Every once in a while I go through my ever-growing personal archives and come across something I haven't listened to for quite a while (and usually with good reason). One thing I have listened to on a number of occasions is the nine-cd Great Dane set of The Beatles At The Beeb, a truly stupendous and near-complete collection of all available recordings of the Fabs from numerous sources, both good and bad. [To the casual reader: this is not an officially sanctioned set.]
Now, having listened to it from start to finish more times than I'd care to relate, I've opted to create a playlist for my digital media player of only the songs they recorded at the BBC that (1) they didn't write and (2) they never recorded for EMI. It's a great playlist if you ask me, albeit a bit repetitive (if they were such fans of "Too Much Monkey Business" and "Memphis," to name two of the most perf'd numbers, why didn't they record them for, oh, I don't know, BEATLES FOR SALE?). Numbers such as "Hippy Hippy Shake," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" (recorded at the Decca audition, but didn't see the official light of day until the release of ANTHOLOGY 1), "Clarabella," and "Carol" really show what was bread and butter for them in their early days. These were songs that they really cut their teeth on and the revved-up perfs show a musical tightness that is at times exhilarating.
I'm sure I'll have more to say about the BBC recordings in the future, but that's all for now.
As always, comments welcome.
Best,
Jeremy Boob
Now, having listened to it from start to finish more times than I'd care to relate, I've opted to create a playlist for my digital media player of only the songs they recorded at the BBC that (1) they didn't write and (2) they never recorded for EMI. It's a great playlist if you ask me, albeit a bit repetitive (if they were such fans of "Too Much Monkey Business" and "Memphis," to name two of the most perf'd numbers, why didn't they record them for, oh, I don't know, BEATLES FOR SALE?). Numbers such as "Hippy Hippy Shake," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" (recorded at the Decca audition, but didn't see the official light of day until the release of ANTHOLOGY 1), "Clarabella," and "Carol" really show what was bread and butter for them in their early days. These were songs that they really cut their teeth on and the revved-up perfs show a musical tightness that is at times exhilarating.
I'm sure I'll have more to say about the BBC recordings in the future, but that's all for now.
As always, comments welcome.
Best,
Jeremy Boob
3 comments:
If you were going to use the Great Dane or Purple Chick BBC sets to make a third disc to the officially-sanctioned "Live at the BBC", what would the tracklisting be?
Interesting question! Off the top of my head I'd include all the non-released, non-EMI recordings referenced in my post in chronological order. A bit repetitive, sure, but of historical significance nonetheless. There is also a superb performance of "Twist And Shout" which pretty much blew me away that I'd include as well. I know a lot of people are critical of the Apple/Capitol LIVE AT THE BBC release; I'm not one of them. It's a fine distillation of recordings that were never meant to be released in the first place. One of the beauties of radio shows back in the day I guess. Thanks for the comment Greg!
Jeremy Boob.
Some years ago, I used the Purple Chick set to compile a CD called "Live at the BBC: The Special 36" (quoting Lewisohn's Complete Beatles Chronicle). I prefer it over the official CD set, with all its ridiculous cross-fades.
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