Showing posts with label phil spector. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phil spector. Show all posts

Let It Be (Remastered) Review

Let It Be (Remastered)
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Let It Be (Remastered) ReviewFor those who don't know the story, the tension and frustration experienced by The Beatles during the "White Album" sessions reached new heights during the GET BACK sessions. In an attempt to bring spirit to the band, Paul was pushing to have The Beatles play live again. Perhaps his thinking was that playing together (as they used to do) would reunite them (as they used to be). Instead, there was much talk of breaking up. It was decided that the group should at least rehearse together while being filmed, but George Harrison actually walked out and quit the group for a few days. Apparently what John said regarding The Beatles at this time was indeed a group reality: "It had become a job."
Excluding the filming that took place at Twickenham Studios (brought to a close by tension within the band and George's walkout), the GET BACK sessions began on January 22, 1969, and ended just nine days later, all of it taking place at the band's Apple headquarters rather than Abbey Road studios. Although The Beatles behaved a little better when keyboardist Billy Preston was brought in, the sessions did not go well, being mostly jamming--meandering from song to song. As George Martin appropriately pointed out, "they were rudderless at this time." Martin was not on hand for much of this, and even when he was present, it is unclear how involved he was. Engineer Glyn Johns was asked to compile the album--not George Martin. Though Johns complied, the ill-fated GET BACK was never given the group's stamp of approval and was left unreleased for over a year.
In January 1970--after the release of the glorious ABBEY ROAD but prior to Phil Spector's involvement--Glyn Johns was given another shot at compiling the album, but this turned out to be another futile attempt to make presentable the sessions that Paul has called "the break-up of The Beatles on film."
Early in 1969, Allen Klein became involved with The Beatles; it was agreed (excepting Paul) that he should run the group's finances and business affairs. Klein, who profited from any additional Beatles releases, was the most likely impetus behind the release of LET IT BE and the involvement of Phil Spector, with whom Klein had worked previously. Klein was notorious for bringing in his own people; George Harrison himself recalled that it was in fact Allen Klein who suggested to John and George that they should have Spector listen to the tapes. John and George, being Spector fans, certainly approved of the idea. So unbeknown to Paul or George Martin, Phil Spector was brought in to have a go at it. Martin recalled that it was all very sneaky and done behind people's backs at a time when "Allen Klein was running John."
Spector produced the LET IT BE album in seven days, beginning on March 23, 1970, and ending April 2. His version involved many edits and an abundance of remixing. The orchestrated overdubs on "Across The Universe," "The Long And Winding Road," and "I Me Mine" were done in one session--the arrangements were by Richard Hewson, not Spector. Two songs on LET IT BE did not come from the GET BACK sessions. John's vocal on "Across The Universe," along with some of the rhythm instruments, came from the original takes recorded in February 1968; and "I Me Mine" was recorded in January 1970, a full year after the project.
Overall, I don't think that the GET BACK sessions were particularly great, nor do I think that they should be trivialized. Although the performances are perhaps not quite representative of what The Beatles were capable of, the songs themselves are strong enough to overcome these less-than-ideal renditions. Spector essentially took the music from the rehearsal-like sessions, dressed it up, and powdered its nose. I never did believe that the orchestra and choir added to "The Long And Winding Road" turned Paul's song into something phony. This great song holds up under Spector's treatment, and I'm glad that Paul finally admitted it wasn't so bad: "I don't think it made it the worst record ever."
I enjoy Spector's LET IT BE and think it worthy of a five-star rating, probably because I'm such a Beatles fanatic. My gripes, however, are that (1) the recordings of "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" released as the single should have made the album (instead, Spector's mix is solid but inferior on "Get Back," and he sidestepped "Don't Let Me Down"); and (2) the mix of "Let It Be" that became the single is superior to the one on the album, and I also prefer George's guitar solo on the single.
LET IT BE... NAKED, the latest attempt at presenting the material, does not address the inherent problems with the GET BACK sessions--the reasons that caused them to be rejected in the first place. Instead, this cleaned-up version again exposes a band that was focusing more on problems than on music. Why is LET IT BE thought by many to be the group's weakest effort, and ABBEY ROAD (recorded a few months later) thought by many to be one of the greatest rock albums ever made? I think it is clear that in the case of the latter, (1) the band members put aside their differences to focus on the music; and (2) George Martin was allowed to fully work his magic.
Without getting into further details and writing pages here, suffice it to say that I will always wish that George Martin had been given a serious shot at producing this album from the beginning. Maybe then we would have had another Beatles masterpiece.
Let It Be (Remastered) OverviewDigitally remastered digipak edition of this classic 1970 album from The Beatles featuring 'The Long And Winding Road', 'Across The Universe', 'Let It Be', 'Get Back' and many more. The album has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. Within the CD's new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. A newly produced mini-documentary on the making of the album is included as a QuickTime file on each album. The documentary contains archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. Capitol. NOTE: Let It Be was never released in mono and is not available in The Beatles In Mono boxset.

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All Things Must Pass Review

All Things Must Pass
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All Things Must Pass ReviewThe original cd release of this album was marred by a muddy and hissy sound that took away from the great music. Finally after years of clamoring from fans, George Harrison has issued a remastered version of his classic All Things Must Pass. The results are outstanding as the songs sound clear and fresh. George Harrison was the Beatle who most immediately benefited from the band's breakup. Mr. Harrison was stifled by the domination of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership and was only allowed a song or two per album. The songs that did appear, like "Taxman", Here Comes The Sun" & "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", showed that he was an excellent songwriter in his own right. When it came time to record his first proper solo album, he released an album of electronic noise called Wonderwall in 1968, he had such a backlog of material it yielded a double album with a third bonus disk. The songs are deeply rooted in the Maharisi's teachings that have been a large part of his life for the past thirty years. Despite the religious musings, the songs have an upbeat, full sound lead by Wall of Sound producer Phil Spector. Although Mr. Spector does sometimes overproduce songs, he makes a song like "My Sweet Lord" that could have been plodding and ponderous into a soaring affirmation. Of course that song was a huge number one hit, but others standouts include the beautiful cover of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You", the nice tribute to fans who hung outside the Apple Records offices, "Apple Scruffs", the yin and yang of "I Dig Love" and "The Art Of Dying" and the rollicking "Wah-Wah". "What Is Life?" may well be the best song he has ever done with it's blaring horns, layered guitars and smooth vocals. The production is classic Wall of Sound harkening back to Mr. Spector's work on Ronettes and Crystals records. The last few songs are from a jam session that included Eric Clapton and made up the bonus disk on the original release. They loose song structures that the band just have fun with. The bonus tracks included on the re-release don't really add much and the "My Sweet Lord 2000" would have been better left unrecorded. The cd booklet is expansive and contains many insights from Mr. Harrison himself. All Things Must Pass was to many a surprise success as they thought that only Paul McCartney and John Lennon would be successful in their post Beatle days. Not only was "My Sweet Lord" the first solo Beatle song to hit number one, but the album also reached the top of the charts and thirty years later still sounds fresh and exciting.All Things Must Pass OverviewThe most monumental of all the Beatles solo projects-and one of the most critically and commercially successful-George Harrison's All Things Must Pass here receives a complete make-over, with a complete new remastering and five new bonus tracks! Also here is a 20-page booklet annotated by George.

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Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison Review

Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison
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Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison ReviewGeorge's widow Olivia had a lot of input into the selection of songs on this album, and it's a good set of songs. Many hard core fans believe this collection should have been a 2 cd set, and should have included songs like "Crackerbox Palace", "Bangla Desh" and "This Song". But, be that as it may, "Let It Roll" is a solid collection of Harrisongs, remastered by Giles Martin, and that's good enough for me.
It may have been helped by the remastering, because the lead song of this new collection (from his "Cloud 9" album) "Got My Mind Set On You" sounds better than ever to me, here. One of the three Harrison #1 singles represented here, this one went to #1 in the U.S. in January of 1988. This was, by the way, the last song by any solo Beatle (up to now, anyway) to go to #1 in the U.S..
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" was the 2nd Harrison single to go to #1 in the U.S. (June 1973) and features an amazing backup band of Ringo, Klaus Voorman, Gary Wright, Jim Keltner and Nicky Hopkin. One of George's best songs, simple and direct.
"Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" was one many great songs from George's "All Things Must Pass" 3-lp set which went to #1 in at least half a dozen countries in 1970. Sir Frank Crisp was the former owner of George's home in the U.K. and Mr. Crisp was somewhat of an eccentric and carved sayings into statues and stones around the estate, which apparently gave George great delight. This song is one of the most memorable from "All Things Must Pass" and is a good lead-in to another of George's #1 Hits, "My Sweet Lord".
"My Sweet Lord" is probably George's signature song for various reasons. For one thing, it was his first #1 single, topping the charts all over the world. But more importantly, I think, to George was that this song represented a spiritual philosophy and spiritual journey that began in 1965 when he met his friend and guru Ravi Shankar who introduced him to Hindu philosophy. The song celebrates God in His many forms, as George chants "Hallelujah!" and "Hare Krishna!" This represents an eclectic approach to spirituality that lasted throughout his life. George believed that by chanting the names of the Lord one could eventually come to know God directly, and this song was an attempt to share that with his fans.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is represented here by a live version recorded at the famous Concert For Bangladesh. This was a benefit concert that George organized to help provide necessities for refugees from East Pakistan, after Ravi Shankar asked George's advice on what might be done for these suffering people. George quickly pitched in by organizing the first concert of its kind ever in the world, a rock concert organized specifically for the purpose of raising money to help an important cause. This song features Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and Ringo Starr playing live at that concert. While this is not the best version of the song (you'll find that where it was originally performed by George with his band mates, on The Beatles' "white album".) this is a soulful version that features some great guitar playing by George and Eric Clapton.
"All Things Must Pass" is of course the title track of that album, and represents George at his most philosophical. Reassuring us that "sunset doesn't last all evening / a mind could blow those clouds away" the song isn't just about sadness or pain, it indeed points out that ALL THINGS pass away. George sings, "none of life's strings can last", so the implication is that God, Love, or Enlightenment (depending on how you care to see it) is the only thing that can really endure.
"Any Road" is from George's posthumously released album, "Brainwashed" from 2002, but this song was originally written at the time of his "Cloud 9" album. It's a bouncy little ditty about life.
"This Is Love" was co-penned by George's friend, band mate, and sometimes producer, Jeff Lynne, and has a happy pop feel to it, just a nice little song about Love with a capital L.
"All Those Years Ago" is from George's lesser known "Somewhere In England" album, and is his tribute to former band mate and life-long friend, John Lennon. It features Ringo on drums and Paul and Linda McCartney on backing vocals, and it reached #2 on the charts in the U.S.. A beautiful lyric, he speaks glowingly of his recently murdered friend: "You were the one who Imagined it all / All those years ago." It has a bouncy and very nice production.
"Marwa Blues" is an instrumental from "Brainwashed" and features probably the best slide guitar playing of George's career. His guitar beautifully and gently weeps here, and the song needs no words. You can hear the influence of Ravi Shankar here, though it is in no way overtly an "Indian" tune. This song was awarded a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental.
"What is Life", the 2nd single released from the "All Things Must Pass" album, reached #10 on the U.S. charts. With a catchy guitar riff and a can't-get-it-out-of-my-head, upbeat melody, this was one of the more popular tracks from George's first solo release.
"Rising Sun" is another song from "Brainwashed" and is a perfect example of his writing about his life-long spiritual quest. Featuring George's son Dhani's perfect performance on the Wurlitzer, this represents one of the best songs from the album he was just finishing up when he made what he hoped would be his final journey, the journey to return to All That Is, God, Light, Love, Krishna, Enlightenment or whatever you choose to call It/Him/Her.
"When We Was Fab" is George's remembrance of the crazy days of being one of the world's most famous pop stars. He grew weary of Beatlemania very early on, back in 1965 or so, and this song is about that period. From "Cloud 9" the song was released as a single and reached the Top 30 but it is a favorite among fans, for its Beatles-related content and humorous and inventive music-video (not included here, but available on "The Dark Horse Years" box set).
"Something" is another track from the Bangladesh benefit and though not as eloquently produced and polished as the original Beatles recording from "Abbey Road", it does feature some excellent live guitar work and vocals with a nice arrangement for "big band rock and roll".
"Blow Away" is from the "George Harrison" album and it was a Top 20 hit in the U.S. and Canada in 1979. In an era when disco and punk music were the most popular genres, it was a breath of fresh air with it's simplicity and sweet lyrics: "All I got to do is to love you / All I got to be is, be happy / All it's got to take is some warmth to make it / Blow Away, Blow Away, Blow Away."
"Cheer Down" was written for the movie "Lethal Weapon 2" and allegedly the phrase came from something George's wife Olivia used to say to him when he'd get a little over-enthusiastic about something or other. Co-written by Tom Petty it was originally produced in 1989 and was formerly available on the now out of print "Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989".
"Here Comes The Sun" is the live version from the "Concert For Bangladesh" and features members of Badfinger on backup guitar, with George playing acoustic guitar and singing a clearly heartfelt rendition. Of the 3 live songs on this collection this one fares the best, as it is a rare pleasure to hear George sing with just a guitar (or 2 or 3), without bass, drums and keyboard. Without doubt one of his most beautiful songs.
"I Don't Want To Do It" was previously only on the "Porky's Revenge" soundtrack. It was written by his friend Bob Dylan who he later went on to record with as part of The Traveling Wilburys.
"Isn't It A Pity" is the 5th song on this collection from "All Things Must Pass" and that is fitting because many Beatles fans agree that George's 3-LP set was perhaps the finest album by any former Beatle. It certainly is in the Top 5 of Beatles solo albums, by anyone's count, and the unique "wall of sound" production by Phil Spector gave it a different sound than all of George's other albums, something he sometimes bemoaned, but frankly I can't imagine it any other way. In any case, this lyric speaks from George's heart and soul, so I'll end this with these words from George himself:
"Isn't it a pity
Now, isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity."
Oh, okay, sorry George, but I gotta get the last word in:
Buy this album! Not only because it's good, but because buying it will help insure the "powers that be" at Capitol/Dark Horse that we want MORE George Harrison albums! How about a "Part 2" featuring all the rare stuff and other great hits left off of this one?
p.s. And thank you George, for all this great music!Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison Overview

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