Wednesday, November 18, 2009

THE BEATLES...AGAIN

There's an excellent Beatles documentary, directed by Bob Smeaton (who also directed The Beatles Anthology), coming up later this month on the History Channel; but, of course, in the age of the internet, you don't have to wait that long to see The Beatles On Record:  it's right here for your listening and dancing pleasure.  There's nothing new or surprising, but there's lots of wonderful footage and in-studio chatter.  Better yet, the film doesn't dwell on behind-the-scenes melodrama:  the focus is strictly on the music, year by year, from "Love Me Do" to Abbey Road.   If you're a Beatles fanatic—and I know there are many of you out there—I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

10 comments:

  1. Have you ever read a book called, "Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After"?

    Just wondering because it was written by a new instructor here at Emerson named Tim Riley. He's a pretty big Beatles fan, obviously, having written a book about them and all. I've been his grad assistant this semester.

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  2. No matter how many documentaries or books or whatever they do on the Beatles I'm still there watching and reading and being fascinated.

    And then I go to the music again.

    So, which remaster set did you get? Mono? Stereo? Both? And have you read Geoff Emerick's book?

    Brett

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  3. Y'know, I've had so many Beatles books over the years, Dan, that I sometimes forget which ones I've owned. I know I don't have TELL ME WHY on the shelf right now, but that doesn't mean I haven't read it. I'll poke around over at Amazon and see if it rings a bell.

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  4. I agree, Brett. It's a like a myth that we all keep dipping back into, finding new meaning, new resonance, each time. I sometimes wonder about the karma those four guys must have shared, to bring such a powerful and transformative energy onto the world stage. An energy that continues to ripple through us all.

    I'm waiting for Christmas for the remasters and I'll go for the stereo set. They really should have had the stereo and mono versions together in one set, instead of breaking them up.

    I've read portions of Emerick's book. As usual, it's one guy's POV, which contradicts other people's versions of the story; but that's what makes it all so interesting, I guess.

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  5. I need to make the time to watch this.

    Soooo busy...

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  6. With a little luck, it'll stay up there on You Tube for a while, Nicholas.

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  7. I watched it. It was worth it.

    Man, I need the mono box set!

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  8. Glad you enjoyed it, Nicholas. Maybe Santa will bring you the mono box.

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  9. Well, the BEST present would be the stereo AND mono boxes together!

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