Beatles "Carnival of Light" Who has heard it?*

If this is discussed somewhere I’d love to read about it.

 

The problem with CoL now is it's been too hyped and probably would be a letdown. Throwing it in with a bunch of unreleased stuff from the same period to give it context would have been most appropriate. I'm not sure how they would do that if it technically belongs with the Pepper sessions. For me, that's two mishaps for the Pepper box, not letting "Only a Northern Song" or "Carnival of Light" be part of it. One would think if Paul likes it, he would want it out while he's still around.

 

I remember when Paul did some show in Liverpool Sound Collage around 2000 that he played a track called Ppastic Beatle. I think I have the music there are 4 tracks and PB is one of them. I listened to it at the time and didn’t recognize any Beatle talk on it. Maybe I didn’t listen to it close enough back then and I never heard it again. I am sure it had been discussed before. Here is 30 seconds of it on Spotify

Plastic Beetle – Paul McCartney, a playlist by flibusted on Spotify

 

The most obscure Beatle-related recording(s) I'd like to hear is the double solo album Paul allegedly recorded for the other three as a 1967, 68, or 69 Christmas present.
Only three copies were cut, if in fact any ever existed at all.

I read it in one of the many 1970s Beatles books published no later than 1978, and most likely a book regarding their recordings (but then I think one or two of those early books possibly claimed that 'Have You Heard The Word' and 'The Candle Burns' were the Beatles).

I've only heard it mentioned once and never since, either in subsequent books or even here on this site, which makes me believe it was a indeed a rumor, or, a misunderstanding on my part to begin with.

Anyone else hear of this, or is there a better/more generalized thread to ask it in?

 

yeah, I have that CD. I’ll check out Plastic Beatle again. Thanks.

 

I've never heard that he recorded Christmas songs for his band mates. It is widely known that he did record an album of Christmas music for his family, which is played around his house seasonally. I don't think they are all original compositions.

 

Are you thinking of “Unforgettable”? It isn’t much to listen to. It’s just Paul being a DJ and plays bunch of songs off his HiFi or something. He gave it to the fabs as a Christmas present in 66 I believe. Lennon had a copy on tape and he recorded over some. I only listened to it once, pretty forgettable if you asked me. It’s out there. Far out there.

 

Wasn't there word that some now-deceased record store owner in SF had one of the "COL" acetates? I might be mangling my facts, but I could have sworn I read that here...

 

I think The Beatles had already cemented their reputation with the release of Sgt Pepper.

 

The 'Anthology' series would have been the perfect vehicle for it, if it were any good at all.
Would have put it into context too of the experimentation to get the track(s) that worked with the other examples.
On it's own, it probably carries very light weight.
They could release it as a digital download, but then it'd be forgotten before you could count to 10.
Unless they have it designated for some other big 'unreleased' album/set in the future,
I think people are clutching straws at this mysterious recording being 'worthwhile'.
I'm sure if it had the 'magic' of the 4 guys, it would have made the stage by now.
It may be released someday, but 'they', and a lot of 'us' will be probably gone from this earth before it does....

 

Paul must be secretly confiding this information to you because there is no public evidence that what you’ve written is true.

 

I don't know if there is any footage (silent or otherwise) of the "Million Volt Light and Sound Rave" but if there is, then "Carnival Of Light" would be a great soundtrack for it: the video could be included in a super deluxe edition covering the MMT and YS eras.

 

Revolution Take 20 for me! Plus, there's still a good deal of material that, while not mind-blowing, I would still like it to have an official release, eg the fast version of Two Of Us, a group version of Across The Universe, Take 11 of What You're Doing, Take 2 of Norwegian Wood etc

Re: 12-Bar Original, it's lame but I love it.

Yes! Mary Jane is meh, You Know My Name is awesome.

 

"Let's hear it, before we get taken awa-"

 

I wonder if Two Virgins had been recorded and then never released in 1968 and never heard by fans; would it be a holy grail now? It's like romance, the one you never had, but if you had her/him it would be mediocre but you will never know .

 

Yes, it probably would be. Considering the Beatles status, and the myth that has cultivated around Lennon since his murder, why wouldn't this be something that folks would want to hear?

"Two Virgins," when it was released, was a controversy because of the cover. But, as the history of Lennon and the Beatles were analyzed in retrospect, this LP (and whatever noise, nonsense, music, ramblings it contained) became very symbolic of Lennon's relationship with Ono and its repercussions within the Beatles. The Beatles' story cannot be written without this LP.

That said, regarding the actual "art" in the grooves -- Considering what his relationship with Ono meant regarding the rest of his life from 1968 on, if someone said:

"Hey, there is an unreleased tape of Lennon and Ono creating weirdness in Lennon's home studio on the night they first got together... Lennon wanted to put it out, but EMI and Apple shelved it, so the tape ended up at the Dakota..."

Would every BeatlesGeek in the world want to hear it? Hell yes!

We would all want to hear it first, and then state that it is amazing / total garbage / boring as hell / confusing / inspiring / etc.

Whenever we get "insider folks' who have heard some piece of music, experimental noise, or demo that the masses have not, and then say something like, "No, it's just incredibly boring and substandard. You don't want to hear it. It's not that good. It should not be released" with a smirk on their faces, they don't realize what privileged patronizing d-bags they sound like.

 

The late Ray Andersen, the former owner of Grooves Records Store in San Francisco. According to various sources, he brought back the tape copy given to the organizers of the festival when he returned home to San Francisco after its conclusion.

That said, according to a fellow forum member, his estate is known to be in possession of an acetate, with no mention of a tape copy (although Mr.Andersen is said to have had a large collection of music memorabilia when he passed, so its possible that said tape copy may reside within those holdings as well).

 

I don't know about that....
I thought most of the Beatle-stuff from "LSC" was left-over 'banter'....

 

Makes me wonder why Paul doesn't release as solo, since it's his song!!!!!

 

In practice, Paul can probably do whatever he wants, but... this track is still considered "Beatles material" as it was recorded while he was under contract with the group and with EMI -- he can't, theoretically, release it without the sign-off of the other three parties.

 

He needs permission from the other 3 Fabs or their estates. And I presume that hasn't been possible, if the idea was even suggested.

 

Maybe he doesn't think it's good enough?

 

With the other Beatles participating/performing.

 

Paul spoke of using it as a soundtrack to a film of Linda’s pictures he was putting together a few years ago.

 

Great. It should have been on Anthology 1.
(There certainly were items it could have replaced.)