Notice to 'Dave' fans

Evening all, because for me, it is the evening.

Just a quick note to say I've taken the Dave stories off the blog.

That's because they will soon be appearing in print. Not an e-book, not on Kindle, or shitePad. In print. On real paper. You will be able to turn the pages and everything. Won't that be nice?

Before you get carried away in congratulating me on a publishing deal to rival JK Rowling, calm down, I'll be going down the self-publication route.

If you want a copy, please leave a comment here, or on the inevitable Facebook post, or by tweeting in my general direction.

I can't give a publication date as yet, as I've got to pull my finger out and write another four or five stories, but I would hope to have something ready for Christmas.

I'm quite excited by the way.

Don't worry, I will be bringing some other writing projects to the blog over the next few months.

JM.

The End of the Long And Winding Albums You Should Own Beatles Special

It's been a while since the last blog post, but hopefully you've got everything you need up to now. You've been basking in the White Album, marvelling at Sgt Pepper and been confounded by Magical Mystery Tour.
Now settle down and prepare to be amazed by the Beatles final albums recorded and released despite the internal mayhem and bitching going on.

Yellow Submarine
The third Beatles movie, released purely to fulfill a contract and with next to no input from the band themself. The accompanying soundtrack album was also thin on new Beatles music, with just four tracks getting a first airing. Alongside 'Yellow Submarine' (obviously) and 'All You Need Is Love', we are treated to 'Hey Bulldog', 'All Together Now' and two George Harrison originals 'It's Only A Northern Song', a tongue in cheek observation on the Publishing Company responsible for Lennon and McCartney original compositions, and 'It's All Too Much'. The rest of the album is taken up by orchestral incidental music taken from the film, written by George Martin.

Abbey Road

Whilst technically not recorded until after the debacle that was the Let It Be sessions, for chronology's sake, as it was the next one to be released, it's the turn of Abbey Road. The quality and recording of the tracks allows this album to easily hold it's own in the 'Greatest Beatles Album' argument. From the opening intro of 'Come Together', which is followed by one of the greatest love songs ever written, 'Something' to the oppressiveness of 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' the tracks ooze genius (not counting the childish 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'). Even 'Octopus' Garden' has a charm about it, Ringo's second successful writing effort. Then, the medley that makes up the second half of the album winds and rises and falls through all sorts of moods ending in, well 'The End'. A perfect way to bring their recording career as a band to a close. But it doesn't. After the gentle piano ends, you get a couple of seconds of silence, then 'Her Majesty' comes from nowhere to finish it all off. And reminds you of one thing: Never try and second guess The Beatles!!

 

Let It Be

But it wasn't the end of it all, not as far as the fans were concerned. In May 1970, after months of wrangling, arguing, remixing and so on, John Lennon called in his new best mate, Phil Spector, to give the recordings an overhaul. From the original intention to be an 'as live' album, warts and all, it became more of the same. Schmaltzy choral sounds, double-tracking of sounds were added to the bare bones in some attempt to make the music marketable. And yet, the tracks are still heavyweight entries into the Beatles canon: 'Let It Be' and 'The Long And Winding Road' are two McCartney gems, John's 'Across The Universe' is a lovely song (and well used to sing my youngest son to sleep), George gives us 'I Me Mine' and 'For You Blue'. And the album closes with the return to basics, good old rock and roll stomper that is 'Get Back'. Proof indeed that the Beatles were, above everything else, incredibly talented musicians. As a band, they must be considered as a one off.

Past Masters Volume II
And so we arrive at the final album in the original Beatles catalogue. The second singles/curios compilation. The track listing is virtually a greatest hits in itself: 'Day Tripper', 'We Can Work It Out', 'Paperback Writer', 'Rain'... 'Lady Madonna', erm, 'The Inner Light', a real Indian flavoured effort from George. Then back on track with 'Hey Jude', 'Revolution', 'Get Back' and 'Don't Let Me Down'. Personally, the most underrated single, 'The Ballad of John And Yoko', is one of the stand out tracks - recorded by John and Paul only (the others were on holidays or just unavailable at such short notice) it tells the story of John and Yoko's wedding and honeymoon adventure. The last song on the album is the suitably ridiculous 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)'. Ridiculous, but still sublime in it's own way.

That's it then. All the reasons you could possibly want to own the entire back catalogue of The Beatles. And if you want the story behind it all, get yourself the Beatles Anthology DVD series and the accompanying 3 double CD album set. Once you've done that, all other music is redundant...

Well, no it isn't, but it definitely puts it all into perspective.

A Rant

I just want to take a moment to complain about my local football club. Shrewsbury Town. Some may not have a clue who I mean, some will. In particular, I want to complain about the whole commercial operation and the way they have lost touch with reality.

I decided that this year, I would buy my eldest son the new home shirt for his birthday, maybe even get a name and number printed on it too. The kit was launched on 31st July at the club's open day, and I have no idea how many were on sale because before too long, the smaller sizes had sold out. Another shipment was due on the 20th August it was announced. So, today, just two days later, I rang the club to see if I could place an order to be picked up and paid for in person. No chance. I was informed by a simpleton on the other end that they still didn't have any of the smaller sizes in stock, and wouldn't until Saturday (if at all, he wasn't sure!). "Could I ring on Friday, they might know a bit more then?" Like a wally, I said yes. I should have said "No. Here's my number. YOU ring ME when they come in!"

This is merely the tip of the iceberg. The junior shirt is going to set me back £30. Yes, that's right, £30. Just for the shirt. Printing will cost more on top. I'm all for supporting my local club and encouraging my son to support his local team instead of chasing glory with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and City or Arsenal, but the bottom line is, I can walk into a branch of JJB Sports and get a whole kit - shirt, shorts and socks for £30. It's just crazy. Which brings me on to my next gripe. You can only buy the Shrewsbury kits from the club shop. Nowhere else. You would think that a small club would want to cast their net as wide as possible. In days gone by, you could go into Salopian Sports or Sports & Games in the town and get yourself a shirt. Not any more. I tell you, they've got Premier League ideas being implemented by Sunday League cretins.

Then we come to the match-day arrangements for fans. It's a 10,000 seater stadium on the outskirts of the town. They get average attendances of about 5,000 for a home game. But only parking for about 200 cars, and no arrangements for any parking elsewhere. You can pay a fiver to park in a pub car park just down the road, and that's about it. There used to be a park and ride facility from a number of places around the town, but apparently these weren't cost effective, so they were axed.

And if you want to go to a game, you have to make sure you know you want to go well in advance. Gone are the days when you could decide on a Saturday morning, or a Tuesday lunchtime to go to a game, give your mate a call and wander down to the Gay Meadow and pay on the gate. These days you have to buy a ticket. And before you do that, you have to register. Something my brother knows all to well!

But the worst thing of all is, I still keep supporting them and giving them my money because after all, they're in my blood.

Come. On. You. Blues.
Graham Turner's Barmy Army.

Back in the Beatles Album You Should Own Special

A week is a long time. When we were here last, I'd finished telling you to buy all Beatles albums up to and including Revolver. Hopefully you've done that and have been spending your hard earned money and been rewarded with a positively perfect piece of musical history gold.

Now, I'm here to help you complete the next step in your Beatles back catalogue bonanza. By the end of 1966, things were changing: they had quietly given up touring, been on various holidays and John had even appeared in a film, 'How I Won The War'. Even more momentously, they'd all had a bit of a haircut and grown moustaches. They were now in the process of recording what would become the ground-breaking album we all know as 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. And as if by sheer coincidence...

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
This album probably took the world by surprise more than any Beatles record had done. Gone were the breezy two minute pop songs, replaced by a cacophony of new sounds and ideas. From the opening sound of an orchestra tuning up leading into the drums and guitar intro of the the title track, you know this is something different and special. After the title track, you've got the sing-along 'With A Little Help From My Friends' which is perfect for Ringo to sing (being as that was why it was written), followed by the controversial 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'. Is it about LSD? Or is it merely based on a picture drawn by a young Julian Lennon of his friend Lucy? The BBC felt it was the former, and banned it. 'Getting Better' and 'Fixing A Hole' continue the album, leading us on to 'She's Leaving Home' - Paul McCartney's story of a girl sneaking out whilst her parents are still asleep to run away with a "man from the motor trade".

Then you get John's 'Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite', a smorgasbord of sound and noise, achieving the aim of actually sounding like the circus that John intended. More studio trickery and genius from producer George Martin, who was still guiding The Beatles through their musical adventures - helping them make the sounds they wanted. George Harrison's only offering on the album 'Within You Without You' takes his Indian mysticism to the next level. This is followed by two chirpy efforts from Paul - 'When I'm Sixty-Four' and 'Lovely Rita'. As the album draws to a close, with 'Good Morning Good Morning' and the reprise of Sgt Pepper, we are then treated to the best song on the album. 'A Day In The Life' is a musical masterpiece that not only broke all boundaries, but picked them up, gave them a good slap round the face, then climbed into a juggernaut and ran them over again and again. And just when you think it's all over, you get what could possibly be the world's first 'hidden track'.

Magical Mystery Tour
Released to coincide with the TV film of the same name, this was originally a double EP, but with the transfer to CD, the singles from around the time were added to make up a full album. Whilst the film was critically panned at the time, and left the public even more baffled than they were, the soundtrack album was still music to their ears. Stand out tracks for me are 'The Fool On The Hill', 'Blue Jay Way' (which incidentally is the name of my as-yet unproduced sitcom script) and, of course, 'I Am The Walrus'. Add into the mix, singles 'Hello Goodbye', the forever brilliant 'All You Need Is Love' and the double A-side single that signalled the beginning of the era (but failed to reach the coveted Number 1 in the charts), 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane'. It was always going to be difficult to follow 'Sgt Pepper' but this is a pretty damn good nontheless.

The Beatles (The White Album)
There are thousands of words in the English language, yet I struggle to find any good enough to describe this double album. The scale of it is mind-bending. Of the 30 tracks on offer, they all give something different. From 'Back In The USSR' to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' via 'Blackbird' and the country rock of 'Don't Pass Me By', Ringo's first proper writing credit, after years of cleverly re-writing existing songs, much to the amusement of all! Then, when you change the record, you get battered over the head with songs like 'Birthday', 'Yer Blues', 'Helter Skelter', then soothed by 'Mother Nature's Son' and 'Good Night'. But only after the avant garde sound collage that is 'Revolution 9' - a Yoko Ono inspired John Lennon attempt at capturing the sound of revolution in action. Apparently.

It would be unfair of me to go on from this point until you've had chance to take it all in. I suggest you pop out to buy the albums featured in this blog, come back, find a darkened room somewhere and just listen. Then appreciate that this is music written and performed by people who weren't even 30 years old at the time and had been through so much in such a short space of time.

When you're done with these, I'll finish the job off. And you had better be prepared for that!!!

Being A Continuation of My Albums You Should Own: Beatles Special

Ok, so you've read and digested the first part. You've been out to your local record emporium, or been internet shopping, or (through gritted teeth) downloaded the albums in their entirety from that well-known bunch of bastards with a fruity name.

Now, I'm going to tell you why you need to buy the next phase of Beatles recording gold. By now, The Beatles were growing up. Both in life (John was now a father; Paul was heavily involved with Jane Asher; George had nabbed Patti Boyd, who would later be the subject of two truly awesome love songs, and Ringo had his girl, Maureen) and artistically. They'd moved on from the simple love songs aimed directly at the screaming fans, and were now writing more philosophical, personal songs. Yet the constant work-load never let up. By now, the tours were getting huger, even America was struggling to find a venue big enough.

Then The Beatles took live performance to the next level (size-wise at least). Shea Stadium in New York hosted the first ever stadium gig. 55,000 screaming American kids. And The Beatles in the middle of it all. They could hardly hear themselves, let alone the fans hearing them above all the din. They also starred in their second film, 'Help!' and were fitting in the time to write and record new material. And it is here that my continuation, er, continues...

Help!
So then, another movie, another soundtrack. While the film lacked a certain something, the soundtrack album that accompanied it lacked nothing. The blistering title track 'Help!' enabled John to hide his low morale, self-confidence and self-worth behind an upbeat pop song guaranteed to sell millions. From this to a totally acoustic 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away' demonstrates their growing versatility as a band. Other stand out tracks include 'Ticket To Ride', 'I Need You', George's second recorded song, which signalled how far his craft had come, yet not necessarily signposting the quality yet to come, and 'You're Going To Lose That Girl'. The other outstanding track on the album which went on to become the most played on radio and most covered song is 'Yesterday'. The story goes that Paul woke up with the melody already in his head from start to finish, played to all his friends an family trying to find out what it was, not believing it was his own creation. Eventually he was persuaded that it was all his own work, and set about putting some lyrics to the tune. Then, when it came to the recording, no other Beatle was able to add anything to it, so it was virtually a McCartney solo recording.

Past Masters Volume 1
I've chosen this point to insert the first of The Beatles singles, b-sides and rarities compilations as the track listing ends with the b-sides from the 'Help!' singles. There are the 4 non-album singles, 'From Me To You' (a little piece of local interest here, this was written on the bus journey from York to Shrewsbury in 1963, a show one of my parents went to at the old Music Hall), the awesome 'She Loves You', the single that broke America 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and it's equally wonderful B-side 'This Boy', and the world's first feedback record 'I Feel Fine'. Then you've got the single release version of 'Love Me Do' (not featuring Ringo on drums), tracks from the 'Long Tall Sally' EP: 'Long Tall Sally' being Paul's rendition of Little Richards rocker, and 'I'm Down', the B-side to 'Help!', itself a McCartney attempt at emulating the energy and noise of Little Richard's song. Finally, as a curio, you have the two German language recordings of their biggest singles of the time: 'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand' and 'Sie Liebt Dich'. (Answers on a postcard!!)

Rubber Soul
When they reconvened to record the first of what I like to call the "Beatles' Holy Trinity" (ie the three albums which are generally considered to be the most creative and consistently top the 'Greatest Album Ever' polls), drugs were beginning to play a bigger part in the mood and writing of the band. By now it's getting harder to pick just a few strong songs to highlight, given the quality on offer: 'Drive My Car', 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)', 'Nowhere Man', 'Michelle', 'In My Life' and George's ever improving writing talent this time showcased with 'If I Needed Someone'.

Revolver
Revolver consists of 14 genuinely brilliant songs. Not one can be considered below par (well, maybe one or two, but that's being overly harsh).
We begin with 'Taxman', George Harrison's first true classic. Written as a riposte at the incredibly high tax rate that they were being forced to pay, it served to give George the image of being overly money conscious. Before you know it, we're on to 'Eleanor Rigby'. Another virtual McCartney solo piece, and the first example of Paul's ability to write songs about other people that don't really exist or have any meaning. But didn't he do well?!! From there to 'I'm Only Sleeping', John's way of saying "hey, slow down, or just leave me be, I'm taking my time".
'Love You To' is George's first really Indian inspired song. 'Here, There And Everywhere' goes together with 'Good Day Sunshine' and 'For No One' as further examples of Paul's genius at this point in time. We all know 'Yellow Submarine', of course. Written specifically with Ringo in mind, and all-out fun with the recording process. 'She Said She Said' and 'Doctor Robert' are a useful duo of drug influenced songs ('She Said She Said' based on a comment made by a tripping Peter Fonda, and 'Doctor Robert' being the well-connected doctor who could get their hands on a plethora of substances for the rich and famous).
'I Want To Tell You' is an unprecedented THIRD Harrison song on a Beatles single album. Which leaves the last two tracks. 'Got To Get You Into My Life' is Paul's song, it could easily be taken as a love song about accommodating a woman, yet it's merely expresses his developing love and use of Marijuana.
And so the album finishes with an aural explosion of sound and effects. Intended to sound like a group of monks chanting on a mountain-top, studio trickery and experimentation gave it the other-worldly sound John hoped for. The lyrics were taken and inspired by the 'Tibetan Book of The Dead' which was being used by the acid generation as a guide for the mental experiences encountered during an acid trip. To listen to this track and then appreciate that this can be produced by the same mind that just two years earlier gave us 'A Hard Day's Night' takes some doing.

And so we come to the end of the second instalment of my Beatles extravaganza. Stay tuned for more...