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All Things Must Beat. Share Anything Beatles!!

I once had a friend (eleven years older than me) who had been through the whole Beatle thing from start to finish (I was born in 1965, so I missed it, really) make me a tape (cassette...see previous parenthesis) of all the George Harrison songs from all the Beatles albums - including the covers he sang on. It was one of the most entertaining tapes I had.

Favourite Beatles songs? She's Leaving Home; If I Needed Someone (hijacked by the Hollies..); Hey Bulldog; Northern Song; Altogether Now (have kids? Grandkids? They'll love it).
 
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I used to do stuff this back in school--any picture of 4 people became Kiss.
I actually used this picture--except I made Paul into Gene--you know--bass players.
This one is much better done--mine were just ink on paper.
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Cool! :laugh::roflmao: Please share some of yours, zonty, whether Beatles, or not. I'm probably not the only one who would like to see them. Very creative. :thumbsup:

Yeah, Gene and Paul are the bass players, but I think this pic fits the personalities best! :laugh::D
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It seems the Beatles peers were astonished by their studio work. Except now bands like the Fab Faux and the Analogues perform those tracks live.

I think people assume the Boys couldn’t play it live when I think they could have. They could have hired orchestras and toured with Billy Preston on keys and hired a horn section. Or they could have played the songs more raw and straight forward.
We have to keep in mind what touring with a rock band looked like in 1966 and 1967 as opposed to the advantages that modern Beatles bands have. The Beatles did have inferior PAs monitors etc.

I could be wrong but I think their astonishment was of the whole picture of what Peppers was. The first “concept” album? The way they were able to get so much onto extremely limited tracks. Give credit to George Martin for the planning and execution of it and Geoff Emerick for figuring out how to get it all on tape and the Boys for bringing all their brilliant ideas to it. So I think the astonishment was in the production of the album, the execution of it and the thinking outside the box of it.

When I think of Peppers I can’t help but wonder how the album would have changed if they broke their unwritten rule of never including singles on and album and had included Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Wow. Where would you have put those songs on that album? Where would they have fit? And if the acetate could not physically add those two songs what could have been removed?
What do you folks think?
 
I think people assume the Boys couldn’t play it live when I think they could have. They could have hired orchestras and toured with Billy Preston on keys and hired a horn section. Or they could have played the songs more raw and straight forward. ... ... ...


I think you're quite right, Michael. J,P,G&R could definitely have performed their main parts live, as could Billy and an orchestra, with horn section included. And being a little raw, or "naked" as Paul may call it, would have been fine, even expected, for live performance! Perhaps even a few extra guitarists (Clapton, Page, Jamerson!) and vocalists (Frankie Valli, Aretha Franklin!, Stevie Wonder) to help with some multi-dubbed parts could have been added, ... or not.

It's just all the technical production wizardry and backwards tape loops that Martin and Emerick added which would have been very difficult to "perform" live, unless they simply made tapes for the musicians to play along with. Hmmm, how many soloists do just that today!​

... ... ... We have to keep in mind what touring with a rock band looked like in 1966 and 1967 as opposed to the advantages that modern Beatles bands have. The Beatles did have inferior PAs monitors etc. ... ... ...


The Beatles stopped touring in '66 because the technology and logistics were simply too primitive for an act of their massive popularity. Security in movements was overwhelmed and unreliable. PAs in stadiums? Fuhgeddaboudit! Not even the biggest Vox amps could reach the stadium seats from center field.

Instead of barnstorming 10 shows every week in different stadium towns every show, they shoulda tried a more manageable 5-7 shows in a week at just one big city theatre venue every other week to allow reasonable travel and recuperation time. A sort of mini-residence in each major city, if you will. I guess Epstein, et. al., thought they couldn't sell more than one show per town back then. :rolleyes:

... ... ... I could be wrong but I think their astonishment was of the whole picture of what Peppers was. The first “concept” album? The way they were able to get so much onto extremely limited tracks. Give credit to George Martin for the planning and execution of it and Geoff Emerick for figuring out how to get it all on tape and the Boys for bringing all their brilliant ideas to it. So I think the astonishment was in the production of the album, the execution of it and the thinking outside the box of it. ... ... ...


Right, Michael. The total package was quite astonishing, and truly unthinkable to other bands who could not afford to stop touring. Even the touring contingent of The Beach Boys balked at non-touring Brian Wilson's first foray into "high concept" songs, if not full albums. The two artforms of touring bands and "concept" albums were simply incompatible, both technologically and logistically, at the time.​

... ... ... When I think of Peppers I can’t help but wonder how the album would have changed if they broke their unwritten rule of never including singles on and album and had included Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Wow. Where would you have put those songs on that album? Where would they have fit? And if the acetate could not physically add those two songs what could have been removed?
What do you folks think?

I would put Strawberry Fields in between When I’m sixty four and lovely Rita. And I think I might try Penny Lane after Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.


:laugh: Rumbley, I arrived at exactly the opposite!

I see "Strawberry Fields" as the perfect calming balm after the halcyon swirling calliopes of "Mr. Kite" wrapping up Side 1, yet with it's manic flute fade out, fade in, fade out again ending sort of clearing the psyche in preparation for Side 2 and "Within You, Without You".

Then, after the 'forward reminiscence' of "Sixty Four", the traditional backward reminiscence of "Penny Lane", which I see as a perfect seque into "Lovely Rita" as a more in-depth character we could have met on the Lane, like the barber and the fireman.

Here's more food for thought on this subject: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Wikipedia

Ah! Concepts! What an idea!!! ;)
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Now this is fun!

Ok I have “Penny Lane” on side one right after “With a Little Help” and just before “Lucy in the Sky”.

I have “Strawberry Fields” opening up side two segueing in to “Within You Without You”.

I think it is important to remember how we used to (some still do) listen to music when doing this exercise! Lol.

Pull the album out of the sleeve, carefully! Hold it on the edges please! Lol. Put the album on the spindle, put the needle down on side one track one, go sit down, smoke a, we’ll smoke something, and listen.
Then when side one was done get up and go over to the record player, pick up the arm and put it back (unless you had/have a fancy automatic turntable!) then pick up the disc (carefully!) and turn it over, put it back on the spindle (maybe put some Discwasher on) and put the needle back down and go sit down and listen to side two.
Of course while staring at the liner notes and pictures (or in this case the amazing cover)

I like my iPhone and Apple Music but I miss this whole process…
 
There’s some kind of magic ending Side 1 with Mr. Kite, a forced pause to think while turning the record over, and continuing with Within You.

The sequencing of the original album is perfect. Genius. I wouldn't want them to change anything. Throw in the extra tracks on an EP that’s kind of a separate deal. A coda. Only A Northern Song was meant for Peppers. It’s a fine George song but they made the right call cutting it from the album proper.

Oh, wait, isn’t that kind of the deluxe 50th Anniversary edition? :)
 
I see "Strawberry Fields" as the perfect calming balm after the halcyon swirling calliopes of "Mr. Kite" wrapping up Side 1, yet with it's manic flute fade out, fade in, fade out again ending sort of clearing the psyche in preparation for Side 2 and "Within You, Without You".

Then, after the 'forward reminiscence' of "Sixty Four", the traditional backward reminiscence of "Penny Lane", which I see as a perfect seque into "Lovely Rita" as a more in-depth character we could have met on the Lane, like the barber and the fireman.
I like the analysis! I understand the reasoning and it fits.

However :cool:
I think Strawberry Fields following Mr. kite is way yonder too much Lennon :smug: and Penny Lane following Sixty Four is way too much McCartney. They work better, in my opinion, playing off one another.

There’s some kind of magic ending Side 1 with Mr. Kite, a forced pause to think while turning the record over, and continuing with Within You.


I understand also that Mr. Kite ending side one is so well ingrained in the consciousness of Pepper listeners and indeed is a great place to flip the record and pause before the juggernaut Harrison epic but what if we had never heard Pepper before and side one actually ended with the reflective and contemplative Penny Lane? Then you would have a straightforward, upbeat tune that is more conventional that would set up the unconventional and surreal Within You Without You.

Maybe it’s just me, but I need Lennon to break up the McCartney thing. Paul is certainly brilliant and clearly a maestro yet when synthesized with Lennon’s genius then a whole new level of artistry is developed and generated. Throw in Harrison and Ringo and well…you have the best Rock band ever.
 
I think Penny Lane fits great between with a little help and Lucy.
And Strawberry Fields works starting side two and goes in to Within You perfectly. Same kind of vibe the end of Strawberry in to the intro of Within You.
And @Rumble Thunder if fits perfectly with your feeling that John and Paul need to be separated.

below is my apple playlist I made to see if it worked…

What If? by Michael Mason
 
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