Let It Be DVD to be released in Widescreen in 2011

Below are details on the new Let It Be DVD Remaster and details from the Wiki on Let It Be as background and good reading on the subject...


You can expect to see a new version of the Let It Be film on DVD, distributed on the internet in about 2 weeks time. Specs are:

- NTSC format
- 1.66:1 anamorphic picture
- Completely new hifi audio track assembled from the film crew's Nagra reels and stereo mixes
- Original mono audio option

This new transfer has been made from an original, undamaged VHS recording of the BBC2 repeat from Christmas 1979. Unusually, the Beeb screened the widescreen 35mm theatrical print with black bars at the top and bottom. When officially released on VHS and laserdisc some years later, this widescreen version was cropped severely at the sides to produce a full-frame image. Here it is presented unaltered.

Although the film was shot at 24 frames per second, BBC2 aired it in PAL format at 25 fps. For this disc it has been slowed down to 23.976 fps and presented in a compatible NTSC format, thus preserving the correct speed and pitch of the original. The actual picture area has been scaled up to 480 pixels and encoded in anamorphic format so as not to lose any resolution.

This should prove to be an upgrade for everyone's collection, until Apple and The Beatles get their official version out. It will be shared for free on the net, and is a fan-made project. You can read more about "Let It Be" here.


Source: http://wogew.blogspot.com/2011/03/widescreen-let-it-be-dvd.html


The Let It Be movie
is probably the most accessible Beatles DVD in the world, even though it has only been released for the home video market for a short while, and only in the USA.
Here's the timeline of events regarding the release of Let It Be for the home video market:

In 1981, the movie Let It Be was released to the home video market through 20th Century Fox and Magnetic Video Corporation. It was first issued on VHS and Betamax, next on laserdisc, and finally, RCA secured the rights to release it for their CED* (Capacitance Electronic Disc System) "Videodisc" format. The latter format failed miserably due to poor quality discs, which always skipped, and the players which had a very high failure rate. All of the issues of Let It Be went out of print within a couple of years.

On a personal note, I remember coming across a VHS cassette of Let It Be here in Oslo, Norway around 1981. It was in a video rental shop, but it always seemed to be out whenever I asked for it. One day it disappeared, and the owner of the store told me that one customer had paid a ridiculous sum of money for their copy.

The VHS video cassette
As the 80's went on, I managed to secure a video cassette taped from the final televised version in the UK of the film. The 80's went over into the nineties without anything happening.

In 1997 a UK company, "VCI", announced plans to issue the movie for the home video market for the first time in the UK. They claimed to have a version that was remastered in 1992 and that they would release it in 1997. It never happened. The century and the millennium passed, as the nineties became the 2000's.

In an interview with USA Today in March 2002, Paul McCartney told writer Edna Gunderson that a reissue of "Let It Be" seems to be finally moving forward. "We're cleaning up the film and going back to the original tape, before (producer) Phil Spector got hold of it," he said.

In April 2002, This Is London reported that Apple is on the verge of re-releasing "Let It Be" on video, though the article mistakenly says "for the first time." (which is true only outside the USA). Author Keith Badman told This Is London, "Apple has done an amazing job of cleaning up the picture quality. John and George hated the film, which is why it's been hidden away all these years. Lennon used to describe it as 'a project set up by Paul, for Paul'." There have been rumors through the years that it was George's dislike of the film that kept the film from being re-released. An Apple spokesman, asked about a possible re-release, said, "There has been no release date arranged. It is all up in the air and I can't say anything more at this stage".

Later on that month, McCartney talked to the Newark Star-Ledger about the film: "I happened to be on a plane about a year ago, and I met the director of the film, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and he said, "Every time I go into a video store in L.A., all the guys say, 'When are you going to release "Let It Be" (on video)?'" I said, "Isn't it out?" 'Cause you know, I don't know all that stuff. He said no. So I mentioned it to (a business associate), and I said, "You know what would be really cool? If we put the naked version of the record out as well." So that is actually getting worked on at the moment. It's not (officially) announced or anything yet, but that's what's in the pipeline."

After the release of the new "Let It Be...Naked" album, and no sight of the DVD, the film's director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg had this to say:
Q: So why wasn't a Let It Be DVD released alongside "Naked"?
Michael Lindsay-Hogg: The idea, as far as I know, is to put out two DVDs sometime in 2004, one of which will be the movie Let It Be with the print restored and the sound mixed to current standards. And then a companion DVD with interviews and extra material from anyone who had anything pertinent to say, one of them being myself.

Again, this didn't happen. In June 2004, details of a 3 disc 5.1 special edition of Let It Be was leaked to the internet, in the shape of this anonymous review, originally posted in the rec.music.beatles google group:

---

I was lucky enough last week to accompany my brother to a special editing session for a new Let It Be promo DVD he was assembling in a Los Angeles editing suite last week (he didn't actually work on the forthcoming DVD release).
Anyway, I was lucky enough to be able to spend several hours watching the nearly final product and combing through a bunch of production notes.
The film and features I watched were on a hard drive so I have no idea what the actual discs or the DVD packaging will look like, sorry. Some of the footage was still silent and not all of the options I clicked on worked, but here's a very rough preview. It's apparently not due until March 2005 so it may still change.

"LET IT BE" SE - DVD - EARLY EXCLUSIVE REPORT!!!!
A THREE disc 5.1 special edition" with extra features to be followed by a single "plain vanilla" disc 6 months later.

The special edition features all the original film footage that was used in the original 1970 theatrical release of Let It Be spread over the first 2 discs (Disc 1 is entitled Twickenham and Disc 2 Apple). Over 79 minutes in total of previously unseen footage has been added into both discs. An optional on-screen apple logo is available that pops up in the screen corner whenever "new" material appears, but there is no branching option that allows you to either select the new footage or the original footage.

The Octopus's Garden sequence has been almost doubled. Entirely new rehearsal sequences have been added for Something, I Lost My Little Girl, All Things Must Pass, She Came In Thru The Bathroom Window, Plain Yoko Jam, Fancy My Chances With You, Rock'n'Roll Music, Blues Aren't For Ringo, Isn't It A Pity and more. More footage of George Harrison.

Both discs apparently feature an audio commentary by The Beatles with Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman (all culled from audio recordings made during the sessions). This didn't work yet on the demo.

The third disc features even more bonus material including:

AS NATURE INTENDED: 34 minute documentary on the Let It Be sessions, includes new interviews with George Martin, Billy Preston and Michael Lindsay Hogg, as well as archive interviews with John Lennon and George, Paul and Ringo interviews from the Anthology series (including a few snippets not seen before).

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: A collection of rare footage of The Beatles recording in the studio (none of this is "Let It Be" era material). The footage listed includes And I Love Her, Paperback Writer, Rain, All You Need Is Love, Hey Bulldog, Lady Madonna, Helter Skelter, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Blackbird, Tutti Frutti, Hey Jude (this track alone went for 20 minutes), St Louis Blues.
ACROSS TO ABBEY ROAD: The Abbey Road album tracks of Oh Darling, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Something and Maxwell's Silver Hammer all matched up to footage from the Let It Be rehearsals to create brand new "video clips".
CHIMNEY SWEEP: Option didn't work - no details on notes.
BEHIND THE SHUTTERS: Option didn't work - no details on notes.
THE NAKED TRUTH: A featurette on the production of the Let it Be..Naked album including footage of Paul McCartney at a playback session. Ends with a new clip created for Across The Universe using Let It Be footage.
TRAILERS: Let It Be, The Beatles Anthology, Yellow Submarine, The First US Visit.
THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO: Option didn't work - no details on notes

---

Unconfirmed rumours say that the above "review" was a hoax - someone's wet dream about what the release could have been.

The Toronto Sun reported in 2005 that the "Let It Be" film was on its way to DVD that year. According to an interview with Bob Smeaton, who directed the "Beatles Anthology", the DVD was to be in 5.1 sound along with tons of lost and bonus features.

The following year, Smeaton told Archer of 99.5 The Mountain radio station in Denver, Colorado that the DVD release had been delayed due to the sheer volume of film stock shot, and colour restoration issues. He gave three possible release dates inSeptember 2006. Nothing came of it.

In a February 2007 interview with Neil Aspinall regarding the remastering of the film for DVD release, he stated, "The film was so controversial when it first came out. When we got halfway through restoring it, we looked at the outtakes and realized: this stuff is still controversial. It raised a lot of old issues."

A year later, Yoko Ono told Bill DeYoung this, when he asked about a DVD release of the movie: "You know, life is a long time. And I hope you have a very long one, Bill."

In June 2008, plans for a DVD version of Let It Be were cancelled at the request of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, according to The Daily Express UK newspaper. An unnamed source told the newspaper that while Paul and Ringo were planning to release it, both had second thoughts. The source goes on to say "The Beatles are still a massive global brand and it's felt it won't be helped if the public sees the darker side of the story. Neither Paul nor Ringo would feel comfortable publicizing a film showing The Beatles getting on each other's nerves."

Upon further investigation, it turned out that the two surviving Beatles members weren't as dismissive as the article implicated. So there's still hope...

Posted on a discussion board in 2009 by someone claiming to have connections with people at Abbey Road: "It's been done and ready to go for at least five or six years now. LOTS of extras; research was impeccable; Bob Smeaton (who worked on the Anthology DVDs) says they went through EVERY surviving reel of film shot by EVERY camera while doing the restoration (a fair bit can be seen in 'Anthology'). It was basically reassembled from scratch using each camera negative. Disc one would be the original film, while disc 2 would have a S******D of unseen stuff, both video and audio including outtakes from the rooftop concert. The plan was for it to be issued along with/shortly after 'Let It Be......Naked'. Unfortunately, it only takes one member of the Apple board to veto a Beatles release and that's what happened. Who was it?. Wild horses wouldn't drag his/her name from my lips. Oh no."

"Secret Cinema" - a Philadelphia movie club showed an excellent print of the film on Friday, October 23 2009. Reports tells about a mediocre sound, though - due to the original monophonic soundtrack. Latter day DVD bootlegs have substituted the original movie soundtrack with treated tapes from the Nagra reels, as well as stereo versions from Get Back bootlegs, the Let It Be album and the Let It Be ... Naked album to enhance the sound experience.

BBC Radio 2 broadcast a radio documentary on the 24th of May 2010, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Let It Be movie and album. At the very end of the hourlong broadcast, announcer Guy Garvey says "The word is from Apple is that work has begun on the restoration of the film with a future re-release at a future date still to be determined."

Meanwhile, Apple Corps keeps teasing the fans by including remastered footage from the Let It Be film whenever they are promoting their new releases. The most recent is a version of "One After 909" from the rooftop concert, sent to TV stations to promote the remastered catalogue, and also some hitherto unseen footage on the mini-documentary for the Let It Be album.


From Wikipedia:

Let It Be - About the Movie

Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release.

The film was originally planned as a television documentary which would accompany a concert broadcast. When plans for a broadcast were dropped, the project became a feature film. Although the film does not dwell on the dissension within the group at the time, it provides some glimpses into the dynamics that would lead to The Beatles' break-up.

The film has not been officially available since the 1980s, although original and bootleg copies of home video releases still circulate. A planned DVD release of the remastered film is currently on hold, as the film and its outtakes "raised a lot of old issues."^[1]

Synopsis

The film observes The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) from a "fly on the wall" perspective, without narration, scene titles, or interviews with the main subjects. The first portion of the film shows the band rehearsing on a sound stageat Twickenham Film Studios. The songs are works in progress, with discussions among themselves about ways to improve them. At one point, McCartney and Harrison have an uncomfortable exchange, with McCartney suggesting that "Two of Us" might sound better without Harrison's guitar riffs, and Harrison responding: "I'll play whatever you want me to play, or I won't play at all if you don't want to me to play. Whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it." Also appearing are Mal Evans, providing the hammer blows on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", andYoko Ono, dancing with Lennon.

The Beatles are then shown individually arriving at Apple headquarters, where they begin the studio recording process with Harrison singing "For You Blue" while Lennon plays slide guitar. Starr and Harrison are shown working on the structure for "Octopus's Garden" and then demonstrating it for George Martin. Billy Preston accompanies the band on impromptu renditions of several rock and roll covers, as well as Lennon's improvised jam "Dig It", while Linda Eastman's daughter Heather plays around the studio. Lennon is shown listening disinterestedly as McCartney expresses his concern about the band's inclination to stay confined to the recording studio. The Beatles conclude their studio work with complete performances of "Two of Us", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be".

For the final portion of the film, The Beatles and Preston are shown giving an unannounced concert from the studio rooftop. They perform "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "I've Got a Feeling", "One After 909" and "Dig a Pony", intercut with reactions and comments from surprised Londoners gathering on the streets below. The police eventually make their way to the roof and try to bring the show to a close, as the show was disrupting businesses' workers nearby. This prompts some ad-libbed lyrical asides from McCartney; during the second performance of 'Get Back,' he sings: "Get back Loretta... you've been out too long Loretta... you've been playing on the roofs again... and your momma doesn't like that... it makes her angry.. she's gonna have you arrested! Get back Loretta!". In response to the applause from the people on the rooftop after the final song, McCartney says "Thanks Mo!" (to Ringo's wife Maureen) and Lennon quips "I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition!"^[2]

[edit]Production

[edit]Concept

After the stressful sessions for The Beatles (the "White Album") wrapped up in October 1968, McCartney concluded that the group needed to return to their roots for their next project. The plan was to give a live performance featuring new songs, broadcast as a television special and recorded for release as an album. (At one point the McCartney considered launching a tour however the idea was quickly shot down by the other members.) Unlike their recent albums, their new material would be designed to work well in concert, without the benefit of overdubs or other recording tricks.^[3]

Many ideas were floated concerning the location of the concert. Conventional venues such as The Roundhouse in London were discussed, but they also considered more unusual locations such as a disused flour mill and an ocean liner. The location that received the most consideration was a Roman amphitheatre in North Africa. None of the ideas garnered unanimous enthusiasm and with time limited by Starr's upcoming commitment to the film The Magic Christian, it was agreed to start rehearsals without a firm decision on the concert location.^[4]

Denis O'Dell, head of Apple's film division, suggested filming the rehearsals in 16 mm for use as a separate "Beatles at Work" television documentary which would supplement the concert broadcast.^[4] To facilitate filming, rehearsals would take place at Twickenham Film Studios in London. Michael Lindsay-Hogg was hired as the director, having previously worked with The Beatles on promotional films for "Paperback Writer", "Rain", "Hey Jude" and "Revolution".

[edit]Filming

The Beatles assembled at Twickenham Film Studios on 2 January 1969, accompanied by the film crew, and began rehearsing. Cameraman Les Parrott recalled: "My brief on the first day was to 'shoot the Beatles.' The sound crew instructions were to roll/record from the moment the first Beatle appeared and to record sound all day until the last one left. We had two cameras and just about did the same thing."^[5] The cold and austere conditions at Twickenham, along with nearly constant filming and sessions starting much earlier than the Beatles' preferred schedule, constrained creativity and exacerbated tensions within the group. The sessions were later described by Harrison as "the low of all-time" and by Lennon as "hell ... the most miserable sessions on earth."^[6]

The infamous exchange between McCartney and Harrison occurred on Monday, 6 January.^[7] Around lunchtime on Friday, 10 January, tensions came to a head and Harrison told the others that he was leaving the band.^[8] This entire episode is omitted from the film.^[9] He later recalled: "I thought, 'I'm quite capable of being happy on my own and I'm not able to be happy in this situation. I'm getting out of here.' So I got my guitar and went home and that afternoon wrote 'Wah-Wah'."^[10] Rehearsals and filming continued for a few more sessions; the finished film only used a small amount of footage from this period, namely a boogie-woogie piano duet by McCartney and Starr,^[11] although it was included in a way such that Harrison's absence was not apparent.

Former Apple Building, 3 Savile Row, 2007

At a meeting on 15 January, Harrison agreed to return with the conditions that elaborate concert plans be dropped and that work would resume at Apple's new recording studio. At this point, with the concert broadcast idea abandoned, it was decided that the footage being shot would be used to make a feature film.^[4] Filming resumed on 21 January at the basement studio inside Apple headquarters on Savile Row in London.^[12]Harrison invited keyboardist Preston to the studio to play electric piano and organ.^[4] Harrison recalled that when Preston joined them, "straight away there was 100% improvement in the vibe in the room. Having this fifth person was just enough to cut the ice that we'd created among ourselves."^[13] Filming continued each day for the rest of January.

During the sessions, the Beatles played many songs that were not featured in the film. Some would end up on Abbey Road ("I Want You (She's So Heavy)", "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"); others were destined for future albums by McCartney ("The Back Seat of My Car", "Teddy Boy", "Every Night"), Lennon ("Gimme Some Truth", "Child of Nature" - later reworked as "Jealous Guy") and Harrison ("All Things Must Pass", "Isn't It a Pity"). The group also experimented with some of their previous songs ("Love Me Do", "Help!", "Lady Madonna", "You Can't Do That") and played "I Lost My Little Girl" - which was the first song written by McCartney, when he was 14.^[14]

Trying to come up with a conclusion for the film, it was suggested that the band play an unannounced lunchtime concert on the roof of the Apple building. On 30 January, The Beatles with Preston played on the rooftop in the cold wind for 42 minutes, about half of which ended up in the film. The Beatles started with a rehearsal of "Get Back", then played the five songs which are shown in the film. After repeating "I've Got a Feeling" and "Don't Let Me Down", takes which were left out of the film, the Beatles are shown in the film closing with another pass at "Get Back" as the police arrive to shut down the show. On the 31st, the last day of filming and recording, the Beatles reconvened in the Apple building's basement studio. They played complete performances of "Two of Us", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be", which were included in the film as the end of the Apple studio segment, before the closing rooftop segment.^[15]

[edit]Post-production

A rough cut of the movie was screened for The Beatles on 20 July 1969. Lindsay-Hogg recalled that the rough cut was about an hour longer than the released version: "There was much more stuff of John and Yoko, and the other three didn't really think that was appropriate because they wanted to make it a 'nicer' movie. They didn't want to have a lot of the dirty laundry, so a lot of it was cut down."^[16] After viewing the released version, Lennon said he felt that "the camera work was set up to show Paul and not to show anybody else" and that "the people that cut it, cut it as 'Paul is God' and we're just lyin' around ..."^[16]

Lindsay-Hogg omitted any reference to Harrison leaving the sessions and temporarily quitting the group, but managed to keep some of the interpersonal strains in the final cut, including the McCartney/Harrison exchange which he had captured by deliberately placing the cameras where they would not be noticed. He also retained the scene that he described as "the back of Paul's head as he's yammering on and John looks like he's about to die from boredom."^[17]

In early 1970 it was decided to change the planned name of the film and the associated album from Get Back to Let It Be, matching the group's March 1970 single release. The final version of the film was blown-up from full-frame 16 mm to 35 mm film for theatrical release, which increased the film's graininess. To create the wider theatrical aspect ratio, the top and bottom of the frame was cropped, necessitating the repositioning of every single shot for optimum picture composition.

[edit]Soundtrack

While the album Let It Be contains many of the song titles featured in the film, in most cases they are different performances. The film has additional songs not included on the album.

The following songs are listed in the order of their first appearance, with songwriting credited to Lennon/McCartney except where noted.

• "Paul's Piano Intro"
  • based on "Adagio for Strings" (Samuel Barber),^[18] and titled "Paul's Piano Piece" on Let It Be... Naked
• "Don't Let Me Down"
• "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"^[19]
• "Two of Us"^[20]
• "I've Got a Feeling"^[21][22]
• "Oh! Darling"
• "One After 909"
• "Jazz Piano Song" (McCartney/Starkey)^[23]
• "Across the Universe"^[24]
• "Dig a Pony"^[24]
• "Suzy Parker" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)^[22]
• "I Me Mine" (Harrison)^[25][26]
• "For You Blue" (Harrison)^[27]
• "Bésame Mucho" (Consuelo Velázquez/Sunny Skylar)^[28]
• "Octopus's Garden" (Starkey)^[29]
• "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (Smokey Robinson)^[30]
• "The Long and Winding Road"^[31]
• Medley:
  • "Rip It Up" (Robert Blackwell/John Marascalco)
  • "Shake Rattle and Roll" (Jesse Stone, under his working name Charles E. Calhoun)^[32]
• Medley:
  • "Kansas City" (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller)^[33]
  • "Miss Ann" (Richard Penniman/Enotris Johnson)
  • "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (Lloyd Price)^[33]
• "Dig It"^[34]
• "Let It Be"
• "Get Back"

[edit]Release and reception

The world premiere of the film was in New York City on 13 May 1970. One week later, UK premieres were held at the Liverpool Gaumont Cinema and the London Pavilion. None of The Beatles attended any of the premieres.^[35] The Beatles won an Oscar for Let It Be in the category "Original Song Score", which Quincy Jones accepted on their behalf. The soundtrack also won a Grammy for "Best Original Score".^[36]

Initial reviews were generally unfavorable; the British press were especially critical,^[3] with The Sunday Telegraph commenting that "it is only incidentally that we glimpse anything about their real characters—the way in which music now seems to be the only unifying force holding them together, and the way Paul McCartney chatters incessantly even when, it seems, none of the others are listening."^[35] Time said that "rock scholars and Beatles fans will be enthralled" while others may consider it only a "mildly enjoyable documentary newsreel."^[37]

Later reviews were more favourable, although rarely glowing, as the historical significance of the film's content factored into critics' assessments. Leonard Maltin rated the film as 3 out of 4 stars, calling it "uneven" and "draggy", but "rescued" by The Beatles' music.^[38] The TLA Video & DVD Guide, also rating it as 3 out of 4 stars, described the film as a "fascinating look at the final days of the world's most famous rock group, punctuated by The Beatles' great songs and the legendary 'rooftop' concert sequence. [... It] is important viewing for all music fans."^[39] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 75% of twelve critics' reviews were positive; user reviews were 86% positive.^[40]

Lindsay-Hogg told Entertainment Weekly in 2003 that reception to Let It Be within the Beatles camp was "mixed";^[17] he believes McCartney and Lennon both liked the film, while Harrison disliked it due to the fact that "it represented a time in his life when he was unhappy… It was a time when he very much was trying to get out from under the thumb of Lennon/McCartney."^[17]

[edit]Home media

The film was released on VHS video, RCA SelectaVision videodisc and laserdisc in the early 1980s, but became out of print within a few years. The transfer to video was not considered high quality; in particular, the already-cropped theatrical version was again cropped to a 4:3 aspect ratio for television. The lack of availability has prompted considerable bootlegging of the film, first on VHS and later on DVD, derived from copies of the early 1980s releases.

The movie was remastered from the original 16 mm film negative by Apple in 1992, with a few of those scenes used in The Beatles Anthology documentary. After additional remastering, a DVD release was planned to accompany the 2003 release of Let It Be... Naked, including a second DVD of bonus material,^[17] but it never materialised. In February 2007, Apple Corps'Neil Aspinall said, "The film was so controversial when it first came out. When we got halfway through restoring it, we looked at the outtakes and realised: this stuff is still controversial. It raised a lot of old issues."^[1]

An anonymous industry source told the Daily Express in July 2008 that, according to Apple insiders, McCartney and Starr blocked the release of the film on DVD. The two were concerned about the effect on the band's "global brand ... if the public sees the darker side of the story. Neither Paul nor Ringo would feel comfortable publicising a film showing The Beatles getting on each other's nerves ... There’s all sorts of extra footage showing more squabbles but it’s unlikely it will ever see the light of day in Paul and Ringo’s lifetime.”^[41]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_%28film%29

[edit]

New Beatles Unsurpassed Promos Video Collection Remastered

Unsurpassed Promos Video DVDs

Due out soon is a collection of Beatles music videos (aka "promotional films"), which is set to replace all previous efforts you may know of, like the "Chronology" DVD's from Picture Perfect, the "Watching Rainbows" discs from Silent Sea, the "1967-1970" DVD from Beat, "The Beatles Video Collection Vol. 1-3" from the fake Apple company, the "1" DVD on an unknown label, "The Beatles by the Bushel" from New Depression Music, the Red and Blue video collections as well as the FAB Productions' Video Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

The new DVD project is a 4 disc set under the title "Unsurpassed Promos" collecting not only all the Beatles' official promotional music videos from 1962-1970, but a version of every song they mimed to on tv, songs from their films and something like 350 still photos from the shootings of the promo films. Each video will be presented in the best quality available and every effort has been made to avoid videos that have station logos. The set will also include the last 30 minutes of "Let It Be" in stereo. The promos have been synched to the mono CD's, but whenever a promo features an alternate mono mix, that mix will be included as an audio option. Some of the videos have had to be pieced together from various sources in order to get the best quality. The fan behind the project is the same guy who gave us the "Unsurpassed Broadcasts" collection, as well as the "Empire Strikes Back" DVD and CD. Naturally, because of his reputation, when he announced his plans for this set, he was contacted by people who sat on superior material they offered for inclusion.

When "1" was released back in 2000, then head of Apple Corps Neil Aspinall was asked what the next step was, perhaps a collection of The Beatles' music videos? His answer was that "No, that would be too obvious". As you can see by the titles I have mentioned and linked to in this post, that statement made for a bootlegger's paradise, as does the absense of an official "Let It Be" DVD.
The "Unsurpassed Promos" project is made by fans, for fans, and for free. The 4-disc set will be leaked to internet download sites and traded among fans. Undoubtedly, bootleggers will rip the set and offer it for money somewhere along the line, but that's not something that can ever be avoided, neither with official nor unofficial products.

Speaking of fan made DVD's, the "Magical Mystery Tour Revisited" DVD has now been finished and will be out any day.

Here's an update on the Unsurpassed Promos DVD set we told you about earlier. The 4 disc DVD set is due out on the internet circuit at the start of November.
All tracks are mimed performances, except (*), the Let It Be stuff and some of the later 'concept' films. Sound is remastered mono except (=) which are stereo. Tracks marked (+) have two audio options. More information will be included in the released material.

TOUR YEARS Disc 1



Love Me Do
Please Please Me *
Twist And Shout
From Me To You
She Loves You
I'll Get You
Money
This Boy
I Want To Hold Your Hand
All My Loving
I Wanna Be Your Man
'Till There Was You
Please Mr Postman
It Won't Be Long
You Can't Do That
Can't Buy Me Love
Roll Over Beethoven +
Long Tall Sally +
A Hard Day's Night *
And I Love Her +
I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
If I Fell
I Should have Known Better
Tell Me Why
I Feel Fine
She's A Woman
Baby's In Black
Kansas City
She's A Woman
I'm A Loser
Rock And Roll Music
Bonus Track

TOUR YEARS Disc 2

Help! +
You're Gonna Lose That Girl
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
I Need You
The Night Before
Another Girl
Ticket To Ride +
I Feel Fine version 1 and 2 +
Help! +
We Can Work It Out versions 1 and 2 +
Day Tripper version 1 +
We Can Work It Out version 3 +
Day Tripper version 3 +
Paperback Writer/Rain (colour, with intro) +
Paperbacks writer (monochrome) versions 1-3 +
Rain (monochrome) versions 1 and 2 +
Bonus Tracks x 3 +
5.1 Slideshow

STUDIO YEARS Disc 3

Paperback Writer film
Rain film
Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields Forever
A Day In The Life
All You Need Is Love (with intro)
Hello Goodbye (version 1: pepper suits)
Hello Goodbye (version 2: hippie clothes)
The Fool On The Hill
I Am The Walrus
Blue Jay Way
Your Mother Should Know
Hello Goodbye (version 3 - crazy outtakes)
Hey Bulldog
Lady Madonna (alternate)
Lady Madonna (original)
Revolution versions 1 and 2
Bonus Track

STUDIO YEARS Disc 4

Hey Jude versions 1-3 (with intro)
Two Of Us =
Let It Be =
The Long And Winding Road =
Get Back =
Don't Let Me Down =
I've Got A Feeling =
One After 909 =
Dig A Pony =
Get Back =
The Ballad Of John & Yoko =
Something =
Bonus Track =
5.1 Slideshow

The set will be traded among collectors and distributed freely on download sites. Yes, it's not complete, there are promos missing. But we hear it will look a lot better than Chronology.

Source: http://theultimatebootlegexperience2.blogspot.com/2010/12/beatles-unsurpassed-promos-studio-years.html

Beatles Red & Blue Greatest Hits Remasters Released 10-19-2010

 

The Beatles' original 1973 compilation 1962-1966 ("Red") and 1967-1970 ("Blue") have been remastered by the same dedicated team of engineers at EMI Music's Abbey Road Studios responsible for remastering The Beatles' original UK studio albums, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release. Both 2CD packages include expanded booklets with original liner notes, newly written essays by Bill Flanagan and rare photos. "Red" and "Blue" are the first Beatles compilations to be released after the band's 1970 disbandment, the popular collections each feature a selection of singles and album tracks written by the band's members.

1962-1966 (Red) Remastered
[Original recording reissued]

Track Listings:

Disc: 1

1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. From Me to You
4. She Loves You
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand
6. All My Loving
7. Can't Buy Me Love
8. A Hard Day's Night
9. And I Love Her
10. Eight Days a Week
11. I Feel Fine
12. Ticket to Ride
13. Yesterday

Disc: 2

1. Help!
2. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
3. We Can Work It Out
4. Day Tripper
5. Drive My Car
6. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
7. Nowhere Man
8. Michelle
9. In My Life
10. Girl
11. Paperback Writer
12. Eleanor Rigby
13. Yellow Submarine


Review: By Mark Barry at Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)  

Commonly known as the "Red Album", the 2LP vinyl set "1962 - 1966" became an instant classic when it was first released in April 1973 (as did its "Blue" counterpart "1967-1970"). When they were finally reissued onto the new CD format in 1993 however, they caused consternation because of their extortionate full price.

So is this newly remastered 2010 mid-priced 2CD reissue on EMI/Apple 5099990675225 any better - the answer is an emphatic 'yes'.

PACKAGING:
The first thing you notice is that the clunky double jewel-case of the 1993 reissue has been dumped for a three-way foldout card sleeve. The centre and right flaps picture the photograph on the inner gatefold of the original vinyl double album (St. Pancras Old Church in London, 27 July 1969, The Beatles with the public looking through the railings). It also houses the two CDs - CD1 has the full Apple label (13 tracks, 31:02 minutes) and the 2nd CD has the half Apple logo (13 tracks, 31:45 minutes). The vinyl set is yet to come, the Digital Download versions are available from 25 Oct 2010 and there's also an issue that lumps both the Red & Blue reissues together as one package in late November.

The left flap houses a new 32-page booklet. The lyrics are intact from the inner sleeves of the original album issue, there's new liner notes by BILL FLANAGAN the MTV Executive and author of "Evening's Empire" (a book on Rock in the Sixties) and there's plenty of superb colour photos from the period - it's impressively done. Downsides - some complained that the 09/09/09 card digipak sleeves for The Beatles reissues were easy to smudge once out of the shrinkwrap and worse - the inner flaps easy to tear as you removed the disc. I'm afraid these are the same. I suppose I would have been naïve of us to think that EMI would actually listen to the complaints of 2009 about packaging, but they haven't - the need for these issues to look the same as the preceding ones has overridden all considerations... Having said that, I still think they look great - substantial even...

PLAYING TIMES:
It doesn't take a particular genius to work out from the playing times provided above that this set could easily have fitted onto 1CD (and even included bonus tracks). But EMI would of course argue that this would fundamentally alter the aesthetic of the original release. At least this time, the reissue is at mid price, so we're not being charged for the privilege. I think the new price pitch makes the 'one' disc argument a mute point. Besides, I like the break, taking out the first disc and putting in the second - it's how the original 2LP issue was. And better, it doesn't actually diminish the listen, if anything it enhances it.

TRACK CHOICES:
The compilation itself is basically the A-sides of all their UK 7" singles releases between 1962 and 1966 in chronological release date order with a few key album tracks thrown in for good measure. Eagle-eye fans would therefore note that as ALL Beatles UK 7" singles for that period were issued only in MONO, so the tracks on the album should reflect that - the MONO single mixes. But EMI did nothing of the sort. In fact the original 1973 albums stated only STEREO on the labels and only the STEREO code was reflected in their catalogue numbers too. At least this time this new 2010 issue notes that Tracks 1 to 4 on Disc 1 are in MONO, while all other are in STEREO ("Love Me Do" is the album mix and not the single version). Bottom line - I would argue that accuracy's loss is the listener's gain, because the STEREO versions used here are awesome.

SOUND:
Although the compilation is copyrighted to 2010 (released Monday 18 Oct 2010 in the UK and 19 Oct 2010 in the USA), the liner notes don't try to hide that these are the 2009 remasters by the same team who did the much-praised Beatles catalogue of 09/09/09. The sound quality is fantastic - breathtaking clarity on instruments - George Harrison's sitar on "Norwegian Wood" - the string quartet on "Eleanor Rigby" and so on.

CONTENT:
But what impresses most is the actual listen itself. Even now, it's truly shocking to hear just how accomplished The Beatles were. Re-listening to each disc in straight order is a gobsmacking experience - and by the time you get to the real song-writing genius of "Ticket To Ride" and especially "Yesterday" (the song that single-handled shut all the begrudgers up) - you're left with a renewed sense of awe. "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper" were a single for God's sake - not on any English album at the time of release! "Paperback Writer", "Ticket To Ride", "Michelle" - track after track of brilliance... Were they really 'this' good - and so early on - the answer is yes - and always will be.

To sum up - the sound on these new reissues is fabulous; the packaging better than the 1993 versions and each is being sold at mid-price - available in most places for less than the price of a single new album. You can't help but think that millions of people globally will take one look at these beauties on a shelf somewhere and slap them straight into their shopping baskets. And rightly so...

I've loved re-hearing these classic Beatles songs in this beautiful sound quality - I really have - and despite some minor packaging quibbles - the 2010 version of the "Red" album is wholeheartedly recommended.

1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered
[Original recording remastered]

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Penny Lane
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

4. With a Little Help from My Friends
5. 1. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
6. A Day in the Life
7. All You Need Is Love
8. I Am the Walrus
9. Hello, Goodbye
10. The Fool on the Hill
11. Magical Mystery Tour
12. Lady Madonna
13. Hey Jude
14. Revolution

Disc: 2

1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Get Back
5. Don't Let Me Down
6. Ballad of John and Yoko
7. Old Brown Shoe
8. Here Comes the Sun
9. Come Together
10. Something
11. Octopus's Garden
12. Let It Be
13. Across the Universe
14. The Long and Winding Road

Review: By Mark Barry at Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)  

This review is from: 1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered (Audio CD)
Commonly known as the "Blue Album", the 2LP vinyl set "1967 - 1970" became an instant classic when it was first released in April 1973 (as did its "Red" counterpart "1962-1966"). When they were finally reissued onto the new CD format in 1993 however, they caused consternation because of their extortionate full price.

So is this newly remastered 2010 mid-priced 2CD reissue on EMI/Apple 5099990674723 any better - the answer is an emphatic 'yes'.

PACKAGING:
The first thing you notice is that the clunky double jewel-case of the 1993 reissue has been dumped for a three-way foldout card sleeve. The centre and right flaps picture the photograph on the inner gatefold of the original vinyl double album (St. Pancras Old Church in London, 27 July 1969, The Beatles with the public looking through the railings - it's the same photo on the "Red" album). It also houses the two CDs - CD1 has the full Apple label (14 tracks, 51:15 minutes) and the 2nd CD has the half Apple logo (14 tracks, 48:43 minutes). The vinyl set is yet to come, the Digital Download versions are available from 25 Oct 2010 and there's also an issue that lumps both the Blue & Red reissues together as one package in late November.

The left flap houses a new 32-page booklet. The lyrics are intact from the inner sleeves of the original album issue, there's new liner notes by BILL FLANAGAN the MTV Executive and author of "Evening's Empire" (a book on Rock in the Sixties) and there's plenty of superb colour photos from the period - it's impressively done. Downsides - some complained that the 09/09/09 card digipak sleeves for The Beatles reissues were easy to smudge once out of the shrinkwrap and worse - the inner flaps easy to tear as you removed the disc. I'm afraid these are the same. I suppose I would have been naïve of us to think that EMI would actually listen to the complaints of 2009 about packaging, but they haven't - the need for these issues to look the same as the preceding ones has overridden all considerations... Having said that, I still think they look great - substantial even...

PLAYING TIMES:
Unlike the "Red" issue which could easily have fitted onto 1CD (and even included bonus tracks), as you can see from the playing times provided above, it would not have been possible with this set. Anyway - EMI would of course argue that a single CD issue of this most `iconic' of double albums would fundamentally alter the aesthetic of the original release. At least this time, this 2CD reissue is at mid price, so we're not being charged for the privilege of separation.

TRACK CHOICES:
The compilation itself is basically the A-sides of all their UK 7" singles releases between 1967 and 1970 in chronological release date order with a few key album tracks thrown in for good measure. Eagle-eye fans would therefore note that up to and including "Get Back" - ALL Beatles UK 7" singles for that period were issued only in MONO ("The Ballad Of John & Yoko" was their 1st STEREO single in the UK). So the tracks on the album should reflect that - the MONO single mixes. But EMI did nothing of the sort. They're all in STEREO (there's 4 MONO on the "Red" set) and i would argue that accuracy's loss is the listener's gain, because the STEREO versions used here are awesome.

SOUND:
Although the compilation is copyrighted to 2010 (released Monday 18 Oct 2010 in the UK and 19 Oct 2010 in the USA), the liner notes don't try to hide that these are the 2009 remasters by the same team who did the much-praised Beatles catalogue of 09/09/09. The sound quality is fantastic - breathtaking clarity on instruments - the piano and guitars on "Lady Madonna", the jet screeching in at the opening of "Back In The U.S.S.R", the brass on "All You Need Is Love", Billy Preston's superb keyboard work on "Let It Be", the wonderfully loose live feel of "Don't Let Me Down" (best B-side ever?) - and so on.

CONTENT:
But what impresses most is the actual listen itself. Even now, it's truly shocking to hear just how accomplished The Beatles became during this ludicrously productive period. And diversity of writers crept in too. There's the 4 Harrison gems "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Old Brown Shoe" and the magical double of "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun", while Ringo gets the witty "Octopus's Garden". Leaving the rest as Lennon-McCartney originals. And what an embarrassment of riches they are...

7" perfection comes twice - "Strawberry Fields Forever" b/w "Penny Lane" and arguably the greatest single ever released - "Hey Jude" b/w "Revolution" (melodious Paul on the A with rockin' blistering John on the B). Most bands would kill a close relative to get anywhere near this level of genius. And by the time you get to the ballads at the end of Disc 2 - "The Long And Winding Road" and "Across The Universe" - adjectives begin to fail you... Were The Beatles really 'this' good - the answer is yes - and always will be.

To sum up - the sound on these new reissues is fabulous; the packaging better than the 1993 versions and each is being sold at mid-price - available in most places for less than the price of a single new album. You can't help but think that millions of people globally will take one look at these beauties on a shelf somewhere and slap them straight into their shopping baskets. And rightly so...

I've loved re-hearing these classic Beatles songs in this beautiful sound quality - I really have - and despite some minor packaging quibbles - the 2010 version of the "Blue" album is wholeheartedly recommended.

You can get the Red one here:
http://juliocmail.blogspot.com/2008/04/beatles-red-album-1962-1966-1973.html

You can get the Blue one here:
http://juliocmail.blogspot.com/2010/10/thebeatles1967-1970remastered-2010.html

Candlestick Park - San Francisco - 08-29-1966 - The Last Beatles Concert

August 29, 1966 marked the date of the last show of Beatlemania. It was the beginning of a hot, wet and windy evening in a stadium. Candlestick Park was the venue for the Beatles' last appearance before a live audience. It was the end of the third and troubled American tour with the Beatles tired of hysteria and threats, since months before John Lennon dared to say that Beatles were more  popular than Christ.  American Conservatism muzzled them until the last show and John, Paul, George and Ringo took the stage for short 28 minutes of music knowing that this was the last of an era. Nobody knew what would be after that, but they were sick of airplanes, hotels, and wherever they went it was crazy. Not even Brian Espstein attended the last show.

Below are cover scans of a widely available bootleg CD of the concert.

 

Track Listing:

CD-1        Rock And Roll Music
CD-2        She's A Woman
CD-3        If I Needed Someone
CD-4        Day Tripper
CD-5        Baby's In Black
CD-6        I Feel Fine
CD-7        Yesterday
CD-8        I Wanna Be Your Man
CD-9        Nowhere Man
CD-10        Paperback Writer
CD-11        Long Tall Sally

August 29 2010 marked the 44^th anniversary of the last Beatles concert. EVER!

August 29 1966 saw the most famous pop / rock n roll band in history perform to 25,000 screaming fans at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. This was just over half capacity at 42,500 and whole sections of the park were unsold. Only a few years earlier and it would have been standing room only and unthinkable. WHY was this?
Here is a quote from George Harrison at the end of the last Beatles concert at Candlestick park which may give a clue.

“We’d done about 1,400 live shows and I certainly felt that was it…it was ridiculous , and it felt dangerous because everybody was out of hand and out of line. Even the cops were out of line…we’ve got to stop this…we’ve got to pack this in”.

Hindsight is a great thing

“Twenty-four thousand screaming fans couldn’t be wrong. But what they didn’t realize on that late August evening was that the Beatles didn’t want to be there, that the band couldn’t hear itself enough to sing on-key, and that this would be the last Beatles concert ever.”

The last Beatles concert only lasted for 33 minutes. There were technical problems and the Fab 4 could not even hear their own voices and consequently sang off key the whole time.

At this point only the iconic foursome and a few insiders knew this would be the last Beatles concert (maybe THEY didn’t even know the tag “EVER”)?

Candlestick Park circa 1966 (Wikepedia)

Did You Know

• With the lack of sales the promoters made a loss. The Beatles received 65% of the gross takings of the concert while a further 15% went to the City of San Francisco – Leaving only 20% for Tempo Productions who promoted the last Beatles concert.
• The ticket machines could not process the oversized tickets so they needed to be processed by hand.
• Paul McCartney asked Tony Barrow (Press officer) to record the performance and bootleg copies were made. One problem was the tape ran out, and the last song of the last Beatles Concert was not recorded in its entirety.
• John strummed the intro guitar notes of “In My Life” just prior to leaving the stage.
• The famous stadium which housed the last Beatles concert in 1966 was later renamed 3Com Park then Monster Park. However in 2008 it was formally renamed once again to Candlestick Park.

Their last performance however was years later on January 30 1969. It was the now famous concert on the rooftop of the abbey Road Studios where they performed songs from their albums Abbey Road and Let it Be Albums and is immortalized in their film “Let It Be”
“They just came to the place, screamed like crazy and had a good time. You have to remember we were only on for 30 minutes” Ringo Starr on Shea Stadium concert 1965

You can listen to the entire concert digitally remastered here:



Check out Last Beatles Concert at Candlestick Park Videos.

You can get it here: http://octaner.blogspot.com/2009/03/final-tour-disc-2.html


Source: http://whenthelastbeatlesgone.com/2010/09/last-beatles-concert/