{"id":2442,"date":"2009-11-19T10:26:35","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T15:26:35","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-11-19T10:35:59","modified_gmt":"2009-11-19T10:35:59","slug":"do-overs-the-beatles-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/do-overs-the-beatles-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Do-Overs: The Beatles and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YWyCCJ6B2WE?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nHave you ever wished a favorite artist could do-over a particular album, song, or period in its career? I&#8217;ve always wished that <strong>The Beatles<\/strong> could have finished their final 3 albums in a more satisfying, more unifying way. I believe I speak for most Beatles fans in saying that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/10\/24\/the_fab_faux_help_me_feel_a_part_of_thin\">there&#8217;s a lot to be gained by our shared experiences with the band<\/a>. In a world where there is little consensus, Beatles fans are pretty much in step with each other over the first two periods of the band&#8217;s career:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>After acknowledging the greatness of the band&#8217;s entire output, Beatles fans states their preference for &#8220;Early Beatles&#8221; (ie, everything up to and usually including <em>Rubber Soul<\/em>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2007\/06\/14\/kind_of_a_drag_lennon_prevents_rubber_so\">which few Beatles fans criticize in any way<\/a>) or &#8220;pot-smoking Beatles&#8221; (ie, the period beginning with <em>Rubber Soul<\/em> and <em>Revolver<\/em>, when they became known for crafting <em>albums<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li>Next Beatles fans take a moment to state that <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2007\/07\/20\/let_s_get_hypothetical_what_if_the_beatl\">Sgt. Pepper&#8217;s<\/a><\/em> is &#8220;overrated,&#8221; only pausing to differentiate whether it&#8217;s &#8220;grossly overrated&#8221; (a sign that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2009\/02\/28\/last-man-standing-ways-in-which-the-beat\">something slightly less than a true Beatles devotee<\/a> is among our ranks) or &#8220;still a remarkable achievement, despite the fact that we&#8217;re all a little sick of having had it jammed down our throats for 40 years!&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>A brief discussion among Beatles fans is likely to ensue over the band&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/12\/11\/your-choices-for-worst-song-by-these-maj\">worst<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2009\/09\/15\/once-and-for-all-what-s-really-the-most\">most underrated<\/a> song ever.<\/li>\n<li>We&#8217;ve all got a favorite Beatle, but no true Beatles fan dislikes any one member, not even Paul.<\/li>\n<li>We may have a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2008\/11\/07\/getting_hypothetical_what_if_james_darre\">laugh<\/a> over the issue of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/2007\/05\/16\/once_and_for_all_the_fifth_beatle\">Fifth Beatle<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For all there is to discuss concerning our love for The Beatles, there aren&#8217;t too many issues over which we have great differences. These days, only those who&#8217;ve been living under a rock the last 30 years may have an issue with <strong>Yoko<\/strong> &#8220;breaking up&#8221; the band. One area over which Beatles fans can divide, sometimes painfully so, is over their last three studio releases: <em>The White Album<\/em>, <em>Let It Be<\/em>, and <em>Abbey Road<\/em>. I don&#8217;t have to tell you all the points of contention, do I?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><big>In my do-over, <em>The White Album<\/em>&#8216;s best songs would have been the band&#8217;s straightforward, stripped down release &#8211; not to mention a single album.<\/big><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This morning, for the first time, I listened to Volume 3 of the old <em>Anthology<\/em> series of releases. I bought the first two volumes when they came out and was mostly disappointed with what I found after having peeked behind the Wizard&#8217;s curtain. I&#8217;m one of those Beatles fans who&#8217;s always wished that <strong>The White Album<\/strong> could have been a single album &#8211; maybe even an EP &#8211; and I&#8217;ve also got problems with large chunks of <em>Abbey Road<\/em> and its influence on one of my close personal friends. On the other hand, I actually love <em>Let It Be<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Listening to the outtakes, demos, and raw tracks of these albums on <em>Anthology, Volume 3<\/em>, I had a revelation. I wish I could call for a do-over of the band&#8217;s final leg. <em>Dig.<\/em><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"image_block\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/beatlesdoover.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"image_legend\">Let&#8217;s get it right, this time, OK?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In my do-over, <em>The White Album<\/em>&#8216;s best songs would have been the band&#8217;s straightforward, stripped down release &#8211; not to mention a single album. Minus the painstaking overdubs, I realized this morning, gimmicky songs I rarely want to hear again, like &#8220;Glass Onion,&#8221; &#8220;Honey Pie,&#8221; and even stinking &#8220;Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,&#8221; can swing and be fun. Most of the relatively decent <em>White Album<\/em> songs are hampered, for me, by every detailed, overdubbed arrangement idea. Usually I love tightly arranged songs with bunches of &#8220;Check it out!&#8221; moments, but I don&#8217;t need finely crafted details to bring me closer to &#8220;Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.&#8221; The earlier take on <em>Anthology<\/em> is ignorable, disposable &#8211; in a good way! Give me more of that stuff and the few really good songs, and dump all the pure nonsense.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/HoneyPie.mp3\" title=\"\">The Beatles, &#8220;Honey Pie&#8221; (demo)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/ObLaDi_ObLaDa.mp3\" title=\"\">The Beatles, &#8220;Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da&#8221; (initial take)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To go out on a high note that us Beatles fans could all rally around I would have selected the best songs from <em>Let It Be<\/em> and <em>Abbey Road<\/em> and given them the loving treatment that is wasted on the latter album&#8217;s crap, like &#8220;Maxwell&#8217;s Silver Hammer,&#8221; &#8220;Octopus&#8217;s Garden,&#8221; and the medley, as a concept. In a stunning tribute to The Power and Glory of Rock &#8216;n Roll, The Beatles&#8217; swan song would have included, in no particular order:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Two of Us&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Dig a Pony&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Across the Universe&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Let it Be&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;I&#8217;ve Got a Feeling&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Get Back&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Come Together&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Something&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;I Want You (She&#8217;s So Heavy)&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Here Comes the Sun&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Golden Slumbers&#8221;\/&#8221;Carry That Weight&#8221; (as a lone, 2-song medley)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>My apologies to &#8220;Because&#8221; and &#8220;Sun King,&#8221; one and a half songs from <em>Abbey Road<\/em> I kind of like and greatly appreciate, but most of those song&#8217;s strengths would have been covered already on the stripped-down <em>White Album<\/em>&#8216;s takes on &#8220;Dear Prudence&#8221; and &#8220;Sexy Sadie.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There it is: my Beatles&#8217; late-career do-over. This leaves at least two qustions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What do you think, <em>true Beatles fans<\/em>? Is this something we could rally around, the way we rally around the band&#8217;s first two eras?<\/li>\n<li>For all Townspeople, true Beatles fans or not, do you have your own do-over to suggest, regarding an artist or band of your choice?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever wished a favorite artist could do-over a particular album, song, or period in its career? I&#8217;ve always wished that The Beatles could have finished their final 3 albums in a more satisfying, more unifying way. I believe I speak for most Beatles fans in saying that there&#8217;s a lot to be gained <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/do-overs-the-beatles-and-beyond\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}