I have had it up to here waiting for the Beatles catalogue to be remastered

j/k

No manual existed in 1970 instructing bands at The Beatles' level of fame how to amiably keep together. It's possible allowing John, Paul, and George (and okay fine Ringo) their solo careers at the same time as functioning as a band might've served as a pressure release; one conversation between John and George during this time features the former encouraging the latter to do just that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSmbd00zsqQ

My latest theo is..

If they had released"Get Back" the album at the time, they may well have continued on for longer. But having to return to it after "Abbey Road", soured them

That's not what the Beatles said then and afterward. George Martin himself admitted the sessions were peaceful (except for "Maxwell's) because they all knew it would be the last.

Oh, and war mice..

They would have written more/different songs if they had continued, not necessarily ones they did solo.

Xpost the latest intelligence suggests they did not know it was their last.

The Beatles & Heather McCartney 😍 #TheBeatlesGetBack pic.twitter.com/rUU4nGhnwu

— get back, kristen! (@swaying_daisies) November 27, 2021

(and okay fine Ringo)

Sure, no one’s gonna mount a serious defense of Ringo’s solo records (though “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Back Off Boogaloo” are up there with any solo Beatle singles), but from 1970-74 he had no fewer than eight top 10 US hits. That’s as many as Paul, and more than John and George combined in that period. And three of those hit #1 — George had one #1, and John had two.

I'm not dissing Ringo! I'm saying he had a solo career because what else was he going to do. His burning ambition was to drum for the Beatles forever, and why not?

and, yes, a couple of his solo hits are fantastic

Ringo's "Early 1970" is a really charming b-side.

No one seems to like "Blindman" but me

Also, "That'll be the day" proved he could act, you forget it's Ringo

I'm not dissing Ringo! I'm saying he had a solo career because what else was he going to do. His burning ambition was to drum for the Beatles forever, and why not?

Good point, and yeah, he always said that all he wanted to do was play with great musicians. I wish his career had also included anonymous (or not) drumming appearances on other artists’ records, like maybe playing on a few Dylan albums, or a few sessions with Stevie Wonder.

Agree!! I always wish more for drummers who have only played (primarily) with one band their entire drumming lives, even if it's the Beatles!

Oh, and war mice..

They would have written more/different songs if they had continued, not necessarily ones they did solo.

I wish his career had also included anonymous (or not) drumming appearances on other artists’ records, like maybe playing on a few Dylan albums, or a few sessions with Stevie Wonder.

He kinda did do this, working with Nilsson, Tom Petty and others.

True…but beyond Nilsson and Petty (and his appearance in The Last Waltz maybe) I can’t think of many other instances of Ringo as a session player. Unless there’s a bunch I’ve missed.

One of my favorite '70s Ringo things: playing the Pope against Roger Daltrey & Lil' Nell Campbell in Lisztomania (clip NSFW)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl22fsSCBkI

I am trying to figure out why this show is so successful. I guess the beginning of the show is so dire, you instantly connect that with the breakup, and even though things improve in Part 2, you aren't expecting something quite so cathartic as their reactions to playing live again on the rooftop concert.

I think it's the startling intimacy of it. We mostly knew the Beatles as icons, and after watching the show we now know them as human beings to a far greater extent than was imaginable.

Secondarily, everyone knew those songs as classic tunes that have simply always existed, and to see them being shaped into form is another unexpected dose of reality.

And, like, it's the literal Beatles.

The one time I saw any of them in concert was Paul at Bonnaroo in '13, and I was excited about the show but I was unprepared for him opening with "Eight Days a Week" — it just suddenly hit me, oh he's a BEATLE.

Something like Get Back would also be awesome with any number of other bands, especially if it was a band you liked or loved, but it still wouldn't be the Beatles.

man, that makes me want to actually want to see him in concert. and i've never done the thing of splurging on tickets to see a big arena-scale "legend" act. but I bet it'd be pretty cool, right? i mean, he was a BEATLE! i get it.

One of the first concerts I went to was McCartney. Treated myself because I was finally on my own and making money, and I thought, "what's stopping me?" (I almost never went to concerts before, it was drilled in me that they were too costly.) And for a diehard Beatle fan who had listened to them endlessly for close to a decade, it was mindblowing. The best part was walking out through the parking lot and running into Paul's bus, just crawling along as he stood in the front honking the horn, waving at every, single, person, looking them straight in the eye, including me. For a second, it was like 1965 and I was ready to scream into infinity. I never felt better on my way home from a show.

that's so great!

beautiful bird

<3 that is so cool

My mum (not a concert goer) bought tickets for Macca (including one for me unprompted) because it's bloody Paul McCartney. Best song of the night: Back in the USSR.

Just watched Get Back (though it seems y'all have moved on a bit from discussing it). My wife gave up 30 minutes into the doc, and I almost did when Paul read through the entire tabloid article in a funny voice, but it was worth sticking through till the end. Part 3 was incredible, as I had not seen anything more than a few clips of the rooftop concert before, did not know there was police involved, etc. Parts 1 and 2 were too long, but I can see that everyone has their own moments they like. I personally would cut more than half the moments they goof around on covers but I'm sure a lot of people love that stuff

i wish any of their previous eight albums had gotten this treatment instead of this one

yeah, seriously. or Abbey Road. it's fascinating to see "Get Back" and "The Long and Winding Road" evolve, but they're also two of my least favorite Beatles singles

is there much more in-studio footage out there? I know this exists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdrb1vFTtJI

i loved all the times they tried to work out “two of us” electrically before they brought out the acoustic guitars and realized they should’ve been playing it that way all along

I think they were asking for non-Get Back recordings?

There’s also this in-studio footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA1mSTa5xIA

I recently completed a Beatles marathon listening session, using a playlist I put together which lists their work chronologically by the date on which recording first started for each song. [...]

― mike t-diva

Just wanted to say thanks for this!

I think Ringo turns up briefly on Shot of Love.

On "Heart of Mine."

Mediocre track and Dylan and his producer knew it at the time. The song was always a bit of fluff, but they cut a good master before Ringo stopped by and they more or less jammed with him on this song. Dylan openly admitted that they chose a take with Ringo despite the inferior quality simply because he played on it.

Or I should say, Ringo, Ronnie Wood and Duck Dunn...like it was an all-star recording, hence the speculated "appeal," but it was worse than what they had.

Oh God, I've just acquired the Mono box set. What took me so long? I wasn't prepared for the gut punch of hearing Help! the way I heard it growing up (albeit without the scratches). Who knew a mix could be a madeleine? It does sound so good though – much more muscular than the stereo version I've put up with for years.

Woohoo! Revolver absolutely sings in mono too. Has an adrenaline lacking in the fussy stereo.

Welcome to the church, Alba.

That mono box is truly amazing. I'm glad Apple wound up pressing a lot more copies, it may be out-of-print but it's not too hard to find for a reasonable price.

Presumably you're talking about the CD version there. The vinyl mono box goes for astronomical sums.

Ah, yes, that's what I meant! Too bad about the vinyl, but maybe they'll bring those back in-print? (It's weird that it's easier to get Giles's remixes on vinyl than the original mono.)

I'm late to the party, just watching Get Back now. Just got to the part where Paul sings "I'm So Tired" and literally screamed. This thing is uncut heroin.

Just rewatched the rooftop concert and one of the best moments of the entire 8 hours is when Paul looks over his shoulder and sees the cops, gives a little hoot, and starts putting extra sauce on everything.

About 3/4 of the way through watching it & have to jam out for the night. It’s been so great. I can’t imagine Suzy Creamcheese being all over this - can’t fathom why it hasn’t been widely panned, it’s so ramshackle and would have to be dull as fuck for a non-fanatic (not to mention so many off-key performances) - but I want the 56 hours of raw tapes, fuck it, gimme it all. I really understand now why George got fed up & left - the whole Beatle thing is John & Paul playing and performing for and at and to each other, & the other 2 are so often cut out of the bubble of those guys’ love and rivalry.

Also LOVING Mal Evans just writing down lyrics & changes to lyrics constantly so nobody has to break the creative flow. Underrated contributor.

yeah that was awesome. note takers consistently underrated team members.

A small point of confusion which no doubt has a trivial explanation: when they first go on the roof they have to climb a six foot plus high wall, actually bodily dragging Michael lindsay-hogg up it. Then when it comes to the performance they just walk out of a door...