George Martin RIP

[Statistical Mechanic]

By chance, I've been listening to The Beatles on shuffle on my iPod for about a week. They can really be an underestimated band. "Helter Skelter" sounds like an outtake from a compilation of punk bands live at CBGB's in '78.

This morning this sad news: Sir George Martin, Beatles producer, dies aged 90

[ElectricMonk]

Careful with your headlines!

You scared me into thinking George RR Martin chickened out of finishing the game of thrones series by dying...

Sad news, to be sure, but a great life of 90 years!

[OutOfBreath]

Same as Electric monk.

Peace
Dan

[NathanC]

Sad news indeed. I love the Beatles. Their music is timeless and has a very universal appeal.

[Statistical Mechanic]

What a great man. What a great band. The 5th Beatle. Fun to read the stories on him this morning and be reminded what a terrific run the man had - and for so long.

[Jeff_36]

90 years - seems he had a good life.

[Matthew Ellard]

George Martin was a comedy producer who was good with sound FX from producing the Goons. I doubt The Beatles had Sound FX in their minds when they first started recording. I think this was an important contribution by Martin to the final Beatles sound.

Here is another George Martin "Signed, arranged and produced" single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nTBNHwar5o

[Jeffk 1970]

I love the Beatles. They made perfect pop songs in the beginning and just perfect songs later on. They ranged from pop to rock to damn near heavy metal.
Not to sound like a grouchy grandpa (Turn that down and get off my lawn!!!!!!) but I think the true problem with rock music now is it seems to be narrowly focused. Bands like the Beatles could write perfect ballads and then turn around and make perfect rock songs without skipping a beat. Boston, Zeppelin, Kansas, Styx, they could also do the same thing. Rush brought synthesizers to rock music, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest brought opera to heavy metal, Metallica and Megadeth brought virtuosity to thrash.

I liked grunge but it brought whiny emo music to rock that I think still weighs it down.

This is probably the wrong thread to talk about this.

[Statistical Mechanic]

it is as good as any lol

one of the highlights of my long life was taking my son to one of Nirvana's last U.S. performances, 2 months before they left for Europe (November 1993) . . . Half Japanese and the Breeders opened for them . . . my son was about 12, I was most likely, as far as I could tell anyway, the oldest person there . . . it was one of the best shows I've seen, right up there with the Clash at the Palladium in September '79 . . . Cobain was really weird, gaunt and seemingly overwhelmed, though, I have to say

[Darren Wilshak]

The Beatles were innovators, they led, others followed. Then they changed direction releasing completely different albums. That's the best way I've read to describe their works. I'd been digging through the 3 Anthology collections for about a month now in order to listen to and to contemplate for myself the evolution of their songs and what the songs meant to me when I first heard them. How they affected me and how I thought then of the World. I recommend those three Anthologies upon Spotify. Just for the sheer pleasure as a fan you will get (if you haven't heard them) of rediscovering a much-loved song or of hearing an odd new Beatles "composition," from your favourite period. The experts say that their best album was Revolver and yeah you can hear something splendid there. But whether at the time of the squealing knicker dampening live concerts, (oh yes that was Bealtlemania,) to the increasing pot and acid and mystic laced vibe as the sixties wended their way on to the amazing diversity of the double white Album, there's real treasure Jim lad.

There was before punk a lot of respect for the "Fab four." Some pieces on these discs were considered just not good enough to be released back then. So it was like finding new Beatles songs or different unexplored levels of the existing soundscape. The studio outtakes, showing tension and humour. You can hear the comic asides between the band as they were evolving those pieces which would become soooo familiar to us who grew up in the sixties and were afficionadoes of "pop music."

Personally, I recommend. "A Day in the Life." Anthology 2 version Disk 2, where the coda there really does obtain through those climatically building strings, the power of the desired for, coming Apocalypse from "Pepper," the flawed masterpiece. I first heard that song when I was 14 and it seemed then to hint at life's possibilities and a richer world. Different states of mind. Which when I heard the Jam, seemed to fit nicely. The Anthologies were released in 1996, at the height of Oasis and just at that fag-end of John Major's failing Tory administration in Britain. It was very weird to hear a Beatles composition (Real Love) with Lennon's vocals and the three then surviving members being played as a chart hit in a contemporary sense whilst dem Gallaghers were obvious fan bois and skag and tin foil were all around.

Its taken me I suppose twenty years to listen to all these . I'm glad I did. It was great fun!

I read the news today, Oh Boy.

Farewell George Martin....

[Statistical Mechanic]

Nice, I remember hearing A Day in the Life for the first time in a big car, parked behind a school near midnight, with some friends, we'd been drinking something we weren't supposed to as we sat there, I don't recall who was driving and if he was drinking or not, we heard the song on some late-night AM radio program: we all just stopped whatever bluster we were engaged in and listened. Moonlit summer night behind the brick wall of a deserted school. We waited for each new Beatles' release, with the utmost seriousness. A Day in the Life kind of messed our minds up.

I don't have Spotify any more but I popped for the CD boxed set, mono, I think in '09. It has gotten a helluva lot of play.

Speaking of comic asides, Sid, "Road runner, road runner . . . stop it; it's fawkin' awful! Argh! tawture . . . Do we know any other fawkin' people's songs?" LOL

[Darren Wilshak]

And lets face it, influences, they took their starting cues from Little Richard, Elvis...the skiffle. Sing-songs in front rooms. They were a stawm in Hamburg. Yes, each new album, what were they going to do next?

I can't fink of any...

[Statistical Mechanic]

Chuck Berry for sure, Motown . . . And LPs like Pet Sounds were really all about The Beatles, for example, what could be done next. The Beatles best will be endless debate on account of there being too many bests.

[Darren Wilshak]

Yeah.yeah..yeah. Yes! Chuck. Reading matters? Mark Lewisohn. "Tune In."

I was thinking of doing another "in the Fascist bathroom," style thing and writing notes for every song and seeing what I can come up with. Then putting them in this HD fora/forum...

LOL.

Wish I 'ad the words...

[Statistical Mechanic]

Lol you have the best words ...

I think it was Rotten not Sid but my mind's a blank on it.

[Jeffk 1970]

it is as good as any lol

one of the highlights of my long life was taking my son to one of Nirvana's last U.S. performances, 2 months before they left for Europe (November 1993) . . . Half Japanese and the Breeders opened for them . . . my son was about 12, I was most likely, as far as I could tell anyway, the oldest person there . . . it was one of the best shows I've seen, right up there with the Clash at the Palladium in September '79 . . . Cobain was really weird, gaunt and seemingly overwhelmed, though, I have to say

I never saw Nirvana live. Big fan, though. Their unplugged set on MTV is one of the best (ah, nostalgic for the days when MTV actually played music) and his rendition of "The Man Who Sold the World" is one of the best covers I've ever seen.

[Darren Wilshak]

On Johnny B Goode & Roadrunner - SM.

JR to Steve. Its a bit hazy as MM and Dave Goodman the hippy sound man got hold of the Wessex Studio rehearsal sessions from October 1976 around the time of the signing to EMI and laid down new instrumental tracks with Jones and Cook over JR's original vocals. Jonesy also likely doing the bassing duties as Sid was too skaggy bawed and Matlock was with The Rich Kids. They could then pad out the Great Rock and Roll Swindle'. Johnny b Good/Roadrunner. DIsc 1 side A. Tracks 2 and 3. Version A of the GRRS. Other cuts of the album contain different track listing sequences and omissions I think.

But yeah, leaving the trainspottery aside...JR to Steve complaining about the sub Berry guitar licks.

[Jeffk 1970]

The Beatles were innovators, they led, others followed. Then they changed direction releasing completely different albums. That's the best way I've read to describe their works. I'd been digging through the 3 Anthology collections for about a month now in order to listen to and to contemplate for myself the evolution of their songs and what the songs meant to me when I first heard them. How they affected me and how I thought then of the World. I recommend those three Anthologies upon Spotify. Just for the sheer pleasure as a fan you will get (if you haven't heard them) of rediscovering a much-loved song or of hearing an odd new Beatles "composition," from your favourite period. The experts say that their best album was Revolver and yeah you can hear something splendid there. But whether at the time of the squealing knicker dampening live concerts, (oh yes that was Bealtlemania,) to the increasing pot and acid and mystic laced vibe as the sixties wended their way on to the amazing diversity of the double white Album, there's real treasure Jim lad.

There was before punk a lot of respect for the "Fab four." Some pieces on these discs were considered just not good enough to be released back then. So it was like finding new Beatles songs or different unexplored levels of the existing soundscape. The studio outtakes, showing tension and humour. You can hear the comic asides between the band as they were evolving those pieces which would become soooo familiar to us who grew up in the sixties and were afficionadoes of "pop music."

Personally, I recommend. "A Day in the Life." Anthology 2 version Disk 2, where the coda there really does obtain through those climatically building strings, the power of the desired for, coming Apocalypse from "Pepper," the flawed masterpiece. I first heard that song when I was 14 and it seemed then to hint at life's possibilities and a richer world. Different states of mind. Which when I heard the Jam, seemed to fit nicely. The Anthologies were released in 1996, at the height of Oasis and just at that fag-end of John Major's failing Tory administration in Britain. It was very weird to hear a Beatles composition (Real Love) with Lennon's vocals and the three then surviving members being played as a chart hit in a contemporary sense whilst dem Gallaghers were obvious fan bois and skag and tin foil were all around.

Its taken me I suppose twenty years to listen to all these . I'm glad I did. It was great fun!

I read the news today, Oh Boy.

Farewell George Martin....

My favorite Beatles disk is the White Album. When you get a chance check out The Beatles stuff on YouTube.

You mentioned finding and rediscovering music. I feel that way about David Bowie, sometimes I'll put on his "Best of...." and be reminded of all the great music he made.

Sad how we are losing all the Great Ones, Glen Frey, Bowie, Prince.
Yet somehow Keith Richards continues to breathe. The man must be part cockroach.

[Statistical Mechanic]

Yep channeling Jonathan Richman I liked that LP a lot but especially that song, they got kind of close on the lyrics, they nailed the Stop & Shop but missed a few other key lines . . . LOL

[Jeff_36]

Sad how we are losing all the Great Ones, Glen Frey, Bowie, Prince.
Yet somehow Keith Richards continues to breathe. The man must be part cockroach.

Don't forget Lemmy!

[Jeffk 1970]

Sad how we are losing all the Great Ones, Glen Frey, Bowie, Prince.
Yet somehow Keith Richards continues to breathe. The man must be part cockroach.

Don't forget Lemmy!

Oh, you are absolutely right.

[Jeff_36]

Sad how we are losing all the Great Ones, Glen Frey, Bowie, Prince.
Yet somehow Keith Richards continues to breathe. The man must be part cockroach.

Don't forget Lemmy!

Oh, you are absolutely right.

And yet Ozzy Osbourne is somehow still with us...... I saw Black Sabbath in April of 2014, and Ozzy was surprisingly coherent. I actually could understand everything he said!

[Jeffk 1970]

Sad how we are losing all the Great Ones, Glen Frey, Bowie, Prince.
Yet somehow Keith Richards continues to breathe. The man must be part cockroach.

Don't forget Lemmy!

Oh, you are absolutely right.

And yet Ozzy Osbourne is somehow still with us...... I saw Black Sabbath in April of 2014, and Ozzy was surprisingly coherent. I actually could understand everything he said!

See, that's not the Ozzy we know and love.
Speaking of Lemmy, my first introduction to Motörhead was them playing live on a show called "The Young Ones."
They played live and did "Ace of Spades." My favorite Motörhead song is "Get Back in Line."

[Statistical Mechanic]

Don't forget Lemmy!

At first I thought you meant this guy and couldn't figure out why the hell he was part of this!

[Jeff_36]

See, that's not the Ozzy we know and love.

IDK, it was an awesome show.

Speaking of Lemmy, my first introduction to Motörhead was them playing live on a show called "The Young Ones."
They played live and did "Ace of Spades." My favorite Motörhead song is "Get Back in Line."

My favorite is the version of "We are the Road Crew" from "No Sleep till Hammersmith". Makes you want to kick down doors and break pool cures in half.

[Jeff_36]

Don't forget Lemmy!

At first I thought you meant this guy and couldn't figure out why the hell he was part of this!

IDK but last I heard that particular Lemmy was doing a lot better than the Lemmy that me and Jeff were referring to.

[Jeffk 1970]

The metal guys loved Lemmy and Motörhead, odd thing is Lemmy preferred punk.

[Jeff_36]

The metal guys loved Lemmy and Motörhead, odd thing is Lemmy preferred punk.

As does our Lemmy.

I could see why honestly, but Motorhead had a realness that punk (at least the first wave of punk) lacked, they weren't out to make an existential point or deride the system, they were all about booze, broads, and having a damn good time.

[Jeffk 1970]

The metal guys loved Lemmy and Motörhead, odd thing is Lemmy preferred punk.

As does our Lemmy.

I could see why honestly, but Motorhead had a realness that punk (at least the first wave of punk) lacked, they weren't out to make an existential point or deride the system, they were all about booze, broads, and having a damn good time.

Very true.

Punk bands that I like:
The Ramones
The Clash
The Buzzcocks
Rancid


Band with a definite punk flavor I like:
Social Distortion

Also, Motörhead's musicians blew the punk bands out of the water. Lemmy himself played guitar as well as bass.

You can hear the punk influence, though.

[Statistical Mechanic]

My wife loves Rancid, as do I. Another Johnny-come-lately punk band I liked for a while was Green Day, I got to see them but not hear them much at all, as the show, with my kid along for that one, too, broke into a wild riot when the yuuuuge crowd, 90,000 or whatever strong, rushed the stage. As we ran from the police and the gas bombs, I wasn't sure how I'd explain to my boss if I got arrested at a Green Day concert - until, meeting that week with the CEO of my company, I learned that the CEO was a Green Day fan, too, and we have a good laugh about dodging cops on horseback and breathing in teargas with the family . . . good times.

I saw The Ramones and, as noted before, The Clash, back in the day. I don't even think The Ramones were a thing when I saw them. I remember that every song sounded the same and they were absurdly gangly. Later, when I got their records, I discovered that every one of their songs did sound the same. LOL.

The Fall. I don't know if they're punk but that is probably the band I've liked best through the years. Just yesterday I listened to random Fall stuff all day long. I got to see them but once - at the Empty Bottle in Ukrainian Village, in I think 2003. It was just before Mark E Smith fired the band (that's a joke, actually).

I never saw The Buzzcocks but wish to hell I had.

But the list of punk bands I've liked and seen is a bit too long . . . not as long I don't imagine as Darren's but long . . .

[Jeffk 1970]

I like Green Day as well, they've morphed into more of a rock than a punk band.

One of the greatest covers of all time:

I fought the law (and the law won)-The Clash

[Statistical Mechanic]

And, of Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves (The Clash) LOL

[Statistical Mechanic]

Best cover of all time is a pretty effing serious issue, actually:

Not remotely punk, but I liked Cowboy Junkies' cover of Lou Reed's Sweet Jane. I really like - this may be obscure - Cracker's version of Ike Reilly's Duty Free. And this is aces, for pure weirdness, in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ibp-g_qW4

So many covers, so little time.

[Jeffk 1970]

I liked CJ cover as well.

Worst cover of all time:

Live and Let Die-Guns N Roses

[Jeff_36]

Best cover of all time for me. Originally an old Memphis Blues standard from the 20's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbrjRKB586s

[Jeff_36]

Worst cover of all time:

Live and Let Die-Guns N Roses

Yeah that was pretty rough, GnR had a {!#%@} sizzling cover of "Mama Kin" by Aerosmith on their first live album though.

[Statistical Mechanic]

Otis Redding Satisfaction. The horns, it is a lot about the horns. Here's the Monterey Festival clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtbiHYa-LI

[Statistical Mechanic]

Complemented (?) by this bizarro cover of the same song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o

[Jeffk 1970]

Complemented (?) by this bizarro cover of the same song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o

Devo is awesome, this version is also high on the list of covers for me.

[Jeffk 1970]

Best cover of all time for me. Originally an old Memphis Blues standard from the 20's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbrjRKB586s

Zeppelin did a lot of blues covers, this is a good one:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g41q_OqwKHk