Gone Troppo was released by former Beatle George Harrison back in 1982. A notably pop-rock world with synthy new wave elements, Gone Troppo was dropped later in the year by Dark Horse Records, along with a handful of excellent singles, including “Wake Up My Love”, “I Really Love You”, and “Dream Away”.

It’s a fine production, one that makes good use of the production skills of Harrison, Ray Cooper, and former Beatles engineer Phil McDonald. And yet, it wasn’t a successful release.

The album did make it to No. 108 on the Billboard 200. It also did surprisingly well in Norway at No. 31. However, Gone Troppo didn’t chart at all in the UK. That’s surprising, considering Harrison’s previous album, Somewhere In England from 1981, peaked at No. 13 in the UK and No. 11 in the US.

There’s a reason Gone Troppo was a flop, and it really has nothing to do with the album’s quality. This is a really fantastic release from Harrison. If he cared a little more about promoting it, it likely would have been a smash hit. Why ‘Gone Troppo’ Deserved Better, and It Was Partly George Harrison’s Fault That It Didn’t Succeed

By the time Gone Troppo hit the shelves, George Harrison had become wholly uninterested in the pop music world. As such, he really didn’t try to promote it… at all. Because of this, Gone Troppo remains his only solo album released after The Beatles broke up that didn’t chart in the Top 20 in the US. And after it was released, Harrison took a long break from music that would last (outside of occasional soundtrack compositions) until the release of Cloud Nine in 1987.

Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com

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Paul McCartney returned to the stage over the weekend with a two-night stint in the comparatively intimate surroundings of the Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles.

Usually, of course, McCartney – one of the few individuals for whom that hackneyed phrase ‘living legend’ is applicable – plays arenas and stadiums, something he acknowledged early on, saying: “It’s great to be at these little gigs - I mean, it’s not that little.”

“It’s very lovely,” the 83-year-old ex-Beatle said of the venue, which used to be known as the Hollywood Music Box Theatre before it was named after Henry Fonda. “It’s good to see the whites of your eyes.”

The 23-song set covered all the Beatles and Wings classics you’d expect, plus the recent ‘last’ Beatles single, Now And Then, as well as a scattering of lesser heard McCartney songs, including Flaming Pie, Every Night and My Valentine.

Interestingly, there wasn’t room for the just-released new track Days We Left Behind (nor anything from the upcoming album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane). Why? The band are “in the process of learning it,” McCartney told the crowd. “But I’m glad you love it, yeah.”

Stage patter was kept to a minimum, with Macca alternating between piano and his iconic Hofner bass. But he did slip into some misty-eyed reminiscences about the Beatles’ first trip to the US in early 1964.

Source: yahoo.com/Beth Simpson

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Each great discography has its own shape, and that is part of what makes an exercise like this worthwhile. Some albums announce themselves immediately with a towering centerpiece. Others spread the wealth around, with the best song revealing itself only once you sit down and listen closely to the album as a whole.

In this series, we go album by album through an artist’s studio catalog and pick the single best song from each release, not just to spotlight the obvious standouts, but to trace how the artist grew, shifted, and occasionally surprised themselves along the way.

The Best Way to Introduce The Beatles.  If you know someone who has never delved into The Beatles’ storied discography, these five essential Beatles songs for first-time listeners are sure to pique their interest and have them exploring the group’s albums in full.

The Fab Four of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr made some of the most important pop music of the 20th century, and their albums helped reshape both music and pop culture with every release.

But what are the best songs from each of the band’s 12 studio albums, not counting Yellow Submarine due to its dearth of original material? Put on your listening cap and let’s find out.
Please Please Me (1963) – “Please Please Me”

While many of the Beatles’ most notable early-career works came via non-album singles (“From Me to You,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand”), their debut album still delivers a steady stream of notable early classics in the group’s legendary discography.

Source: livemusicblog.com/Chris Guest

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The Beatles would never be considered “underrated” under any circumstances. They were the biggest band of the 20th century, and their legacy is still felt today. In fact, their releases in the 1960s continue to make fans out of young listeners. That being said, the band has released a few songs that are underrated when compared to their major chart-toppers. Just as well, some of their songs could be described as overrated, too. And both those things can be true when talking about the band’s psychedelic era in the mid-to-late 1960s. Let’s look at two underrated psychedelic gems and one somewhat overrated tune from the Fab Four, shall we?

3 New Wave Hits From 1981 That Every 80s Kid Can’t Stop Singing

Underrated: “Baby, You’re A Rich Man”

This jam was the B-side of “All You Need Is Love” in 1967. Apparently, the song was originally supposed to be part of the Yellow Submarine film but was instead released as a single. Everybody knows “All You Need Is Love”, but I feel like few know “Baby, You’re A Rich Man” quite as well. That’s a shame, because this is a genuinely fun psychedelic pop tune, born out of a true collaboration between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It also features the clavioline, an early analog synthesizer.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena

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Sir Paul McCartney says The Beatles "liked" seeing men in the crowd studying their musicianship.

The 83-year-old Hey Jude hitmaker has recalled the Fab Four's first trip to America, and the difference between the demographics in the audiences they were playing to.

Over the weekend, Sir Paul played a couple of intimate shows at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, and he took the time to reflect on his early experiences in the US.

As reported by PEOPLE magazine, he told the fans: “We hadn’t really seen much, and we certainly hadn’t seen America, so it was pretty amazing.

“What we used to notice was that all the guys in the audience were looking at the chords you were playing, and they’d study it… and we kind of liked that. And all the girls weren’t.”

The fans started screaming at the reference to Beatlemania, and Sir Paul was happy to encourage it.

He quipped: "Yeah, the girls were screaming. Give us a Beatles scream!”

During the show, Sir Paul explained why fans weren't going to hear new single Days We Left Behind or other tracks from his new record The Boys of Dungeon Lane at the small gigs.

He explained that he and his band were still "in the process of learning it".

Source: music-news.com

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On a weekend when millions of Americans took to the streets to say no to “kings,” an intimate, star-studded crowd in Hollywood showed up in support of a “Sir.”

Stevie Nicks, Taylor Swift, Margot Robbie, Billie Eilish and Ringo Starr were among those who gathered to hear Paul McCartney play the second of two shows at the historic Fonda Theatre on Saturday night.

Playing a set heavy with Beatles and Wings classics, McCartney largely avoided politics aside from poking fun at President Donald Trump’s dance moves — a moment that earned the mention of the president’s name boos from the crowd, who had surrendered their phones before the show.

For those who scored highly coveted tickets to the show at the cozy 1,200-person capacity theater, the music was a much-needed escape and salve.

“I just feel like art and community and any sort of gathering around something that’s going to uplift us or bring us closer to each other in our city, that’s the antidote to troubled times,” Derek Heath, a 39-year-old graphic designer, told CNN before the show. “I think that inherently this experience fits within the world of fighting back against tyranny and fighting back against hate.”

Source: cnn.com/Alli Rosenbloom

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