BEATLES FOR SALE IS 50 YEARS OLD

Less than six months after the release of their third album and first soundtrack from their first movie,the Beatles were yet working again on their follow up album.Not really wanting to top the previous one but rather getting the job done with their creative instincts piling up like hard bounds on a local library.The Beatles never wanted to stop. They maintained their average of two albums per year release dates,a feat that was never equalled by any other band or artist in the past fifty years. Not at least in the sixties where rock music evolved at a fast and speedy rate.

Just like their sixth album,Rubber Soul which was released in late 1965,Beatles For Sale was released simultaneously with singles that was neither on the album."I Feel Fine" and its B side "She's A Woman" didn't appear on the album but did reached the christmas number one on the UK charts.

Back cover of the vinyl album,1964

The album is comprised of six cover versions and eight original compositions,most of which were penned by the band's main songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Most of the cover versions done by the fab four here were songs from fifties rock legends whom the band had referred to as their prime influences.These songs were from Chuck Berry(Rock And Roll Music),Buddy Holly(Words Of Love),Carl Perkins(Honey Don't and Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby),and the Lieber and Stoller classic "Kansas City" merged with the Little Richard original "Hey Hey Hey Hey".

Unfortunately,the album was among the first seven that Capitol-the band's US distributor,failed to recognize its significance thus, failed to release the album and failed to follow with its original worldwide release in 1964.Instead,a butchered album with songs from this release combined with the side two of their previous album A Hard Day's Night was released under the name Beatles '65(though ironically released in 1964!).Some other leftovers from this album was compiled with other singles the band never issued and was released the following year as Beatles VI.Capitol has long been lambasted for butchering the band's first seven albums in the sixties without any clear explanation on the label's part.The Beatles were known for their disapproval of such album butchering and later released the butchered LP Yesterday And Today with its first cover photo highlighting the band on butcher suits,decapitated dolls and chunks of meat hence having the nickname "Butcher Cover".The said album itself is butchered as well,with songs coming from Help!,Rubber Soul and Revolver.

Beatles For Sale was officially released in the US as a real album in 1987 through the unification effort made by EMI,to avoid further confusions especially with the American fans.Having released worldwide in the sixties(except in the United States where it was considered as an import),the time has come that the albums were arranged by EMI by unifying the albums and hereby deleting the US versions as to avoid dubiety on which were the real albums made by the band themselves.The US versions,however were later released on box sets and individually as bootlegs.

Fifty years have passed and the Beatles remains a strong force in rock music,continues to influence younger musicians alike and made them form their own bands.The band's timeless appeal continues to soar with every classic album discovered by  aspiring young musicians or simply a young individual who loves real music.

Beatles For Sale track listing

1.No Reply (Lennon-McCartney)
2.I'm A Loser (Lennon-McCartney)
3.Baby's In Black (Lennon-McCartney)
4.Rock And Roll Music (Berry)
5.I'll Follow The Sun (Lennon-McCartney)
6.Mr Moonlight (Johnson)
7.Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey (Llieber-Stoller-Penniman)
8.Eight Days A Week (Lennon-McCartney)
9.Words Of Love (Holly)
10.Honey Don't (Perkins)
11.Every Little Thing (Lennon-McCartney)
12. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party (Lennon-McCartney)
13.What You're Doing (Lennon-McCartney)
14. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (Perkins)

*front and back cover photo by Robert Freeman

Beatles For Sale inner sleeve

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio


RELATED LINKS:

The Beatles Chronology

Abbey Road Marks 45th Anniversary

The Beatles' album Abbey Road released in 1969

  It was August 8,1969,four men who stood to be the biggest rock band the world has ever known for posed for several photos of what would be one of the greatest and most imitated album cover in the history of rock music.

The photo session took place at 11:30 in the morning,Scottish photographer Iain McMillan was invited by John Lennon to be the band's photographer at the time as the band decided to name their new album after the road where EMI studios is located.Lennon got to know McMillan through Yoko Ono whom he met in 1966.

McMillan took six photographs of the band crossing the road each with different phases,it was the fifth shot that was chosen to be the album cover.With its famous sleeve and awesome content,the album spawned classic rock hits that stood the test of time and would hit the number one spot on  the charts for several weeks.

Fast forward forty five years later,the Beatles,as we all know it became legendary for changing the course of both pop and rock music as they continue to inspire new generations of fans.A celebration to commemorate the event was organized by Richard Porter where a tribute band did the famous road crossing exactly the same time the photo sessions took place.

Let It Be Abbey Road commemorating the album's 45th(photo credit: Keith Moore)

Musician and friend Keith Moore was at the festivities and even took pictures of the said event describing it as the one with great atmosphere as fans from all over the world watched with awesome thrill that includes a sing-along with the West End tribute band Let It Be who managed to throw in a few songs.

That zebra crossing on Abbey Road,London became somewhat a shrine to Beatle followers and disciples alike where fans cross every hour and every day, but what makes August 8th 2014 so special is that four men dressed as the Beatles did a reenactment of the event at the exact same time the photo sessions took place forty five years ago.

The cast of Let It Be August 8,2014(photo credit:Keith Moore)

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

FAREWELL TO CANDLESTICK:A Personal Glimpse To Sir Paul McCartney's Au Revoir

August 14,2014--the whole crowd was eagerly waiting as we all bid farewell to Candlestick Park after 50 years of providing entertainment.No,this isn't your average every day rock concert,and what makes it a lot different is that we're making history once again.I'm pretty sure Sir Paul is somewhat sentimental too-being able to play with the Beatles at their very last concert at the said venue and now he's back here again to bid farewell,to take a last glimpse,before Candlestick itself will become history.

Been in the venue around early in the evening where security was a bit tight.With the cops warning the spectators not to take anything from the stadium as a souvenir otherwise will be penalized heavily.Being just an average kid,I settled on a $250 plus tax ticket from my hard forked money,I couldn't afford the best seats especially the VIP ones that costs thousands of dollars-what's this poor lad going to do?

Being on the upper part of the venue where you could hardly see Paul onstage,probably as small as ants to describe it but nevertheless could still feel the excitement and the audience screams with thrill as Paul tore the place apart.

I've been a Beatles fan since discovering them as a child back in the late eighties,first getting the original 13 albums plus Past Masters singles on cassette and later replacing them on CD formats.And no I wasn't around when the Beatles first shook the world back in the sixties but lord knows how much I love them and their music.I did managed to listen to other bands when I was growing up in the 90s but it was the Beatles where I kept on returning to over the fact that no other band on this earth has accomplished what they had,how awesome they ruled the charts and how many good songs they have written.

It's a bit of a shame that Candlestick Park had to be demolished to give way to a commercial center/retail development projects.Imagine how much history 'the Stick' has  got over the last fifty years.Looking at the huge screen that night Paul went onstage,I didn't see a 72 year old rock star but rather a young Beatle who is having his last concert  pre-empting the band's retirement from touring.I could hardly imagine how it felt that night of August 29th 1966 but then I was probably having the same excitement my dad and other folks who lived during that time.The concert's main highlights I would agree is the fireworks show during Live And Let Die.

Armed with nothing but my cellphone,I can say I am quite jealous at the people below especially those at the VIP seats.And it would all be embarassing to post a snapshot of the stage far away from where I am seated.

Among Paul's words at the venue were "Its sad to see this place closing down but we're going to close it with style".Perhaps going sentimental about playing the last gig with the Beatles and going back there the second around,this time to bid farewell to the venue that's about to end up in ruins.Considering that he didn't start the show right away with a video screen having a mixed collage of rock stars,some of them who died in the intervening years.

Though the gig is a part of Paul's tour promoting his new album,wittily titled NEW,the SF concert were filled with Beatles and Wings songs.Tunes that became standards and stood the test of time.

The concert came to an end around past midnight after the last encore,"Thank you, San Francisco, for being cool now and for being cool back then," as the closing remarks ending the concert and thus saying goodbye to Candlestick Park.One might not know what'll happen in the next fifty years but we all have our memories,memories that will last a lifetime.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

No Retirement For Sir Paulie

Sir Paul McCartney (photo credit:AP)

In the wake of Paul's illness last May made a lot of  people think on how he'll be handling his career considering his age and even advised him to retire from the music biz.Many tabloids published their concerns,though not all of them were good ones such as the one written on the cover page of Globe magazine which was a bit exaggerated saying that the 72 year old rock star was closed to death without anyone knowing it.

Though many people especially celebrities wanted that little 'privacy' to remain,we couldn't blame them or their spokespersons to use some white lies to protect their own privacy without hurting the feelings of their fans.

Ok,all of us will get old one day and you can't avoid the inevitable.Many bands and artists such as the Rolling Stones will be touring as long as they can handle it despite of old age.Though the spirit as the late George Harrison once said remained 'younger',one can't possibly avoid the physical changes the body must endure upon reaching the elderly stage.One example of that is Bob Weir who cancelled his shows with the Grateful Dead just recently.But one couldn't argue that amazing stamina they were enduring with the same touring and management pressures they've been handling way back to their heyday.Cool examples of that would be of Chuck Berry who still tours at great acclaim at 87 years old and James Brown who toured until his very last breath.

An interview with Rolling Stone last July 17 saw a healthy and eager Paul McCartney who obviously made no signs that he is on the brink of retiring.He even talked about his illness that prompted him to cancel his Asian shows,being able to rest a bit before going back to the road after recovering.When asked what he's been up to lately McCartney replied enthusiastically "Yeah, I've got a lot of songs that I've written, and some that I need to finish. There's no fixed date, but at the back of my mind, I'll be wanting to clear a few months for me to write up the most likely of the songs that I've got on the boil and figure out how I want to record them and what I want to do with them. But I haven't booked any studio time. It's all there as fun for the future".As the topic went a little more serious with Simon Levinson mentioning his friend Eric Clapton's plan for retirement Paul replied sounding rather melancholic,"I think that's the deciding factor. It would be a pity if Eric retires, because, shit, he really plays good! But he's that kind of guy, Eric. I can see him saying, 'I'm going to retire.' He's kind of a homebody in essence. We've talked about this before. I remember him joking about how I stand up for the whole show. He said, 'I sit down' That's a blues player thing. But he's just too good a player. I would say to him, 'Yeah, by all means, sit down, Eric. But don't retire'".One would notice Sir Paul's voice cracking up a bit especially when hitting higher notes but the fans still love it and he is in fact a Beatle and a genius,nobody cares just for the fact that he is there for all of us sending out love and us in return.

Many of the geniuses of rock music if not gone,are aging and most people couldn't even bare to see their idols all wrinkled up physically but nevertheless the adrenalin remains intact.Let's face the fact that music today isn't as good as it was twenty to fifty years ago and a lot of us were even hungry for the good songs to feed our soul.Perhaps the love for real music and the drive to stay longer is what our aging idols like Sir Paul McCartney has kept them all going.And most of all,its us the fans who pack their shows is what makes them feel so special and give them the thought that there's something more to live for.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio


RELATED ARTICLES:

Eric Clapton On The Verge Of Retiring

Keith Richards:The Riffing Guv'nor

Paul McCartney Adds San Diego gig for Out There Tour

Sir Paul in the early days(photo:Harry Benson)

Paul McCartney just added the San Diego gig for his 2014 Out There tour set for September 28.It will  be his first concert in the city since the 1976 Wings Over America tour.Featuring his backing band for 10 plus years,Brian Ray and Rusty Anderson on guitars,Abe Laboriel Jr on drums and Paul Wickens on keyboards the Out There tour now has 20 stops in the US that highlights McCartney's new album NEW and featuring the greatest music from the last 50 years.

PAUL McCARTNEY
OUT THERE U.S. TOUR 2014
July 5: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
July 7: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
July 9: Chicago, IL – United Center
July 12: Fargo, ND – Fargodome
July 14: Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 16: Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
August 2: Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
August 5: Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
August 7: Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
August 10: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
August 12: Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
August 14: San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park
September 28: San Diego, CA — Petco Park
October 2: Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena
October 11: New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
October 13: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 15: Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
October 16: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
October 25: Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 28: Louisville, KY – Yum! Center
October 30: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum

Tour dates courtesy of Paul McCartney's website.

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Ron Howard To Direct New Beatles Documentary

Ron Howard(photo credit:unknown)

Award winning director Ron Howard is set to make an authorized Beatles documentary highlighting the band's touring years from 1960 to their very last in 1966.The highly acclaimed director who is famous for such memorable films like Apollo 13, Coccoon,How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind which all earned him an Academy Award is also looking for people that might share their memories or even connections with the fab four during that period when rock music took a quick turn and changed the way we know it today.

Howard's message was:

"If you or someone you know has visual or audio materials that document the Beatles' live tours, we want to hear from you! We are looking for rare or unusual footage, photographs, and audio recordings, particularly those that highlight the fan experience -– what it was like to be a part of the frenzy.If you have materials you believe belong in this film, please contact us using the form below"

Beatles-Ron Howard Project


Apple Corps Ltd,White Horse Pictures and Imagine Entertainment will produce the yet untitled film.

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Sir Paul McCartney Rocks Albany,Resumes Touring

McCartney rocks Albany,NY(photo by Associated Press)

After two months of touring hiatus due to an unexpected illness, Sir Paul McCartney went back to the stage July 5 at Times Union Center in Albany,NY.

Paul has 19 stops in the US most of which were rescheduled after the former Beatle postponed the June dates of his US tour to October.

The former Beatle was hospitalized in Tokyo last May prompting him to cancel the entire Asian leg of his tour that includes what would've been his first concert ever in South Korea.

Opening his set with "Eight Days A Week",Paul rocked Albany with 40 songs in his setlist under a three hour time frame.Some of the hits were Beatles classics that became regulars on his concert tours like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be".His wife Nancy,is also in attendance where Paul dedicated the song "My Valentine" to her.With one new song on the set "On My Way To Work" wherein Paul took reference to his absence and even stating that the song was performed live for the very first time.

McCartney also paid tributes to his late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison by singing "Here Today" and "Something" with the latter where he did his trademark ukelele intro and getting a full band rendition build up like what he first did 12 years ago at Concert For George.

And like some of his shows,he brought a couple onstage during the second encore where a man proposed to his girlfriend making the former Beatle the best matchmaker,yet.

McCartney also paid tribute to his friend and late rock musician Jimi Hendrix by doing an instrumental interlude of "Purple Haze".McCartney closed the show with three songs from the Abbey Road medley:Golden Slumbers,Carry That Weight and The End.

Last winter,Sir Paul marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States along with former bandmate Ringo Starr who is also on the road this summer.His 2014 tour also include the historic farewell concert to Candlestick Park in San Francisco where the Beatles held their final concert back in 1966.

Paul McCartney's Albany Concert Set List:

1.Eight Days A Week
2.Save Us
3.All My Loving
4.Listen To What The Man Said
5.Let Me Roll It
6.Paperbackwriter
7.My Valentine
8.Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
9.The Long And Winding Road
10.Maybe Im Amazed
11.I've Just Seen A Face
12.On My Way To Work
13.We Can Work It Out
14.Another Day
15.And I Love Her
16.Blackbird
17.Here Today
18.New
19.Queenie Eye
20.Lady Madonna
21.All Together Now
22.Lovely Rita
23.Everybody Out There
24.Eleanor Rigby
25.Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
26.Something
27.Obladi Oblada
28.Band On The Run
29.Back In The USSR
30.Let It Be
31.Live And Let Die
32.Hey Jude

Encore:

33.Day Tripper
34.Hi Hi Hi
35.Get Back

Encore 2:

36.Yesterday
37.When I'm Sixty Four
38.Golden Slumbers
39.Carry That Weight
40.The End




Paul McCartney Albany,NY (photo by AP)

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio