50th Anniversary all things Beatles White Album

My Grandma used to say 'Ey Up' an awful lot. I was rather tickled when one of the Fabs said it on this album (is it John?) Rather looking forward to this set. Hope 'Ey Up' is still there before 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'...

 

Well the MMT album existed in the first place by acting as a catch-all for other stray tracks from the era

 

As I said, they could be put on Past Master Vol2. Just so long as we don't still have the Yellow Submarine "album" to buy again, I'm ok with that

 

What does that mean?

 

I suppose it's a kind of greeting as in 'Ey Up, not seen you for a while' or an acknowledgement in general 'Ey up, here comes trouble'. Never really thought about it...

 

Ey up, Northern English slang, a declaration of acknowledgement, especially after meeting or seeing someone unexpectedly. Useful for everything from unexpectedly running into a friend to acknowledging being presented with a cup of tea.

 

Ey up is a Northernism, particularly in Lancashire, as in "holes in Blackpool Lancashire". It kind of means "alright mate", "alright love", "hey" or "hi". A Beatle says it before Weeps starts

 

Oh, we all replied at the same time.

Too Many People.... etc

 

Don't really want to veer off topic too much but here something, admittedly spelt differently than I did
Do people really say 'ay up me duck?'
Dolly Parton somehow makes it sound a bit offensive...

 

Haven't heard the version with that bit in many years, but wasn't it George?

 

Blackburn, Lancashire not Blackpool!

 

I’ve heard ‘ducks’ or ‘ducky’ used as a term of endearment before, usually between older, long married couples. Otherwise calling someone ducky is to suggest that they might be a little effeminate; unless you know them well and they know you mean it in jest, expect to be punched.

 

Quite possibly, I could never tell...

 

Sounds like John to me, but do we really want to go down this road again?

 

No it's John saying "Ey Oop!"

 

Insert your Anthology* outtakes here.....

CD 4: Sessions

1. Revolution I (Take 18)
2. Don't Pass Me By (Take 3 & 4)*
3. A Beginning (Take 4) / Don’t Pass Me By (Take 7)
4. Blackbird (Take 4)*
5. Blackbird (Take 28)
6. Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey (Unnumbered rehearsal)
7. Good Night (Unnumbered rehearsal)
8. Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
9. Good Night (Take 22)
10. Good Night (Take 34)*
11. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Take 3)
12. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Take 5)*
13. Revolution (Unnumbered rehearsal)
14. Revolution (Take 14 – Instrumental backing track)
15. Cry Baby Cry (Unnumbered rehearsal)
16. Cry Baby Cry (Take 1)*
17. Helter Skelter (First version – Take 2)

CD 5: Sessions

1. Sexy Sadie (Take 3)
2. Sexy Sadie (Take 6)*
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Take 1)*
4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic version – Take 2)
5. Hey Jude (Take 1)
6. Hey Jude (Take 2)*
7. St. Louis Blues (Studio jam)
8. Not Guilty (Take 102)
9. Mother Nature’s Son (Take 2)*
10. Mother Nature’s Son (Take 15)
11. Yer Blues (Take 5 with guide vocal)
12. What’s the New Mary Jane (Take 1)
13. What’s The New Mary Jane (Take 4)*
14. Rocky Raccoon (Take 8)
15. Back in the U.S.S.R. (Take 5 – Instrumental backing track)
16. Dear Prudence (Vocal, guitar & drums)
17. Let It Be (Unnumbered rehearsal)
18. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third version – Take 27)
19. (You’re so Square) Baby, I Don’t Care (Studio jam)
20. Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)
21. Glass Onion (Take 10)

CD 6: Sessions

1. I Will (Take 1)*
2. I Will (Take 13)
3. Blue Moon (Studio jam)
4. I Will (Take 29)
5. Step Inside Love (Studio jam)
6. Los Paranoias (Studio jam)
7. Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)
8. Birthday (Take 2 – Instrumental backing track)
9. Piggies (Take 12 – Instrumental backing track)
10. Happiness is a Warm Gun (Take 19)
11. Honey Pie (Instrumental backing track)
12. Savoy Truffle (Instrumental backing track)
13. Martha My Dear (Without brass and strings)
14. Long, Long, Long (Take 44)
15. I’m So Tired (Takes 3, 6 & 9)*
16. I’m so tired (Take 7)
17. I’m so tired (Take 14)
18. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (Take 2)
19. Why don’t we do it in the Road? (Take 4)*
20. Why don’t we do it in the road? (Take 5)
21. Julia (Two rehearsals)
22. Julia (Take 2)*
23. The Inner Light (Take 6 – Instrumental backing track)
24. Lady Madonna (Take 2 – Piano and drums)
25. Lady Madonna (Takes 3 & 4)*
26. Lady Madonna (Backing vocals from take 3)
27. Across The Universe (Take 2)*
28. Across the Universe (Take 6)

 

I always heard it was Bernard Purdie.

 

I never made the assertion that Beatles products are unreasonably priced.
I said that they are always priced at whatever the top tier price level is.
And that is true and has always been true. But, that seems entirely reasonable to me.
But, you have called the White Album box a money grab and a price gouge.
And wondering if John would go along with charging $180 or even $160 for some outtakes.
Maybe not, who would, I wouldn't.
Because obviously the box is much, much more than "some outtakes".
If John were still here, I think he'd be surprised and happy to see how important his band is, some fifty years on. I think he'd be thrilled to see this album, in particular, being celebrated.
And would join in celebrating with us.
Strictly in terms of price point, spending $180 - $160 is more than anyone should need to spend for this.
I'm certainly not.
The almost $130 I expect to pay, I find more than reasonable, given what I anticipate getting in return.
We differ here quite a bit. You seem almost offended at the price point, citing $20+ per disc as way beyond reason.
I'm curious what's the dollar amount that works for you?
It appears that we both paid about the same for the CD mono box. I think that most everyone feel like we do, that it was money well spent.
Interesting though that the mono box
was $310 for 13 discs. That works out to almost $24 per disc. Still money well spent, even though it's almost $6 more than the $18.50 per disc I'm spending for the White Album box and I'm getting what looks like a very nice book to go along with it.
If anything, I'd love to have gotten the book that came in the Mono LP box.

 

I’m not a fan of having a separate “pricing” thread usually, but maybe some of these conversations belong over there?

 

Can y'all help me - I have not heard the Esher Demos or the outtakes. Some of you have heard them via bootlegs. I am, indeed, a huge Beatles fan. My question is whether one is more of a must listen than the other, or are both an essential listen? My question relates to whether to get just the Deluxe 4LP set with the Esher Demos, get the Super Deluxe set (with everything in a digital format), or get both?

 

Thank you!! I always wondered what the heck was said there. It sounded like something cut off mid word, but it's apparently a small saying.

 

I'll speak from my personal experience -- I used to not particularly like the White Album, but there were two key events over the last 5-6 years that opened up the album's artistry for me, and now it's one of my favorites.

The first was a concentrated period of listening to the album on shuffle. There was an excitement to what's going to come next that put the album's kaleidoscope of influences into focus. It no longer seemed like a slog for me. Now when I play the album in sequence, it has that same excitement for me.

The second was when I sat down and listened to all 27 Esher demos. Hearing the early versions of the songs helped me understand where they were at stylistically in '68, and it helped me see the album as really a songwriter record, not just an eccentric series of genre exercises.

I'm sure the outtakes will be cool, but the Eshers are absolutely essential, in my opinion.

 

I'm already reading Esher as "Ee-sher" in my head now. Doesn't take long.

 

I am getting both and very much looking forward to them.

 

I actually stumbled on the Eesher bootlegs by accident back in 1995. We were at an import CD joint and one of our rules was, to impulse buy so I grabbed a White Album disc that came in the same packaging as the record, this was before 1998 so it wasn’t the 30th anniversary.

I assumed it was a regular white album disc on record style packaging, and then on the way home popped it in my car CD player and the Eesher version of Back In The USSR started playing. I was like, these sound weird and sort of fake, so I turned back around and returned it and got my refund. I didn’t hear any Eesher until the Anthology came out.