Beatles News
Of the many remarkable late releases by The Beatles, the band’s “Get Back” single stands out for many reasons. For starters, it wasn’t just a song; Get Back was also the working title for the band’s new album. After years of studio experimentation, the band wanted a live feel for its next record.
That meant getting back to playing as a band. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. In the second week of January (1969), George Harrison quit the group after more bickering. That’s how John Lennon took over on lead guitar on “Get Back.”
The departure of Harrison led to another new sound on a Beatles record: the electric piano of Billy Preston. When “Get Back” was released in April, it was the first Fab Four record with a credited guest soloist (The Beatles With Billy Preston). Not even Eric Clapton had gotten that honor.
Source: cheatsheet.com
We’re dipping back into the Far Out Magazine archives to deliver some more dreamy harmonies from The Beatles by revisiting their 1969 song ‘Octopus’s Garden’.
The track, written and sung by Ringo Starr, was featured on the band’s eleventh studio album Abbey Road and marked a turning point for the drummer who was given creative freedom. “‘Octopus’s Garden’ is Ringo’s song,” George Harrison once said. “It’s only the second song Ringo has ever written, mind you, and it’s lovely.”
Detailing why the song is so loved by Beatles fans, Harrison added: “Because it’s so peaceful. I suppose Ringo is writing cosmic songs these days without even realising it.”
Hilariously, the song was inspired by the time Starr was on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia in 1968 and, when he ordered fish and chips, he actually received squid instead. Having never eaten it prior, Starr was taken aback by his surprise meal which kickstarted a conversation with the boat’s captain who would tell a story about how ‘octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build a garden.’
Source: faroutmagazine.co.uk
On the face of it, The White Album (1968) looked great for George Harrison. Compared to Sgt. Pepper’s, on which George had only one song, The Beatles double-album release the following year featured a huge crop of tracks by the band’s lead guitarist (four altogether).
However, that’s not to say the release was dominated by George. Far from it, in fact — John Lennon and Paul McCartney each had over 10 songs on the two LPs. All in all, it was the sort of record that gets called “sprawling” for good reason.
George Martin, the Parlophone chief who produced almost every Beatles album, wanted the album to be much shorter. However, The Beatles’ top songwriters (John and Paul) didn’t seem prepared to cede any ground.
So everyone plunged forward, with only one track by George and a wild one by John being scrapped from the original 32-song count. And that’s what Beatle George didn’t like about it.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr has said he “never” practices the drums on his own, preferring to play with other people.
It seems ‘never practising” for Starr applies to just solitary playing, as he has been quite busy lately – recently releasing the album What’s My Name on 25 October this year.
Starr made the statement in Rolling Stone’s latest Artist on Artist interview, where has speaking to fellow drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. Grohl echoed Starr’s opinion, saying “I don’t like playing alone. I only like playing when there’s music.”
Ringo went on to joke about the negative influence too many formal lessons, saying “when I’m doing shows, and people hold up their little seven-year-old: ‘This is Tommy. He loves you, and he’s taking drum lessons.’ And I always say, ‘I hope he’s not taking too many!’”. The pair’s extensive conversation also touched on shared influences, the development of Beatles songs’ themes and what Starr thought when he first heard Nirvana.
Source: Sam Roberts - guitar.com
By 1967, the cat was out of the bag as far as The Beatles and drugs were concerned. Before that, fans might have heard the band sing about a “Day Tripper” or felt like they’d been on an acid trip listening to Revolver, but after the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Paul McCartney admitted he’d taken LSD.
That led to all sorts of speculation about the band’s music. On the subject of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” many insisted the initials (i.e., LSD) spoke volumes about the song’s content. (John Lennon said it was about a drawing his son Julian had made at school.)
Marijuana was a different story, however. During recording sessions, The Beatles were spotted puffing on a joint and having a laugh. And Paul later said he wrote “Got to Get You Into My Life” not about a woman, but about weed.
Fab Four pot use really took off in 1965. Late that year, they recorded the album George Harrison called the first when they were “fully fledged potheads.” And the stories about them filming Help! earlier in the year definitely back up that assessment.
Source: cheatsheet.com
For the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club sessions, The Beatles wrote several songs based on newspaper articles they’d read. In the most famous example, John Lennon combined stories about a car wreck and a call for public improvements (4,000 potholes in Blackburn) on “A Day in the Life.”
But the list only begins there. On “Lovely Rita,” Paul McCartney invented a fictional meter-maid based on an article he read about that new profession (circa 1967). And Paul once again turned to the papers when he wrote “She’s Leaving Home.”
While Paul had invented his fictional band led by Billy Shears for the album’s concept, he had a real-life subject in mind when telling the story of a wealthy runaway girl. And the craziest part is, Paul had met the same girl four years earlier while making a TV appearance.
Source: cheatsheet.com
The new remastered version of "Abbey Road" offers some interesting alternate versions and mixes on the very last album The Beatles recorded — although it wasn't the last to be released.
"Abbey Road" topped the charts in both the U.S and England when it shortly after it debuted on Sept. 26. 1969. Now, a new remastered and remixed 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition has been released. Is it worth it? Yes and no.
I learned a long time ago remastering a classic album sometimes pays off — and sometimes it doesn't. Although sometimes previously unheard notes can be brought to the fore, that doesn't necessarily improve the listening experience.
When compact discs were first released, not every album was immediately available in the then-new format. Although they were touted to have improved sound, discerning listeners soon learned that many of the discs didn't sound as good as the vinyl they were supposedly replacing.
It took a matter of years for many albums to be converted to CD, with The Beatles — amazingly — among the last of the classic artists to have all their albums released as compact discs.
Source: James Beaty/mcalesternews.com
Stella McCartney got candid about her career trajectory and the realities of the fashion industry this week while speaking at the WWD Apparel + Retail CEO Summit in New York. Known for never using fur or leather, the designer also doubled down on the importance of both style and sustainability.
She told WWD’s Bridget Foley, who moderated the talk: “When I started, I was Paul McCartney’s daughter. That was the only headline I had. I came to fashion with that label. I had to shake that puppy off for a while.”
It wasn’t until this year that McCartney leaned into her family history with the launch of the “All Together Now” collection, inspired by The Beatles’ film “Yellow Submarine.” She said, “I definitely avoided The Beatles for a period of time. That’s why I went into fashion and not music. I didn’t want to give people the easy route with me. It took time.”
Source: Nikara Johns/footwearnews.com
Ringo Starr has recalled the time he discovered that his Beatles bandmate John Lennon had been killed.
The legendary musician was murdered by obsessed fan Mark Chapman on December 8, 1980. Lennon had been shot four times at close range outside his Manhattan residence.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Beatles drummer Starr opened up to Foo Fighters‘ Dave Grohl about the moment he was told the tragic news.
“When John went, I was in the Bahamas. I was getting a phone call from my stepkids in L.A. saying, ‘Something’s happened to John’,” he explained. “And then they called and said, ‘John’s dead’. And I didn’t know what to do.”
Revealing that he “still well[s] up that some bastard shot him”, Starr went on to detail his actions in the immediate aftermath of Lennon’s death.
Source: Tom Skinner/nme.com
When Ringo Starr decided to record a cover of one of the last songs written by John Lennon, the Beatles drummer knew he wanted former bandmate Paul McCartney to play bass.
Then, his record producer found a way to bring in a bit of the late George Harrison.
The producer, Jack Douglas, inserted strings from “Here Comes the Sun” - one of the few Beatles hits written by Harrison - into the Starr’s recording of the song “Grow Old with Me.”
“We’re all on it now,” Starr, in an interview with Reuters, said of the musical reunion. “I had nothing to do with that.”
“Grow Old with Me” is a single on Starr’s new album called “What’s My Name.” Lennon had recorded a demo of “Grow Old with Me” for his 1980 release “Double Fantasy,” but the song never made it onto that album.
Source: Rollo Ross/reuters.com
