Sunday, June 4, 2017

Sgt Pepper Back At Number One





Fifty years after its first release,the Beatles' seminal concept album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band went back to the number one spot wherein the expanded edition was released including remixed material and unreleased session tapes.Other countries are set to follow where there were revivals of events such as the Summer Of Love in San Francisco that was held upon the album's first release.

The album has been hailed as the best selling album in the UK and was held at the number one spot by Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.

Sgt Pepper is likely to reach number one in other countries as well as it climbs the charts of Amazon on its online sales.
The Beatles were once again competing with new artists and proved of their timeless appeal as Billboard sums up the album sales according to headline planet:

 This week’s leaders in pure sales, per BuzzAngle:
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (~61,521 pure US sales)
Bryson Tiller – True To Self (~47,209 pure US sales)
Chris Stapleton’s From A Room, Volume 1 (~31,209 pure US sales)
Guardians Of The Galaxy – Awesome Mix, Vol. 2 (~28,906 pure US sales)
Shakira – El Dorado (~20,251 pure US sales)

Throughout until June 16,the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool is celebrating the album's 50th anniversary highlighted on this website.

(c) 2017 Keith Vernon Adagio

Thursday, June 1, 2017

PEPPER AT 50

Sgt Pepper mark its 50th anniversary June 2nd making its North American release coinciding with the Summer Of  Love social event in San Francisco that was followed by similar events in London and some other parts of the world.

The band is set to release the album in four different formats: a single CD, a double CD,double vinyl and a six disc super deluxe edition comprising of all the aforementioned recordings plus a 144 page hard book with new introductions from Paul McCartney and Giles Martin.

With an expanded track and several packages in different formats,Sgt Pepper proved to be one of the most significant albums that ever came out half a century later.

The concept for the album dates back with Paul McCartney having a thought of an imaginary band as an alter ego to the Beatles. The band went through rough times touring around the world and decided to retire from touring and concentrate more on the music they were making in the studio.Making such decisions gave them more time to experiment and be more adventurous on their approach.

Though not really the first concept album to ever come into existence[ a lot of people consider Frank Zappa's 1966 release Freak Out! as the first],George Martin was obviously the man behind the console and did all those magic and up until then the Beatles have created an album at least at that time that is quite impossible to replicate in concert.

Looking back,how much influence does this album had on other musicians in the past fifty years? Not too many? Well,considering other artists who have followed the Beatles' footsteps on creating such a concept masterpiece.We begin with the Rolling Stones on their flower power output Their Satanic Majesties Request in which funny enough,has garnered much hatred from John Lennon's sharp tongue,describing on how the Stones wanted to copy his band first hand.There's Prince with his concept album Around The World In A Day in which he wholeheartedly admitted that was influenced by Pepper,considering the manner in which he delivered the master tapes to his record label wherein he sat on the floor surrounded by flowers while the record execs examine what would be his 1987 masterpiece.There's Red Hot Chilli Peppers dressed in Pepper clothings for a rock magazine,Green Day having a concept album American Idiot,Phil Collins praising Ringo's drumming on "A Day In The Life" and the list just goes on...

Considering the importance of how significant this album is on changing not only the lives of people who sat and listened,but on how it changed the whole procedure of how music is recorded and an amazing feat perhaps that the album has crossed generations and time space.The album just went to number one in the charts as I am writing this and its just overwhelming.

We can only wonder in awe as we think what will happen for another fifty years. Time,people changes but the Beatles were always there for us.


(c) 2017 Keith Vernon Adagio

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

THE BEATLES' LAST GIG MARKS 50

The Beatles Candlestick Park,San Francisco 8/29/66






Marking off another Golden anniversary of the fab four's is their final gig at Candlestick Park,San Francisco which was held August 29th,1966. The band had concluded their touring duties with this memorable gig wherein it was said that  they took selfies  after they bid adieu to the crowd.Something that would never ever happen again for the rest of their lives as musicians.

The Beatles has stopped touring amid the problems they began facing since Beatlemania took off two years earlier.The band was noted at first for being frustrated of not hearing themselves with all the uproar that has been going on as fans started to pack their venues and they were forced to take on stadiums to accomodate more people.Not to mention the political and religious involvement the band has faced in which touring became a little more dangerous in the wake of John Lennon's comment "We're more popular than Jesus" wherein the band had received numerous death threats and protests left and right from religious sects.Adding up to their burden is the disastrous tour of the Philippines wherein they nearly jeopardized their own existence over Ferdinand Marcos who was back then gearing up to be a dictator of the island nation.

Celebrating the last ever gig is an audio recording of the band playing at Candlestick Park.Though the audio clip's quality is relatively poor, it gives one Beatles fan(most of whom were not even born yet when the band first came to fame) an insight of what its like to be in that touring finale.


One gig which eventually turned up to be released as a live album later on was the 1964 concert at Hollywood Bowl where George Martin had to clean the noise meticulously using the current available technology.The album made it to the top 10 in the late seventies and will also be re-issued this year.With more technological advancements,who knows,some of these gigs would one day be issued as another official live album.


(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio


Friday, July 22, 2016

50 YEARS OF REVOLVER






Fifty years yet again had passed since another Beatles album has been released. Fifty years of looking back to the greatest music that ever came out and how it has brought huge impact to our lives and what we are today.We all know that the Beatles is very much the most influential rock band of the 20th Century and perhaps even today where no other rock group[even in this time period] has ever achieved nor surpassed what they have done as a recording unit,not to mention the chart performances.But even then, there were other artists who have somewhat did the same performance regarding chart positions(let alone having the top 5 positions from one artist in which we all know that can never happen again),it was never the same and the quality of music today is somewhat inferior despite the technological advances that we have(et al autotunes-in which doesn't show pure talent).Back in the days when you don't have electronic drum sounds and you have to play everything to express one's self.

Revolver is one Beatles album that clearly defines the cutting edge of a rock band that began experimenting with a harder sound.Most of the tracks as you all can see is filled with cool electric guitar riffings,Indian flavor,jazz rock and awesome string arrangements.Its the mid sixties and the Beatles are somewhat tired of the teeny bopperish that has been going that its time to upgrade and move forward.Sick with the yeah yeah yeahs from the band's early phase,the band began experimenting with drop D tunings,distortions,feedbacks as well as backmasked guitar solos-something that has never been done before in that time period.And of course,something that has been followed and continues to be observed on rock music today.

The album is somewhat the opposite of its predecessor Rubber Soul where the latter was filled with songs done on acoustic guitars and having that slight folk feel. Revolver opens with the upbeat and politically rebellious "Taxman" penned by George Harrison who wrote the song as a protest to the British government on how much are they taking on his earnings as a rock star.On the other hand,their friends the Rolling Stones would soon embark on a tax exile and has been followed by other bands such as the Who and Led Zeppelin in the intervening years.Some people might not know that it was Paul McCartney who came up with the guitar solo for that song and not George.Story goes that Paul was hanging around with Jimi Hendrix at the time and we all know that when two geniuses come together all the influences would be shared to one another.So in one interview,McCartney then told that time when he got that idea and was suggesting George on how good it is to have that Hendrix influenced guitar solo would sound cool to the song- "feedbacky" and "crazy" as Paul had later described it. And Harrison agreed on Paul's suggestion that he let McCartney do the solo on his Gibson Epiphone Casino-the result was absolute perfection with that guitar solo that we hear on the album and would later be played live by George on his solo concerts and would also be played by Mike Campbell as a tribute to Harrison on Concert For George.With two more songs penned by him,Revolver is the second album(next to the White Album) with the most George Harrison compositions on the track listings than any other Beatles LP.

Paul McCartney playing bass,Revolver sessions(Getty Images)


The band never played any instruments on the album's second track "Eleanor Rigby" wherein the string arrangements was mixed later on with the vocals.Tracks like "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" were filled with tape loops and backmasking.John Lennon was known to be unhappy with his voice that he wanted to do something about it. George Martin already added effects to his voice by doubling the vocals on the previous album and he continued to practice the same thing[with much more improvements] on Revolver.A practice that has been maintained by other rock bands such as Nirvana and Scorpions in the decades that followed.Engineer Geoff Emerick even joked about having Lennon tied up to his feet and have him hanged upside down from the ceiling then spin to obtain the same vocal effect.Of course it was never done!

Tracks like "Got To Get You Into My Life" was the precursor of jazz rock wherein a horn section has been combined with electric guitars as well as pulsating drums and bass.The said track has been the inspiration for rock groups such as Chicago, Earth,Wind & Fire and the Buckinghams who became famous by fusing a horn section with an average rock group lineup.And of course,the mix won't be complete without a ballad or two such as "Here,There And Everywhere" and "For No One".The former was said to be inspired by McCartney's then girlfriend Jane Asher.

Upon its worldwide release August 5 and US release three days later.The album topped the US charts for three weeks though the then US release was somewhat short handed with Capitol removing three tracks from the album and adding it up("Doctor Robert","I'm Only Sleeping" and "And Your Bird Can Sing") to the butchered album Yesterday And Today.Nevertheless,the original 14 track lineup has been the official worldwide arrangement since 1987.The album was ranked number three by Rolling Stone magazine on their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.In 2000,it was ranked by British magazine Q at number one on the Greatest British Albums Of All Time.It was inducted as well at the Grammy Hall Of  Fame and was also included on the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The Beatles.Revolver sessions 1966 (Getty Images)

Fifty years have passed since we were given a unique gift from a band with immense songwriting talent.Revolver will always be remembered as one rock n' roll treasure,a hard act to follow to many musicians yet an inspiration for budding rock bands for years or perhaps decades to come.


(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio





Thursday, July 21, 2016

Beatles Documentary Set For US Theatrical Release September 16th

Ron Howard and Paul McCartney (credit: McCartney website)


Ron Howard,famed for his work with such films such as Apollo 13 and Cocoon has directed a new Beatles documentary set to be released on US theatres September 16th,2016 with a streaming on Hulu the following day.A world premiere will be held in London September 15.

Nearly two years ago Howard made an announcement online for people who had special clips and memories that he can somehow add up to the new documentary that he'll be directing.The new film will focus on the band's touring years from 1962 to their very last in 1966 which is by then titled The Beatles:Eight Days A Week-The Touring Years.The film includes new and archive footages of Paul McCartney,Ringo Starr as well as interviews with Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono,John and George's widows.

The trailer for the upcoming film can be viewed below as well as the theatrical poster.



Theatrical release poster


(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl To Be Re-Issued September 9



The live album The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl will be re-issued on CD and Digital Copy September 9th,2016 with a follow up vinyl re-issue set on November 18th.

The album was first released in 1977 and went to number 2 on the charts though the recording is by then 12 and 13 years old,meticulously cleansed by the late George Martin to remove unnecessary noises from the master tapes,noises that made the Beatles a little difficult to hear themselves.Now his son Giles Martin is proud to have an updated technology to capture that moment in 1964. “Trust me,” Martin added, "it doesn’t sound like Steely Dan. It’s still the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl. But I think now it really captures the energy of the band at those shows” as Martin talked to an LA Times reporter.The album has been out of print since the late 1980s.

The album now comprises of 17 tracks,four of which were previously unreleased.A new 24-page booklet, with an essay by music journalist David Fricke, will accompany the album.


(c)2016 Keith Vernon Adagio





Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Henry McCullough,rock guitar player passes away

Henry McCullough,circa Wings 1973(photo: Linda McCartney)

As much as I hated the fact that my blog this year has become a bit of an obituary for rock stars who are passing away at an incredible high rate,you cannot avoid on having the senses of how short life is.Now its Henry McCullough's turn.

McCullough had a massive heart attack in 2012 and was by then mistakenly reported to have died.He was in critical condition.The former guitar player for Paul McCartney's rock band in the seventies Wings once played with Joe Cocker and the Grease band and first came into prominence for being the latter's lead guitarist when he performed in Woodstock in 1969.The guitar player then met Paul McCartney upon the recommendation of his friend,drummer Denny Seiwell who also played as a session musician on Paul's second solo album Ram.He and Seiwell,along with Denny Laine,were the ones who completed the first line up of Wings with Paul and Linda McCartney as the core members.

However,his career with Wings was cut short when he and Denny Seiwell decided to leave the band over an argument with Paul regarding money.Paul,Linda,along with Denny Laine had to record Band On The Run without them.McCullough was then known to be critical of Paul post-Wings in which he described on past interviews about his clash with McCartney hereby having the music press to label Paul as somewhat autocratic or simply the Don,even going far as having with the pretenses of a democratic little band in which he himself actually has total control.The hurt by then healed through time with recent interviews wherein McCullough were saying positive comments this time about Wings in 2011.

After a brief stint with Wings where he played on only one album Red Rose Speedway,McCullough signed with Dark Horse records which was owned by former Beatle George Harrison and released a solo album Mind Your Own Business in 1975.He then went back to being a session and touring musician and worked with bands like Pink Floyd,Frankie Miller Band as well as solo artists like Eric Burdon,Marianne Faithfull and Donovan.

Henry McCullough(left) with Wings

























 McCullough was said to have never fully recovered from his 2012 attack and has been ill for several years before passing away at his home in Ireland in the early morning of June 14,2016. Among the people who led tributes after his passing is none other than Paul McCartney who described him as a super talented musician with a lovely sense of humor. A benefit concert for him was even held in 2015 to aid on his finances during his years of  illness.His most famous trademark was that guitar solo on the Wings song "My Love" wherein it was said that he made up the solo on the spot.



(Above:Paul McCartney's tribute on his facebook page after hearing of McCullough's passing,describing him as a "super talented musician")

(c)2016 Keith Vernon Adagio