Category Archives: Beatles Music

Happy Crimble from The Beatles

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Very surprised to see this full page advertisement in my local newspaper (The Sydney Morning Herald) this morning:

Beatles streamingThe Beatles Youtube channel has this, too:

And The New York Times reports:

Happy holidays from the Beatles: As of 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 24, the band’s music will finally be available on streaming services worldwide.

The group announced the news in a 35-second video featuring a medley of its biggest hits that kicks off to the sound of the 1963 single “She Loves You.” An accompanying news release simply said: “Happy Crimble, with love from us to you.”

However, the surviving members of the group, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Universal Music Group, which controls the band’s recorded music, made no statements other than the fact that the Beatles’ catalog — 13 original albums and four compilations — will now be playable on nine subscription streaming music services: Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Prime Music, Tidal, Deezer, Microsoft Groove, Napster/Rhapsody and Slacker Radio.

Known as singular holdouts in the digital era, the Beatles, the best-selling group of all time, resisted offering its songs on iTunes for more than seven years before coming to an agreement with Apple in 2010. “It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around,” Mr. McCartney said at the time. The band sold 450,000 albums and two million individual songs in its first week on the service, according to Apple.

Paul Farewells A Busy 2015

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Paul farewells what was a very busy 2015…….

Makes me exhausted just watching it! And that was just the concert tours. Doesn’t mention things like reissuing the next two instalments in his Archive Collection series Tug of War and Pipes of Peace (including a completely new 2015 re-mix of “Say Say Say“); working on the Beatles 1+ reissues; working with Kanye West and Rihanna on a range of songs (including appearing live at the Grammy Awards); The Hollywood Vampires guest appearance; and appearing at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts – to name just a few of the extra curricular activities he’s undertaken this past year.

Sir Paul Joins The Boss for a Christmas Farewell Song

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Paul McCartney was onstage live with Bruce Springsteen, the E Street Band and the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live this past weekend for a rousing rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming To Town”:

Beatles 1 – 2015 Vinyl

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Look what arrived in the post today:Beatles 1 2015 1

Yes, it’s the 2015 edition of The Beatles 1 on double vinyl, complete with the Giles Martin remixes and remastering.

This one is staying sealed for now so we can’t show you the detail of what’s inside (for that go to this post to see in detail the 2000 edition). The contents themselves for all editions are very much the same. What we can show are some of the key external visual differences between the 2015 edition, directly alongside those from 2014 and the one from 2000.

Firstly that front cover. Two things really. The words “The Beatles” are in yellow on the 2015, while for both the 2014 and 2000 versions those words are sort of a light pink. Also on the 2015 edition the big figure “1” is more solidly coloured in and is a much brighter shade of yellow. Compare the front cover image of the 2015 edition above with 2014 (which is also still sealed and came with a sticker attached to the plastic):Beatles 1 2014 1

And here’s the older 2000 (which has been opened and hence is not as glossy as the others in the photos). The printing of these two is very similar:Beatles 1 2000 1

On the rear all covers are very similar. There is just a simple track-listing running down the centre. The part where they differ is at the top right-hand side where logos, barcodes, and the small print about who has the rights to what appears. Firstly 2015 (note the references to Calderstone Productions, the Universal Music Group, and Apple:Beatles 1 2015 2

Here’s the 2014 edition (again, Calderstone, Universal and Apple):Beatles 1 2014 2

And lastly the 2000 release (back when EMI held the reins):Beatles 1 2000 2

Finally the spines. Here they are stacked on top of each other. On top is the 2015 edition, then 2014, and on the bottom 2000: Beatles 1 spinesThere are quite a few variations. (Click on the image to see a larger version).

“George Fest” – A New Harrison Tribute Collection

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I don’t know if your’e into these tribute concert recordings where various musical luminaries are invited to pay their respects by singing favourite songs. I must say they don’t really do a lot for me, but there’s obviously a market out there for them.

The latest is George Fest – The Music of George Harrison, recorded and filmed on September 28th, 2014 at the The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles:georgebanner

To be released on February 26th, 2016, this live tribute will be available in 5 configurations including 2xCD/DVD, 2xCD/Blu-Ray, 3xLP (180 gram), digital, and a store exclusive bundle:George fest bundles

The artist line-up and songs include:

• OLD BROWN SHOE Conan O’Brien
• I ME MINE Britt Daniel (from Spoon)
• BALLAD OF SIR FRANKIE CRISP (LET IT ROLL) Jonathan Bates w. Dhani Harrison
• SOMETHING Norah Jones
• GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU Brandon Flowers (from The Killers)
• IF NOT FOR YOU Heartless Bastards
• BE HERE NOW Ian Asbury (from The Cult)
• WAH-WAH Nick Valensi (from The Strokes)
• IF I NEEDED SOMEONE Jamestown Revival
• ART OF DYING Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• SAVOY TRUFFLE Dhani Harrison
• FOR YOU BLUE Chase Cohl w. Brian Bell (from Weezer)
• BEWARE OF DARKNESS Ann Wilson (from Heart)
• LET IT DOWN Dhani Harrison
• GIVE ME LOVE (GIVE ME PEACE ON EARTH) Ben Harper
• HERE COMES THE SUN Perry Farrel (from Jane’s Addiction)
• WHAT IS LIFE “Weird Al” Yankovic
• BEHIND THAT LOCKED DOOR Norah Jones
• MY SWEET LORD Brian Wilson (from The Beach Boys)
• ISN’T IT A PITY The Black Ryder
• ANY ROAD Butch Walker
• I’D HAVE YOU ANYTIME Karen Elson
• TAXMAN Cold War Kids
• IT’S ALL TOO MUCH The Flaming Lips
• HANDLE WITH CARE Brandon Flowers, Britt Daniel, Dhani Harrison, Jonathan Bates, Wayne Coyne, and “Weird Al” Yankovic
• ALL THINGS MUST PASS Ann Wilson, Dhani Harrison, Karen Elson and Norah Jones

“Handle Me With Care” has now been posted on YouTube:

Abbey Road Beatles Pianos Sampled

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For any musicians out there looking to recreate the exact piano sounds found on many iconic Beatle recordings, it is now possible.

A company called Cinesamples, working directly with Abbey Road Studios, has been given complete access to two of the vintage upright pianos in Studio 2.

One is called the Challen Studio piano (as played by the Beatles on several albums), and the other the “Mrs Mills” piano (again used extensively by the Beatles). Both pianos have also featured on countless recordings by numerous other famous acts:Challen-IMG_9908The samples were recorded in-house by Abbey Road’s studio engineers, in the same studio the Beatles used as well. You can’t get any better than that! These samples can now be purchased and played by anyone – using software developed by Cinesamples:abbey-road

There are two pianos but three main sounds which can be reproduced: the Challen, the Challen Tack, and the Mrs Mills. Here Mike Patti from Cinesamples demonstrates the upright Abbey Road Challen pianos:

According to reviews, these two pianos – three if you count the harder-edged and more jangly Challen Tack version – sound flawless. These are really some pretty special instruments, with piano sounds that are just not available anywhere else. Given the impossibility of ever getting near one of these two pianos yourself, if you’re a musician this software provides a remarkable way to get the exact same sounds that the Beatles made onto your own recordings – or in live performances.

Beatles With Records – Part 29

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Time for another Beatles With Records, this time courtesy of The Beatles Archive blog site.

On the afternoon of 29 August, 1965 the Beatles gave a press conference at the famous Capitol Records Tower building in Hollywood. Alan Livingston, then President of Capitol, presented the band with gold discs for sales of the US edition of their Help! soundtrack LP:usa_helpbeatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-05-700x459beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-01 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-02 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-03 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-04 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-06 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-08 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-09 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-10 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-11 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-12 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-13 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-14 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-15 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-16 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-17 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-18 beatles-hollywood-29-august-1965-19Afterwards an armored truck drove the Beatles to perform at the Hollywood Bowl, where 18,000 people attended.

See the other instalments of The Beatles With Records here.

“Say Say Say” (Remix 2015) – Making-Of Video

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Paul McCartney has uploaded a short “behind the scenes” film of how they made the promo video for the 2015 remix of ‘Say Say Say’:

You can see the video in full here:

And a 12-inch single of ‘Say Say Say’ (2015) on clear vinyl will be issued this Friday as part of the Record Store Day Black Friday releases:

Say Say Say 12 inch 2015

Beatles 1 Remastered and Remixed Double LP

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Following on from all the excitement of the last week, next month will see the double vinyl LP edition of The Beatles 1 in 2015 form featuring the new stereo remixes created by Giles Martin:Beatles_1 2015 vinyl (1)

The 2015 version of The Beatles 1 CD was released last week, along with numerous Blu-ray/DVD video iterations. The gatefold, 2LP 180g vinyl set looks to be packaged exactly the same as the two previous releases of this title (in 2011, and again in remastered form only just last year). Like them, it will come with four art cards (11′ x 8.5′), two inner jackets packed with images of original single sleeves, and a huge poster (33′ x 22′) featuring examples of more single sleeves from around the world:Beatles_1poster-900x1351

Interestingly, all previous versions of The Beatles 1, featuring the 2009 remasters (first issued in 2011), are set to be quietly withdrawn and the new CD and vinyl versions with the new stereo remixes will permanently supersede them.

The Beatles 1 on 2LP vinyl will be released on 4 December 2015.

Fifth and Final Instalment of “Restoration of The Beatles 1 Video Collection” Released

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The final instalment in the five-part series backgrounding the work done to restore the Beatles 1 video collection has been uploaded to YouTube:

In it leading Australian Director of Photography Mike Molloy reminisces about his time with the Beatles. In 1968 he’d been living and working in London as a freelance cameraman for about a year when he was asked to go down to EMI’s Studio Three at Abbey Road and film a promo clip for “Lady Madonna”. Instead, what he came back with was unique footage of the band recording what was then a brand new song called “Hey Bulldog”.

As Mark Lewisohn says in his book The Complete Beatles Chronicle, “While the cameras whirred, the Beatles recorded ten rhythm track takes of “Hey Bulldog” and completed it with overdubs. Then, at the conclusion of this 4.00pm-2.00am session, after the filming had ended, they watched as it was mixed into mono.”

Mike Molloy says he spent all day with the Beatles. Mike told me that they were very easy to get along with, very friendly. “In the film, for effect, I superimposed a shot of a paisley tie over George Harrison’s face. It was George’s tie! He was great, and very open to trying the effect to see how it turned out.”

Molloy went on to work in London as a cameraman and Director of Photography on feature films for 29 years, before returning to Sydney, Australia, where he now lives. He’s worked with some of the greats, including Stanley Kubrick (on A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon) and Nicolas Roeg (on Performance and Walkabout).

The Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ DVDs and BluRays are released globally tomorrow, November 6. (Note that the “Hey Bulldog” video is only available on Disc 2 of the Beatles 1+ edition).

You can see the other four parts in the Restoration Series here. Just click on “The Restoration” tab at the top.