Back To Basics – Studio Sessions: Rubber Soul (2011)
Volume Six… And Some Bonus Instrumentals

More gathered Beatles sessions and rarities. Like the initial volumes in this series, Please Please Me Studio Sessions, With The Beatles Studio Sessions, A Hard Day’s Night Studio Sessions, Beatles For Sale Studio Sessions & Help Studio Sessions (in the archives), this new collection fleshes out the Rubber Soul sessions. Lots of different mixes, from many sources. The instrumental bonus versions come from Rock Band and are the cleanest vocal-free versions yet. We’ll post subsequent volumes as they surface.

DISC 1
Drive My Car (RS from Take 4 V1) Rock N Roll Music (stereo) (2:30)
Drive My Car (RS from Take 4 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) (0:20)
Drive My Car (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:33)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown) (Take 1) (stereo) (2:12)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 2) (stereo) (2:29)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 3 Partial) (stereo-mono) (0:19)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 4) (2:33)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 1 V1) Barrett Mix (stereo) (2:18)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 1 V2) Anthology CD (stereo) (2:02)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 4 V1) Love Songs (fake stereo) (2:06)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 4 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) (0:59)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:08)
You Won’t See Me (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (3:29)
Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V1) Rough Movie Mix (stereo) (2:44)
Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V2) YS Soundtrack (stereo) (2:45)
Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V3) Anthology DVD (stereo) (0:19)
Nowhere Man (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:50)
Think For Yourself (Session chat) (mono) (18:59)
Think For Yourself (RS from Take 1) YS Soundtrack (stereo) (2:21)
Think For Yourself (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:23)
The Word (Unknown Take) (mono) (0:05)
The Word (RS from Take 3) Anthology DVD (stereo) (0:42)
The Word (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:55)
Michelle (Take 1 Partial) (stereo) (0:13)
Michelle (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:56)
What Goes On (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:52)

DISC 2
Girl (Take 1 Partial) (mono) (0:17)
Girl (Take 2 Instrumental – Monitor Mix) (mono) (2:21)
Girl (Take 2 Instrumental – Mogg Mix) (stereo) (2:35)
Girl (RS from Take 2) Love Songs (fake stereo) (2:31)
Girl (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:37)
I’m Looking Through You (Take 1) (stereo) (3:16)
I’m Looking Through You (Take 4) (stereo) (2:53)
I’m Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V1) 1,2,3,4 Mix (stereo) (2:58)
I’m Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V2 Partial) ARVS Mix (stereo) (0:56)
I’m Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V3) Anthology CD (stereo) (2:56)
I’m Looking Through You (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:34)
In My Life (Take 3 Partial – Alt Organ Solo V1) (mono) (1:09)
In My Life (Take 3 Partial – Alt Organ Solo V2) (mono) (Entomology) (1:10)
In My Life (Take 3 Partial – Piano Overdub V1) (mono) (0:20)
In My Life (Take 3 Partial – Piano Overdub V2) (stereo) (Moggs) (0:22)
In My Life (Unknown Take) (stereo) (0:13)
In My Life (RS from Take 3 V1) Imagine Laserdisc (stereo) (2:29)
In My Life (RS from Take 3 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) (2:27)
In My Life (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:29)
Wait (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:18)
If I Needed Someone (RM from Take 1) Rough Mix (mono) (1:23)
If I Needed Someone (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:28)
If I Needed Someone (RS from Take 1 – Partial) LITMW Mix (stereo) (0:37)
Run For Your Life (Take 1) (stereo) (0:15)
Run For Your Life (Studio Chat) (mono) (0:29)
Run For Your Life (Take 5 Partial V1) (mono) (1:26)
Run For Your Life (Take 5 Partial V2) (mono) (Entomology) (1:26)
Run For Your Life (Unknown Take) Rockband (mono) (0:12)
Run For Your Life (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:30)

DISC 3
We Can Work It Out (Take 1) (stereo-mono) (2:01)
We Can Work It Out (RM1 from Take 2 – Single Track Vocal) (mono) (2:17)
We Can Work It Out (Take 2 – With Overdubs) (stereo) (2:27)
We Can Work It Out (RM1 from Take 2) TMOLAM (mono) (2:19)
We Can Work It Out (RS1 from Take 2) 1962-66 Vinyl (stereo) (2:16)
We Can Work It Out (RS from Take 2 V1) Japanese EP (fake stereo) (2:14)
We Can Work It Out (RS from Take 2 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) (2:14)
Day Tripper (Take 1) (stereo) (2:09)
Day Tripper (Take 2) (stereo) (1:05)
Day Tripper (Take 3) (stereo) (3:07)
Day Tripper (Take 3 – Monitor Mix with Cleaner Guitar Solo) (mono) (2:52)
Day Tripper (RM1 from Take 3) TMOLM (mono) (2:56)
Day Tripper (RS1 from Take 3) 1962-66 Vinyl (stereo) (2:54)
Day Tripper (RS from Take 3) Anthology DVD (stereo) (2:48)
Day Tripper (Rockband Mix) (stereo) (2:56)
12-Bar Original (Pre-Take 1 – Jam) (stereo) (1:55)
12-Bar Original (Take 1) (stereo) (0:33)
12-Bar Original (Take 2) (stereo) (6:50)
12-Bar Original (RM1 from Take 2) (mono) (6:46)
12-Bar Original (Edit of Take 2) Anthology CD (stereo) (2:54)

BONUS
Drive My Car (Take 4 – Instrumental) (2:31)
You Won’t See Me (Take 2 – Instrumental) (3:24)
Nowhere Man (Take 3 – Instrumental) (2:40)
Think For Yourself (Take 1 – Instrumental) (2:19)
Michelle (Take 2 – Instrumental) (2:54)
What Goes On (Take 1 – Instrumental) (2:50)
Girl (Take 2 – Instrumental) (2:35)
If I Needed Someone (Take 1 – Instrumental) (2:25)
Run For Your Life (Take 5 – Instrumental) (2:27)

From Us To You (2011)
Remaster Workshop’s Cleaned Up BBC Outtakes

The fanatics over at Remaster’s Workshop took an old Yellow Dog bootleg and cleaned up the sound for this fine companion to the official 2CD set, Live At The BBC. 59 unreleased tracks in all, some the Beatles never officially recorded. Of course, there are bigger, multi-disc sets out there if you just have to have every second. But, this should suffice for most of us not already satisfied by the official release. I especially like Lennon’s numerous Chuck Berry covers. Listen to “Carol,” covered by the Stones (before) 1969.

1
From Us To You (0:32)
The Hippy Hippy Shake (1:51)
Memphis, Tennessee (2:09)
Too Much Monkey Business (2:06)
Do You Want To Know A Secret (1:48)
Crying, Waiting, Hoping (2:13)
Don’t Ever Change (1:58)
To Know Her Is To Love Her (2:50)
Carol (2:38)
Soldier Of Love (2:02)
Lend Me Your Comb (1:50)
Clarabella (2:40)
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (2:20)
The Honeymoon Song (1:43)
Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The Trees) (2:57)
So How Come (No One Loves Me) (1:44)
I Got A Woman (2:33)
Roll Over Beethoven (2:18)
Till There Was You (2:15)
I Wanna Be Your Man (2:11)
Can’t Buy Me Love (2:09)
This Boy (2:18)
Long Tall Sally (2:00)
And I Love Her (2:21)
A Hard Day’s Night (2:40)
She’s A Woman (3:10)
I Feel Fine (2:04)
Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (2:26)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy (2:45)
Ticket To Ride (2:58)
2
Too Much Monkey Business (2:07)
Thank You Girl (2:02)
From Me To You (1:57)
I’ll Be On My Way (2:00)
I Saw Here Standing There (2:37)
Long Tall Sally (1:46)
Some Other Guy (2:04)
Boys (2:29)
Memphis, Tennessee (2:08)
I’ll Get You (2:05)
She Loves You (2:18)
Lucille (1:54)
I Got To Find My Baby (1:59)
Money (That’s What I Want) (2:40)
Young Blood (2:00)
Baby It’s You (2:44)
Sure To Fall (In Love With You) (2:10)
Anna (Go To Him) (3:03)
Lonesome Tears In My Eyes (2:39)
I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) (2:05)
Matchbox (1:59)
Please Mr. Postman (2:18)
I Got A Woman (2:50)
Chains (2:23)
Glad All Over (1:54)
Honey Don’t (2:15)
You Really Got A Hold On Me (2:57)
Lucille (2:31)
Twist And Shout (2:32)

Beatles For Sale Studio Sessions (2011)
Help! Studio Sessions (2011)
Volumes Four & Five

Just surfaced… more gathered Beatles sessions and rarities. Like the first three volumes in this series, Please Please Me Studio Sessions, With The Beatles Studio Sessions and A Hard Day’s Night Studio Sessions (find them all HERE), these two new collections flesh out some of the Beatles’ early recording sessions, offering telling editorial changes with each successive take. Check out the progression of “I’m A Loser” (Takes 1-8), below. The song had already been worked out in detail prior to Takes 1 & 2, but by Take 3, John & Paul have already changed the song’s introduction, adding that great slow vocal beginning we all now know (check out how rich and detailed those voices get with each take). You can hear McCartney wrestling with his essential high background vocals throughout Take 3, but he’s nailed them by the next full version, leaving Lennon to sing the “not what I appear to be” chorus solo, echoing the new intro and etching the arrangement in stone for future takes. In Take 6, Lennon’s Dylan-ripped harmonica wails, but by Take 8 he’s ready to wrap it up and go. John & Paul’s moments together are The Beatles’ most meaningful, and hearing McCartney work out his miracle harmonies within Lennon’s loose blueprint is like witnessing a master class. For those interested in the step-by-step creation of some of rock’s most indelible material, here are the schematics . We’ll post subsequent volumes as they surface.

The Brits must think we’re daft for dragging these original, mangled, reverb-laden old Capitol Records releases back from oblivion and into the digital age. For youngsters not acquainted with the peculiarities of Beatlemania in America, Capitol took George Martin’s original tapes and doused them in reverb, then chopped the British albums into different configurations to squeeze a few more sales out of a fad that was sure to expire before the last lunch box or bubblegum card could roll off the production line. That’s why The Beatles’ Second Album is almost a ‘covers’ album, the band’s UK debut morphed into their 5th LP in the States, and how Capitol was able to squeeze out five Beatles albums in 1965 alone, Beatles ’65 (actually issued in December, ’64),  The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help! and Rubber Soul. For disciples, there are oddities to be found buried in these digital grooves; the false start on “I’m Looking Through You,” the original score music from Help! (only time on CD) and, it should probably be mentioned to those that think about these things, the mono on these first issue discs are “folded down,” a combination of two stereo tracks into one. For all the faults, Capitol did do one thing right for the new millennium crowd, they put both stereo and mono versions on the same disc, something that economics (greed) put a stop to when the official stereo and mono box sets were released in 2009. A Hard Day’s Night is not included in this Capitol box as it was originally issued on United Artists Records – though Something New closely approximates it. So… why is it we Yanks seem to be clinging to these clearly inferior versions, oh-so-many decades later? Well, technically, we’re not. Capitol was only filling a minor marketing void, so except for those rabid collectors that just must have it all, there’s really only one reason all this stuff could hold any interest for the average joe… memories. Those misty, water-colored memories of the way we were. Personally, all I really wanted were those nifty cover reproductions (click for Amazon links). Each has both mono & stereo versions. File Under: The Beatles – Pop Rock, Vocal Group.

I Want To Hold Your Hand
I Saw Her Standing There
This Boy
It Won’t Be Long
All I’ve Got To Do
All My Loving
Don’t Bother Me
Little Child
Till There Was You
Hold Me Tight
I Wanna Be Your Man
Not A Second Time

Roll Over Beethoven
Thank You Girl
You Really Got A Hold On Me
Devil In Her Heart
Money
You Can’t Do That
Long Tall Sally
I Call Your Name
Please Mr.Postman
I’ll Get You
She Loves You

I’ll Cry Instead
Things We Said Today
Any Time At All
When I Get Home
Slow Down
Matchbox
Tell Me Why
And I Love Her
I’m Happy Just to Dance With You
If I Fell
Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand

No Reply
I’m A Loser
Baby’s In Black
Rock And Roll Music
I’ll Follow The Sun
Mr. Moonlight
Honey Don’t
I’ll Be Back
She’s A Woman
I Feel Fine
Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby

Love Me Do
Twist And Shout
Anna (Go To Him)
Chains
Boys
Ask Me Why
Please Please Me
PS I Love You
Baby It’s You
A Taste Of Honey
Do You Want To Know A Secret

Kansas City
Eight Days A Week
You Like Me Too Much
Bad Boy
I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party
Words Of Love
What You’re Doing
Yes It Is
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
Tell Me What You See
Every Little Thing

Help!
The Night Before
From Me To You Fantasy (Instrumental)
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
I Need You
In The Tyrol (Instrumental)
Another Girl
Another Hard Day’s Night (Instrumental)
Ticket To Ride
The Bitter End / You Can’t Do That (Instrumental)
You’re Gonna Lose That Girl
The Chase (Instrumental)

I’ve Just Seen A Face
Norwegian Wood
You Won’t See Me
Think For Yourself
The Word
Michelle
It’s Only Love
Girl
I’m Looking Through You
In My Life
Wait
Run For Your Life

Please Please Me Studio Sessions (2011)
With The Beatles Studio Sessions (2011)
A Hard Day’s Night Studio Sessions, Vol. 1 (2011)
A Hard Day’s Night Studio Sessions, Vol. 2 (2011)
The Best… Just Doing What They Do.

The beauty of these original session tapes (available for many years in different incarnations, but meshed here with obscure mixes) is the opportunity to hear The Beatles playing live in the studio, unconsciously making up all new rules for the music industry, and all while the tapes were rolling. That they had such a fresh approach – both inventively and commercially – for virtually all their sessions is an accomplishment that still mystifies students of the arts to this day. This kinetic, spontaneous live sound is a joy, and it makes you wonder why you’d ever wanna listen to those official albums again (especially those old American LPs… some of which are included here to remind you). There are, of course, non-essential tracks that weigh down the flow  – crappy monitor mixes are the worst offenders – but the live stuff is worth the fat. The old collector in me perversely appreciates the mixture of original studio tapes and eventually lost mixes (from LP sources like Reel Music all the way up to Rock Band). It’s a smart organizational trick, too, maintaining a consistent listening experience across decades of versions and releases. Historically speaking, these are the days, aren’t they? How great is it to be able to immediately access the nervousness in George Harrison’s voice as he records his first, solo composition (“Don’t Bother Me”)? Listen to the ease with which the band is able to count off, and nail, a middle eight whenever George Martin wants an edit piece. It just confirms that these guys were already club-worn pros when they walked through Abbey Road’s doors, and they sound it. Their adaptability is amazing. Listen for the years of pent-up club versions in McCartney’s first vocal take of “I Saw Her Standing There,” one of the few in the series where Lennon gets his ‘when’s, ‘and’s & ‘since’s straight. In another session, Lennon laments that things aren’t written down, illustrating his ongoing lyrical issues – from the first sessions all the way to the rooftop concert where Yoko can be seen holding lyrics for him. There are four discs of A Hard Day’s Night variations, for you gotta-have-it-all types, while the multi-take evolution of McCartney’s powerhouse vocals for the title track’s bridge are worthy of University study. Hear first takes of “I Saw Her Standing There” & “A Hard Day’s Night,” below.  My apologies to any blog pals that may have already posted this. My surfing time has been seriously lacking lately and I haven’t been out much.