Hi everyone, thanks for all the warm welcomes.
So off we go with the first Beatles session, and I've cobbled together a few facts about the tracks featured in it - if anyone wants any more info on anything played, ask away and if I don't know, I'm sure I can find out.
After we meet the band, the first three songs are classic tracks given a new twist - the opening tracks of
Love, the soundtrack to the multi-million dollar Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. The soundtrack is all original Beatles recordings, but remixed and 'mashed up' to create new versions of old songs - or in some cases, polish up the originals.
The first track,
Because was originally on Abbey Road and features a beautiful three-part harmony by John, Paul and George - the version here has had the instruments stripped off to leave just the voices. The second track,
Get Back, opens with the clashing chord from
A Hard Day's Night, and also includes the the drum and guitar solos from
The End. This track segues into
Glass Onion from the While Album, which contains references to many other Beatles songs - this short version refers, for example, to 'fixing a hole in the ocean', a reference to
Fixing A Hole from
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - other songs referenced in the original track include
Strawberry Fields Forever,
The Fool On The Hill,
I Am The Walrus and
Lady Madonna.
After this are a couple of very different solo McCartney tracks form 1971 and 1980 respectively,
Ram On and
Temporary Secretary, then it's back to the Beatles for two examples (
Old Brown Shoe and
Rain) of why Paul is often hailed as one of the most influential rock bassists ever.
"Paul was one of the most innovative bass players ever. And half the stuff that is going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period."
- John Lennon
"Paul is the greatest bass player in the world."
- Ringo Starr
"Paul's bass guitar playing is of course the most melodic ever. He set a standard no one has ever reached."
- George Martin
To be continued shortly...