The Beatles announce 50th anniversary edition of The White Album

This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ self-titled ninth LP, a.k.a. The White Album. To commemorate this milestone, the band’s surviving members will release a deluxe reissue of the album on November 9th through their own Apple Corps Ltd. and Capitol/UMe.

For the reissue, the album’s 30 tracks have been newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround sound, sourced directly from the original four-track and eight-track session tapes. This new mix is complemented by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.
The music is spread out across seven discs, housed in a slipsleeved 164-page hardbound book and featuring pull-out reproductions of the original album’s four glossy color portrait photographs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, as well new introductions written by McCartney and Martin, rarely seen photographs, track-by-track notations, and more.

In addition to the seven-disc super deluxe box set, the reissue will also be released as a three-CD deluxe set; a four-LP deluxe vinyl set; a two-LP standard vinyl set; and digitally. Pre-orders are now ongoing.

Below, watch a teaser trailer for the reissue, plus scroll through its complete tracklist.



The White Album (50th Anniversary Box Set) Tracklist:

CD 1: 2018 Stereo Mix

Back in the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Wild Honey Pie
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
I’m so tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Rocky Raccoon
Don’t Pass Me By
Why don’t we do it in the road?
I Will
Julia

CD 2: 2018 Stereo Mix

Birthday
Yer Blues
Mother Nature’s Son
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide
Except Me and My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Revolution I
Honey Pie
Savoy Truffle
Cry Baby Cry
Revolution 9
Good Night

CD 3: Esher Demos

Back in the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
I’m so tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Rocky Raccoon
Julia
Yer Blues
Mother Nature’s Son
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide
Except Me and My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Revolution
Honey Pie
Cry Baby Cry
Sour Milk Sea
Junk
Child of Nature
Circles
Mean Mr. Mustard
Polythene Pam
Not Guilty
What’s the New Mary Jane

CD 4: Sessions

Revolution I (Take 18)
A Beginning (Take 4) / Don’t Pass Me By (Take 7)
Blackbird (Take 28)
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide
Except Me and My Monkey (Unnumbered rehearsal)
Good Night (Unnumbered rehearsal)
Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
Good Night (Take 22)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Take 3)
Revolution (Unnumbered rehearsal)
Revolution (Take 14 – Instrumental backing track)
Cry Baby Cry (Unnumbered rehearsal)
Helter Skelter (First version – Take 2)

CD 5: Sessions

Sexy Sadie (Take 3)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic version – Take 2)
Hey Jude (Take 1)
St. Louis Blues (Studio jam)
Not Guilty (Take 102)
Mother Nature’s Son (Take 15)
Yer Blues (Take 5 with guide vocal)
What’s the New Mary Jane (Take 1)
Rocky Raccoon (Take 8)
Back in the U.S.S.R. (Take 5 – Instrumental backing track)
Dear Prudence (Vocal, guitar & drums)
Let It Be (Unnumbered rehearsal)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third version – Take 27)
(You’re so Square) Baby, I Don’t Care (Studio jam)
Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)
Glass Onion (Take 10)

CD 6: Sessions

I Will (Take 13)
Blue Moon (Studio jam)
I Will (Take 29)
Step Inside Love (Studio jam)
Los Paranoias (Studio jam)
Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)
Birthday (Take 2 – Instrumental backing track)
Piggies (Take 12 – Instrumental backing track)
Happiness is a Warm Gun (Take 19)
Honey Pie (Instrumental backing track)
Savoy Truffle (Instrumental backing track)
Martha My Dear (Without brass and strings)
Long, Long, Long (Take 44)
I’m so tired (Take 7)
I’m so tired (Take 14)
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (Take 2)
Why don’t we do it in the road? (Take 5)
Julia (Two rehearsals)
The Inner Light (Take 6 – Instrumental backing track)
Lady Madonna (Take 2 – Piano and drums)
Lady Madonna (Backing vocals from take 3)
Across the Universe (Take 6)

Blu-ray

Audio Features:
: PCM Stereo (2018 Stereo Mix)
: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (2018)
: Dolby True HD 5.1 (2018)
: Mono (2018 Direct Transfer of ‘The White Album’ Original Mono Mix)

Source: https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/09/the-beatles-announce-the-white-album-50th-anniversary-box-set/

The Beatles Unplugged Bootleg

Just when you thought that everything that could be said that was new, fresh, or unusual about the Beatles' later history was already out there, along comes The Beatles: Unplugged, a bootleg CD so good that the folks at Apple and EMI ought to be kicking themselves for not thinking of it first. This disc (which is sort-of subtitled "The Kinfaun-Session," referring to George Harrison's Esher home) pulls together the 23 songs that Harrison, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney recorded as works-in-progress at Harrison's home in May of 1968. Most of what's here was eventually heard either on The Beatles [White Album], or various solo works ("Child of Nature" surfacing with new lyrics as "A Jealous Guy," etc.) or B-sides ("What's the New Mary Jane"), and on various bootlegs. What makes this presentation better than most is that it's part of that "digipak" bootleg series that's been coming out of Europe since late 2000 and generally knocking listeners out with its quality. The production here is a match for any legitimate release, not just in sound quality but also the care that went into the selection, order, and editing of the tapes; there's some hiss here and there, to be sure, and a few tracks are close to overload on the sound, but there's nothing here that will make you jump to lower the volume or skip to the next cut -- in fact, chances are most of the songs here will get repeated more than once. It's a lot like listening to an "unplugged" version of The Beatles (even re-creating The Beatles [White Album]'s packaging), since most of it is represented here, and in excellent form. Indeed, the version of "Revolution" on this disc -- just to cite one example -- is as good as the released one, only brighter, and, if you will, bouncier, as the trio has unbridled fun with the lyric, the beat, and the rhymes without the need to pump up the wattage or the seriousness of it all; if the finished song is John Lennon's message to the world about politics, hate, and manipulation of the Beatles, this is his handwritten draft of that message, with all of his momentary digressions and mental edits left in. McCartney and Harrison's songs are just as well represented, and the only thing missing is a contribution by Ringo Starr, who didn't participate in these recordings. The curious element is that it's the hard-rocking songs -- "Yer Blues" and "Back in the USSR" -- that come off the best, even though they're the most different from the finished versions; the demo of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is just as entertaining, as the trio plunges headfirst into reggae armed with just their guitars and some good intentions. As the notes point out, whatever stresses the group may have been experiencing as a formal entity, the three guitarists had some productive and harmonious sessions and they still sounded as cool, creative, and cutting edge as they ever did. As bonus cuts, the makers have added "Helter Skelter" from a studio run-through, and thrown on "Spiritual Regeneration," the Beatles/Beach Boys ode to the Maharishi (which segues into the Beatles' birthday greeting to Mike Love) and a somewhat less-entertaining, informal, acoustic medley of traditional songs, all tracks recorded in India.
Source: AllMusic Review
               

Child of Nature later became Jealous Guy on John Lennon's solo album Imagine
Circles, written by George Harrison, was later released on Gone Troppo, his solo album released in 1982.

Sour Milk Sea was later given to Jackie Lomax which would be released in 1968.

Not Guilty was released in George Harrison's self-titled album in 1979, and an alternative take was released on Anthology.

Junk was released on Paul McCartney's first self-titled album, and the demo was also released on Anthology, a bit shorter than the original.

Spiritual Regeneration India was played for a birthday in India, according to someone talking in the song.

Rishikesh No. 9? I don't know.

01 - Cry Baby Cry

02 - Child Of Nature

03 - The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

04 - I'm So Tired

05 - Yer Blues

06 - Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey

07 - What's The New Mary Jane

08 - Revolution

09 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

10 - Circles

11 - Sour Milk Sea

12 - Not Guilty

13 - Piggies

14 - Julia

15 - Blackbird

16 - Rocky Raccoon

17 - Back In The U.S.S.R.

18 - Honey Pie

19 - Mother Nature's Son

20 - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

21 - Junk

22 - Dear Prudence

23 - Sexy Sadie

24 - Helter Skelter

25 - Spiritual Regeneration India

26 - Rishikesh No. 9

More info here: http://getbeatlebootlegs.blogspot.com/2012/06/download-here.html

The Alternate White Album - 1998 Edition

There has been news about the upcoming remastered White Album mentioned by Paul McCartney coming out in November. Below is a previous posting on the Alternate White Album released some time ago. Perhaps some of these alternate takes will appear on the remastered new release.

The sleeve says: No Anthology Tracks.Another in the series of Alternate albums, where a collection is put together based on the timing of the original released album. This particular C.D. collects together a lot of fine outtakes from the "White Album" era, including studio alternate takes, live performances and of course the Esher sessions. It also pulls together some of the official stereo or mono mixes that were less commonly found. Yes, I know we already have these pieces, but, nicely presented and nicely collected together makes it worth having them again.

I'm approaching The Alternate White Album with the attitude of the amateur who loves the White Album, and not with the attitude of the hard core Beatles fan who wants to get every possible alternate take that exists out there. I mostly wanted to hear some of the alternate versions and mono mixes that exist of these songs without shelling out a fortune for the original mono vinyl (yet).

The double CD set offers a run through the 31 songs of the original album in alternate takes, either from mono mixes, the 'Peter Sellers Tape' (a tape with early rough mixes of the songs, given as a gift to actor Peter Sellers by Ringo) and a few from the Esher sessions in spring 1968. These versions are not radically different (the possible exception being a wonderful acoustic version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), but they add interesting little twists and turns here and there that have just the novelty value for me as a moderate Beatles fan to enjoy the material anew.

Added to this are 25 bonus tracks, home demos, out-takes and alternate takes of varying quality and interest that were recorded at the same time. There are no fantastic discoveries here, but tracks like George's "Sour Milk Sea" and "Not Guilty" deserve to be heard, John's "Everybody Had a Hard Year" sheds some light on "I've Got a Feeling" from Let It Be, and the prototype for his "Jealous Guy" (here under a different title) may surprise quite a few people, so it's not all just fluff.

The sound quality of this is fine, only the Esher sessions and home demos sound rather muffled. The package claims that the CDs contain "no Anthology tracks". I'm not entirely sure about one or two of them, but mostly this seems to be true.

As a mixture of released tracks (the mono mixes), demos, unreleased mixes and out-takes this can of course not reach the quality of the released White Album, and hard core fans will perhaps want a more comprehensive set of alternate versions from the White Album sessions, but this is useful enough to broaden the horizon for the average fan. Not one of the rip-off bootlegs, but actually pretty good stuff. http://rateyourmusic.com/release/unauth/the_beatles/the_alternate_white_album/

TRACKLIST :

Disc 1:

1. Back In The USSR [Alternate Mix, Extra Aeroplane Noises]
2. Dear Prudence [Alternate Mix, Clean Intro, Different End]
3. Glass Union [Mono Mix 26-9-1968]
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da [Alternate Mix, 'Peter Sellers tape'] 
5. Wild Honey Pie [Alternate Mix, 'Peter Sellers tape']
6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill [Esher Sessions, May 1968] 
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps [Acoustic Version] 
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun [Mono Mix, Louder Bass]
9. Martha My Dear [Mono Mix 4-10-1968]
10. I'm So Tired [Monitor Mix, Extra Guitar] 
11. Blackbird [Mono Mix, Different Bird Sounds] 
12. Piggies [Mono Mix, Different Piggies Sounds]
13. Rocky Raccoon [Mono Mix] 
14. Don't Pass By Me [Alternate Mix, 'Peter Sellers tape']
15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?[Mono Mix]
16. I Will [Mono Mix]
17. Julia [Early Acoustic Lennon Demo]
18. Child Of Nature [Esher Sessions, May 1968] 
19. Not Guilty [Unreleased Stereo Remix] 
20. Circles [Esher Sessions, May 1968] 
21. Sour Milk Sea [Esher Sessions, May 1968]
22. Junk [Esher Sessions, May 1968]
23. Hey Jude  [Early Version, 30-7-1968] 
24. Brian Epstein Blues [Monitor Mix]
25. What's The New Mary Jean [Take 4]

Disc 2:

1. Birthday [18-9-1968, Overdubs 19-9-1968]
2. Yer Blues [Alternate Mix, 'Peter Sellers tape']
3. Mother Nature's Son [Monitor Mix]
4. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey [Alternate Mix, 'Peter Sellers Tape', Cleaner Intro, Different Ending]
5. Sexy Sadie [Unedited Version, Lasts 38 Seconds Longer Than The Released Version]
6. Helter Skelter [Mono Mix, Shorter Version Without 'Blisters On My Fingers', Louder Backing Vocals]
7. Long, Long Long [Mono Mix, 7-10-1968]
8. Revoution 1 [Acoustic Version, Esher Sessions]
9. Honey Pie#1 [Esher Sessions]
10. Honey Pie#2 [Esher Sessions]
11. Cry Baby Cry [Esher Sessions]
12. Revolution 9 [Mono Mix]
13. Good Night [Shorter Version, Chldren's Voices At The End]
14. I Hate To See [The Evening Sun Go Down]
15. Hey Jude [Early Version, 30-7-1968]
16. Las Vegas Tune [30-7-1968]
17. Everyone Had A Hard Year [John's Home Demo]
18. A Case Of The Blues [John's Home Demo]
19. Happy Rishikesh Song [Demo]
20. Oh My Love [John's Home Demo]
21. Gone Tomorrow Her Today [Acoustic Version]
22. Helter Skelter [Acoustic Version]
23. Wierd Album Sessions [Anthology Video Medley]
24. Spiritual Regeneration [Rishikesh Tape, India 1968]
25. Riskikesh No. 9 [Rishikesh Tape, India 1968]

https://manuelbeatlogs.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-beatles-alternate-white-album.html

More info is available here: https://bootleg-rambler.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-beatles-alternate-white-album.html

An Interesting and Informative McCartney Podcast

Posted on April 30, 2018

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Just in the past week we’ve come across another Beatle-related podcast that we’d have no hesitation in recommending.

Take It Away – The Complete Paul McCartney Archive Podcast is produced by Ryan Brady and Chris Mercer, two fans (from Los Angeles and Chicago) who really know their stuff.

The aim is to examine in detail every single Paul McCartney release, from 1970 to the present day. Episode 0 is a brief introduction to what it is they want to achieve and what the show is all about. You can hear it on their website, or just have a listen here:

https://takeitawaypodcast.com/2016/09/03/episode-0-an-introduction/

This podcast series not only contains a wealth of information, it has really high production values as well as the guys deftly mix in short extracts of the songs they’re knowledgeably deconstructing. These illustrative flourishes really bring alive the discussion and help you to hear exactly what it is they are talking about. They’ll often contrast and compare demo versions with the finished product and, where it will help, they’ll include short interview extracts with McCartney and other spoken word content.

Mercer and Brady are working their way through McCartney’s recorded output chronologically. They’re currently into Season 3, and up to 1993’s Off The Ground. Occasionally they’ll also feature an interview with key players in the McCartney solo story – like Laurence Juber and Denny Laine.

The Take It Away podcast. Very much worth checking out.

Source: https://beatlesblogger.com/2018/04/30/an-interesting-and-informative-mccartney-podcast/

New Discovery: Magical Mystery Tour- Double EP

It’s not every day that you walk into your local second-hand record store and find an almost mint copy of The Beatles’ 1967 EP Magical Mystery Tour, but that’s what happened last week.

Dropped into Audiomania in the Sydney suburb of Manly Vale and as we were quietly browsing the LP section we looked up to a shelf just near the “New Arrivals” bin, and this is what we spied:

This is a UK pressing, and we’re pretty sure it is an original from 1967, making it just over 50 years old. For it’s age this example is in exceptionally good condition, both the laminated gatefold sleeve, and the two EP records it contains.

This is the mono UK pressing. You can tell that from the catalogue number MMT-1 which is printed on the upper right of rear cover (and of course the word MONO is also there!). Stereo pressings have an SMMT catalogue number:

The labels also carry the MMT catalogue number. As you can see below this pressing came with a solid centre. There are also examples with a push-out centre. The labels have the “Sold in the U.K. subject to resale price conditions…” text:

Don’t know if you can see it, but the Side 1 label (on either side of the spindle hole) has two raised letters, a K and a T. Not sure if this is significant, or helps identify the pressing date. We think it has something to do with a tax code for the record.

The inner 24-page booklet is also in excellent condition:

It also comes with the 4-page blue lyric sheet pages still intact in the centre. This also helps identify it as being an original pressing. The paper sleeves holding the records are white though, and have a wave-cut top. I think originally the discs may have come in black paper sleeves? If anyone knows please contact us, or leave a comment.

(As usual, click on the images to see larger versions)

So, this was too good an item to pass over. We have Australian mono and stereo pressings of the Magical Mystery Tour double EP, plus a nice French pressing (with a story attached), but a UK pressing in almost pristine condition was our find of the month.

The really sad news is that the Audiomania store will soon be no more. The owner let us know that they will be closing their doors because the site in which they operate has been purchased and its buildings demolished. All the tenants have to get out. They hope to continue online, but it’s just not the same as being there to flip through record bins of used LPs and singles in person…..


Source: https://beatlesblogger.com/2018/05/11/strange-unusual-find-of-the-month/

The Beatles - Albums for free on YouTube

The Beatles - Free As Birds on YouTube!

In an unprecedented move, The Beatles have released most of their albums for free - on YouTube. Whether or not this is going to be a permanent move remains to be seen. It's all the original British albums, from "Please Please Me" from 1963 to "Let It Be" from 1970, all presented in their remastered stereo editions. In addition to this, the following albums are also available:, "1962-1966" (The Red Album), "1967-1970" (The Blue Album), Anthologies 1-3 plus "Anthology Highlights", "1", "Love", and both volumes of "Past Masters".

In some instances, a music video is screened during the song, in others, there's just a still picture of the album cover. For instance, "Anthology Highlights" starts with the "Free As A Bird" video, then continues with the other tracks with just a still photo, then near the end, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has the modern music video, as has the closing song, "Real Love".

Screen capture from YouTube (Norwegian text)

It seems that these albums are not available worldwide, as some readers of this blog have reported that they are unable to see them on YouTube. I sent one of my readers in Hungary a link to "One after 909", and all he got was an "attachment unavailable" message. Chile, the Netherlands and Iceland are other countries where the albums are not available, but they are available in important markets like USA and U.K.

Other recent uploads to the channel: "Eight Days A Week" (the Shea Stadium video they made for Ron Howard's film), the Intertel music videos for "Ticket To Ride", "I Feel Fine" (chipless version) and the umbrella version of "Help!". Also, the "Come Together" animated video they made for "1" back in 2000 and "A Hard Day's Night" from the Paris concert. As part of the promotions for the cinematic event "Yellow Submarine" they have published two new short films,  "Yellow Submarine - An Introduction" and "Yellow Submarine - The Design":

Here's a link to The Beatles' YouTube channel, straight to the album listings, which are themed playlists sorted by album.

Source: http://wogew.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-beatles-for-free-on-youtube.html

The Beatles: Unplugged Collects Acoustic Demos of White Album Songs (1968)

I am a child of Beatles fans; we owned nearly every album in original mono vinyl pressings. But somehow there was a hole in our collection—a whale-sized hole, it turned out—because we didn’t have a copy of the White Album. I was introduced to it later by a friend, who shared its secrets with me like one would share the favorite work of a favorite poet—reverently. We delved into the history and learned that recording sessions were notoriously fractious—with Ringo stepping away for a while and Paul stepping in on the drums, and with the others recording solo, sometimes with session players, rarely in the same room together— a situation reflected in the tracking of the record, which feels like a compilation of songs by each Beatle (but Ringo), rather than the usual smooth affair of Lennon/McCartney, and occasional Harrison productions.

That ranginess is what makes the White Album special: it’s feels so familiar, and yet it’s not like anything they’d done before and presages the genius to come in their solo careers. So imagine my surprised delight at stumbling across a bootleg that die-hard completists have surely known about for ages (though it only saw release in 2002): The Beatles: Unplugged is a recording of acoustic songs, most of which would appear on the the White Album, played and sung by John, Paul, and George at George’s house in Esher—hence the bootleg’s subtitle, the Kinfauns-Sessions (Kinfauns was the name of George’s home). Here are the close vocal harmonies that seemed to mark a group of musicians in near-perfect harmony with each other (but without Ringo, again). And here are some of the Beatles’ most poignant, pointed, and vaudevillian songs live and direct, without any studio tricks whatsoever.
Of course these were recorded as demos, and not meant for release of any kind, but even so, they’re fairly high-quality, in a lo-fi kind of way. Listening to the songs in this form makes me think of the folk/psych revivalism of the so-called New Weird America that hearkened back to so much sixties’ trippy playfulness, but mostly eschewed the major label studio sound of sixties’ records and welcomed prominent tape hiss and single-track, bedroom takes. Given the rapid pop-culture recycling that is the hallmark of the early 21st century, The Beatles: Unplugged sounds strangely modern.

The Unplugged session includes a wonderfully airy rendition of “Dear Prudence,” which like so many of these songs, was written during The Beatles’ sojourn in India, about Mia Farrow’s sister (a complete tracklist is here). The compilers of the release have tacked on three additional songs: “Spiritual Regeneration India” (also a birthday tribute to The Beach Boy’s Mike Love), an oddly upbeat studio run-through of “Helter Skelter,” and a free-form acoustic medley of traditional songs called “Rishikesh No. 9” (also called “Spiritual Christmas”). In addition to the slew of White Album songs, the recording session also features McCartney’s “Junk,” which later appeared on his 1970 solo album McCartney and John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” (here called “Child of Nature”), which surfaced on 1971’s Imagine. As Allmusic’s Bruce Eder writes, Unplugged is a bootleg so good, “the folks at Apple and EMI ought to be kicking themselves for not thinking of it first.”



Eric Clapton’s Isolated Guitar Track From the Classic Beatles Song, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (1968)
Hear the 1962 Beatles Demo that Decca Rejected: “Guitar Groups are on Their Way Out, Mr. Epstein”
How Bertrand Russell Turned The Beatles Against the Vietnam War
Peter Sellers Reads The Beatles’ “She Loves You” in Four Voices
Josh Jones is a writer and musician. He recently finished a dissertation on land, landscape, and labor.

Source: http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/ithe_beatles_unpluggedi_collects_acoustic_demos_of_iwhite_albumi_songs_1968.html