Apparently last weekend, the BBC celebrated their holiday weekend with a Beatles festival, presumably timed to coincide with the new releases of the Beatles recordings. And those on my side of the pond can still listen to it by downloading BBC’s iPlayer – but we have to hurry, because the shows will only be available for another few days.
The broadcast I’ve just listened to was absolutely brilliant: The Record Producers: Sir George Martin, an all-too-brief look at Martin’s role in shaping the Beatles’ sound, together with interviews w/Martin and excerpts of several songs, taken apart track by track to show how Martin and the lads made their masterpieces.
My favorite was listening to each individual instrument on “Come Together,” from Ringo’s drums (and interestingly, Martin is very complimentary to the often dismissed Ringo) to John’s claps and even to some awesome unused guitar licks from George. Then there’s John’s delight in discovering that the cool new instrument on the B-side song “Rain” was his own vocal, played backwards. (And we get to hear it forwards, too.) Finally, oh my God, how gorgeous is the orchestral accompaniment to “She’s Leaving Home” especially when heard on its own? Not that this is a surprise, since SHL is to me one of the most lovely songs ever recorded.
Leading the program are presenter Richard Allinson and record producer Steve Levine, who offer some modern perspectives on how digital technology differs from Martin’s wizardry, and Levine also gives an example of Martin’s work in splicing the two halves of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” each in different keys and with different tempos, because John preferred the earlier half of one version while liking the later half of a different take.
I’m sure that for several Beatles experts and afficianados on the SDMB, much of this will be old news, but for those like me who haven’t really spent enough time delving into Beatles archives/ephemera, I think this is sixty minutes very well spent. The show will be available for another three days.
Other shows available from last weekend for a few days:
Beatles on the Beeb: 2 hours of the Beatles’ many BBC interviews and radio performance recordings. (3 days left)
Sgt. Pepper Recreated - a rebroadcast of the 40th anniversary(!) show of artists interpreting Sgt. Pepper. (1 day left)
Bigger Than Jesus - Story of the infamous interview where John made his controversial comment. (1 day left.)
George Harrison: What Is Life - Michael Palin’s tribute to George.
In the Beginning - Traces the 1960 beginnings of the Beatles in Hamburg. (One hour left!!!)
[del]When John Met Paul - Recreation of their first meeting. [/del] Crapples, too late. Sorry.