Yesterday and Today

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Beatles ’74 pt7 Feb 17, 2020

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While 1974 was a prolific year for each of the former Beatles and their individual projects, it was also a prolific year for former Beatle contributions toward other artists' material. Perhaps it was a case of right-place right-time for these records, or perhaps they were an itch that the loss of Apple Records left for each of the former fabs to scratch - either way, the early fall of '74 brought us three major LP releases with big pushes from Beatle-backers. The first of these releases is what many considered after-the-fact to be a lost WINGS album, brother Michael "McGear" McCartney's eponymous debut solo LP. Helped along by "our kid" (McGear's term for Paul), Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and more, the McGear album is a power-pop gem of a record, featuring many co-writes between the McCartney brothers - the biggest of which would be the hit single Leave It. As Paul helped propel his brother back into the charts, George Harrison's new Dark Horse label saw its first two releases: friend Ravi Shankar's Shankar Family & Friends LP, and The Place I Love LP by protege group Splinter. Splinter's Dark Horse debut spawned an international hit lead-off single with the catchy Costafine Town, and it seemed George Harrison was back in action after the tumultuous year of drugs, drink and personal turmoil he had just endured. But the biggest hit of early fall was yet to come -- a little song called Whatever Gets You Through The Night was at last unleashed upon the public, an energetic precursor to a new John Lennon masterpiece...

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Beatles ’74 pt6 Feb 03, 2020

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It’s the end of summer in 1974 and big things are happening for John Lennon. After three long years of separation, John and his son Julian were at last reunited for a visit that would prove formative for their relationship moving forward. Though tensions remained with ex-wife Cynthia, the absence of Yoko Ono in John’s life allowed for some ice to be thawed between the former married couple, at least long enough for John to better get to know his son. As family ties grew, new professional relationships, such as that of Lennon’s friendship with Elton John, blossomed into fruitful collaborative projects. To repay buddy Elton for contributing to his new LP, John appeared singing harmony and providing instrumentation for two tracks slated for Elton’s new Caribou album. And Elton wasn’t the only pal to be paid a visit - Ringo Starr‘s new album, Goodnight Vienna, was given its name after former bandmate John’s title track contribution to the sessions. With Paul in the studio rehearsing his new Wings lineup, and George touting the new Dark Horse Records act called Splinter, it seemed that the Beatles were just as productive and vital as ever - even four years after the band’s split.

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Beatles ’74 pt5 Jan 20, 2020

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As the summer of '74 winds to a close, work on John Lennon's new album is in the final stages of completion. One last magic touch would make its way to this new record in the form of Lennon's friend Elton John, who lent his talents to several tracks including the song Elton felt was destined to be a hit: the boogie-woogie pop gem Whatever Gets You Through The Night. So convinced was Elton, that the pianist superstar bet John the song would be a #1 record, and if it achieved that milestone, the former Beatle must join Elton and the band on stage to perform it. The unconvinced Lennon took the bet, and turned his attention to another collaborative project: the release of the long-awaited Pussycats album by pal Harry Nilsson, which John produced during the pair's notorious "lost weekend". Such a burst of musical productivity wasn't limited to John -- Paul McCartney and his band Wings were back from their extended stay in Nashville and shooting a new documentary called One Hand Clapping. The film (and planned "live" studio album of the same name) were meant to chronicle the new Wings lineup as the group tightened-up for what would assuredly be a new long stint of touring. Sadly, both the film and the planned album would be shelved as the band entered yet another transformative phase...

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Beatles ’74 pt4 Jan 06, 2020

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It's a time of challenges and changes for the four former Beatles in the summer of 1974, with some lives on the rise, some on the mend, and some hitting rock bottom. With his new label Dark Horse Records, George Harrison sought to turn the creative page in a positive direction from the ashes of the Beatles' split, but what should have been a happy time for the launch of this new endeavor soon turned to bitter sadness. After many months of substance abuse and unabashed infidelity, George's marriage to Pattie Boyd was in ruins, and Pattie sought refuge with the man who had fallen in love with her in that time: George's good friend Eric Clapton. Wasting no time, George continued headlong into his latest album project, though the same sorrows and substance abuses that had haunted Harrison throughout the decline of his marriage would remain intact and begin to take a physical toll on the former Beatle. John Lennon, meanwhile, was busy finding a new creative voice outside of his own crumbling marriage to Yoko Ono - only without the excesses that had plagued his life earlier in the year. No, John was in a good place - enjoying his new relationship with girlfriend May Pang and knee-deep in the development of a joyous, spirited follow-up to 1973's Mind Games LP. Paul McCartney and his newly #1 band Wings were hard at work on sessions of their own, wrapping up their summer-long stay in Tennessee with an eye toward their next destination...

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Beatles ’74 pt3 Dec 23, 2019

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It's June of 1974 and Paul McCartney's Band on the Run is back at the #1 spot yet again - rocketed to the top of the Billboard Top 200 in America with each new single. While Paul credits much of the album's success to the instincts of Capitol executive Al Coury, it seemed Al's advice was equally valuable to another former Beatle at this time. Coury's next big win? Finally securing the missing tapes from John Lennon's Oldies But Moldies record from Phil Spector - recorded during John's so-called "lost weekend" in Los Angeles. With the Oldies tapes in hand and a renewed creative zeal, Lennon decided to return to the studio to write and record a collection of all-new material as his next big album project. Capitol's input was working out well for Lennon and McCartney, but George Harrison's disagreements with CEO Bhaskar Menon in recent years would finally drive the ex-Beatle to form his very own label: Dark Horse Records. Dark Horse, distributed by A&M, was George's chance to flex creative muscle with distance from the now-embattled Allen Klein and the increasingly defunct Apple Records. The former Beatles were on a hot streak of hits, and making big creative moves with an eye toward the end of their EMI commitments in the months to come...

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Beatles ’74 pt2 Dec 09, 2019

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With Allen Klein out of the picture and John Lennon living a bachelor lifestyle independent from Yoko Ono for the first time in nearly five years, it seemed the circumstances were at last right for the musical reunion many thought to be impossible: Lennon and McCartney together again in the studio. These loose, drug and drink-fueled jam sessions from March of 1974 (affectionately dubbed "a toot and a snore in '74" by fans, years later) were hardly a masterwork of new material...still, John and Paul were making music together and thereby keeping the hope of a Beatles reformation alive. Lennon's crew of so-called "Hollywood Vampires" present at the Santa Monica beach home for this momentous occasion included Keith Moon, Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr and the affable Harry Nilsson who, due to the excesses in his personal life, found himself suffering from debilitating throat problems. In fact, the Lennon-produced sessions for Harry's upcoming Pussy Cats album were nearly derailed by his ailments - and John found himself in the position to take charge of his rowdy comrades much like he had done for the Beatles themselves over a decade prior. But while John was straightening out, his fellow former bandmates George and Ringo spiraled further into times that could only be referred to as "simply shady"...

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Beatles ’74 pt1 Nov 25, 2019

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It's 1974 and the coming year would once again bring new music from all four former Beatles -- along with a mix of drama and triumph in the personal lives of John, Paul, George and Ringo. The new year saw Paul McCartney riding high with his hit album Band on the Run and corresponding single Helen Wheels. This strong collection of tracks from Paul, Linda and Denny would peak and the #1 spot, before dropping from that position and rising once again to #1 through the efforts of Capitol Records executive Al Coury. Al's recommendations to Paul included rereleasing Band on the Run with Helen Wheels included on the album, as well as encouraging the release of Jet as a single in the early weeks of '74. Al's efforts paid off, and McCartney's Wings were set on their course to the top of the pop world in the months and years to come. While Macca found himself at the top, former partner John Lennon found himself in the gutter, literally, with a series of mishaps in LA alongside fellow "hollywood vampires" Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper, Keith Moon, Ringo Starr and Micky Dolenz (to name but a few of these wild and craaazy guys). One particularly disastrous night from John's famed "lost weekend" saw him and pal Harry ejected from the Smothers Brothers reunion concert at the Troubadour - leading Lennon to rethink his hard-partying ways. In fact, Lennon was rethinking a lot of things, including a new musical collaboration with none other than Paul McCartney...

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Beatles ’73 pt10 Nov 11, 2019

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With Paul McCartney's new LP Band on the Run, the former Beatle with so much to prove at last redefined his talents for not only skeptical Beatle fans, but a whole new generation of listeners ready for the Wings sound. While many hailed the masterpiece as a concept album, McCartney & co were themselves unaware of any concept hidden in the record, though Wings by definition were in fact a Band on the Run in the years prior to the album and therefore could inhabit the role of those eponymous "rabbits on the run". From the Denny Laine-penned No Words, to the Ginger Baker-backed Mamunia, to the the downright danceable Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, this Wings album would become arguably the biggest of McCartney's entire career beginning in the Christmas season of 1973 and continuing on into 1974 to become a cultural phenomenon. While Paul was riding high, John Lennon continued his drug and drink fueled "lost weekend" in Los Angeles - separated from Yoko and acting out in unruly, and sometimes violent ways. Beyond his own personal struggles, producer Phil Spector seemingly skipped town with Lennon's "Oldies But Moldies" tapes, holding the recordings hostage for no ransom beyond his own personal madness. 1973 was one of the most prolific periods in the lives of the former Beatles, and it would not go out without a BANG (literally)...

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Beatles ’73 pt9 Oct 26, 2019

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In the waning weeks of 1973, several major turning points in the lives of each of the former Beatles would mark both new beginnings and tragic endings for different people and places in the saga of the fab four. John Lennon, separated from his wife Yoko and in the throws of a depression not seen since his Hamburg days, took to drink, drugs and rock'n'roll for comfort and solace in Los Angeles. George Harrison, whose marriage was long rumored to be in dire straits, at last discovered his wife Pattie's affair with rocker Ronnie Wood. Ringo Starr, still riding high on the success of his eponymous solo album Ringo, was again running up the charts with the irresistible single You're Sixteen backed with Devil Woman. And lastly Paul McCartney, the solo Beatle with so much to prove, at last releases his surprise masterpiece LP: Band On The Run. Just in time for the holiday buying season, this collection of catchy yet purposeful rock and roll home runs took the world by storm, driving the seemingly defunct band Wings to the top of the charts. What lead to this album catching fire? Could McCartney continue the streak? Only time can tell as we move to the grand finale of 1973...

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Episode 73 – The Story So Far III Oct 14, 2019

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Welcome back to the story so far! We've covered a lot so far in the Beatle year 1973, and with the grand finale ahead of us Wayne, Paul and James take a moment to talk a little bit about the monumental events that lead us to now. This year has been yet another transformative one for each former Beatle, with successes for each and set-backs abound. Paul McCartney began the year at last on a roll with his new band Wings, hit singles, a hit album and a new record all building Macca's momentum...and then his band imploded. Can Paul pick up the pieces? John Lennon has been bombarded from all sides - his immigration battle, harsh reviews of his creative output...but it's his split from Yoko Ono that dealt the most devastating blow. Will a lost weekend in LA be enough to rejuvenate John's spirit? Ringo and George both knock it out of the park with respective #1 albums...but can they maintain that level of success? We discuss it all this episode, plus a special interview with Ryan Brady (Take It Away Podcast) and Paul Kaminski (The Third Men Podcast) about an exciting new project called NOW HEAR THIS! This brand new weekly album review podcast is hosted by Ryan and Paul and in each episode the duo reviews a new album special to one of them and new to the other. Lots of fun to be had on this new show and we give you the full scoop here on THE STORY SO FAR...

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