BDJ's Cellar Full of Remixes

The Heavy Metal thunder suits No Reply remarkably well.

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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 ?

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

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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....).

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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 ?

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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 !

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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.

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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.

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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.....

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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......

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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For those who lost their TTANE 6.......

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 ?

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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.

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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........

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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...

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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......