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Post by Captain Hygiene on Oct 20, 2009 12:51:33 GMT -5
the Lennon penned “Goodnight” that Ringo sings – er, drones on. Was John serious, or was this his attempt to get on the Lawrence Welk show? Whatever, it sucks. That's the funniest song the group ever did. I can't listen to it, but it's just so horribly schmaltzy and straight-faced, it's absolutely hilarious in a strange, surreal way.
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Post by quinnmartin on Oct 20, 2009 13:15:15 GMT -5
Is there a bootleg/demo of John singing "Goodnight"? That would be surreal.
It's not a great song by any means, but it's just a lullaby for his kid. And the production is deliberately campy and over-the-top. And it's a serious mindf#ck coming right after "Revolution #9".
Least Favorite Original: Other than the obvious choice of "Revolution #9", I'd probably have to say "Wild Honey Pie".
Favorite Cover: 1. Leave My Kitten Alone 2. Please Mr. Postman 3. Baby It's You
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Oct 20, 2009 15:44:32 GMT -5
Is there a bootleg/demo of John singing "Goodnight"? That would be surreal. I have some Beatle bootlegs but I've never heard of that being in circulation.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Oct 20, 2009 17:13:42 GMT -5
Least favorite original? There are a few wasted moments on The White Album, and "Revolution 9" is to the Beatles as "Hamlet" is to MST. In other words, it's too easy and obvious. "Wild Honey Pie" and "Bungalow Bill" are also pretty awful. I also always skip over the Ringo songs and George's sitar stuff.
All that being said, I have to throw my vote in for "The Ballad of John and Yoko". Not that it's a terrible song, it's pretty passable musically. But it's basically the anthem that encapsulates the height of Lennon's narcissistic whiny period, where his drug habit and messiah complex drove him past "tortured" and into "insufferable". There are myriad reasons why the Beatles broke up; it wasn't just Yoko. But if you're going to turn your back on your family, alienate your friends and bandmates, start slamming them in the press, and basically disrupt everyone else in your life for your own experimental phase, don't write a song complaining about how the whole world is against you.
Favorite Cover Song I really like the guitar solo in "'Til There Was You", it's very pretty. But I gotta go with "Rock and Roll Music". It's hard to beat Chuck Berry.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Oct 21, 2009 2:41:51 GMT -5
Favorite Cover: 1. Leave My Kitten Alone That's a great cover, I love the way Lennon's voice rips through that number. In my future Ipod version of "Beatles For Sale", That song is replacing Mr. Moonlight! I'd like to add that I'm also fond of "You Really Got a Hold on Me"
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Post by Mighty Jack on Oct 30, 2009 0:48:44 GMT -5
Quinn - I went and looked at my books and phantom is right regarding Good Night – so far, no boot exists with John singing it. They didn’t even record the song during that famous “White Album” demo/rehearsal session at Harrison’s house. BTW, my reading revealed something I never knew, the most takes they ever did on a song at EMI was 102… for “Not Guilty” – which they never put on the album! Here's a link to Harrison’s unaltered original for the piece. The Anthology version, while very cool to my ears, was heavily edited and restructured which infuriated some fans who maintain that they ruined the track... Not Guilty Uncutand another pretty song (Window, Window) for the White Album - George never even put this on a solo studio album. I tell ya John & Paul really needed to set egos aside and give this guy more credit and more album space. Both of these songs over Revolution #9 or even Why Don't We Do It In The Road would have made it a tighter release. And they were worse on the Get Back sessions. This was around when John was doing the demon heroin and can't write worth shmit, Paul's arrogance is in overdrive and writing a lot of filler (Teddy Boy) while Harrison was giving them gold (I believe John out and out rejected "Isn't It A Pity" because it was too hard to play... that's why George brought in the simple stuff like "For You Blue") Can you imagine the "Let It Be" album with Pity, All Things Must Pass and Let It Down? (Drop Dig It, Maggie Mae and make it a 13 track LP - It's George heavy but George was writing great material at the time - use it for the betterment of Beatlekind)
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Post by quinnmartin on Oct 30, 2009 8:27:21 GMT -5
I love "Isn't It a Pity". But it was probably better off for the song that it didn't get sucked into the Get Back project. Would have been great for Abbey Road, though. I don't really care for the Abbey Road production, but it would have probaby sounded better with the lush George Martin production than with Spector wall of sound production.
Wow, 102 takes of "Not Guilty" is insane. You know things are seriously wrong with the band dynamic when you spend over 100 takes on a song that's pretty frontally going after other members of the band.
I've never been a big fan of "Not Guilty" myself. Too whiny, especially given that John and Paul were 100% the reason he ever had a chance to make records and grow into a pretty good songwriter as it was.
It's better than some on the White Album, sure, but if it was on there it would be one that'd I'd always skip. I'd have much rather seen "Junk" make the record than "Not Guilty".
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Oct 30, 2009 10:09:38 GMT -5
As cool as a George-dominated Let it Be would have been, I think I actually prefer what happened in real life. The All Things Must Pass album is so jam-packed with strong material that it more than makes up for the lackluster Let it Be. As much as I like trying to create awesome "could've been" albums, I think it turned out better than having a stronger Let it Be and a probable weaker All Things....
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Post by Mighty Jack on Oct 30, 2009 22:29:37 GMT -5
But the Beatles... While they weren't on the top of their game at that point. I would have loved to have heard those songs done with the band proper (Though I've always preferred All Things Must Pass simple, unardorned. There's a tape of him doing it acoustic that's beautiful beyond words). But your right they wouldn't have been given the proper treatment, even George pulled back Something from "Get Back", wanting something better for it. As for whiney - I've used my own lyrics to vent and I figure that's part of the emotional spectrum. I've thought about this since Mr. A's post and with due respect--- If we can love our country but still whine and write protest songs, if you can fall in love then later write about how that woman bugs you (as Paul did with 3 songs for Jane Asher) then George or anyone else is allowed to express upset, at band mates or whatever else he's going through at the time. IMHO Yes it is whiney, but theres a place for that kind of expression. Artists should be able to explore the full landscape of feeling etc. (of course, we in kind are allowed not to enjoy what they say - so I'm not saying you're or Mr. A's opinion isn't valid, it is)
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