The Beatles, Watching Rainbows

Posted in The Beatles, Youtube Favs on August 31st, 2011 by Willie

On January 14th, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were sitting around Twickenham Studios.  George Harrison had temporarily quit the band, so John was on piano, Paul was on electric guitar, and Ringo was behind the drums.  John led the shortened group through a new improvised jam he had been fooling around with called “Watching Rainbows.”  The song would never see the light of day as a Beatle tune or as a John solo song, but did find its way on Beatles bootlegs by 1978.  I think its a shame that John never finished it, because it has a real seductive folk rock hook, and a beautiful lyric.  Perhaps they junked it because they didn’t feel like working on stuff that they created when George was absent, or perhaps they just forgot about it.  Either way, the version I have below has all the lyrics, including the studio banter, giving you the full picture of what was going on that day during one of the lesser known unreleased Beatle song sessions.  I personally love it, and have played it seven times in a row.  Oh, and don’t forget to keep voting for me everyday as CBS’s best local NYC blogger, just click these words, thanks!

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John Lennon Singing Lead on Get Back

Posted in George Harrison, John Lennon, The Beatles, Youtube Favs on August 25th, 2011 by Willie

The Beatles are one of those bands so famous, that to the untrained ear of the average person, its hard to tell which Beatle is singing what.  Of course, such distinctions are “Beatles 101” to hardcore fans, but part of the confusion lies in the seamless harmonic blend Lennon and McCartney produced in many of their classic hits.  When they weren’t sharing a lead vocal or a song dominated by harmonies, the Beatles had simple rules about who was going to sing lead for any given song.  Normally, the principle songwriter was the logical choice for the lead.  It was very rare when these roles were reversed.  For instance, there isn’t one song that George or Ringo wrote that John or Paul sang lead on, and there isn’t one instance in the Beatle catalog of Paul or John writing a song specifically for their partner to tackle.  There were anomalies of course.  Sometimes John would write a song with melodic sections too high for him to reach, so he’d have Paul take over.  This is evident in the bridge 0f “A Hard Day’s Night,” and the choruses of “Anytime At All.”  “Day Tripper,” another John song, was almost entirely out of John’s vocal range, and so Paul becomes the dominant voice throughout the verses with John beefing up the lower harmonies and the bridge.  Despite this, John and Paul never poached each others tunes, or more exactly, they were so competitive, they wouldn’t allow it.  This came to a head during the Abbey Road sessions when John really wanted Paul’s “Oh! Darling,” but Paul wouldn’t give it up.  All this history leads to the rarity of the video I’m about to present which is a near complete performance of John Lennon singing Paul’s 1969 hit “Get Back.”  What makes this so rare and interesting is that for starters, Paul sings the lead on the record and in the live rooftop performance.  Secondly, to have John sing a Paul song with fun and relish right when they were breaking up is extremely bizarre given how their respective massive egos could barely keep them in the same room by that point.  What’s also interesting about John’s performance here is that he includes bits of lyrics that Paul originally wrote about Pakistanis taking British jobs, but later cut out due to political incorrectness.  So, with all that said, I’ve laid out this super treat of rock and roll goodness for all you to enjoy, but before you do, make sure to cast your vote for CBS’s Best Local NYC blogger, in which I’m a finalist.  Remember, if you’ve voted already, you can vote again, once every day until the contest ends on September 9th.  Just click these words to help me out, I really appreciate it!

Wait, don’t go just yet.  As a bonus I’ve included another ultra rare performance, this time its none other than George Harrison taking his shot at singing lead at “Get Back.”  He was doing as a guiding track for Doris Troy’s cover version that she was cutting for Apple in 1970.  George isn’t as intense as John or Paul, but he’s having a good time leading this funkier version of “Get Back,” plus he even tries to make up his own new melodic section at the end before he gives up.  AWESOME!

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The Beatles, Don’t Let Me Down

Posted in The Beatles, Youtube Favs on February 24th, 2011 by Willie

Part 8 of my favorite youtube video series continues with my favorite Beatles song, “Don’t Let Me Down.”  Now, for most people who love the Beatles, its not easy maintaining a favorite song, or album, or group member.  They change with age, the seasons, and experience.  But I can say, that at least for the past five years, “Don’t Let Me Down” has never left my top 3 of favorite Beatle tunes, and lately has been perched untouched as #1.  Why?  Because its pure unadulterated naked soul from Mr. Lennon at a time when he was just beginning to open up his heart and vulnerability in a way he had never allowed before.  It was made a year before the Beatles split, and a year, before John released his seminal solo debut, the gut wrenchingly introspective Plastic Ono Band.  The song is presumably a plea to Yoko Ono, one in which he exclaims his undying love for her.  At the same time, he is having a dialog with himself in which he expresses how the possibility of losing his new and total love is causing him fear and anxiety.  Its just a beautiful real message with no easy answers sung with the utmost level of soul and passion.  When the Beatles started, they exclusively wrote love songs, but slowly branched out to more introspective material.  As they got older, they developed a mastery of combining all of these elements, and wrote the greatest love songs ever.  This is one of them.  Enjoy.

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