Wow that is a tantalizing list. Demos are so cool to hear, obviously not because of the sound quality, but because they offer a special glimpse into the creative process. They can be really magical, capturing some of these classic songs right at the moment of inspiration. Also it can be interesting to see how different they are from the finished songs. John's two demos from '63 are gems. So glad we got those on the copyright release. Glad we got the Esher demos too, and now it seems like we are in for a treat with Yellow Submarine. But the SFF demos are hauntingly beautiful and will always be my favourites.
Yes, I’m pretty sure he’s referring to the experience of sitting in a control room at Abbey Road playing back the original multi tracks or the stereo masters. ( probably the digital transfer of them)
Makes you wonder why weren't any of these demos included in the Anthology series? Any info on the source of this YS "songwriting tape"? Was it recorded in Abbey Road, Cavendish, Kenwood or? If there's more where that's coming from, then it would truly be Beatles holy grail, to witness the evolution of those songs!
The age I was when Revolver was released. It was the first stereo album I bought, and I wore that sucker out.
Great to have some "fresh blood" participate! (Says the forum member who has kids that are twice your age)
Where did you hear about all of these? I’d love to hear them all. I’m guessing all of the Lennon demo’s were given to Paul & are the only copies that exist & come from his own collection. I’m particularly intrigued by: It's Different With Me (1963 Lennon piano demo). Is anything more known about this song?
One of my favorite movies and the soundtrack is brilliant. Bought the album soon after "Revolver" in early 1967, if I remember correctly. I can't see it on a Revolver edition though.
I always associate The Family Way soundtrack with the Revolver/Sgt Pepper/White Album period. Also, the movie is one of my all-time favorites so I'm probably biased. One of the themes from this movie, "Love in the Open Air" won an Ivor Novello award for McCartney in 1968. It's available on YouTube if you want to give it a listen. Edit: Just saw that Past Masters has posted a link above.
None of em liked going through archival material if it was "boring". 1989: "John singing, ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ is the top thing of the unreleased stuff,” McCartney said of the song that some Beatles fans have acquired via bootlegged copies. The rest of the material is “inferior,” he said." 1996: "After [George Harrison] had joked that after Volume 3, anything else should be called ‘Scraping The Barrel,‘ George Martin said, ‘Yeah, we’d have to put a government health warning on it!‘" And I distinctly remember having read a mid-2000s interview in which Ringo complains about fans wanting more outtakes, and him not understanding why.
It’s understandable, albeit, a bit annoying. They were at work, creating something together and probably completely underestimate the importance of their ‘works in progress’ as they aren’t the finished article. But to people like us, they’re an insight into the art and the artist.
As a fan and formerly aspiring songwriter/musician, it boggles my mind how these guys can’t understand how the evolution of these incredible records is of great interest to fans. They like to act and talk on how they want to connect with their fans, blah blah..but in a number of ways, they’re in their own bubble and have very little idea what their fans want or why.
I got most of that info from interviews and a few books, such as: Many Years From Now (Paul's semi-autobiography) The Art & Music of John Lennon (by Peter Doggett) The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film (by Richie Unterberger) (also the book included in the deluxe 50th anniversary box of All Things Must Pass)
I'm pretty sure the lead lines are played in the A chord position. The 'Complete Tab' book even went as far as dropping the top E string down to D to play them (as per the record key).
Isn't there also a 1968 studio demo of "The Long and Winding Road" as well? I remember hearing a story where Paul recorded it and then gave away the acetate to someone, but I can't find any more info about it.