Rock n’ Roll came from the slaves singing gospel in the fields. Their lives were hell and they used music to lift out of it, to take them away. That’s what rock n’ roll should do – take you to a better place.
~Meat LoafI never fit in. I am a true alternative. And I love being the outcast. That’s my role in life, to be an outcast.
~Meat Loaf
Continue reading September 27: Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday was born in 1947
Definition of BEATLESQUE:
of, relating to, or suggestive of the musical style or technique of the Beatles
– Websters Dictionary
There are songs by the members of the Beatles that were not used by them but that re-appeared on their solo albums. Songs that was written in the last days of The Beatles and discarded for some reason or another. A lot of songs suffered that faith, not just McCartney songs, but some of the best songs from George Harrison and John Lennon’s first albums as well. Some of Paul McCartney’s stuff from that area would not be out-of-place on a Beatle record (nor some of George or John’s songs for that matter).
Today we are looking at Paul McCartney (just because I’m seeing him in concert for the first time on Tuesday). I will pick his most Beatle-sounding songs, songs that would fit in on an album by the Fab-Four. Some from the last days of The Beatles, some from later albums. This isn’t supposed to be a best of Paul McCartney list (but maybe it is…), but his most “Beatles sounding” songs , as I said, songs that would have been good enough for a Beatles album.
Please send in your suggestions in the comments.
If this is a popular post, I’ll do another one with Lennon and Harrison songs that would not be out-of-place on a Beatles record.
It was really popular, so here is my Lennon list!
Junk, the song was originally under consideration for The Beatles (also known as the White Album). It was passed over for that LP, as it was for Abbey Road. It was eventually released on McCartney’s debut solo album McCartney in 1970:
Continue reading 21 Paul McCartney songs that would have been great Beatles songs
Wikipedia:
A box set (or boxed set) is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) packaged in a box, for sale as a single unit…contemporary box sets are usually made up of three or more discs boxes, covering a broad range of boxes of the music of a given artist or genre. Artists and bands with an extremely long and successful career often have anthology or “essential” collections of their boxes of music released as box sets. These often include rare and never-before-released tracks.
Our list has box sets that has audio, film and tv recordings and books. It’s been a good year for box sets.
A treasure that has to be enjoyed in portions, it’s so overwhelming. If you try to take it all in, you’ll be guaranteed to miss some of the gems in this chest. Better sound than on the bootlegs and a lot of songs we hadn’t heard before. I would have put it on the top spot just for Sign on the cross to be honest, that one song is worth the whole set.
“Looking at it purely bluntly, there was sort of a dip for me and my writing. There were a couple of years when I had a sort of illness.”
– Paul McCartney (about his output around 1972)
But there were gems from that period that never saw the light of day, McCartney was keeping some of his more interesting material to himself.
Today we present another fabulous unreleased track. 1882 by Paul McCartney was meant to be a part of The Red Rose Speedway album, this was when it was supposed to be a double album. It was however written at least a year earlier (maybe two).
1882 is an incredible song and it’s too bad that McCartney still hasn’t released it, but maybe when he comes to the Red Rose Speedway re-issue he’ll do it. Red Rose Speedway is one of my favourite paul McCartney albums and I have very high expectations for the re-release (if and when…).
It is a “story song” and lyrically quite straightforward but a bit on the dark side, and written right after the break-up of The Beatles.
He did play 1882 live on several shows in 1972 and there are many versions in circulation, and with great sound. He never played it live after the 1972 tour (to my knowledge).
1882 (first demo) – Paul McCartney:
00:00 – 1882 (Demo, 1970)
03:24 – 1882 (Live, 1972, Hague)
The song is sparse and with a hypnotic piano. It’s fun to hear him singing the guitar solo and then hear how similar the actual solo is on the live version.
There is another demo in circulation, couldn’t find it on youtube…but believe me, it is even better! Paul’s home demos from this time often give the listener a window into his private life: kids and dogs can be heard running around and playing in the background and Linda is almost always present (as she is on the second demo). In this version the rhythm is close to a waltz and the piano is more pounding. It has a faster pace than the first one and the song is longer.
It is available on the world-wide web, but not on youtube. Seek it out people. It is on quite a few bootlegs, my favorite being Momac’s Hidden Tracks Volume 28 (great sound, interesting to great content). One more thing, don’t pay for bootlegs, support the artists by buying their official releases.
The live version is very different and available on most if not all the European Tour taping from 1972. The Piano pounding waltz has turned into a soaring blues tinged number, I like both a lot.
1882 (live Hague 21 Aug, 1972) – Paul McCartney and Wings:
Continue reading Unreleased – 1882 by Paul McCartney
30 year anniversary for Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA (read more)Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, it was released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound. While the predecessor, the dark and acoustic Nebraska featured songs of pessimism and isolation, Born in the U.S.A.’s lyrics expressed signs of hope in the daily fight of the standard American in following the American Dream, a new feeling complemented by synthesized arrangements and a pop-flavored, radio-oriented sound that helped Springsteen to extend his popularity and appeal to mainstream audiences. |
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45 year anniversary for Johnny Cash’s Live at San Quentin (read more)At San Quentin is the 31st overall album and a recording of a live concert given by Johnny Cash to the inmates of San Quentin State Prison. As well as being released on record the concert was filmed by Granada Television. The album was a follow-up to Cash’s previous live album, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful At Folsom Prison. On the original LP release, the song order was changed and several songs were cut, probably for space reasons. Despite the title of the version released on CD in 2000 – At San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert) – the CD does not contain the entire concert uncut, but does feature additional tracks and running order that parallels the actual set list. |
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“The Ballad of John and Yoko” released Jun 4, 1969, in the US (May 30 in the UK)a song written by John Lennon, attributed to Lennon–McCartney as was the custom, and released by the Beatles as a single in May 1969. The song, chronicling the events surrounding Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono, was the Beatles’ 17th and final UK number one single The song was recorded without George Harrison (who was on holiday) and Ringo Starr (who was filming The Magic Christian). In his biography, McCartney recalls that Lennon had a sudden inspiration for the song and had suggested that the two of them should record it immediately, without waiting for the other Beatles to return. Reflecting this somewhat unusual situation, the session recordings include the following exchange:
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Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976)Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers. Chambers was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia. She grew up on the Nullarbor Plain where her family lived seven to eight months a year until 1986. In late 2005, Chambers married Australian singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson. |
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Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri – October 28, 1975)American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist,arranger and composer.Oliver Nelson was a distinctive soloist on alto, tenor, and even soprano, but his writing eventually overshadowed his playing skills. He became a professional early on in 1947, playing with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and with St. Louis big bands headed by George Hudson and Nat Towles. In 1951, he arranged and played second alto for Louis Jordan‘s big band, and followed with a period in the Navy and four years at a university. After moving to New York, Nelson worked briefly with Erskine Hawkins, Wild Bill Davis, and Louie Bellson (the latter on the West Coast). In addition to playing with Quincy Jones’ orchestra (1960-1961), between 1959-1961 Nelson recorded six small-group albums and a big band date; those gave him a lot of recognition and respect in the jazz world. Blues and the Abstract Truth (from 1961) is considered a classic and helped to popularize a song that Nelson had included on a slightly earlier Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis session, “Stolen Moments.” He also fearlessly matched wits effectively with the explosive Eric Dolphy on a pair of quintet sessions. But good as his playing was, Nelson was in greater demand as an arranger, writing for big band dates of Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, and Billy Taylor, among others. By 1967, when he moved to Los Angeles, Nelsonwas working hard in the studios, writing for television and movies. He occasionally appeared with a big band, wrote a few ambitious works, and recorded jazz on an infrequent basis, but Oliver Nelson was largely lost to jazz a few years before his unexpected death at age 43 from a heart attack. |
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James ‘Jimmy’ McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979)Scottish musician and songwriter best known for playing lead guitar in Paul McCartney’s Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One in a Million (formerly known as The Jaygars), Thunderclap Newman, and Stone the Crows.[1] He also made appearances on many albums, including John Entwistle’s Whistle Rymes in 1972, as lead guitarist playing alongside Peter Frampton on “Apron Strings” and “I Feel Better”; and onRoy Harper’s album, Bullinamingvase, and Ricci Martin’s album, Bleached, both in 1977. McCulloch also played guitar on Roger Daltrey’s album One of the boys which was released in 1977. McCulloch was a friend of The Who and a member of the band Thunderclap Newman, which was created and produced by his mentor Pete Townshend.
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Ronald Frederick “Ronnie” Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997)English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands: Small Faces where he was nicknamed “Plonk” (1965–69), and, after losing the band’s frontman, Faces, with two new members added to the line-up, (from the Jeff Beck Group), who dubbed him “Three-Piece” (1969–73). It was for his work in both Small Faces and Faces that Lane was inducted posthumously into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Subsequently Lane collaborated with other musicians, leading his own bands as well as pursuing a solo career while remaining close to his former bandmates. In the late 1970s he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and, despite charity projects and financial support from friends, former bandmates and fans, Lane, after suffering from the disease for 21 years, died at 51. |
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Spotify Playlist – June 4: |
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