Beatles 50th anniversary show Ed Sullivan

[Billyboygretsch]

Watched this show last night. Some fabulous players. Particularly like performances by Jo Walshe and John Meyer. Backing band great. Joes strat looked stunning. Will they release an album ? Hopefully Paul will as he needs to pay for a new hairdo

[stephen]

It's not often that I hear a cover of a song that beats the original. Two spring immediately to mind. Jimi Hendrix's masterful re-working of Dylan's, "All along the Watchtower" and Stevie Ray Vaughan's blistering instrumental version of the Hendrix classic, "Little Wing". I realise that SRV may not be to everyone on this forum's taste, but this is WELL WORTH a listen! As his brother Jimmy commented, "You can almost hear the valves sizzling on this one." He's so right.......

Watching this show last night caused me to add a third title to the above list. Joe Walsh's absolutely superb rendition of the George Harrison classic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Couldn't praise his version highly enough. His guitar playing was so impassioned. Real, hairs-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stuff! As for Sir Paul........

Personally, I know he's still rocking (!) at 70, but I can't bear to look and listen to the guy these days as it spoils my memory of The Beatles. Wish he wouldn't even try to reach those high notes as it must be as painful for him to attempt as it is for the listener! At least we were spared bloody "Live & Let Die"! Good old Ringo, he does a great karaoke-style/pub singer turn and at least he doesn't appear to take himself as seriously as Paul.

At any of these concerts, I can't help but wonder what John Lennon would make of all this. So sadly missed, as is sweet George. Can you tell that I'm an expat. Scouser from the 60's?

Stephen.

[Monty]

remember that in 1975 while Paul and Wings were going from spectacular success to success....'Band on The Run', 'Live And Let Die', 'Venus and Mars' etc...

NOBODY seemed to notice when John Lennon 'retired' to become a house husband....and not that many had any good words to say about 'Mind Games', 'Walls and Bridges' or 'Rock and Roll', each only giving Lennon average hit singles

George Harrison too got 'blasted' over his albums 'Dark Horse' and 'Extra Texture'...and was being accused over the melody of 'My Sweet Lord' !

as John sang ;
'Nobody knows you when you're down and out....everybody loves you when your six feet in the ground...'

[stephen]

There's no doubt that Macca & Wings were 'successful', but I tend to agree with John in that he tended to be a purveyor of 'muzak' from then on in. Whereas John (and others such as Jimi Hendrix, Robert Plant etc.) ) wanted to move forward & onwards from their original format, without his fellow Beatles, Paul has just contented himself with moving sideways. Musically, he's always seemed to want to be all-things-to-all-people. Millions adore him still, hence his continued 'success'. He just doesn't do it for me any more......

Must admit, the first solo album he made after the Beatles split, the 1970 eponymous 'Mcartney' was a stonker! He played all the instruments himself (no mean feat) and the track, "Maybe I'm Amazed" was a rocker worthy of his Beatles songwriting heyday. For me, the promise of that album was sadly never repeated (or bettered) in the following years.

When I say that John & George are 'sadly missed', I miss them for the people they were, not so much the music they produced post-Beatles. John was the archetypal Liverpudlian artist and all-round smart-ass. Sharp of wit & tongue and master of the lightning-quick put-down, but in essence, not the working-class hero that he promoted himself as in the early days. George although 'the quiet one' was really always his own man and in post-Beatle days travelled down some original and diverse paths to find the inner happiness he craved. Thankfully, I think he got there in the end.............

Perhaps you'll forgive me if the above was written through my Mersey-tinted spectacles but I still have a great fondness for the place of my birth and youth and the great talent that the city has produced over the years.

Stephen.

[Mikey]

Curses - I missed this programme!
What channel was it on? Maybe I can get it on Catchup tv or somesuch device.
Thanks in advance.

[dave robinson]

Curses - I missed this programme!
What channel was it on? Maybe I can get it on Catchup tv or somesuch device.
Thanks in advance.

It was on ITV opposite the late football on BBC

[Mikey]

Cheers Dave, it seems all is not lost!

[Monty]

remember Stephen John Lennon always used 'attack' as best form of defence....he'd insult people...then later sheepishly apologise or hand them a song to make it up to them !

John's digs at Paul re 'muzak' can easily be turned straight back on him too - isn't 'How ?' copying the smaltzy strings added by Phil Spector to 'The Long & Winding Road' (against Paul's wishes) while 'I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier' is in truth just a repetitive boring chant...

'How Do You Sleep' was a piece of pure hypocrisy...and could and should be aimed right back at an apathetic Lennon...who knew he was guilty of dis-interest in letting his band die - that 'attack being the best defence' ploy again...blame it ALL on Paul...

can you get any more sickly sweet 'muzak' than 'Good Night' on 'The White Album' (featuring The Mike Sammes Singers !) - John wrote that one ! (admittedly a beautiful melody but more 'Come Dancing' fodder than say Paul's jagged 'Helter Skelter' eh ?)

John was too embarressed to sing it himself...hence Ringo sang it...

John's political songs were often an embarressment too - influenced by 'blokes in the pub' & Yoko rather than any great perceptive insight (terribly that aspect re 'misleading youth' etc came back to cost him so dearly in 1980) ....

John has since his terrible death been 'canonised' through rose coloured specs (something He'd so utterly DETEST !)

he was complex, and often 'countered himself' in his songs:

Give Peace A Chance / Happiness is A Warm Gun
Dear Yoko /Move Over Ms. L
Woman /Run For Your Life
I'm The Greatest / I'm A Loser

etc...

If Paul wrote 'muzak' John could write 'tosh' ('Revolution 9', 'Dig A Pony' for two examples !) - if it wasn't for Paul we'd have got nowhere near as much as we did from The Beatles and Paul HAS experiment alot more than people realise both in The Beatles & later - Paul's song 'Coming Up' even got John back into songwriting again...

they cut back each others weaknesses and built up each others strengths - Lennon adding his bridge to Paul's 'We Can Work it out' ("Life is very short...') & Paul putting his song snippet into John's incomplete 'A Day in The Life' ('woke up...fell out of bed...') - while when they wrote to impress each other they often rose to new heights...plus joined forces at times (often for Ringo), however Linda was no John and Yoko no Paul later on...hence their respective weaknesses and excesses later began to shine through in their solo music...

plus, (even tho' neither would have admitted it to themselves) they MISSED each other musically later too....listen to Paul's influence on John in 'Woman' & John's influence on Paul in 'Let Me Roll it'

Paul lyrically re-wrote John's 'Racist Rant' titled; 'No Pakistanis' (apparently inspired by a speech by Enoch Powell !) into a chart topper keeping just the one original Lennon line on which John sings:

- 'Get Back..to where you once belong' - a rare later 'Lennon AND McCartney' song !

[stephen]

Monty,

I'm just not a fan of Paul post-Beatles. You obviously very much are, so.... "Let it be". As individuals we are gifted with being able to form & have opinions and in a free society, express them.

Stephen.

[Monty]

Stephen, actually John Lennon was my FAV Beatle not Paul...!

But since his tragic death John (just as he predicted in his 1975 song; 'Nobody knows you when your down and out') has been elevated to Saint like status (something John would have hated)

John by his own admission was lazy compared to Paul's 'workaholic' approach - hence 'Sgt Pepper', 'Magical Mystery Tour' & the ill fated 'Let it Be' projects, plus the Abbey Road side two collage....all mainly Paul's ideas or work with bits of Lennon added here and there...

Paul always contributed far more to John's music than vice versa in The Beatles too, vocally and instrumentally...the high harmony vocal on 'Norwegian Wood' and 'I'm Only Sleeping', the lead guitar on 'Ticket To Ride', bass and drums on 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' etc...while often Paul's songs were minus ANY input at all from John in the perfomance

Paul plays bass guitar, keyboards, does percussion, and sings backup vocals on George's 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' - contributing more to it than anybody else on that track !(John's not even on it !)

Post Beatles Paul has given us many different styles of music, and I think he often gets flak for simply having the 'Audacity to carry on living' after John died...in some folks eyes !

I like Paul's rockin' music best, I very much detested things like 'Ebony & Ivory' & the Rupert Frog thing, but also some of John & George's solo stuff was poor too & I think each had their strengths and weaknesses and all were inconsistant after The Beatles

I bet tho' while John might have called some of Paul's output 'muzak'...if anybody else began 'slagging off' Paul's ability Lennon would have given them a right mouthful...!