The Beatles Thread

[101reykjavik]

So Paul coming to Manchester and London o2 in December for Got Back tour. Kind of annoying that the London gigs are mid-week. Don’t fancy trekking to Manchester so weighing up my options before the presale opens on Weds for potentially bagging a ticket for the o2.

[101reykjavik]

Well, I chanced my arm with the presale for the Thursday at the O2 today and managed to get a ticket. As always with these things, massive wait followed by mad scramble to grab whatever ticket happened to make itself available. Secured row B in a section in the higher stand off to the right – but only about half way back so not a million miles away thankfully. Feeling stiffed at £160 plus booking etc. Still, didn't have to, did I?

Not seen Paul since the Out There tour in 2015 (wow, was that really nine years ago?!) so I'm telling myself it was a price worth paying. Pretty excited I must say and buzzing to have got a ticket.

Now fully expecting the Friday to be announced as an additional date at the O2 though!

[freestyle45]

No point me evangelising freestyle45, but if you’ve never given it a go, try side two of Abbey Road. All of it, but specifically ‘the long one’, the medley after Because, but all that side is gorgeous. Production / tracks on Abbey Road probably most likely to appeal based on the tracks you picked out as liking.

Yes! Only because of Richie Sambora covering Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End. I like that.

[101reykjavik]

Concert for Bangladesh available to stream for the first time: https://www.thebeatles.com/george-harri ... ital-music

As part of the One Hand Clapping campaign, the film will get a worldwide cinema release, tickets soon available: https://www.onehandclapping.film/?utm_s ... 5R,1SQS9,1

[101reykjavik]

The latest attempt to part the super fan from their hard-earned: the 1964 US Albums in Mono 8LP Boxset.

https://www.thebeatles.com
https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/the ... vinyl-box/

Can't say this one is likely to grab me, if I'm honest. I've always been on board with most of these boxes but this just doesn't hold a lot of intrigue for me. The only thing in its favour from my personal point of view is that they are the mono mixes. That's nice. I don't have any mono vinyl and I always kicked myself that I didn't pick up the Mono vinyl box when it came out (or a year or two later even when it was still fairly easily available). Prices for that are astronomical these days. Even for the stereo box I do own, prices are pretty steep. So, there's the mono thing, but that's about it.

The actual albums themselves, from a UK perspective, hold no special place in the heart. Not to me at least anyway. I guess there's the completist / fear of missing out angle, but I just don't think I care enough. Not at £229.99 anyway... Different in the home US market where I assume this will fly. I wonder if UK copies will hang around for months and become discounted in due course. It's not a knock-out product to me, I think others might feel similar.

The big gap in my boxset collection is the super deluxe White Album, which I skipped on at the time for some reason. I'd rather spend a bit on that, for sure. So that's where my money might go I think. Can pick up wrapped copies on eBay for less than this.

[101reykjavik]

New film action coming soon to Disney ably assisted by Peter Jackson once again. A tie-in with the new Beatles US albums box-set. Makes sense. Happy to have this, I'm definitely passing on the albums though.

Beatles '64, An All-New Documentary From Producer Martin Scorsese and Director David Tedeschi, To Stream Exclusively On Disney+ Beginning November 29

An all-new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29, 2024. The film captures the electrifying moment of The Beatles’ first visit to America. Featuring never-before-seen footage of the band and the legions of young fans who helped fuel their ascendance, the film gives a rare glimpse into when The Beatles became the most influential and beloved band of all time.

The film includes rare footage filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles, beautifully restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from The Beatles first American concert at the Washington, DC Coliseum and their Ed Sullivan appearances were demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin. Spotlighting this singular cultural moment and its continued resonance today, the music and footage are augmented by newly filmed interviews with Paul and Ringo, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by The Beatles.

Beatles ’64 is directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, Margaret Bodde, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, Jonathan Clyde, Mikaela Beardsley, with Jeff Jones and Rick Yorn serving as executive producers.

[101reykjavik]

Yep, so Beatles '64 came to Disney+ on 29th November. I was all keyed up for this. It was never going to be the seismic event of the Get Back phenomenon but still, I had fairly high hopes of a decent few Beatles hours of joy.

Oh dear. It's shit, really. If I'm honest. This whole US Beatles album box set / Beatles '64 film release has been a huge damp squib for Apple it seems to me.

The film itself is just pretty dull for anyone who knows anything more than the basics about The Beatles. And even then, The Beatles only make up a portion of the film, and at least when they are in it, mostly courtesy of reused footage from the Beatles First US Visit film shot by the Maysle brothers back in '64, the screen lights up. But... if you're familiar with that film, well, you've seen it. And some of the footage, I mean, that first US press conference with the dumb questions about the haircuts and John's quip about becoming managers is magical, but... we've all seen it a million times. Other than that, we have little bits and bobs with Paul and Ringo now, but nothing of consequence – Christ, we even get Paul, bless 'im, wheeling out the hoary old story of how his old man Jim, heard She Loves You for the first time and suggested Yes, Yes, Yes instead of the Yeahs. How many times, Paul? And to the director and Martin Scorsese, is this the best you could get out of Paul?!

And the rest of the film is mostly inconsequential talking heads (really old fashioned style of documentary making that, in 2024) with the notable exception of Ronnie Spector and Smokey Robinson.

Plus the doc starts with a shit, morose cover version of All My Loving. Why?

And they use All My Life for a montage sequence of The Beatles when young. A. what a cliche, how many docs have used that song for nostalgic sequences over the years, come on, you can do better than that, can't you?; and B. that song is nothing to do with '64. Feels a bit wrong.

Just... lazy. I confess, I didn't even finish it. That's saying something for me.

[101reykjavik]

I had a brilliant time at the O2 in December for the final night of Paul's Got Back tour. I've seen him two or three times before on the Out There tour 2015 and so on, so you kind of get to know what to expect with the set list. Paul plays it safe and plays the hits with the odd tweak to the set list here and there. The big things for this tour being the Get Back content with the John 'duet' and the inclusion of Now and Then, of course. Still a fantastic evening's entertainment though. With it being the run up to Christmas, a lovely rendition of Wonderful Christmastime complete with snow and children's choir which felt like a special experience that most shows wouldn't have featured. And it's always fun to see a few special guests – Ronnie Wood doing his thing on Get Back and our beloved Ringo coming on towards the close.

Always such a positive, uplifting sense of joy at Paul's shows, with thousands of like minded souls revelling in these timeless tunes. And to think, for all the in-built safety of the set list choices, he's still playing over two hours of non-stop hits and well loved classics without barely scratching the surface. Any number of absolutely top of the drawer Beatles, Wings and solo records never get a look-in, and that's before you even consider the wealth of material in the deeper recesses of his enormous catalogue that would never get aired for fear of alienating the arena sized audience. Oh, for the impossible opportunity to see Paul play a rarities set in a small venue. I was aware (and live not a million miles away) from Frome, where he did the 'secret' Glastonbury warm up gig in 2022. No chance to dash down at such short notice to grab tickets though. I'm in Bristol – so close-ish and I know Frome well, but not close enough to exactly nip out! I wouldn't have stood a chance. That felt like a real missed opportunity. So close, yet so far.