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Post by berkley on Oct 19, 2017 1:59:18 GMT -5
The Beatles Deconstructed - Rubber Soul
I saw this documentary, I suppose you'd call it - really a recorded presentation or lecture given by this guy Scott Freiman on the album in the title. I imagine it probably doesn't convey any information that isn't available in various books devoted to the Beatles recording sessions - I noticed that some of the ones mentioned by Confessor earlier in the thread were cited as references (e.g. Mark Lewisohn's) - but since I've never looked at any of those books there was a lot of stuff that was news to me, and that made the film very enjoyable.
I also liked how they structured the film in according to the calendar or day-by-day studio sessions: it gave a strong sense of the enormous pressure they were under, and hence also of what an incredible accomplishment it was to come up with such a masterpiece (it really was, in pop music terms), most of it previously unwritten, in just one month while under the gun.
On the negative side, the presenter got on my nerves a little bit at times and one or two of his anecdotes struck me as pointless and inane, but that was probably more of a personal chemistry thing.
It's certainly made me listen to Rubber Soul several times since I saw it. Though I've long been familiar will the various songs on it, this is a Beatles album I never really knew well as an album, an whole, individual piece of work - mainly for the very reason that I knew all the songs from various other compilations and thus never felt the need to look at it as a piece. After seeing this movie and listening to it multiple times over the last few days, I have a much better appreciation for how ground-breaking it was for pop music at the time. The sheer variety of songs and styles is pretty amazing in itself, apart from the uniform high quality of the compositions - pretty much every single track is a classic, in the most positive sense of the word.
I grew up listening to the Beatles and they're so familiar, so much a part of my world, external and internal, that I probably tend to take them for granted sometimes. But the sheer talent involved just blows me away when I see and hear their work, familiar as it is, from a slightly new angle. I'd recommend this to any Beatles fan who hasn't already immersed themselves in the literature and really to anyone interested in the history of pop music at all.
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Post by Jesse on Oct 24, 2017 15:42:11 GMT -5
I have listened to this quite a few times on repeat since someone mentioned it earlier in thread. "Mull of Kintyre" is an incredibly beautiful song and one of my all time favorite songs by Paul McCartney & Wings.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Oct 29, 2017 6:17:50 GMT -5
^^ Mull of Kintyre is all too often unfairly maligned (at least over here in the UK, I've no idea how the general public view it in the States). Just like John Lennon's imagine, it's a simple, but effective piece of music. And also like Lennon's Imagine, Mull of Kintyre's simplicity and lyrical sincerity are absolutely key to its enduring and universal appeal. I think it gets a bad rap overall. Is it McCartney's best post-Beatles song? Not by a long shot, but it is a stirring piece of music that patriotically conjures the emotive, wind swept atmosphere of its subject matter.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 5, 2017 22:21:23 GMT -5
I like to watch an episode of the venerable old panel show "What's My Line?" once in a while. Sometimes that old-school glamour and sparkling wit is the perfect tonic. Tonight, I clicked on one because it featured two "mystery guests." It was only then that I saw it was the episode from February 9, 1964.
That's right, just 90 minutes after the American debut of the Fab Four on Sullivan. And on the same network and in the same studio! The show is rife with references to the Beatles, even featuring a contestant who manufactures "Beatle" wigs, a product he claims he already has orders for 300,000 of!
Host John Daly makes reference to having to navigate through the throngs of admirers to make his way to the studio, but refreshingly there seems to be no derision or dismissal as one might expect from these more "establishment" personalities. Quite the opposite, there seems to be an excitement and an almost palpable sense of "electricity" that enlivens the show. It must have been VERY exciting to have been there that night.
This would have aired at 10:30 p.m. EST just footsteps away from where the band had just made history, so it really is ground zero for Beatlemania.
Oh, yeah! The mystery guests are an impossibly young Jane Fonda and legendary song writer Johnny Mercer. Also, Bobby Darrin (!) is on the panel.
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Post by Rob Allen on Dec 6, 2017 14:37:36 GMT -5
Oh, yeah! The mystery guests are an impossibly young Jane Fonda and legendary song writer Johnny Mercer. Also, Bobby Darrin (!) is on the panel. Darin and Mercer made an album together just three years earlier: |
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Post by Farrar on Dec 6, 2017 20:47:04 GMT -5
I like to watch an episode of the venerable old panel show "What's My Line?" once in a while. Sometimes that old-school glamour and sparkling wit is the perfect tonic. Tonight, I clicked on one because it featured two "mystery guests." It was only then that I saw it was the episode from February 9, 1964. ... I love those old WML episodes on YouTube. I binge-watched several seasons a couple of years ago--such a great glimpse into the time back then--the clothing, social customs, etc. |
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Post by berkley on Dec 7, 2017 1:04:46 GMT -5
I was watching an episode of WML with Anita Ekberg a year or two back and she just looks incredible - as you'd expect, of course.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Dec 5, 2018 7:51:17 GMT -5
I miss this thread.  So, has anyone got the new, expanded, 50th Anniversary White Album reissue on their Christmas list?  Myself, I have some criticisms of the full 6 disc set. I think that some of the extras, like the 3 discs of studio outtakes and acoustic "Kinfauns demos", look very appealing (I have the acoustic demos on bootlegs already, but it'll be nice to have them in tip-top fidelity). However, the outtakes CDs only clock in at 55-58 minutes approximately, which is a bit measly, considering that they could've easily gotten over 70 minutes of music on each disc. The full deluxe set is pretty pricey too: £129, which works out at a whopping £21.50 per disc! I mean, yeah...there is the nice hardback book included, but, to be honest, there won't be any info in that that I don't already know or any photos that I haven't already seen, so I'm really not that bothered about owning it. On the upside, I imagine that the outtakes in this set will be a bit more listenable than those on last years Sgt. Pepper's set, just because of the way in which the Beatles were recording at this point in their career: they played much more as a band during the White Album sessions. So, I think the alternate takes in this set will be more like completed performances (with guide vocals and minus some overdubs, naturally) than the more fragmentary, "work-in-progress" outtakes on the Sgt. Pepper's set. However, I really wish that Apple and the Beatles would just do these sets as purely archival collections, like Dylan's "Bootleg Series" of reissues, instead of including the white album in the set yet again -- this time as remixed by Giles Martin in stereo and 5.1 surround. The original 1968 George Martin mix was already fine, and it annoys me that Giles's work is offered up to fans as being somehow authentic, just because he was George's son. You might as well say that Julian Lennon should be allowed to tamper with the Beatles' recordings! So yeah, an interesting looking set for sure, but I feel that it could've been done in a much better and cheaper way for the hardcore fans who, let's face it, are the only ones who will be interested in all the outtakes and demos. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 5, 2018 8:53:16 GMT -5
I miss this thread. So, has anyone got the new, expanded, 50th Anniversary White Album reissue on their Christmas list? Myself, I have some criticisms of the full 6 disc set. I think that some of the extras, like the 3 discs of studio outtakes and acoustic "Kinfauns demos", look very appealing (I have the acoustic demos on bootlegs already, but it'll be nice to have them in tip-top fidelity). However, the outtakes CDs only clock in at 55-58 minutes approximately, which is a bit measly, considering that they could've easily gotten over 70 minutes of music on each disc. The full deluxe set is pretty pricey too: £129, which works out at a whopping £21.50 per disc! I mean, yeah...there is the nice hardback book included, but, to be honest, there won't be any info in that that I don't already know or any photos that I haven't already seen, so I'm really not that bothered about owning it. On the upside, I imagine that the outtakes in this set will be a bit more listenable than those on last years Sgt. Pepper's set, just because of the way in which the Beatles were recording at this point in their career: they played much more as a band during the White Album sessions. So, I think the alternate takes in this set will be more like completed performances (with guide vocals and minus some overdubs, naturally) than the more fragmentary, "work-in-progress" outtakes on the Sgt. Pepper's set. However, I really wish that Apple and the Beatles would just do these sets as purely archival collections, like Dylan's "Bootleg Series" of reissues, instead of including the white album in the set yet again -- this time as remixed by Giles Martin in stereo and 5.1 surround. The original 1968 George Martin mix was already fine, and it annoys me that Giles's work is offered up to fans as being somehow authentic, just because he was George's son. You might as well say that Julian Lennon should be allowed to tamper with the Beatles' recordings! So yeah, an interesting looking set for sure, but I feel that it could've been done in a much better and cheaper way for the hardcore fans who, let's face it, are the only ones who will be interested in all the outtakes and demos. I was literally just thinking about this! I saw the regular CD release at Target and was wondering if the extras in the deluxe version are really worth it, especially when all I really want is something to listen to on my commute to work on the early mornings when all that's on the radio are infomercials. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Dec 5, 2018 9:06:12 GMT -5
I miss this thread. So, has anyone got the new, expanded, 50th Anniversary White Album reissue on their Christmas list? Myself, I have some criticisms of the full 6 disc set. I think that some of the extras, like the 3 discs of studio outtakes and acoustic "Kinfauns demos", look very appealing (I have the acoustic demos on bootlegs already, but it'll be nice to have them in tip-top fidelity). However, the outtakes CDs only clock in at 55-58 minutes approximately, which is a bit measly, considering that they could've easily gotten over 70 minutes of music on each disc. The full deluxe set is pretty pricey too: £129, which works out at a whopping £21.50 per disc! I mean, yeah...there is the nice hardback book included, but, to be honest, there won't be any info in that that I don't already know or any photos that I haven't already seen, so I'm really not that bothered about owning it. On the upside, I imagine that the outtakes in this set will be a bit more listenable than those on last years Sgt. Pepper's set, just because of the way in which the Beatles were recording at this point in their career: they played much more as a band during the White Album sessions. So, I think the alternate takes in this set will be more like completed performances (with guide vocals and minus some overdubs, naturally) than the more fragmentary, "work-in-progress" outtakes on the Sgt. Pepper's set. However, I really wish that Apple and the Beatles would just do these sets as purely archival collections, like Dylan's "Bootleg Series" of reissues, instead of including the white album in the set yet again -- this time as remixed by Giles Martin in stereo and 5.1 surround. The original 1968 George Martin mix was already fine, and it annoys me that Giles's work is offered up to fans as being somehow authentic, just because he was George's son. You might as well say that Julian Lennon should be allowed to tamper with the Beatles' recordings! So yeah, an interesting looking set for sure, but I feel that it could've been done in a much better and cheaper way for the hardcore fans who, let's face it, are the only ones who will be interested in all the outtakes and demos. I was literally just thinking about this! I saw the regular CD release at Target and was wondering if the extras in the deluxe version are really worth it, especially when all I really want is something to listen to on my commute to work on the early mornings when all that's on the radio are infomercials. Are you already familiar with the White Album? If not, I would stick with getting or downloading the regular stereo remaster from 2009 (which features the original George Martin mix of the album). If, however, you are already familiar with it and you just fancy hearing some of the extras, I can tell you that the disc of acoustic demos is fantastic and well worth anybody's time (I think this has been released in a cheaper 3 CD set, along with discs 1 and 2 of the remixed album). It's like the Beatles unplugged! The studio outtake discs will be interesting for hardcore fans, but will invariably feature inferior versions of the songs compared to the finished masters that ended up on the album itself. So, it's really a case of asking how much of a fan of the Beatles you are? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 5, 2018 9:21:45 GMT -5
I was literally just thinking about this! I saw the regular CD release at Target and was wondering if the extras in the deluxe version are really worth it, especially when all I really want is something to listen to on my commute to work on the early mornings when all that's on the radio are infomercials. Are you already familiar with the White Album? If not, I would stick with getting or downloading the regular stereo remaster from 2009 (which features the original George Martin mix of the album). If, however, you are already familiar with it and you just fancy hearing some of the extras, I can tell you that the disc of acoustic demos is fantastic and well worth anybody's time (I think this has been released in a cheaper 3 CD set, along with discs 1 and 2 of the remixed album). It's like the Beatles unplugged! The studio outtake discs will be interesting for hardcore fans, but will invariably feature inferior versions of the songs compared to the finished masters that ended up on the album itself. So, it's really a case of asking how much of a fan of the Beatles you are? Definitely familiar, I have it on vinyl and went through like cassettes growing up(my mom's car ate the first) and I've downloaded my favorite tracks since then. I'm leaning towards the cheaper set as like I said I'm mostly looking for something to listen to in the car and the added bonus of the coffee table book doesn't look like it contains too much new stuff. |
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Post by berkley on Dec 6, 2018 2:50:23 GMT -5
Not keen at all on the remix or whatever it is but I might have to get this for the bonus tracks - out-takes, demos, etc.
I see there's a 3-disc edition that's around a fifth of the price of the 6-disc one, but as far as I can tell only one of those three discs is devoted to demos, etc, so it probably is missing most of what I'd be looking for.
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Post by Rob Allen on Dec 14, 2018 14:08:52 GMT -5
Here's an interesting item someone found in Taiwan and posted to engrish.com:  |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Dec 14, 2018 20:05:18 GMT -5
Here's an interesting item someone found in Taiwan and posted to engrish.com:  That's amazing! |
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Post by chadwilliam on Dec 16, 2018 1:18:29 GMT -5
Was listening to 'John Sinclair' today and it finally struck me where Lennon got the melody for this piece from. Can't believe I only noticed this now.
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That's amazing!