BDJ's Cellar Full of Remixes

Written about the prison riot of September 1971 in which at least 39 people died, Attica State was included on John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album Some Time In New York City and released in June 1972.

The song was composed on 9 October 1971, John Lennon's 31st birthday. That night a party and jam session took place at a Syracuse hotel room. Lennon and Ono were joined by Klaus Voormann, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Keltner, Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and others.

A series of demo takes were recorded on 12 November 1971. The first two takes broke down, but the third reveals how Lennon and Ono alternated lines during the verses and joined together for the chorus. The source of this stereo remix is a - mono - acetate of (probably) this Take 3, or (possibly) another session.

The melody has some nursery rhyme like charm, chord changes are simple, and the lyrics are poor. What do you expect from a drunken Ono-Lennon composition ?

"Not a Second Time" is a song by John Lennon performed by The Beatles on their second United Kingdom album, With The Beatles. Lennon said he was "trying to write a Smokey Robinson or something at the time.The song was recorded in nine takes on 11 September 1963.

Robert Palmer covered the song, and I heard him (Robert...) play it Live in Amsterdam in 1980-something. Sweet memories !
Here's Robert's arrangement, with John's vocals.

"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.

Harrison, McCartney and Starr recorded the rhythm track in 13 takes on 7 July 1969. The following day he taped his lead vocals, and he and McCartney recorded their backing vocals twice to give a fuller sound.

A harmonium and handclaps were added on 16 July. Harrison added an electric guitar run through a Leslie speaker on 6 August, and the orchestral parts (Martin's score for two piccolos, two flutes, two alto flutes and two clarinets) were added on 15 August. "Here Comes the Sun" was completed four days later with the addition of Harrison's Moog synthesizer part.

The master tapes reveal that Harrison recorded a guitar solo that was not included in the final mix. The solo was 'lost' for more than 40 years.

Dhani Harrison, the son of George visited Abbey Road studio with long-time Beatles producer George Martin and his son, Giles to film a documentary on George. Sitting at the Abbey Road console, he stumbled upon the lost solo from his father’s ballad.
Taking the sound track of the BBC documentary "Living In The Material World", BDJ studios recreated Here Comes the Sun with the solo included. Furthermore, the string arrangement is emphasized in this remix. Now, listen to a track that even Anthology could not produce !

All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison, recorded and released in 1970, the first solo work from him since the break-up of The Beatles in April that year. Johnny's Birthday was recorded in August 1970 with Ringo Starr and presented to John Lennon on his 30th birthday. (Based upon “Congratulations” - Bill Martin/Phil Coulter, new lyrics by Mal Evans, Harrison, Eddie Klein).

On the record, the tape speed is constantly varied, sresulting in shifting pitch and tempo (probaly to avoid infringing on the copyright of Congartulations). Heer we have painstakingly re-corrected the tape speed, to recreate the original song. Now you can actually hear Ringo sing !
This track is also featured on Tuned to a Natural E 7.

Lennon made it no secret that many (all?) of his songs were inspired by music he hard heard. This goes for the riff of I Feel Fine, the intro of Instant Karma, Come Together... and for most of Happy Xmas. Here, the inspiration derives from Stewball, an English traditional. Stewball was perfomed by man artists (such as The Greenbriar Boys, Lonnie Donnegan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Guthrie), but the version by the Hollies (1968) appears to be the one for Lennon. Here's a mash-up of those 2 versions.

“I Need You” was recorded on February 15th at EMI Studio Two. Both George and John played acoustic guitar, Paul played bass and Ringo played drums. Five takes of the song were recorded before everyone was satisfied, “take five” being deemed as best. This ended the night at 10:30.

The next day, February 16th, 1965, they recorded all of the overdubs to “I Need You.” First on the agenda was for George to record his lead vocals and then double-track them. The double-tracked take also included Paul harmonizing with George on the last phrase of each verse, which usually was the phrase “I need you.” However, at the end of the second verse, the words were “you told me,” which Paul hesitated on, no doubt, because he was unsure of what the words were. John and Paul then overdubbed background "aahs" during parts of the verses as well as the bridges.

Another important overdub occurred next, which was George’s lead guitar work throughout the song. He used a foot-controlled tone pedal which was hooked up to the volume of the guitar. (This devise would be more commonly used as a wah-wah pedal very soon afterward by various artists.) Finally, Ringo tapped out a beat on a cowbell during the bridges.

Seeing all this effort spent on "I Need You", it is disappointing to hear how poor the finished track sounds. George sings off-key in several places, the Aah's of Paul and John sound as if they were very tired, there are no typical George fills etc. And there's no guitar solo (while George could play them so well).

I ascribe this lacklustre production to George Martin, who - I suspect - focussed on the Lennon-McCartney songs (who produced the hit singles) and dedicated a minimum effort to the second Harrisong ever recorded.

Room for improvement: added strings and horns to the backing track, slowed the whole thing down a bit, re-pitched the vocals. And added a BDJ solo, recorded in 2 takes, Take 2 being deemed 'best'.

Another installment of the BDJ Upgrade series. A new version, produced from the stereo and mono tracks of the Remasters. Instead of the orginal vocals-right/backing left stereo, we now have a balanced stereo spectrum + a bass line with real oomph !

On the afternoon of 6 July 1957 the Quarrymen skiffle group played at the garden fete of St Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool. In the band were John Lennon (vocals, guitar), Eric Griffiths (guitar), Colin Hanton (drums), Rod Davies (banjo), Pete Shotton (washboard) and Len Garry (tea chest bass).

Their repertoire consisted mainly of Skiffle songs; skiffle blossomed in England, just before Rock &R oll replaced it from 1958 onwards. They played various Lonnie Donnegan songs,interspersed with songs by Gene Vincent, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran and Jerry Lee Lewis.

This Quarrymen's set, remarkably, was recorded by an audience member, Bob Molyneux, on his portable Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder. In 1994 Molyneux, then a retired policeman, rediscovered the tape. The tape was sold on 15 September 1994 at Sotheby's for £78,500. The winning bidder was EMI Records, who considered if for release as part of the Anthology project: performencas of Lonnie Donegan's Puttin' On The Style and Elvis Presley's Baby, Let's Play House were released, but EMI chose not to release more than half a minute or so, as the sound quality was deemed substandard.

The BDJ engineers carefully reconstructed the tape using state-of-the-art digital techniques and so 10 minutes of the set were reproduced. The sound quality is as poor as the Anthology release, but true Beatles fans will appreciate these 10 minutes for their historic value.

Setlist: Puttin on the Style, My Baby Left Me, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Maggie Mae, Baby Let's Play House, Blue Suede Shoes.

In 2010, BDJ's Cellar presented 2 special Christmas Podcasts; one based on the Nativity story in the Gospel of Matthew, the other on Nativity according to the gospel of Luke.

This left us in a predicament for 2011: the other 2 gospels in the Bible (Mark and John) don't speak about the birth of Jesus, so we ran out of Nativity stories. Or did we ? For 2011, we resorted to ancient texts, which were - for good or bad reasons - not included in the Bible. Nonetheless, these texts originate from the earliest days of Christianity.

The earliest of these gospels, is the so called Infancy Gospel of Thomas; just what we need for a Christmas Podcast !

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was written by the early Christians to document the first twelve years of Jesus's life, bridging the gap left in the second chapter of Luke. The story was popular enough to survive in numerous translations, redactions, and parallel stories, for more than a thousand years. The text may even have influenced the authors of the Koran.

In the early passages of the story, Jesus shows a disturbing tendency to kill off his playmates when they displease him. He eventually learns to channel his divine abilities in more constructive ways and realizes his calling.

So why was this gospel not accepted by the Christian Church Fathers ? To modern readers, it appears to be a simplified, shortened version of the gospels that we know from the Bible; some similarities of 'Thomas' with Mark, Matthew and Luke:

- Jesus can do anything, and knows everything. Performs miracles in public.
- Jesus has full control over life and death, raises the dead on various occasions.
- People around Jesus don't really understand who he is, or what he stands for.
- Jesus does not comply strictly with all Jewish rituals.
- Jesus seems less concerned with the Here & Now, but more about the spiritual life (right and wrong)
- His mother Mary does not play a significant role in his life.
- and so on.

I suppose the Church Fathers were not so much concerend with matching the gospels, but more about the Infancy Gospel not matching the dogma's that the church fathers themselves developed in the early days of the church. And they may have wanted to dodge a difficult question: if Jesus did all these things as a child, why don't Mark, Matthew and Luke speak about them ?

Frankly speaking, in the Bible or not, these are captivating and amusing stories from the Early Days; never set to music of any kind before, BDJ's cellar is proud tho present this world premiere Podcast.

Text: Thomas the Isrealite.
Narrator: Bart D. Ehrman: American New Testament scholar, currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Music: George Harrison, the Beatles, Julian Lennon
Production: BDJ

I still find JFK an inspirational speaker. Listening to his inaugurational speech, delivered on the steps of a snow covered Capitol, it struck me that his words appear to be so relevant to the world of today; the overthrow of (mostly secular) dictators in the Arab world, to be replaced by ? We don't know yet, but could very well be military or religious dictatorships. But as JFK says; "those who ride the back of the tiger, often end up inside !".

Victor van Kampen is a guitar virtuoso, now living in the Netherlands.
Vic released a number of CD's (go out and buy'em !), but is yet to make the big time. He's about my age, so he should get a move on...

Hence this plug: Vic plays the Beatles, I believe these tracks unreleased so far. Did some mastering and fussing about, that's all.

Vic not has great technique and tone, he also makes the songs his own.

Track listing:

I Feel Fine; I'll Follow The Sun; Blackbird; Here There and Everywhere; And I Love Her; Help!; In My Life; Day Tripper; Michelle; Penny Lane; A Day In The Life.

In the summer of 1966, the Beatles scored a No 1 with a double A-side single. On one side was "Yellow Submarine", and on the other there was "Eleanor Rigby", a sombre song with string backing about lonely people. It featured Eleanor Rigby, who sat by the window, and Father McKenzie, who may or may not have been the priest who officiated at her funeral, to which nobody came.

Paul claimed that he had originally considered calling her Daisy Hawkins, although it is difficult to see how "Daisy" could have been made to fit the song's meticulous scansion, in which two unstressed syllables follow each stressed syllable, except at the end of a line.

He then syas that hetook the name "Eleanor" from Eleanor Bron, who starred with the Beatles in the film Help!, and "Rigby" from the Bristol wine merchants, Rigby & Evens. But in the 1980s, a grave was discovered in St Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool, where McCartney and Lennon went sunbathing as teenagers, bearing the name Eleanor Rigby. nother gravestone had the word "McKenzie" sprawled on it.

But who was the lonely person who picked up the rice in a church where a wedding had been really ?

Paul stated on various occasions that the original lyrics featured a 'father McCartney'; he changed these to 'father McKenzie' since he did not want people to think it was about his father. But was it ?

If the orginal lyrics were indeed about his father (McCartney), then whom would 'Eleanor Rigby' have referred to in the very first conception of the lyrics ? Could this have been 'mother McCartney', or - more likely - Mary McCartney (Paul's mother's name) ? Both fit the the rythm of the song much better than 'Daisy Hawkins' !

The lyrics were put together among The Beatles and friends (Pete Shotton), so we shouldn't expect to extract too much relevance concerning Paul in them. In later years, Lennon claimed that he suggested most of the words, but this appears unlikely, apart from the chorus.

McCartney used a string octet of studio musicians, composed of four violins, two cellos, and two violas, all performing a score composed by George Martin.The octet was recorded on 28 April 1966, in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios and completed in Studio 3 on 29 April and on 6 June. Tantalisingly, the string quartet was recoreded (close - miked) on all four tracks of the EMI machine. Imagine if we had those ttracks to mix with !

The original stereo mix has Paul's voice only in the right channel during the verses, with the string octet mixed to one channel, while the mono single and mono LP featured a more balanced mix. In my ears, the stereo mix from June '66 was bungled: the stereo string quartet is further bounced into a mono track (in the middle of the stereo field), and lead vocals are on the extreme right, but sometimes seem to wander. The chorus features true stereo vocals on 2 occasions, but a 'fake' sounding stero in another case.

Perhaps even George Martin was unhappy with the stereo version, when stereo became the norm instead of the mono versions. A complete remix was done for the Love release, boasting a stereo string quartet and centred vocals; unfortunately, the song fades in and out of other tracks in Love.

Another remix ws made for the 1999 re-release of the Yellow Submarine movie. Again a decent stereo landscape, but here the vocals sound slightly out of sync....

So, there appears to be room for a definitive remix of Eleanor Rigby: fixing the stereo image, including a/o a stereo string quartet & true stereo vocals in the chorus throughout.

George Martin, in his autobiography All You Need Is Ears, takes credit for combining two of the vocal parts, having noticed that they would work together contrapuntally. I didn't like it, so created a more suitable ending. Re-did the intro as well, while I was on it.......

A nice instrumental track of "Oo You" appears on the new "McCartney" Deluxe as a bonus track. This instrumental track is called "Don't Cry Baby" on it; im the blurbs, it is labelled as an 'outtake', why is a mystery.

Anyway, it is rather simple and straightforward, so we did a little mash-up. Oo You is based on a guitar riff,, much like several of Lennon's songs (I Feel Fine, Day Tripper etc.). Hence, we selected a Lennon song, from roughly the same era as Oo You.

Need Your Love So Bad is a beautiful Blues, composed in 1955, and Peter Green turned it into a classic.

The Fleetwood Mac recording is one of those songs that remains interesting, no matter how many times you listen to it.

Peter Green is among my top favourite guitar players; he's got the Blues like Eric Clapton, the precision of Gary Moore, the timing of BB King, and he tops it with his own unique style and tone.

This prompted this Peter-Green-othon: a compilation of all takes that I could find of Need Your Love So Bad. These 7-8 takes are mind-boggling: Peter Green plays his solos differently on each take, and they are all great. He even varies his vocals from one take to the other. Hence, it's impossibe to label any single take as 'best', and - in fact - the Uk and the US version appear to use different takes.

So, for the real Fleetwood Mac/Peter Green fan, here's 20 minutes of pure bliss.

This song was recorded on 11 February 1963 in ten takes. There's a Place was first released as a track on Please Please Me. It's release in the US came a year later on the legendary Vee-Jay album “Introducing…The Beatles,” released on January 6th, 1964. The second US release was as a single, which wasn’t released in Britain, as the flip side to “Twist And Shout.” This single was released on the newly formed Vee-Jay subsidiary Tollie Records in late February of 1964 as a way to capitalize on their performing “Twist And Shout” on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 23rd, 1964. Although its’ A-side reached number two on the Billboard charts, “There’s A Place” charted at number 74 for the week of April 11th, 1964.

The third US release of the song occurred in August of 1964 with the re-release of the Tollie single on the Vee Jay “Oldies 45” label. The fourth release was on the Vee Jay double-album “The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons”, released on October 1st, 1964, which coupled the “Introducing…The Beatles” album with “The Golden Hits of the Four Seasons”. The fifth appearance came less than two weeks later with another repackage of the Vee Jay album under the name “Songs, Pictures And Stories Of The Fabulous Beatles”, released on October 12th, 1964. Then, it became silent and the song was not available in album form for the next 16 years........

The vocals use some complex harmonies, and there was a harmonica intro. There's the usual outrageous composition by Lennon, the verse being an unusual 15 measures long, and the bridge an unusual 10. Goes to show that the Fab 4 put considerable effort in this song. It was the first song they recorded for the LP, so they probably saw it having great - hit - potential. In the end, it ended up in a very unflattering position on the album; next to last on side two. They apparently lost interest in the song quickly thereafter. They did not perform the song during any other their national tours of 1963, nor is there any documentation of them performing the song at any other live performance apart from 3 BBC shows.

The lyrics are pretty serious for those 'Yeah yeah' times, and deal with the struggles of Lennon with Life in general. It is the earliest expression of a feeling that Lennon would use many times, which goes something like: "it's all about me (Lennon) and the world hates me"....

On Please Please Me, it was recorded in the famous Martin vocals-left/instruments-right stereo mode.

Here, we present a true stereo version, compiled from 2 different takes. This really brings out the vocal harmonies: Paul takes the lead for most of the verse sections with John singing in harmony below him. At the end of the first and third verses, Paul suddenly drops out leaving John briefly exposed by himself on lead ('when I'm alone!"), and at the end of the middle variant verse, John sings lead with a vocalese backing by Paul and George. The bridge section alternates between solo John and John and Paul in unison.

And listen to those trill-like ornaments John tacks onto the end of his phrases in the verse ! Motown artists, such as Smokey Robinson, were probably the catalyst to this vocal gimmick.

Macca's bass goes 'boom boom boom' most of the time; we forgive him for that, since he had to sing the complex vocal harmonies in real time !

Harrison plays the intro (which he flunked in several takes), an adequate rythm guitar, and sporadic vocals harmonies.

We didn't use the Hohner harmonica, but kept the guitar intro instead.

The Beatles recorded "Money (That's What I Want)" in five takes on July 18, 1963. I suppose they intended it to be a smashing final track to With The Beatles, just as Twist & Shout had closed Please Please Me.

Money had been featured in their shows since the Hamburg days, and they had converted it into a raunchy rocker song.

The regular visitor to BDJ's Cellar immediately notices something odd about Money: it has centered vocals in the stereo (Album) mix ! In fact. It is the only track on Please Please Me and With The Beatles with the vocals recorded in the centre. Remembering that it was Martin's strategy (using a 2-track tape machine....) to record the isntruments on one track, and the vocals on the other, it is clearly impossible to centre the vocals and maintain a stereo image !

How did this enigma arise ? The soundscape of the original Money (by Barrett Strong) is dominated by the piano part. Lewisohn reports that George Martin played piano during the Beatles session, and spent a huge amount of time on recording and mixing his piano part for Money (probably without Beatles being present....). I suppose Martin was also lured to the piano by the track that they recorded just prior to Money: You Really Got A Hold On Me. Here, the piano adds some colour, but on Money Martin verges on overdoing it (in my view...). It is still OK im the mono mix, but the stereo mix features the piano part even more prominently.

Listening closely to the stereo mix of Money, we can figure out what Martin did: the left channel is a mono mix of 'Beatles' instruments (no piano) with vocals, and the right channel is a mono mix of Martin's piano with the same vocals. Since the same vocals are recorded left and right, they appear centred.

Still, the 'piano' track sounds a bit empty; even more importantly, it is doubtful if the Beatles actually wanted a piano part in this track. They cetainly gave it a blistering live preformance without piano !

Therefore, we remixed Money in such a way that the piano drops out; it gains in pure sound and rough rock power, while maintaining a stereo image.

The first ever Beatles mash-up was broadcast on 29 February 1972, at 3.30 PM. The occasion was the 'Beatles Day" on Radio Veronica. Radio Veronica was a - pirate- radio station, broadcasting from a ship in the North Sea, off the Dutch coast.

From April 1960 the station aired its programmes from the ship the 'Borkum Riff', an ex German lightship built in 1911. Though its programming then still was very conventional, the station acquiered a growing audience. From the 1st Januari 1965, three months before the 'Norderney' took over, the station became still more popular by adopting the format of real rock radio; the producers had spent considerable time in the US to learn the commercial radio trade !. From its rocky beginnings (accompanied by some too real 'pirate' behaviours) some of the personnel developed into the Netherland's music - and conventional business - tycoons.

The Beatles Day 1972 was a celebration of the Beatles, who had just split up. The Beatles Day was a 20 hours long programme, in which all Beatles tracks were played in no particular order. In between the songs, 'montages' were played. These were early mash-ups, produced by the station's engineers. (In these days, radio shows were poduced by Dj's and an engineer at the controls).

This one was labelled 'best' and was produced by the engineer Nol Vis. It contains references to the number 192, which was the wavelength (AM....) at which Radio Veronica transmitted.

Some loops, attempts to combine tracks and a suitable ending; may sound a little rough to our ears today, but remember it was all done with turntables and wires....

"Ask Me Why" was released in the United Kingdom and The US (VJ Records) as the B-side of their single "Please Please Me".

It was also included on the UK album, Please Please Me.

It was recorded on 26 November 1962, in 6 takes. Take 6 was used for both the mono single and the stereo LP mix. No outtakes have surfaced, so there's not a lot to create a remix from....

Apparently, Ask Me Why was always intended as a B-side, and the production is not of the same standard as Please Please Me.

It is a single run-through, no overdubs or double tracking anywhere. Oddly, there's an acoustic guitar on the vocal track, so I suppose Lennon played this acoustic guitar while recording the vocals. The vocal performance is fine as far as timing and phrasing go, but sounds a little unmotivated at times.

Perhaps Lennon's disinterst in the vocals is rooted in the lyrics: they are typical Lennon, although this is one of the earliest Lennon compositions. Unfortunately, it is the earliest example of a Lennon 'schoolboy poet' type, and not of the - much stronger - type where Lennon sings about his own true emotions.

Still, a song that starts with "I Love You' can't be that bad.....

Although not a strong text, it is very much Lennon nonetheless: as usual, we learn nothing about his lover, we just hear about Lennon's own feelings; as we see more often, Lennon expects obedience from his lover (I Love You because you say the words I want to know), which is also the theme in others songs, such as "All I've Got To Do", One After 909 (I said move over once....), "Run For Your Life" and many others.

Musically, the song is more complex than one would think at first hearing (as I found out while remixing it.....). Vocals come in somwehere in the middle of the bar, a verse contains an 'odd' number (13) of bars, and bits and pieces are repeated and strung together.

But he all makes it hang tight into a possible underrated song: there are only 2 cover versions in the BDJ archives, far below the typcial number of covers.

Anyway, well worth a remix to lift it from the left/right stereo soundscape !

"Please Please Me" is the second single released by The Beatles in the United Kingdom, and the first to be issued in the United States.

Both its recording history, and its release record, are complex and often confounded.

We'll shed some BDJ light on it here.....

RECORDING HISTORY:

Lennon first conceived "Please Please Me" as a bluesy, slow tempo song. Lennon recalled: "I remember the day I wrote it, I heard Roy Orbison doing "Only the Lonely", or something."

When George Martin first heard it (as per Anthology documentation, usually assumed to be at the "Love Me Do" re-make session on 11 September) he found that - in his opinion - it "badly needed pepping up" and he asked The Beatles to consider making major changes to it, including increasing its tempo. The tradional story has it that PPM was brought back into the studio on 26 November 1962, when its arrangement had been radically altered, and it took 18 takes to record what George Martin immediately predicted would be their first major hit.

Unfortunatley, I think that this story line is not supported by the facts: On Anthology I, a PPM version appears that had been thought to be lost: an early version, dated September 11. Now, we can all listen to this September 11 version, and confirm that it is very much like the final version of November. It is as fast as the released version, it just lacks the Lennon mouth organ intro and backing vocals.

Obviously, it does not make sense that George Martin would have asked for an even faster version than the September 11 track (or why he would call the November version a 'hit' and the very similar September 11 version a 'miss) !

So what really happened ? Here's a litte fact finding: the Beatles actually played Please Please Me to George Martin on September 4 th ( so a week earlier) but - being a 'demo' - it was probably not recorded.

This is confirmed in a Ringo Starr interview: "On my first visit in September we just ran through some tracks for George Martin. We even did Please Please Me. I remember that, because while we were recording it I was playing the bass drum with a maraca in one hand and a tambourine in the other." This must have been the slow - Roy Orbison - version. A week later (Sept 11), the Beatles came back for a second attempt to record Love Me Do (with Andy White on drums); they also played and recorded Please Please Me (now in the fast version), in an attempt to dissuade George Martin from releasing How Do You Do It. This is the Anthology version, which probably has Andy White on drums (does he receive rolyalties for the Anthology release ??). PPM needed only minor polisihing up for the November recording of the PPM album (with Ringo on drums).

REMIXING HISTORY

PPM was mixed in mono for the single and the mono LP. A new mix was made for the stereo LP, which differs only in the vocals (e.g. the fumbling of the lyrics in the final verse). It is usually believed that no stereo version of the single mix exists, but there is one in the BDJ vaults....... As usual, Capitol added reverb to the US release, but otherwise the version is the same as the UK version.

US RELEASE HISTORY
The single was initially released in the US by Vee-Jay Records, with "Ask Me Why" on the B-side; it failed to make much impact in the US, but when re-released by Capitol there on 3 January 1964 (this time with "From Me to You" on the B-side) it reached number three in the US Hot 100.

THE BDJ Remix
This remix is in true stereo; the PPM LP version is in the well-known 'vocals left- instruments right' stereo mode, which makes for awkward listening. Both the Remaster's LP stereo version and the stereo version of the single were used to create this new remix. This remix showcases the progress The Beatles had made as recording artists in a few weeks; just listen to Ringo's (quite complex) drum patterns, and Pauls' 'walking bass' in the middle eight.

George's intro on guitar is obliterated by Lennons' mouth organ, and we don't hear much of George's guitar at all; according to the sound engineer, he started out by playing the intro riff all through the song, until someone told him to 'shut-up'. Fortunately, we can now hear him in the backing vocals.

Enjoy the Remix !

Here's a loosely played cover of this great track by the Doors; my Other Favourite Band.
Not much in common with the Beatles, just that only 2 band members are still alive...
"Love Me Two Times" first appeared on the 1967 album Strange Days. It was released as their second single.
Special challenge for this cover was that I did notwant to play keyboard on it. Ray Manzarek played this song on a clavinet. I compensated by adding several guitar tracks. All played on my Strat, giving that unique clear Fender 'bridge pick-up' sound.

So here's the line-up:
vocals: BDJ
lead guitar: BDJ
rythm guitar: BDJ
bass: Ray Manzanek
drums: John Densmore

By the time I Want To Hold Your Hand was recorded (October 1963), EMI had installed 4-track recorders at Abbey Road. The results are immediately audible: guitars are double tracked amd distributed over different tracks.

The Single was - of course - released in glorious mono. Since I Want To Hold Your hand was not included on With The Beatles, no stereo version was released in the UK. it features on a Capitol album in the US in stereo, but this sounds like 'fake stereo' to me (highs on the right, lows on the left).

A Stereo mix had been by George Martin on 21 October 1963: this version was released in Australia in 1963, and true to the then current tradition: vocals on the right, all the instruments on the left.

Thanks to the fact that I Want To Hold Your Hand was recorded on 4-track, it was possible to produce different stereo versions; on 8 June 1965 Norman Smith made a new remix, with the vocals placed in the centre. It was never used.

For the UK release 'Collection Of Beatles Oldies' another stereo remix ws made on November 7th 1966. The same version is found on the Past Masters and Remasters releases.

In this latest version, the vocals are centered, drums + bass on the left, solo guitar on the right. A clear improvement over te 1963 mix, but.... still sounding awkward: the vocals come in rather abruptly, and drums + bass are only mixed in the left channel.

Is it possible to centre the vocals, drums and bass, and leave the guitars separated ? Only in BDJ studios, where the state of the art technology (3-D Spectral Extractor) churned away for quite a while to achieve this feat. But it's worth it, since the stereo picture is now more natural, and drums and bass more powerful than ever heard before.

A brand new - true stereo - remix of this classic Beatles song. During the remixing of I Saw Her Standing There, I made a major discovery, which I will describe below.

I Saw Her Standing There was recorded at EMI Studios on 11 February 1963, as part of the marathon recording session (10 hours) that produced 10 of the 14 songs on Please Please Me. In December 1963, Capitol Records released the song in the United States as the B-side on the label's first single by The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Not only Paul's first 'great rocker' song, but also the first 'Lennonism' in the lyrics: "Seventeen, You know what I mean...". Not to forget the first recorded "Wooah....!", just picture Paul shaking his head......

The recording sessions reveal that the Beatles and George Martin still had to get used to each other. During these early Beatles recording sessions they played their songs as if in concert, and it was "get it right or do it again". George Martin was already a seasoned record producer and was used to working on recordings (e.g using multiple takes, drop-ins etc.).

I Saw Her Standing There was the second song they recorded that day. The LP version - in stereo - is in the usual Beatles stereo mode: vocals on one side, instruments on the other. However, the first two Beatles albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, were recorded on two track machines (EMI-made "British Tape Recorders"); because only 2 tracks were available, some instruments were on the same track as the vocals. The songs needed to be recorded by playing all instruments and getting the vocals right at the same time. Some repair was possible using 'punch ins', segments of the song that were played again, and then spliced into the original recording. A rather crude process, that is audible if you listen closely (e.g. listen to She Loves You). Also the punch-in needed to be contain all instruments and vocals.....

This is also the reason that the Rock Band isolations of this song (and others of that period) are disappointing: there just aren't any 4 track recordings of the song, so isolations can only be made with clever software (which can't deliver good results on these heavily crowded tracks).

In the first run (Take 1) the Beatles gave it their all (being a 'Live' band) and laid down an excellent perfomance. No wonder, they had performed this composition repeatedly in their stage act for many months (including a mouth organ intro by John). Martin added an extra dose of reverb to George’s guitar solo.

It is my theory that George Martin and his engineer expected to tape several takes, getting better takes as they went along. I discovered (I don't think this has been noted before) that the way the instruments are assigned to the 2 available tracks in Take 1 is odd: Paul's vocals are on the same track as John's guitar, while the other track sounds rather empty, except when George plays his solo.

This distribution is changed in all subsequent takes, where Paul's vocals share a track with George's guitar, and John's guitar is on the other track.

Take 2 sounded Ok overall, but John and Paul screwed up the words in a few places; furthemore, George bungled his solo. For reasons I don't understand (...) Martin must have thought that Take 2 was best, and started to fix it with punch-ins: takes 3-6 are attempts to correct the words and 2 new attempts at George's solo, which he all bungled. Then Martin must have decided that enough is enough (they had one day to record 10 songs...) and abandoned to use take 2. Instead, they made a last attempt at a complete runthrough. Take 6-8 break down, but they completed Take 9. This was another good version, now released on the 'Free as a Bird' album, but then it remained unused (except for the count-in).

So, after 9 takes, Martin accepted that Take 1 was best after all. All that was needed now, was to edit in the count-in of take 9, and enthusiastic hand-claps during all of the song. I'm not entirely sure how they added the handclaps: their 2 tracks were already full.... Perhaps they recorded them on a separate tape machine ?

Anyway, they reverted to Take 1, with the oddity of having the rythm guitar and vocals on the same track. This enabled me to produce this new stereo mix: using the instrumental tracks of Take 1 (George's guitar) and Take 9 (John's guitar), combined with the vocals of Take 1 at the centre. I added the handclaps form the Rockband isoation.

Here we go, "One Two Three Fah "!

Badfinger was a rock band formed in Swansea, Wales in the early 1960s.Their history is closely linked with the Beatles; to some, their music imitates the Beatles; for others, it is a welcome extension to the Beatelesque repertoire.

Pete Ham sings in a McCartney-esque voice, their guitars sound a lot like Eric Clapton.......

The other ties to the Beatles are too many too mention all:

- The name Badfinger was suggested by Apple's Neil Aspinall, and was a reference to "Bad Finger Boogie", an early working title of "With a Little Help from My Friends";

- Badfinger was signed to The Beatles label, Apple Records.

- Peter Ham used one of George Harrison's Gibson guitars on this song. George used that same Gibon SG on "Paper Back Writer" and on "Hey Bulldog".

- The song was initially produced by Mal Evans, long-time Beatles hand, but was rejected by Apple staff as a potential single. Geoff Emerick (the beatles engineer) then took over as their producer, and the song was remixed. July 1970

- they played acoustic guitars on tracks from George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and provided backing vocals on Ringo Starr's single "It Don't Come Easy".

- Tom Evans and Molland performed on John Lennon's album Imagine, and all four members of the band appeared as backup musicians throughout George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971.

But does the link go even further than that ? McCartney wrote 'Come and get It' for them, which became their greats hit.

What about "No matter What ? To me, it sounds a lot like George Harrison, more than McCartney: the middle eight of No Matter What use the same chords as While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and is that a slide guitar playing the solo (like Harrison did) ?

Harrison was quite generous with his song writing contributions, and did not alway demand being credited, so it seems certainly possible that Harrison contributed to No Matter What.

Anyway, it is one of my favourites, so I made this cover version (Fender Strat, Marshall amp, Ibanez Tube Screamer), and added a solo at the end.

"She's a Woman" was released as the B-side to "I Feel Fine" in 1964 (see remix below).

McCartney's bass produces a countermelody, which now bursts out of your subwoofers. Lennon's Rickenbacker 325 guitar plays chords on the backbeat, now in full stereo, combined from takes 2 and 4. In the original release a piano (Paul or george Martin ?) also plays chords on the upbeats, but I didn't like that. Harrison also plays a bright guitar solo during the middle eight, taken from Take 6.
The Outtro is reconstructed to match the way they played it Live.

I Feel Fine is - probably - Lennon's first riff-based song. He would go on to write riff-based tunes for the rest of his career; listen to "Day Tripper', or 'Whatever gets you through the night' for example.

Lennon made it no secret that his riffs were inspired by songs he had heard; he credited the riff of I Feel Fine to Bobby Parker's 'Watch Your Step', and this also appears to have inspired Day Tripper. Not just that, the spectecular opening 'buzz' of I Feel Fine seems to be derived from the opening of Watch Your Step.....

Being an early single, I feel Fine was released in mono, and in extereme (vocal left, instruments right) stereo. Even the 2009 Remasters maintain this stereo format; although intersting, it makes for an awkward listening esperience. Capitol blended the left and right channels, and added a few bucket loads of reverb, which made things even worse for the American audience.

Here, for the first time, we present a true - balanced - stereo version of I Feel Fine. Thanks to advances in Technology, we can now fully appreciate the guitar and vocals parts, accompanied by Macca's bass line - although still modest by his standards-. Listen to Ringo's drumming, he hits the tom-tom twice and then taps the rim of the snare. Being a Lennon track, the drum pattern changes for the middle eight.....

n 1969, the Beatles found themselves in a slump; they were growing out of the 'innocent, funny boys' role, and the band was at risk of falling apart. To bring the group back to life, they embarked on the 'Everest' project, which comprised a live performance somewhere in the world in a 'safe' location (such as Mt Everest). They expected to draw such large crowds, that a concert in a normal venue would have run quickly out of control.

They explored several options for a suitable location, but couldn't agree on one. They decided to keep it simple, and play the club where they started 10 years earlier, the Jacaranda club in Liverpool. There, they performed their favourite songs, in front of a flabbergasted audience. It was a great evening, but they were concerned that a Live Everst album would fail to chart because it contained no new songs.

In desperation, they started the Let It Be project, which culminated in the Rooftop Concert, which was released as their final record.

At last, the BDJ scouts managed to retrieve the tapes of the Everst concert in the Jacaranda club. After careful re-mastering, it premieres here, in BDJ's cellar.

Remix of Macca's demo with Badfinger's only hit.

The core of this podcast consists of Beatles tracks covered by Dutch artists, mostly form the 60's and 70's.

Some are exciting, some are just presented here for the completists........

The Beatles became popular in the Netehrlands at a very early stage in thier career; the Dutch have a fine ear for musical talent (and still do).

Friday 5 June 1964: Following the previous day's concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Beatles flew to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, arriving at 1pm.

They arrived at Hillegom's Café-Restaurant Treslong, situated at Vosselaan 15, at around 4pm. From 5.30pm they rehearsed for their appearance on VARA-TV, and recording began at 8pm. I pass by the Treslong studio regularly (although iyt is no longer in service as a studio) and then enjoy the lingering spirits of the Fab Four.

In the first part of the programme they answered questions from the 150-strong audience. The Beatles were seated in the bar with Berend Boudewijn, who translated their answers and relayed them to Herman Stok, who was
seated with the audience. This podcast contains some of the Q&A of that session.

Following their Amsterdam jaunt, The Beatles performed two shows in Veilinghal Op Hoop Van Zegen, an auction hall situated on Veilingweg in Blokker, a village 40km north of Amsterdam. Unfortunately, the aucytion hall was torn downsome years later. Their tour was organised by Ben Essink, a Dutch impressario, who happened to be the son of the mayor of Blokker....

Essink engaged the Beatles in 1963, when the Beatles were still 'just' an up and coming British band. By june 1964, they were fast becoming the first global popgroup. Brian Epstein did not renegociate the contract,
although they were now worth much more than the contract stipulated. Epstein did put a price on recording the Beatles shows in Blokker: 5000 guilders, equivalent to around $15,000 today. Later, the Beatles were offered millons for a single show, but - the Dutch being dutch - no radio or TV station splashed out to record the Blokker show. However, audience recordings survive, and these were used as ambiance for this podacst. You can hear the announcer tell the audience to sit down, or the show wil be stopped......

The gospel of Luke tells of the nativity in its own way, necessitating its own Beatles Christmas podcast version: while Matthew (see preceding Podcast) talks about the wordly aspects (king Herod, the wise men and their rich gifts) and the nativity rooted in Judaism, Luke speaks more about the spiritual impact and the break with Jewish traditions.

Therefore, we selected more 'spiritual' tracks for this podcast, and included tracks recorded after the break-up.

The incidental music is the soundtrack of 'The Family Way', composed by McCartney.

Christmas Time Is Here Again ! A special time for Beatles fans: the Beatles did Christmas shows in their early days, and released special 'nonsense' records for their fanclub all through the Fab's career.

Enough reasons to release this BDJ Chritsmas special; it is a new - yet ancient - way to celeberate Christmas.

Gone are the Ho-Ho-Ho's of Father C, decorated trees, mangers and shepherds. In its stead, we find Christmas Remastered as it sounds best: the Gospel of Matthew, performed by James Earl Jones and the Beatles.

Sit back, and contemplate the first 2 chapters, complete and unabridged.

Many (if not most) of the Beatles songs were never performed Live by the Fabs themselves. Even when thye still toured they basically reproduced the recorded versions as accurately as possible.

What if they had continued performing gigs, and had updated their songs as they went along ?

Here, we present a version of She's Leaving Home that could have been performed at the rooftop of Apple Studios, if.......

The guitars, bass and drums are courtesy of BDJ's Tearoom orchestra.

She's Leaving Home is one the few songs of the later Beatles albums where Lennon contributes to a McCartney song. Standing out by Mike Leander's string quartet arrangement, it maintains its unique posiotion in modern pop/rock.

Lewisohn mentions that 2 extra bars of cello (after each Bye-Bye)were edited out of the final release (on Sgt Pepper). This was done at the remix stage, indicating that the complete song (including vocals) was recorded including these cello parts.

Recently, the original 4-track recording surfaced, revealing the extra cello parts. Here's the world premiere of the Original She's Leaving Home:

New stero remix, now inclduing the original cello parts.

Sometimes Lennon's songs are not that different......

Lennon lets it rip in this sensational rocking track. Featuring guitars and a cowbell, this was one of the loudest songs of 1968.
Outtakes form Take 12 are well known, but some say that Take 9 was even louder. Unfortuatley, that take has not surfaced (yet); so, the BDJ Teamroom Orchestra set to work to recerate take 9 as best as they could. Cranked up the distortion on the guitars (BDJ), thumping bass and drums(BDJ) and screaming vocals (John Lennon), here we go !

One of the elusive Beatles tracks that still remains unbootlegged, is the 'slow version' of Please Please Me. The fabs played it to George Martin, who rejected it as being too slow for a number one hit. Perhaps for the last time, the Beatles complied and changed the song around into the Please Please Me that we all know.

Here, we present a rare live recording of the original Please Please Me. It is strikingly different, not only in tempo, but also in the raw guitar riffs, that were the hallmark of the Beatles in their Hamburg days (subsequently stamped out by George Martin).

A decade later, Aerosmith would use similar riffs for their minor hit 'Walk This Way'.

For You Blue sounds like a more or less improvised blues session; the Fab did this every mow and then, as we hear in the Let it Be sessions, but these rarely led to a quality recording. And it was a close shave for For You Blue: Phil Spector needed to apply quite some trickery to construct a full song out of the various takes.

Still, "For You Blue" was listed with "The Long and Winding Road" as a double-sided hit when the single reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.

The production on Let It Be is rather sparse, perhaps Phil thought his 'wall of sound' on Long and Winding Road was enough for both sides of the single ?

That was fortunate for us, but the song could bear a little spicing up. So we combined it with a long forgotten Ringo Starr solo track; gives it a new drive and surprising swing feeling.

Maggie Mae is just a snippet of a song on Let It Be. Phil Spector picked the best 38 seconds out of a session that did not last for more than a minute or two.

After all, it's a pretty tragic story about a working girl, who was banished to Australia for her efforts. So she 'did not walk Lyme street anymore', a connection with the Beatles since John and Cynthia were married in the registrar's office on Lyme street...

What if the Fab had spent a bit mnore time and effort on this 'tradional' ?

Lossless version of this mix is on Let It Be remixed (BRG16).

Another World Premiere for BDJ's Cellar; The beatles perform the Holly classic 'Maybe Baby'.

This is unearthed form the Let It Be rehearsals.

Lossless version of this remaster is found on the Let It Be Remixed release (BRG16).

Don't confuse this one with the Maybe Baby that McCartney wrote for the film in 1999.....

A rare Live Performance, not released on Let it Be. Not only did Billy Preston join the Beatles for the Roof Concert, but - apparently - so did Talking Heads. They would later use this tune for their own greatest hit.

'Her Majesty' is a beautiful McCartney compositon. It didn't make it onto Let It Be, but Macca remembered it a few months later when recording Abbey Road. On Abbey Road, it sounds like a throwaway, barely 30 seconds, kicked off by a slightly out of tune chord (Mustard), and lacking the final chord.

Here, we combine the Let it Be and Abbey Road sessions, underpinned by a solid backing track (Slow Down), for a full 2m58s of Her Majesty !

'Anna (Go To Him)' is possible the poorest song the Beatles ever covered. It is surprising that it was included on Please Please Me, while the Beatles had stronger cover songs in their repertoire at that moment. There is no recording of any Live performance, they only played it twice on BBC's Pop Go The Beatles (as filler).

So why did they select it for PPM ? Since Lennon does the lead vocals, it was probably his choice. What could have been his motives ? The song structure is conventional, the chord structure is poor by any standard (the middle eight is just one chord...). So was the appeal in the lyrics insteead? Lennon wasn't hot for mushy lyrics, he could hardly bring himself to sing backing vocals on 'Besame Mucho', 'Till there was you' etc.

But the Anna lyrics are subtly different: they speak about separation of the lovers: in fact, the man encourges his wife to leave him for another. Could this have resonated with Lennon's own feelings at the time ? He was recently married to Cynthia, in a 'shotgun wedding". So he may very well have secretly wished that Cynthia would leave him.

This hidden thought is corroborated by another surprisingly mushy song, this time wrtiten by Lennon: This Boy. Again, the lyrics speak of separation, and the singer sort of gives up on his lover.

The link between these 2 songs is not only in the lyrics; musically, they match too; however, a remash will always be difficult, because Lennon gave This Boy one of his odd rythms (6/8). Still, this re-mash suffics that both songs probaly revelaed Lennon's hidden wish for a divorce from Cynthia ?

A funky re-mix, featuring Michael Jackson and others.

Lossless version on 'Beatle Blends'.

Something was Sinatra's 'favorite Lennon-McCartney Song'. It appears that it has now become McCartney's Favourite Harrisong.

Macca perfoms Something at almost any concert now, in a sober production featuring mainly ukele and some piano parts.

So here - in a World Premiere - are the Macca vocals in a lush George Martin production.

NB: the BDJ engineers unveiled an urbain myth while mixing this track. In his book "Here There and Everywhere' Geoff Emerick remembers that Harrison wanted to redo his solo. They had only one empty track left, and that needed to record the orchestra. According to Emerick, Harrison then decided to play the solo 'live' into the track with the orchestra (which menat he had the do the whole solo first time right !).

BDJ management were uneasy about this story for a while, for several reasons: listening to Abbey Road, it is clear that the orchestra was recorded in stero, hence occupying 2 tracks, and not the one track that Emerick remmebers. Secondly, would George Martin really run out of tracks so easily, necessitating this extraodrinary effort for a guitar solo ?
The answer came while remixing Something: in the Orchestra (stereo) tracks there is indeed a guitar, but it is the chorus/rythm guitar, NOT the solo ! So George DID play guitar while the orchestra was recorded, but the rythm guitar part is a lot easier to accomplish in one go !

I'm Only Sleeping is one of Lennon's most Lennonesque songs: the chords keep meandering up and down, the lyrics look simple at first, but become more mysterious as you try to interpret them.

The theme is a well-known Lennon view: Lennon is right and the world is wrong. In this case, he contrasts his own relaxed approach to life, to the senseless business of the rest of us. (as in Strawberry Fields, "Nothing is real, nothing to get hung about....")

Lennon seems to have a thing with sleeping and waking up: I'm So Tired is also about a sleep/wake state, then there's the Bed-In ritual with Yoko, no. 9 Dream etc. There's A Place can also be seen in this light ('there's a place where I can go, and it's my mind'). Sleeping/lying in bed is then for Lennon a 'safe place' where the Bad World can't touch him. A typcially childish feeling, but we know Lennon was abit mixed-up......

This version combines an early take (from Anthology) with the Revolver Lyrics, and a George Martin backing track.

The lossless version is available on the compilation 'Beatle Blends".

Basic track formed by 'Je Danst' by Mondoleone. This killer song is complemented by some famous friends: Beatles (The End and Because), Supertramp (Logical Song), Alquin (percussion), Sandy Coast (bottles), Gruppo Sportivo (piano), and a cameo by Stevie Wonder at the end.

Extra credit for those who recognise the intro.....

The lyrics argue that dancing and loving are closely linked: they both require smooth hip action.

This track is featured in lossless format on the Summer Booty 2010 compilation, which can be found at:

http://djuseo.podomatic.com/entry/2010-07-06T20_20_43-07_00

September-October 1963 was a busy period for the songwriting duo Lennon-McCartney. Amongst the songs composed in that period, I Wanna Be Your Man and I Want To Hold Your Hand take a special place.

I Wanna Be Your Man is pure erotic energy, and this more then compensates for the lack of melody or chord structure. On the other hand, I Want To Hold Your Hand is the first major Lennon-McCartney song, of the quality that earned them a place amongst the greatest composers of all time.

Two very different songs, and yet there are also many striking similarities:

- both start with the 'break' sequence, giving the songs a kick-start (and confusing the listener about the key the song is played in)

- both contain 'strange' chords (not a simple major or minor chord). This was really adventurous songwring in popsongs in 1963 !

- lyrics are - very...- similar; In short, both lyrics express a desire to have sex with the singer's partner. Of course, in 1963 this was described in a more roundabout way, but the message is the same.

- the desired partner remains anonymous in both songs; strikngly, we learn absolutely nothing about this attactive partner, not even his/her gender; it's all about the singer's feelings.

Although both songs are clearly true Lennon-McCartney collaborations, it is clear that Lennon took major responsibiity for the lyrics. It even contains the first 'Lennonism' in "...something, I think you'll understand'. 47 years later, we still don't know hat the 'something' is.....

Since Lennon usuallly wrote his lyrics straight form the heart & soul, these songs may well express Lennon's state of mind at that time; focus on physical love, not caring too much who his partner of the day was. The greatest fun aspect is that these songs reached incredible heights of popularty in the ultra puritan US of 1963/4 !

"And Your Bird Can Sing" was released on the 1966 album Revolver in the UK and on Yesterday...and Today in the U.S. The song was written by John Lennon. Lennon was later dismissive of the song, as he was of many of his compositions at the time, referring to it as "another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box". Many composers would kill their bird for a throwaway of this quality; still, the lyrics are jibbersih and rather repetitive.

The double-tracked guitar solo rates in at #69 on the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" list done by Rolling Stone magazine. Not high enough to include the solo in this remix.

"Drive My Car" is written by McCartney, and first released by The Beatles on the UK version of the 1965 album Rubber Soul; it also appeared in the US on the Yesterday and Today collection.

To liven things up, we mashed it he 2 above tracks. Almost anything will mash with Drive My car (it's just 2 chords), but this mash works out remarkably well. Did Lennon still have Drive My car in his ears whemn he wrote And You Bird ?

Anyway, And Your Bird seems a long way back form his other tracks on Revolver, such as Tomorow Never Knows (the first track they recorded after Rubber Soul, which featured Drive My Car).

"Drive My Car" has more bottom (bass) than any previous Beatles
recording, mimicking the bass-heavy sound generated in Redding's Memphis studio, and here we fattened its bottom even further. So hold on to your earplugs !

Aretha's version, reinfoced with an extra instrumetal track. Perhaps words of wisdom and consolation, for those who need it most.

What if the Beatles and the Beach Boys had cooperated in the Pepper era ? Imagine the results, if McCartney had plucked some chords on his guitar, Brian Wilson completing the melody, then Lennon putting the finishing touches on the lyrics ? Sadly, we will never hear the likes of "Sgt. Pepper Only Knows", "Imagine My little Honda", or "Back to the Surfin' USA".

However, we can listen to the - posthumous - collaboration on With A Little Help. In September 1967, the Beach Boys recorded it in Brian Wilson's home studio. Bruce Johnston replaced Ringo Starr on vocals, while the other surfer kids took care of the backing vocals. Combined with McCartney (bass), Harrison (guitar), Lennon (maraccas) and Starr (drums), it sounds pretty darn good !

In Rishikesh, the Beatles attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi about a "son of the mother nature". This inspired both Paul McCartney and John Lennon to write songs about the same subject. Both were demoed at George Harrison's Esher home in May of 1968. The demo featured Lennon's double-tracked vocal and an acoustic guitar. McCartney's composition "Mother Nature's Son" was selected for The Beatles (The White Album), while Lennon's song "Child of Nature" was not.

And rightly so, I might add; Lennon's lyrics are as insincere as they are silly ('I was dreaming more or less...'). Lennon must have liked the melody, since he contined to play it, al the way through the Let It Be sessions to Imagine. There he updated the lyrics into Jealous Guy. Unfortunately, still as insincere and silly as 'Child of Nature' ("I was feeling insecure, you might not love me anymore'), it must rank as one of Lennon's poorest lyrics.

Now you can compare Child of Nature and Jealous Guy yourself: for the first time, a full production of Child of Nature, based on Roxy Music's cover of 1981.

The Monkees could never escape their image of being the US Beatles. Nothing wrong with being that, they might have said. Indeed, their first hit single, Last Train to Clarksville ows more than just a bar or 2 to Paperback Writer. How much excactly, becomes clear fom this emix.

Download & Play.

This version features the backing track from Rockband. The MP3 version uses the Real Monkees.

Herman Brood was the Rockiest Rock Singer the Netherlands ever produced. Starting out as keyboard player in a number of memorable Dutch rock groups, he found his true sound as the singer in his own group, His Wild Romance.

He mostly wrote his own songs, and covered few Beatles songs; but Rain is one of those. Brood gave it his typical interpretation, changing both the chord scheme and the lyrics to create his very own Rain.

Here, we feature Lennon instead of Brood on vocals; while His Wild Romance keeps going strong.

NB There are more connections between Lennon and Brood: both linked their name to the Amsterdam Hilton......

"I Am the Walrus" was the first studio recording made after the death of The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, recorded September 1967. George Martin arranged and added orchestral accompaniment that included violins, cellos, horns, clarinet and a 16-piece choir. A large group of professional studio vocalists named

"The Mike Sammes Singers", took part in the recording as well, variously singing "Ho-ho-ho, hee-hee-hee, ha-ha-ha", "oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper!", "everybody's got one" and making a series of shrill whooping noises.The song also features the sampling of a radio in its fade-out.

In the original (1967) stereo release, at around two minutes through the song, the mix changes from true stereo to "fake stereo". This came about because the radio broadcast had been added 'live', off-air, into the mono mix-down and so was unavailable for inclusion in the stereo mix; hence, fake stereo from the mono mix was created for this portion of the song. Obviously, the same trasntuion to mono is heard in the Remaster version.

In 2006, the first-ever stereo mix of the complete song (from beginning to end) was issued on The Beatles' album Love.

This 2010 remix has a few unique features:

- After 40 odd years of lsitening to the track, the strings, horns amd the Mike Sammers singers start to sound a bit too '60's novelty'; they are nice at first, but tend to overwhelm this exciting song.
Hence, we elimiated all the 'extra's from ths Remix, apart from where they are essential (intro & outtro).

- In all released versions Lennon's vocals sound a bit irritating to the ear; as if they have a 'rugged edge'. At first, we thought this was a deliberate effect; however, it is not heard on any other Beatles track. So the next hypthesis was that it was an artefact, introduced when the final mix was made (just like the tranisiton from stero to mono).

Now, using the isloated vocals, we found that the effect is due to the vocals left and right channels being out of sync by ca 2 milliseconds. Immedialtely, the BDJ engineers set out to align the 2 tracks perfectly, and this eliminated the edgy effect form the vocals. Hear it for the first time in this re-mix !

- Last but not least; the close listener will have noticed that there is a guitar part (Harrison) on the Walrus, but it is mostly buried in the mix. Here, we reconstructed the guitar part, and panned it away from the keyboard so it stands out clearly.

And so the Walrus is revived !

A Rocking old rendition of this Harrisong B-side. Real experts prefer it over the rather simple A-side (The Ballad of John and Yoko).

To liven things up a bit, mashed the Live in Japan performance with the instrumental sections of Dani McCullogh's cover. And slowed it down to a more serious 120 bpm. Enjoy the Shoe even more this way !

"Love" is one of Lennon's most beautiful songs, included on the Plastic Ono Band album in 1970. The production on the album is just Lennon (vocals, guitar) and Phil Spector (piano). The track was recorded 'live', which also adds to the dramatic feel. Only vocals were double tracked, which - I think - was a mistake.

The piano starts very low in the LP mix, and is faded out at the end. Did Spector feel insecure about his pinao playing (he appeared so according to his remarks on the session tapes). The piano was more prominent on the single remix, but this record is a true rarity (the BDJ scouts can't find it anywhere....).

Perhaps Spector kept it a bit too simple, although the song certainy should be recorded straight from the heart. Hence, we combined two - unused - takes, one with piano and strummed guitar, and the other with an arpeggioed guitar. Added backing from the Lettermen cover, and there you have it: Love Reborn !

Step Inside Love is one of McCartney's finest songs that he never released himself. Written for Cilla Black, it brings out the best in her voice, to a level which she found later difficult to reach.

The released version sounds slightly over-produced, and it appears that Cilla needs to sing louder than optimal. So, the BDJ engineers started with the rehearsal tapes, that feature Paul on guitar, Cilla, and that's it. A Magical session, which - doubletracked and slightly messed about - results in this intimate version of Step Inside Love: as it was intended to sound........

A 'naked' remix of the Rockband version of this classic the Who anthem. Less is better once again; in additon to bringing out the vocals, the track has been condensed into a more listenable length.

The first recorded session of No reply ('Take 0') has a more Rock & Roll feel to it than take 1 and the released versions. Unfortunatley, the take 0 is incomplete, and the vocals are not quite OK at some places.

So, the BDJ engineers set to have the best of both worlds, and combiend the instruments from take 0 with the vocals take 0.

NB: The intro is from the actual take 0.

The Heavy Metal thunder suits No Reply remarkably well.

A remix of the esoteric with the mundame, the ying with the yang and Yoko with the Void. A thousand monks on the top of the Himalayas rock to the beat of a honeymoon in bag. Dig it ?

A 21st Century remix, ready for the clubs and parties on this planet. Heavily looped and techno ornamented, this mix will get you moving.

This classic Beatles track (their last no 1 single) was recorded by John & Paul, no other Beatles were hurt in the performance of the song. I don't hear Yoko's caracteristic vocals on it (this would become more prominent later). In this mix, Arik takes the lead vocals, giving the song a new flavour (and new lyrics....).

Ringo goes Retro on his new album (Y NOT). As if 40 years haven't passed, Ringo mashes his Beatles vocal performance with a new track (Fill in the Blanks). Certainly, the blanks are filled with cameo 'bap shoe wha's ' by George and Paul ?

From Cyrano de Bergerac, to John Lennon, to The Police, it's a giant leap for man but a small step for the BDJ engineers. Result is an unplugged-flavoured rendition, highlighting Sting's vocals escapades.

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

In Lewis Carrol's poem, the oysters were fooled once too often. By his own admission, this poem inspired John Lennon for 'I Am The Walrus'. His identification with The Walrus (who he considered to be 'the good guy') is obvious, but what about 'I am the Eggman' ? Could this refer to his sympathy for the Oysters (with their shells etc.) ?

Enough about Lennon. This remix was inspired by Pete Townshend's acoustic version,which reveals how beautiful the song actually is, it doesn't need the heavy guitar fireworks to create a lasting impression.

The BDJ engineers employed the newly installed 'BDJ-Retouch' equipment to isolate the acoustic guitars and vocals from the released version, and inserted an arpeggio lead guitar to replace the synthesizer/organ.

Play it as loud as your neighbours will tolerate !

Less is better for Boston's greatest hit. Thanks to some Rockband isolations, the BDJ engineers were able to bring this song back to its (beautiful) essentials.

The traditional Christmas records were sent out exclusively to Beatles fan club members from 1963-1969. These recordings not only featured Christmas songs by the Beatles, but also include entertaining ad-libs and pantomime banter between all 4 Beatles, which provide a fascinating insight into how their lives changed dramatically between `63 & `69.

Kenny Everett produced and featured in the Beatles Christmas records in 1968 & 1969. Zak - Ringo's son, designed the cover of the 1969 record. The 1966 record, with a cover designed by Julian Lennon, was called Pantomime and featured a toast to the Queen. These records were a Christmas tradition for thousands of Beatles fans around the world.

The 1970 Chtristmas record was never released, since the Beatles broke up that year. The BDJ Bureau of Investigation discovered the orginal tapes of this record, and unleashed 21st century technology to Remaster the tapes. The result: a stunning sound picture of the last year of the Beatles, when innocent laughter gave way to Business, Politics and Children.

Besides the Fab Four, this record also features:

Judy and The Duets - Christmas With The Beatles

Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - John Holt & The Plastic Ono Band: Remixed by BDJ

White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Dora Bryan - If I Were A Fairy

Julian & Cynthia Lennon

Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

At the dentist, on the escalator, in South America ? Then this is THE remix of Michelle for you. Carefully arranged by Rita Lee, beatifully adorning the soothing voice of ole' brown eyes himself.

The Beatles do well in reggea format, and here's Something New: Beatles in Bossa Nova !

With help from Rita Lee (backing vocals), Ringo goes Latin; get your dancing shoes on.....

We all know this delightful track from the Abbey Road Album. Paul's thumping bass dominates the lower regions of the soundscape, while Ringo hits his snare drum always just a millisecond late.

But what if Harrison had recorded this song just a few months later, as a solo artist ? And what if he had run into BDJ's Tearoom orchstra in studio 2 ?

The answer is here......

Harrison and friends go back to the Cavern days, for this rock-your-socks-off version of Here Comes the Sun.

George Harrison and heavy metal ? This is why (not), and the Voodoo Glow Skulls help George through this track at lightning speed.

George Harrison teams up with the famous reggae ensemble Riddim for a Jamaica flavoured rendition of Here Comes The Sun.

Two of Harrison's most famous songs in this re-mix: If I Needed Someone vs Here Comes The Sun.

Result: a strangely melancholic song, with a spectacular double-tracked Rickenbacher.

Almost an 'Unplugged' version of this classic rocker. The Swingle Singers really let their hair down. This mix is made possible thanks to the new vocal isolations.

It is said the Beatles were in a gloomy mode during the get Back sessions at Abbey Road. This mix proves the opposite.
A cheerful fab Four record a reggae version of Get Back, never heard until the BDJ engineers extracted it from the reverse side of a Nagra tape. Note that the intro and outtro chat is really form the actual get Back session.

On the White Piano, John Lennon, on the Black Keyboard it's Paul McCartney. Together, they produce the final true Lennon-McCartney composition. After 10 years of Beatles, each wrote a song that defined the decade. Their ultimate genius is demonstrated here, in the seamless fusion of Words and Music of their best songs. Sound from the Anthology and Lennon Legend DVD's.

There's a lot of seeing and looking on Rubber Soul. These Macca songs bear a strong resemblance, both in music and lyrics.

So here's a mash of You Won't See Me with I'm Looking Through You. Both songs express rather angry feelings towards Macca's (ex?) lover, a sentiment Lennon also used on various occasions.

This mix is almost a 1 on 1 overlay of one over the other, just a semi-tone adjustment of the pitch. Co-incidence ?

I'm looking Through You is known in 2 versions: the Rubber Soul track, and the Anthology version. The Rubber Soul version is a bit more perky, but the stereo is in the classic 'instruments right, voices left' mode.
So, the BDJ engineers set to work to produce a - true - stereo I'm looking Through You. They used 3 diferent versions: the Rubber Soul track, a US release, and the unpublished Take 4. Results is a pleasant song, fully up to 2009 stereo standards.

This Boy must have been one of the most succesful B-sides of the Beatles. It was the flip side of I Want To Hold Your Hand, their first no. 1 in the US. They performed the song during the famous Ed Sullivan Shows, on during various concerts. It showcases their vocal abilities, and John gets to rip his vocal chords to great effect during the middle eight.

There is no good quality stereo release of This Boy. The single was in mono, and it was then customary NOT to include singles on (stereo) albums. So, the first stereo sounding release came with Past Masters 1; disappointingly, this is mixed in vocals left - instruments to the right mode.

In the US, Capitol released a diferent mix on Meet The Beatles, but this sounds rather close to the mono recording.

A challenge for the BDJ engineers at One BDJ Plaza; they collected all known releases and outtakes of This Boy, ran them through their BDJ computers, and came up with a new mix.

Give it a listen; this one DOES sound different than the 1987 CD........

Download & Play

Now how did these different mixes of This Boy come about ?
This Boy was recorded in October 1963, when EMI just recieved their first 4-track tape machine. All in all, they recorded 15 takes and 2 overdubs, which is quite some effort in these days, the more so since it was 'only' a B-side.

I expect they recorded the basic instrumental tracks first, as usual. They then needed several tracks for the vocals: at least 2 tracks for John's 'solo' middle eight (which is double tracked), and at least one, probably 2 for the triple harmonies. They usually also recorded some finsishing touches on a separate track, such as fills, handclaps etc..

Evidently, 4 tracks did not suffice; probably, George Martin bounced ALL instrumental tracks to one of the four. He also must have bounced (or recorded simultaneously ?) one of John's middle eight vocal solo's WITH a rythm guitar fill. This left 2 tracks for the 3 part harmonies.

These 4 tracks were then used to mix the mono version (for the single) and stereo version (later released on Past Masters). Because of above procedures, this meant that all instruments will always be on a single track, except for the rythm guitar fill.

For Past Masters, in the style of those days, the instruments were panned 100% to one side, and the vocals 100% to the other side, losing all stereo effects in the vocals.

For Meet the Beatles, it appears that Capitol used the above 4 tracks and mixed them differently; obviously , all instruments are still on one track, but this is mixed 75/25, and the vocal tracks are spread over the L and R channels, giving a slight separation of the 3 part harmonies.

NB The 'remasters' mix is te same as the Past Masters.

A day before the release of Rockband, BDJ proudly presents the first ever remix featuring material from the Rockband soundtrack.

Never heard before bits are mixed with chunks of Take 1, and other bits from the recent BBC radio broadcast "The Record Producers, George Martin".

Result: a brandnew experience, with no audio from the Abbey Road album whatsoever...

We all know Mean Mr Mustard as a part of the big B-side Medley of Abbey Road. Surprisingly, Mean Mr Mustard was composed long before Abbey Road, during the Beatles stay with the Maharishi in India.

They probably did not think of it very highly, because they did not record it on the White (double) album, nor on Let It Be. Apparently, they were in such dire straits to fill the B-side of Abbey Road that they finally recorded it; in its form on Abbey Road, it is not really a complete song, it moves into Polythene Pam before it develops a middle-eight and a proper ending.

Here, for the first time ever, we present a 'complete song' version of Mean Mr Mustard. Produced by taken the vocals of the Let it Be sessions and combining with Paul's fuzz bass on Abbey Road. To complete the song, we added an - original...- intro, middle eight, and ending.

This is the Complete Mean Mr Mustard in lossless format. Just download and then play.

Not a lot of sensible stuff has been written about Mean Mr Mustard. Sure, it is not a great song by far: the melody is not very exciting, the chord scheme rather cliche. So what moved Lennon to write the song, and then record it much later ? If not the music, than it must be the lyrics. Most authors that I've read dismiss Mr Mustard as 'nonsense' lyrics. I think that is a risky position, looking at
Lennon's reputation as a lyrics writer: most of his lyrics refer to events and people that he experienced himself, or heard/read about.

Furthermore, he wrote 2 volumes of poetry, which - as he said himself - ment as much to him as his music. These poems also give a first impression of 'nonsense', but they clearly carried meaning for Lennon. Several of them have been 'decoded', see also 'Good Dog Nigel' in BDJ's cellar.

Can we decode Mr Mustard in a similar way ? Lennon scrambled his poetry with several techniques, such as replacing words by similar sounding words, and changing gender of people and animals.

Let's have a go at Mr Mustard !

First, the title. Some sources say that Lennon was triggered to write the song when he read about a
'miser' who lived in the street. If so, then 'miser' could have transformed into 'Mr Mustard'.

Next, who could Mr Mustard really be ? A hobo on the street is hardly enough to inspire a song in Lennon. What do we know about Mr M ?

- he is mean, does not spend his money even if he has some. What group of people, or religious denomination, are often portrayed as being 'mean' and lusting after money ?

- he is dirty, unclean. (NB I think 'shaves in the dark' is a Lennonism for 'shits in the dark', and the 'ten bob note in his nose' was probably - in Lennon's mind - inserted in a another body opening..).

What kind of man would Lennon refer to as dirty and unclean ? Could this be related to the sexual orientation of the man he pictures as Mr M ?

Above questions point in a direction, but are still speculative; the matter of Mr M's identity can be firmly established when we compare Mr Mustard with the Brian Epstein Blues.

This Blues was caught on tape during the White Album sessions, July 19th, 1968. This is shortly after their return from India, so the Epstein Blues was written around the same time as Mean Mr Mustard (first taped in May 1968). The fact that Lennon wrote about Brian Epstein does not have to surprise us too much, since Brian died shortly before they left for India, and his death affected
Lennon deeply.

Let's compare lryics of these 2 Lennon compositions, Brian Epstein Blues (BEB) and Mr Mustard (MMM)

BEB: he's a dirty old man.

MMM: he's such a dirty old man

BEB: About his brother Clive....

MMM: His sister Shirley....

BEB: He's working in the coal mine

MMM; works in a shop, she never stops

BEB: His mother girl a queenie. Well, she's the queen of them all.

MMM: takes him out to look at the queen

The simlilarities are strinking, too striking to be a coincidence. Both songs are about 'a dirty old man', so it is likely the same person (Epstein). Brian's brother Clive was well known to Lennon, and 'sister Shirley' is probably a Lennonism for Brother Clive. Brian's mother was called Queenie, by her friends and family, also note that 'queen' carries a connotation of homosexuality.

To summarise, there are overwhelming indications that the Brian Epstein Blues and Mean Mr Mustard are both about Brian Epstein.

Question then becomes: why did Lennon express such negative feelings about Brian Epstein ? During Brian's life, and shortly after Brian's death, he spoke in nothing but positive sense about Brian. I think the answer can be found in human psychology, perhaps I'll come to that some other time.

Following Paul's first song, it is now George's turn in BDJ studios. Not quite his first recorded song, but - interestingly - the first known Harrisong that was never recorded by the Beatles.

George Harrison's second solo composition, You Know What To Do was recorded as a demo at Abbey Road on 3 June 1964.
The demo remained unissued until 1995 when it was released on Anthology 1.

Here, for the first time, we present the full version of You Know What To Do, properly orchestrated and all. Could it have been good enough to release it, if John and Paul had made a seriuous attempt at it ? Judge for yourself.

Sir Paul has said that I Lost My Little Girl was the first song he ever wrote. Most staff at BDJ studios find that hard to believe; the song is quite complex (note the variation in vocals between verse 1 and 2), it contains a 'full stop' after the middle eight etc. Furthermore, the group played the song during the Let It Be session (1969) with Lennon on vocals. This suggests that the song was on the reportoire at some time. However, no recording by the Quarrymen is known. Therefore, a date closer to Love Me Do (to which it musically bears resemblance) is more likely than an earlier date.

The sentiments expressed by the lyrics are remarkably similar to Yesterday; the singer is confused because something terrible happended the day before; his girl/woman left him, and he does not understand why. A taste of self-pity is present here as well.

Overall a very interesting song; only recorded by Paul for the Unplugged sessions (and a later soundcheck). Sufficient reason for the BDJ producers to pull out the plugs and renew the acquaintance with this enigmatic song.

Your Mother Should Know is a typical McCartney song, which takes him back to the days when his father played the piano in a band.

The production of the song is a bit strange, distracting from the attractiveness of this throwaway; the vocals start banked to the left, then move to the right, then end in the middle. This was great fun when stereo was just invented.

While remixing the vocals in the middle, the BDJ tea-room orchestra entered the studios, and strings and woodwind were added.

This Harrisong was briefly heard in the film A Hard Days Night, before being faded out to make room for some silly dialogue. All in all, the production indeed sounds as if the other Fab 3 were not Too Happy To Dance With George on this tune. Paul's bass playing is one of the poorest tracks he ever recorded, and Lennon is not on it at all.....

In later years, Harrison would turn to Eric Clapton to spice up his recordings and concerts, with great effect (on both George and Pattie...). What if Harrsion had invited Clapton to guest star on Happy Just To Dance With You ?
This mix may sound a bit like it......

Willy Deville was born the day that Paul met John, and he died excactly 40 years after the photshoot for the Abbey Road album. His life thus spans the career of the Beatles, and BDJ was inspired to mix this tribute to Willy.

Coverart is the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road as it looked today on the Webcam; a sight Willy didn't live to see.

There's always been a hymn-like aura surrounding Because. The vocals sound more like '1000 monks singing on a hill-top' then in Tomorrow Never knows (where Lennon wanted that sound). Lennon claiming that he was inspired by van Beethoven doesn't help either to make this a poppy song.

So, BDJ to the rescue, to bring Because down to earth. Some great instrumental sections by the famous Satellite Kingston, a new intro, enhanced overall sound, and new lyrics; here we go !

If I Fell is one of my favourites, and I took it to the limit (or slightly beyond) of pleasant harmonies in the Clapton remix (see below).

To make amends, here is a modern arrangement that I made of the song, so not a remix in the true sense. Started with nylon guitar and piano, upright bass and simple percussion. Couldn't resist to mix in strings amd woodwind towards the end, but still avoiding the dreaded wall of sound.

A nice & crisp, clean version of this Lennon track. Straight from the heart, a lot more emotion & fun than the released version.

This remix is composed of 4 different outtakes. A slightly different version is on Tuned To A Natural E 6.

Come on, listen to me !

It's Party Time in BDJ's cellar !

A massive 4m50s remix of this Ringo classic, arguably his best composition.

Get ready to shake yer booty, and don't forget your bottle of water, since dehydration is a serious risk with this mix.

The Beatles started, and ended, their career with Phil Spector. Phil's (over)production of the Let It Be album is well documented. It is less well known that the Beatles performed a Phil Pector song on their first recording session: the Decca Audition, January 1st, 1962.
That recording suggests that Lennon (lead vocals) was not at his best; his voice is too low, and too soft. Perhaps he did not like the song ? Pete Best' drumming did not add to the excitment either.....

Here's an attempt to make the most of that same 1962 recording; double tracked vocals, strings & Horns (courtesy of Peter and Gordon (RIP)) turn it into a real Beatles track.

I prefer it over the session recorded in 1963 (BBC Paris), where they attempted more harmonies, but didn't succeed.

Eddie Izzard gives a wonderful perfomance of mr kite in 'Across the Universe'. Actually, he does two (the second is in the deleted scenes section). Here, he joins forces with lennon, to create a super splendid rendition of this fine track.

Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney. The less said about this mix, the better.

Here's another one for the Helen Shapiro fans. She never covered a Lennon-McCartney song, but she did cover songs that the Beatles also covered. The Beatles were Helen's backing group on her UK tour, so they probably played this track many times with Helen on lead vocals. No wonder that the Beatles version mashes well with Helen's recording.

The great White Piano features prominently in Lennon's Imagine. We all remember the clip, Lennon dressed in white, in a white room, at the white piano. Oh yes, Yoko was there too.....

Still, to me, Imagine sounds like a song composed on guitar, not at the piano. Some support in the Imagine film, where Lennon has trouble playing the song on the piano for the first time to his friends (including Harrison).

So what would Imagine sond like without a piano ? Used a live guitar version, and mixed it with woudwind and strings.

Some of George Harrison's most beautiful songs suffer from 'overproduction', by certain producers who shall remain nameless.

The recently released demo of Isn't It A Pity offers the opportunity to go back to the music, and hear it in its pure form.

Added some strings, wind instruments etc.; the real tearjerker (for me) is the violin solo. See if it hits your soft spot.....

Paul made it no secret that Back in the USSR was a send-up from Check Berry's 'Back in the USA'; with some Beach Boys references for good measure.

So why not make the circle round, and bring the US closer to the USSR ?

Here's another Novelty Record that never was. George Martin produced both the Beatles and Peter Sellers, so why didn't he ever combine the two ? We'll never know, but we do know - -now- what it would have sounded like.

George Harrison wrote Sour Milk Sea, recorded an acoustic demo, but did not release it himself. Jackie Lomax scored a minor hit with his version, helped by GH.

What would it have sounded, if the Beatles had recorde Sour Milk Sea ? This is our best guess...

John rarely (never?) performed songs written by Paul. Paul, however, appears to have sung 'John' songs every now and then. Some of these occasions were captured on tape during the Let It Be sessions (1969).
Paul did a rather serious attempt at I'm So Tired; unfortunatley, the backing by the others was rather lacking. Hence, we combined the released backing track with Paul's vocals.

Electronic Sounds (1969) is Harrison's least succesful album, and probably the least sold LP of all Beatles (andd ex-Beatles) taken together. It contains 2 long tracks, which are basically George tinkering with a synthesizer (a novelty in 1969). there is precious little music in there, just noise and electronic sounds (the buyer has been warned....).

In an attempt to revive this forgotten album, we spiced it up a bit, giving George's sounds a vague sense of rythm, and BDJ added punch-in synths and drums. The whole thing was mixed 'live', in a single go.

So here is the 21st Centruy re-mix of "Under the Mersey Wall", the A-side of Electronic sounds, unabridged.

Warning: this is not for a young, or musically gifted audience.

Helen Shapiro and the Beatles go back a long time. The Beatles were Helen's backing group on her Uk tour, before they was fab.....

They seem to have got along fine. Surprisingly, Shapiro never coverd a Beatles song, and the boys never composed one for her. Probably because she was not an artist under Epstein's management ?

Anyway, the boys still helped her, for instance with cameo appearances on TV.

And here's new support for her: the Beatles join her inan enthusiastic rendition of "Please Mr. Postman"

It is October 14th, 1963. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakota's record "I'm in Love", a song given to them by John lennon. One of the few songs that JL gave away, and - perhaps - it was a rare occasion, John was present, to help Billy J through the track.

What went wrong ? we don't know, but somebody (Lennon, George Martin ?) wasn't happy with the recording, and Billy J abadonded the track after 32 tracks. I'm in Love then became a minor hit for the Fourmost.

What if Lennon had stepped in to record the song with the Dakota's ? Probably another no. 1 for the Beatles ? Judge for yourself.

While cleaning out the attic of BDJ Towers, we stumbled on a tape; it carried a hand-written label, stating only: "Carnival of Light JPM".
When we played the tape, we found it contained just fragments of speech, reversed loops and sound effects. So we erased it.
The flip side of the tape was much more interesting: apparently a private copy of the Cavern Rehearsel sessions; this tape is special, since it contains One After 909 IN STEREO, recorded in the cavern. This again shows how avant-garde the Beatles were, even then, since stereo recording hadn't been invented yet.

Revolution 2009 will carry us from Revolution take 20, to
the day that Carnival of Light finnaly appears (and we will all be disappointed).

It takes Revolution into the 21st century, going places that even John L. dare not go. Chockful of deeper meaninings and unmeasurable wisdom, it is key to solving the mysteries that still surround the Beatles.

Contains contributions (and only those) by:
Beatles: Tomorrow Never Knows, For the Benefit of Mr Kite, A day in the Life, Lovely Rita, Strawberry Fields, Sgt Pepper Revolution 1, Revolution no 9
Yoko Lennon
Lee Harvey Ostwald
Neil Armstrong
Mozart Symphony 1
Satie: Trois Gymnopedies II ; trois Morceaux en Forme de Poire
Brian Epstein
Queenie Epstein
George Martin
Ringo Starr
George Harrison
John Lennon

George Harrison appears a man of extremes. On the one hand, he moans about having to pay taxes (Taxman), and not much later, he contemplates the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything (The inner Light). Quite a journey, for a plumber from Liverpool.

But what about the music, did it evolve as extreme as his lyrics ? Judge for yourself, and listen to this All Revealing retro-mix.

Ringo's greatest vocal performance ever, is so good, it could do well in an 'unplugged version'. Actually, Ringo did this in a duet with Sammy Davis junior; quite alright, but is now some time ago.

So here's the 21st century version. Acoustic guitar(s), courtesy of Puerto Muerto.

Let me take you back, cause I'm going to the Hollywood Bowl.
It is August 29, and the Beatles give their first performance of the '65 tour in Los Angeles.

The Fabs are in great shape, and deliver an oustanding show, in spite of (or thanks to ?) the roaring crowd.

Unfortuntaley, Paul's microphone does not work when the concert starts. The first song of the evening, Twist and Shout, has John on lead vocals, so the faulty microphone probably went unnoticed. However, the second song, She's A Woman, has Paul on lead vocals, and we only hear the instrumental part (except for brief harmonies of John in the other mike).

And so, a great performance was lost for posterity, or so it seemed. Until today, when BDJ productions mixed the Hollywood Bowl instrumentnal recording with the vocals (Paul) of the single. A perfect match, since Paul was able to reproduce his vocals accurately; we now sense the full excitement of te concert. It is interesting that the Live performancne ends into a sort a coda, while the single adds another verse. It all adds to the excitement, and the crowd responds accordingly.

"Love Me Do" was recorded by The Beatles on four different occasions with three different drummers:

The Beatles first recorded it on 6 June 1962 with Pete Best on drums, as part of their EMI audition at Abbey Road Studios in London.

By 4 September, Best had been replaced with Ringo Starr and on that day The Beatles with Starr recorded a version again at Abbey Road Studios.

One week later, on 11 September, The Beatles returned to the same studio, and they made a recording of "Love Me Do" with session drummer Andy White on drums while Starr played tambourine.

On January 28, 1969 (!), they reviisted Love Me Do, during the Let It Be recording sessions. Of course, Ringo Starr on drums, while Billy Preston is at the keyboards (and Alan Parsons at the controls as engineer).

This fourth version is litle known, and in its rough form not too interesting. We edited the Let It Be version to produce a pleasant - stereo! - mix, that might well have been included on the Anthology series: 10 years after recording their first single, this track has not lost any of its charm.

Just for fun: the Karaoke-Beatles get some Help from the Beatles......

"Birthday' is a good old rocker on the White Album. It sort of evolved in the studio, with all four fabs contibuting their stuff. Was it the last track that was really a team effort by the Beatles ?

Birthday is a rather simple song, but where are its roots, where did they find their inspiration ? In their childhood of course, when they played only rock and roll; Dizyy Miss Lizzy was a crowd pleaser for them, with John exploiting the sawdust in his voice.

Put next to each other, Birthday and Dizzy Miss Lizzy show striking similarities: played in the same key, same tempo, and - of course- chord structure. Naturally, they mash well, giving a new life to good old Lizzy's Birthday.

Please Please Me take 1 is "the one that got away". No recordings of the original Please Please Me survive, and it is likely that none ever existed. it is supposed to be significantly different from the released Please Please Me; George Martin claimed that he advised (demanded) that they speed it up. Lennon said he wrote it with Roy Orbison in mind; the Beatles toured with Orbison, and they repeatedly admitted that they admired his songwriting and singing.
So Please Please Me was probably written "Pretty Woman" like.
I've Got a Feeling has a structure similar to Please Please Me, and is nice and slow. And they match quite well. What was Paul's inspiration for I've Got a Feeling ?
Probalbly not Orbison, so perhaps he set out to write a Lennon song ? Not unlikely, they dug up several 'oldies' during the Let It Be sessions, so this one might have originated that way........

It was 40 years ago today (almost....) that the Beatles performed their Rooftop concert. Several songs were included on Let It Be, such as I've Got a Feeling". In fact, they performed this song twice, and the first perforamcne was used on the record.

So, why not see what we can do with the 2nd perofmance of I've Got a Feeling ? I used the sound recordings of the cameras that filmed the conert: a camera on the rooftop, and another across the street. Added a monitor mix to give it more body, and you may hear a bit of chatter because of that.

Happiness is a warm Gun is not a regular song, but a sequence of 3 or 4 songlettes. By chance or design, these fragments form a whole, that (for some) is more meaningful than any of its parts. The genius of Lennon at work ?

Listening to Happiness IAWG, I realised that McCartney did something similar on the B-side of Abbey Road; the final this of Abbey Road is a sequence of songs, fitted tightly together, culminating in The End (where we find Meaning, just as is the last part of Happiness IAWG): the Huge Melody section..

McCartney used both Lennon and McCartney comnpositions, while - of course- Lennon only used Lennon )and even deleted Macca's keyboard play form the final mix).

If the Abbey Road B-side is Macca'a Happiness reprise, can we do one better, and mash a sequence out of both Macca's and Lennon's tracks ?

Well, we tried anyway. The result is the longest mix in BDJ's cellar of Remixes. Relax and float downstream.....

Not a remix, but a Unique Recording.

date: New Years eve 2007
place: BBC Hootananny
vocals; Paul McCartney
electric bass: Paul McCartney
grand piano: Jools Holland
& the Jools Holland orchestra

Play it loud !

To celebrate the 40th 'Birthday' of Sgt Pepper, the BBC invited various bands to record tracks from Sgt Pepper; in Abbey Road studios, using the original equipment (4 track analogue recorders) and staff (Geoff Emerick). Two doumentantaries of the recording sessions were broadcast on TV. I'm not sure if an official album was ever released of these covers.

They are intersting cover versions, also thanks to the Geoff, who managed to re-create many of the typical sounds.
Unfortunately, good old Geoff subjected all vocals to the (in)famous ADT (atomatic double tracking) treatment, which I find rather irriating after a minute into the song or so.
The broadcast also contained fragments of the rehearsal sesions, interlaced with interviews of the band. I glued together the rehearsal sessions of Kaiserchiefs, and ended up with an (almost) complete version of Getting Better, without ADT and overdubs.

Enjoy the world premiere of this track !

Happiness is a Warm Gun appears to be a bit of a mixed bag, which seems to hang together for some reason. The meaning of most Lennon songs can be unravelled, just as I showed for his poetry. In this case, most will agree with a 'anatomical' intepreation of the 'gun' in the song. This also fits the "Mother superior jump the gun' refrain, since Lennon often referred to Yoko as 'Mother'.

The first part is less easy to interpret, because of the interfence from others (Derek Taylor). I read somewhere that they wrote down memories from their visit to Los Angeles, such as the lizard on the windowpane, and the man with mirrors on his boots (to look under girl's skirts) was an actual newspaper clip. Hence, this section is more a 'mr Kite' text, that does not say much about Lennon or anytging in particular, except for setting the slightly threatening mood.

In this remix, the song sequence is left intact; the mix now includes keyboards and percussion from take 7, that did not make it to the relased mix. Furthermore, one of the lead guitars is left out of the mix, revealing some features that were difficult to distinguish, such as the spurious 'down' after the guitar riff, and the brass in the refrain around 1m10s. Overall, a warmere sound, befitting a warm gun.....

This is the season for love, world peace, and what does it it all mean anyway. Obviously, we look for guidance in these matters, and who better to help us along than George Harrison ?

George confessed to support all religions (or the major ones at least), and - indeed - Dear One could be appreciated by many of different faiths.

This version is a bit more lush, but still solemn, than the original. Play it loud, play it often, and who knows what we can achieve......

Peter Sellers recorded She Loves You in a number of 'disguises'. Ranging form a Cockney version to the Irish Dentist. Here, we selected the 'German Version", because it combines well with the german version that the Beatles themselves did of She Loves You.

Seller's German Version was not released in his lifetime, but can now be found on various compilations, all without music. Until today.......

Peter Sellers in a TV broadcast, performing A hard Days Night. It was a highlight of this "The Music of Lennon & McCartney' broadcast.
In the show, there was only minimal accompaniment by a sew violins and choir. Here, we invoke the Beatles to help Peter Sellers out with his Hard Days Night.
The vocals follow the version released on a record, with some outtakes included for good measure.

88 Fingers Louie formed in spring 1993, with the intention of playing sloppy, fun punk music for themselves.

And they succeeded.....

eexcept for their version of Help !, which is quite good. Lots of pace and power, straight through the middle. somehow, I feel John would have appreciated their style for this song.

Peter Sellers and the Beatles seem to have got along remarkebly well. Of course, they shared their producer (George Martin), made absurd films, and had a special sense of humour.
Sellers was present in the studio when the Beatles recorded, on several occasions, and expresed a clear interest in recreational drugs on the 'Get Back' session tapes.
Sellers covered a few Beatles songs, in his own comic style, but never recorded with help from the Beatles. Until today, that is.......

This is a little known take of what would later become "You Know My name". In this early version, The beatles experiment with a Soul version of the Lennon composition. Quickly put together, but still the inspiration for the Soul industry that would spring from it, and singers such as Eddy Floyd.....

Paul once called You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) his favourite Beatles song. Was he already dead after all ? It is certainly a mcCartney-esque track, harking back to the good old days when his father played the piano in a band.....

In the version of BDJ productions, no actual Beatles were harmed. In fact, all instrumental tracks are form 'others', who shal remain nameless. But they are not chosen at random: all tracks somehow link to the Beatles. Do you know who they are, and how they relate to Beatles ? Send your solutin to BDJ productions, and you might win a prize !

Members of the Beatles, Bert Kaempfert, the Modern Gusto Trio and Sean Connery are excluded from the competition.

The flipside of "Beautiful Mother", this track is - as we often find with Lennon-McCartney B-sides - a little masterpiece, albeit less commercial.

John teamed up with Shuggie Otis (who is alive and touring) to record this track. Shuggie layed down the rythm tracks, and played keyboards (piano & organ) and also takes care of the stunning guitar solo.

All that was left was Lennon's haunting vocals, to make this the best Billboard No 1 that never charted.

One of Lennon's great "I'm so Sorry for Myself" songs, perhaps inspired by the Primal Scream therapy that he subjected himself to.

The original production was minimalistic, and can hardly be bettered. But it can be changed altogether.....

A bit of pezzaz, some flutes, an organ, and three it is: a a beautiful production of mother.

Begs the question: Julia or Yoko ?

Sleeping appears to have had a particular interest to Lennon. From "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you", "I'm only Sleeping", through to "No 9 Dream", sleeping was present in his songs. Why ? Hard to tell, but somewhow sleeping was associated to imagining, new thougths or insights for JL., rather than just resting.

In 'Goodnight' we again are encouraged to sleep so we can have 'sweet dreams', rather than recover energy for the next day of hard work. And a beautiful song it is. Legend has it that JL was embarassed by the 'soft' (feminine?) nature of the lyrics, so he had Ringo sing it, and George e Martin killed it off good with his Mantovani style violins and 100 voices chorus.

Here, we repair some of the damage, and bring the song back to its basic piano accompaniment. And throw in a real middle eight for free !

Revolution 9 is an enigmatic track, which captures the attention for 10 minutes or so. It is of interest because it is is different, rather then being of any musical value.

Here, we attempt to do one better, by combining the lunacy and other Lennon quotes with a catchy tune. The backing track is from the LP (never released on CD) 'From the Workshop', by the Sandy Coast, who were world famous all over Voorburg in the seventies.

Doesn't it capture the depth and profanity of Lennon's philosophy in all its gloryness ?

Some 4 to 5 live recordings of Yesterday survive, with largely varying sound quality.

None of them are in Stereo; until today, that is !

For the first time, in glorious stereophonic sound (provided your turntable is equipped to reproduce stereo), and a little help from our friends at NHK, we present: Yesterday !

I'm pretty sure that Yesterday is the most often covered Beatles song. Can we still do something original with it, after more than 40 years of messing about by the worlds greatest singers/musicians ? That is the Challenge for the month of August.

Could not do that alone, but - fortunately - had help from Robbie Williams. Sounds different when you hear it, just listen to it twice and you will not forget it ever.....

And that is the point of Yesterday; cherish the memories, have some regrets, and always look forward. I think that sir Paul has done a great job at that.

Here is a delciate rendition of Across the Universe, supported by the Doors (my other favourite group). Not bad for a last-minute entry in the July Remix-of-the-month challenge ?

NB as a challenge to the experts, I included one bad edit in the mix. See if you can spot it!

In the way that Good Dog Nigel captures the essence of Lennon in a a poem, so does this track capture Lennon in Song; or at least I tried.....

All that is important is here: peace, mother, and the man imself. Who could ask for more ?

Once upon a time - or maybe twice - there lived a young boy boy named BDJ. And he loved music, but he couldn't play. He BDJ grew up and a beard, and - one fine day - he spoke upon his friends and said: let's make music. And so they did, although they could not play. Unfortunately, their music ws recorded and preserved for posterity, though no one wanted to hear it.
When BDJ's beard had turned grey and shaven off, he decied to enter the digital age and post his music in BDJ's Cellar of Remixes, the only raeson being it was a Beatles cover. So here it is; pure energy, and not much more, but sweet memories for those who witnessed it.

Many Beatles Songs can be performed in different styles, the Beatles themsleves tried out their tracks in vatious formats on occasion. In this way Strawberry Fields started as a mellow singalong, ending up as the galaxy-busting supernova of sound that we have come to know.

Here, we go the other way with Hey Bulldog: from the rough and let's-do-it-now version that was released, to a more introvert interpretation, as suggested by Beatlegrass.

The Beatles visit funky town in this free-flowing re-mix with the Average White Band. Miraculously, the songs fit quite well together, and Hey Bulldog settles nicely to the groove.

One of Lennon's shortest poems, "Good Dog Nigel", paired with the only logical backing.

This poem clearly shows what Lennon's poems are about: looks like "A Laugh-a-minute with Lennon" at first sight, but one level down, the story is pretty sad.

According to Philip Norman's "Shout", p.49: 'They (Mimi and John ed.) used to keep al little dog named Sally...John really thought the world of her. One time, when John had walked out...., Mimi got rid of Sally. That was the only time that I (Pete Shotton ed.) ever saw John really heartbroken and showing it....'

Why the name Nigel, not Sally ? Well, Lennon usually garbled words and names, perhaps to make himself not too vulnerable. In this case, Nigel probably came to mind, as Nigel (Walley) was John's friend who spoke with with Julia (John's mother) moments before she was died in car accident.

As usual with John's lyrics, the poem Good Dog Nigel is based on his own experiences: here the loss of his beloved dog and his mother merge into in a single powerful little poem.

This is the longest poem Lennon wrote (I think). Here, just the first minute or so is set to music, before it all turns too sad......

One needs to know a bit of British political history to fully appreciate the poem "The General Erection", which Lennon wrote while Wilson was in office as prime minister (and awarded him an MBE...).

Even so, the poem sits nicely with 'Revolution', written when Lennon had already returned his MBE.......

Here's a teaser for Lennon's second book (Spaniard in the Works) set to Music. What is more beautiful, Lennon's music or Lennon's Poetry ? We don't know, but the combination of music and poetry should surpass all.

Judge for yourself, in this charming little episode, from John in a rare contemplative mood.

The project to set Lennon's poetry to music is progressing well. Here is 'I sat belonely', one of the best known poems from Lennon's first book.

Lennon took his poetry as seriously as his music. History may judge differently (perhaps), and what it will say about these music/poems, only time will tell.......

And you, just leave a Comment.

Is it possible, John Lennon (rythm guitar, vocals), Eric Clapton (lead guitar) and Keith Richard (bass) in a single mix ?

Yes it is ! and it sort of happened in december 1968. Never released tracks of these superstars performing live took a little doctoring, and the result is stunning. Rock & roll, baby !

Wild Honey Pie is a strong contender for the worst song that the Fab Four ever released. Why was this episode of non-music included on the White Album ? McCartney - who was always very keen to release only qualiity Beatles tracks - explained that Pattie Boyd said she liked the recording, so he decided to keep it on the album. What clouded Macca's judgement, was is it Something in the way she moved ?
One would expect any re-mix to outshine the original WHP, but there are exceptions......

Here's a classic rocker that never was. It's a Hey Bulldog type throw-away, that turned out better than anyone expected (at least better than I hoped for.....)..
Pity that George had left in anger, before his solo had been recorded.....

Circumstance or inspiration ? Some songs just belong together, but are they stronger when combined ? Find out here......

A rare Live recording of John Lennon & Talking Heads. Gives a new perspective on the Anthem of the Sixties.

Is this the way Love (is all you need) was meant to be ?

A true Remix of this classic. Tried to make it crisper and cleaner, but couldn't help adding a little something at the beginning and the end. Everything is from the All You Need sessions though.

Queen and the Beatles may appear like very distant cousins, but they actually share quite a bit of background. Both groups played the Cavern (how | wish i was there....), and Queen took their logo from a statue just acroos the street from the cavern. Freddy m went to the same school as John L, but a few years later......

Good enough reasons to try a collaborartion of the two Liverpool supergroups ?

A Courtney Audain/MCartney collaboration, resulting in a catchy groove and great lryics.

Doing this re-mix, found out (the hard way) that the Fab Four speed up quite a bit during WeCan Work It Out........Adds to the excitement.

This is a McCartney vs McCartney vs McCartney.... mash-up. The ''ímprovisation' performed during the Chaos BBC sessions at Abbey road studios appears to have been not as improvised as it seemed....

Another track from the Lost Stones-Beatles Sessions ? Just like Paint It Pepper, this track shows how close the musical formats of the Stones and the Beatles actually were. A few glitches in the vocals perhaps, so probaly an early take...............

Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas recorded Bad to Me, while the Beatles themselves never released it.

So, supported the Lenon-McCartney by a period backing tack: No, NOT Billy J !

With a little help from airbag, I added some Metal and Fuzz to this strange song. Is it serious, or is John pulling all our legs ? We'll never know.

A simple re-mix of Because.

Why ? I've heard so many re-mixes of the vocals, I wanted to give the backingtracks a go.

Much more mysterious this way........

A one-time only appearance of BDJ at the Cavern, but greatly appreciated (by BDJ).

It is Lucy in the Sky month. Therefore, a re-mix that captures the ambiguity in the song: is it really just about a children's drawing, or does it include some kind of trip ?

Judge for yourself, with advice form the grodfather of LSD himself......

Memphis Tenenessee , great Chuck Berry song, but only so-so versions by the Beatles survive. The Beatles recorded the song on various occasions (Decca audition, BBC sesions), all mono recordings. They never released it on an album.

What would it have sounded like (in Stereo) if they had put more effort into it for an album ? Perhaps like this,

A stereo version compiled from various contemporary sources. Cheated just a little, not 100% Beatle stuff......

Does this not beat any known version !?

Remember Stars On 45, the Mother of All Mash-ups ?

It reached the number one spot in both the Netherlands and the United States. In the U.K. number two was the highest position.

Since the copyrights of The Beatles songs made it a tricky affair, the producer ( Jaap Eggermont) decided to have the songs re-recorded by Okkie Huysdens (as Paul McCartney), Bas Muys (John Lennon) and Sandy Coast's Hans Vermeulen (George Harrison).

Here, I have re-remixed Stars on 45, now with the orginal versions; experience the 80's as they should have sounded !

Did the Beatles and the Stones ever record together ? Rumour has it that early session tapes exist, somewhere......

This copuld be an early take, around '63. It is evident that this recording inspred the Stones and Beatles, resulting in hit records for both later on.

What if the Beatles hadn't died or split up (in any order), and had kept on going, like a Rolling Stone ?

They could have issued this hit single a few years ago, based on a song they composed 40 years earlier......

I don't really like this kind of re-mix, but I couldn't get it out of my head.....

Take 2 (and presumably Take 1) were recorded in triple time. Unfortuantely, these takes broke down, because it was 'too hard to sing'. Here's an attempt to paste a complete version together, basis the incomplete Take 2.

Nice combination of Mimi (no relation) and Paul's retelling of a traumatic experience. His underwear was stolen !
Those were the days, imagine now being able to just jump over the fence and climb into any rockstar's house........

Another good song that could have been done better - in my most humble view...-.

Here's an attempt at a decent production, without sounds of birds and trees........

Freddy and the Dreamer never recorded this song. Should they have recorded together ? The unlikely product may have sounded like this.

One night in Kingston... Gondwana play their south-american reggae set. Then, the fab four get up and join in......

A Reggae version, driven by the famous Planta & Raiz.. McCartney holidays frequently on Jamaica, so why why not record some tracks there with the band ?

The plan to give Something to Sinatra did not go ahead, but this is what it might have sounded like. Old blue eyes does a wonderful job, making this song his very own, while Eric Clapton provides lovely counter melodies. What have we missed......

A long time favourite of the boys, dating back to the Hamburg days (vocals), this song was revived during the Get Back era (instruments). Why ? Perhaps as the B-side to 'Something'', that was offered to Frank Sinatra ? if so, it might have sounded like this........

Best of two takes, combining chorus and solos.

We've all heard the a capella version, what about adding some rhythm?

This is what a live performance wpu;d have sounded like, if only....

Great tune, but the guitar backing track is rather monotonous.... Ask the Chiffons to lend a hand and up the tempo a bit !

Who needs a reprise ? Let's re-mix !

George sings a tune he obviously liked. Is this his revenge for not being allowed to play his way on Let IIt Be ?

Help, stripped down to the essentials, with a snippet from later days, if JL could only have remembered the cords.....

This day needed a bit beefing up for it to shine. Also watch out for the new middle eight!

Acoustic, more dramatic, rendering of this famous "I'm so sorry for myself" song by JL.

Harrison sings, now with a more suitable backing group......