Recently, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison released extraordinary boxed sets of their first official solo albums. What is in a boxed set? Besides the original album, freshly remastered, sometimes remixed, the set could include demos, alternate takes, jams, concerts, videos, high definition mixes on Blu-ray, new booklets and other trinkets. Popularity of … More 51 Years Ago: Lennon & Harrison
The job of the drummer is to drive the train. The exceptional drummers do so taking you on a journey you’ve never traveled. The best grooves get your attention, but aren’t showy. Yes, drummers can be self-indulgent with exaggerated playing, tiresome soloing and drum kits that need their own zip code. It’s very difficult for … More Best Drum Grooves
The Beatles left us to find the way Gone, alone to navigate eternity In my life, we live in a yellow submarine Tomorrow never knows the possibility The revolution disappeared for many Now it’s adulthood on Blue Jay Way Ask me why all you need is love I should have known better, yesterday Lovely Rita, … More Ticket to Ride
Back in the old days, music was recorded in an actual recording studio on analog tape machines. In the early days of the Beatles, engineers wore white lab coats and neckties. Experimentation was frowned upon and only certain approved personnel could touch the knobs. There was no school to learn the process of sound or … More Recording Engineers
Another hard to believe album that is 50 years old. Released in 1971, this was a McCartney solo album, before Wings, but made in partnership with wife Linda. That partnership was scoffed at by his publishing company, and some in the industry, who were not convinced that she was a real songwriter. Linda McCartney took … More Ram: Paul & Linda McCartney at 50 Years
What a great mix of musical styles. Pop, rock, heavy metal, R&B, blues. This was the singer-songwriter era too, the laidback Southern California sound. Carole King would have the largest selling album with Tapestry, the touchstone for the singer-songwriter generation. Other landmark albums were: Led Zeppelin IV, Fragile, Who’s Next, Sticky Fingers, Aqualung, What’s Going … More 1971: Music From 50 Years Ago
Yes, even The Beatles had songs that did not fully register at the time. Great songs overlooked, edged-out by more popular or promoted songs. A dozen (there are many more), but here are 12 that quickly come to mind. “No Reply” – From Beatles for Sale (1964), written most by Lennon while on holiday. Offered … More The Beatles: 12 Under-Appreciated Songs
John Lennon has been gone more than 40 years now. How is that possible? Lennon’s solo work has been remastered in recent years and repackaged. Now, this material has been remixed and expanded packages of his solo albums are getting the grand treatment. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, his first official solo album, has arrived in … More John Lennon: Gimme Some Truth
Imagine the world without The Beatles. I cannot. We would be deprived of such incredible music, yes, but the loss would be so much more than that. From the moment The Beatles arrived in America, the Earth spun with a different groove. “She Loves You” had such energy and enthusiastic vocals, yeah, yeah, yeah. Not … More The Beatles
My Three Sons or The Absent Minded Professor, these are the images that most people have of Fred MacMurray. He actually had a film career that began in the 1920s, gained featured parts in the mid-1930s and was once the highest paid film actor. MacMurray started as a saxophone player, something that would reappear in … More Fred MacMurray
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