All Things Must Beat. Share Anything Beatles!!

[darev]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Beatles fan for 60 years and love Paul, et al. But if I hear Paul's Christmas song again I may lose it.

My wife and I play a game every year (OK, I play it and she entertains me). Whomever hears "Wonderful Christmastime" first must tell the other one: "I lost Christmas", meaning "I heard that bloody song this year. SH3t." I found that It's not difficult to avoid that song as long as one avoids going into any shopping area for the next 5 weeks.

Thank you for the reminder that it's that time of year again. Gotta get all my shopping done now. Otherwise we won't eat in December.

 

[G-Dog]

Here on July 1, 2018: @Rumble Thunder - I found a live video clip which includes a portion of "She Loves You." Here it is if you'd like to check it out:



I also found a video which includes a portion of "It Won't Be Long."...

Here on July 1, 2018: WOW! Just, totally, WOW!! What a fantastic sound you've got there. Loved "Think For Yourself" and "No Reply", especially. I've jammed with others on "Nowhere Man" and appreciate the unintuitive bass line. Oh, but your vocal harmonies are great. Loved the call-and-response of "It Won't Be Long". You guys got a good thing going. I'm SO jelly!

G-Dog - WOW! First of all, I'm surprised you remembered that our primary percussion is cajon (used with a hi-hat & cymbal) & bongos! ... ... ...

Oh, yeah, N'dad-io, I've been a long distance fan of you & The Fab #howevermany# for a few years now!! I love how y'all stay true to the original feel of the songs. I think that's very important. I usually don't care much for artists who try to re-imagine the songs or think they have to put their own "stamp" on them (except for some upbeat bluegrass versions, go figure?)!

... ... ... Actually, the combination of Sgt. Pepper Reprise/The End works well for us (and thanks for sharing the video of the other band playing this combination.) One thing we do differently in the transition as done by Paul's band and the other group on video is that we don't use audible drum beats as an intro between the songs, we silently count two beats then jump right into the first two chords of The End - this actually works quite well. The drum solo for us is a combination of the cajon keeping the beat and the bongos handling the drum fill parts; once the jam kicks in, the cajon player also incorporates his cymbal (or is it the hi-hat? ,) and the band member playing bongos switches to Tamborine. The solos are done by acoustic guitar, flute & piano, which all trade licks.

The combination of the cajon & bongos working together allows us to perform Ringo's solo in a respective manner - it works pretty well. One place we failed several years ago was when "Rain" was temporarily in our setlist. This song only works with Ringo's unique fills throughout the song, so I envisioned the cajon and bongos working together. Unfortunately, our cajon player thought he could pull off all of the fills on cajon alone, but it simply didn't work - we dropped the song after only performing it a few times. IF we revisit it in the future, we'll be sure to include bongos going forward.

BTW, ADITL was a part of our setlist pre-COVID, but we haven't performed it in a few years. We even performed it a few times with the proper Sgt. Pepper Reprise intro. ... ... ...

Again, I would so love to hear the cajon/bongos solo and especially the guitar, flute & piano trading licks on The End!! Also, the G, Bm, Em, Em7 intro of ADITL still seems to me to be a perfect transition into The End, IMNSHO.

... ... ... Oh, and just a reminder we changed the name of the band to "Acoustical Mystery Tour" a few years ago after one of our bandmates (who lives about 4 hours away) retired. We pulled off "The Fab 8" name with only 7 people since 2017, but it became a bit goofy being down to 6 members. And yes, it may be corny but we do say the new band name once when we perform Magical Mystery Tour. It actually works well as it's our opening song. ... ... ...

Here on May 11, 2023: ... ... ... All - my acoustic/electric Beatles band The Fab 8 is now Acoustical Mystery Tour:
View attachment 5059256

Yeah, I noticed there wasn't always 8 onstage in The Fab 8. And I'm sure I read about the new, more flexibly functional, name. But, it takes my OG brain quite a while to process changes.

And The Beatles go on,
Dum dum dum da-dum-te-dum dum dum, ... ...
The Beatles go on.​

 

[nixdad]

Oh, yeah, N'dad-io, I've been a long distance fan of you & The Fab #howevermany# for a few years now!! I love how y'all stay true to the original feel of the songs. I think that's very important. I usually don't care much for artists who try to re-imagine the songs or think they have to put their own "stamp" on them (except for some upbeat bluegrass versions, go figure?)!



Again, I would so love to hear the cajon/bongos solo and especially the guitar, flute & piano trading licks on The End!! Also, the G, Bm, Em, Em7 intro of ADITL still seems to me to be a perfect transition into The End, IMNSHO.




Yeah, I noticed there wasn't always 8 onstage in The Fab 8. And I'm sure I read about the new, more flexibly functional, name. But, it takes my OG brain quite a while to process changes.

And The Beatles go on,
Dum dum dum da-dum-te-dum dum dum, ... ...
The Beatles go on.​

 

[zontar]

 

[zontar]

 

[darev]

Ha! That scene looks familiar. We just finished the entire six hour Get Back doc on Disney+ ourselves this last weekend. Again.

 

[G-Dog]

Ha! That scene looks familiar. We just finished the entire six hour Get Back doc on Disney+ ourselves this last weekend. Again.

Did they really "play" [at] I'm So Tired in the Get Back documentary? If so, I must have dozed off through it.

I've counted myself a diehard Beatles fan since first hearing the single of I Wanna Hold Your Hand in December '63! But I gotta say that there were several parts of this video doc that strained my attention span!! But, since I've had my own boring band rehearsals over the years, it's good to know my heroes were actually human and not always full of inspiration.

And that video capture?? Gee whiz! There were thousands of more interesting images to be gleaned in all those hours!! @zontar, was that mainly just for the song title caption?

​

 

[darev]

There were thousands of more interesting images to be gleaned in all those hours!!

Look closer. The image is of Paul yawning with the words "I'm So Tired" appearing on the screen. That is the entire point of the image and the posting.

 

[G-Dog]

Look closer. The image is of Paul yawning with the words "I'm So Tired" appearing on the screen. That is the entire point of the image and the posting.

Oh? Like I said, I must have dozed off through it, myself. But if he was bored being there, then I think I was justified.

Anyway, it's hard to tell the difference between yawning and talking from that static image and the bushy beard.

 

[zontar]

Did they really "play" [at] I'm So Tired in the Get Back documentary? If so, I must have dozed off through it.

I've counted myself a diehard Beatles fan since first hearing the single of I Wanna Hold Your Hand in December '63! But I gotta say that there were several parts of this video doc that strained my attention span!! But, since I've had my own boring band rehearsals over the years, it's good to know my heroes were actually human and not always full of inspiration.

And that video capture?? Gee whiz! There were thousands of more interesting images to be gleaned in all those hours!! @zontar, was that mainly just for the song title caption?

View attachment 7087160
View attachment 7087161
View attachment 7087166​

It was merely one I found online and found interesting for the reason given above, the yawn.

 

[darev]

Look closer. The image is of Paul yawning with the words "I'm So Tired" appearing on the screen. That is the entire point of the image and the posting.

I am rereading this again and realize that came off as snarky and I’m sorry. I meant to be direct but that came out wrong.

 

[G-Dog]

I am rereading this again and realize that came off as snarky and I’m sorry. I meant to be direct but that came out wrong.

Oh? No probs. I just took it as being direct. My snarkometer didn't even blip! It's often on the blink, ... along with my sarcasmeter.

Hey! Wait! Are you now being ... ... No. ... uh, ... nevermind.

 

[G-Dog]

I just watched the "Beatles '64" documentary on Disney+. And, while I don't think I learned anything new, I agree that their timing after the JFK assassination was both appropriate and helpful to all concerned.

I was also very impressed by the fabs carrying around their own transistor radios made to look like little Pepsi cola machines, no less!. Probably promotional gifts to them at the time. It was around that time that I had, coincidentally, saved up and bought my own little $10 radio that frequently found Beatles songs. And it occurs to me that was a technology contributing to the Beatles explosive rise in popularity! Even more so than shown in the movie "That Thing You Do".

This blurb from The History of the Transistor Radio explains it better:

"The transistor radio wasn’t just a revolutionary piece of technology – it also revolutionized music and youth culture. For the first time, young people had the freedom to listen to music and world news amongst themselves without the threat of parental disapproval. In providing this avenue for artistic expression and the dissemination of new ideas, the transistor radio played a significant role in many of the musical and cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s."​

 

[nixdad]

I just watched the "Beatles '64" documentary on Disney+. And, while I don't think I learned anything new, I agree that their timing after the JFK assassination was both appropriate and helpful to all concerned.

I was also very impressed by the fabs carrying around their own transistor radios made to look like little Pepsi cola machines, no less!. Probably promotional gifts to them at the time. It was around that time that I had, coincidentally, saved up and bought my own little $10 radio that frequently found Beatles songs. And it occurs to me that was a technology contributing to the Beatles explosive rise in popularity! Even more so than shown in the movie "That Thing You Do".

This blurb from The History of the Transistor Radio explains it better:

"The transistor radio wasn’t just a revolutionary piece of technology – it also revolutionized music and youth culture. For the first time, young people had the freedom to listen to music and world news amongst themselves without the threat of parental disapproval. In providing this avenue for artistic expression and the dissemination of new ideas, the transistor radio played a significant role in many of the musical and cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s."​

I watched this last night as well. It's definitely worth the watch, and does include a few very cool musical moments - one I was aware of, the other of which was a fun band moment (hint - it's during their "This Boy" live performance.)

Oh, and I learned that DJ Murray The K was "the thing that wouldn't leave."

 

[G-Dog]

I watched this last night as well. It's definitely worth the watch, and does include a few very cool musical moments - one I was aware of, the other of which was a fun band moment (hint - it's during their "This Boy" live performance.)

Oh, and I learned that DJ Murray The K was "the thing that wouldn't leave."

Yes, the live performances of "This Boy" were always fun band moments when all three singers share a single microphone for those Mills Brothers-like harmonies.

And I take back my "I don't think I learned anything new" assertion! I actually think I detected the first 3 chords of "Strawberry Fields Forever", when John was playing the melodica (breath-powered keyboard) in the hotel room at 53:20 left to play, 3 years before the song is released! Kinda like seeing Ringo writing "Octopus's Garden", or George introducing "All Things Must Pass" in the "Get Back" video, 8 & 22 months respectively, before their actual releases, only moreso.

 

[spiritbass]

I just watched the "Beatles '64" documentary on Disney+. And, while I don't think I learned anything new, I agree that their timing after the JFK assassination was both appropriate and helpful to all concerned.

I was also very impressed by the fabs carrying around their own transistor radios made to look like little Pepsi cola machines, no less!. Probably promotional gifts to them at the time. It was around that time that I had, coincidentally, saved up and bought my own little $10 radio that frequently found Beatles songs. And it occurs to me that was a technology contributing to the Beatles explosive rise in popularity! Even more so than shown in the movie "That Thing You Do".

This blurb from The History of the Transistor Radio explains it better:

"The transistor radio wasn’t just a revolutionary piece of technology – it also revolutionized music and youth culture. For the first time, young people had the freedom to listen to music and world news amongst themselves without the threat of parental disapproval. In providing this avenue for artistic expression and the dissemination of new ideas, the transistor radio played a significant role in many of the musical and cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s."​

I didn't realize at the time the pivotal and profound role that the transistor radio played in transforming the musical scene. I also used a crystal radio to pick up the Beatles. I have fond memories of my grandmother (awesome pianist who accompanied silent films in her time) singing along with their tunes.

 

[nixdad]

Yes, the live performances of "This Boy" were always fun band moments when all three singers share a single microphone for those Mills Brothers-like harmonies.

And I take back my "I don't think I learned anything new" assertion! I actually think I detected the first 3 chords of "Strawberry Fields Forever", when John was playing the melodica (breath-powered keyboard) in the hotel room at 53:20 left to play, 3 years before the song is released! Kinda like seeing Ringo writing "Octopus's Garden", or George introducing "All Things Must Pass" in the "Get Back" video, 8 & 22 months respectively, before their actual releases, only moreso.

@G-Dog -
Yep, the "Strawberry Fields" section is what I had heard about, but this was the first time I'de seen it - very cool indeed!

OK, when possible, go back and watch the "This Boy" performance, as it's pretty funny!

We all know that due to the noise and lack of stage monitors that Ringo typically simplified his drum parts to help keep the band on track. In "This Boy," watch how during the first Ringo verse that Ringo is primarily doing a light, sweeping technique on his hi-hat - very tasteful and unassuming. However, towards the middle of the song he purposefully kicks in with loud, busy, obnoxious tom-tom fills! Watch for the humorous look on John's face - it's priceless! He's doing all he can to keep from cracking up.

 

[G-Dog]

@G-Dog -
Yep, the "Strawberry Fields" section is what I had heard about, but this was the first time I'de seen it - very cool indeed!

OK, when possible, go back and watch the "This Boy" performance, as it's pretty funny!

We all know that due to the noise and lack of stage monitors that Ringo typically simplified his drum parts to help keep the band on track. In "This Boy," watch how during the first Ringo verse that Ringo is primarily doing a light, sweeping technique on his hi-hat - very tasteful and unassuming. However, towards the middle of the song he purposefully kicks in with loud, busy, obnoxious tom-tom fills! Watch for the humorous look on John's face - it's priceless! He's doing all he can to keep from cracking up.

I did Get Back and watch the "This Boy" performance in "Beatles '64" and you're right, the drums do get unusually louder after the "middle eight". But, after watching a few other live performance videos, including a beautifully colourized video with better sound version of The Sullivan (Miami) show (alternate take?) performance, it seems to me that at least John & George may have requested the louder drums during the Washington D.C. show performance, shown here, because they couldn't hear the softer version over the screams! See what you think.

 

[nixdad]

I did Get Back and watch the "This Boy" performance in "Beatles '64" and you're right, the drums do get unusually louder after the "middle eight". But, after watching a few other live performance videos, including a beautifully colourized video with better sound version of The Sullivan (Miami) show (alternate take?) performance, it seems to me that at least John & George may have requested the louder drums during the Washington D.C. show performance, shown here, because they couldn't hear the softer version over the screams! See what you think.

@G-Dog -
Thanks for sending the color video.

Upon reviewing this colorized "This Boy" performance as well as the performance in Beatles '64, in the color version Ringo plays the middle eight loudly, and a bit more simplified. In the B&W Beatles '64 performance, Ringo plays the middle eight dynamically as well and a bit busier - it certainly seems to me that Ringo was having a bit of fun and trying to get a rise out of the guys which I see in John's initial reaction.

 

[darev]

detected the first 3 chords of "Strawberry Fields Forever", when John was playing the melodica (breath-powered keyboard) in the hotel room at 53:20 left to play

Good catch. We watched Beatles '64 last night and when I saw John with the melodica I knew to listen closer.

Wow. For a moment it sounded to me like the same interval played on the mellotron on the opening of Strawberry Fields Forever. Neat.