Heavy
Beatles, Heavy.
That's what the most obscure rumor mill of Britain says.
A new album of that title, with the raw cuts of post-1967 material will be released this year, and it will include "She's so heavy" and a previously unreleased song a White Album-era cut, Harrison's "Sour Milk Sea," is thought to be included in the mystery album. The song's original can contains a recording featuring Macca, George, Ringo, Eric Clapton, and a keyboardist identified as Nicky Hopkins, with vocals by Jackie Lomax and not even a mention to John. Now the London grapevine says that a version of that song with Harrison at the vocal helm was found at Apple Corps and it would be included in Heavy.
I haven't found much information about it, or even vague hints about what the cover would be, but I wanted to let y'all know.
I tend to think that the real album would have a lot of interesting material, and that it would contain more than one unreleased track. I expect it to be heavier in Lennon and with guests musicians who recorded with the Beatles in their experimental period.
And well, yes, we are waiting for the Let It Be DVD!
That's what the most obscure rumor mill of Britain says.
A new album of that title, with the raw cuts of post-1967 material will be released this year, and it will include "She's so heavy" and a previously unreleased song a White Album-era cut, Harrison's "Sour Milk Sea," is thought to be included in the mystery album. The song's original can contains a recording featuring Macca, George, Ringo, Eric Clapton, and a keyboardist identified as Nicky Hopkins, with vocals by Jackie Lomax and not even a mention to John. Now the London grapevine says that a version of that song with Harrison at the vocal helm was found at Apple Corps and it would be included in Heavy.
I haven't found much information about it, or even vague hints about what the cover would be, but I wanted to let y'all know.
I tend to think that the real album would have a lot of interesting material, and that it would contain more than one unreleased track. I expect it to be heavier in Lennon and with guests musicians who recorded with the Beatles in their experimental period.
And well, yes, we are waiting for the Let It Be DVD!
17 Comments:
"Sour Milk Sea" is a well know "rarity" (and not that good at all!)
There were (last time I looked it up) over 700 unreleased Beatle tracks. Either demos, half baked rehearsals, jams or “oh fook it that aint going anywhere, ahm going hoom”
George Martin had a rule to keep tapes rolling at all times, it was more for technical reasons that nothing else. Tapes of the time had a tendency to cool off specially the transports and the first few seconds of a cut would be the transport picking up speed.
A bazillion of tapes were recorded over, a lot of them were just thrown in a corner .
When Apple records was opened the amount of semi recorded reels (¼” 2 & 4 track s) took 5 rooms and most of them were un-catalogued .
Another typical Beatles custom was to jam with whosesoever was there at the time.
Typically whoever they hung out the previous night!
So if Paul decide to show with Nicky Hopkins and there were no other Beatles in the room , I am sure someone would sit at the drums and some shit would get recorded only to be pulled off and thrown in a corner once the Beatles were there.
At the time, those sessions were a free for all; I read someplace that Brian Jones played in something like 15 Beatles tracks as well as Jagger and Richards. Even Hendrix is in a couple. In fact “Baby You’re a Rich man” is said to be MOSTLY musically played by Brian Jones, whom all the Beatles thought to be the REAL musician within the Stones. Brian in fact introduced George to the whole sitar , Indian percussion thing and played it in “Rich man” since Ringo couldn’t get the grasp of it. (It ain’t EASY! )
The Beatles would pay the favor but due to contract exclusivity they could not acknowledge they played on this or that track for this or that record company that was not THEIR record company
There is an old book named “APPLE SCRUFFS” which is well worth the reading it details the beginning of Apple Corps and what a total free for all that was.
Now, that this stuff is worth ZILLIONS I am sure someone is going through it with a fine tooth comb. Imagine the guy who hits on a Beatles records were Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Jimi Hendrix ARE playing!
This is so STUPID that half of the lyrics to “All you need is love” were written by Mick Jagger on an all nighter at Lennon’s house . The song was delivered at 8AM for the very first international satellite TV broadcast EVER! Imagine the producer’s conniption.
If you look at the video you will see a very tired Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful singing along to a song which was supposed to have never been heard before. ;)
The “she loves you yeah yeah yeah “ at the end of the song was Paul throwing something in cause he did not like the way the song was to end , (with just a fade out) and since it WAS live who was gonna stop him ?
The ULTIMATE Beatles encyclopedia will probably take a few hundred volumes and we will not see it until way after Sir Paul and the now CUTE Beatle (Ringo) pass on.
Those are the ones I had in mind (Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jagger) that are more suitable to appear in a good selection of tracks for Heavy. Let's see!
I found a reference to this tentative line-up without Sour Milk Sea, and instead they have the Walk:
1. Twist And Shout
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. You Can't Do That
4. I Wanna Be Your Man
5. I Call Your Name
6. Boys
7. Long Tall Sally
8. Rock And Roll Music
9. Slow Down
10. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
11. Money
12. Bad Boy
13. Matchbox
14. Roll Over Beethoven
15. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
16. Anytime At All
17. Drive My Car
18. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
19. The Night Before
20. I'm Down
21. Revolution
22. Back In The U.S.S.R.
23. Helter Skelter
24. Taxman
25. Got To Get You Into My Life
26. Hey Bulldog
27. Birthday
28. Get Back
29. The Walk (previously unreleased)
In this version of the line up there's a lot of pre sixty seven material, and many songs that were
not very heavy in nature or that were covers. Actually, it's the line up of that double album, Rock'n Roll music, which was a compilation of lively tunes but withouth much edge. Definitively, it won't be Heavy. It can't.
So we better prepare for an album heavy in guests, and heavy in the Beatles that conquered Hamburg.
Per my Beatles Recording Session 5/11/67 (my 2nd birthday), was when they recorded Baby You're a Rich Man. On the tape tracks, only the 4 beatles and Eddie Kramer played. But it states that one of the 2 tape boxes does read "The Beatles "+ Mick Jagger?" It says that Jagger attended the sessions and it is assumed he may have sung backups as well.
On June 8, 1967, it has Brian Jones playing alto sax on "You Know My Name, Look Up The Number", which was not released until 1970 as a b-side to the single Let it Be.
What tunes did Hendriz play on? It's not in the recording logs.
Hendrix played with them in the BBC sessions. There are some tracks in which Lennon and Hendrix share vocals, for example Day Tripper, and two more that I can't remember now. They jammed very informally. The same with Eric Clapton, and I understand that also Eric Burton from the Animals had some input in the jammings.
“Baby you’re a Richman” OFFICIAL session credits
Recorded on 5/11/1967 at Olympic Sounds Studios
Brian Jones (oboe?) -With a question mark (it wasn’t an oboe! it was sitar and some other India paraphernalia) Mick Jagger (Harmony Vocals) You CAN hear Mick in the background if you are REALLY good at this. There’s Indian percussion in the cut but credited to no-one. Ringo gets credited with Drum, tambourine and maracas ... (????) Eddie Kramer Vibraphone (Brian Jones played the Vibraphone ( which he did on UNDER MY THUMB and blew everyone away) on that so I don’t know where these credits come from, in 1967 Eddie Kramer was back in Liverpool waiting tables with the Dakotas
There's a zillion percussion , fills and bits of words all over the tune but who can get credit for that.
Going back to the era Brian and Mick WERE the Stones, Keith was odd man out. So it is logical that Mick and Brian were at the session, the fall out between Mick and Brian bringing Mick & Keith together can actually be seen in the documentary "Sympathy for the Devil" where Brain is so zonked that Mick just gives up on him and the very tight Keith/Mick alliance surges. You can also see here what a TERRIBLE drummer Charlie Watts was (and still is – listen to a BIGGER BANG and grind your teeth at this man’s unbelievable luck in life))
Also Mick being the ultimate capitalist probably did not ignore the fact that it was Keith who wrote Satisfaction and kept him from a life of Accounting.
The original track has a slurred "Baby you’re a rich fag Jew"
That to all of us sounds like "baby you’re a rich man too"
(A dedication to Brian Epstein – who had had the gall to tell them they had just done a bad take and Lennon reposted, with “Brian you keep to the percentages, WE do the music)
The day Sgt Pepper's was released in London Hendrix was playing a local club and opened with Sgt Peppers (there are recordings of this bouncing around)
Now, how did Hendrix, even in all his genius nailed a song in a few hours can only mean he was there during the recording SOOOOO.... the story goes that Sgt. Peppers has Hendrix on it. Listen to the lead guitar in Peppers and tell me if it sounds like George Harrison or Jimmy Hendrix. Coincidentally????? Paul was at that gig with a Sgt Pepper album under his arm which was played in its entirety AFTER Hendrix played the opening track.
Again I repeat in those days credits were not something you just threw around for a zillion reasons. I am sure Hendrix label was not too happy Hendrix was helping out the Beatles while he could’ve been writing some hits for THEIR Company so a lot of this mishmash would usually get buried in the "mix"
Helter Skelter, had Charles Manson been born 1500 years ago and was married to a rich widow he would’ve been MUHAMMAD! And the Beatles would’ve been ALLAH!
Brian Jones was a very talented musician, and he was also a painter. In both, he was the product of the classical education, he played several instruments, in the western tradition, and then hangin' out with the Indian eccentrics of the 1960's London he got a good grip of the sitar and the Indian percussion, tabla being his favorite. He was the one gaving Paul the Trio Matamoros record who inspired "And I loved her". He had a wide scope of interests and if he had survived Keith Richards would be playing in another band with Charlie Watts.
There is an oboe part on Baby you're a rich man, and Brian did play winds; he may have played it.
The book I have is the Abbey Road sessions which was written by Geoff Emerick. It has all the notes about every track; overdub; etc. A great book to get. Fromt he credits, Kramer was the 2nd engineer on that day (Emerick and Parsons were out that day) and added the tracks; so he was there at Abbey Road.
I've heard Hendrix playing beatle songs live on bootlegs. But I do not believe he played on any Beatle album, albeit Sgt. Pepper. The guitar riffs on Pepper are trademark Harrison; too clean to sound like Hendrix' material from the period (Are you Experienced).
I have an original Sgt. Pepper in Mono mix and it's interesting because many of the guitar riffs are more prominant on the mono mix rather than on the stereo mixes. (Dang, those are on vinyl; I wish they'd re-release them on CD)
I've read all the major Hendrix bios; the McCartney Bio; and the bio written by that former Apple Guy (can't recall his name - which did describe John's fun with Magic Alex and Paul's B&W fun with different women while he was dating Linda).
Point me to the riffs and I'll give it another listen. For example on Taxman, the solo is played by Paul in the style of Hendrix; which is what Paul had suggested for the lead. Interestingly enough, the slide guitar on Drive My Car was also Paul.
George Harrison was the most underrated guitar player as is Keith Richards. Especially when George left the Beatles, his style matured into a unique sound; especially as a slide player.
As for Keith, he is still one of my favortie guitarists. You won't find a better rhythym player albeit Pete Townsend. He plays a riff style ala Chuck Berry and uses the thumb on his left to get cool chord voicings. Keith is probably my number 1 guitar influence.
Of course, just for fun, listen to the jam on "The End" which features John, Paul, and George trading licks and try to figure out which one is which.
I am not saying that Keith is a bad guitar player, but his work, for some reason, didn't evolve along the same lines of the George's. They were different though, Keith plays rhythmic guitar, while George was a more versatile player, moving from rythmic to lead, to be also a soloist in the more classical sense of the word.
Paul is immensely talented and he revolutionized the bass playing of the era, playing the bass almost like another lead guitar, one could mention many of his inventive tracks, but Come Togheter changed forever the way bass was played, he toyed around with atonalities, assonances, and tempo in a way that many people would not even imagine.
George is indeed underrated. Nobody graffittied the walls of London with a "George is God", while people seemed to adore Eric Clapton. It was all about ego, and George didn't seem to be a man possessed of himself. To me, George represents the serious musician open to an incredible amount of influences, from the Delta Blues, to Indian ragas, and even bagpipes, all with a discipline that is atypical in modern day musicians. Not to talk about his lyrics. Also, George started experimenting with all American instruments like the slide steel guitar and the dobro, plus playing fretless guitars from time to time. Many people seem to believe that a great guitar player can be only evaluated by the speed of his digitation, but they forget a very important part: inventiveness, openness, creativity, raw ideas, and overall, musicianship. There are guitarists who are dazzling-dizzling fast, but whose work is not more than technically perfect with not a lot of creativity. Jimi was another unbelievable talent, crossing influences with Paul.
There are also a lot of sloppy guitarists who have been put in a pedestal by their record companies, like che-lover santana. I can train a five year old chimp to play better than santana. And it won't be wearing a che t-shirt!
If you listen to Harrison's early stuff 64-66, his playing was superb. His use of complex chord schemes and melodic playing ala Chet Atkins. Most of George's stuff is pretty hard. I can't play half the stuff he did when he was 20.
I still Clapton's best stuff was with Cream. I love his playing, especially when he does pure blues. But I was always partial to Jeff Beck who in my opinion was better technically than clapton and more versatile than Clapton.
John was underrated as a guitarist as well. He played some nice riffs during the let it be sessions as well as Abbey Road.
You mentioned his bass playing on come together. But listen to his bass riffs on I Want You (She's So Heavy). This is doing some incredible bass runs. It is his best bass performance as a beatle. But even his performance on Pepper and Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields recordings show some complex bass playing; melodic bass playing rather than sitting on the root. He got a lot of inspiration from my other idol, Brian Wilson, who would but the bass note on the third and fifths (Listen to God ONly Knows from Pet Sounds).
Sadly, McCartney stopped really playing bass after the Wings at the Speed of SOund ALbum. He had some great riffs on that album (Silly Love Songs is another one of the best bass riffs in a rock tune). (I also loved John Enwhistle and Chris Squire too for their playing, but it was more virtuoso than melodic as Paul's playing).
Dude, if you're ever in Lauderdale, give me a hollar and we can do lunch and talke Beatles and ways of seeing fidel killed.
Have a great weekend!
This is of course a matter of pure subjectivity but the lead intro to Pepper's could not be LESS Harrison. Harrison’s lead was a lot more akin to Claptons and neither of those sound like the opening of Pepper.
There are certain nuisances that you pick from a musician style that tell me a lot as to who is playing . Hendrix had a classic opening to his leads with a very high pitch accompanied by a lower harmonic. Listen to the original Pepper ( I have both the original mono and Stereo) Unfortunately EVERYONE knows Sgt. Peppers but were this a brand new song and you were asked to guess who the lead guitar is the LAST person you'd have in mind would be Harrison ( I really do not see how you hear Harrison in Pepper AT ALL)
It is like listening to Keith Moon play drums, only drummer ever to begin rolls on the cymbals in fact Moon would do full 4/4 roll ONLY on the cymbals , once you become aware of these idiosyncrasies it is easy to identify (of curse it is also easy to imitate.Of course my drum playing “borrows” a LOT from Keith Moon).
The FACT that Hendrix , opened up a gig on the day of the Pepper release with Sgt Pepper and that Paul was in the house with the album and that after Hendrix played the intro , the dj played the whole album is quite telling.
Now, we can argue this to satiety and again I was NOT there but the more I hear Pepper's intro the more i am convinced it is Hendrix.
I do not hear any oboes on Baby you’re a Richman , I DO hear an Indian instruments that sounds like an oboe but is in fact a percussion instrument VERY difficult to master since you DO blow on it but the pitch is changed by Pushing and hitting the back skin of this thing. The instrument is also very much used in Africa specially morocco.
The TAXMAN bass line was written by Paul as a lead guitar, and he played it thusly. I am not aware he played lead on taxman put did play BASS LEAD
I think I mentioned that Paul redefined bass playing with Paperback Writer and took it out as a lead instrument. I think that could only have been done with Ringo at the drums who happens to be a HIGHLY underrated drummer. Where as Paul would muscle his way around all other instruments he wouldn’t dare come and tell Ringo what to do.
Listen to the Ballad of John & Yoko and you will hear this crappy drumming and you wonder what happen to Rringo until you realize Paul played drums on that.!
Ringo is a MELODIC drummer, weather with the galloping beat in Get Back or the masterful hi-hat snare rhythm on Come Together.
As far as Keith being a GREAT rhythm guitar . ah ! , yeah noone plays Keith Richards like Keith Richards but it is a niche, comparing Richards to Townsend in my opinion is sacrilege (and I think MOST Musicians will admit that Townsend is just an overall genius at fully developed rhythm patterns whereas Keith is just a masterful hook writer.
Try to picture Keith plying the intro to Pinball Wizard .. it just ain’t gonna happen.
Grab yourself Jagger’s “Goddess in the doorway” and listen to “GUN”.
Now listen to the machine gun rhythm on the middle 8th . THAT is Peter Townsend. I would like to see Keith pulling that speed and accuracy off
Rent "Being Mick Jagger" and see Townsend leave EVERYONE in the studio speechless.
Townsend is brilliant and I love his playing. But Keith Richards style for me has more appeal; I love songs based on riffs; his riffs have a lot of soul. Keith's use of suspended 9th chords makes my day. He's my number one influence on the guitar. But it's all a matter of preference. I love the blues. Keith has always stayed true to his Chuck Berry roots.
The intro to Baby you're a rich man is clearly an oboe. No doubt about it. It's a wind instrument. If you want a classic sitar sound, listen to the intro to Love you Too on Revolver or the Inner Light on the B-Side of Lady Madonna.
As for the Harrison licks on Pepper, I'm referring more Good MOrning Good Morning; the Pepper Reprise; Fixing a Hole.
The lead guitar riff on Pepper could have been Paul for all we know. But it definately sounds like a single coil strat which is what George was using in 1967.
I've read every interview with Paul regarding Hendrix playing the Pepper album in its entirety on the weekend it was released. I even have the video of the making of Sgt. Pepper. I'm sure someone would have clued us in that Hendrix participated on the album. Harrison had a unique vibratto style when he played. It developed more in his later years, but his playing is pretty distinguishable.
I also agree with you on Ringo. I have the unsurpassed masters bootlegs which show all the different takes of Strawberry Fields. Some killer drumming. Ringo was steady. Phil Collins credits him as one of his favorite and influential drummers as well. He really shined in 67-69.
The story on Taxman was that George was working out a solo, and Paul had said that he saw this cat in London (Hendrix) and that the song would benefit with a Hendrix type solo; so Paul winged it to show George what he was talking about; they liked the solo, so it stuck.
If you want to hear a killer Hendrix recording, check out the Hendrix plays the Blues. This is where I think he was ultimatley headed in (given his jam sessions in Chicago with Buddy Guy). Too bad all these geniuses killed themselves with drugs.
Interesting topic dudes....
According to Lewisohn, he claims George overdubbed "a stinging-and much distorted-lead guitar solo".
To my ears it sounds like Paul, but who knows...
I also read elsewhere (can't remember the source now) that George played lead on the basic take and that you can hear it in the center channel. Paul did an overdub and that it's in the right channel.
SrCohiba, I have a mono mix of Pepper. I thought I had made you a copy. I'll bring mine tonight if I remember so you can listen.
From what I've read/seen in the Anthology series, Pepper was released on a Friday. Hendrix played the Saville Theater on Sunday of that weekend. I think we can all agree that a guitarist of his caliber had plenty of time to learn Pepper by Sunday night.
Also, Howard Kaylan of the Turtles in his autobiographical film "My dinner with Jimi", states that they (Turtles, Stones, Donovan, Beatles, Jimi, etc.) met up and that the Beatles played them Pepper before it was released. Jimi could have gotten a head start on learning the tune then!
The sgt Pepper Reprise could be ANYONE playing lead 'cause it sounds NOTHING like the opening of the album.and my fave part of that ditty was the countdown and the SHEER sense of joy of the whole thing. I will STRUGGLE to find that Indian instrument that sounds like an OBOE. It is actually played in te "Concert for George"
I have heard all the variation of Strawberry Fields , and this is just NOT ordinary drummer (although he is a human metronome).
I recall an interview where Keith Ricards is being apologetic about Charlie Watts saying "charlie is a JAZZ" drummer, well god damn it after 40 years you would THINK he learned ROCK dynamics and be able to keep a fill at the same volume throught it. Also be able to keep the fuck away from the rim unless you want a rim shot.
I have said two luckiest people on earth are Melissa Rivers and Charlie Watts.
BTW , Brian Jones played KICK ASS drums! But Paul always makes me laugh when he actually TRIES to play drums , like "Dude you play 97 fucking intruments DRUMS are not one of them , give it up"
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