SPEAKER_00: 0:00

okay hello everybody and i'm here with my friend bernardo morales and we talk about beatles related albums and today we're going to talk about the concert for bangladesh

SPEAKER_02: 0:13

yeah a very interesting concert

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

yeah and really full of energy rough around the edges i'd say but full of energy

SPEAKER_02: 0:24

yeah how did you come across it for the first time

SPEAKER_00: 0:27

well um there's a bit of a story here. I came across it from, I think it's either the Barry Norman book, Shout, or, oh, there was another book called The Love You Make. Anyway, it was at the back of a Beatles book, and it said, it said, none of the Beatles did any interesting solo work at all, with the shining exception of of the concert for Bangladesh. Or maybe he was just talking about George's career. So I just thought, okay, I've got to get hold of that concert. That's right, it was just talking about George. But it's still pretty unfair, isn't it? He just released All Things Must Pass. Yeah, it even dismissed that. It just mentioned the concert for Bangladesh. And that was when I started realising I was listening to some pretty obscure music. Because back in the 80s, right, you couldn't get this stuff and i went along to the record shop and at that point it was all punk and new wave and i ordered the concert for bangladesh it'd been deleted but i or i mean imagine you know nothing gets deleted now right i went along and it had been deleted and i kept going back and back every week or so i go have you got my um bangladesh and they were just you know taking the mickey going oh yeah you know the the triple album picture disc deleted you know it was the holy grail it was the rarest thing in the world

SPEAKER_02: 2:03

well it still kind of is one of the rarest george harrison albums um it's really difficult to find um and it wasn't released for the first time on cd i think until 1991 that's right and it wasn't released by apple records Oh.

SPEAKER_00: 2:20

Or Dark Horse. That's right. It was Sony, wasn't it? Epic.

SPEAKER_02: 2:23

Yeah, it was Sony. So I think that might have to do with why it was difficult to find it.

SPEAKER_00: 2:30

My first copy was, I mean, I didn't get it until, I think I got it from a mail order company called Gemma Records, G-E-M-A. I bet they don't exist anymore. And I got the cassettes in the 80s. So I got, I still have them, cassettes of the Bangladesh It must have

SPEAKER_02: 2:57

been really expensive as well, because it was a triple

SPEAKER_00: 3:02

album. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 3:10

How about

SPEAKER_00: 3:11

yourself?

SPEAKER_02: 3:12

Yeah, well, I first came across it actually very late in my kind of Beatles discovery thing. The first time I came across it was in Poland. I found the DVD of Concert for Bangladesh and it was really cheap. So I bought it at Media Markt and I loved it. I thought it was a brilliant concert. And then I went to Costa Rica and my parents' friends were getting rid of a lot of records and they gave me an American copy of Sgt. Pepper and a copy of Concert for Bangladesh on vinyl.

SPEAKER_00: 3:42

Oh, wonderful to get a copy on vinyl.

SPEAKER_02: 3:44

Yeah, I mean, the box is pretty beat up, but the records are in perfect condition. And it's really weird because it's a Costa Rican made version of the Concert for Bangladesh. And I didn't know they made records in Costa Rica.

SPEAKER_00: 3:56

That would be pretty rare, I would think. Yeah. Because usually the ones you see would be, I've seen the European ones quite a lot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 4:04

Yeah, and I played it the other day, and it's pretty heavy vinyl, which kind of surprised me a little bit, because especially made in Central America, you would expect that it wouldn't be very heavy vinyl, and from the 70s as well, when they started kind of making lighter records.

SPEAKER_00: 4:20

It was pre-oil crisis, though, right? Yeah, it must have been. yeah

SPEAKER_02: 4:26

and this was released what is

SPEAKER_00: 4:26

71 72 maybe 71 and then in britain it didn't come out until january 72

SPEAKER_02: 4:33

yeah um and it's still pretty heavy vinyl and it sounds great so i don't think i'll be getting rid of that it's a shame that it doesn't well it didn't come with all the kind of goodies like the poster and the book because i think it came with a book right um

SPEAKER_00: 4:46

There's a booklet, but it's replicated exactly in the, like all of the DVD releases, the 1991, and then the new one, 2005, and the DVD. It's the same booklet. Everything's in there. I don't think there's a post. I don't think so. Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 5:04

But yeah, but it was just the box and the records. So yeah, so it's a shame it doesn't come with the whole thing. But yes, I'm very happy to have it. And then not very long ago, about a couple of months ago, I found the 1991 CD version, so I bought it. It was very expensive in a secondhand shop.

SPEAKER_00: 5:22

Yeah. And I bought it as well, the 1991. I thought it would be a nice one to have. I used to have it, and I thought I'd given it away when I moved house, and then I dug up, and it turns out I still got it. That's really good. So I'm just selling it now, cheap as new. If anyone wants to go to eBay, I'm selling it there. Why are you selling it? Because I've got two copies now. I've got the 2005 CD and I've got two copies of the 1991 CD now. Okay, so

SPEAKER_02: 5:54

you have that twice.

SPEAKER_00: 5:55

Yeah. One thing about the concert is that everybody, well, firstly, it's the first big benefit concert, isn't it? With people coming from different bands and everything like that. So, I mean, we got used to that. now, like after Live Aid, and there were other contests like that in the 70s, but I think this would be the first one. So it's really historic, and apparently everybody got really excited about it because it was the first outing of any Beatles since the Beatles broke up, and basically, apart from Toronto, basically your first chance to see a Beatles since 66?

SPEAKER_02: 6:35

Yeah, I guess so, yeah. Was it Live Peace Toronto?

UNKNOWN: 6:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:40

yeah yeah so that that but this is i mean this is better than that i mean they apparently the rehearsals were done in dribs and drabs um they they booked the carnegie hall for two

SPEAKER_01: 6:53

weeks

SPEAKER_00: 6:53

before but people you know weren't turning up and eric lapton turned up like at the very last minute So they got Jesse Ed Davis as a stand-in. And then he ended up being in the concert. And then Bob Dylan again. They didn't know if he was going to really show up. George said he was on stage. And then he turns around and there's Bob Dylan hanging out in the wings. And then he says, right, here's Bob Dylan. Because Bob Dylan was undecided until the very last minute.

SPEAKER_02: 7:25

Yeah, because he hadn't played live for a few years. And apparently he was a bit nervous before.

SPEAKER_00: 7:30

Yeah, everyone was nervous. George was nervous. Eric was, I think, in some pretty heavy drug-related recluse period, you know? So everybody came out hiding. And I wonder how much... I mean, I know that George phoned a lot of people. I wonder how much Leon Russell had to do with it as well.

SPEAKER_02: 7:54

Yeah, I mean... lots of interesting things happened at the time another thing is that Ringo played so it was the first time two Beatles played live since 66 he had invited John to play and apparently he had said yes but then just before the concert apparently he had a fight with Yoko or something so he decided not to play I've heard two stories I've heard that story and that he had his fortune told and he was advised not to go so

SPEAKER_00: 8:26

So it wasn't anything about the other musicians not wanting to deal with Yoko's music. And

SPEAKER_02: 8:35

that was the other thing as well. That's the other theory I've heard. Because they would have been doing Don't Worry Kyoko, right? Yeah, that John said that it was John and Yoko and George said that, well, basically that Yoko wasn't invited. And Paul was invited as well. No, really? Yeah, but he turned down the invitation because Alan Klein was organizing the concert. So he thought that Alan Klein would get all the credit for the big Beatles reunion. Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 9:05

Oh, yeah. I knew that it was sort of other Beatles were invited, but I didn't know that Paul was invited. So that would have been... I mean, that would have changed the nature of it, huh?

SPEAKER_02: 9:16

Well, I think it wouldn't have made it better. I think if Paul had played, it would have been a Beatle reunion concert. And then perhaps we wouldn't have the track list that we have, which I think is very special. And I think one

SPEAKER_00: 9:27

of the

SPEAKER_02: 9:28

great things about this

SPEAKER_00: 9:29

album is how varied it is. yeah and I've just been finding out about some of the other musicians like I didn't really know who Leon Russell was but he was a real linchpin at the time so he'd got this band of you know lots of different musicians together to make an album with Joe Cocker and he'd been on tour with Bonnie and Delaney and George and he had been hanging out a lot so at the time Leon Russell was a real figure like not known kind of for his own music but very well known and um in those musical circles and able to help pull those people together and you can kind of sense that i mean because because his his is one of the great performances on on this uh concert

SPEAKER_02: 10:15

i think so yes i didn't know anything about him until um until i've heard concert of bangladesh and then later i got another album with him and elton john um and and it's a very special album i think he they recorded it just before he died

SPEAKER_00: 10:31

okay yeah i'm gonna look for i'm gonna look out for this mad dogs in englishman because it's got um basically leon and joe caulker and a band of great british musicians doing a bunch of covers and yeah

SPEAKER_02: 10:49

yeah we've got klaus vorman Looking very serious. Yeah, as always.

SPEAKER_00: 11:00

Billy Preston. Billy Preston, yes. We're going to get to that in a minute because that is wonderful. Badfinger. People from Badfinger. Yeah, we have Pete Hamm and Tom Evans. Yes. Singers from lots of other bands, lots of bands around the world.

SPEAKER_02: 11:16

Yeah, we have Jim Keltner. We have Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. Yes. And that

SPEAKER_00: 11:29

is wonderful to watch. It is. We'll come to that

SPEAKER_02: 11:33

in a minute. Yeah. Yeah. Do you like that kind of music? Do you like Indian sitar music?

SPEAKER_00: 11:39

Well, yes and no. Like, I can... It's funny because with Bangla Dune, I guess we'll hear a little bit in a minute. With Bangla Dune, I used to think as a teenager that it went on forever. I thought it was interminable. And actually, it's quite short. So something of this length I can take. I've got some CDs with Indian music, but it loses me after a while because it's a different kind of music.

SPEAKER_02: 12:10

I do like the one that George produced. It's called Chants of India. Well,

SPEAKER_00: 12:14

he did more than that. There's actually a box set with three or four or even five albums that he produced. It's called George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, something like that. It's fairly hard to get, and you're looking at hundreds and hundreds of pounds, but Chance of India was the first one, and then there were more that George was somehow involved with.

SPEAKER_02: 12:37

We were talking before about Alan Klein. And there were lots of issues with the way Alan Klein kind of organized the concert. So this was a benefit concert for UNICEF. And all the proceedings from the concert itself and from the record were going to go towards this charity that George Harrison had put together to help people from Bangladesh at the request of Ravi Shankar.

SPEAKER_00: 13:02

Don't

SPEAKER_02: 13:02

tell me that Alan Klein walked away with some of it. He didn't walk away with the money, but he kind of screwed up something with the taxes. So in the end, it wasn't until like 10 years later that they actually managed to give the money to UNICEF, which was a shame.

SPEAKER_00: 13:16

Was the total amount of money something like... I think from the concert they raised£250,000. Yeah. So I think that money got donated at the time. Yeah. Because I heard that it helped to buy... oral rehydration solution for cholera victims. So some of the money, I think, did what it was supposed to do.

SPEAKER_02: 13:41

Okay. But it's a shame that because of mistakes that Alan Klein made that they didn't manage to give all the money to the cause because it's a very good cause.

SPEAKER_00: 13:52

Yeah, yeah. yeah and uh yeah quite a complicated situation that had political and political dimensions and there was a hurricane right a flood so yeah

SPEAKER_02: 14:05

okay and the reason why it was released by sony instead of uh emi capital was because um of bob dylan

SPEAKER_00: 14:14

okay so right so

SPEAKER_02: 14:16

the

SPEAKER_00: 14:17

album could be released okay and but and then the original album is an apple album isn't it yes

SPEAKER_02: 14:24

i think it was the re-release that was um released by by columbia cbs which is now owned by sony

SPEAKER_00: 14:30

okay

SPEAKER_02: 14:30

is that right

SPEAKER_00: 14:32

um i think so yeah it's it's definitely got both of those stamps on it yeah okay right so let's let's let's talk about some of the music where would you like should we start with the indian um let's start with the indian now i used to two things about this I love the fact that the audience applaud the tuning. I've always loved that. It's fantastic. Yeah, they were so unfamiliar with the music and the tuning apparently took a minute or more than a minute. So there's this rapturous applause and Ravi Shankar is quite tickled by that, let's say. And then When you watch it, and if anyone wants to get into the concert of Bangladesh, they really got to watch it because it's important to see the interaction. I mean, Ali Akbar Khan has got a lovely face, a wonderful face, and he's watching Ravi. All eyes are on Ravi Shankar. He's kind of directing it because there's an improvisational element. And just the kind of love and joy that's coming from Ali Akbar Khan it's wonderful to watch it's just lovely to see the interplay between them and then it gets quite thrashy it sort of builds up And it gets really intense by the end. And they're trading off these sitar licks. It's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 16:00

It's very interesting with Ravi Shankar, especially in the introduction when he asks people not to smoke as well while the music was playing.

SPEAKER_00: 16:07

That's right. Please refrain from smoking. Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 16:11

And that reminded me of a story my dad told me. And then I checked out and it turns out to be true. He came to Costa Rica in 1972 and it was advertised that one of the teachers of the Beatles was going to play. So people were expecting kind of rock music instead of Indian music. And he asked people not to smoke. And then when he started playing the Indian stuff, he got booed off the stage. Oh, no. Wow. Yeah, it's so embarrassing. Ravi Shankar said that he felt sorry for Costa Rican people after that happened.

SPEAKER_00: 16:42

Do you want to play some of Bangla Doon? Have you got it there? Yeah, I've

SPEAKER_02: 16:45

got it

SPEAKER_00: 16:45

here. Can you hear? Yeah. I like that. I like that motif.

SPEAKER_02: 17:26

So you said that it doesn't go on for too long. It actually goes on for 17 minutes.

SPEAKER_00: 17:30

Yeah, but that's, you know, I mean, when I was a teenager, I thought it went on for like, it was like the Lord of the Rings. It just went on and on and on. And actually, I guess that's the most widely distributed piece of Indian music in the world. It must be. outside of India and it's quite educational because knowing very little about Indian music you can hear the motif you can hear it coming back you can hear it being varied and you know then it speeds up so it does give you an insight into sort of how Indian music is constructed I think if that's anything to go by because you can hear the motif coming back it's a little bit like classical music yeah I really like it

SPEAKER_02: 18:12

me too

SPEAKER_00: 18:13

everyone in the audience seems so they enjoy it and everyone all those musicians playing it just look so delighted

SPEAKER_02: 18:20

yeah but as you said it's one of those things that if you watch it on the DVD it just makes more sense than if you just listen to the record

SPEAKER_00: 18:27

yeah you've got to watch that just to see Ali Akbar Khan who died in 2009 just to see his face he looks like the kind of guy who spends several hours a day meditating so he's just radiating joy he's got a lot of spare joy to radiate that's

SPEAKER_02: 18:46

really cool right so and after that after the 17-minute indian introduction um then the rock stars came yeah right yeah and the first track was wawa

SPEAKER_00: 19:01

Yeah, a lovely opener. It's a great opener. What do you think of it?

SPEAKER_02: 19:05

Well, I was actually going to tell you, last Saturday I went to a Beatles tribute band concert with friends of mine here in Madrid. Yeah? Cool. Yeah, they were really good. They played really well. But the song selection was very strange. Like from the early Beatles, they played mostly George's songs. So they played Don't Bother Me.

SPEAKER_00: 19:26

Don't Bother Me?

SPEAKER_02: 19:27

How

SPEAKER_00: 19:28

are you ever going to hear that

SPEAKER_02: 19:29

live? Yeah, like they played that and they didn't play I want to hold your hand or she loves you. That was pretty interesting. Then towards the end, they were going chronologically. And then towards the end, they played How Do You Sleep, which I thought was very strange for a Beatles tribute band. And they closed with Wawa.

SPEAKER_00: 19:48

Yeah, well, nice closer. What I like about this one is you can actually hear some wah-wah, because in All Things Must Pass, there's just so much going on. It's one of those kitchen sink productions. And you've got, I mean, there's a wah-wah in there somewhere. But here with the live one, you can hear it. Is it Eric Clapton who's on that? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Probably Eric Clapton. Yeah. I noticed the bass line is also great on this. Lovely. And I noticed the two drummers just in sync. It's a lovely beginning.

SPEAKER_02: 20:17

I was just going to say, I'm not sure if it's Eric Clapton just because he was so out of it for that concert. And he was playing that kind of big Gibson guitar.

SPEAKER_00: 20:25

Yeah. He said he made it difficult for himself.

SPEAKER_02: 20:28

Yeah. So I'm going to play a bit of it.

SPEAKER_00: 20:30

Okay. Yeah, you can hear the two drummers syncing and hooking up. Is Ringo playing there, or does it come later? I think both of them, both of the drummers. George, I just wanted to say, looks so shy. It's easy to forget, he's only 28. He hasn't fronted a band, he's got a great big... album that he has in front of the band that he doesn't usually sing as lead singer and all that and here he is in this massive venue to start with like it almost looks like he's in pain like he's so shy and then you know gradually as things go on he starts relaxing yeah well that's another thing there were two performances right yes one in the afternoon which we I haven't seen any of that I bet there are bits and pieces on the DVDs so it's mostly what you get on the record is the evening performance so

SPEAKER_02: 22:05

he's the second one

SPEAKER_00: 22:06

right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 22:07

Okay. Yeah. I mean, yeah, he was probably nervous because he hadn't played live in a long time. Probably he didn't know what to expect from the band.

SPEAKER_00: 22:16

And also, I mean, actually they're pretty tight because they have had rehearsals. So, you know, I mean, it's rough around the edges, but, you know, there aren't any mistakes or whatever. There's room for jamming.

SPEAKER_02: 22:27

Yeah, well, rough around the edges, but in a good way, I would say. It keeps it human.

SPEAKER_00: 22:32

Yeah. But

SPEAKER_02: 22:32

the

SPEAKER_00: 22:33

playing is amazing. Yeah, it's really great. It's really great. The other thing I noticed about George, he's so thin. He is, yeah. I feel like his trousers are just going to fall down, literally, just like a stick, like stick thin. I guess that's what it's like to be 28. I've forgotten.

SPEAKER_02: 22:56

Tell me about it. The next track would be My Sweet Lord, and this is a wonderful version of My Sweet Lord.

SPEAKER_00: 23:04

Yeah, it's really nice, really nice. And remember that this was number one just the previous year, so this is a song that the audience know. And it's a nice kind of raw, excitable version, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02: 23:18

Yeah, I guess the only strange thing, I'm not sure, but it doesn't sound like he plays a 12-string guitar. And I think this is one of those songs that sounds a little bit better with a 12-string guitar.

SPEAKER_00: 23:27

Ah, okay. Yeah, I think it's a six string. He's still nervous or excitable or both, understandably, because it speeds up. Have you noticed that? No, no, I've never noticed that. Oh, yeah, I think it does. I mean, that's what live bands tend to do, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 23:43

Actually, I don't know if you've heard the version on Concert for George.

SPEAKER_00: 23:49

Not for a while. Billy Preston sings it? Is it? Oh, wonderful. It's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02: 23:54

It's one of my favorite versions of My Sweet Lord, actually. Definitely my favorite live version of My Sweet Lord.

SPEAKER_00: 24:00

Do you want to play a bit of that one? Are we allowed

SPEAKER_02: 24:04

to? Yeah, of course. I must have it here somewhere. Here it is. And there you can hear the 12 string guitar.

SPEAKER_00: 24:22

Oh yeah, and much slower. Lovely.

SPEAKER_02: 24:53

Yeah, he sings

SPEAKER_01: 24:54

great.

SPEAKER_00: 25:01

Wow.

SPEAKER_01: 25:03

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 25:08

it's a wonderful version. What a beautiful vocal. I'm going to listen to that as soon as this podcast is up. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, this is a very raw version of My Sweet Lord. And George actually gives us a smile at the end, so he starts to relax.

SPEAKER_02: 25:25

Yeah, he starts enjoying himself, I think, after

SPEAKER_00: 25:27

this song. Yeah. And Eric Clapton kind of stays in the background, but he's playing the lead, doubling up on the lead.

SPEAKER_02: 25:37

Yeah. And he plays really well in spite of not having rehearsed and being in a state. Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 25:43

yeah. He plays a sort of note perfect, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 25:46

Yeah. I'll play a bit of the one from Concert 4. Okay. One sec.

SPEAKER_00: 25:55

So much faster.

SPEAKER_02: 25:56

Yeah.

UNKNOWN: 26:02

Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.

SPEAKER_02: 26:23

It's just beautiful.

SPEAKER_00: 26:24

Yeah. It's nice to hear it grow like that.

SPEAKER_01: 26:29

I

SPEAKER_02: 26:31

kind of almost prefer this version to the album

SPEAKER_00: 26:33

version. Ooh, controversial. Yeah, I think I said this before, but the version on the album... George, that's my favourite George Harrison vocal ever. I just think it's a wonderful vocal. And it's nice that he did this concert because we can hear more of the raw edge to George. It's lovely to hear because, you know, his voice isn't going to be always... It isn't always going to sound like that. The quality that he's got here, kind of rough and growly and really launching into things and shouting sometimes. It's just nice to hear him with all that passion.

SPEAKER_02: 27:19

Yeah, he's... Early 70s, I think, would be his best period, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Then there was that tour he did with Eric Clapton in the 90s, and his voice didn't sound very good. I don't know if you've got that record.

SPEAKER_00: 27:34

No, I don't have that one, because it got badly reviewed, so I've never heard that.

SPEAKER_02: 27:40

Yeah, it's not that exciting compared to Concert for Bangladesh.

SPEAKER_00: 27:45

Right. Do we skip the next one? Because I want to talk about That's the Way God Planned It. Yeah, let's do that. Right. So this, there's just something about this. This is, for me, this is a highlight. I'm not going to say it's the highlight. It's a fantastic performance. It begins a bit like Let It Be or No Woman, No Cry, with those descending chords. And I just, I love the arrangement. I love the kind of the descending chords that happen. It's a bit like something, reminds me of something. I don't know which influenced which. And then when he gets up and does that dance, it's just like, there is a man on fire, right? It's a beautiful vocal. It's so from the heart. And then this amazing dance, and George is a little bit, he doesn't know what's going on, right? Yeah, that wasn't planned, apparently. No, it's the kind of thing that happens in, I guess, gospel meetings and stuff, when people get... inspired literally and that's yeah it's it's a wonderful it's a perfect performance and this is where the concert starts picking up for me like i think he really kicks it in

SPEAKER_02: 28:59

yeah um i agree i think this is one of the main highlights of the concert i mean you could say the bob dylan section as well is a big highlight but musically speaking i would say this is the best performance

SPEAKER_00: 29:10

It's wonderful. That's where things really start to roll. Yeah. And I just can't get tired of watching it. Like, again, Billy's face, again, joyful, relaxed. I mean, he's a natural performer. I guess he's been performing like that for years. And George hasn't. So George needs some warming up. But people like Billy and Leon Russell as well, they kind of just go right into it. And they're used to this performance.

SPEAKER_02: 29:35

Yeah, he used to play with Little Richard, right? Oh, I didn't know that. I think that's where he started. He was Little Richard's keyboard player. Wow. Wow. And that's where he met the Beatles. Yeah. Yeah. That's fantastic. I'll play a bit of the beginning, because that's kind of the slow part, and then I'll play a bit of the end. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 30:16

something.

SPEAKER_02: 30:51

I'm going to fast forward to the end. Yeah. So a very exciting

SPEAKER_00: 31:17

performance. Fantastic, yeah. It's interesting because the Beatles always wanted to write a big soul ballad, apparently. Now, they never did it. Let It Be is the closest thing. This is the kind of thing the Beatles always wanted to do. And I guess they finally called it something like that with Maybe I'm Amazed. But they wanted to write something like Ray Charles, gospel, soul-influenced.

SPEAKER_02: 31:47

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 31:48

it's a beautiful song.

SPEAKER_02: 31:49

I was released by Apple, right? Because I think Billy Preston was under Apple at the time.

SPEAKER_00: 31:54

Yes. So this is on the Apple EP, which you probably have. It's a four-track EP. It's got this. It's got Sour Milk Sea by Jackie Lomax. And it's got, of course, Those Were the Days. by Mary Hopkin, and there's a fourth one, which I've forgotten. So that's a really nice EP to get. The fourth

SPEAKER_02: 32:22

one, isn't that like an instrumental song that Paul did?

SPEAKER_00: 32:27

Oh, no, the fourth one is Come and Get It by Bad Sue. I think, I think. But anyway, yeah, you can pick that up because it got released in the 90s. Right. Yeah, it's a beautiful song. And then right after this, Ringo came. Right, this was my highlight when I was a kid. I guess I heard this first when I was 16. Despite it being flawed, I'd never heard this song before, so I'd never heard the studio version before. This was my highlight of the concert. The audience are just so happy to see Ringo. Ringo, you know, elicits a lot of love from people, you know, because I guess he was the, I don't know, like the least obvious of the talents in the Beatles. And the audience just go crazy for Ringo. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 33:22

I went to see Ringo live not very long ago, actually. That was fun.

SPEAKER_00: 33:27

Yeah, I bet. I bet. It must have been a lot of warmth in the room.

SPEAKER_02: 33:31

Yeah, well, the great thing is that he doesn't only play Ringo stuff because he's got his all-star band. Right. And there were very kind of interesting musicians playing with him. But of course, it wasn't until he played his songs that people went crazy.

SPEAKER_00: 33:44

Did he finish with this and then with a little help from my friends? He played all the Beatles

SPEAKER_02: 33:48

hits. Yellow Submarine, With a Little Help from My Friends. What else did he do? Octopus's Garden, which I really like, actually.

SPEAKER_00: 33:57

Oh, yeah, lovely. I mean, on this track, he's really having fun. Like, he's really having fun. And, you know, he's having so much fun that he forgets the words. This love of mine keeps growing all the time. He forgets that twice.

SPEAKER_02: 34:16

Yeah. But he's good, actually. I think this period was good for Ringo.

SPEAKER_00: 34:20

Yeah, he's playing really well. He's playing, he's singing. This is my favorite version of the song. I prefer this to the studio version.

SPEAKER_02: 34:27

Should I play a bit of it?

SPEAKER_00: 34:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 35:19

Yeah, it's a very good version.

SPEAKER_00: 35:21

Yeah, I've got a line here by rock critic Robert Christgau. And he said of Ringo that he was brimming with quite happiness as if after eight years he still couldn't quite believe his own good fortune.

SPEAKER_02: 35:40

That is so unfair, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00: 35:42

Yeah, yeah. And he said... Yeah, unlike the others, the other Beatles, he remains immune to the vagaries of our affection. Ringo is our representative on the Beatles, just like saying that he's an everyman, you know. But for some reason, there's just a huge wave of love when he starts singing, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 36:05

Yeah, I think some critics are really unfair with Ringo. I don't know if the Beatles would have been the same Beatles if Ringo hadn't been in the band.

SPEAKER_00: 36:13

Oh, no, he was a perfect drummer for the band. he was and he worked very hard to get those songs right and then when as we've talked about in the last couple of episodes when he when the band started experimenting and pushing the boat out Ringo's right there with them and he's doing the same with his drumming you know

SPEAKER_02: 36:31

I think so I mean there's beautiful pieces of drumming like if you look at A Day in the Life or Come Together Ticket to Ride it's pretty pretty good drumming I think

SPEAKER_00: 36:43

yeah of course and then obviously things like rain and uh um other performances on revolver that we talked about yeah yeah ringo's not bad and he's a he's a great song based drummer he's trying to complement the songs he's not showy um but he's yeah solid

SPEAKER_02: 37:03

yeah

SPEAKER_00: 37:04

yeah never detract from ringo yeah i like to get i love the guitar sound in this song as well with the kind of phases i think they are that nice rounded sound

SPEAKER_02: 37:15

Yes, very, very

SPEAKER_00: 37:16

good

SPEAKER_02: 37:17

guitar

SPEAKER_00: 37:17

sound there. Oh, and I just want to say, because I noticed the organ there as well. I just wanted to say that if you don't have the 2005 remix, and I don't think you do. That's worth getting because it's a gentle remix. It's not like a Giles Martin makeover. But you can hear the organ more fully. You can hear the bass sounds more fully. On the EQ, it's kind of richer. It's a subtle remix, but I think you'll like it. It's not just a remastering, I think.

SPEAKER_02: 37:54

Yeah, I've been meaning to get it, but it's just so expensive. If you buy a new, it's like, what,$30,000? Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 38:02

it is a bit if you've already got it. But I know you've done that kind of thing before. I have.

SPEAKER_02: 38:12

Right. And then after Don't Come Easy, it's Beware of Darkness.

SPEAKER_00: 38:18

Yeah, lovely version. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02: 38:20

I think it's very nice. I mean, it's George Harrison and Leon Russell. And it's a song I like. I remember hearing one demo, and I think it's on the early takes album. And there is a line where he goes, beware of Apco, which is the company that I find interesting. It's a nice song. I don't know whether I would have included it here because it's such a slow song. They just played It Don't Come Easy.

SPEAKER_00: 38:48

I think it was one of the highlights of All Things Must Pass. I think George really liked it.

SPEAKER_02: 38:53

But I don't know if it worked live as well as it did on the album because it brought everything down a little bit. You get to hear it without the Phil Spector stuff. Which is good. I'm not a huge fan of Phil Spector's production. um but yeah so anyways um there is this song then he introduces the band and then he's while my guitar gently weeps so i just feel that's that i mean the the energy levels were really high and suddenly they got really low so

SPEAKER_00: 39:20

uh yeah that's it i mean while my guitar gently weeps is um Now, there's a three-track sampler that you can get, and I've forgotten what the other tracks are. Is there a Dylan track on there, maybe, just like a woman? So there is a sort of single-stroke sampler. While my guitar, I think it's just lovely to see a Beatle doing this live. I mean, it's, at that time, unique, and it's lovely to see Eric Clapton on it. The jam is... wonderful like they're doing a kind of guitar duo and eric is giving george these really admiring looks like he fancies him you know just really just nice friendly admiring looks i don't know if at this time he's having an affair with patty or if still secret or whatever but you can tell like he has bags of affection for george and um Also, what's amazing is that Eric keeps his cigarette on the end of his guitar. That's so 70s. yeah but he wouldn't have had a chance to light it during the song right so it's got to be there for about eight minutes yeah and it's still going it's like the eternal cigarette and then as soon as it's as soon as the song finishes there's not even one beat and he grabs this that's very amusing

SPEAKER_02: 40:47

yeah it is yeah one thing um about this song is that i this is one of the ones where you where you can feel that he chose the wrong guitar again um because it just sounds very thin, the solo.

SPEAKER_00: 41:00

Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_02: 41:02

It's

SPEAKER_00: 41:02

kind of spindly, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02: 41:04

Yeah, I'll play a bit of it. See if I can get the solo. Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 41:44

it's so thin there i couldn't even hear it

SPEAKER_02: 41:46

yeah it's very thin um so i think it would have sounded better if you'd have played a less pole or or a strap

SPEAKER_00: 41:52

yeah yeah and then that's the end of side three because of course it's a triple album and it's the end of cd number one if you've got the cd version

SPEAKER_02: 42:02

yeah

SPEAKER_00: 42:02

so there's still there's still a lot more to come and then flipping over now yeah this is um we got leon now and i just didn't know what's happening when i first heard it um because i didn't know who leon was um but this this is another highlight this is so a cool um jump and and it's so tight i noticed as well like they've rehearsed really well. I was watching the drummers and just thinking, yeah, they definitely had a few days, about a week rehearsing this, so it's tight. Yeah, it is very tight and it sounds great and his voice is great. And different vocalists come in, like Pete Ham comes in as well. Leon, when you look at him, he's got this look in his eyes. He looks so badass, you know what I mean? He's kind of like, yeah, glowering, you know, but

SPEAKER_02: 42:57

just how he looks. He looks really tough. Yeah, he does look tough. He looks like as if he owned a motorbike, like a biker.

SPEAKER_00: 43:04

Yeah, but they put those songs together really well and they do that very 70s vocal thing. And I'm just going to tell you the next bit of the story right now. But it sounds great.

SPEAKER_02: 43:18

Yeah. I mean, I'll play a bit of it. Okay.

UNKNOWN: 43:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 43:56

So that's the beginning of the nine-minute version of Jumping Jack Flash.

SPEAKER_00: 44:01

Yeah, it's great. And then they said, Yeah. Yeah, really good. I read in an article in The Guardian that he stole the show. I don't know if he stole the show, but it is another highlight.

SPEAKER_02: 44:16

It is definitely a highlight. I wouldn't say he stole the show, but it was a very good performance. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00: 44:20

And then, Here

SPEAKER_02: 44:22

Comes the Sun. What do you think of that? Here Comes the Sun is a great version. It's an acoustic version, I think, played by George and Pete Hamm. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00: 44:30

Yeah. Now, I'm guessing that you play this on acoustic? Yes. Okay. So do I. And this is sometimes, now that I don't play guitar so much, sometimes this is my party piece, right? You get the capo up there and you play Here Comes the Sun. Yeah. And all I can say is it's not easy. It's not easy to get all those twiddly bits right and rhythms and get them right. And I just feel for those guys because they must have been so nervous in front of a big audience like that. And no other musicians covering them up, just them. So they've got to get it right. You can't fluff a single thing. And more or less, it's like 99% perfect. It's amazing. And then I watched it. just now and George is kind of hunched up you can tell he's feeling nervous but it works fine it works

SPEAKER_02: 45:27

really well it's actually one of my favourite versions of that song because it's acoustic because it's acoustic so that's the version that I used to learn how to play it because you could really hear the guitar and I just thought it sounded great actually there is another version of Here Comes the Sun which I don't know if you've ever heard and it's played by George and Paul Simon on Saturday

SPEAKER_00: 45:50

Night Live. Yes, I've heard that. Yeah. I've forgotten it. I haven't heard it so much. But yeah, that's nice as well, isn't

SPEAKER_02: 45:56

it? Well, it just reminded me because it's also played with two acoustic guitars and it sounded really good. I'll play a bit of it. I'll

SPEAKER_00: 46:02

play a bit of that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 46:10

Ladies and gentlemen, my friend George Harrison.

UNKNOWN: 46:13

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 46:24

Oh, they love her. I'll

SPEAKER_02: 47:00

send you this version because something interesting about it is that Paul Simon isn't playing with a capo

SPEAKER_00: 47:06

oh okay so that's maybe that because it sounds like somebody's got a 12 string there but it would be impossible to play here comes the sun on a 12 string so it must be the two guitars that's a beautiful version that's even better yeah it's really

SPEAKER_02: 47:17

good But

SPEAKER_00: 47:18

you can't get that on CD. It's just on YouTube, right? It's

SPEAKER_02: 47:21

just on YouTube, yes.

SPEAKER_00: 47:22

Yeah, that's a beautiful

SPEAKER_02: 47:23

version, but much slower, right? Yes, but the harmony is really nice.

SPEAKER_00: 47:28

Yeah, I like that

SPEAKER_02: 47:29

too. Here is the version from Bangladesh.

SPEAKER_01: 47:45

I'm going to try one with just these acoustic guitars. Here comes the sun So yeah, it's

SPEAKER_02: 48:27

beautiful as well.

SPEAKER_00: 48:28

yeah and it's got that kind of intimate charm like it's just happening in your living room or something you know if I can get the microphone to work and also like when they're introducing the band you know oh I forgot Billy Preston and all that I love that it's just so kind of in a way like amateurish or not slick you know it's not slick and I like that

SPEAKER_02: 48:51

yeah but is it supposed to be slick is it supposed to be that no it isn't and I think that's one of the things I like about it it adds as I said that human element to the performance that perhaps we don't get anymore

SPEAKER_00: 49:03

really. You wouldn't get it now. Not that kind of just, oh, maybe we'll just try one with these acoustic guitars. Like they'd be, you know, they'd have some kind of preamble, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 49:17

Yeah. I think Paul does that sometimes. He does these kind of rehearsed mistakes, like a false start, and then he apologizes. Yeah, but they're deliberate. But they're deliberate,

SPEAKER_00: 49:27

yes. Oh, okay. But actual mistakes, I'm thinking of the false starts for Hey Jude, which are completely rehearsed.

SPEAKER_02: 49:33

Yeah, but there was a tour he did the unplugged tour in the early 90s and there was a false start with We Can Work It Out and I think he did that in unplugged as well and I think he did it all throughout the tour so

SPEAKER_00: 49:48

yeah yeah Okay, and then we flip over and we get a whole side of Bob Dylan. And I guess this is the first Bob Dylan that I owned. I remember hearing Bob Dylan from my dad. My dad tried to get me into Bob Dylan when I was about 13. I was too young. I just heard a funny sound in the voice. But I mean... It's amazing to bring on Bob Dylan. We've got George Harrison, who's probably at the peak of his fame here, one of the most famous people in the entire world, one of the biggest musicians in the world, bringing on Bob Dylan, who's been this kind of 1960s prophet for everybody. I mean, the audience, again, they just go wild. They love him. He brought it out of

SPEAKER_02: 50:37

retirement.

SPEAKER_00: 50:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 50:40

Yeah, he hadn't played live in a while. And suddenly he comes and he plays his hits. Yeah. It's great.

SPEAKER_00: 50:47

And apparently, like, I saw an interview with Ringo and Bob Dylan's very famous for doing things differently on different occasions. And I think it's Hard Rain. In the afternoon, he played it as 4-4. Ringo's just on the tambourine, you know. And then in the evening, suddenly Bob has just transformed it into 3-4. Yeah. But it's not a standard 3-4. It has little variations where it goes into 4-4. So yeah, very difficult for the tambourine player.

SPEAKER_02: 51:19

And Leon Russell plays bass.

SPEAKER_00: 51:22

Oh, okay. I didn't know

SPEAKER_02: 51:23

that. Yes, throughout this section. And if I was him, I would have done the same. If I could have played with Bob Dylan, I would have taken any instrument. yes

SPEAKER_00: 51:33

yeah and and three of them are up at the microphone for uh just like a woman it's lovely i mean that's that's my favorite one here i think that's also on the ep got a feeling but that's it's it's it's a great it's a great selection of songs

SPEAKER_02: 51:46

it is so it's blowing in the well hard rain is gonna fall blowing in the wind mr tambourine man just like a woman and it takes a lot

SPEAKER_00: 51:56

oh so you've got a different version because i've got Oh, no, I think you're right. You're right. Yeah. Because I've got them in a different order.

SPEAKER_02: 52:05

Right. I might have them in the wrong order, actually. And they also did If Not For You.

SPEAKER_00: 52:13

I was just going to say

SPEAKER_02: 52:14

that, but they did that in rehearsals,

SPEAKER_00: 52:15

right? And it's beautiful. It's got lovely harmonies. I wonder if they knocked it out. There's something like Love Minus Zero. There's another Dylan song which they did which didn't make it to the record. I don't know if that's because they wanted to fit all the Dylan onto one side or something. But it's on the DVD as an outtake. So I think there was more Dylan. Maybe it was Love Minus Zero. I have to

SPEAKER_02: 52:45

say, this is one of my favorite versions, if not my favorite version, if not for you. It just sounds great. Can I play

SPEAKER_00: 52:52

a bit of it? Oh, from the rehearsal? Yeah. Oh, yeah, let's hear that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 52:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 52:59

Got it? Camera one, R3. just sounds

SPEAKER_02: 53:44

great and you can see the text moving mics

SPEAKER_00: 53:46

yeah so that is It's in the afternoon show they played, If Not For You. Right. I think, and you can, it's on the box set, DVD box set. It's one of the special features. You can get it on disc two. And I also love Minus Zero. I don't know which ones of these are from the rehearsal and which ones are from the concert, but I wish they'd done that at the concert because it's beautiful. It's lovely, the harmonies.

SPEAKER_02: 54:18

Yeah. I wonder if they're going to re-release this concert because I read somewhere that George got the right to all his catalogue.

SPEAKER_00: 54:28

Well, they missed the 50th anniversary, but they can always do the 55th.

SPEAKER_02: 54:33

Yeah, or they could just re-release it, because I'm sure people would buy it. Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 54:39

I mean, the problem is the last three releases were 2005, so it seems quite recent, but of course it's not. it's a long time ago

SPEAKER_02: 54:49

yeah I mean apart from All Things Must Pass I think that yeah Josh hasn't really released a lot well he has re-released all his vinyls and all of that in these box sets which are very

SPEAKER_00: 54:58

expensive so this must have reminded George of the band sessions I guess playing with Dylan and he had fun there didn't he he went to visit Dylan in Woodstock and you know they seem to get on really well they've got a very easy going relationship neither of them are star struck there's no sort of ego problems or anything

SPEAKER_02: 55:18

like that. Yeah, and considering how big fans there were of Bob Dylan's The Beatles, it's very strange that they never really collaborate, that Bob didn't collaborate with John or Paul.

SPEAKER_00: 55:28

That's ego, I think. I mean, I think Bob Dylan has a huge ego. And, you know, probably rightly so. And I just, I don't think really George did. Not in that way, not as a musician. I don't think he... was thinking of himself in that way so he fitted in really well with those titans and with Bob Dylan he was able to just and by that time he was doing all that spiritual practice so he didn't think that Bob Dylan was God or anything like that Have you seen him

SPEAKER_02: 56:06

live? Have you seen Bob Dylan live?

SPEAKER_00: 56:08

yes i have i've seen him live um i'm gonna say three times maybe at least twice and um yeah like a lot of people say it's the worst show they've ever seen it wasn't it was pretty good one of them was pretty good i mean he has off nights and he does unusual song choices he never does the same thing twice and he never never signs the same version so he's kind of an interesting performer to go and see and yeah i really i enjoyed and I was glad to see him because he's an icon, you know, and it was lovely to spend an evening in his company, really.

SPEAKER_02: 56:47

Yeah, I saw him a couple, well, not a couple of years ago, but 10 years ago. Yeah. And yeah, like, I remember I went with my wife, with Magda, and she said, like, it's a shame he didn't play Blowing in the Wind. And I was like, yes, he did. He just didn't sound like Blowing in the Wind.

SPEAKER_00: 57:03

yeah I mean all the times I've seen Bob Dylan he's been playing piano not guitar and he's been side on side on to the audience and all of those three nights he didn't say a single word to the audience not one you know he just did his songs that's it but he can do what he wants you know he's Bob Dylan yeah Oh, by the way, if you like Bob Dylan, it's really worth watching that Coen Brothers film, you know, the one inside Llewyn Davis. Do you know that film? No, I've never heard of it. That's great. It's Bob Dylan just has a walk on kind of what you call like a sort of it's not a cameo, but something like that. It's a very bit part. So it's not Bob Dylan who's in the film, but it's somebody playing Bob Dylan. But Bob Dylan is absolutely crucial to that film. Watch it and yeah i'll look for it

SPEAKER_02: 57:56

um and then um bangladesh is that the one of the last songs

SPEAKER_00: 58:01

well flip over and we got the last side now and we've got something in bangladesh and um something about bangladesh is well there was a single recorded on the 4th and 5th of july released just before the concert And I didn't realize until I started doing some research for this show that the single wasn't the live one from the concert. So I had no idea. And I think I've got this single secondhand in a box of singles, but I just always assumed it was from the show and it was taken from this album, but no. So it was released just before the concert. I probably got to number one. The concert version is really funky and George is rocking... and it's just great but I don't know if I've ever heard the single is that possible I mean

SPEAKER_02: 58:54

yeah

SPEAKER_00: 58:55

is it possible I've never heard

SPEAKER_02: 58:56

that no no I've never heard that either myself

SPEAKER_00: 58:59

yeah so there may be there a George Harrison song that neither of us have heard because I just thought it was taken from the show but no it was recorded as a single in July so there you go

SPEAKER_02: 59:11

Right. And then after that, we have Bangladesh, which was the song that was specially written for the event. It was also recorded as a single, right? That's what I'm talking about. Yeah. And then they close. Yep. I think I have Bangladesh here. I'll play a bit of it.

SPEAKER_00: 59:31

Go on. Which version do you want me to

SPEAKER_02: 59:34

play? I'm not sure, actually. Let me see. Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_01: 59:41

sounds like the single no this is the

SPEAKER_02: 59:53

live one

SPEAKER_00: 59:54

is that the live one okay because i heard some voices Sounds really good. It's a good tune. Oh, I think it's the funkiest George ever got. Yeah. It's like it's George's ooh you or something. He's really got the funk on this one. It's great. I wish he'd done more like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 1:00:45

And it must have been a song that he wrote very quickly as well.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00:48

Yeah. And because it was recorded just before it was released just before the concert. So a lot of those people, they would either have thought um it's a new single or they maybe wouldn't have known it so yeah interesting choice to finish with rather than finishing say with something

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:06

yeah um and starting with bangladesh like that would have been a good opener

SPEAKER_00: 1:01:11

yeah yeah yeah i just the last thing i just thought was with something it's strange because George and Eric are playing it together. Eric had released the Layla album the year before. I don't know how much George knew at that point. um it's just interesting they're playing together on a song about patty and eric's already in love with patty i don't know how much george knows and they're they're playing it together like brothers it's just i mean i don't know if there's any ever been anything like that in the history of rock you know or in the history of life there's a real like it's

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:55

a kind of a soap opera right it is a little bit isn't it um very uncomfortable it must have been um but but it's admirable that they managed to remain friends in spite of

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:04

that. I don't think George knew at that time, so I think this whole Layla thing, it was all in code. And I may be wrong about this, other people know, but I don't think that Eric came out to George about what was happening until later, maybe 1972 or 3, but there you are. I'm not into showbiz gossip, so I don't really know. No,

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:26

but I do remember reading about that in Eric Clapton's biography, and And yeah, I mean, there were a couple of occasions when basically they got together, but apparently they drifted apart already, George and Patty, by the time they hooked up.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:45

What, they drifted apart by the time they hooked up? That's a shame. Like, what I mean is that, yes,

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:52

they said that, he said that the marriage was already kind of over and they were kind of putting up with each other, but that they were basically, George wasn't in love with her anymore. Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:03

I see, George. I see, yeah, yeah. Sorry, I see what you mean. George and Patty, yeah. I think at this point, I think it was still a secret affair because, you know, you look at George and Eric and they're just interacting so well and it's going so I don't think there's any jealousy at that point in this.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:20

Yeah, for sure not. Otherwise, I don't think he would have been invited to the concert.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:24

He probably not, no. So, all in all, yeah, a lovely concert and great to talk about it to you because I don't think, I probably count on the fingers of less than one hand anybody else who would know what on earth i was talking about if i mentioned the concert for bangladesh you know it's faded into history

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:49

it is it has um it's one of the concerts i play every year because on new year's eve um me and my family we usually just play concerts on tv from my collection and we always play concert for bangladesh so it always brings a smile

SPEAKER_00: 1:04:01

oh that's so cool that's so cool so it's a it's a family event oh that's lovely yeah okay so I'm now going to pack up all my Beatles CDs and records into boxes for my big move. So the next broadcast that we do, I'll be basing it on something from my streaming service. Which is fine. Yeah. But great to talk to you again. Yeah, it was great. I really enjoyed it. Me too. Me too. And we managed to talk about this for... the full hour because we wondered, didn't we?

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:36

Yeah, and we didn't talk a lot about Bob Dylan's stuff. We could have gone for another 20 minutes. No, and we didn't talk about the political

SPEAKER_00: 1:04:44

situation. Yeah, we can fill time. That's what comes of being a teacher.

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:52

That's it. So we'll be back in a couple of weeks, hopefully. See you next time. Based on whether you can, whether you'll be busy. I

SPEAKER_00: 1:05:03

can definitely stream stuff. I just won't be hearing it in great quality, but still talk about it. Great.

SPEAKER_02: 1:05:10

See you next time. See you next time. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.