Tag Archives: Paul McCartney

Beatles With Records – Part Eight

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This is the latest in a series about the Beatles being photographed holding or being nearby LP records or CD’s. Of all the many thousands of photographs taken of the band (or of them as solo artists) there are not actually that many with them in close proximity to the product they sold so many of….

The other posts in this series are: The Beatles with Records Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Readers have sent in some additional photos and so its time for maybe one more installment. This first one, which comes from Thomas Repetny, is an early shot taken on a stage decorated with record covers behind what is clearly an early incarnation of the group (i.e. no Ringo yet…):

Thanks for this one Tom – and check out Tom’s own zany site tomwantstoplaywithpaulmccartney.com and watch as he follows his dream.

In researching this photograph (to try to figure out the LP covers hanging up on the wall behind the Beatles) I found the same early stage shot taken from a couple of other angles:

Of the eight LP covers and one 45 that can be seen behind the band I can clearly make out just two. They’re both above drummer Pete Best. The first is right at the top and it’s The John Lasalle Quartet LP “Jumpin’ at the Left Bank”:

This jazz album was recorded live at the New York City nightclub of the same name. It was released in the early Sixties. Interestingly its on the Capitol label – which of course would soon become the Beatles own label in the United States.

The other album cover is just above Peter Best’s right shoulder. It’s an album by the legendary Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt – “The Art of Django”:

All the albums on this stage seem to be jazz-influenced. The only other title I can vaguely make out is “The (something) Jazz Quartet”. If anyone knows when and where this photograph was taken, and if anyone can identify any of the other record covers, please email us at beatlesblogger@gmail.com

There was another photograph sent in also with the Beatles playing on stage – this time with their own record “Please Please Me” enlarged as the backdrop:

Again, it’s quite an early shot – but there is Ringo, and there is the very early flowing script version of a Beatles logo on his bass drum. Clearly it’s just after the release of their very first LP in Britain because there behind them, plastering the rear of the stage is a large poster and many record covers for “Please Please Me”:

Once the band started to become famous the press wanted photographs of them at home and in more relaxed surroundings. Here’s one of those featuring Ringo with his Mum and stepfather – who both loved their music. He’s talking with them about the record he’s holding. It’s by James Ray:

You can see the rear of the cover in the photo above:

And this is the front cover image:

Nice. James Ray was an American R&B singer. There’s another Beatle connection here because in 1962 it was James Ray who recorded the original version of “Got My Mind Set on You” (you can see that on the rear cover track-listing from the album that Ringo is holding. See track 3). Much later (in 1987) the song became a number one hit for George Harrison. (To compare the two versions see: YouTube – James Ray and YouTube – George Harrison)

Signing albums has always been a task when in public for all the Beatles. Here’s Paul in what looks like the mid 1980s signing a copy of one of the Beatles most famous record covers – “Yesterday and Today”:

What you can see in the picture above is the rear cover:

Doing publicity for a new record that is out in the shops goes without saying – even for ex-Beatles:

Ringo’s “Y Not” was released in January, 2010.

As he would say: “Peace and love.”

And happy Easter everyone.

You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here:  Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7, 9 , 10 , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

McCartney “Kisses” Interview – Fresh Air on NPR

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One of my favourite podcasts is Fresh Air from National Public Radio (NPR) in the US.

They have just uploaded a really interesting and insightful interview with Paul McCartney about his recent release “Kisses On The Bottom“. NPR host Terry Gross interviews Paul from his East Sussex studios (Hog Hill Mill) in England. She finds him in a relaxed, expansive, and conversational mood. Paul is candid and open – and is sitting at his piano. He doesn’t perform but illustrates his points with it as he speaks about songwriting and music. It’s really worth a listen for any Beatles fan, or anyone interested in understanding why McCartney has released an album of pre-rock’n’roll songs. You can listen by going to the NPR site, or just click below:

At the end of the interview Paul describes his studio. To get a visual idea of what it looks like inside check out this video of him working in 2009 with Klaus Voormann at Hog Hill Mill:

Version Variations You Didn’t Know About

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Collecting Beatles recordings is sometimes a confusing business. You think you’ve got a particular CD or LP and then you find out (sometimes years later) that there’s a different version or variation available. That’s what happened to me while surfing the web the other day.

I’ve had for many years a vinyl copy of Paul McCartney’s “All The Best”, which is a two LP “best of” set featuring his greatest solo and Wings hits. It came out in 1987.  This vinyl edition has 20 tracks. The cover is a gate-fold looks like this:

Then, about 12 months ago I was browsing a second-hand book and CD sale in Sydney and found the CD of this same title. It was an Australian pressing (which is the same as the UK release) but I discovered it only has 17 tracks – as opposed to the 20 tracks on the double LP. It misses out on “Maybe I’m Amazed”, “Goodnight Tonight” and “With A Little Luck”. The CD was only $4.00 and so I figured I might as well get it. It’s different to the LP, and it has a slightly different cover:

OK.  So, as far as the collection goes I figure I’ve pretty much got this album. No need to bother with any other copies….

Until the other day when I accidentally notice on the web that the US compact disc version has a slightly different cover again…..and that it has a different song running order as well:

On the UK (and Australian) versions of the CD (released on EMI/Parlophone) you get “We All Stand Together”, “Mull of Kintyre”, “Pipes of Peace” and “Once Upon a Long Ago”.

On the US CD (out on Capitol Records) those songs are deleted and replaced with “Junior’s Farm”, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”, “Goodnight Tonight” and “With A Little Luck”.  All the other songs are the same.

That got me thinking. Are there any other examples of this sort of thing out there?

One that immediately came to mind is the 2002 and 2003 versions of the McCartney double live CD’s “Back in the US” and “Back in the World”.

They have very subtle cover changes both front and rear:

A cursory look down the song lists for each would suggest that they’re exactly the same CD just with a slightly different title, but in fact they are different too.

“Back in the US” (released to the US market in 2002) gets the songs “Vanilla Sky”, “C’Moon” and “Freedom”.  However, those songs don’t appear at all on “Back in the World” (released in the UK in 2003). Instead it gets “Calico Skies”, “Michelle”, “Let ‘Em In” and “She’s Leaving Home”. Otherwise, all the other songs are the same – and in roughly the same running order.

Do you know of any further examples of this sort of thing? Let us know.

The Beatles Through the Years

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I know this is old, but it’s nice:

McCartney and Jack McCoy’s New Surf Film

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When Paul McCartney re-issued “McCartney II” last year one of the bonus tracks on the 2 CD Edition set (and as audio and video versions in the Deluxe Edition book), was the previously un-released song “Blue Sway”. See track 1 on CD 2 for the details:

(click on the image to enlarge)

Its a great song and I wrote about this at the time because there was a fantastic YouTube video featuring “Blue Sway” doing the rounds at the time. The song, it turned out, had been officially licensed to accompany one of the amazing sequences from a forthcoming Jack McCoy surfing film called “A Deeper Shade of Blue”:

Well, after being well-received overseas the film is now about to get its first theatrical release in Australia – and its causing a round of renewed interest here:

While Jack McCoy is US-born he’s considered a local in Australia because he lives in one of Sydney’s northern beaches suburbs. Last week Jack was interviewed on Australian radio by Fran Kelly about “A Deeper Shade of Blue”. Click here for a link to ABC Radio National and have a listen – Jack talks about Paul McCartney’s substantial interest and involvement in the the film at about 4 minutes in.

Beatlesblogger – New Domain Name and More…

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You might have noticed that we’ve now got a new domain name. It’s much more simple. All you need to remember is:

beatlesblogger.com

Don’t worry if you have beatlesblogger.wordpress.com in your bookmarks because it will automatically redirect.

We’re also on Twitter. Just search for beatleblogger  (note there is no “s”, just beatleblogger).

And we have a Google+ account called the beatlesblogger

Our email is still beatlesblogger@gmail.com  Please feel free to get in touch.

And we have a QR Code (just in case you want to copy and paste it somewhere). It looks like this:

“Kisses on the Bottom” – The Variations

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Time to take a run through the different versions of “Kisses on the Bottom”, Paul McCartney’s new album.

It’s been released in physical form as a standard CD, a deluxe CD, a deluxe CD with bonus tracks (more on this later), and as a double LP vinyl. (Remember, to see larger images of all the scans below just click on the image).

Firstly the standard CD. Here’s the front cover with the sticker on the shrink- wrap still attached:

This is the rear cover of the standard CD – which has 14 tracks. This copy is manufactured in the EU:

The standard CD is a cardboard, single gatefold sleeve with the booklet glued onto the cardboard:

Personally I think that when the cover is first opened it looks odd to have that large expanse of white cardboard on the right-hand side. Surely another couple of images or text could have been put there. Or, like the deluxe version (see below), a cutout provided so that you can see the CD label.

The booklet in this version is 18 pages and contains an interview about the album, photographs taken during the recording and also photos from the Mary McCartney official photo shoot. There is also track-by-track personnel details for each song, followed by a page with final credits including studio locations, engineers and the obligatory “thank you’s”, etc.:

The CD printing itself is very simple and uncluttered and looks like this:

In some markets (in the US, I think) the CD came with a red wrap, promoting the song “My Valentine”:

Buyers of the deluxe CD edition in the US will need to know there are two versions: one has 14 tracks and the other has 16 (which is available only from Target stores at this stage – see details below, and see also this post from Wogblog). In Britain, the EU countries (and in Australia because we are getting the EU versions) all deluxe versions have the two bonus tracks:

The bonus tracks are “Baby’s Request”, a re-recording of a McCartney song which first appeared on the 1979 Wings album “Back to the Egg”, and “My One and Only Love”.

The deluxe CD has more complex packaging. It comes in a cardboard, double gatefold cover. In other words it opens out to be four panels in total. To give you an idea of how this looks here’s a photograph of how the package opens up, plus the inclusions (which are covered in more detail below). This is the US non-bonus track deluxe version:

When you first open the deluxe CD cover this is what you see on the inside:

These two panels then open out again. This is the left-hand side:

And this is the right-hand side (containing the booklet):

What looks to be the same booklet as the standard CD (also glued onto the cardboard) is actually longer – with 22 pages. The extra space is for a longer version of the interview with Paul McCartney, and there are additional photographs, and these are laid out differently to the standard CD. Inside a pocket in the deluxe CD cover there are also three postcards:

And included in the postcards pocket is a smaller card with details and a code for a download “…of Paul McCartney’s exclusive performance at Capitol Studios…”:

That bonus download sounds like an enticing extra on first read. But when you log in with your code you get just four live songs from that live performance, not the whole show. You get “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”; “Home (Where the Shadows Fall)”; “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive”; and “My Valentine”.  As has already been noted on the web by Wogblog, this is kind of disappointing. I mean, just four songs? It feels kind of cheapskate on Paul’s behalf.

Back to the 14 track/16 track deluxe confusion. Target in the US is selling the 16 track deluxe edition as a retail exclusive and are the only US vendor selling this edition:

There’s an interesting side story to the interview featured in both “Kisses on the Bottom” CD booklets. It’s done by Paul Du Noyer. If the name sounds familiar he is the well-known British music journalist and writer who also did the liner notes for all the John Lennon remastered re-issues a while back including the John Lennon Signature Box, and the “Double Fantasy – Stripped Down” version. He also worked extensively on Paul McCartney’s “Band On The Run – Deluxe Edition“, which has just won a Best Historical Album Grammy Award. As editorial consultant for the package, Du Noyer edited the 128-page book, wrote the liner notes and interviewed McCartney. He also worked on the “McCartney” and “McCartney II” deluxe reissues.

Finally to the vinyl edition of “Kisses on the Bottom”.  This is a double LP and comes in a gatefold sleeve:

I got my copy from Amazon and thought it would be made in the US, but it says “Printed in the EU” on the back cover…

I haven’t taken my copy out of its sealed plastic cover, preferring it to remain a collectors item and “still sealed”. Also, all that white cardboard is going to get easily marked and scuffed. Keeping it sealed will also help keep it in pristine condition. Looking around on the web I did find this image of the vinyl package opened up:

You can see that it comes with two inner sleeves which reproduce the text elements of the CD booklets. The two 180g vinyl LPs have custom labels. And you get access to a digital download of the 14 track album as well.

[Thanks to cyber-beatles.com for the additional images used in this post.]

What Diana Krall Brought to “Kisses”

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In all the talk about Paul McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom” the well-known and popular jazz vocalist/pianist Diana Krall – who plays on every track – has very much taken a back seat. She has stayed quietly in the background. However, I think Krall plays a pivotal role in the success and the essential sound of the album – far more than she’s so far been given credit for.

Diana Krall has been refining her own sound and style for nearly twenty years now, dating right back to her debut recording, “Stepping Out“. Over that time she has released ten jazz albums which, for all intents and purposes, mirror exactly the way Paul McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom” was put together – right down to the players and the studio in which many tracks were recorded.

If you want proof you need look no further than her most recent studio recording from 2009 called “Quiet Nights“.

Take, for example, track 2 from that album – the song “Too Marvelous for Words“.  It’s a classic popular song from 1937 recorded hundreds of times over the years. The personnel on Krall’s version reads as follows:  Diana Krall – vocals, piano; Anthony Wilson – guitar; John Clayton – bass; Jeff Hamilton – drums; Paulinho Da Costa – percussion; produced by Tommy LiPuma and Diana Krall; recorded and mixed by Al Schmidt and Steve Genewick; recording studio – Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California.

Now take track 5 from McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom”. The song is “The Glory of Love“, a classic popular song from 1936 recorded hundreds of times over the years. The personnel reads as follows: Paul McCartney – vocals; Diana Krall – piano and rhythm arrangement; Anthony Wilson – guitar; John Clayton – bass; Jeff Hamilton – drums; Mike Mainieri – vibraphone; produced by Tommy LiPuma; recorded and mixed by Al Schmidt and Steve Genewick; recording studio – Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California…..

Start to get the picture?

In considering the recording of an album devoted to covers of pop standards from the pre-rock years McCartney himself said he didn’t just want to repeat what Rod Stewart had done so successfully already with his recordings of tunes from the popular American songbook. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in May, 2011 he said: “I’ve wanted to do that kind of thing forever, since the Beatle days. But then Rod [Stewart] went mad on it. I thought, ‘I have to wait so it doesn’t look like I’m trying to do a Rod.'”

No offense Paul. I don’t think you’ve done a Rod at all. I think you’ve done something far more clever, so more tasteful, sophisticated and stylish. I reckon you’ve done a Diana.

For an insightful review of “Kisses on the Bottom” see RadioBrandon.blog’s thoughts. Got a lot of time for Brandon’s take on music.

The Beatles With Records – Part Seven

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OK.  Some will be saying “Enough already!”

But still they come – photographs of the Beatles holding on to the things they produced so many of – records.

And now here’s another because some really good photographs have continued to trickle in.

I must say I like the ones that are of a Beatle holding a record that they didn’t actually make themselves. This one of Paul McCartney (above) is a great example submitted by Beatlesblog reader Lammert Mulder. In a great piece of detective work by Lammert we find out that Paul is holding a copy of this 1966 album by the Lovin’ Spoonful. What you can see in the picture above is the rear cover:

This is what the front cover looks like:

Staying with Paul, how many copies do you reckon he’s signed of Sgt. Pepper?

Yes, that’s a gate-fold original copy alright. And it’d be worth quite a bit now if it’s still around….

If anyone knows who the young woman is, and how she managed to find Paul McCartney out in the park walking his dog Martha on a summer’s day and just happened to have a copy of the LP with her at the time – let us know.

Here’s another one of Paul from around the same period, again running the gauntlet with fans, this time assisted by stalwart Beatle roadie, Mal Evans (in glasses) – who looks to be shepherding Paul from a fan holding a copy of the ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Penny Lane’ single:

That is definitely the picture sleeve cover of the 1967 Beatles single ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Penny Lane’. We had another photo of the same single being signed by John Lennon in the Beatles with Records Part Six.

Interestingly, the same image was used for the 1981 EP issue containing the songs ‘The Inner Light’/’Baby, You’re A Rich Man’/’She’s A Woman’/’This Boy’:

Paul has endured of course – right up to the DVD age – where he is asked to sign copies of those as well:

The Space Within Us, a McCartney concert DVD, comes from 2006.

George Harrison was also often collared to do an autograph or two – sometimes on Beatle records. This one looks like he’s been nabbed in the driveway, leaving his home Kinfauns in Surrey:

That’s gotta be the rear cover of this 1967 Beatle EP, don’t you think?:

Paul has also been snapped signing a copy of Magical Mystery Tour:

Thanks to Claude Defer for sending that photograph.

Sometimes, despite their familiarity with their own product, the Beatles can be seen studying their record covers quite closely:

That’s George with…..

I also like this one of George, but do you know which LP he is carrying out the door? His clothing suggests its around the time of “Sgt Pepper”:

If you know or can can figure it out please let us know at beatlesblogger@gmail.com

This LP that John is carrying is much more obvious:

And finally we have to have one of Ringo. This is from 1974, sitting with the late, great Harry Nilsson and holding up a copy of the Nilsson single “Daybreak”, taken from the album “Son of Dracula“:

Thanks to everyone who submitted photographs. You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here:  Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Paul and Advertising

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“The Beatles position is that they don’t sing jingles to peddle sneakers, beer, pantyhose or anything else,” said Apple’s attorney in a statement of July 18, 1987.  “Their position is that they wrote and recorded these songs as artists and not as pitchmen for any product.” [From the battle over Nike’s use of the song “Revolution”]

It was surprising to find while having a look around the website for 54th Grammy Awards (to be announced tomorrow February 12 in the US) to see an advertisement for JBL audio gear featuring Paul McCartney.

Clearly, well-prior to its official release just last week, deals were being done around his song “My Valentine”, and it’s already being used to market products. The YouTube copy elsewhere reads in part:

“A life-long user of JBL equipment in the studio, on tour and at home, McCartney’s appearance as a JBL “Hear the truth” artist is a testament to the enduring impact the brand has had on musicians and music fans since the dawn of the rock era.  The video features his new single, “My Valentine,” from the album “Kisses on the Bottom,” which was released on February 7….”

The print ads look like this:

I’m not sure why I was surprised by this. Thinking about it some more McCartney has a history of associating his concerts, his music, and himself with commercial products. In fact he struck another deal prior to the release of Kisses on the Bottom – this time with the jewelers Tiffany and Co. Again one has to imagine this was largely attributable to the romance associated with Valentines Day, jewelry sales, and the song “My Valentine”. Tiffany and Co., on their website http://www.WhatMakesLoveTrue.com (no longer active), offered for a limited time a free download of “Only Our Hearts”, one of the other two original McCartney songs (the other is “My Valentine”) from Kisses on the Bottom.

The Tiffany and Co. site also includes links to the Kisses on the Bottom album video Electronic Press Kit video, with McCartney and producer Tommy LiPuma talking with veteran rock writer Robert Hiburn. This was available on the Tiffany site before it was available anywhere else – even on McCartney’s own website.

Other overt and sometimes criticised commercial associations come to mind. There were two from 2005. The first is the CD Never Stop Doing What You Love:

This was a 15 track “Best Of” limited-edition CD, not for sale but given away to employees of the Boston-based company Fidelity Investments. The company were sponsors of McCartney’s 2005 US tour, and he became their official spokesman. According to Wikipedia, on the day of the CD release company employees were treated to a special recorded message by Paul himself informing them that “Fidelity and I have a lot in common” and urging them to “never stop doing what you love”. There were TV commercials and print ads featuring home-movie footage – the first time McCartney had ever given such personal footage to an ad campaign. He received considerable criticism for his celebrity endorsement of Fidelity Investments, which many considered to be a vulgar attempt to increase his already astounding wealth.

The second example also comes from 2005 and another major concert tour sponsor, the car-maker Lexus. Paul even had his own Lexus/McCartney website, and a limited McCartney signature-edition Lexus RX 400 SUV release, complete with a Hoffner Bass paint job. The idea was for Lexus to promote his latest album too, which was Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.  To be fair the site was also used to promote one of Paul’s main charitable focuses at the time: Adopt-a-Minefield. Also from the association came this limited-edition 2 CD set:

This Lexus Tour Edition pack contained the 13-track Chaos and Creation in the Backyard CD plus an exclusive 10-track Motor of Love compilation CD featuring McCartney “road-themed” songs like “The Back Seat of My Car” (originally from the album Ram, but this version from Wingspan); “Helen Wheels” (from Band on the Run – 25th Anniversary Edition); “Lonely Road” (from Driving Rain) and “Biker Like an Icon” (from Off the Ground). There were two rare live tracks: “Drive My Car” (from the Super Bowl XXXIX half-time show in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 2005), and “The Long and Winding Road” (from the Driving U.S. Tour, Annaheim, California, May 5, 2002. I’m pretty sure this is a different version than the one on the Back in the U.S. Live 2002 CD). The set is housed in a cardboard slipcase and was commercially available – but only for a brief time from US Lexus dealerships:

Of course, Paul McCartney lends his name and image to many a good cause too. Take cruelty to animals and PETA for example, an organisation he’s supported for years:

So, where do you sit on the question of commercial product endorsement? Does it worry you or change your view of the artist? Do you have any other advertising examples involving Paul or the other Beatles that you know of?

Use the “Comments” box below or write to: beatlesblogger@gmail.com

By the way, McCartney is nominated for a 2011 Grammy in the category Best Historical Album for last year’s Band on the Run, the deluxe edition from the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.  He will perform at the event.