Showing posts with label Books by John Lennon and George Harrison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books by John Lennon and George Harrison. Show all posts

Saturday, March 28, 2009

McCartney: The Album

One of the primary Beatles facts for the album McCartney is that it was the first solo album released by the Beatle. Recorded from November 1969 to March 1970, it was released on April 17, 1970. The other Beatles tried to delay its release since it might potentially conflict with the impending release of the controversial Let It Be LP and film. Phil Spector was still mixing the album as late as March of 1970. McCartney not only declined to postpone the release of his album but declared on April 10, 1970 that he was leaving the band, in part because of his dissatisfaction with Spector's work on Let It Be. The group, of course, had already begun to slowly disintegrate during the White Album sessions.

A portion of the album was recorded at McCartney's home in London on a four-track tape recorder. Another portion was recorded at Abbey Road Studios under the pseudonym of Billy Martin. Some of the tracks were instrumentals (see below).

Except for some backing vocals from his wife Linda McCartney, Paul played all instruments on the album and sang all lead vocals. The instrumentation was quite varied and included electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums, organ, Mellotron, and mini-xylophone.

While George Harrison thought the album had merit, John Lennon thought that the LP lacked distinction given McCartney's perpetual desire for perfection in the recording studio.

The tracks include:

The Lovely Linda
That Would Be Something
Valentine Day (instrumental)
Every Night
Hot as Sun/Glasses (instrumental)
Junk
Man We Was Lonely
Oo You
Momma Miss America
Teddy Boy
Junk (instrumental)
Maybe I'm Amazed
Kreen-Akrore

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Beatles Song: Please Please Me

The first big Beatles hit in England, this Lennon number was written early in his career at his aunt's house on Menlove Avenue and has several interesting facts surrounding its composition and evolution. Lennon's original version was very slow since he was trying to write in the style of Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely." George Martin hated the song and refused to record the song unless the Beatles first recorded "How Do You Do It," a song the group didn't care for. They placated Martin and the lackluster take is featured on Anthology.

Lennon was particularly pleased with the double meaning of "please" in the title. When Harrison suggested to Martin that they record it at a faster tempo, Martin agreed and said when the session was finished that he knew the group had its first number one hit. Capitol Records refused to pick up the song in the United States, however, even though the song was a hit in England (released in the UK on January 11, 1963). After the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964, however, the song shot up to number three on American charts.

The song was performed on the Sullivan Show and at the Washington Coliseum and at Carnegie Hall on the band's first American tour. It is the title track of the Please Please Me album. The slow version was recorded at the "Love Me Do" session.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Beatles Songs: Norwegian Wood

"Norwegian Wood" is associated with some great Beatles facts. The song, issued on Rubber Soul in both the UK and U.S., was a Lennon composition about an affair he was having. Most biographers agree that the affair was with Maureen Cleaves, the journalist who also wrote the infamous story about Lennon's belief that the group was bigger than Christianity, which he said was dying.

Harrison used the sitar for the first time on this track, although it took many takes to satisfy Lennon that Harrison's contribution fit the song. Harrison, it is said, was still learning the instrument. There is an early take on Anthology that demonstrates the different sitar backing, and the song, with slightly reversed lyrics in one spot, is sung more slowly. Harrison's interest in the sitar began after he heard it on the set of Help! Later, he would become more interested after listening to a Ravi Shankar record.

Bob Dylan did a parody of the song, called "4th Time Around" from his Blonde on Blonde LP.

Lennon sang lead, and McCartney sang harmony. Lennon played acoustic guitar (his Gibson 160E), McCartney bass, and Starr tambourine.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Beatles History: George Harrison Leaves the Beatles

A legendary Beatles fact is that on February 10, 1969, George Harrison left the Beatles for a short time during the Let It Be sessions at Twickenham Studios, where the band was filming their recording work to be released as a film culminating in a live concert. Harrison had recently returned from Woodstock, where he had been playing and jamming with Bob Dylan and The Band.

George Martin has commented in many interviews that given John's preoccupation with Yoko, Paul had more and more assumed responsibility for organizing the group and its musical and film projects. According to Martin, the other Beatles were growing increasingly resentful of his bossiness.

Harrison himself admitted many times after the Beatles' final break-up that he had ignored Paul's bossiness for the sake of peace but that he was becoming increasingly frustrated with what both he and Lennon perceived as an absolute preoccupation by McCartney with perfecting his own songs, giving perfunctory attention to the compositions of Lennon and Harrison. George stated unequivocally that this attitude even resulted in his accumulating many songs that simply weren't getting recorded.

On February 10, 1969, the Let It Be film chronicled an argument during which McCartney criticized Harrison for his playing on "Two of Us." Harrison's first response (on camera) was to say that he'd play it any way McCartney wanted--or perhaps not play at all. His second response was to simply quit the band. He was later approached by Neil Aspinall, who convinced him to rejoin the band and finish the album.

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Friday, January 9, 2009

Books by John Lennon and George Harrison




The following are four books by two of the beatles, John and George. Lennon's are predictably full of humor, line drawings, and more than a little irreverance. Skywriting by Word of Mouth, while a bit raw in language in certain places, is a book in which Lennon is very honest about his ubringing, vulnerabilities, and feelings about Yoko and leaving the Beatles. It is endorsed by the prestigious School Library Journal.

Harrison's book, titled after his song from Let It Be, is part biography, part Harrison trivia. The book is rounded out by photographs and facsmilis of handwritten song lyrics. It's loosely organized but of interest to Beatles fans.

Lennon

A Spaniard in the Works

In His Own Write

Skywriting by Word of Mouth

Harrison

I, Me, Mine


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