The BEATLES (Official Thread)

[Mr. Bob Dobolina]

I just finished watching "The Beatles Anthology - Director's Cut 1993". It was interesting. It had a lot more interviews and less music clips. This was certainly a work in progress. A lot of the old footage was from VHS sources. Of course there was no footage of "The Threetles" as they didn't do the new music and interviews until '96. There was stuff missing, as in no mention of the "Yellow Submarine" movie (in the released version it comes after the "Lady Madonna" promo clip). But the weirdest thing was how it ended. It fades out during the "Get Back rooftop concert". There's no performance of "Let It Be" or "The Long and Winding Road", no mention of "The Ballad Of John and Yoko", or "Abbey Road" or Allan Klein (although he is seen during the "In My Life" montage). As the rooftop gig was in late January of '69, this means that the last year of The Beatles' career as a group is completely missing. Very strange. However, for the hardcore Beatles freak (like myself), the Anthology Director's version is a must see.

 

[METALPRIEST]

^^^ I haven't seen the directors cut...not sure how well I would like that one

 

[METALPRIEST]

John Lennon Shares Beatles ‘Hell’ in Recently Unearthed Interview



Source Link

A long-lost interview with John Lennon, conducted around the time of the Beatles‘ ‘Let It Be’ album, but only recently unearthed, delves into the difficulties the band experienced during its final days in the recording studio together.

As Classic Rock Magazine reports, the interview finds Lennon speaking with characteristic bluntness where the Beatles are concerned, referring to the experience of recording ‘Let It Be’ as “torture” and saying on behalf of the band, “We were going through hell … We never really finished it. We didn’t really want to do it. Paul [McCartney] was hustling for us to do it. It’s the Beatles with their suits off.”

The Beatles’ difficulties during the ‘Let It Be’ sessions are well known by now, but according to Lennon, they were nothing new. “It’s torture every time we produce anything,” he told Village Voice columnist Howard Smith. “The Beatles haven’t got any magic you haven’t got. We suffer like hell anytime we make anything. We’ve got each other to contend with. Imagine working with the Beatles — it’s tough. There’s just tension. It’s tense every time the red light goes on.”

Part of the problem, admitted Lennon, was a clash of songwriting egos. “In the old days Paul and I wrote most of the songs because George [Harrison] wasn’t prolific,” he recalled. “We encouraged him to an extent. Subconsciously we would have just made sure we got the LP for ourselves. Now there’s three of us all trying to squash ourselves onto 14 tracks. Do we make a double album every time? That’s why I broke out with the Plastic Ono Band.”

At this point, rumors of a Beatles split were already rampant, and although Lennon stopped short of coming out and saying they were true, he more or less admitted the band’s days as a unit were over. “I don’t know if there will ever be another Beatles product with the four of us on again … Ringo [Starr]’s left once; George has left once for a couple of days. It’s an anti-climax to the build-up of the myth. The myth is bigger than the three guitarists and a drummer. I’m inclined to leave them with the myth. If the Beatles would split open the group a bit and have Yoko [Ono], Billy Preston, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Elvis Presley in the group I might be interested. But as the Fab Four, I’m not personally interested in going out like that.”
​

 

[Big Ears]

It may be 'long-lost', but I cannot see anything new.

 

[METALPRIEST]

I really wish someone would get it over with already and release LET IT BE on Blu Ray!! The musical depression throughout the whole thing is what makes it so kick ass!!!

 

[Big Ears]

A soundtrack would be good.

 

[METALPRIEST]

A soundtrack would be good.

You mean a soundtrack of all the raw rehearsal stuff??

 

[Big Ears]

A soundtrack of the live performances in the film.

 

[gcczep]

On and on and on and on...

You mean a soundtrack of all the raw rehearsal stuff??

I have a 16 CD set of those. After awhile it is indigestible. You could tell too somewhat that they were sick of each other. The sessions sounded laborious and heavy.

 

[Sunny]

‘Good Ol’ Freda’ is a documentary about Freda Kelly who was the Beatles secretary for 11 years.

Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big. Though she had no concept of how far they would go, Freda had faith in The Beatles from the beginning, and The Beatles had faith in her.
History notes that The Beatles were together for 10 years, but Freda worked for them for 11. Many people came in and out of the band's circle as they grew to international stardom, but Freda remained a staple because of her unfaltering loyalty and dedication. As the Beatles' devoted secretary and friend, Freda was there as history unfolded; she was witness to the evolution – advances and setbacks, breakthroughs and challenges – of the greatest band in history.
In Good Ol' Freda, Freda tells her stories for the first time in 50 years. One of few documentaries with the support of the living Beatles and featuring original Beatles music, the film offers an insider perspective on the beloved band that changed the world of music.