Beatles press agent Tony Barrow passes away

The man who had christened the Beatles as the "fab four" has passed away at the age of 80 around two months after producer George Martin died of natural causes.

British tabloid The Mirror first reported of Barrow's passing as well as former friends and neighbors from Liverpool through social media.Sir Paul McCartney was said to have expressed his reaction via twitter though his facebook page had remained untouched regarding the said topic.

Only a few was known about Barrow who worked with the Beatles from 1962 to 1968.He had actually met both Lennon and McCartney back in the days when the band was still playing with various skiffle groups.Barrow had first worked with Decca who infamously rejected the Beatles and then signed the Rolling Stones.He was then hired as a press agent by Brian Epstein for his company NEMS.After the Beatles broke up he worked for different groups on both sides of the Atlantic until quitting his job in 1980 to become a freelance journalist.Barrow passed away at his home in Morecambe, Lancashire May 14,2016


(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio

SOUND MAN: Remembering George Martin

Sir George Martin (photo credit:unknown)

2016 hasn't been so good about rock music with a lot of musicians passing away beginning from the latter part of the previous year with artists ranging from Scott Weiland to Lemmy and Glenn Frey.And the entertainment world was appalled once again with the passing of another rock icon,Sir George Martin who was the Beatles' producer at age 90.

The Beatles have always been known as the most popular and influential rock band of all time and space.They invented and revolutionized everything-from modern rock, hairstyle,band setting,recording and the way people listened.Considering those 13 albums which were known by everyone young and old to be one of the great rock n' roll treasures.But the fab four couldn't have done it all by themselves without the help of their producer who made their ideas into reality.Engineer Geoff Emerick has always said that John Lennon had a good imagination but it was George Martin who made life to those thoughts,considering the incredible sound the band has made in the studio particularly during the period when the band retired from touring and was at the highest peak of creativity in the latter part of the 60s.

George Martin produced almost all of the Beatles' albums except Let It Be in which he was only given a thanks credit.The said album was actually produced by Phil Spector who is currently serving a life sentence in prison with second degree murder charges of actress Lana Clarkson.Martin,on the other hand,have been considered by many as the fifth Beatle and is the subject of much dispute because some  Beatle experts are also considering Brian Epstein for that title.When the Beatles were rejected by Decca Records back in 1962,it was George Martin who decided to give the band a break when the group auditioned for Parlophone right after.Having trained in classical music and conducting,Martin knew that the band had a unique gift when he signed them up for a record contract and had concentrated first on the band's vocal harmonies,thus,hereby enhancing their own sound.He would later do arrangements on the band's albums as we have known them today.

 One of Martin's "special tricks" involves the mixing of these great albums in the studio.By the time Sgt Pepper was in its production phase Lennon was said to have approached him citing his song Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite,wherein he said he wanted to "smell the saw dust from the floor"-wanted to smell the atmosphere of the circus.The said song has been known to had had the most sonic manipulations in the legendary album wherein Martin had used calliope music mixed with tape loops and hammond organ.Other songs of that caliber was the piano solo of  In My Life from Rubber Soul,wherein he had slowed down his recording of the said piece and mixed it on the master tape-making the solo sound like it came from a mellotron.Many sound experts have been deceived for years believing it was a mellotron until Martin himself revealed his little 'secret'.

George Martin with Paul McCartney,1964(Getty Images)

When the Beatles broke up Martin busied himself in mixing the band's compilation albums in the seventies and has worked with several bands like the Jeff Beck Group,America and Cheap Trick.He got to work with Paul again when he produced the Wings' song "Live And Let Die" and had worked again with McCartney on his 1982 album Tug Of War as producer and arranger.Paul McCartney once mentioned in an interview that he would love to work with him forever and being spoiled by George Martin's generosity when it comes to creativity in the studio.One wouldn't forget the fact that it was Martin who had the idea to add the string arrangements to Paul's song Yesterday in which McCartney was reluctant at first.Martin convinced him to try it,promising that he would remove it if Paul doesn't like it and the result was perfect.Yesterday went on to become one of the Beatles' most beloved ballads and was in fact awarded by the Guiness Book Of World Records as the most covered song of all time.Going back to his work relationship and being a friend of McCartney's,Paul mentioned him several times during an interview 2005 when he compared him to producer Nigel Godrich who worked with him on his album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.McCartney even described his small rift with Godrich citing that he was spoiled by Martin or perhaps missed his presence in the studio.Martin retired in 1998 due to hearing loss.Nevertheless,he still got himself involved in later Beatles projects with his son Giles taking over his duties.Having worked with other artists like the one mentioned above,one singer outside rock music's inner circle has her own story to tell on how George Martin made an impact to her career.The artist is none other than Celine Dion whom Martin has produced an album with as well.She later described in an interview on how she was honored and overwhelmed by Martin's presence considering his astounding resume and having worked with the Beatles.

George Martin passed away under natural causes and his death was mourned by rock musicians and Beatles fans across the globe.One heartfelt message came from none other than Paul McCartney himself who wrote this message on his facebook page:

I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever. He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George. From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.

It’s hard to choose favourite memories of my time with George, there are so many but one that comes to mind was the time I brought the song 'Yesterday’ to a recording session and the guys in the band suggested that I sang it solo and accompany myself on guitar. After I had done this George Martin said to me, "Paul I have an idea of putting a string quartet on the record". I said, “Oh no George, we are a rock and roll band and I don’t think it’s a good idea”. With the gentle bedside manner of a great producer he said to me, "Let us try it and if it doesn’t work we won’t use it and we’ll go with your solo version". I agreed to this and went round to his house the next day to work on the arrangement.
He took my chords that I showed him and spread the notes out across the piano, putting the cello in the low octave and the first violin in a high octave and gave me my first lesson in how strings were voiced for a quartet. When we recorded the string quartet at Abbey Road, it was so thrilling to know his idea was so correct that I went round telling people about it for weeks. His idea obviously worked because the song subsequently became one of the most recorded songs ever with versions by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and thousands more.
This is just one of the many memories I have of George who went on to help me with arrangements on 'Eleanor Rigby', 'Live and Let Die' and many other songs of mine.
I am proud to have known such a fine gentleman with such a keen sense of humour, who had the ability to poke fun at himself. Even when he was Knighted by the Queen there was never the slightest trace of snobbery about him.
My family and I, to whom he was a dear friend, will miss him greatly and send our love to his wife Judy and their kids Giles and Lucy, and the grandkids.
The world has lost a truly great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music.
God bless you George and all who sail in you!
Paul




Sleep well Sir George Martin  3rd January 1926-8th March 2016

(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio


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The Manager

The Roadie

Robert Stigwood Dead at 81

Robert Stigwood,manager,producer(credit: Getty Images)

Robert Stigwood the man who managed bands like Cream and the Bee Gees has died January 4th,2016 in London at age 81.His godson Spencer Gibb,son of the late Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb has first broke the news on his Facebook page.

Born Robert Colin Stigwood in Australia in 1934,he became prominent in the late sixties managing bands like Cream,the Bee Gees and the Who with the two former in partnership with Brian Epstein who is also the manager of the Beatles.He went on to become a producer in the 1970s with his involvement in films and musicals.His film involvements include Jesus Christ Superstar,Tommy,Grease and Saturday Night Fever.He had his own recording company RSO[stands for Robert Stigwood Organisation] which launched the careers of Eric Clapton(being a solo artist),Andy Gibb and the later career of the Bee Gees as a disco trio.

Robert Stigwood(center) with John Lennon(left)

Bee Gees,1967

The Bee Gees(left),one of the first rock groups in the sixties managed by Stigwood along with Cream in partnership with Brian Epstein.The band was then a quintet releasing four albums until 1969 before disintegrating temporarily and then bouncing back later as a trio.






RELATED LINKS:

Daily Mail News Link

Spencer Gibb Facebook page

CREAM

The Manager

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Fifty Years Of Rubber Soul

Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album of the Beatles.It is one of the first albums[along with A Hard Day's Night] wherein the band didn't include any covers and thus considered to be at the certain point the band had started to have a sound of their own.

We all know that older rockers from the fifties particularly the Everly Brothers have influenced the fab four that was evident on the vocal harmonies on the early singles and the debut album.But as the Beatles started to grow as musicians,they began experimenting on their sound,band set up and drop D tunings even before they became a standard.

Rubber Soul is also a breakthrough album wherein the band had started experimenting with their sound by featuring exotic instruments like the sitar featured on the song "Norwegian Wood",played by George Harrison,the instrument added a lot of flavor to the song by blending perfectly with John's acoustic guitar and Paul's bass.It is also the LP wherein Harrison is starting to emerge as a songwriting rival to both Lennon and McCartney,though previous albums like With The Beatles and  Help!  already featured songs written by George,it is in this album wherein he started putting out his more finer output-a thing that will eventually start the rift between him and the Lennon-McCartney team.As John would later said post-breakup "George was a fine songwriter but Paul and I were tougher" referring to the rivalry that was in a way being pointed out as one of the reasons behind the band's dissolution-though one would argue that it is in fact done by so many people around bad business deals and bad management the band had to endure.

Released on December 3rd 1965,the album was recorded in merely a month between tour breaks.It is astonishing for a rock band to release an average of two to three albums a year-this is a feat which is undefeated and no other rock group has done such even today.The album's genre is primarily folk rock which was obviously influenced by Bob Dylan though there are fast and catchy pop rock tunes along with it like  "Drive My Car","The Word" and "You Won't See Me".

Vinyl back cover,1965

The album's fine contrasts became the subject of controversy and its also one of the seven albums altered by Capitol in the sixties-"Drive My Car", "Nowhere Man"."What Goes On" and "If I Needed Someone" were removed and was instead compiled in a non-significant but often disputed album called Yesterday And Today which also featured songs taken from Help! and Revolver.The album became controversial over the fact that the Beatles had their photo taken in butcher suits and decapitated dolls expressing their feelings toward Capitol for 'butchering' their albums.The band's American label would alter one last album Revolver in which Target's  store website best describes the Capitol LPs as 'bastardized American albums'.

The original 14 track album was finally released in the US in 1987 with the unification effort made by EMI and deleted the US albums since.Though the 12 track US version with songs from side two of Help! was included in the Beatles US albums box set and was also reissued in 2014 as a separate album sold exclusively by Walmart.Oddly enough,Goldmine mag was praising the 12 track butchered version saying that no one would get used to "Drive My Car" as an opening track but "I've Just Seen A Face"-the said article was published in the early 2000s so I made a reply to it writing my own article challenging it by defending the standard albums which were the original 13 LPs.
The only significance the said periodical was praising was the 'false start' of the song "I'm Looking Through You" and a different mix of "The Word" wherein Lennon had double his vocals on the mix.But then,why would you want those versions on a butchered album that took other songs from an older album.A butchered album that didn't have the approval of the band themselves nor created according to their own artistic vision in which the way they conceived the original EMI releases.


Rubber Soul is dominated mostly by acoustic guitar songs and was branded among the best with the folk rock genre.It was succeeded with a more electric guitar themed album which is the total opposite of the former.The follow-up album was christened Revolver which became one of the biggest albums of 1966 and went on to be one of the most influential albums in rock music fusing hard rock and psychedelia.

TRACK LISTING

1.Drive My Car (Lennon-McCartney)
2.Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Lennon-McCartney)
3.You Won't See Me (Lennon-McCartney)
4.Nowhere Man (Lennon-McCartney)
5.Think For Yourself (Harrison)
6.The Word (Lennon-McCartney)
7.Michelle (Lennon-McCartney)
8.What Goes On (Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
9.Girl (Lennon-McCartney)
10.I'm Looking Through You (Lennon-McCartney)
11.In My Life (Lennon-McCartney)
12.Wait (Lennon-McCartney)
13.If I Needed Someone (Harrison)
14.Run For Your Life (Lennon-McCartney)

With the album ranked number five by Rolling Stone magazine on its 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list[The Beatles' Sgt Pepper was actually ranked by the rock periodical at number 1],Rubber Soul remains one of the most enduring albums of rock music fifty years later and no other band has ever done like what the Beatles did in terms of release patterns and creativity.Thus,making the Beatles the greatest rock group of all time and space.


(c) 2015 Keith Vernon Adagio

credits: Rubber Soul album cover,EMI Parlophone

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THE ALBUM FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE

There's been a new buzz that's been spreading around the internet lately which made it the talk of the town not only among Beatles fans but of netizens alike.A man who hid his real name under the pseudonym James Richards claims that he traveled into another dimension parallel to our own world and discovered that the Beatles never broke up[at least in that realm] and are all alive and well.Richards even claimed that the fab four continued to release new albums the way the Stones did in our world.

Richards proceeded with the story about him chasing his dog around September 9.2009 when he tripped into a rabbit hole and hit his head on a rock that knocked him unconscious.He then claimed that he woke up in a room with a machine he had never seen before and  a man who introduced himself as Jonas said that he had brought him to his world to help him.Richards claimed that he had a fine conversation with the strange man that they started talking about the things that they both like and that includes the Beatles which astonishingly mentioned here before never broke up and carried on in the decades releasing more albums.

Richards claimed that he saw all the albums including Sgt Pepper which,according to him,has a slightly different cover.It was never mentioned how he got back to our dimension but he managed to bring a 'proof' of the said album to our world.According to the claim,the strange man Jonas told him that he would bring nothing from that world when he goes back.So Richards managed to steal a small cassette tape with the claimed 'album' which he brought back to our world.He even uploaded the strange album to his own website for people to hear.

SKEPTICISM

Well we can't really argue the fact that a lot of strange things do happen including several phenomena that just cannot be explained even by science itself.But still we cannot remove the possibility of it being a hoax considering that he had managed to bring back a cassette of the said album with the songs handwritten on the sleeve.Shouldn't it be an album cover itself with at least a photo of the fab four on what they might have looked like in the present day,considering that John Lennon was never shot and George Harrison didn't die of cancer.Or perhaps he could've brought back a vinyl or a CD which is more likely if that other world was more technically advance than ours.Anyway, a cassette is still more practical over the fact that it is easy to hide in one's pocket but shouldn't be an album cover be present instead of a recorded cassette? A lot of questions still lies on the credibility of the said claim though but we still can't argue that it could have happened after all.

The said album has also been uploaded on youtube which I included here for you guys to listen.You be the judge,is a parallel universe with our own doppelgangers ever existed? Or is this another hoax by a person who is seeking attention?

TRACK LISTING:

The Beatles 

"Everyday Chemistry"

1. Four Guys
2. Talking To Myself
3. Anybody Else
4. Sick To Death
5. Jenn
6.  I'm Just Sitting Here
7. Soldier Boy
8. Over The Ocean
9.  Days Like These
10. Saturday Night
11. Mr Gator's Swamp Jamboree

credits: single sleeve of "Free As A Bird" courtesy of EMI Records

(c) 2015  Keith Vernon Adagio

MY TOP 10 JOHN LENNON SONGS

John circa 1965(photo credit:Robert Whitaker)

In celebration of what would have been John Lennon's 75th birthday I neatly compiled what I think are the top 10 of John's finest work both with the Beatles and as a solo artist alike.
I first wrote and published this on my facebook page three years ago and I just decided to put the top 10s over here my website as well.

MY TOP 10 JOHN LENNON SONGS

With the Beatles:



1.ITS ONLY LOVE--written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney;from the album Help!

2.IN MY LIFE--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Rubber Soul










3.SHE SAID SHE SAID--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Revolver

4.ANNA (GO TO HIM)--written by Arthur Alexander;covered by the Beatles with lead vocals by John Lennon;from the album Please Please Me

5.ACROSS THE UNIVERSE--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Let It Be

6.EVERY LITTLE THING--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Beatles For Sale

7.LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Sgt Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band

8.STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album Magical Mystery Tour

9.ALL I'VE GOT TO DO--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album With The Beatles



10.YOU CAN'T DO THAT--(Lennon-McCartney);from the album A Hard Day's Night

 AS A SOLO ARTIST


All songs written by John Lennon,except noted:

1.WOMAN

2.OH MY LOVE











3.NOBODY TOLD ME

4.MOTHER













5.IMAGINE
















6.WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT--written by John Lennon with arrangements by Elton John

7.LOVE















8.COLD TURKEY

9.HOW DO YOU SLEEP
















10.GIVE PEACE A CHANCE--written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Photo credits: AP,Getty Images,Bob Whitaker,Bob Gruen

(c) 2015 Keith Vernon Adagio

IMAGINE JOHN AT 75

John Lennon 1971 (photo credit:M.Putland/Hulton Archive)

2015 is actually the year John Lennon would've been 75 years old and one can hardly picture what would've been like for him if he didn't die after being gunned down by a deranged fan on that night of December 8th 1980.

Lennon as we all knew it is the founding member of the Beatles and was even responsible for giving the band its name-when asked he replied with all his magical prowess with the famous lines "A man on flaming pie appeared and said 'from this day on you are the Beatles with an A'".Such prophetic words from the man who is considered to be an icon,or perhaps a saint of the rock n roll industry.And thus,the Beatles,being the rock band who are actually responsible for the world's introduction to Modern Rock and remains the yardstick on which how modern rock music is measured.

As tributes pour down from every rock musician,writers and people from all walks of life-there's been an endless forums of "what ifs" on how it might have looked like if he didn't left us too soon.Some graphic designers even tried to progress his age digitally by trying to see him on how he would've looked like today.Several musicians like Sinead O' Connor to name a few actually pictured him somehow appreciating the rap movement or something like that.While we're on the subject I actually had an argument over with a friend who's stressing the fact that John might have liked rap at all in which Im very much not convinced.There's been a lot of different opinions on how he might have liked the music that came along after he died so this would be a matter of different conjectures with different writers but to be frank with everyone I dont think he would've liked today's music.But then,we dont really know how he would've reacted to it all.

    " I like rock n' roll. I don't like much else"
                                                                     -John Lennon,Rolling Stone magazine interview 1971

So I'm gonna base it on what he has said on the above quote.Though it was actually known that John admired Bob Marley and the Wailers through reggae music but then that is actually a lot different than rap.His one time songwriting partner Paul McCartney was also fond of reggae where his wife Linda actually recorded a reggae track under the pseudonym Suzy And The Red Stripes which was actually their rock group Wings. To be honest, a lot of ex-Beatles were finding it hard to deal with the rave that has came out after the breakup.We all know that John spent much of the seventies in a lazy haze and had actually retired from the business.And when he did wanted to come back he did it by playing with several rock groups at the time with musicians like Jim Keltner,Cheap Trick and several members of REO Speedwagon who played on what supposed to be his last album.

From this writer's point of view which is yours truly I don't think John would have appreciated rap for I honestly based it all on that quote that actually came straight from the horse's mouth,from the man himself,the certified genius,guru and grandmaster of rock music which we all know today.There's not even a hint of recorded material whether in writing or video form that John liked the disco genre as a whole which had actually been budding back in the late seventies,so what more with rap? And to let you guys know the fact that Michael Jackson actually befriended all three other ex-Beatles beginning with George Harrison,then Paul McCartney(which he later collaborated with musically) and Ringo-all of them except John,so what made him different from the rest of the group then? Is it like John is mean back then that MJ got so scared of getting near him? Or was it just like they just didn't have that chemistry at all? Unfortunately,the guy who would've answered that question is gone too.Basing on all those facts,I picture John of hating the Kanye-Paul collaboration as well and all the feud they had in the early seventies would've been ignited again by such collaboration. Like I said,a lot of different writers may vary from each other's opinion and being a blogger for 13 years I would just like to see it that way.

Fifty years have passed since the Beatles changed the course of music forever.And with such amazement,its actually fascinating to know that a lot of us were still under the mania.something that actually has passed down through generations.A lot of us will always have that "what ifs"  and wonder what really could've happened if  John Lennon wasn't taken away from us too soon.We may not know what will really happen by then and what would be on his mind.All we have to do right now is just IMAGINE.

 (c) 2015 Keith Vernon Adagio