Are Esher demos the greatest out-of-nowhere gift to fans in rock history?

I refuse to say it with a long E. I'm sticking to that.

 

This is correct. They obviously could have released these back then and made a killing.

I really think the whole Anthology thing was a waste of time/product. It interfered with the Live at the BBC series that might otherwise have been forthcoming (or, you know, the entire thing being made available), teased a few Esher demos only, and generally got in the way of a batch of really good, standalone releases that might otherwise have been issued.

It succeeded in being a big hype to keep Ringo out of more Pizza Hut commercials and to allow George to pay off his tax bills and whatnot, but otherwise it was a fairly useless endeavor.

 

Do you mean including the documentary series and the book? If so, I disagree. It's been a great resource for new fans, and I think it was worth getting those interviews while The Beatles were still relatively young. It wasn't long before George passed away. Besides, I'm guessing anything released then would be re-released now anyway.

 

Overrated stuff.....

 

I concede that the documentary film and the book have their moments... even though the film has more Neil Aspinal than John Lennon, and the surviving Beatles have notoriously wonky memories of events. The book I really enjoy... even though it, too, has numerous photo-errors and so on, but at least it's visually sumptuous.

I was referring more to the CD issues.

 

They are wonky, but I think what they remembered and how they remembered it was very telling.

That's fair. Though there's a decent chance The Beatles would've still been too cage-y to release as much as they've released now.

 

I want the AC/DC Wrigley Field Blu-ray myself.
The Esher demos are okay, but no big deal to me.

 

The Esher boots (i.e. John Lennon's mono tape of George's Esher 4-track tapes) were apparently made by holding a microphone up to a speaker while the Beatles chatted in the background. It sounds okay for what it is, but it's hardly "very good". Someone even mentioned here that they can't tell much difference in the sound quality, which is a bit baffling honestly.

 

To answer OP, yes, they're up there. We knew they had them and in great quality (see: Anthology 3) so it wasn't an out-of-nowhere shock that we got them, but it was still a VERY welcome gift to get (well, to pay for, but you know what I mean). I wrote about that very thing a few weeks ago --> The Rock and Roll Chemist: I FINALLY Get One of My Holy Grails: The Beatles White Album Esher Demos from May 1968

They were definitely a holy grail for me and I'm VERY happy to have them.

 

generational, I assume
and for many meat and potatoes rock/pop fans
acoustic may only mean folk (which they probably don't listen to), and maybe, country
so for many coming out of the highly processed 80s, 'unplugged' was quite a novelty

 

I just need to breathe for a second. In the last few months we have gotten so many wonderful releases from Paul, John, and the Beatles! I honestly don't know which one I like the most. I feel like we have gotten two near masterpieces from Paul with his new Egypt Station and his reconstructed double album of RSS. The Esher White Album songs continue to be a revelation to me as well.

 

Yes

 

"Coat" is pronounced like caught not boat.

 

Can I say Hendrix at Heathrow?

 

Eh, what !!! is that meant to be funny.

 

Hardly new to me. I've had them on Bootleg for nearly 20 years. But it's nice to have the whole tape in excellent sound. Just reading through these it's amazing how many people on this forum will **** on anything.

 

No way. Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series Vols 1-3 are / were.

 

Uh, no silly. Oh, and silly is not pronounced like dilly, but more like soily, or at least that's what Paul tells me, and that isn't silly at all... baby.

 

That and the complete Basement Tapes.

 

I would have said Basement Tapes had we not all had the bootleg for 30 years. As great as it is it isn't really an out of the blue release whereas I feel BS 1-3 was and is still a revelation.

 

Esher Demos?

Give me the original double version of Red Rose Speedway and the all the leftovers from the Ram sessions any day.

 

Can't remember If I posted this on this thread, but here is my attempt to make it flow like a Beatles album with the lads alternating lead vocals like usual. I tried to give the ebb and flow of one of their albums while trying to spotlight all of the tracks that didn't make it onto the proper album.

The Beatles - Esher Almond Album, a playlist by Dr. Pepper on Spotify

 

Esher Demos marketed as "The Beatles White Album UNPLUGGED" in 1998 for the 30th anniversary would have sold 2 million copies and been #1.

It could have been followed in 1999 with GET BACK (a better version of LIBN) with the songs stripped and more live sounding, again for the "unplugged" vibe of the times and in honor of the 50th anniversary of the sessions. Again, this would have sold a killing in '99.

 

Or in 1978 or 1988 with a different title.

For one reason or another, they didn't think of such things back then.

 

Not a gift, I had to pay for it! It’s good though.