George Harrison, Bob Dylan, If Not For You

Posted in Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Youtube Favs on April 16th, 2011 by Willie

The hits keep rolling, and for part 37 of my youtube countdown I present this incredible and rare video of George Harrison and Bob Dylan playing Bob’s “If Not For You.”  Holy shit, where to begin.  First of all, this was a rehearsal for George’s “Concert for Bangladesh” show, the first rock charity show ever.  George was Bob Dylan’s biggest fan, worshiping all his music, his whole life.  At this point in Dylan’s life, he was in exile in Woodstock not wanting to make any public appearances, but somehow George convinced to appear at his Madison Square Garden mega show to play a set.  Bob was nervous as fuck, having panic attacks and throwing up back stage before the actual show.  George wasn’t sure if Bob would have the nerve to do it, but he did, and it inspired Dylan to get out there on the road again.  This video speaks for itself.  Two icons of musical genius expression, playing one of Bob’s most gentle songs from his New Morning album, (George covered the song on his All Things Must Pass record just the year before.)  Just a fantastic moment in music history.  Enjoy.

 

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John Lennon, Dear Yoko (home performance)

Posted in John Lennon, Youtube Favs on April 5th, 2011 by Willie

Part 29 of my youtube countdown continues yesterday’s theme of solo Beatle acoustic performances.  In this one, we have John Lennon playing Dear Yoko at his Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island home.  The common response to seeing the video is two fold.  For starters, a lot of people have trouble believing its really John behind the hat and long beard.  Well, it’s him.  Second, people are blown away by the intimacy of this video performance, wondering if John somehow predicted the emergence of youtube.  Well, obviously he didn’t, but this rare video is a beautiful youtube gift.  Its the type of clip that justifies youtube’s existence.  The main thing that strikes me personally about this clip is the wonderful condition John’s voice is in.  One thing I’ve come to realize is that John continued to improve as a singer well after the Beatle years.  His singing on Double Fantasy is the best of his career in my opinion.  Another thing that hits me is the songwriting style of “Dear Yoko.”  It’s like a throwback to the love songs he wrote with Paul when he was 17, in its simplicity, but ironically, filled with way more innocence and vulnerability than he could ever muster at that age.

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