AN OPEN letter John Lennon wrote to his ex-wife Cynthia slamming her for making details of their marriage breakdown public has been unearthed after 41 years. John Lennon's letter to first wife sells for $30,000 at auction. By GILLIAN CRAWLEY, PUBLISHED: 13:08, Mon, Aug 7, 2017 | UPDATED: 13:24, Mon, Aug 7, 2017
In the original letter, which is titled 'an open letter to Cynthia Twist' and is dated November 15, 1976, the former Beatle said Cynthia had an 'impaired' memory of their marriage.
He claimed their relationship was over long before Yoko Ono arrived on the scene and accused her of double standards for wishing to get away from her past with the Beatle, yet was happy to speak about it to magazines.
Lennon sent the letter to a US weekly magazine for them to publish with the request that it is 'printed without any edits.
I think it only fair to me and your readers to present my side of the story'.
He wrote it in response to an article Cynthia had published in an English women's magazine earlier that year.
She claimed her ex-husband's mounting LSD use and the intrusion of Yoko Ono were to blame for the breakdown of the marriage.
At the time these letters were written, Lennon had reunited with his second wife Ono after an 18 month separation.
In Lennon's rebuttal, he claimed Cynthia came to visit him two years earlier in 1974 to try and persuade him to get back together with her but he declined because he was still in love with Ono.
He refuted her claim that he hired a private detective to spy on her and her future husband Roberto Bassanini who she was married to from 1970 to 1973.
The letter measures 8.5in by 11in and has been signed 'John' with Lennon adding a small sketch of his face.
It is being consigned by a private collector in the US who wishes to remain anonymous and the letter is tipped to sell for £20,000 ($25,000).
It reads in full: “As you and I well know, our marriage was over long before the advent of L.S.D. or Yoko Ono ... and that's reality!
“Your memory is impaired to say the least.
“Your version of our first L.S.D. trip is rather vague, and you seem to have forgotten subsequent trips altogether!
“You also seem to have forgotten that only two years ago, while I was separated from Yoko, you suddenly brought Julian to see me in Los Angeles after three years of silence.
“During this visit, you hardly allowed me to be alone with him for one moment.
“You even asked me to remarry you and/or give you another child, 'for Julian's sake'!
“I politely told you no, and that, anyway, I was still in love with Yoko, (which I thought was very 'down to earth').
“There were no detectives sent to Italy. Our mutual friend Alex Mardas went to Bassanini's Hotel to see how you were, as you said you were too ill to come home...
“Finally, I don't blame you for wanting to get away from your 'Beatle' past.
“But if you are serious about it, you should try to avoid talking to and posing for magazines and newspapers!
“We did have some good years, so dwell on them for a change, and, as Dylan says, it was 'A Simple Twist of Fate!'
“Love & good luck to the three of you, from the three of us.”
Lennon's pun on Cynthia’s surname at the close of the first letter 'A Simple Twist of Fate' possibly inspired Cynthia's decision to call her forthcoming memoirs A Twist of Lennon which were published in 1978.
A spokesman for US based RR Auctions, who are selling the letter, said: “As Lennon's official side of the story, a public he-said, she-said self-defence, these letters represent the unique final chapter in the life of the former Beatle.
“They are of the utmost rarity and importance.” Cynthia met Lennon in a calligraphy class at the Liverpool College of Art and they began dating in 1958.
They married in 1962 and were together for six years but divorced in November 1968.
In 1976, Cynthia married John Twist, an engineer from Lancashire, but divorced him in 1983.
She was married to night club owner Noel Charles from 2002 until his death in 2013. Two years later, in 2015, she died aged 65.
According to The Sunday Times, a New edition of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band is planned for release this year, with the single tracks "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" added.
The newspaper says that "The 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band this June will be marked with a worldwide re-release — and for fans it will mean at last hearing the album as the band had intended it to sound".
According to the newspaper's sources, the anniversary relaunch on June 1 will reinstate the two tracks, which George Martin agreed to release as a single several months before the album was in the shops. The Sunday Times quotes Paul McCartney:"We were then moving away from screaming girls’ gigs where no one could hear anything in the concert halls any more and were working on Sgt Pepper. John wrote this absolutely amazing song, Strawberry Fields Forever, for the new album and I was frankly a bit jealous, so I went home and wrote Penny Lane. It worked and we wanted them as the main tracks on Sgt Pepper."
The Sunday Times also writes that "Although details of the re-release are being kept secret, it is understood that all parties involved have co-operated fully, including McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison".
We must add that as far as we're concerned, we believe that a 50th Anniversary re-release of the "Sgt. Pepper" album should do more than just add the Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever single to the album's lineup, and we do think that a far grander scheme is in the works.
London – April 5, 2017 – It was 50 years ago this June 1st when The Beatles’ John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr astonished and delighted the world, ushering in the Summer of Love with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a groundbreaking masterwork that became popular music’s most universally acclaimed album. To salute the occasion, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition packages on May 26 (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe). The album is newly mixed by Giles Martin and Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio and expanded with early takes from the studio sessions, including no fewer than 34 previously unreleased recordings.
“It’s crazy to think that 50 years later we are looking back on this project with such fondness and a little bit of amazement at how four guys, a great producer and his engineers could make such a lasting piece of art,” says Paul McCartney in his newly-penned introduction for the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition.
“‘Sgt. Pepper’ seemed to capture the mood of that year, and it also allowed a lot of other people to kick off from there and to really go for it,” Ringo Starr recalls in the Anniversary Edition’s book.
For Record Store Day on April 22, Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will release an exclusive, limited edition seven-inch vinyl single of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” among the first songs recorded during the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ sessions, which began in November 1966. Rather than being held for inclusion on the album, the two songs were released as a double A-sided single in February 1967. Amidst intense media speculation about the band’s next move, the single bridged what was then considered a long gap between the Revolver album, released in August 1966, and ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ which followed 10 months later.
This is the first time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been remixed and presented with additional session recordings, and it is the first Beatles album to be remixed and expanded since the 2003 release of Let It Be… Naked. To create the new stereo and 5.1 surround audio mixes for ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios in London. All of the Anniversary Edition releases include Martin’s new stereo mix of the album, which was sourced directly from the original four-track session tapes and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by his father, George Martin.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases include:
A CD featuring the new ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix, complete with the original U.K. album’s “Edit for LP End” run-out groove.
Deluxe: Expanded 2CD and digital package features the new stereo album mix on the first CD and adds a second CD of 18 tracks, including previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album. The second CD also includes a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased complete takes of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Deluxe Vinyl: Expanded 180-gram 2LP vinyl package features the new stereo album mix on the first LP and adds a second LP with previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album.
Super Deluxe: The comprehensive six-disc boxed set features:
CD 1: New stereo album mix
CDs 2 & 3:
- 33 additional recordings from the studio sessions, most previously unreleased and mixed for the first time from the four-track session tapes, sequenced in chronological order of their recording dates
- A new stereo mix of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
CD 4:
- Direct transfers of the album’s original mono mix and the “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” singles
- Capitol Records’ U.S. promotional mono single mix of “Penny Lane”
- Previously unreleased early mono mixes of “She’s Leaving Home,” “A Day In The Life,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (a mix thought to have been erased from a tape in 1967, but discovered during archive research for the anniversary edition)
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray and DVD):
- New 5.1 surround audio mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus their 2015 5.1 surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
- High resolution audio versions of the new stereo mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” and of the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
- Video features: 4K restored original promotional films for “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “A Day In The Life;” plus The Making of Sgt. Pepper, a restored, previously unreleased documentary film (broadcast in 1992), featuring insightful interviews with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, and in-studio footage introduced by George Martin.
– “A splendid time is guaranteed for all” –
The album’s vibrant artwork, including its extravagant Pop Art cover which finds The Beatles surrounded by a crowd of heroes in a 3D collage, was created by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth in collaboration with the band. The original artwork is showcased across the suite of Anniversary Edition releases, including the album’s pull-out sheet of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cutouts. Housed in a 12-inch by 12-inch box with lenticular artwork and two bonus posters, the six-disc Super Deluxe set is presented with a 144-page hardcover book. The book includes new introductions by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin, and chapters covering comprehensive song-by-song details and recording information, the design of the cover, the album’s musical innovations and its historical context by Beatles historian, author and radio producer Kevin Howlett; composer and musicologist Howard Goodall; music producer and writer Joe Boyd; and journalists Ed Vulliamy and Jeff Slate, illustrated with rare photographs, reproductions of handwritten lyrics, Abbey Road Studios documentation, and original ‘Sgt. Pepper’ print ads. The Deluxe 2CD digipak is slipcased with a 50-page booklet abridged from the box set’s book, and the 2LP Deluxe Vinyl is presented in a faithful reproduction of the album’s original gatefold jacket.
– “We hope you will enjoy the show” –
Just as many ideas are sparked by chance, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ first sprang from a conversation between Paul and Beatles roadie Mal Evans on an airplane, when Mal’s request to pass the salt and pepper was misheard by Paul as “Sgt. Pepper.” The concept of who such a figure could be took root in Paul’s mind, blooming with the imagination of The Beatles as an Edwardian era military band -- “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The Beatles’ creative wellspring for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ also flowed from such myriad sources as The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, a Victorian circus poster (“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”), a TV commercial for breakfast cereal (“Good Morning Good Morning”), a picture drawn by John’s young son, Julian (“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”), a teen runaway reported in the news (“She’s Leaving Home’), and Hindu teachings (“Within You Without You”).
– “Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song” –
Using the standard four-track tape recording equipment of the day, The Beatles collaborated with producer George Martin to achieve “the impossible,” as they dubbed it, to go as far out as they could with arrangements and new technology to realize their collective vision for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As George Martin described it, “We were into another kind of art form where you were putting something down on tape that could only be done on tape.” The Beatles clocked more than 400 hours in Abbey Road’s Studio 2 to record the album, wrapping sessions in April 1967.
– “I read the news today oh boy” –
Upon its release on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band initially spent 148 weeks in the British chart, including a total of 27 weeks at number one. During its first U.S. chart run, the album held the number one spot for 15 of the 88 weeks it appeared in the Top 200. ‘Sgt. Pepper’ won four GRAMMY Awards®, including Album of the Year, and it remains one of the most influential and bestselling albums of all time. In 2003, the U.S. Library of Congress selected ‘Sgt. Pepper’ for the National Recording Registry, recognizing the album as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” ‘Sgt. Pepper’ tops Rolling Stone magazine’s definitive list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
Track List, More Details Emerge on Beatles' 50th Anniversary "Sgt. Pepper"
04-07-17 We now have the full details on the 50th anniversary editions of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Considered one of the greatest, if not THE best, album of the rock era, Sgt. Pepper will receive a multi-format release on May 26, five days before the 50th anniversary of the album's release.
Single-CD - A new stereo mix including the U.K. version of the album's "Edit for LP End" run-out groove.
Double-CD - Stereo mix on disc 1 plus an 18 track second disc with alternate takes of all of the songs on the album, two alternate takes of Penny Lane including an instrumental version, and three alternate takes of Strawberry Fields Forever.
Double-Vinyl LP - Same as Double-CD without the Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields takes.
Six-CD
New Stereo Mix
Two-CDs/33 tracks of studio outtakes
One-CD of the album and bonus tracks in mono
Two-Blu-Ray or DVDs with 5.1 mix and high resolution versions of the album plus a previously unreleased documentary and promotional films.
The Super Deluxe version will include a 144-page hardcovered book with introductions by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin. The two-CD version will have a shortened 50-page booklet.
The track lists:
Single-CD (Stereo Mix)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
Two-CD Set
Disc 1 (Stereo Mix)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
Disc 2
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9)
With A Little Help From My Friends (Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Take 1)
Getting Better (Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End)
Fixing A Hole (Speech And Take 3)
She's Leaving Home (Take 1 – Instrumental)
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Take 4)
Within You Without You (Take 1 - Indian Instruments)
When I'm Sixty-Four (Take 2)
Lovely Rita (Speech And Take 9)
Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Take 8)
A Day In The Life (Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Stereo Mix - 2015)
Penny Lane (Take 6 - Instrumental)
Penny Lane (Stereo Mix - 2017)
2-Vinyl LP Set
LP 1 (Stereo Mix)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
LP 2
Side A
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9 And Speech)
With A Little Help From My Friends (Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Take 1)
Getting Better (Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End)
Fixing A Hole (Speech And Take 3)
She's Leaving Home (Take 1 – Instrumental)
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Take 4)
Side B
Within You Without You (Take 1 - Indian Instruments)
When I'm Sixty-Four (Take 2)
Lovely Rita (Speech And Take 9)
Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Take 8)
A Day In The Life (Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord)
Super Deluxe (4CD/DVD/Blu-ray box set)
Disc 1 (Stereo Mix)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
Disc 2
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 4)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
Strawberry Fields Forever (Stereo Mix - 2015)
When I'm Sixty-Four (Take 2)
Penny Lane (Take 6 – Instrumental)
Penny Lane (Vocal Overdubs And Speech)
Penny Lane (Stereo Mix - 2017)
A Day In The Life (Take 1)
A Day In The Life (Take 2)
A Day In The Life (Orchestra Overdub)
A Day In The Life (Hummed Last Chord) (Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11)
A Day In The Life (The Last Chord)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 1 – Instrumental)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9 And Speech)
Good Morning Good Morning (Take 1 - Instrumental, Breakdown)
Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
Disc 3
Fixing A Hole (Take 1)
Fixing A Hole (Speech And Take 3)
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Speech From Before Take 1; Take 4 And Speech At End)
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Take 7)
Lovely Rita (Speech And Take 9)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Take 1 And Speech At The End)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Speech, False Start And Take 5)
Getting Better (Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End)
Getting Better (Take 12)
Within You Without You (Take 1 - Indian Instruments Only)
Within You Without You (George Coaching The Musicians)
She's Leaving Home (Take 1 – Instrumental)
She's Leaving Home (Take 6 – Instrumental)
With A Little Help From My Friends (Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Speech And Take 8)
Disc 4 (Mono Mix)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
Strawberry Fields Forever (Original Mono Mix)
Penny Lane (Original Mono Mix)
A Day In The Life (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Unreleased Mono Mix - No. 11)
She's Leaving Home (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
Penny Lane (Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single - Mono Mix)
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray & DVD)
Audio Features (both discs)
New 5.1 Surround Audio mixes of Sgt. Pepper album and Penny Lane, plus 2015 5.1 Surround mix of Strawberry Fields Forever (Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 / DVD: DTS Dolby Digital 5.1)
High Resolution Audio versions of 2017 Sgt. Pepper stereo mix and 2017 Penny Lane stereo mix, plus 2015 Strawberry Fields Forever hi res stereo mix (Blu-ray: LPCM Stereo 96KHz/24bit / DVD: LPCM Stereo)
Video Features (both discs)
The Making of Sgt. Pepper (restored 1992 documentary film, previously unreleased)
Promotional Films
A Day In The Life (4K restored)
Strawberry Fields Forever (4K restored)
Penny Lane (4K restored)
SGT PEPPER SUPER DELUXE SET - Some random musings, by Anna Crusis
DISC 1 - The new stereo remix of the full album.
(See further down)
DISC 2
01. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)
This is the same version that has been heard on bootleg for several decades now. When included on Anthology the beautiful backing vocals were omitted but here they are present (and in stereo). Like all the tracks on the two sessions discs, this recording is presented completely "dry" and without any added reverb or echo. Sounds better than the boot version although the mellotron ramblings at the start are absent.
02. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 4)
Another track that was booted many years ago, sounding very similar here but in higher quality.
03. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7)
A mono mix of this was used on Anthology but here it is in stereo. Great track.
04. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
The complete fast version with score. Oddly John didn't bother to sing the first verse on either of his vocal overdubs, and instead la-la's it and doesn't come in till the final line. Since there was an earlier mono mix that featured him singing the verse, the implication is that he'd decided to use the start of take 7 already and therefore didn't bother singing the opening verse on this version. We'll never know for sure.
05. Strawberry Fields Forever (Stereo Mix - 2015)
Just like the label says. Doesn't really fit in here and should have been on disc 1.
06. When I'm Sixty Four (Take 2)
Take announcement, then a few seconds of preliminaries and into the take that ended up on the album. Here there are no lavish overdubs though, just bass, drums, guitar, Paul's vocal and a piano overdub. Paul does some extra jazz scat vocals that were mixed out later. The piano is more prominent too. Nice.
07. Penny Lane (Take 6 - Instrumental)
A very basic instrumental version. The foundation seems to be Paul on piano, which is really nice to hear so clearly. On the other channel are a myriad of sounds from organ to cymbals and tambourine, some of which work and some of which don't! All of these sounds can be heard on the Anthology version but here they are much clearer.
08. Penny Lane (Vocal Overdubs And Speech)
A very interesting track: Paul and George adding experimental background vocals to the song. You just hear their isolated voices and the backing track faintly through their headphones. Firstly they add what was obviously a carefully worked out Beach Boys-style part and handclaps to the section where the trumpet solo would end up. It sounds very similar to the cor anglais overdub heard on Anthology. This is obviously a rough take though, so they can be heard talking afterwards as the song goes on and Paul suggests various ideas as they proceed. Then there is some mention of backwards trumpet, and then some actual backwards trumpet (not sure if this is kosher or has been added by GM). A really interesting track this one.
09. Penny Lane (Stereo Mix 2017)
They've apparently found some new elements for this song and so have done a new stereo mix to supersede the one on 1. Should have been on disc 1 though.
10. A Day In The Life (Take 1)
Wow, we've struck gold here. The spoken intro was heard on Anthology and the first part of the take in the "Making Of Pepper" tv special, but this is the first time we've heard the full take. John's vocal is ethereal and beautiful, and Paul turns in some budding avante garde piano. No drums, just John's vocal and guitar, someone (probably George) on maraccas, Mal counting and Paul's piano. This is my favourite track on the set.
11. A Day In The Life (Take 2)
Continues on in the same vein. This take was included on Anthology, but in mono. Here it is stereo and is not intercut with other versions except at the end where there is a cut to the "OOOMMMMM" they recorded later, but the take itself is not abbreviated so no real harm done.
12. A Day In The Life (Orchestra Overdub)
An isolation of the second orchestral build up. It starts a bit beforehand and there is so much studio noise, even the sound of people talking. Sinister and disturbing.
13. A Day In The Life (Hummed Last Chord, Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11)
"This is take 8, the choir for the end" says Geoff Emerick. "Choir?" responds a bemused John. There's then some talking, a girl says "you lead in" and then follows a pretty lame attempt at the "Ommmm". Much laughing. The girl vocalist seems to be Cynthia Lennon. "Stop freakin' out, missus" says John. There is another unidentified (male) voice too. A few more attempts and then the final one which has been multitracked to make it more effective but, honestly, still sounds pretty silly.
14. A Day In The Life (The Last Chord)
"You got yer loud pedal down Mal?" asks Paul. "Which one's that?" responds Mal. Paul puts him right and then follows several attempts at the final chord, with George Martin giving some pointers. Ringo and John can also be heard.
15. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 1 - Instrumental)
A garage band version of the rhythm track, with punky out-of-tune guitars. No bass, just drums so it's hard to know who is on the guitars but one is so rough and ready it has to be John.
16. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9 And Speech)
Identical to the version floating around on acetate for years but in stereo and with extra vocals and chat at the end. Paul sings "I feel it, I feel it! Gotta be free now..." and opines "I think it'll probably be another day singing it." George suggests Paul insert some vocals where he runs out of breath, so maybe the vocal track contains punch-ins.
17. Good Morning Good Morning (Take 1 - Instrumental, Breakdown)
"This is called Good Morning Good Morning I believe, I'm not sure about that" intones Geoff Emerick. John seems to recite the wedding vow. Paul counts in, which is a bit odd since he doesn't seem to be actually doing anything. John sings and plays guitar while Ringo drums, but the Dingle boy blows it about halfway through due to the complexity of the arrangement.
18. Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
The version that wound up on the lp but in a basic form. Unlike the Anthology version John's voice is completely dry here. Paul is on bass now.
DISC 3
01. Fixing A Hole (Take 1)
The take which ended up on the album. This seems to be entirely live with harpsichord, bass, drums and Paul's vocal. It keeps going towards the end so there are some new vocal bits not heard before. Some very faint guitar.
02. Fixing A Hole (Speech And Take 3)
Another live take with some chat at the start. John: "Paul, did you make it with [drums?] on? I thought I was going to do the whole thing you see." Paul: "try and make it the whole way through." John is presumably on bass since it is very poorly played. There's some nice improvised vocals towards the end once more.
03. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite (Speech From Before Take 1, Take 4 And Speech At End)
George Martin in American accent: "Okay man, let's go the light's on." A full live take which ends with John counting out the beat in the final bar. GM tells John just to mouth it or it'll come out on the bass track. John - dubious - replies, "Well, we'll have the Massed Alberts on by then won't we?" He then jokes, "This time you'll get it in the middle of the song."
04. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite (Take 7)
Another live take as they try and get the performance tighter.
05. Lovely Rita (Speech And Take 9)
The take that ended up on the album, but with less overdubs and some extra vocals from Paul at the start. I say "vocals" but it's actually him reciting something in Latin. John is on acoustic guitar: "I did a freakout one then - one of them where you don't know what you're doing." He complains about his guitar cutting in and out of the mix on the previous take. The lack of overdubs allows one to hear Paul's improvisations at the end more clearly... strange.
06. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Take 1 And Speech At The End)
Starts with a groovy little organ riff that reminded me of Johnny And The Hurricanes at the Star Club. George says something about his part and George Martin tells him it will only be in the headphones and not be recorded to tape. George: "Oh well." John in scouse accent: "It's direct injection." George Martin is on piano, John on acoustic guitar, Ringo on drums and Paul on organ. Then follows a live take with a (very) rough guide vocal.
07. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Speech, False Start And Take 5)
Paul: "Right, now: concentrate, swing it!" He then gives John some vocal coaching and there follows another live take more or less the same as the previous one.
08. Getting Better (Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End)
A really heavy early take. No vocals, just drums, electric piano (Paul), fuzz guitar doubling as a bass and another lighter guitar. Almost unrecognisable (but good!)
09. Getting Better (Take 12)
The take from the album but without any vocals. Instead there is a very loud tamboura drone.
10. Within You Without You (Take 1 - Indian Instruments Only)
Just like the label says. Not very interesting for me.
11. Within You Without You (George Coaching The Musicians)
This is much more interesting. George uses a kind of Indian solfege to coach one of the musicians. I hadn't actually realised George had learnt to do this and he is quite good at it. Very different from the way he coached his fellow Beatles with "Da-da-da, la-la"!
12. She's Leaving Home (Take 1 - Instrumental)
George Martin conducting the score. Nice enough, and there is an extra little cello phrase at the end of the "She's leaving home after living alone for so many years" parts.
13. She's Leaving Home (Take 6 - Instrumental)
George Martin: "Is the tempo all right Paul?" Paul grunts.
14. With A Little Help From My Friends (Take 1 - False Start And Take 2)
No vocals, but lots of other stuff: drums, guitar, organ, cowbell, maracca, tambourine and really great piano from Paul. Paul had developed a terrific style of his own by this point.
15. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Speech And Take 8)
A different take from Anthology, but similar in content. Paul thinks his guide vocal may be confusing Ringo and is tripping out on the shapes on the walls of Studio 1. They sound like they are having fun.
DISC 4
(The first 15 tracks are the original mono mixes and not discussed here)
16. A Day In The Life (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
The same as the acetate version that has been kicking around since the year dot, but now with a slate at the start.
17. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Unreleased Mono Mix - No. 11)
Similar to the released mono mix but even more phasey.
18. She's Leaving Home (Unreleased First Mono Mix)
Some horrible flanging on the poor harp at the start. Otherwise similar to the released mono mix but with the extra cello phrases retained at the ends of the choruses (edited out for the lp).
19. Penny Lane (Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single - Mono Mix)
Crikey, this sounds like it was trod around the floor of the studio before being transferred. Surely there is a better copy somewhere.
DISC 1
The much-vaunted 2017 remix. I won't go into every track (hey, I've gotta leave some stuff for other people to cover!) but generally the stereo placement is much better. There's no lead vocals coming awkwardly out of the speaker on the other side of the room. Now vocal harmonies are often spread out in stereo, which is nice. Instruments are often placed more subtly in the picture rather than being panned hard left or right.
Okay, so in terms of actual mixing that's a tick. Now the crosses. My big beef is with the dynamic range. I mean, there isn't any. None. Everything is just constantly loud and it became fatiguing for me after about 15 minutes. I don't want to sound negative but I wish they'd concentrated on making the stereo image better and not tried to make everything sound loud. She's Leaving Home is not meant to be a loud song. There also seems to be quite a lot of reverb sometimes. So as usual it's swings and roundabouts - plenty of good stuff, but some regrettable apects too.
As for the 5.1 mix I don't have a surround system so I can't comment on the effect. But the centre channel generally has the vocals in mono, with the vocals in wide stereo on the front left-right channels. The rear channels are kind of similar to the front channels and don't seem to have too much discrete material. But, like I said, I can't listen to it the way it was meant to be so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
My verdict: buy it! It's not as exciting as Anthology back in the day but still a fascinating listen.
The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper at 50 : The New Surround Sound Mix
There is much to discuss regarding this new ultra deluxe boxed set celebrating The Beatles' landmark 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band.
For the skeptics, please note that the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Super Deluxe Edition is not a tossed-off simple repackage cash-in. The intent behind this project was to do something different celebrating the album's 50th Anniversary, shedding new light on a beloved recording and giving the fans something special. While most people have heard and owned the Stereo version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band over the years, the reality is that The Beatles themselves were not involved with the making of that version of the album; they put all their energy into the Mono mix which, in 1967, was the dominant audio format, Stereo still being something of a niche commercial market at that point, less than 10 years old...
All the commercial radio stations at that point were still broadcasting in Mono. Most people had Mono transistor radios and maybe some sort of automatic record player with a built-in speaker and amp, if you were lucky. Boomboxes weren't even a thing then. There were no Walkmen. There were no iPods. There were no iPhones.
Mono was the thing...
Accordingly, Producer Giles Martin has thus set out to create a new perspective Stereo mix that honors the intent of The Beatles' original Mono creation, emulating the feel and overall vibe they'd worked so hard on, yet delivering a higher fidelity soundstage which a modern two speaker mix can enable.
For the first time these mixes have been made from the original multi-track recording elements, virtually eliminating the sonic degradation which occurred when "bumping" tracks down in the analog realm. Remember, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band was effectively recorded on a four-track tape machine, so producer George Martin had to innovate to capture all those sounds which The Beatles wanted to convey in this album. He and his team invented a new sync method to link multiple tape machines together while recording -- expanding their number of available tracks at a given time -- yet inevitably still had to create "sub mixes" or "reduction mixes" along the way to free up space on a tape (i.e.. mixing four tracks on one machine down to one on another tape deck, freeing space for more recording elements).
By going back to the original pre-mixed multi-track source material tapes -- which thankfully still exist in the EMI archives -- and bringing them into a modern digital audio workstation type recording program (probably ProTools, the industry standard), Giles Martin has been able to present us with a new mix that literally removes layers of murk which had blanked the original music, be it Mono or Stereo versions. I have to admit, I was initially surprised at how bright the new recording sounded, but as I've given it repeat listens I realize that phenomenon was more about my ear getting acclimated to the increased detailing and lack of distortion, hiss and other sonic anomalies present in all prior versions than any problem with the recording.
For an added bonus, while Giles Martin was working on this Stereo re-invention, he took things a step further and created a quite lovely and complementary 5.1 surround sound mix. These recordings are included on the Blu-ray Disc within the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Super Deluxe Edition in high resolution 96 kHz, 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHd. You also get a high resolution PCM Stereo version (which we'll discuss in Part Two of this series). For those who have yet to get a Blu-ray player, the set includes a DVD containing the same material only in standard resolution DTS and Dolby 5.1 formats as well as PCM Stereo.
Both discs contain not only the full album as well as the single sides of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" (songs which were recorded at the same time as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band and not included on the original album due to the convention back in the day in England of not duplicating single releases on the LP) You also get restored great looking and sounding promotional videos for both of those songs plus "A Day In The Life," all of which also have new 5.1 surround and stereo mixes.
And those are just two of the discs in the set! You'll also get four CDs chockfull of outtakes, alternate mixes, the original Mono mix and the new Stereo mix. You also get a 100-plus page hardcover album-sized book with loads of information and incredible period photos. This set is a Beatle-fan's dream, folks. I'll go into more detail on the other CDs and bonus goodies in Part Three of this review.
But, for now, lets dive into the new 5.1 Surround Sound remix...
Giles Martin has achieved a sweet and happy balance here, creating an immersive listening experience while maintaining a somewhat traditional Stereo sound stage that honors the richness of the Mono mix. So fear not Dear Readers-who-are-haters-of-overly-immersive-surround-sound-mixes: the new 5.1 Surround Sound mix of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band feels like a playful old friend who will sometimes sneak up to surprise you when least expected, delivering a tasteful multi-channel listening experience without being heavy-handed. This new 5.1 mix of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band complements and respects the music and does not draw your attention away from the underlying recording -- an important distinction.
For example, at the Chorus ends during "Strawberry Fields Forever" you'll hear that sort of Sitar-Harp sound skip gingerly around the room leading into the next Verse. Likewise, on "A Day In the Life" the mix is gently immersive, blooming only as necessary, especially on the massive final chord; as much as I might like to hear a madly-wild tripped-out aggressive surround sound mix on this song, Giles Martin's decision to keep things grounded is wise because the song is already madly-wild and tripped-out enough!
Vocals are now much clearer, enabling you to make out every syllable. You can more easily detect individual Beatle voices even amidst densely layered harmonies. On "Fixing a Hole" those lush voicings are much more up front, almost like the way George Martin mixed The Beatles' backup vocals for the Abbey Road album (think "Because" and "Sun King") two years later. It is really beautiful to hear these richly detailed parts.
The strings on "She's Leaving Home" are remarkable, offering up detail -- such as low cellos on the chorus -- which I'd never fully noticed before. Remember that in addition to the recordings being bounced down multiple generations (losing fidelity along the way) there was always some level of compression applied to the vinyl records to accommodate the limitations of the average record player back in the day -- if a record was cut too hot, the discs would make the "needle" skip (if you will) because some lower cost players simply could not track that sort of wide range musical information. That said, with this newly very Hi Fi presentation, this song feels almost like this could be a modern recording by The Kronos Quartet. Its really haunting to feel the Harp behind you as Lennon's aching voice floats away with a somber "Bye-bye..."
The cut-up-spliced-tape Calliope carnival parts on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. kite!" trip gleefully around the room; hey, it was 1967 after all! The rich combination of Indian and traditional orchestral instrumentation on "Within You,Without You" -- Violins, Cellos, Sitar, Dilruba -- makes for a lovely surround showcase as those final rushes of Harp-like sounds gently hug you. The back up harmonies on "When I'm 64" really pop! And now you can feel the earthy woodiness of the acoustic guitar opening strums to "Lovely Rita" -- and throughout -- delivering a wonderful rhythmic twang.
Ringo's drumming on "Good Morning, Good Morning" is absolutely fierce throughout while the raw urgency in Lennon's vocal sounds borderline punk emanating from the center channel. Spoiler alert: listen closely for the animal noises at the end of which culminate in the back left rear speaker; those final clucks behind you give way to that all important electric guitar pull-off riff which leads us back into the Reprise -- diagonally across the room in the front right channel! This new surround sound mix makes me realize what a quite brilliant production choice it was for The Beatles to begin wrapping up the album with this song as it leads into the"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (Reprise)" and into "A Day in the Life."
There are three videos on the Blu-ray Disc and, curiously, those mixes seem to be a little different than the audio-only surround sound versions (so be sure to compare and contrast when you get the set to decide for yourself). Also interestingly, the surround sound audio for these videos is quite different than the previously released surround mixes on The Beatles #1 collection of just a few years back and on The Beatles Anthology DVDs from 2003 (which contained as far as I know the first attempts at mixing Beatle music into surround sound). So, for example, the bass on the videos for "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" seems more prominent -- perhaps too much so -- on the The Beatles #1 version than on the new Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Super Deluxe Edition. And while on "A Day In The Life" the sound on The Beatles #1 version is much bigger than on The Beatles' Anthology DVD set (the Anthology version of this song also has some different video edits happening in it, so hold on your copy for now!), the new Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Super Deluxe Edition version differs significantly as well. Most notably, on the big build up orchestral section, Mal Evans' time-countdown is is much more audible on the The Beatles #1 version. All that said, the newer mix is indeed more true to the original recordings, bringing us full circle back to the original purpose of this set.
Gosh.... With all these new mixes to consider, you really get a sense of just how well Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band was recorded. It reminds us that The Beatles were recording in one of the best studios in the world -- EMI's Abbey Road -- with one of the best producing, mixing and engineering teams in the world at the time (George Martin, Geoff Emerick) with the best equipment available.
The result, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, remains, a world class artistic statement and this new deluxe edition gives us a fine alternative perspective to study for the ages. It is an amazing new way to hear a favorite album more clearly than ever before.
NEW YORK (AP) -- SiriusXM satellite radio said Tuesday it will debut a channel devoted to the Beatles later this month, achieving a long-sought dream to highlight the music of the pop legends.
The Beatles Channel launches May 18, a week before the band's newest archival project is released: a box set keyed to the 50th anniversary of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Backed by the band, the channel will feature music from the Beatles, its members' solo projects and artists who influenced them. Its suite of programs will include "My Fab Four," where other musicians and celebrities talk about their favorite Beatles songs.
"I still remember the thrill of when we first heard our music on the radio, but I don't think any of us would have imagined that we'd have our very own Beatles radio channel more than 50 years later," said Paul McCartney, with Ringo Starr one of the two surviving Beatles. "The SiriusXM channel will have it all, eight days a week."
SiriusXM has more than a dozen channels branded to specific artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Kenny Chesney, Pitbull and Tom Petty.
The Beatles remained the Holy Grail, and SiriusXM President and chief content officer Scott Greenstein said he made his interest plain with the band's management years ago. But it was a delicate subject; both McCartney and Starr remain active musicians and have worked with Sirius, and he didn't want them thinking the satellite network was only interested in their past.
But, he said, "The moment came, and you can rest assured that when the moment came, we dove right in."
Similarly, the band and its management were cooperative once the decision was made that the time was right, he said. Plenty of archival material was made available, including interviews where Beatles had talked about specific songs, many of them heard once or twice before and forgotten.
"It will be a channel that will sound shockingly current and alive, not a retrospective jukebox," Greenstein said.
Veteran music author Bill Flanagan will have a major role on the network, hosting a live weekly call-in round table with broadcaster Dennis Elsas, and a second show based on themes that tell the story of the band. The network will have a weekly "Magical Mini Concert" featuring live music recorded by the band and its solo members.
On June 1, the network will play the newly remixed "Sgt. Pepper" album on the 50th anniversary of its release, with commentary from the late producer George Martin and his son, Giles, who was responsible for putting the new box set together.
SiriusXM will also use the new channel for a membership drive, offering free listening to people with inactive satellite radios from May 17 to May 30.
The network's debut on SiriusXM channel 18 will come at 9:09 a.m. Eastern (for the Beatles song "One After 909," remember?)
The complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York. The musician hopes to regain ownership of songs co-written with John Lennon.
In 1969, Lennon and McCartney lost ownership of their publishing when
Northern Songs was bought by ATV in 1969. In 1985 Michael Jackson
bought ATV Music for $47.5 million, beating a joint bid by McCartney and
Yoko Ono. A
merger between ATV and Sony a decade later saw Sony acquire a half
stake in the song rights, and in 2016 the company bought out the other
50 per cent stake for $750 million.
McCartney's legal action will leverage the termination provisions of
the US Copyright Act. In 1976, Congress increased the period of
copyright protection for creative works, and allowed authors to reclaim
rights in the latter stages of a copyright term. The lawsuit declares
that McCartney has been serving termination notices for almost a decade.
Under US copyright law, songwriters are able to reclaim the
publishing rights to their work after 56 years. McCartney’s songs will
be eligible from in 2018, 56 years after the release of The Beatles'
first EMI single Love Me Do.
McCartney's complaint states that Sony has failed to provide
confirmation of the musician's termination notices. "For years following
service of the first Termination Notices, Defendants gave no indication
to Paul McCartney that they contested the efficacy of Paul McCartney’s
Termination Notices. Defendants’ affiliates did, however, oppose at
least one other artist’s terminations of transfers under the terms of
the 1976 Copyright Act."
The writ continues: "Rather than provide clear assurances to Paul
McCartney that Defendants will not challenge his exercise of his
termination rights, Defendants are clearly reserving their rights
pending the final outcome of the Duran Duran litigation in the U.K."
This is a reference to Duran Duran's unsuccessful attempt to regain
rights to their songs. In December 2016, a judge in England ruled that
American termination law should not take precedent over English contract
law.
In response to McCartney's claim, Sony/ATV Music Publishing issued a statement:
Sony/ATV has the highest respect for Sir Paul McCartney with whom
we have enjoyed a long and mutually rewarding relationship with respect
to the treasured Lennon & McCartney song catalog. We have
collaborated closely with both Sir Paul and the late John Lennon’s
Estate for decades to protect, preserve and promote the catalog’s
long-term value. We are disappointed that they have filed this lawsuit
which we believe is both unnecessary and premature.
The King of Pop once took some business advice from Paul McCartney—and used it to buy all of the Beatles song collection.
Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney first met and became friendly in the mid-1970s, when, according to Jackson, McCartney tried to sell him a song, "Girlfriend," for Jackson's upcoming solo album. Although it took a couple of years (and McCartney released the song first with Wings), the two hit it off, and over the next few years, they collaborated on a number of duets. The lead single off of Jackson’s smash album, Thriller (1982), was "The Girl Is Mine," a duet he penned while watching cartoons with McCartney. Likewise, McCartney’s album Pipes of Peace (1983) had two songs featuring Jackson, "The Man" and "Say Say Say." The two superstars even filmed a music video for "Say Say Say," playing traveling vaudevillians who peddle their "Mac and Jack Wonder Potion" to unsuspecting townspeople.
SAY SAY SAY - MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL MCCARTNEY FROM BEAUTIFUL SMILE ON VIMEO.
During this time, McCartney reportedly explained to Jackson about the lucrative nature of music publishing. For complex legal reasons, the Beatle had lost his stake in Northern Songs, the publishing company that he and John Lennon set up, in the late 1960s. Because he wasn’t profiting from his own songs’ publishing rights, McCartney told Jackson about how he had been purchasing other artists’ catalogues (such as Buddy Holly’s) as a business investment. McCartney explained to the future King of Pop that whoever owns the rights to a song’s lyrics and composition earns royalties every time that song plays on film, TV, the radio, in a commercial, or in a concert. According to McCartney, Jackson then jokingly told him "one day, I’ll own your songs."
With the help of his attorney John Branca, Jackson started buying the rights to '60s songs that he liked enough to dance to. In 1984, Branca told Jackson that music publishing company ATV was for sale. Owned by an Australian billionaire named Robert Holmes à Court, ATV owned the rights to 251 songs from the Beatles’ catalogue (as well as 4000 other songs and a library of sound effects). Branca asked Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, who ran Lennon’s estate, if she was interested in teaming up with McCartney to purchase ATV. Ono said no and reportedly gave her blessing for Jackson (rather than a corporation) to own the songs. Branca then asked McCartney’s lawyer if McCartney wanted to buy ATV, and his lawyer said the catalogue was too expensive.
Branca offered Holmes à Court $30 million for ATV, but other people—including Virgin’s Richard Branson and music industry executives Marty Bandier and Charles Koppelman—were also bidding on the company. Going against the counsel from his group of advisors (including businessman David Geffen), Jackson told Branca to offer $40 million. Holmes à Court still wanted more money, but Jackson stood firm in his desire to buy ATV. "You can’t put a price on a Picasso … you can’t put a price on these songs, there’s no value on them," Jackson reportedly said. "They’re the best songs that have ever been written."
Branca offered $45 million and did a handshake deal with Holmes à Court in April 1985, but the ATV owner backed out. Branca—along with competing bidders Bandier and Koppelman—traveled to London to try to finalize an agreement; to seal the deal, Branca promised Holmes à Court that Jackson would perform in a charity concert in Perth, Australia and exclude the Beatles tune "Penny Lane" from the deal (so Holmes à Court could give that song to his daughter). In August 1985, after months of negotiations, Jackson paid $47.5 million to buy ATV.
McCartney was not pleased to learn that his supposed friend bought the rights to his songs. He wrote letters to Jackson about the purchase, but Jackson dismissed them all by saying it was just business. "He won't even answer my letters, so we haven't talked and we don't have that great a relationship," McCartney said in 2001.
In 1995, Jackson sold 50 percent of ATV to Sony for $95 million, a sale that created the music publishing company Sony/ATV. Today, Sony/ATV owns the rights to millions of songs by everyone from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. In March 2016, seven years after Jackson’s death, Sony/ATV agreed to pay $750 million to Jackson’s estate to buy out his 50 percent share of the company.
But for McCartney, it's been a long and winding road. Though he's said in the past that it wouldn't make sense for him to pay for his own work ("The trouble is I wrote those songs for nothing and buying them back at these phenomenal sums …" McCartney once explained. "I just can't do it."), his tune may have changed. On December 15, 2015, he filed a termination notice with the U.S. Copyright Office, the first step required for an artist to get back the publishing rights to their songs.
The Beatles – Challenger One
Label: Vulture Records – VT CD 011
Format: 3 × CD, Unofficial Release
Country: Italy
Released: 1990
Genre: Rock, Pop
CD 1 of 3. Basically the same as the Ultra Rare Trax series but with some more songs.
Includes Ultra Rare Trax 1 & 2.
CD 2 of 3. Basically the same as the Ultra Rare Trax series but with some more songs.
Includes Ultra Rare Trax 3 & 4.
Includes "Live At The Budokan Hall".
CD 3 of 3. Basically the same as the Ultra Rare Trax series but with some more songs.
Includes Ultra Rare Trax 5 & 6.
CD 1
1. I Saw Her Standing There (take 2) (3:07)
2. One After 909 (take 2) (3:03)
3. She's A Woman (take 2) (3:17)
4. I'm Looking Through You (take 2) (3:00)
5. If You Got Troubles (2:20)
6. How Do You Do It (2:11)
7. Penny Lane (2:55)
8. Strawberry Fields Forever (3:20)
9. From Me To You (1:50)
10. Besame Mucho (2:32)
11. The Fool On The Hill (2:45)
12. Paper Back Writer (2:39)
13. Can't Buy Me Love (2:17)
14. There's A Place (take 3) (0:10)
15. There's A Place (take 3) (2) (1:55)
16. That Means A Lot (2:27)
17. Day Tripper (I) (0:24)
18. Day Tripper (II) (3:04)
19. I Am The Walrus (4:26)
20. Misery (take 1) (1:48)
21. Leave My Kitten Alone (2:52)
22. We Can Work It Out (2:11)
23. A Hard Day's Night (2:46)
24. Norwegian Wood (2:18)
25. Do You Want To Know A Secret (2:01)
26. Aerial Tour (instrumental) (2:07)
27. A Hard Day's Night (2) (2:31)
28. I'm A Looser (2:35)
29. I Feel Fine (2:18)
30. Money (2:54)
31. Twist And Shout (2:45)
CD 2
1. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da (2:57)
2. Tomorrow Never Knows (2:57)
3. A Day In The Life (5:26)
4. Yes It Is (2:53)
5. I Saw Her Standing There (take 10) (2:58)
6. Norwegian Wood (take 1) (2:03)
7. Not Guilty (3:18)
8. Across The Universe (3:43)
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (3:26)
10. Ticket To Ride (3:43)
11. One After 909 (3:11)
12. A Taste Of Honey (take 7) (2:27)
13. I Feel Fine (take 7) (2:28)
14. Yer Blues (4:02)
15. Blues Jam (3:48)
16. Not Guilty (4:24)
17. Get Back (2:17)
18. Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues (2:34)
19. Do You Want To Know A Secret (take 8) (2:14)
20. All You Need Is Love (4:59)
21. Yesterday (budokan '66) (2:28)
22. Paperback Writer (budokan '66) (2:23)
23. She's A Woman (budokan '66) (3:07)
24. Day Tripper (budokan '66) (3:08)
CD 3
1. Christmas Time Is Here Again (1:12)
2. Because (2:19)
3. Revolution (3:20)
4. I Me Mine (2:13)
5. Strawberry Fields Forever (take 1) (2:41)
6. Hey Jude (rehersal Take 9) (5:38)
7. Magical Mystery Tour (2:36)
8. What's The New Mary Jane? (6:05)
9. Lady Madonna (2:14)
10. One After 909 (2:58)
11. Ob-la-di-ob-la-da (2:38)
12. Christmas Time Is Here Again (2) (0:58)
13. Come And Get It (2:30)
14. Hold Me Tight (2:38)
15. I'll Be On My Way (2:11)
16. Strawberry Fields Forever (take 7) (3:55)
17. It's All Too Much (2:28)
18. 12 Bar Original (3:54)
19. I Hate To See (1:08)
20. She's A Woman (take 7) (6:28)
21. What's The New Mary Jane? (2) (6:50)
22. Dig It (8:08)
"Now
And Then" (also known as "I Don't Want To Lose You" or "Miss You") is
the name given to an unreleased composition by John Lennon. It was first
recorded in demo form in 1978 and was considered in 1995 as a third
possible reunion single by Lennon's former band, The Beatles, for their
1995 autobiographical project The Beatles Anthology.
Lennon wrote
"Now And Then" in the late 1970s, around the same time as "Free As A
Bird" and "Real Love". He recorded the unfinished piece of music in a
demo form at his home at the Dakota Building, New York City, around
1979. The lyrics are typical of the apologetic love songs that Lennon
wrote in the later half of his career. Despite reports, for the most
part the verses are nearly complete, though there are still a few lines
that Lennon did not flesh out on the demo tape performance.
In
January 1994, Paul McCartney was given two tape cassettes by Lennon's
widow Yoko Ono that included home recordings of songs Lennon never
completed or released commercially. The songs on the tape included the
eventually completed and released "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love", in
addition to two other songs was a tape with the words "for Paul"
scrawled hastily in John's handwriting, which included "Grow Old With
Me" and "Now And Then". In March 1995, the three surviving Beatles began
work on "Now And Then" by recording a rough backing track that was to
be used as an overdub. However, after only two days of recording, all
work on the song ceased and plans for a third reunion single were
scrapped permanently.
According to McCartney, George Harrison
"didn't want to do it," possibly because new verses would have had to be
written. Producer Jeff Lynne reported that "It was one day—one
afternoon, really—messing with it. The song had a chorus but is almost
totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we
really didn't finish." An additional factor behind scrapping the song
was a technical defect in the original recording. As with "Real Love", a
60-cycle mains hum can be heard throughout Lennon's demo recording.
However, it was noticeably louder on '"Now And Then", making it much
harder to remove.
Throughout 2005 and 2006, press reports
speculated that McCartney and Starr would release a complete version of
the song in the future. On 29 April 2007, the Daily Express reported
that the song might be released to coincide with the Beatles catalogue
being released for the first time via digital download. Additional
reports circulated that same year that McCartney was hoping to complete
the song as a "Lennon–McCartney composition" by writing new verses,
laying down a new drum track recorded by Ringo Starr, and utilising
archival recordings of Harrison's guitar work.
In April 2008, The
Sun reported that "there have been discussions about finishing 'Now And
Then.'" From there, the story was picked up and repeated by a number of
music and entertainment media sources.
The only (unofficial)
available recording of the song is Lennon's original demo. In February
2009, the same version of Lennon's recording was released on a bootleg
CD, taken from a different source, with none of the "buzz" which
hampered the Beatles recording of the song in 1995. The overdubs added
in 1995 by the other surviving members have yet to surface.
A
popular fan remix from 2007 called the "1995 edit" consists of Lennon's
original demo along with instrumental overdubs by an unspecified artist
and samples from various 1960s Beatles songs. Contrary to repeated
misconception, this remix does not contain any of the work that the
three surviving members of the Beatles recorded in the 1990s.
Finally, The Beatles have released a film trailer and a poster, as well
as information about what started as a documentary about The Beatles
live concerts, but ended up as a broader perspective on the first part
of their career, from 1962 to 1966.
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years will be
getting a theatrical all-star world premiere in London on September
15th, and the same day it will also be screened in France and Germany.
Other countries will follow, currently release dates have been published
for Australia and New Zealand (September 16th) and Japan (September
22nd), in addition to the previously mentioned UK, France and Germany
(September 15th).
Hulu will have the exclusive US streaming video on-demand rights to the
film on SVOD beginning September 17th – marking the first feature film
to debut on Hulu following its theatrical premiere. The Beatles: Eight
Days A Week - The Touring Years is the first film acquired by Hulu’s
Documentary Films arm which will serve as a new home for premium
original and exclusive documentary film titles coming to Hulu.
The film is based on the first part of The Beatles’ career (1962-1966) –
the period in which they toured and captured the world’s acclaim. Ron
Howard’s film will explore how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Ringo Starr came together to become this extraordinary
phenomenon, The Beatles. It will explore their inner workings – how they
made decisions, created their music and built their collective career
together – all the while, exploring The Beatles’ extraordinary and
unique musical gifts and their remarkable, complementary personalities.
The film will focus on the time period from the early Beatles’ journey
in the days of The Cavern Club in Liverpool to their last concert at
Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.
Featuring rare and exclusive footage, the film is produced with the full
cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia
Harrison.
Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama will handle the US theatrical release of
the film that is set to be an event driven experience with a few
special surprises planned for cinemagoers.
Of special interest is a brief sequence near the end of the trailer,
featuring colour footage shot from behind the band, from the Washington
DC concert, February 1964. Link: TheBeatlesEightDaysAWeek.com
Credits:
Award-winning Editor Paul Crowder is the editor. Crowder’s long-time
collaborator, Mark Monroe, is serving as writer. Marc Ambrose is the
supervising producer.
White Horse Pictures’ Grammy Award-winning Nigel Sinclair, Scott
Pascucci and Academy Award®-winner and Emmy® Award-winner Brian Grazer
of Imagine Entertainment are producing with Ron Howard. Apple Corps
Ltd.’s Jeff Jones and Jonathan Clyde are serving as executive producers,
along with Imagine’s Michael Rosenberg and White Horse’s Guy East and
Nicholas Ferrall. Studiocanal is an anchor partner on the film, having
acquired UK, France, Germany and Australia and New Zealand rights.
The interview "Author Mark Lewisohn: Serious Jibber Jabber With Conan O'Brien" that went public Wednesday is an amazing in-depth discussion on the Beatles centered mostly around Lewisohn's “All These Years: Volume 1: Tune In,”
but also talking about the Beatles' career as a whole. The interview,
which lasts 83 minutes, is something that never could likely have been
done on O'Brien's TV show because of the time spent and the topics
covered. The knowledge that emerges on both sides of the interview from
Lewisohn and O'Brien, who himself is a huge Beatles, fan, is not only
illuminating but enlightening.
For example, the two get into a discussion of Brian Epstein with
O'Brien saying, “He's the only one who sees them in '62 and says they're
going to be the biggest thing ever.” “He was a man of tremendous
energy,” Lewisohn answers. “He would consume himself with whatever it
was that was interesting him. And the Beatles were miraculous to him.
They came along at just the right time in his life much as he came along
at the right time in their lives. It was the perfect marriage of
manager and artist.”
An interesting moment is when, in discussing the personalities of the four Beatles, Lewisohn says Paul McCartney, not John Lennon,
caused the most problems for Epstein. “They all had their difficult
sides, but Paul's was the one that Brian had the most trouble with for
sure because Paul was the most conspicuously ambitious for the Beatles.
John and George were both ambitious, too, no doubt about it, but they
would be more laid back. You wouldn't see it quite so openly as you
would with Paul.”
They also discuss Ringo Starr as the rock of the Beatles. “They
wanted Ringo first of all for his character and personality was a fit.
Secondly, tempo, rock-solid tempo, unwavering beat, metronomic, perfect
for guitarists and singers. The guy before, Pete, they always felt he
always wavered on his beat. He was erratic, he speeded up, he slowed
down. Ringo was rock solid.” “He was also rock solid through every
outtake,” O'Brien quipped.
These are just a couple of highlights from a discussion that has many
and shouldn't be missed. It's the second interview in two days
featuring an intense discussion with Lewisohn. Stephen K. Peeples posted
four videos on YouTube with more great talk about the Beatles from Lewisohn. The first is here. None should be missed.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/review/mark-lewisohn-s-interview-with-conan-o-brien-is-a-must-see
The Beatles Anthology, Vols 1-3 are now available on all collaborating
streaming services, and it is the June 2011 remastered-for-iTunes
versions. Originally released in 2CD volumes in 1995 and 1996,
Anthology’s three chronological collections of rare and previously
unreleased Beatles recordings include studio outtakes and alternate
versions. The “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” singles, from Anthology,
Volume 1 and Anthology, Volume 2, respectively, were completed in 1995
by George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr from 1977 demos
recorded by John Lennon.
The 2011 remasters sound a lot better than their 1995-96 counterparts,
which is especially noticeable on the first of the three volumes.
Upon their original release, Anthology, Volumes 1-3 topped charts and
went multi-platinum in several countries around the world. “Free as a
Bird” became The Beatles’ 34th Top 10 hit in the U.S., winning the 1996
GRAMMY® Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Anthology, Volume 3 includes “A Beginning,” an instrumental orchestral
arrangement originally recorded for The Beatles (The White Album).
Anthology, Volumes 1-3 were remastered at Abbey Road Studios by the same
team of engineers responsible for The Beatles’ GRAMMY-winning 2009
studio album remasters, carefully maintaining the authenticity and
integrity of the original analogue recordings. The collections are
accompanied by original collage artwork created by Klaus Voormann from
classic Beatles imagery.
Beatles’ “Anthology” Receives a Very Digital Remaster
So here’s some good news for Beatlemaniacs: the Anthology series,
the three-volume clearinghouse of Beatles outtakes and vault material
released in 1995-1996, is getting digitally remastered. The bad news?
You’re not going to find it in your local record shop.
This new remaster of each two-disc set is actually going to be an
iTunes exclusive – quite a difference from years ago, when no Beatles
material was sold digitally. Not only did Apple Computer crack the code for Apple Records, they also offered unreleased bonus tracks when the Love soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil show was offered through the digital retailer earlier this year.
EMI has already confirmed that this remaster will not be available physically, nor will the iTunes albums include the Anthology documentaries,
either. For those whose interest in The Beatles was piqued by finally
having the catalogue accessible on iTunes, this is obviously a good
thing, but most collectors aren’t going to care one way or another. And
isn’t a digital remaster in a n uncompressed format a contradiction in terms?A physical product would have made perfect sense for collectors or anyone still missing those sets – I don’t believe all three Anthology entries were ever packaged as a six-disc box set (nor were they ever combined with the Anthology documentaries on DVD for a whopper of a 10-disc set) – but it is what it is, at the moment.
The Beatles’ Anthology is on iTunes June 14. The full details for the digital sets are after the jump.Each two-disc Anthology set
can be pre-ordered for $29.99, or bought as a digital box set for
$79.99. A 23-track highlights collection will be sold for $12.99, and
all tracks can be bought a la carte at $1.29 apiece.
The Beatles’ iTunes page also has a new radio featurette, Meet The Beatles,
to listen to, which features testimonials from famous Beatle fans
including Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne and more. All of that can be
found here.
And here are the track lists. Starred tracks will be included in the highlights collection.
