December 2024

Hello folks – trust you all (who celebrate) had a Fab Christmas! We’re reaching the end of a pretty terrific year for new product, in the form of books, docs and reissues, as well as something new (Ringo’s Crooked Boy EP, as well as his upcoming country project, which was teased out). These included One Hand Clapping, Mind Games, Living in the Material World, the ’64 Capitol Mono Albums set, as well as everything else, including the Beatles ’64 film. Whatever is next in the pipeline is anyone’s guess: a McCartney IV has been suggested (while the McCartney-scored It’s A Wonderful Life musical is apparently dead). Then there are the anticipated 1965 60th anniversaries: a new Help! perhaps, while a 60th deluxe set for Rubber Soul seems inevitable. The planned Some Time in New York City re-release has been rendered stillborn for any number of obvious reasons, despite the release of two 2024 documentaries, Daytime Revolution and One to One: John and Yoko representing appropriate once-in-a-generation marketing opportunities to tie the album to. An issue of the 1974 Dark Horse tour film and recordings would be revelatory, but so far, no hint of anything in the works has surfaced.    Other archival artifacts continue to surface. This previously uncirculated John Lennon interview from 1971 with Kenny Everett was just made public, so let’s hope the trend continues. In other recent news, Julian gave an interview, weighing in on the Scorsese-produced doc we’ve discussed on SATB. (Meanwhile, Sean continues to find ways of getting himself some press.)   Sad news this week came with the death of record producer Richard Perry on December 24. It was not unexpected, as he had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for some time; I had tried to get him on the podcast back when his terrific 2020 memoir came out, but was told even then that he was too far gone to sustain a conversation. Luckily for us, I did get to talk with his right-hand man, engineer Bill Schnee, who in addition to the two Beatles-adjacent works, 1973’s Ringo and 1974’s Goodnight Vienna, worked with Perry on numerous hit projects of the 70s, including works by Nilsson, Streisand, Carly Simon, and loads more. Bill has the stories and has published a memoir of his own, Chairman At The Board.   A couple of big anniversaries this week include the TV premier of Magical Mystery Tour 57 years ago and the 1979 Kampuchea benefit shows staged at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Unlike a lot of Beatles product, MMT does remain in print for anyone so inclined to view it. (It currently boasts a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) At the time, this colourful “home movie” (as George termed it) was broadcast in black and white on BBC1 at a time when only 200K British homes contained a colour-capable set and was critically savaged accordingly. Your mileage may vary, but understanding the context is very useful in wrapping one’s head around what exactly The Beatles thought they were doing in the immediate aftermath of Brian Epstein’s death. This Magical Mystery Tour Revisited doc does a pretty terrific job of establishing that context. (I am not sure how anyone outside the US can access it but it’s worth seeking out.)     The post-Beatles project, also largely organized by Paul, was an all-star event that included a mix of older (Wings, The Who, Queen) and newer (The Pretenders, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, etc) acts as aid for Cambodian refugees. Like the 1971 Bangladesh and 1972 One to One charities, it was, for a time, available on home video and vinyl, but these days remains conspicuously unavailable (though it should emerge at some point…). Until such time, this video gives us a taste of Wings’ final live set, including the onstage Rockestra sequences In other stuff, Ribbons of Rust Volume 1: 1954 – February 1963 has been given a publication date: January 21, 2025. Rather than an ill-advised race to shove it out the door before Christmas, which Jerry Hammack and I entertained for a while before shrugging and saying, “nah!,” it’ll get a slower roll out. I expect we’ll be doing a bit of press and such, and will keep you posted here. (A book giveaway is certainly in the cards as well…) Okay, I’ve been harping on your input for the 300th show, and will remind you again: some of you have sent in some terrific video/audio and it’s all been great! I would love a lot more, so if you’ve been busy or been thinking about it, please take a moment if you would. I am looking for your favorite moments or guests from over the run of the show, especially from episode 123 onward, which is when the show took on its current format. (Sending your thoughts via email is fine too but it’d be nice to hear your voice!) As a reminder, here are some guests from recent years:  Alan Parsons – Chris O’Dell – Nancy Andrews – Erin Weber – Philip Norman – Steve Gaines – Pattie Boyd – Jenny Boyd – Paul Saltzman – Peter Jackson – Jeff Martin – Mike Tree – Ray Connolly – Tony King – Dan Richter – Dr. Robert Heironimous and Laura Cortner – Sibbie O’Sullivan – James Campion – Gary Wenstrup – Carol Tyler – Jerry Hammack – Kenneth Womack – Debbie Gendler – Allison Bumsted – Bruce Thomas – Arion Salazar – Ivor Davis – John Leckie – Luther Russell – Jeff Slate – Sylvie Simmons – Tom Murray – Ethan Russell – Bill Schnee – Bill Rotari – Dan Rivkin – Pat Sansone – Glenn Greenberg – Dennis Diken – Doug Sulpy – Jim McCarty – Jack Petruzzeli – Bill Wyman – Susan Shumsky – Christine Feldman-Barrett – Sam Brown – Elliot Easton – Cameron Greider – Mike Pachelli – Vinnie Zummo – Duncan Driver – Chip Madinger – Candy Leonard – Ramsey Lewis – Walter Everett – Lee Abrams – Skylar Moody -Kevin Harrington

Greetings, Fab listeners! I am feverishly working to complete two shows to close out the year. Why two? Because one is certain not to be everyone’s idea of pleasant listening, and so as not to leave a SATB-shaped hole in anyone’s listening habits, I present a much more fun conversation alongside it, with the lovely May Pang. This is an episode-sized edit of our talk, with more to come for a third installment down the road a bit. (Episode one, in case you missed it, is here.) The first time we talked was just as the documentary about her life with John was beginning to circulate, and if anyone here hasn’t yet seen it, I strongly urge you to.  During our talk, we discussed the 1972 Imagine film, not to be confused with the 1988 documentary or anything else. Rather, it was an extended form music video drawing from John’s same-titled album as well as Yoko’s concurrent Fly release. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, here it is. A lot of this footage, including the St. Regis stuff we talk about with Palance, Astaire, Cavett and Jonas Mekas, as well as various bits filmed at Tittenhurst and in NYC will be awfully familiar. But this was the original context.  Episode 297 is the conversation with authors David Whelan (Mind Games: The Assassination of John Lennon) and Robert Rosen (Nowhere Man). Some might characterize it as a “debate,” others an argument and still others a pissing match. It’s all in the ear of the beholder, and I am well aware that there are listeners for whom the subject is just one big drag, to borrow a phrase from Paul, and I get that. For others, it is fascinating, but in any event, I thought it was valuable to present opposing views and see what we could make of it. Along for the ride is attorney Carole Krohn, a longtime listener with some familiarity with MK/ULTRA as well as a broader legal perspective. I have no expectations of returning to the subject anytime soon, barring any unforeseen break in the case, but: for those who are interested, I strongly urge you to check out the author’s blogs linked above for their updated writings on things, including this show.  On the subject of current events: there was the onstage reunion in London of Paul and Ringo onstage this week as the Got Back tour wound down. There are plenty of YouTube videos of the event and their performance of “Sgt Pepper reprise” and “Helter Skelter” – posted here is one of them. (Ronnie Wood also made an appearance on “Get Back,” as did Paul’s recovered 1961 bass.)  Also this week, the less joyous news of Julian’s emergency treatment for skin cancer. Sean was also in the news, explaining his reasoning behind the re-presentations of his father’s work. I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about, especially when he gets around to Walls and Bridges.  Elsewhere, the Elliot Mintz book is getting reviewed.   And then there’s this beast: an AI-generated version of Rubber Soul as depicted by Motown. I know, terrifying right? But I dare you to listen and not find something to enjoy.   I’m hoping everyone has a joyous holiday celebration in whatever form. We as fans have had plenty to celebrate this year, and as always, there is no end in sight. 

Happy holidays, esteemed listeners! ‘Tis the season, and while I rushed out the last podcast episode on Beatles ’64 to get it before you while interest in the doc was high, the follow-up is taking a little longer, with a variety of attention-diverters before me, including the pending issue of my book with Jerry Hammack. All of what I’ve been working on – new show and book – should be out by Christmas Day, but allowing for unexpected contingencies, I guess we’ll have to see.  But in the meantime and with the holiday season fully underway, I wanted to share some appropriate sounds. For anyone who needs it, here’s the Beatles Christmas album collection in its entirety. For those who don’t know what this is, beginning in 1963 at the end of the year and through 1969, members of The Beatles’ Fan Club were sent out annual flexi-discs containing the group’s “special message.” The first few years represented more or less spontaneous goofing around, but the ’66 and ’67 ones were fully scripted and produced offerings, very much in the style of their beloved Goon Show. The final two, for 1968 and 1969 genuinely reflected the post-Brian “doldrums” within the ranks, while 1970 saw all the messages scooped up and presented as a long player, their final offering. While that album has been bootlegged a ton, there still has not been a real effort to put them out officially, beyond that 2017 picture disc money grab limited edition set. Something augmented with full audio upgrades, contextual liner notes and all available outtakes as bonus material is what’s called for, but maybe it’ll just have to wait in line until they’ve exhausted all the current cross-promotional possibilities before them.  Can’t believe it’s been a couple of years now, but 2022 was when Gary Wenstrup and I convened to do a deep dive into the Beatles Christmas messages. The show still holds up, I think, and now’s about the right time to revisit for those so inclined.  For those wishing to go a little deeper, this folder contains (in mp3 format) a ton of holiday-themed Christmas music from the Fabs, together and separately, including Tom Teeley’s Beatles Christmas Super Mashup. (If you haven’t heard it before, here it is.) If you haven’t yet heard it and are not inclined to plow through everything else, trust me – at least check that out.  Finally, here’s a fond fan favorite from those of us who recall the joyous days of the early digitalization of this stuff: The Beatles Christmas Collection, which includes all kinds of outtakes and remixes. (It’s in flac format) We are fast upon the 300th episode of SATB and for that, as mentioned previously, I wanted to give you guys the chance to weigh in and be a part of the show. There are a couple of ways to go about this: first, I am genuinely interested in your favorite moments of the show. Think back to all the guests and subjects SATB has presented through the years, and of those, what moments stuck with you the most, or blew your mind at the time. Put another way: if you wanted to turn someone on to the show who’d never heard it before, what would you want them to hear first?  Second: there are loads of ways one can record oneself these days through a smartphone. How about recording yourself directly describing what you like about the show and a favorite moment (or two)? Either way – written or recorded – please provide your input to me via this email, subject line “300.” I can’t conceive of anything you would think to submit that I wouldn’t use. (If you don’t know how to share a file via email, LMK and I’ll provide a Whatsapp #.)  Since we will be going to Spotify soon, I see this show as a gateway drug to Beatle people who haven’t yet heard SATB. So be as smart and creative as I know you to be! 

Hey Folks,  I normally wouldn’t send out something again so quickly, but: I expect to be busy tomorrow, and while the thought is in my head, I wanted to get this out… December 12, 1995 was the release date of “Free As A Bird.” I penned some thoughts and info on a hit a few years back for FB, but since I don’t do a whole lot of that anymore, I thought I’d share it here.  December 12, 1995: “Free As A Bird” released in the US.  https://tinyurl.com/y4ncyotr {Posted here: my fix, eliminating the dirge-like feel, plus a little bonus reveal. You’re welcome! ] It was with tremendous anticipation that the first “new Beatles recording” in 25 years was revealed; first as part of the Anthology broadcast, and then as a proper single (vinyl and CD, with bonus tracks). For those of age in the 1960s, it must’ve seemed like old times: a new Beatles single in time for the holiday season (as occurred in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967). For those not of age but fans nonetheless, the thrill of buying “new” Beatles product in real time (which included those lining up at retailers at midnight) made the release a particularly momentous occasion. Word that the surviving Beatles had got back together to work in the studio for the first time since “I Me Mine” (in January 1970) gave fans the biggest cause for joy possible since December 1980, but also great trepidation: what if it sucked? The basis of the new recordings was a handful of cassette demos passed onto Paul the day in 1994 after he inducted John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yoko gave him “Free As A Bird,” “Real Love,” Grow Old With Me,” and “Now and Then.” Of the four, the 1977 John Lennon piano demo (https://youtu.be/HJv46h33eBk ) of an unfinished composition intended for a musical John aspired to write, to be called “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” was judged the best to work with initially. For one thing, its incomplete bridge gave them some space to contribute actual creative input: this took the form of words cribbed from the 1964 Shangri-La’s hit, “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” – “whatever happened to…” But before any work could be done, there was the matter of Paul letting Yoko know that they would need to work unfettered, without any conditions laid down (“We don’t know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don’t put any conditions, it’s tough enough.”) Second, the matter of a highly-skilled producer capable of bringing the necessary technical know-how to the table as well as an understanding of the Beatles’ sound was required. In this, George was particularly adamant about NOT using George Martin, who had been at work on the Anthology archival material. He was given the face-saving excuse of his ears not being up to the task, though he had already expressed privately his reservations about their going forward with the project at all. Jeff Lynne, George’s pal and Cloud Nine producer, was immediately offered up, over Paul’s initial concerns that their closeness would tip the balance of power (session discussion here: https://youtu.be/XqUiYg9hR90  ). Ultimately, Lynne won Paul over (who then used him on Flaming Pie) but still, there were inter-band bumping of heads: Paul was adamant that their instrumental contributions remain Beatley, with no hint of any solo affectations. As soon as George whipped out his slide for the solo, Paul recalled rolling his eyes and going, “Oh god, here we go with ‘My Sweet Lord’!” But George’s contemporary-sounding stinging lead added the proper layer of grit and emotion without sounding anything at all like his previous solo work, giving the track resonance with record buyers steeped in grunge. Adding solo vocals from Paul and George, as well as the Abbey Road-esque harmonies throughout, surrounding a fittingly ghostly Lennon lead vocal gave the song as good and fully-integrated sound as was possible, short of becoming their own tribute band. The results of their work made them ecstatic and emotional: “It sounds like the bloody Beatles!,” Ringo proclaimed. The song peaked at 2 in the UK, 6 in the US, and won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Fans over the years have, anecdotally at least, expressed a preference for the more upbeat “Real Love” that followed, but for the participants, THAT song – being more fully realized – made them feel more like session men and less like collaborators. The promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODIvONHPqpk Nowadays, with Peter Jackson’s team showing what AI can do with ghostly cassette vocals, the world awaits a proper retooling of “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” along the lines of “Now And Then” for official issue. It’s not that hard: https://youtu.be/DJjUGXePCG4?si=k0wlSfihg-dJ4cf6   At The Mill, February 1994.

Hey there folks! Hello everyone! Thanks to all who are continuing to sign up for this newsletter – as always, the old ones are available upon request (Subject line: old newsletters).  I had mentioned that I had an upcoming conversation with May Pang on the schedule. We convened and what might have been the 90 minute norm ended up as 3 hours + – you have no idea of how quickly the time flew and how many topics we addressed. May is an absolute treasure and I am certain you all will really enjoy this one. Not all we talked about is for public consumption, but I can tell you that we have agreed to get together again sometime in the new year.   I had hoped to have the next podcast episode well underway by this time, but it’ll be a little delayed. My author proof of the new book arrived and required the usual level of scrutiny to make sure all is in shape before it gets unleashed into the world. These things are never perfect and I’m sure there will be plenty to beat myself up over once it’s out, but rest assured that Jerry Hammack and I worked really hard on presenting something fresh and interesting on The Fabs and that those so inclined will find it a rewarding read. It’s coming soon!    There’s also been some discussion on upcoming shows, and plans for what will be coming in the new year. Your suggestions are of course always welcome, and there absolutely is never a shortage of interesting topics to dive into. I’m really looking forward to some of the new guests that will be coming, as well as  some previous guests that are a lot of fun coming back as well.   Lots of new books have either just arrived or are coming soon. I did read the Elliot Mintz one (though he twice declined an invite to come on – do the math!), and I am hoping to get to the latest Kozinn/Sinclair volume as well. The first volume was absolutely brilliant but we never got to talk about it, as he felt volume 2’s arrival was imminent and we’d cover them both, in some form. There’s also that terrific book on George by Seth Rogovoy to look forward to, so hopefully we have that discussion soon.  This week of course marks that awful anniversary that we have talked about on the show more than some of you are comfortable with, but I am hoping we can stand one more. For those who find it hard listening, I promise to have something more upbeat on deck as an alternative choice. But here’s something I shared Sunday on the SATB FB page, for anyone who missed it or hasn’t seen it: the ABC broadcast of the One To One show, as it aired on December 14, 1972 on In Concert (minus Sha Na Na, Roberta Flack and Stevie Wonder’s songs). Consider it a highlights reel: https://tinyurl.com/bde3s95u  If you’ve already seen it, there’s always another installment of the Chronology series to lose yourself in for five hours: https://tinyurl.com/bdfr3zub  One last thing: we had our drawing and there were four lucky winners of the Beatles ’64 Mono Vinyl sets. I’ll share pics when each winner sends them in. 

Hey there folks! This one will be necessarily brief, as I was up very late (and with a cold), cutting the new show which should’ve appeared in your feed by now. For the sake of timeliness, I wanted to get my conversation with the director and the producer of Beatles ’64 done and out ASAP, while interest is high and before the crushingly negative reactions to it that I have seen poison the well for everyone. I get that the hardest of the hardcores may find a lot of it redundant, but I would advise maybe to take a step back and recognize the bigger picture: the presentation they delivered is really about contextualization, about how they were received, good and bad, and the monumental impact The Beatles had on the lives of those experiencing them in real time (we know about everyone else that came late to the party – that would be most of ourselves).  I would have been inclined to be a little more critical in the conversation, but for the fact that Disney controlled all of it: they literally had a third party on the call, mostly to prod when to wind things up but I suspect to cut in if they didn’t like the way things were going. Furthermore, they controlled the audio: normally, I do, and I was at their mercy to get it after the fact. (In fact what they did eventually deliver to me was incomplete – then the first five minutes were cut off, but at that point I was relieved to get anything at all.  So give it a listen and see if what they have to say makes more sense for what they delivered. As I say in the podcast, I think the ideal way to enjoy it is as a complementary release to The First US Visit, not a replacement. I enjoyed the talking heads in a way that I didn’t with Eight Days A Week. If you are hardcore enough to find those interludes unnecessary, maybe then recognize that the intended audience is someone not as sophisticated a fan as yourself.  But as a comparison, check out this: the earliest iteration of the Maysles brothers film, broadcast on UK TV as Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!