BEATLES FAB

REVIEW Over the years Paul McCartney along with the other Beatles have made numerous appearances on other artists albums and if you're a completist like myself then the purchase of these albums can make it a very expensive hobby! I wouldn't have thought that Glen Campbell, Johnny, June & John Cash Carter, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jnr and Waylon Jennings were musical bedmates of Paul McCartney but that's what happened in 1988 when they all appeared on the same Johnny Cash album 'Water from the Wells of Home' released on Mercury Records. The album also featured the Everly Brothers but of course they would prove to be the exception. ''New Moon Over Jamaica' the penultimate track on the ten song album is a pleasant acoustic based ditty co-written by Tom T Hall, Johnny Cash & Paul McCartney. The track was recorded during Paul's Flowers in the Dirt sessions, i.e. after recording demo sessions with Elvis Costello and before recording demos incl

REVIEW Available on the Japanese import edition & One track disc demo's available through Paul McCartney's website Did 'everybody out there' hear of the 'McCartney Marathon'? it was doing the rounds on social media in late October. Somebody had worked out a schedule, if you played Paul's first solo album 'McCartney' on the 29th October 2020 you could listen to every official solo release from Paul ending with an airing of McCartney 111 on it's original release date the 11th December 2020, . Of course Paul threw a spanner in the works by delaying the album's release by a week, at least he didn't bring it forward! The marathon sounded like a challenge and it didn't involve running so bring it on. Since the 29th October I've listened to every official release by Paul McCartney, singles, b-sides, download releases, official albums, classical albums, The Fireman output, Twin Freaks and the Archive Collections including the DVD'

REVIEW Here it is then, the latest Paul McCartney release, the first after his triumphant Glastonbury appearance. McCartney 1,2,3 contains his three 'solo' albums with 35 songs spread over 50 years from 1970 to 2020. While it's considered he played all the instruments and sang all the songs we'll overlook appearances by Linda on backing vocals, Abe on drums or Rusty on guitar:-) It was only a matter of time before somebody at MPL would come up with the idea of a box set of the McCartney albums. Disappointingly, there's no 2022 remastering or sign of any bonus tracks but what you do get is three bonus prints, size depending on what box set you buy, 3xCD, 3xLP or 3xLP coloured vinyl. McCartney 1,2,3 does serve a purpose, it delivers some of Paul's best music, including possibly his greatest solo song to different generations, 50 years is a long time man! Highlights include in chronological order: The Lovely Linda, That Would Be Something, Every Night. Junk, Oo Y

REVIEW In October 2019, Ringo Starr released his 20th solo album 'What's My Name' and declared it his last album. Instead, he would use the EP format for future releases, 'Zoom In' being the first with another promised in October. The five track EP recorded during the pandemic features an array of star guests and backing singers especially on the opening song 'Here's to the Nights' written by Diane Warren ​and debuted on the 18th December 2020 the same day as the release of McCartney 111. The anthemic song includes Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, All Starr Band mate Steve Lukather & Dave Grohl. ​The 'Mrs' pointed out that the verses on Here's to the Nights sound similar to Paul McCartney's Fireman song 'Sing the Changes' only slowed down. She's not far wrong! Ringo sings well on Zoom In and the title track Zoom In, Zoom Out is no exception. ​It's co-written by Jeff 'Wind Beneath My Wings' Silbar and Nashville musi

  REVIEW Paul McCartney is full of suprises and through the years hasn't been frightened to take a risk with different music genres & projects. It started with the homemade 'McCartney' album in 1970, now considered by many to be the first 'indie' album. Other instances that come to mind include: ​The Thrillington album an orchestral version of Ram released under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington.  Re-recording some of his Beatles classics for the film 'Broad Street'.  The 'other' trilogy, the Fireman albums. His orchestral albums. And yes, it has to be said, Paul's foray with the standards on Kisses on the Bottom. The suprise 'Rockdown' release 'McCartney 111' was well received and topped the UK Album charts over Christmas week also achieving a very respectable runner up position in the US Billboard charts. If McCartney 111 was a suprise, what does that make McCartney 111 Imagined? There has been murmurs tha

CD REVIEW Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono is the fourth Yoko Ono tribute album since the release of Every Man Has a Woman (1984) that included John Lennon's version of Yoko's Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him from Double Fantasy. Other tribute albums released in honour of Yoko are Yes, I Am a Witch (2007) and Cut Pieces, Tribute to Yoko Ono (2015). Tackling a Yoko Ono song is a difficult task, does the artist offer a note for note copy of Yoko's version or attempt to offer something different. Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono takes the safe route but it's all better for it with some excellent versions of some of Yoko's best songs. Sharon Van Etton opening cover of Toyboat sets the scene for Ocean Child with her faithful  version of Toyboat, Dogtown from Sudan Archives takes the same path while No, No, No by Deerhoof and Nobody Sees Me Like You Do from Japanese Breakfast complete a quartet of cover versions from Yoko's Season of Glass album. Who Has Seen the Wind

  2CD REVIEW:  When the Beatles split in April 1970 Paul McCartney was already into the first four months of a solo career, secretly recording his first post Beatles album 'McCartney'. It achieved a respectable No.2 in the UK Chart only being kept off the summit by Simon & Garfunkel's record breaking album Bridge Over Troubled Water. He followed it with two albums during 1971, Ram, now considered a classic but in 1971 it received a lukewarm reception. The second album, Wings Wild Life fared even worse. Released 7th December 1971 it failed to reach the Top 10 in the album charts, peaking at No.11. In 1973, the newly named 'Paul McCartney & Wings' released two albums, Red Rose Speedway in May and Band on the Run in December. To call Band on the Run a slow burner on the UK charts would be an understatement. Released on the 7th December 1973 it finally topped the charts 27th July 1974 with a run of 7 weeks at No.1. When I first played the album on its release, I

  CD REVIEW When the Beatles Anthology was completed Paul McCartney contacted George Martin who agreed to produce his next album, the impressive 'Flaming Pie' released in 1997. It was the first of three different albums he recorded over a four year period. The following year Paul's life was struck by tragedy when his wife Linda McCartney passed away and he took a year off to mourn her death. In 1999 Paul returned to the studio and formed a 'supergroup' comprising of David Gilmour (Guitar), Mick Green (Guitar), Ian Plaice (Drums) Pete Wingfield (Keyboards) with Paul on bass guitar. He also returned to his roots to record his second album of rock and roll classics along with three new songs. Paul set the World alight by returning to the Cavern Club, Liverpool to perform live as part of the promotion for the album. The third album was Driving Rain, with the exception of two songs, it was recorded in February 2001 over a two week period with producer David Kahne . After

  REVIEW:   Julian Lennon didn't plan to make another album after his 2011 LP, Everything Changes, but as time went on, something shifted. The artist found himself revisiting songs he'd written and recorded 30 years ago, and decided to update the production, to make the tracks more relevant in today's world. The creative process sparked new music as well. These songs, drawn from the past three decades, have evolved into Julian's seventh studio album, JUDE. The album's title is a reference to the Beatles' iconic song 'Hey Jude,' written by Paul McCartney, to cheer up a five-year-old Julian following his parents' separation. The album cover, a photograph of the musician's younger self accompanied by McCartney's handwritten title, to the arrangement of the song, illustrates how Julian has come to terms with his past as he looks forward to the future. "...we are all still dealing with some of the same time old questions, from 30 plus years a

  REVIEW The Beatles in 100 Objects tells their story through 100 pieces of memorabilia through the items they used, created and inspired. EMI insider Brian Southall was 15 years old in 1962 and in the 1970's ended up working at Abbey Road Studios. He met all the Beatles except frustratingly John Lennon who sent his instructions by phone calls, telegrams and postcards. This is my kind of book, 100 Chapters in 254 pages covering rare posters, programmes, tickets, signed items and much more. I'm into Beatles programmes, tickets, signed items and memorabilia from their days in Hamburg so there's plenty in the book to enjoy. Items of interest in the book include:- The programme & ticket from when the Beatles supported Little Richard at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool from the 28th October 1962.  The following items originated from Germany:  The Kaiserkeller poster when the Beatles performed a residency at the club along with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes A payslip from the To

  CD REVIEW:   Ringo Starr and His Third All-Starr Band-Volume 1 was originally a limited edition live album by Ringo Starr, and his All Starr band, recorded at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan. It was initially released in a limited edition run of 10,000 copies through Blockbuster video stores in the U.S.A, The All-Starr Band included the return of the keyboardist Billy Preston and Starr's son Zak. The record features: John Entwistle, Billy Preston, Mark Farner, Randy Bachman and Felix Cavaliere. TRACK LISTING 1. Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go 2. I Wanna Be Your Man 3. It Don't Come Easy 4. Locomotion 5. Nothin' From Nothin' 6. No Sugar Tonight 7. People Gotta to Be Free 8. Boris the Spider 9. Boys 10. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet 11. You're Sixteen 12. Yellow Submarine