When the song was over, the camera panned to the crowd forming in the streets below. The “Don’t Let Me Down” promo film provided additional information about the TV documentary and the recording of the songs. At the beginning, the group is indoors in what appears to be a dimly lit location. John is shown singing lead, with Paul and George providing backing vocals mainly on the chorus. This part of the film was obviously shot before the rooftop footage as John has a scraggly beard. At the beginning of the bridge, as John sings “I’m in love for the first time,” there is a closeup of Yoko’s face, showing that she was present during the sessions. The film switches to a rooftop performance of the song. During this sequence, a black musician (who we later learned was Billy Preston) is shown playing electric piano. The film then moves back indoors during the last chorus. As the song comes to an end, the camera pulls back, revealing what appears to be a film studio backdrop with scaffolded lighting. While the “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” videos had been shown on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, by the time the “Get Back” single was released, CBS had canceled the show. This led to country singer/guitarist Glen Campbell getting the Beatles for his own show. Campbell provided a wonderful tongue-in-cheek introduction to the “Get Back” promo film, pretending that he was presenting an unknown act discovered by comedian Pat Paulsen: “Well we like to give new talent a break here on the show, and Pat brought a brand new group back from London, and uh, he asked me if I’d give them a break, and I said, ‘well sure Pat, we’d be very grateful to have them on the show.’ So we’re gonna present them right now on the Goodtime Hour. Uh, what’s the name of that group, Pat? Oh yeah, ladies and gentlemen, directly from England, the Beatles.”
He should just ditch the chronological narrative and concentrate on the best musical moments... and end it with the uninterrumpted rooftop gig. He could do it if he tried...
Wow! Great historical context. I was 14 years old and vaguely remember the chronology, not to mention the Glenn Campbell debut. However what’s really blowing my mind is the Get Back/Don’t Let Me Down single came out 5-6 months BEFORE Abbey Road! Somehow I had forgotten this. That the film was originally intended as a TV segment now makes TV Guide sense thanks!
This is the cover. No one remembers how hip Lawrence was April 1969 - The Beatles Get Back To The Basics - beatle.net
I vaguely remember all of this and seeing it shown on tv then two but had forgotten that the GB/DLMD single came out that much sooner than the AR album…though I got that single then.
Edit to above post: I meant to write “too” not “two”..forgive as my petit mal seizures here must have kicked in and too late to correct the above post. Sorry and please forgive my general slaughtering of the language here and in other posts, lol. That mid to later sixties era was when I began seriously collecting on and following The Beatles and even collected mags mentioning them and trying to see them on tv when read about their tv appearances or films being shown on tv in TV guide or music mags.
Right on. And (as a writer who is doing what he loves, but is doing so in the context of a fairly brutal world) I thought of this Kinks song: Look a little on the sunnyside Even when they say you're on the slide And for a while, they'll say your records never make it But in a while they're gonna be showering you with praises They'll give you mediocre reviews And put you in the underground for a while But look a little on the funny, sunnyside of life Look a little on the sunnyside You sing 'em the blues And then they ask for a happy tune And when you start to smile They'll say gimme dat rhythm and blues And when you give 'em dat rhythm and blues They'll simply smile and say "We didn't want to hear you play We didn't like you anyway" It's very hard to please the people every single time But look a little on the sunnyside Look a little on the sunnyside Even when you feel you want to hide You've gotta laugh, don't let your critics ever upset you 'Cos for a while, the cynics will all be out to get you You gotta be shrewd, you gotta be strong You gotta convince yourself that you are not wrong Whistle a tune and think of a catchy, happy, little song And look a little on the sunnyside It's very hard to please the people every single time But look a little on the sunnyside They're gonna put you down for a while You gotta learn to grit your teeth and smile Look a little on the funny, sunnyside of life Look a little on the sunnyside