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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on Apr 24, 2018 2:27:47 GMT -5
[1972]Ram Behind the Music:Refreshed from the Concert for Bangladesh, the Beatles were once again a cohesive unit. Looking to get back to basics, they decided to hunker down and produce an album once again as a group as opposed to writing separately and recording together. On Paul’s suggestion, the quartet retreated to McCartney’s farm in order to write and record their next album. What came from their time there was a stronger bond and a very mellow album. Ram has a largely stripped-down feel with less high-spots, but for the first time in a long while it flows and the listener can feel the far more cohesive Beatles returning to what they once were. The return of the Beatles wasn’t a big bang, but a comfortable guitar-picking melody. And that was just fine with the lads. Track List:
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Kira Izumi
J-ROK Staff
XHF's Resident Weeb
Posts: 5,914
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Post by Kira Izumi on Apr 25, 2018 19:27:23 GMT -5
1973 The Beatles: Road Trip Story: After a few years and a rocky start the band is back in town and The Beatles are together again. Allot has happened in the span of a year though, John and Yoko split up and in a few songs you can tell. With a few members down it was Paul and George who decided to take a break and go on a road trip across the southern states of America. John was a bit hesitant but decided to join in on the fun as he thought it might help him get out of his slump. With that the band went on a road trip and really just up and left from their family and other friends. With out a care in the world or the stress and anxiety of their everyday life the Fab Four reignited a fire in them and inspired them once again. 1. I Don't wan't to be a soldier (John) 2. Sue Me, Sue You Blues (George) 3. Photograph (Ringo) 4. Aisumasen (John) 5. Mama's Little Girl (Paul) 6. Band On The Run (Paul) 7. Country Dreamer (Paul) 8. Tight A$ (John) 9. Meat City (John) 10. Helen Wheels (Paul) 11. The Light That Has Lighted The World (George) 12. Out The Blue (John) 13. Live And Let Die (Paul) 14. That Is All (George)
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Post by Dackle on May 1, 2018 7:23:46 GMT -5
Mongo, you may be my new best friend
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 1, 2018 9:15:55 GMT -5
Mongo, you may be my new best friend Just wait till you see what I've got planned for '75
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 2, 2018 5:13:09 GMT -5
[1974]Mind Games Behind the Music:After their recent successes coupled by their once-again growing friendship the lads reached a sort of new renaissance period in their writing. Suddenly the ideas started to flow freely and the Beatles were once again willing to try more “out there” or risky ideas. To that end, the first album of this new phase of the band came 1974’s Mind Games. The album strove to be “intentionally confusing” by having numerous feelings coming from different direction. This was further bolstered by many of the songs having either nonsensical lyrics or be difficult to understand in general. While fans were concerned, the Beatles were as happy as they’d been in years and Mind Games was just them having a little fun. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 4, 2018 3:07:57 GMT -5
[1975]Living in the Material World Behind the Music:Continuing in their renewed creativity, the Beatles decided to come out with a new concept album- a sequel to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Donning their characters from the hit album, they took a look into how the band was doing eight years later. Since then Billy Shears and his easy to listen to songs had made him a superstar. Meanwhile the other band mates were growing increasingly dissatisfied with the band. In a way the mood of the album reflects greatly on their Abbey Road/Let it Be days when the Beatles were being held together by string. Many fans have since noted the strong ties between the character of Billy Shears and Paul’s role in what was almost the end of the band (and can be heard in some of John’s lyrics). But after being brought together again through their experiences helping Bangladesh and each other; all of these issues were water under the bridge and fair game for the lads to poke fun at in what turned out to be an amazing album on its own. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 6, 2018 3:39:09 GMT -5
[Also 1975]Shaved Fish Behind the Music:A major issue contributing to the Beatles' friction some years back was a growing clash of stylistic interests. Unfortunately, with major creative breaks between multiple people come different focuses and things that wouldn’t work well under a major brand. The lads were once again experiencing this while producing their most recent albums. To that end, they decided to release “Shaved Fish” essentially a trial album for solo careers. The album didn’t fall under the Beatles name and featured a lot of content that would never make it onto a tradition Beatles record. Each man had written and recorded the songs privately in order to drive home the different sounds between them and for once their contributions were lumped together as almost mini-solo albums. Unsurprisingly, the record got a fair few negative reviews, especially in the UK where Paul’s “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” was touching a sensitive issue and John’s “Woman is the N*gger of the World” in the US for similar reasons. Although not a widely heralded album, Shaved Fish stands as a testament to the range of these artists and the many many recordings that were going unused in the Beatles albums thus far; and hardcore Beatles fans were happy to get a bonus album that year. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 7, 2018 23:56:36 GMT -5
[1976]At the Speed of Sound Behind the Music:“ The Beatles are back on top!” read numerous newspaper headlines after the release of their 1976 album, “At the Speed of Sound.” Legend has it that producer George Martin was growing increasingly worried with rumors that the Beatles were spiraling into obscurity and perhaps would have been better had they pursued separate careers. To that end he asked them to produce a bit more commercial of an album; and they delivered handily. Fill with hooks, fast melodies, and an unprecedented four single releases (one for each member) the Beatles hit back hard against their detractors and showed that they haven’t stop being powerful or relevant. Not only was the sound back, but so was Yoko Ono in John’s life. Would this have an effect on their future works? Only time would tell. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 10, 2018 5:11:23 GMT -5
[Also 1976]The Beatles Over America Behind the Music:Excerpt from interview with George Martin: “ You know, a funny thing that was. So the boys were back together in more ways than one, they were having a great time… Those were the years nobody could stop us. But the fans didn’t know that- they couldn’t see the Beatles face to face… They could only hear them and what they heard was not always the most comforting- and the rumors… nasty things. So while they were recording what would go on to be a wonderfully viable album, I took the lads aside and suggested we get back to basics and go on tour- the first time in over a decade. Well they all looked at me and it was sort of ‘Yeah ok George’ or whatever and they didn’t really put much thought into it. But after practice one day Paul came up to me and said he had thought about it and figured it might be quite gay. I was delighted to hear this and was even more so when later George and Ringo came and asked if I had really been serious, I had- and so they warmed up to this tour idea. Well that was the end of it and the album wrapped and John still hadn’t signed on. Here I had three out of four Beatles ready for a tour but everyone was going off on their own again. I- and you might not believe this- I decided to ring up Yoko and I told her my idea. All she said was “I’ll see what I can do.” And well, [laughs] the rest is history I suppose…” Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 12, 2018 3:52:00 GMT -5
[1977]Goodnight Vienna Behind the Music:High off of their tour the fab four expressed their joy through their 1977 album, Goodnight Vienna. The feel of the album is that of a late-night lounge act keeping drinkers and late diners entertained with a variety of songs to suit the patrons’ different tastes. There’s a sense of joy running through the otherwise somewhat muted album. Fans were especially thrilled with Goodnight Vienna because although this was clearly new ground creatively for the band, they were appearing on each other’s songs and in general the feeling is that of a band together- this can be especially heard in the hit single, “No Words” featuring the three lead singers all going at it at the same time. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 14, 2018 1:05:44 GMT -5
[1978]Bad Boys Behind the Music:Every year coming together one would think that there’d be a dip in quality from the Beatles; but even almost ten years on from what has come to be known as their “classic years” the band continued to rock. 1978’s Bad Boys was a rougher sounding album, with heavy guitar, strong lyrics, and even dealt with more adult issues. If people picked up the album looking for the Beatles of “Please Please Me” they’d be starkly surprised at how the band had changed. Anyway, the band had been working closely together and Yoko Ono even managed to show up on the album in backing vocals. But you can tell that although thematically the album holds together, there’s beginning to be a greater disparity in the styles as each artist began to pursue his own style. What would this spell for them in the future? Only time would tell. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 19, 2018 3:29:28 GMT -5
[Also 1978]Thrillington Behind the Music:After much thought, the lads decided to put out an instrumental album. The rumor was that John, who had been the most hesitant about letting instrumental tracks onto their albums, signed off on Thrillington as a way to later get leverage for something more….”avant-garde” later. The album itself features several different styles of music and exposed fans to more of the Beatles’ ability to work in a variety of styles. After all, if a band that got famous for vocals and melodies could make it with an instrumental album, what is there left? Classical? Jazz? While not one of their most popular releases, or highest rated; Thrillington delivered what it set out to do and maybe the boys had a little fun along the way. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 23, 2018 6:35:27 GMT -5
[1979]Back to the Egg Behind the Music:With the coming of the new year and new album; something was clearly amiss. 1979’s, “Back to the Egg” was critically panned and called numerous names that bear not repeating, largely because such names are not fair. It wasn’t a bad album, or even childish as many called it; “Back to the Egg” was just set at a different pace than some of their more rock-heavy sets. In interviews years later, Paul would try to defend the group by explaining that John was having serious problems that were at the time unknown. He apparently came to the recordings but just went through the motions and in general seemed distracted and detached. Nobody knew at the time what was going on with him, was he back on drugs? Problems with Yoko? Either way, the Beatles were not looking good as a band anymore and many were starting to question if they should have stayed together as long as they did. Was the era of the Fab Four coming to an end? If so, this would be a terrible ending to one of the world’s greatest bands. Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 25, 2018 6:44:32 GMT -5
[1980]
The Beatles Fantasy
Behind the Music:With rumors swirling that the band was breaking up and the recent release of “The Beatles Fantasy” - which in one shot managed to capture the sound of the Beatles of old and also sound like a goodbye – all of the world fell silent. On the evening December 8th 1980, John Lennon was gunned down by a deranged fan outside of his home. What followed were candlelight vigils and the whole works one expects when a big celebrity dies. After 17 rockin’ years there was silence… Track List:
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on Jun 2, 2018 5:07:13 GMT -5
[1981]
Stop and Smell the Roses
Behind the Music:…Until December the following year. Dealing with grief through their music- their longstanding creative outlet, the remaining Beatles produced songs. Rather than letting them go to waste or be filed out onto singles albums in the coming years; they decided that- like everything they’d done for years, they would grieve together. So the lads got together and recorded “Stop and Smell the Roses.” A tribute of sorts to their lost comrade; it was an emotional album that seemed to bring catharsis to the lads and their fans alike. Track List:
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