Yesterday and Today

Episode 48 – Beatles ’71 pt2

With the solo efforts of John, George and Ringo still on the charts, the spring of 1971 saw Paul McCartney putting the final touches on the follow-up solo release that he hoped would help restore his name as a hit-maker and cement his status as a contender with the likes of his former bandmates. The result was RAM, a more polished studio LP that included an abundance of pure McCartney sound and Beatle-esq melody. From the sprawling Back Seat Of My Car to the stripped-down, almost Yer Blues/For You Blue-esq Three Legs, McCartney proved he had more in him than the results of his hand-made solo debut the year prior. But despite a massive hit with the quirky Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and record advance preorders, the public reaction was cooler toward RAM than Paul had hoped. Critics weren’t sure what to make of Paul’s production and while no one could deny it was a step in the right direction, it fell short of the massive expectation Paul’s contemporaries assumed he was capable of. But this album would prove to grow beyond those initial reactions and stand as an LP ahead of its time. If an initial burst of success was out of reach for Paul, John Lennon too struggled to find commercial footing with the political anthem Power To The People failing to top the charts. Only George and Ringo seemed capable of conquering all they touched in the first half of 1971, a feat no one in the Beatles could or would have predicted… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 47 – Beatles ’71 pt1

While the year prior began with uncertainty, 1971 began with a clear message: The Beatles were no longer together. But in the fall of the group that had meant so much to so many, came a spring of new creative energy from its former members, unrivaled in quantity since the heights of Beatlemania. George Harrison was celebrating a #1 LP and #1 single in America with his solo debut, and John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band was the kind of critical success he had hoped for but had yet to achieve with his solo efforts prior. Ringo’s two LPs from 1970 were hardly chart-toppers, but the beginning of 1971 saw Ringo’s star on the rise with the imminent release of his own soon-to-be #1 hit single: It Don’t Come Easy. John, George and Ringo’s success was well-earned, but ultimately overshadowed by the court action of Paul McCartney, who, in an attempt to break free from Allen Klein’s Apple, was forced to sue his fellow former bandmates to dissolve the group legally and unfreeze the mountain of money they had accrued over years. Paul’s action was done with a heavy heart, as he continued to bear the brunt of the blame for the demise of the Beatles. But a new album was on the horizon for McCartney, who was putting his final touches on the “good one” Lennon had predicted Paul would make… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 46 – Beatles ’70 pt7

As the year 1970 draws to a close, the holiday season brings with it even more releases from the now-former Beatles and other Apple Recording Artists. Alongside John Lennon’s own Plastic Ono Band LP that December comes a companion album from wife Yoko titled Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band. While the cover is nearly identical to John’s, the songs on this collection most certainly were not, as John, bassist Klaus Voorman and fellow fab Ringo Starr laid down some heavy jams in support of Yoko’s wild vocal stylings. On the more commercial side of the former Beatle pool, George Harrison, who was himself celebrating the #1 All Things Must Pass triple LP, ALSO celebrated a corresponding #1 single on December 26th with the hymnal pop opus My Sweet Lord. Defying expectations once more, George achieved a success rarely duplicated in pop music and handily became the most successful ex-Beatle of the four by leaps and bounds. Paul McCartney had been himself contemplating an end-of-year release with the album he had recorded in New York and had begun mixing back home, but it’s rumored that upon hearing George’s output, decided to take another pass at polishing the record that would later become RAM. It was a year of drastic change, and one the Beatles as a group did not survive...but through the hardship and the pain would be the silver lining of creative outpouring from John, Paul, George and Ringo; older and wiser for having redefined the world of popular music forevermore… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 45 – Beatles ’70 pt6

It’s the winter of 1970, and there are three new LP’s from three former Beatles for fans around the world still mourning the band’s demise. With the Nashville-tinged Beaucoups of Blues LP, fans got a taste of Ringo’s vocals alongside the very top talent in country music. A novelty such as it was, Ringo’s album was quickly overshadowed by the two other projects he had contributed to in the summer and fall: new albums from George Harrison and John Lennon. First up, the epic triple album All Things Must Pass - a monster smash success and brilliant musical statement that propelled George to a new stratosphere of acclaim and stardom. If anyone thought for a moment that The Beatles were purely the sum of Lennon and McCartney’s talents, All Things Must Pass quickly silenced those naysayers with a collection of songs that ranged from the intensely personal, to the wildly commercial, all treated with the gentle yet biting care and respect of the man himself. And speaking of the intensely personal...John Lennon’s masterful Plastic Ono Band LP, which followed George’s on the release schedule, gave listeners a whole new insight into the depths of his pain and the heights of his abilities. From the inner torment of Mother, to the Beatle-esq Remember, fans who had hoped for a Fab Four reunion need only to have listened to the litany of denunciation in the track God to hear for themselves that the dream was, indeed, over… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 44 – Beatles ’70 pt5

Despite the breakup of The Beatles, or perhaps because of it, 1970 was one of the single most creatively prolific periods in the lives of its former members.George Harrison’s epic double album sessions were in the final stages of mixing, and this oversized debut would be the kind of jaw-dropping musical statement to his bandmates and the world that he had always deserved. John Lennon was back in the studio recording his own statement, the kind of intensely personal and back-to-basics album that the Get Back project could have only ever dreamed of becoming. Joining John was pal Ringo Starr, whom had just released his second LP of the year: the pure country Beaucoups of Blues. While few could have predicted that Ringo would be the first out of the gate with two solo LPs in the span of a year, the former Beatle whose commercial expectations were sky high remained in his Scotland retreat...but Paul McCartney would not be down for long. Battered in the press and shouldering the blame amongst fans for breaking up the Beatles, Paul struggled to establish his freedom from Allen Klein’s Apple - and the only way to do so would be to sue his former bandmates. As an escape from the madness back home, The McCartneys travelled to New York and began holding auditions for a new musical project. By the waning days of fall, sessions would begin for an all-new Macca LP… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 43 – Beatles ’70 pt4

Despite a record-setting #1 LP and a #1 single to match, the top-selling Beatles were no more. Paul’s announcement sent shockwaves throughout the world, as friends and fans tried to make sense of the bitterness that had consumed such a beacon of peace, love and positivity for so many. John Lennon was quick to assign blame, set the narrative against his former writing partner and dive headfirst into an album of intensely personal, all-new material. Under the therapeutic guidance of Primal Scream founder Arthur Janov, Lennon mourned the loss of the musical force he had set into motion over a decade prior, and worked through the many other traumatic splits from throughout his young life. George Harrison, whom had been more forgiving of Paul in the press, was eager to show his former bandmates, himself and the world what he was capable of. On May 26th and spanning nearly the entire summer, sessions began for George’s as yet untitled solo LP of new material - material which had ballooned into a massive collection of songs ranging from Beatle rejections to intimate reflections on the hectic circumstances of his chaotic life. Ringo Starr, who contributed to George’s sessions that summer and whom has released his very of LP of crooner standards earlier in the year, connected with Pete Drake where the idea of an all-country Ringo album was hatched. All the while McCartney made a retreat to his home in Scotland, wracked with depression and wondering what his next move would be… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 42 – Beatles ’70 pt3

With the release of the McCartney album in April of 1970, Paul McCartney brought to light what had been his reality for nearly a year: The Beatles were no more. He and wife Linda were an instant target for angry fans and angry press for being the messenger of this awful news that up to this point was merely speculation and rumor on the part of the public. Many, including John Lennon, saw Paul’s move as a strategy to sell the aforementioned solo album, but if that WAS the case, it was a bizarre album to go out on such a limb for. The McCartney LP is a homemade piece of rock and roll experimentation with moments of Beatle-esq sound that baffled most upon first listen. Songs like Maybe I’m Amazed and Every Night could have handily been Beatles cuts, while oddball instrumentals like Valentine Day, Kreen Akrore and Hot As Sun more evoked former bandmate Lennon’s “Unfinished Music” series (albeit with a slightly more commercial ring to it). And like Lennon before him, McCartney’s proclamation came mere weeks before the debut of the long-defunct Let it Be LP and film which at last saw its release on May 8th. If fans were baffled by “Singalong Junk”, they were certainly equally baffled by the rough-n-tumble new Beatles LP, where the slick studio soundscapes listeners were accustomed to were replaced by impromptu jams and after-the-fact production trickery by producer (or should we say salvager) Phil Spector. This was a rough time for all four now-former Beatles, a moniker which even know rings as sadly as it did in the springtime of 1970... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 41 – Beatles ’70 pt2

It’s the spring of 1970, and The Beatles have reached a crossroads, and the rift between the once-lockstep foursome was now growing beyond their ability to stop it. As he did in 1968 when he became the first Beatle to quit the band during the tumultuous double album sessions, Ringo Starr lead the path forward on March 27th by releasing the first commercial solo album by a Beatle: Sentimental Journey. This collection of crooner classics was hardly a masterpiece, but it draws an important distinction in Beatle history from prior solo projects in that it is a studio collection of traditional songs on a full length LP. Ringo would find himself at the center of another crucial event in the spring, when he, George and John (under the influence of Allen Klein) decided it best to delay the release of Paul McCartney’s upcoming solo album release, titled simply McCartney, to avoid direct competition with the forthcoming Beatles soundtrack LP, Let it Be. When Ringo delivered the news to Paul, he was thrown out by a ballistic McCartney who felt under fire by the entire organization. Paul objected to the appointment of Allen Klein as the band’s manager, and was overruled. Paul’s push to get the band back out on the stage to perform was met with laughable rejection. Paul’s songwriting partner, whom he had spent so many months attempting to placate (while making his own fair share of mistakes along the way), had quit the group privately while publicly proclaiming himself a saint of peace. This was the breaking point. Ringo Starr was thrown out of Paul’s house and the release of McCartney would NOT be delayed. As if history was set about repeating itself, on the eve of a new Beatles album, another Beatle quit the band. On April 9th, 1970, the press release for Paul’s solo album brought with it a public proclamation of the end of the Beatles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 40 – Beatles ’70 pt1

It’s 1970! As a changed and frantic world looked to the fresh, new decade with careful optimism, the dream of The Beatles remained on life support following John Lennon’s private exit from the group several months prior in the run-up to the release of Abbey Road. Still, on January 3rd a new Beatles recording session took place at number two studio, EMI. George, Paul and Ringo were back in the studio to record George’s I Me Mine for the upcoming release of the Get Back project as an LP and feature film. This session, which also included overdubs on Paul’s Let It Be, would go down in history as the final recording session to feature three or more Beatles. Absent was John Lennon, whose solo pursuits offered up a polished and successful new single on February 20th: Instant Karma! Unlike its predecessor Cold Turkey, this new rocker filled with hope and an anthemic chorus showed the world that even without his bandmates, Lennon would be a musical force to be reckoned with in the 1970’s. Ringo, meanwhile, was still knee deep in recording his first solo LP of crooner standards as well as a catchy little tune by George, the temporarily titled Got To Pay Your Dues. While Beatle-esq tunes under non-Beatle banners rang from the rafters of the new year, Paul McCartney was noticeably absent - retreating to his farm in Scotland and focusing on his new family...and a new homemade solo project of his own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 39 – Beatles ’69 pt11

It’s December, 1969, and The Beatles find themselves with a #1 album on both sides of the Atlantic, a #1 single with Something/Come Together, an album and film in the works for release in the new year, and...all but finished as a functioning group. What remained of the dream was in the process of being sorted out by Allen Klein and his people at Apple, while the band members focused on individual pursuits. Perhaps most notable amongst those pursuits being George Harrison going back out on tour as a support musician for Delaney & Bonnie throughout England that month. The Beatle who pushed so hard to petition his bandmates to cease touring back in the summer of 1966 found himself to be the first Beatle to join a tour since that time. But George wasn’t the only Beatle emerging onto the concert stage in December, John and Yoko were back again to promote a message of peace with the aid of Unicef for a special Peace at Christmas concert event. Accompanying the performance was a worldwide billboard campaign from the couple proclaiming “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It.” - a message of peace in time for the holiday season. The holiday season also brought with it not one but two releases from The Beatles, first in the form of the sixth and final installment of the Beatles Christmas Message for the fan club. The second release at last brought to the public the group’s 1968 performance of Across the Universe, appearing on a World Wildlife Fund charity LP. Ringo’s co-starring film role in the Peter Sellers smash The Magic Christian brought with it an accompanying soundtrack featuring songs by Badfinger and contributions from Paul McCartney to round out a very busy month and bring us, at last, to the end of 1969. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.