10 Does not include the Tony Sheridan sessions
9 Not available on cassette
8 No box set of "Backwards" versions to hear "Paul Is Dead" clues.
7 Only available on antiquated compact disc technology
6 Does not include remixes by Dangermouse
5 Only sold with limited edition Beatles compact disc player
4 Not included: Neil Young's "Time Fades Away"
3 This is being issued before the Badfinger box set.
2 9-9-09 is not the release date - it's the list price
1 It was too much of a rush job
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About George Harrison's CD Re-issue Program (and much, much more)
Part One : The Story So Far
In honor of George's recent birthday, I thought we'd take a look back at the solo material of Spike Wilbury, including how it's been handled, and what the future might bring. While the reissue campaign has been managed with class and dignity, there have also been many missed opportunities. In this two-part blog entry, I will explore the history of Hari's CD discography, what has been accomplished, what could have been done instead, and my thoughts on future releases.
Since 2001, George Harrison's CD catalogue has gradually been upgraded. All of George's major releases, which had been originally released on either the Apple or Dark Horse labels, are now being reissued under the Capitol umbrella. It was long overdue. George's albums originally released on his own Dark Horse label - from 1976's "Thirty Three and a Third" through 1992's "Live In Japan" -- were originally distributed by Warner Bros. records, and have been deleted since that deal expired. The earlier Apple (Capitol) albums, while still available, had not been improved in any significant way since their original CD releases in the 1980's.
All that changed at the beginning of this decade, while George was still with us. During some of his last interviews, he spoke not only of a new album he was working on ("Portrait Of A Leg-End", which was posthumously released as "Brainwashed"), and a box set of out-takes ("Portrait Of A Boot-Leg", which remains unreleased), but of work on re-issues of his solo catalogue. The 30th anniversary re-issue of his most successful solo effort, 1970's "All Things Must Pass", was a great way to start off the campaign, and a big improvement over the original, poorly handled, initial CD version of this masterpiece.
When "All Things Must Pass" was first issued on compact disc, it was sequenced by someone who, to be polite, did not have much imagination. In most cases, it would make sense to divide a triple album into two halves between sides three and four (like with The Clash's "Sandinista!", the original "Woodstock" album, and George's "Concert For Bangla Desh"). However, with this particular set, it's not "really" a triple album - the first 18 tracks, the two records with the orange-colored apples, are the heart of the collection. The short third album, a bonus disc called "Apple Jam", featured mostly instrumental improvisations featuring Eric Clapton's new group, Derek and the Dominoes, who were the house band for this collection, as well as some more of George's famous friends. The end result was a classic missed opportunity. While CDs were not able to hold more than about 75 minutes of content at the time, it would have made more sense to have disc one include sides one and two, and disc two sides three and four, plus the "Apple Jam". When the original “ATMP” CD was released, the first three LP sides - tracks one to 14 -were on the first CD. That meant just side four, with only the last four conventional songs, was on the second disc, followed by "Apple Jam", which gave the whole package a lop-sided feel. This made some sense when the album was divided this way on the reel-to-reel version, since the tape had the identical order as the actual vinyl set and kept the program flowing in the same aesthetic running order. However, with the new compact disc technology, the good folks at Capitol (and most other labels) were slow to recognize the advantages of the new format. To add insult to injury, this original CD release, as well as John and Yoko's "Some Time In New York City" (another two-disc set, again co-produced by Phil Spector, also with a black-and-white cover) was recalled because the initial pressings sounded horrible.
When the re-issue of "All Things Must Pass" was finally released in 2001, it was again heralded as a masterpiece, and Harrison was once again in the spotlight. It was especially touching, considering the rough decade that George suffered through - recovering from cancer, as well being stabbed by an intruder in December, 1999.
There were many improvements this time around, besides the obviously superior sound. The logical track order - with the discs divided after side two instead of side three - was implemented this time, but, with the improvements in the technology, there could have an even better choice. Since the 80 minute format was an option for this re-issue, a more satisfactory presentation would have been if the 18 studio tracks - sides one through four - were included as a single listening experience. (In fact, I keep my own, homemade CDR version in my car at all times). Then the "Apple Jam" (finally restored to it's original running order) and the five additional bonus tracks could be relegated to the second CD, as they are, by design, additional and separate content, and thus should be presented as it’s own entity. If they HAD done this, there would have been another obvious discovery - there was about 40 minutes left that could have been used to fill the discs up with even MORE great material. Besides George's reworking of his hit single "My Sweet Lord" (performed with melody changes that had nothing "Bright" about them), there were four tracks from 1970 that nicely compliment the original album (even if George somewhat unnecessarily did additional overdubbing.) Collectors, however, have at least three hours of treasured unreleased material that could have been used as a basis for additional content to be included. George was being, using his own phrase, a bit "chincy".
Then there's the artwork. George had a humorous idea to update the graphics by color-izing the cover, and showed the increased industrialization and pollution that had occurred over the previous three decades. However, the original triple vinyl set, packaged like a classical opera, was so iconic, that the original black and white cover, along with the colorful album sleeves (which included the lyrics), and those orange “apples” on the label, should have been preserved somewhere within the new package.(The same should have been done with the re-issues of John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine").
In 2004, George was inducted, posthumously, into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist. We were unexpectedly rewarded with a box set of George's Dark Horse catalogue. It included five studio albums, and one double live CD. While it was nicely packaged, with a lot more attention paid to this reissue series -- bonus tracks, improved graphics, and, of course, great sound-- it did seem like a bit of a rush job, another missed opportunity to reward fans who were (in many cases) re-purchasing these albums for the second or third time. A DVD was also included.
The first four albums included only an extra track each, and one wasn't even from the appropriate sessions. Fortunately, 1981's “Somewhere In England” was repackaged with George’s original rejected artwork, but it did not include the four songs rejected by Warner Brothers in 1980. It would also have been nice to have the artwork from the first release along with the alternative photographs included in the booklet.
1987's hit album "Cloud Nine" featured two bonus tracks, but excluded the silly (but still desirable) "extended" version of "When We Was Fab". The 1991 tour document "Live In Japan" was released as a dual-disc, where those with a SACD player could enjoy the music with improved sound, but neither version included any bonus material. This release also repeated a minor annoyance from the original running order. During the actual concert performances, after "Piggies", Eric Clapton would play a four song segment, then George would start his second set with "Got My Mind Set On You". However, the new version of "Live In Japan" repeats the mistake of ending disc one with "Got My Mind", and starting the second disc with the song "Cloud Nine". While this would have made sense in the days of vinyl, the capacity of CDs can easily accommodate the integrity of the original concert performance. The three unique tracks only available on the out-of-print collection “Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989” - “Poor Little Girl”, “Cockamamie Business”, and the single “Cheer Down” - could have been included here.
The accompanying DVD also had some treats: interviews, videos, previously unseen live performances from the 1991 tour of Japan, and his three songs from “Shanghai Surprise”, the Madonna/Sean Penn bomb of a movie financed by Harrison’s production company, Handmade Films. Again, one wondered - why not more footage ? I can understand not getting the rights to all of the clips used in “All Those Years Ago”, Harrison’s tribute song to John Lennon. But what about “Blow Away” ? Unless they couldn’t get the permission to use that giant rubber ducky . . . Plus there was obviously more footage from the tour of Japan, as well as interviews, and who-knows-what-else ? Again, another missed opportunity.
More recently, we’ve been lucky to have a few more refurbished Harrison albums to enjoy --1973’s “Living In The Material World”, plus the star (Starr ?) studded “Concert For Bangla Desh”, and “The Traveling Wilburys Collection”. I’ve always been a big fan of “Material World” - it’s like a more stripped down version of “All Things Must Pass”. There is a warm, comforting, spiritual feel to this album. It may not have been fashionable, but it was a continuation of Harrison’s work which was praised on “All Things Must Pass”. The regular CD included two great b-sides from that era (but not the single version of “Bangla Desh”). The deluxe version included a DVD with two wonderful unreleased audio tracks: a demo of “Sue Me, Sue You Blues”, and a non-laughing take of “Miss O’Dell”. It’s unfortunate these tracks were not made more easily available by adding then to the CD. The DVD also included footage of the hit single “Give Me Love”, from the 1991 tour of Japan, and a short documentary about the album. Again, cool stuff. But why so chincy ? The list price of the “deluxe” version makes one think they are getting a lot more that they end up receiving. Material World indeed. At least the packaging included a booklet, and the artwork replicated the original album cover and labels.
“The Concert For Bangla Desh” was finally re-released as a DVD (again with the option of a “deluxe” version) and on compact disc. These versions both include the one song Bob Dylan (with Harrison, Starr, and Leon Russell), performed only at the afternoon show (“Love Minus Zero”), while the DVD added a rehearsal of Dylan’s “If Not For You”, as well as additional footage. Still, the only place to get “Mr. Tambourine Man” was still the audio compact disc. Since there were two shows, it would have been nice to experience some of the alternate versions, but, all-in-all, it was a nice, classy package, appropriate for the mother of all benefit concerts.
“The Traveling Wilburys Collection” was re-released as a box set in June of 2007. The deluxe edition, especially, was a nice package, with two remastered CD’s, bonus tracks, a DVD, a book, photographs, “announcement” postcards, a sticker, and an individually numbered certificate of authenticity. However, there were still questionable decisions made. The four bonus tracks included were all from the “Volume 3” era, but were split evenly between the two CD's. There were also some alternate mixes and edits, as well as one unreleased alternate take, that were saved for the vinyl release. These could have easily fit as bonus tracks on the collection. (I’ve somehow managed to survive without owning these rarities) Collectors have also had alternate versions of many of these songs for years that could have been included. Curiously, there was also a different edit for the video of “Inside Out”, which was included on the DVD. Another video was not included here --the title track from the out-of-print benefit album “Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal “, which only featured footage of Romanian orphans. It was also interesting to note that the publishing credits changed for “Volume 1”, where the communal songwriting agreement on the original release was replaced by publishing credited to the principle songwriter. For more specific information about the Wilburys releases, please go here: http://www.searchingforagem.com/Wilburys/Wilburys2007.htm
Well, this summarizes George’s mainstream catalogue so far. These re-issues have both looked and sounded great, but could have been improved with a bit more content and attention to detail. Both “Wonderwall Music” and “Electronic Sounds” were also released on CD at one time, with identical track listings to the original albums (although I believe the US release of “Electronic Sounds” mistakenly had each long instrumental on the incorrect side with the original vinyl release.) In an upcoming blog, I plan to address the rest of George Harrison’s catalogue, and what could be done to make it a truly superior project.
In honor of George's recent birthday, I thought we'd take a look back at the solo material of Spike Wilbury, including how it's been handled, and what the future might bring. While the reissue campaign has been managed with class and dignity, there have also been many missed opportunities. In this two-part blog entry, I will explore the history of Hari's CD discography, what has been accomplished, what could have been done instead, and my thoughts on future releases.
Since 2001, George Harrison's CD catalogue has gradually been upgraded. All of George's major releases, which had been originally released on either the Apple or Dark Horse labels, are now being reissued under the Capitol umbrella. It was long overdue. George's albums originally released on his own Dark Horse label - from 1976's "Thirty Three and a Third" through 1992's "Live In Japan" -- were originally distributed by Warner Bros. records, and have been deleted since that deal expired. The earlier Apple (Capitol) albums, while still available, had not been improved in any significant way since their original CD releases in the 1980's.
All that changed at the beginning of this decade, while George was still with us. During some of his last interviews, he spoke not only of a new album he was working on ("Portrait Of A Leg-End", which was posthumously released as "Brainwashed"), and a box set of out-takes ("Portrait Of A Boot-Leg", which remains unreleased), but of work on re-issues of his solo catalogue. The 30th anniversary re-issue of his most successful solo effort, 1970's "All Things Must Pass", was a great way to start off the campaign, and a big improvement over the original, poorly handled, initial CD version of this masterpiece.
When "All Things Must Pass" was first issued on compact disc, it was sequenced by someone who, to be polite, did not have much imagination. In most cases, it would make sense to divide a triple album into two halves between sides three and four (like with The Clash's "Sandinista!", the original "Woodstock" album, and George's "Concert For Bangla Desh"). However, with this particular set, it's not "really" a triple album - the first 18 tracks, the two records with the orange-colored apples, are the heart of the collection. The short third album, a bonus disc called "Apple Jam", featured mostly instrumental improvisations featuring Eric Clapton's new group, Derek and the Dominoes, who were the house band for this collection, as well as some more of George's famous friends. The end result was a classic missed opportunity. While CDs were not able to hold more than about 75 minutes of content at the time, it would have made more sense to have disc one include sides one and two, and disc two sides three and four, plus the "Apple Jam". When the original “ATMP” CD was released, the first three LP sides - tracks one to 14 -were on the first CD. That meant just side four, with only the last four conventional songs, was on the second disc, followed by "Apple Jam", which gave the whole package a lop-sided feel. This made some sense when the album was divided this way on the reel-to-reel version, since the tape had the identical order as the actual vinyl set and kept the program flowing in the same aesthetic running order. However, with the new compact disc technology, the good folks at Capitol (and most other labels) were slow to recognize the advantages of the new format. To add insult to injury, this original CD release, as well as John and Yoko's "Some Time In New York City" (another two-disc set, again co-produced by Phil Spector, also with a black-and-white cover) was recalled because the initial pressings sounded horrible.
When the re-issue of "All Things Must Pass" was finally released in 2001, it was again heralded as a masterpiece, and Harrison was once again in the spotlight. It was especially touching, considering the rough decade that George suffered through - recovering from cancer, as well being stabbed by an intruder in December, 1999.
There were many improvements this time around, besides the obviously superior sound. The logical track order - with the discs divided after side two instead of side three - was implemented this time, but, with the improvements in the technology, there could have an even better choice. Since the 80 minute format was an option for this re-issue, a more satisfactory presentation would have been if the 18 studio tracks - sides one through four - were included as a single listening experience. (In fact, I keep my own, homemade CDR version in my car at all times). Then the "Apple Jam" (finally restored to it's original running order) and the five additional bonus tracks could be relegated to the second CD, as they are, by design, additional and separate content, and thus should be presented as it’s own entity. If they HAD done this, there would have been another obvious discovery - there was about 40 minutes left that could have been used to fill the discs up with even MORE great material. Besides George's reworking of his hit single "My Sweet Lord" (performed with melody changes that had nothing "Bright" about them), there were four tracks from 1970 that nicely compliment the original album (even if George somewhat unnecessarily did additional overdubbing.) Collectors, however, have at least three hours of treasured unreleased material that could have been used as a basis for additional content to be included. George was being, using his own phrase, a bit "chincy".
Then there's the artwork. George had a humorous idea to update the graphics by color-izing the cover, and showed the increased industrialization and pollution that had occurred over the previous three decades. However, the original triple vinyl set, packaged like a classical opera, was so iconic, that the original black and white cover, along with the colorful album sleeves (which included the lyrics), and those orange “apples” on the label, should have been preserved somewhere within the new package.(The same should have been done with the re-issues of John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine").
In 2004, George was inducted, posthumously, into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist. We were unexpectedly rewarded with a box set of George's Dark Horse catalogue. It included five studio albums, and one double live CD. While it was nicely packaged, with a lot more attention paid to this reissue series -- bonus tracks, improved graphics, and, of course, great sound-- it did seem like a bit of a rush job, another missed opportunity to reward fans who were (in many cases) re-purchasing these albums for the second or third time. A DVD was also included.
The first four albums included only an extra track each, and one wasn't even from the appropriate sessions. Fortunately, 1981's “Somewhere In England” was repackaged with George’s original rejected artwork, but it did not include the four songs rejected by Warner Brothers in 1980. It would also have been nice to have the artwork from the first release along with the alternative photographs included in the booklet.
1987's hit album "Cloud Nine" featured two bonus tracks, but excluded the silly (but still desirable) "extended" version of "When We Was Fab". The 1991 tour document "Live In Japan" was released as a dual-disc, where those with a SACD player could enjoy the music with improved sound, but neither version included any bonus material. This release also repeated a minor annoyance from the original running order. During the actual concert performances, after "Piggies", Eric Clapton would play a four song segment, then George would start his second set with "Got My Mind Set On You". However, the new version of "Live In Japan" repeats the mistake of ending disc one with "Got My Mind", and starting the second disc with the song "Cloud Nine". While this would have made sense in the days of vinyl, the capacity of CDs can easily accommodate the integrity of the original concert performance. The three unique tracks only available on the out-of-print collection “Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989” - “Poor Little Girl”, “Cockamamie Business”, and the single “Cheer Down” - could have been included here.
The accompanying DVD also had some treats: interviews, videos, previously unseen live performances from the 1991 tour of Japan, and his three songs from “Shanghai Surprise”, the Madonna/Sean Penn bomb of a movie financed by Harrison’s production company, Handmade Films. Again, one wondered - why not more footage ? I can understand not getting the rights to all of the clips used in “All Those Years Ago”, Harrison’s tribute song to John Lennon. But what about “Blow Away” ? Unless they couldn’t get the permission to use that giant rubber ducky . . . Plus there was obviously more footage from the tour of Japan, as well as interviews, and who-knows-what-else ? Again, another missed opportunity.
More recently, we’ve been lucky to have a few more refurbished Harrison albums to enjoy --1973’s “Living In The Material World”, plus the star (Starr ?) studded “Concert For Bangla Desh”, and “The Traveling Wilburys Collection”. I’ve always been a big fan of “Material World” - it’s like a more stripped down version of “All Things Must Pass”. There is a warm, comforting, spiritual feel to this album. It may not have been fashionable, but it was a continuation of Harrison’s work which was praised on “All Things Must Pass”. The regular CD included two great b-sides from that era (but not the single version of “Bangla Desh”). The deluxe version included a DVD with two wonderful unreleased audio tracks: a demo of “Sue Me, Sue You Blues”, and a non-laughing take of “Miss O’Dell”. It’s unfortunate these tracks were not made more easily available by adding then to the CD. The DVD also included footage of the hit single “Give Me Love”, from the 1991 tour of Japan, and a short documentary about the album. Again, cool stuff. But why so chincy ? The list price of the “deluxe” version makes one think they are getting a lot more that they end up receiving. Material World indeed. At least the packaging included a booklet, and the artwork replicated the original album cover and labels.
“The Concert For Bangla Desh” was finally re-released as a DVD (again with the option of a “deluxe” version) and on compact disc. These versions both include the one song Bob Dylan (with Harrison, Starr, and Leon Russell), performed only at the afternoon show (“Love Minus Zero”), while the DVD added a rehearsal of Dylan’s “If Not For You”, as well as additional footage. Still, the only place to get “Mr. Tambourine Man” was still the audio compact disc. Since there were two shows, it would have been nice to experience some of the alternate versions, but, all-in-all, it was a nice, classy package, appropriate for the mother of all benefit concerts.
“The Traveling Wilburys Collection” was re-released as a box set in June of 2007. The deluxe edition, especially, was a nice package, with two remastered CD’s, bonus tracks, a DVD, a book, photographs, “announcement” postcards, a sticker, and an individually numbered certificate of authenticity. However, there were still questionable decisions made. The four bonus tracks included were all from the “Volume 3” era, but were split evenly between the two CD's. There were also some alternate mixes and edits, as well as one unreleased alternate take, that were saved for the vinyl release. These could have easily fit as bonus tracks on the collection. (I’ve somehow managed to survive without owning these rarities) Collectors have also had alternate versions of many of these songs for years that could have been included. Curiously, there was also a different edit for the video of “Inside Out”, which was included on the DVD. Another video was not included here --the title track from the out-of-print benefit album “Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal “, which only featured footage of Romanian orphans. It was also interesting to note that the publishing credits changed for “Volume 1”, where the communal songwriting agreement on the original release was replaced by publishing credited to the principle songwriter. For more specific information about the Wilburys releases, please go here: http://www.searchingforagem.com/Wilburys/Wilburys2007.htm
Well, this summarizes George’s mainstream catalogue so far. These re-issues have both looked and sounded great, but could have been improved with a bit more content and attention to detail. Both “Wonderwall Music” and “Electronic Sounds” were also released on CD at one time, with identical track listings to the original albums (although I believe the US release of “Electronic Sounds” mistakenly had each long instrumental on the incorrect side with the original vinyl release.) In an upcoming blog, I plan to address the rest of George Harrison’s catalogue, and what could be done to make it a truly superior project.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Paul McCartney's Been Reading My Blog !
Well, it's obvious. Macca has been reading this very blog (Confidential to a certain "Firefighter": Hello Percy!). As readers of this blog know, last November I started a seven part series discussing a fantasy Paul McCartney solo concert experience. In the introduction, I suggested that Paul could do a tour where he played smaller venues like Radio City Music Hall, and celebrate his nearly four decade solo career. Paul seems to have taken my advice, and, while not following my exact plan, has indeed agreed to perform at Radio City, and has begun a celebration of his post-Beatles career by launching a month-long "Fireman Radio" channel on Sirius XM satellite radio.
The April 4 Radio City performance, which will also feature Ringo Starr in the role of David Grohl, is part of an all-star(r) benefit, organized by film maker David Lynch. The Beatlesque goal is to teach one million children the Transcendental Meditation technique - and change the world overnight (I couldn't make stuff like this up ). Other performers scheduled include Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Paul Horn, Donovan, and others.
[Side note: How can Paul, Ringo and Donovan all appear at this gig and not perform together? Back in the day, Donovan and Macca collaborated on "Yellow Submarine", "Atlantis", and Mary Hopkin's Apple LP "Post Card", among other projects and events (including going to India in 1968 to study TM with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ). Donovan also taught the Fabs his finger-picking technique, which influenced a handful of songs that appeared on 1968's "White Album". When I saw Paul at The Bridge Benefit in 2004, he generously sang duets with Tony Bennett as well as Neil Young. ]
Paul's "Fireman Radio" channel has been a lot of fun so far.The idea seems to be to create another way to build on the great press Paul has received for his new "The Fireman" project, "Electric Arguments". While "EA" was a more "high profile" release than the previous two Fireman albums (not to mention more commercial), it was still sent out into the marketplace without the fanfare usually associated with a traditional McCartney release. When the album started to create a buzz, Paul appeared on programs such as "The View" and "The Howard Stern Show", which pushed the album further up the charts.
"Fireman Radio" is like the ultimate Macca iPod (or maybe an Apple iPaul ?). It's a random sample of McCartney's solo work since 1970, including hits, deep album cuts, obscure singles, and, of course, a healthy dose of "Fireman" material - not just the new album, but the previous two "ambient" collections as well. There is also a heavy mix of live material, which is how he gets to sneak his 1960's classics into a "solo" selection of material. There was even some care taken to make sure that, for instance, the original album medley of "Venus and Mars / Rock Show" were played together as one (which has not always been the case with some of the other vanity channels).
The programming seems to be designed for short bursts of listening in the car as opposed to a serious (Sirius) marathon session while at home. While there seems to be large chunks of music that are part of a heavy rotation, there is enough variety to keep you tuned in waiting for different tracks. Some of the great finds, for me, include "Mumbo", followed a little while later by "Bip Bop" There was also an hour of programming where three tracks from "Ram" were randomly played ("Long Haired Lady", "Uncle Albert", "Dear Boy"). While you'd expect to hear "Band On The Run" and "Maybe I'm Amazed", what's interesting is to experience multiple versions of "No More Lonely Nights" (including the legendary "Mole Mix") and "Silly Love Songs" (including the "Noir & Kruse" edit ), not to mention obscure stuff like "Back On My Feet", "Zoo Gang", "Momma's Little Girl", and "We All Stand Together" (with the Frog Chorus ! ) Of course you could hear most of this stuff anytime you like - if you have the official releases - but when's the last time you've had a chance to do that ? Plus, when you hear an overlooked gem like "Somedays" (from "Flaming Pie"), out of context, you can really appreciate it for the beautiful song it is. It's also fun to spot the occasional error, like 1973's "Single Pigeon" showing up as "Single Person" on my Sirius screen (Freudian slip, Paul ?). It's also interesting to note that some tracks feature other band members (so far, I've heard Jimmy McCulloch, Hamish Stuart, and Denny Laine), but not any of his classical pieces, or Linda's "Cook Of The House" (yet). It's doubtful that "Heather" will make an appearance, I'd gather.
I just finished listening to a 30 minute exclusive interview with Paul, broadcast on the channel. While not really shedding any new light on his Fireman project that has not been discussed elsewhere, it's always nice to hear Paul talk about the joy of creating music. Which is really the best part of listening to this Maccathon.
John Lennon once famously said, "Fans tried to beat me into being a…Beatle or an Engelbert Humperdinck, and the critics tried to beat me into being Paul McCartney”. By the same token, Macca has always been compared to Lennon, and, by extension, Bob Dylan, and other rock "heavyweights'". If you put McCartney in the company of more melodic composers like, say, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Phil Collins, it's easy to see Paul's strengths, and why he's still a vital, relevant artist.
While McCartney has certainly dabbled in every genre of music that tickled his fancy, there has always been a sense that he just enjoyed creating music, as well as other art forms (like painting), for it's own sake. His first solo album, 1970's "McCartney", is one of my all-time favorites, and has always given me a warm, comforting feeling. This, in retrospect, is all the more surprising considering it was recorded when the Beatles were disintegrating around him. It sounds like it may have been very therapeutic for him as well.
Paul's political/topical songs, like "Simple As That" and "Freedom", while not particularly insightful, work well in the context of this channel. With his talent for singing and songwriting, as well as mastering almost any instrument he felt like learning how to play, it's just a joy just to hear the decades of music that he has created since he became an Ex-Fab. While listening to "Fireman Radio", that seems to be a recurring theme - Paul enjoys making music, and that, in itself, is a reason to enjoy the solo work of James Paul McCartney. As a matter of fact, "Ballroom Dancing" was in my head all day yesterday !
And Paul, if you want to thank me, I'd sure like to go see you at Radio City . . . sounds like a great idea !
:-D
PS Happy birthday wishes to George Harrison . .I'm currently working on a blog about his music as well . . .
UPDATE : Starting Tuesday at 10 a.m eastern, guests DJs will be playing their fave Macca tunes, including Barbara Walters, Cousin Brucie, and a real NYC Fireman (no, not Paul . .)
The April 4 Radio City performance, which will also feature Ringo Starr in the role of David Grohl, is part of an all-star(r) benefit, organized by film maker David Lynch. The Beatlesque goal is to teach one million children the Transcendental Meditation technique - and change the world overnight (I couldn't make stuff like this up ). Other performers scheduled include Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Paul Horn, Donovan, and others.
[Side note: How can Paul, Ringo and Donovan all appear at this gig and not perform together? Back in the day, Donovan and Macca collaborated on "Yellow Submarine", "Atlantis", and Mary Hopkin's Apple LP "Post Card", among other projects and events (including going to India in 1968 to study TM with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ). Donovan also taught the Fabs his finger-picking technique, which influenced a handful of songs that appeared on 1968's "White Album". When I saw Paul at The Bridge Benefit in 2004, he generously sang duets with Tony Bennett as well as Neil Young. ]
Paul's "Fireman Radio" channel has been a lot of fun so far.The idea seems to be to create another way to build on the great press Paul has received for his new "The Fireman" project, "Electric Arguments". While "EA" was a more "high profile" release than the previous two Fireman albums (not to mention more commercial), it was still sent out into the marketplace without the fanfare usually associated with a traditional McCartney release. When the album started to create a buzz, Paul appeared on programs such as "The View" and "The Howard Stern Show", which pushed the album further up the charts.
"Fireman Radio" is like the ultimate Macca iPod (or maybe an Apple iPaul ?). It's a random sample of McCartney's solo work since 1970, including hits, deep album cuts, obscure singles, and, of course, a healthy dose of "Fireman" material - not just the new album, but the previous two "ambient" collections as well. There is also a heavy mix of live material, which is how he gets to sneak his 1960's classics into a "solo" selection of material. There was even some care taken to make sure that, for instance, the original album medley of "Venus and Mars / Rock Show" were played together as one (which has not always been the case with some of the other vanity channels).
The programming seems to be designed for short bursts of listening in the car as opposed to a serious (Sirius) marathon session while at home. While there seems to be large chunks of music that are part of a heavy rotation, there is enough variety to keep you tuned in waiting for different tracks. Some of the great finds, for me, include "Mumbo", followed a little while later by "Bip Bop" There was also an hour of programming where three tracks from "Ram" were randomly played ("Long Haired Lady", "Uncle Albert", "Dear Boy"). While you'd expect to hear "Band On The Run" and "Maybe I'm Amazed", what's interesting is to experience multiple versions of "No More Lonely Nights" (including the legendary "Mole Mix") and "Silly Love Songs" (including the "Noir & Kruse" edit ), not to mention obscure stuff like "Back On My Feet", "Zoo Gang", "Momma's Little Girl", and "We All Stand Together" (with the Frog Chorus ! ) Of course you could hear most of this stuff anytime you like - if you have the official releases - but when's the last time you've had a chance to do that ? Plus, when you hear an overlooked gem like "Somedays" (from "Flaming Pie"), out of context, you can really appreciate it for the beautiful song it is. It's also fun to spot the occasional error, like 1973's "Single Pigeon" showing up as "Single Person" on my Sirius screen (Freudian slip, Paul ?). It's also interesting to note that some tracks feature other band members (so far, I've heard Jimmy McCulloch, Hamish Stuart, and Denny Laine), but not any of his classical pieces, or Linda's "Cook Of The House" (yet). It's doubtful that "Heather" will make an appearance, I'd gather.
I just finished listening to a 30 minute exclusive interview with Paul, broadcast on the channel. While not really shedding any new light on his Fireman project that has not been discussed elsewhere, it's always nice to hear Paul talk about the joy of creating music. Which is really the best part of listening to this Maccathon.
John Lennon once famously said, "Fans tried to beat me into being a…Beatle or an Engelbert Humperdinck, and the critics tried to beat me into being Paul McCartney”. By the same token, Macca has always been compared to Lennon, and, by extension, Bob Dylan, and other rock "heavyweights'". If you put McCartney in the company of more melodic composers like, say, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Phil Collins, it's easy to see Paul's strengths, and why he's still a vital, relevant artist.
While McCartney has certainly dabbled in every genre of music that tickled his fancy, there has always been a sense that he just enjoyed creating music, as well as other art forms (like painting), for it's own sake. His first solo album, 1970's "McCartney", is one of my all-time favorites, and has always given me a warm, comforting feeling. This, in retrospect, is all the more surprising considering it was recorded when the Beatles were disintegrating around him. It sounds like it may have been very therapeutic for him as well.
Paul's political/topical songs, like "Simple As That" and "Freedom", while not particularly insightful, work well in the context of this channel. With his talent for singing and songwriting, as well as mastering almost any instrument he felt like learning how to play, it's just a joy just to hear the decades of music that he has created since he became an Ex-Fab. While listening to "Fireman Radio", that seems to be a recurring theme - Paul enjoys making music, and that, in itself, is a reason to enjoy the solo work of James Paul McCartney. As a matter of fact, "Ballroom Dancing" was in my head all day yesterday !
And Paul, if you want to thank me, I'd sure like to go see you at Radio City . . . sounds like a great idea !
:-D
PS Happy birthday wishes to George Harrison . .I'm currently working on a blog about his music as well . . .
UPDATE : Starting Tuesday at 10 a.m eastern, guests DJs will be playing their fave Macca tunes, including Barbara Walters, Cousin Brucie, and a real NYC Fireman (no, not Paul . .)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
iPod, therefore iAm
As 2008 drew to a close, the New York Times ran an article about music sales for the year (http://tinyurl.com/ccvywx ). It discussed the decline in CD purchases, and the increase of digital music sales. There was one very interesting fact: The fourth and fifth best selling albums of the year (http://tinyurl.com/ceuner) cannot be downloaded from iTunes. According to the article, AC/DC and Kid Rock are opponents of downloading, yet still managed to sell approximately two million copies each of their new releases. (The number one album of 2008 sold less than three million copies). In the case of AC/DC, it is all the more impressive as their album "Black Ice" is a Wal-Mart exclusive.
The Beatles, of course, are one of the last holdouts -- not only in the world of digital downloading, but of CD re-issues in general. All Fab solo albums are now available on iTunes, but the actual Beatles catalogue is still in limbo, as the Beatles' Apple cannot agree to terms with Apple iTunes. I assume the re-issues are being stalled by the problems with iTunes, as albums such as 1968's "White Album", are known to be ready for re-release. Paul recently said that there was a stickling point with the iTunes deal, but noted that the Beatles were a special act, and should be treated as such. I'm sure anyone reading this would heartily agree. For a while, the Beatles were shy about releasing any albums since Billboard did not deem the 1980 U.S. album "Rarities" as a major new release, but a curiosity aimed at obsessive Beatles fans. Everything the Beatles do now (in most cases) must be bigger and better than anything else -- failure is not an option. It needs to be a global event. Additionally, it takes an army of promotion soldiers to make this happen. This must be well thought out before it is executed.
If the Beatles do agree to a deal, there are some interesting concerns. Will individual tracks be available? Will "Maggie Mae" cost the same as "Hey Jude"? Will "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" count as one song, or three ? I'd suggest that the albums be sold only as whole entities, and that the singles, like "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You", or "Lady Madonna"/"The Inner Light", be available for the plucking for those not wanting to invest in a whole album. Also, all different album AND single configurations could be offered: mono, stereo, U.S., U.K., etc, so that fans could pick and choose what version(s) they want.
What the success of the AC/DC and Kid Rock albums shows us, however, is that The Beatles do not even need iTunes. A truly spectacular Beatles re-issue product, with improved sound, bonus tracks, mono and stereo mixes, detailed liner notes, and an additional DVD or Blu-Ray disc of archival footage, would get people into whatever record stores are left, to purchase the ultimate Beatles musical experience. Can you imagine going to pick up a copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" on CD, complete with the original booklet, the mono and stereo mixes, as well as the original television special AND "videos" of "All You Need Is Love", "Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and all three versions of "Hello Goodbye"? And then they could hide the "1967 Christmas Record" somewhere on the disc in an "Easter Egg"! Or how about the U.K. "Help!" album, with additional songs like "I'm Down", "Bad Boy", and "Yes It Is", and then have the original "Beatles at Shea" documentary included, as well as the appropriate promotional films ? And just think of the possibilities of the "Let It Be" album!
I've read many stories, mostly on-line, about fans' frustrations regarding the upgrade of the Beatles catalogue. A couple of years ago, the Fabs even brought someone on board specially to oversee this venture. Paul also mentioned that they wanted to make sure it was done properly. This is an important point. A couple of years after CDs had initially caught on, the Fab's catalogue was rush-released in 1987 and 1988 in order to capitalize on the twentieth anniversary of the "Sgt. Pepper" album. The sound was mediocre, the packaging unimaginative, the bonus tracks non-existent. At the time, the Beatles were still squabbling, and not in control of their own legacy. These CDs are the versions we are currently stuck with.
Good things come to those who wait. How lucky are we that we have the "Anthology" series of the mid-1990's instead of the original proposed single album version of out-takes from the 1980's ? Do we really want to repeatedly buy a re-issue of a re-issue, as fans of David Bowie, Elvis Costello and others have been "forced" to do (even if they were done expertly) ? The Beatles are still one of the biggest acts in the world, nearly four decades after splitting up, and deserve to be presented in the marketplace in a series of impressive, definitive, content-filled packages. However, The Beatles' Apple needs the have all four parties in agreement for something to be released, while all four are also busy simultaneously merchandising and promoting individual solo careers and catalogues. Then they have to partner up with EMI, retail outlets, etc., all of whom want as big a piece of the Apple Pie as they can get. So there must be negotiations that are as tedious as they are time consuming. Of course, if the deals don't work out, then Apple has to start all over again. Besides, there has been a steady supply of "new" Fab products released since "The Beatles at the Beeb" appeared in 1994. Aren't we better off with the "Anthology" series than remastered compact discs of albums that are readily available ? These things take time. Life is what happens when you upgrade your catalog.
Anyway. as the core Beatles fans get a little bit older and a little bit slower, we eagerly, if a bit impatiently, await the next installment of a proper Beatles re-issue campaign. Of course, the Fabs appeal is cross-generational, and there's no sign of their popularity diminishing any time soon. Let's just hope they finally get it together while we are still around to enjoy it. Maybe they can release the entire catalogue as a big box set, and call it "Eight Arms To Hold You". Or "I Want You (She's So Heavy) ? "It's All Too Much"? "The Gray Album"?
And if you think you've been waiting a long time, think of the poor Neil Young fans who are enduring, again, yet another potential delay in the never-ending saga of his ambitious, two-decade old "Archives" project! (Thrasher's Wheat site: http://tinyurl.com/cypxyh )
The Beatles, of course, are one of the last holdouts -- not only in the world of digital downloading, but of CD re-issues in general. All Fab solo albums are now available on iTunes, but the actual Beatles catalogue is still in limbo, as the Beatles' Apple cannot agree to terms with Apple iTunes. I assume the re-issues are being stalled by the problems with iTunes, as albums such as 1968's "White Album", are known to be ready for re-release. Paul recently said that there was a stickling point with the iTunes deal, but noted that the Beatles were a special act, and should be treated as such. I'm sure anyone reading this would heartily agree. For a while, the Beatles were shy about releasing any albums since Billboard did not deem the 1980 U.S. album "Rarities" as a major new release, but a curiosity aimed at obsessive Beatles fans. Everything the Beatles do now (in most cases) must be bigger and better than anything else -- failure is not an option. It needs to be a global event. Additionally, it takes an army of promotion soldiers to make this happen. This must be well thought out before it is executed.
If the Beatles do agree to a deal, there are some interesting concerns. Will individual tracks be available? Will "Maggie Mae" cost the same as "Hey Jude"? Will "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" count as one song, or three ? I'd suggest that the albums be sold only as whole entities, and that the singles, like "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You", or "Lady Madonna"/"The Inner Light", be available for the plucking for those not wanting to invest in a whole album. Also, all different album AND single configurations could be offered: mono, stereo, U.S., U.K., etc, so that fans could pick and choose what version(s) they want.
What the success of the AC/DC and Kid Rock albums shows us, however, is that The Beatles do not even need iTunes. A truly spectacular Beatles re-issue product, with improved sound, bonus tracks, mono and stereo mixes, detailed liner notes, and an additional DVD or Blu-Ray disc of archival footage, would get people into whatever record stores are left, to purchase the ultimate Beatles musical experience. Can you imagine going to pick up a copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" on CD, complete with the original booklet, the mono and stereo mixes, as well as the original television special AND "videos" of "All You Need Is Love", "Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and all three versions of "Hello Goodbye"? And then they could hide the "1967 Christmas Record" somewhere on the disc in an "Easter Egg"! Or how about the U.K. "Help!" album, with additional songs like "I'm Down", "Bad Boy", and "Yes It Is", and then have the original "Beatles at Shea" documentary included, as well as the appropriate promotional films ? And just think of the possibilities of the "Let It Be" album!
I've read many stories, mostly on-line, about fans' frustrations regarding the upgrade of the Beatles catalogue. A couple of years ago, the Fabs even brought someone on board specially to oversee this venture. Paul also mentioned that they wanted to make sure it was done properly. This is an important point. A couple of years after CDs had initially caught on, the Fab's catalogue was rush-released in 1987 and 1988 in order to capitalize on the twentieth anniversary of the "Sgt. Pepper" album. The sound was mediocre, the packaging unimaginative, the bonus tracks non-existent. At the time, the Beatles were still squabbling, and not in control of their own legacy. These CDs are the versions we are currently stuck with.
Good things come to those who wait. How lucky are we that we have the "Anthology" series of the mid-1990's instead of the original proposed single album version of out-takes from the 1980's ? Do we really want to repeatedly buy a re-issue of a re-issue, as fans of David Bowie, Elvis Costello and others have been "forced" to do (even if they were done expertly) ? The Beatles are still one of the biggest acts in the world, nearly four decades after splitting up, and deserve to be presented in the marketplace in a series of impressive, definitive, content-filled packages. However, The Beatles' Apple needs the have all four parties in agreement for something to be released, while all four are also busy simultaneously merchandising and promoting individual solo careers and catalogues. Then they have to partner up with EMI, retail outlets, etc., all of whom want as big a piece of the Apple Pie as they can get. So there must be negotiations that are as tedious as they are time consuming. Of course, if the deals don't work out, then Apple has to start all over again. Besides, there has been a steady supply of "new" Fab products released since "The Beatles at the Beeb" appeared in 1994. Aren't we better off with the "Anthology" series than remastered compact discs of albums that are readily available ? These things take time. Life is what happens when you upgrade your catalog.
Anyway. as the core Beatles fans get a little bit older and a little bit slower, we eagerly, if a bit impatiently, await the next installment of a proper Beatles re-issue campaign. Of course, the Fabs appeal is cross-generational, and there's no sign of their popularity diminishing any time soon. Let's just hope they finally get it together while we are still around to enjoy it. Maybe they can release the entire catalogue as a big box set, and call it "Eight Arms To Hold You". Or "I Want You (She's So Heavy) ? "It's All Too Much"? "The Gray Album"?
And if you think you've been waiting a long time, think of the poor Neil Young fans who are enduring, again, yet another potential delay in the never-ending saga of his ambitious, two-decade old "Archives" project! (Thrasher's Wheat site: http://tinyurl.com/cypxyh )
Friday, January 16, 2009
Macca Live 2010 Side Six
With all of this excitement of Paul on Howard Stern and The View, as well as his great new Fireman album, I know you've been wondering, "When is Yer Blogger going to finish his wonderful imaginary McCartney live album? We've been waiting over a month to find out how the concert ends! What are the last songs going to be? What would Paul do for an encore ? I've barely made it through the holidays! How busy can Yer Blogger be ? I've been hanging on the edge of my seat ! When is my hot cocoa going to be ready ?"
Well, Beedle Peedles, the time has finally arrived! Below you will find my "ideal" side six for Macca Live 2010. What I tried to accomplish is an overview of Macca's career outside of the Beatles. This collection covers everything from non-Fab 1960's recordings, through his years with Wings, to a solo career that continues to this day. With such a large body of work, it was difficult to cover every aspect of the career of James Paul McCartney. Some of his hits, like "Listen To What The Man Said" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" have unfortunately been excluded, due to time constraints. I would have like to have included rockers like "Helen Wheels" and "Hi Hi Hi", plus personal favorites, like "Mumbo" (which seems like a blue print for the Electric Arguments album), but felt these songs would have to be sacrificed in order to have a more varied, two-hour-plus show. Luckily, at least some of these songs have been performed live in the past. My goal was to shine a light on some Macca songs that may not have gotten to attention they deserved, and hopefully it would send some people back to their music collections, and dig up some wonderful, half-forgotten music.
One of the things Paul is most proud of is the songs he's written specifically for movies. I could have gone for the Oscar-nominated "Vanilla Sky", or the title song from the comedy Spies Like Us, but decided to go for the strongest and most popular songs.
31. NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS
This hit single is from Macca's own movie, Give My Regards To Broad Street, and featured a soaring solo by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. I'd like to hear Rusty's take on that! This beautiful ballad will lull the audience with a warm musical embrace before we get to the exciting final song of the main set.
32. LIVE AND LET DIE
The name is Ramon. Paul Ramon. (Or is it Percy Thrillington? )
James Bond has never been hipper. Not only is Paul obviously and justifiably proud of this James Bond classic, but with all the pyrotechnics used on stage, it's the perfect climax. This has recently been McCartney's explosive closer, and there's no reason to change that now. Plus, it will show Jack White and Alicia Keys a thing or two about How To Write A Classic James Bond Movie Theme. Not to mention Chris Cornell, Garbage, and Madonna.
Paul and the band now go back stage, and take a well deserved break.
ENCORE ONE
33. BAND ON THE RUN
The title track from one of his most popular and acclaimed post-Beatles albums, the one that really took his solo career into the stratosphere. This song was a chart-topping single in it's own right, about six months after the album came out, sandwiched between Ray Stevens' "The Streak" and the anti-war song "Billy Don't Be A Hero" by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. (Extremely tenuous Beatles connection: "Billy Don't Be A Hero" was co-written by Mitch Murray, of "How Do You Do It" fame.) A nice way to build excitement, since the song starts off quietly, until it "explodes" when the band "escapes" (as the band on stage is about do).
34. GOODNIGHT TONIGHT
This hit song probably gets more play today on satellite radio than it did in 1979, and it gives a chance for Paul's fans to dance along as he bids them a reluctant farewell. Can't you just image a theater full of McCartney fans singing and dancing along with this one ? "Don't say it - Don't say goodnight tonight!" I bet Macca would eat it all up ! Another great bass line as well.
ENCORE TWO
35. MAYBE I'M AMAZED
One of the all-time great love songs. Paul's ode to Linda could also, in this context, be a big thank you to his fans. While I'd love a solo version on piano, I assume the band would come on stage for one more song.
ENCORE THREE
36. GOODBYE
Paul returns alone , one more time, for an unexpected, yet totally appropriate, final song choice. McCartney wrote this for Apple artist Mary Hopkin in 1969, and it was a massive hit, kept off the U.K. number one spot by the Beatles' single, "Get Back". I've always loved this one. A solo acoustic demo version by McCartney has been in the hands of collectors for years. Paul with just an acoustic guitar, saying "Goodbye", would be the perfect ending .
Well , there you have it: "Macca Live 2010". Finally. I hope you have enjoyed the show. Now go have your cocoa.
Well, Beedle Peedles, the time has finally arrived! Below you will find my "ideal" side six for Macca Live 2010. What I tried to accomplish is an overview of Macca's career outside of the Beatles. This collection covers everything from non-Fab 1960's recordings, through his years with Wings, to a solo career that continues to this day. With such a large body of work, it was difficult to cover every aspect of the career of James Paul McCartney. Some of his hits, like "Listen To What The Man Said" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" have unfortunately been excluded, due to time constraints. I would have like to have included rockers like "Helen Wheels" and "Hi Hi Hi", plus personal favorites, like "Mumbo" (which seems like a blue print for the Electric Arguments album), but felt these songs would have to be sacrificed in order to have a more varied, two-hour-plus show. Luckily, at least some of these songs have been performed live in the past. My goal was to shine a light on some Macca songs that may not have gotten to attention they deserved, and hopefully it would send some people back to their music collections, and dig up some wonderful, half-forgotten music.
One of the things Paul is most proud of is the songs he's written specifically for movies. I could have gone for the Oscar-nominated "Vanilla Sky", or the title song from the comedy Spies Like Us, but decided to go for the strongest and most popular songs.
31. NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS
This hit single is from Macca's own movie, Give My Regards To Broad Street, and featured a soaring solo by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. I'd like to hear Rusty's take on that! This beautiful ballad will lull the audience with a warm musical embrace before we get to the exciting final song of the main set.
32. LIVE AND LET DIE
The name is Ramon. Paul Ramon. (Or is it Percy Thrillington? )
James Bond has never been hipper. Not only is Paul obviously and justifiably proud of this James Bond classic, but with all the pyrotechnics used on stage, it's the perfect climax. This has recently been McCartney's explosive closer, and there's no reason to change that now. Plus, it will show Jack White and Alicia Keys a thing or two about How To Write A Classic James Bond Movie Theme. Not to mention Chris Cornell, Garbage, and Madonna.
Paul and the band now go back stage, and take a well deserved break.
ENCORE ONE
33. BAND ON THE RUN
The title track from one of his most popular and acclaimed post-Beatles albums, the one that really took his solo career into the stratosphere. This song was a chart-topping single in it's own right, about six months after the album came out, sandwiched between Ray Stevens' "The Streak" and the anti-war song "Billy Don't Be A Hero" by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. (Extremely tenuous Beatles connection: "Billy Don't Be A Hero" was co-written by Mitch Murray, of "How Do You Do It" fame.) A nice way to build excitement, since the song starts off quietly, until it "explodes" when the band "escapes" (as the band on stage is about do).
34. GOODNIGHT TONIGHT
This hit song probably gets more play today on satellite radio than it did in 1979, and it gives a chance for Paul's fans to dance along as he bids them a reluctant farewell. Can't you just image a theater full of McCartney fans singing and dancing along with this one ? "Don't say it - Don't say goodnight tonight!" I bet Macca would eat it all up ! Another great bass line as well.
ENCORE TWO
35. MAYBE I'M AMAZED
One of the all-time great love songs. Paul's ode to Linda could also, in this context, be a big thank you to his fans. While I'd love a solo version on piano, I assume the band would come on stage for one more song.
ENCORE THREE
36. GOODBYE
Paul returns alone , one more time, for an unexpected, yet totally appropriate, final song choice. McCartney wrote this for Apple artist Mary Hopkin in 1969, and it was a massive hit, kept off the U.K. number one spot by the Beatles' single, "Get Back". I've always loved this one. A solo acoustic demo version by McCartney has been in the hands of collectors for years. Paul with just an acoustic guitar, saying "Goodbye", would be the perfect ending .
Well , there you have it: "Macca Live 2010". Finally. I hope you have enjoyed the show. Now go have your cocoa.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
play soft
starting over
jealous guy
#9 dream
mind games
oh my love
stand by me
love
woman
out the blue
look at me
nobody told me
intuition
bless you
watching the wheels
real love (imagine sdtrk)
beautiful boy
oh yoko
grow old with me (anthology version)
imagine
give peace a chance
happy xmas (war is over)
jealous guy
#9 dream
mind games
oh my love
stand by me
love
woman
out the blue
look at me
nobody told me
intuition
bless you
watching the wheels
real love (imagine sdtrk)
beautiful boy
oh yoko
grow old with me (anthology version)
imagine
give peace a chance
happy xmas (war is over)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Macca Live 2010 Side Five
On the original 3 LP version of Wings Over America, side five was devoted to promoting the 1976 album Wings At The Speed Of Sound. For this concert, I'd like Paul to focus on his more recent albums, going back to 1997. Of course this would change with the release of a new album.
25. EVER PRESENT PAST
Great, melodic song from Memory Almost Full. The title sets the tone for this section.
26. DANCE TONIGHT
Paul's recent catchy single, also from Memory Almost Full. His daughter Beatrice used to dance when she heard her father play the mandolin, so I'm sure Paul would love to perform it.
27. FINE LINE
Rocking opener from Chaos and Creation, with Paul on piano. One of Macca's best singles from recent years.
28. LONELY ROAD
Another album opener, this one from Driving Rain. While Paul may not want to revisit this part of his life, this seems to be another song about moving on after Linda, so hopefully he'd still play this one in concert. If not, Macca could do one of the songs from the new Fireman album.
29. BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
This might be my favorite of McCartney's love songs hes' written since the 1970s. I love the rhyme scheme of "sky / why/ Versailles", and while the song has a sentimental streak, Paul keeps it in check, and it certainly comes across as heartfelt. This one was originally recorded as a demo for Flowers In The Dirt, but was revived for Flaming Pie, with an additional coda written by one Richard Starkey, M.B.E.
30. THE END OF THE END
This would be a moving end for this section, and connects with side four. Quite a brave song for Paul to sing in concert, as he muses about his own death. From Memory Almost Full.
25. EVER PRESENT PAST
Great, melodic song from Memory Almost Full. The title sets the tone for this section.
26. DANCE TONIGHT
Paul's recent catchy single, also from Memory Almost Full. His daughter Beatrice used to dance when she heard her father play the mandolin, so I'm sure Paul would love to perform it.
27. FINE LINE
Rocking opener from Chaos and Creation, with Paul on piano. One of Macca's best singles from recent years.
28. LONELY ROAD
Another album opener, this one from Driving Rain. While Paul may not want to revisit this part of his life, this seems to be another song about moving on after Linda, so hopefully he'd still play this one in concert. If not, Macca could do one of the songs from the new Fireman album.
29. BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
This might be my favorite of McCartney's love songs hes' written since the 1970s. I love the rhyme scheme of "sky / why/ Versailles", and while the song has a sentimental streak, Paul keeps it in check, and it certainly comes across as heartfelt. This one was originally recorded as a demo for Flowers In The Dirt, but was revived for Flaming Pie, with an additional coda written by one Richard Starkey, M.B.E.
30. THE END OF THE END
This would be a moving end for this section, and connects with side four. Quite a brave song for Paul to sing in concert, as he muses about his own death. From Memory Almost Full.
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