Question for old time Beatles people

[kingdom warrior]

Actually it was Phil Spector who produced and compiled Let It Be, but yeah, the Beatles had practically disowned the material by that point. Speaking of which, I really wish that Apple would finally release "Let It Be" on DVD and Blu-ray. Apparently, according to rumours, it won't happen while Paul and Ringo are still alive, which is too bad, because I think its a fascinating film.

I always liked the concept that they wanted to play new material in front of an audience. I just thought they went about it the wrong way. It would have been nice if it would have been for a television special in which they played the new material to a live audience much like the way like Elvis's comeback special and in later years MTV unplugged.

By the way I love Let it Be Naked without all that Phil Spector crap wall of sound......

[kingdom warrior]

Interesting. I didn't know Paul and Ringo had issues with 'Let it be' getting released on DVD. Have they mentioned them publicly or is this speculation from collectors?

I think the crap they did in Hamburg in the early 60's was far worse than Paul and George *****ing to each other.......

[WannabeMego]

Being a Beatles Fan (primarily through association...Meanie's my Brother), my feeling has always been that the hardcore fans always have a lackluster response to releases because they know there is more out there. They've read about it in books, interviews, documentaries...they know that at least George & Paul have a HUGE stockpile of Demo's and unreleased session takes.

I'll let Berto speak for himself, but it always feels like when they officially release something "it could be better if they..." did this or that.

Thank God for Bootlegs: The Beatles Bootleg Recordings

[stevenlore]

Concerning the film, Let ItBe....Back in the early 2000's a DVD was compiled with lots of commentary and extra footage. Apple is just sitting on it....but there have been some nice fan made upgrades of the film out there if you know where to look...

As for the Hamburg recordings...there is a great upgrade made by a fan that makes it at least listenable. It really shows what a great band The Beatles were pre-fame.


Oh, and Hey Jude...just a compilation album...but a great one at that.

[david_b]

I always liked the concept that they wanted to play new material in front of an audience. I just thought they went about it the wrong way. It would have been nice if it would have been for a television special in which they played the new material to a live audience much like the way like Elvis's comeback special and in later years MTV unplugged.

I'd agree.., this would also have worked well for a Wilburys concert.. I know Tom was SO ENTHUSIASTIC about doing a tour, George said no. I always wondered why they just didn't to a staged one-night show, for a major cable network, like the Carl Perkins Showtime gig a few years earlier with George, Ringo, Eric, you name it...

It would have satisfied a lot of fans, made a few million, plus make it easy for George just to return home that night, instead of (how he whined) being woken up at some hotel in Cleveland, 2 in the afternoon to do some Wilburys soundcheck..

[Mikey]

The way I understand it George was not as quiet and easy going as people were lead to believe.

After the break-up of the Beatles he became a bit of a prima donna -- way worse than McCartney or Lennon ever was.

[cjefferys]

Concerning the film, Let ItBe....Back in the early 2000's a DVD was compiled with lots of commentary and extra footage. Apple is just sitting on it....but there have been some nice fan made upgrades of the film out there if you know where to look...

Yeah, the footage was restored and a DVD release came really close to happening. You can see how nice the footage looks in the clips shown in the Beatles Anthology. They wipe the floor with my crappy laserdisc transfer, which has tons of problems.

At one point, a TV special was considered, as was a one off concert in some exotic place to be filmed for the movie. No one could ever agree on anything (which was a common thing for the Beatles at that point) so the concert on Apple's roof was just thrown together without much effort. They realized they had to do something and just chose the easiest way, which wouldn't take a lot of planning or work.

[SeattleEd]

Yeah, the footage was restored and a DVD release came really close to happening. You can see how nice the footage looks in the clips shown in the Beatles Anthology. They wipe the floor with my crappy laserdisc transfer, which has tons of problems.

At one point, a TV special was considered, as was a one off concert in some exotic place to be filmed for the movie. No one could ever agree on anything (which was a common thing for the Beatles at that point) so the concert on Apple's roof was just thrown together without much effort. They realized they had to do something and just chose the easiest way, which wouldn't take a lot of planning or work.

You beat me to it!

I was going to add that here at work we have the music videos for Get Back and Don't Let Me Down. Really nice quality too.

There was an article that came stating that Apple was going to release it the year after the Anthology DVD's came out. No such luck.


I will always favor the Get Back album but really love the quality on Let It Be...Naked.

[stevenlore]

Thank God for Bootlegs: The Beatles Bootleg Recordings

You can say that again.

[MIB41]

I'm curious if it's truly a "image" issue as Ringo suggests or if it's a copyright problem, since the Jackson camp stole those rights from McCartney years ago. I always think that plays a role in what gets released these days. I think that actually had a lot to do with why McCartney released 'Let it Be Naked'. Because the Jackson camp was collecting royalties on the actual 'Let it be' album. Food for thought.

[stevenlore]

I doubt it has to do with Jackson nor is it image. I believe its money. From Love to the remasters to Rockband to releaseing One again, the "Beatles" just want to make money and they think by being "hip" the general public would go after that. Let's face it, "Let It Be" is not a great film and the general public won't be that interested in it. Same goes for "Live at the Hollywood Bowl". And for unreleased stuff....Shea Stadium may look nice, but neither the rerecordings nor the actual soundtrack are that great. But I would buy it. And who, but Beatles fans, would want to hear the 10+ minute Revolution 1 (which I think sounds great!), or the 27 minute Helter Skelter or Carnival of Light?

I believe some of this will come out in a couple of years as bonus material when Apple releases the albums again as Remixes.

[Mikey]

I remember back in the mid 80's ordering a Beatles VHS off the TV.

I forgot what it was called but it was a 20 minute tape of the Beatles lip-syncing to a few songs including Shout on a TV show.

The tape is long gone today but I still wonder if it was actually legit

[SeattleEd]

I doubt it has to do with Jackson nor is it image. I believe its money. From Love to the remasters to Rockband to releaseing One again, the "Beatles" just want to make money and they think by being "hip" the general public would go after that. Let's face it, "Let It Be" is not a great film and the general public won't be that interested in it. Same goes for "Live at the Hollywood Bowl". And for unreleased stuff....Shea Stadium may look nice, but neither the rerecordings nor the actual soundtrack are that great. But I would buy it. And who, but Beatles fans, would want to hear the 10+ minute Revolution 1 (which I think sounds great!), or the 27 minute Helter Skelter or Carnival of Light?

I believe some of this will come out in a couple of years as bonus material when Apple releases the albums again as Remixes.

Agreed. It's mostly for hardcore fans and not the mass population but you never know with the next generation from a historical perspective but I don't see the numbers there.
To me it's a very depressing movie to watch and no amount of editing could save it. The rooftop performance is great but listening to the complete performance sure is sad for me.

I'm one wants to the hear the unreleased material just for kicks and like the Revolution 1 (Take 20) it's good for a single listen but that's it. There is a reason why they released the versions they did.
I heard the Helter Skelter take 1 and 2 just are jam performances that break down half way. Not much interesting. But I still want to hear them.

[kingdom warrior]

I remember back in the mid 80's ordering a Beatles VHS off the TV.

I forgot what it was called but it was a 20 minute tape of the Beatles lip-syncing to a few songs including Shout on a TV show.

The tape is long gone today but I still wonder if it was actually legit

Yeah it was legit that was from Ready Steady Go I still have the Tape I think It was released by Dave Clark from the Dave Clark 5......



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5h4T_kfBcg

[Mikey]

Yep, that was it