Do you regard "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird" as real Beatles songs?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Psychsound, Mar 12, 2017.

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  1. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    Yes and no. 'Real Love' is pure John Lennon and sounds like it. 'Free As A Bird' comes closer to sounding like a Beatles song, but the problem I have with both is the production aesthetic. There was no attempt made to have them sound authentically like late-1960s Beatles records. And as much as I love George's slide guitar playing in general, slide wasn't something he did in the Beatles and so, together with the posh Jeff Lynne production, they sound less like Beatles songs than even some of their individual solo material did at times. I love the songs for what they are, but they nonetheless stand apart by design, likely because no one involved dared presume to be qualified to take the work of an artist as great as John Lennon and attempt to "elevate" it to some imaginary mythical status.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2018
  2. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    Three possible answers.
    1. She or her people hadn't yet located the better quality original demos, and this dubbed cassette labelled "For Paul" was all she thought she had (circa 1993 or whenever it was).
    2. She knew of the other demos at the time, but somehow didn't realize the quality was different, never A/B'd them or considered the consequences of submitting to the Beatles a lesser-quality tape.
    3. She knew there were better quality demos in the "archives" but chose to give the Threetles the lowest quality tape she had for reasons known only to her.
     
  3. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Despite the unusual circumstances of their recording, they do feature all four Beatles - several 'official' Beatles tracks feature only two or even just one Beatle. Hence, they are Beatles tracks- they may even have ended up as such had their main author lived.
     
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  4. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident

    No i don't.[and they're awful.]
     
  5. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    I'm glad there wasn't an attempt to make these sound like 60s songs. They were written in the late 70s, and I think it makes sense for the circumstances for the production of them to have a different sound than the bulk of the 60s catalog. At the same time, the Beatles were always evolving. Help doesn't sound like Pepper which doesn't sound like Abbey Road, etc. They were always a real chameleon band. The only true classic "Beatles sound" is when John, Paul and George are singing/harmonizing together. And on these songs, we get that.

    Paul doesn't even play his Hofner or Rick on these, he plays the "Elvis" upright bass. Not sure what guitars George used, but just going by the Real Love video, I didn't see him playing one of his vintage 60s ones in that...I guess he could have at another point, I don't know.

    Having the uke and audience ending with applause and the backwards John dialog at the end of FAAB was enough of a nod to the bands psychedelic and White Album periods, IMO. Going over the top with trying to sound 60s would have backfired.

    That said, had they done "Now and Then" or "Grow Old With Me" a very 60s-style, Abbey Road-esque score from George Martin would have been perfect. Pity they didn't do one of those for Anthology 3.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2018
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  6. dudley07726

    dudley07726 Forum Resident

    Location:
    FLA
    Now and Then is horrible. George was right in passing on it.
     
  7. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    OK then.

    Jeff, Paul and Ringo disagreed. It was actually the first of the four demos that Jeff and his engineers began working on in pre-production, so clearly he saw the potential and had a vision for the sound of the song. And no one on this board or elsewhere has heard what they were working up for it when George put a stop to it.
     
  8. dudley07726

    dudley07726 Forum Resident

    Location:
    FLA
    Judging by the other 2 songs which they recorded and Johns demo of Now & Then, the last one is definitely the worst of the 3.
     
  9. Chemically altered

    Chemically altered Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine in Spirit
    No way Jose. (Feliciano)
     
  10. I hold The Beatles to the same standard as any other band. They are real Beatles songs.
     
  11. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    No. No. No.
    It's the three-atles overdubbed on a John Lennon track. I'm just weird that way though...
     
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  12. originalsnuffy

    originalsnuffy Socially distant and unstuck in time

    Location:
    Tralfalmadore
    There are versions of Now and Then on YouTube (or at least there were ) that sound to me like Jeff L and the Threetles were involved. And I think those versions sounded pretty good. Just one person's opinion.

    What was the fourth track?
     
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  13. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    I beg to differ; Yesterday *is* a real Beatles song because it was recorded while the group was a functioning unit in which each member had the option of giving their thoughts on the song, how it should be recorded, etc. , regardless of the fact that only one of them was on it. To put it simply, it was written and recorded within "Beatle context", if that makes any sense. Real Love and FAAB are John Lennon songs created long after the band ceased to exist and weren't meant for the others to perform on. At closest, they're a tribute-like addendum of three ex-Beatles added to a fourth....as much a tribute to John as to what was once, "The Beatles" but, a tribute of sorts nonetheless as opposed to the actual thing itself. Tracks such as I Will, Blackbird or Julia are more "Beatle songs" than these other two could ever be, IMO.
     
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  14. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    No you're not. Makes perfect sense.:righton:
     
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  15. Kiss73

    Kiss73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Well....there is as more Beatles playing on them than on some of the White Album tracks....and you all love them...so yup...genuine Beatles songs
     
  16. ZiltoidtheOmniscient

    ZiltoidtheOmniscient Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon
    Funny I like the fan made version of "Now and Then" better than those two ....go figure.
     
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  17. Contact Lost

    Contact Lost Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    I'm not a big fan of Real Love, but I think Free as a Bird is amazing track. I get goosebumps every time I listen to John's piano demo. Just love these chords. He was a master of beautiful chords, imo. And yes, I consider them as 2 Beatles tracks.

    P.S. Thanks to Yoko, who gave them to Paul! (so I heard)

    P.P.S. With some hopes that unlimited mix will be eventually released some day...
     
  18. Contact Lost

    Contact Lost Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    Why John never released Free as a Bird on Double Fantasy?
     
  19. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    indubitably!
     
  20. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    Officially, they are songs released on albums called Beatles Anthology, so I have to say they are.
     
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  21. zen

    zen Senior Member

    It destroyed their legacy forever! :realmad:;) Seriously, they're a great addition to the catalog, IMHO.
     
  22. Will Harris

    Will Harris Forum Resident

    Exactly. If "Ballad Of John and Yoko" is a Beatles song, these are. I loved having two new Beatles songs. George, Paul, and Ringo did a wonderful job.
     
  23. Diamond Star Halo

    Diamond Star Halo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I’m not really big on Free As A Bird. Lynne’s production and Harrison’s slide guitar make it sound more like a Travelling Willburys Song than a Beatles track.

    I like Real Love better, but I still prefer the solo acoustic version on the Imagine soundtrack.

    I personally do not consider either track to be a Beatles song.
     
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  24. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy

    Location:
    USA
    Yes I go with 3 - I find it hard to believe that this was the best quality available
     
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  25. Because Yoko didn't have the better sounding tape at the moment as I recall. It was stolen but eventually returned.
     
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