Beatles Remasters coming! 09/09/09

[JSngry]

Can somebody with some spare time tell me how "Devil In Her Heart" got to The Beatles? I've forgotten.

[Brad]

According to Macdonald, this was originally recorded by a girl group called The Donays. Macdonald refers to it as a "drooping scoop of candyfloss.". Guess he doesn't like it

[JSngry]

Quirky! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rO3KNb4A4A

Most obscure Beatles cover ever?

[Dave James]

A Taste of Honey comes close.

Up over and out.

Edited November 20, 2009 by Dave James

[Brad]

It wouldn't surprise me if Brian Epstein chose the song for them. I always kind of liked the song.

[Dave James]

It wouldn't surprise me if Brian Epstein chose the song for them. I always kind of liked the song.

Me too. A great example of the band's close three part harmony. Or, I suppose five or six part harmony if you're into counting the double tracked vocals.

Up over and out.

[Brad]

I received the Naked disc and while, yes, the 2009 remaster is better I don't find the sound terrible. If it's a choice between having a recording like this or not because it may not have pristine sound, I'll chhose the former.

Overall, and I haven't done a real close listen yet, the recordings, particularly the instruments sound sparer. I assume this is the intent and not just the result of remastering.

The Long and Winding Road and Across the Universe sound much better without that Spector nonsense. I guess we can thank Allan Klein for that.

One thing I don't understand is the different sequences or the dropping of the Get Back coda. I suppose there is a reason. Perhaps this is the way the Beatles envisioned it. Unfortunately the liner notes aren't that revealing.

Also, if this was a Beatles project, why wasn't the Naked sessions presented in the 2009 remaster as the principal one. At the very least, I might have included it.

Perhaps in the end all parties concerned (the Beatles and heirs, Apple and EMI) decided that since the original disc was the way it was originally released, that was how it would be remastered.

I would love to hear additional views.

[Teasing the Korean]

A Taste of Honey comes close.

Yeah, a really obscure tune by an unknown named Burt Bacharach that was a mammoth hit for Herb Alpert, Martin Denny and others.

[jazzbo]

I like both versions of "Let It Be." I think I like the original release better than "Naked"; I like the fleshed out bits, they work for me.

Not sure that "Naked" should be a candidate for the "remastered" series, any more than the Anthologies, the BBC Sessions, etc. The original really is the dividing line.

[Tjazz]

$169.99 for Stereo box

http://www.discoramaoverstock.com/thebeatl...009-boxset.aspx

[Brad]

I like both versions of "Let It Be." I think I like the original release better than "Naked"; I like the fleshed out bits, they work for me.

Not sure that "Naked" should be a candidate for the "remastered" series, any more than the Anthologies, the BBC Sessions, etc. The original really is the dividing line.

Not sure I totally agree about the candidate for the remastering as it wasn't exactly something they all agreed upon unlike the other albums; it's apparently not the intended original. In that way, it's different. The others don't really qualify since they're not group albums. On the other hand, the remaining Beatles and the heirs, plus EMI and Apple may have come to the conclusion that you did: this is what everybody knows, this is what was issued as a definitive Beatles album and, folks, that's just the way it is. I'm sure we haven't the last word.

[medjuck]

I like both versions of "Let It Be." I think I like the original release better than "Naked"; I like the fleshed out bits, they work for me.

Not sure that "Naked" should be a candidate for the "remastered" series, any more than the Anthologies, the BBC Sessions, etc. The original really is the dividing line.

By "the original" do you mean the single or the album version? I've always liked the guitar solo on the single better, but that may just be because it's the one I got used to hearing on the radio.

[jazzbo]

What I was referring to was the album itself, as originally releasedby the Beatles, as opposed to "Naked" which was not at all related to the Beatles as a group effort. (Which is why I don't think "Naked" belongs in this group of "remasters." I'm not opposed to them remastering it in the near future).

Not sure I have a favorite guitar solo on the tracks/tune. They're both fine.

Edited November 20, 2009 by jazzbo

[Brad]

What I was referring to was the album itself, as originally released by the Beatles, as opposed to "Naked" which was not at all related to the Beatles as a group effort. (Which is why I don't think "Naked" belongs in this group of "remasters." I'm not opposed to them remastering it in the near future).

Not sure I have a favorite guitar solo on the tracks/tune. They're both fine.

I guess I'll respectfully disagree as Naked was released by them and which was, I believe, a group effort (although I'm not sure what you mean by group effort). Naked just represents Let it Be as apparently they wanted it to be when they recorded it: true to the get back concept, not over produced.

[David Ayers]

Coming back to my infatuation with the mono box, which IMO is the high water mark of historical remastering to date (at least within my experience) I just want to say thanks to all contributors in this thread for helping give this set a meaning and a context. It's not jazz, I know, but it is a real strength of this board that informed enthusiasts give each other a steer and something to think about working through the *mountains* of material we all have decdied to get through (and I am an academic and know very well what it means to plow through the archive of historical materials). I love these remasters and I have been honestly delighted to have been working through them alongside the members of this forum (as indeed I always am on all of these shared listening ventures).

Cheers!

[jazzbo]

What I was referring to was the album itself, as originally released by the Beatles, as opposed to "Naked" which was not at all related to the Beatles as a group effort. (Which is why I don't think "Naked" belongs in this group of "remasters." I'm not opposed to them remastering it in the near future).

Not sure I have a favorite guitar solo on the tracks/tune. They're both fine.

I guess I'll respectfully disagree as Naked was released by them and which was, I believe, a group effort (although I'm not sure what you mean by group effort). Naked just represents Let it Be as apparently they wanted it to be when they recorded it: true to the get back concept, not over produced.

Brad, what I mean is "Naked" is not something released by the group when they were a group. Which puts it in there with Anthology, etc. which also are not part of this reissue program.

[Brad]

What I was referring to was the album itself, as originally released by the Beatles, as opposed to "Naked" which was not at all related to the Beatles as a group effort. (Which is why I don't think "Naked" belongs in this group of "remasters." I'm not opposed to them remastering it in the near future).

Not sure I have a favorite guitar solo on the tracks/tune. They're both fine.

I guess I'll respectfully disagree as Naked was released by them and which was, I believe, a group effort (although I'm not sure what you mean by group effort). Naked just represents Let it Be as apparently they wanted it to be when they recorded it: true to the get back concept, not over produced.

Brad, what I mean is "Naked" is not something released by the group when they were a group. Which puts it in there with Anthology, etc. which also are not part of this reissue program.

Lon,

Guess I was being thick. Yes, you are right. It's like revisionist history on their part. Interestingly, the new liner notes mention the Naked version being released in 2003. I think I would put it somewhere between a regular issue and something like an anthology.

[Quincy]

When early word of Naked came out it many fans thought it was going to be the same as the Get Back acetate that Glyn Johns had put together in 1969 and was given to a few radio stations and subsequently bootlegged. It did not have "Across The Universe" or "I Me Mine" and instead had "Save The Last Dance For Me," "Rocker," "Don't Let Me Down" "The Walk" and "Teddy Boy." Also "Dig It" was 4 minutes or so rather than under a minute. Lennon came up with idea of redoing the Please Please Me cover (as seen on the "blue" double LP compilation) with their more hairy visages.

So Naked isn't Get Back, but then again Get Back wasn't a final band decision either. While providing de-Spectorized versions of "The Long & Winding Road" and "Across The Universe" (which wasn't a part of the original concept, though there was "concept drift" throughout this time) and getting "Don't Let Me Down" on the album, the assembly of Naked seems less authentic than it could have been.

[JSngry]

When early word of Naked came out it many fans thought it was going to be the same as the Get Back acetate that Glyn Johns had put together in 1969 and was given to a few radio stations and subsequently bootlegged. It did not have "Across The Universe" or "I Me Mine" and instead had "Save The Last Dance For Me," "Rocker," "Don't Let Me Down" "The Walk" and "Teddy Boy." Also "Dig It" was 4 minutes or so rather than under a minute. Lennon came up with idea of redoing the Please Please Me cover (as seen on the "blue" double LP compilation) with their more hairy visages.

So Naked isn't Get Back, but then again Get Back wasn't a final band decision either. While providing de-Spectorized versions of "The Long & Winding Road" and "Across The Universe" (which wasn't a part of the original concept, though there was "concept drift" throughout this time) and getting "Don't Let Me Down" on the album, the assembly of Naked seems less authentic than it could have been.

I agree. Plus, truth be told, somebody, anybody, had to do something, anything, to the raw tracks at the time. The band was just plain raggedy. In 1969, the reaction would have been...who knows, but probably not favorable. Garage bands have since come back into style (several times!), but...

This is the "Across The Universe" to have, imo.

[Brad]

When early word of Naked came out it many fans thought it was going to be the same as the Get Back acetate that Glyn Johns had put together in 1969 and was given to a few radio stations and subsequently bootlegged. It did not have "Across The Universe" or "I Me Mine" and instead had "Save The Last Dance For Me," "Rocker," "Don't Let Me Down" "The Walk" and "Teddy Boy." Also "Dig It" was 4 minutes or so rather than under a minute. Lennon came up with idea of redoing the Please Please Me cover (as seen on the "blue" double LP compilation) with their more hairy visages.

So Naked isn't Get Back, but then again Get Back wasn't a final band decision either. While providing de-Spectorized versions of "The Long & Winding Road" and "Across The Universe" (which wasn't a part of the original concept, though there was "concept drift" throughout this time) and getting "Don't Let Me Down" on the album, the assembly of Naked seems less authentic than it could have been.

Johns, from what I've read, prepared a couple of versions, which were both rejected, which to what you are probably referring. The point I'm trying to make and I think Alexander made is that this wasn't really a finished album so that there are no definitive Get Back sessions, whatever you call it. However, I doubt the Beatles, Applie or EMI are going to do anythiing about it; Let it Be was issued the way it was and there it's going to rest for some time, maybe all time.

[JSngry]

The point I'm trying to make and I think Alexander made is that this wasn't really a finished album so that there are no definitive Get Back sessions, whatever you call it.

They got sessions out the wazoo...and they are what they are, which is why it had to be done like it was did to finally get a "real" album out of it. Some marvelous songs, but the band was just not playing well together save for fleeting moments here and there.

Many people dis the Spector-ized version, and I understand why, but again, somebody had to do something, and Spector didn't exactly ruin anything, if you know what I mean...

Can't say that I've heard anywhere near all the session bootlegs, but I've yet to hear anything that wouldn't need some pretty basic "fixing" in some form or fashion to make something "commercially viable" out of it...

[jazzbo]

I personally prefer "Let it Be" to "Naked," but I'm happy to have both. I'd have preferred "Naked" to mirror the released album's tracklist, and maybe use the same takes.

[Brad]

I was looking at Macdonald's book about this and the essence of what he says about Let it Be (focusing on the Long and Winding Road) is as follows: the original take of LAWR was basically a demo with some bad playing by Lennon on bass and that as a result Lennon brought in Spector, whose solution to the song was tasteless but that he had no choice but to do something since it was basically a demo. Macdonald asks why, when they did the overdub, why not call McCartney to redo the bass parts since he was only minutes away?

Lennon knew, according to Macdonald, that if his song was being worked on, he would have stopped the Let it Be project or had the session produced properly. He finds Lennon's indifference to the maintenance of Beatles production standards indefensible and that although his bad bass playing was accidental, it amounted to sabotage when presented as a finished work.

Neither Paul nor George Martin knew the Get Back session were being prepared for release and, of course, McCartney had a fit when he heard Spector's rendition of LAWR, unsuccessfully tried to block it and having assured himself that his solo album would be released before the Spector session, quit the group. Macdonald concludes that while McCartney is no angel, Lennon's conduct was appalling.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Brad

[Teasing the Korean]

I have never been bothered by the strings or choir on LAWR. After all, there were other Beatles tunes with that sort of production.

My main gripe with the original "Let It Be" LP was that it didn't include "Don't Let Me Down," which is totally a part of that album.

[Alexander]

What I was referring to was the album itself, as originally released by the Beatles, as opposed to "Naked" which was not at all related to the Beatles as a group effort. (Which is why I don't think "Naked" belongs in this group of "remasters." I'm not opposed to them remastering it in the near future).

Not sure I have a favorite guitar solo on the tracks/tune. They're both fine.

I guess I'll respectfully disagree as Naked was released by them and which was, I believe, a group effort (although I'm not sure what you mean by group effort). Naked just represents Let it Be as apparently they wanted it to be when they recorded it: true to the get back concept, not over produced.

Yes, but "Naked" is closer to what Paul had envisioned for the "Get Back" project, and it was Paul who was the primary force behind "Naked." Both John and George had worked (or would soon work) with Spector at this point and had approved his production on "Let It Be." I don't know if Ringo had an opinion either way, but he did side with John and George by signing with Klein during this period. So if any version of the album is closer to a "group effort," it's the original release and not "Naked."