Apple Corps is set to release an updated version of the Beatles’ White Album on November 6 along with a DVD of performances of the songs from the original album.
The DVD will include a previously unseen promotional video of the John Lennon song ‘Revolution’ which was the B-side of ‘Hey Jude’, released in August 1968 (you can watch the video below).
‘Revolution’ was inspired by the many political protests in early 1968. Two versions of the song were recorded: a hard rock version (the one heard on the B-side of ‘Hey Jude’) and a slower, bluesy arrangement (titled ‘Revolution 1′) for the Beatles’ self-titled double album, commonly known as the ‘White Album’.
Although the single version was issued first, it was recorded several weeks after ‘Revolution 1’ as a re-make and was specifically intended for release as a single. A third connected piece, written by Lennon, is the experimental track ‘Revolution 9’, which evolved from an unused, spoken-word portion of ‘Revolution 1’. It also appears on the White Album.
Producer George Martin said the record was able to get its distinctive distorted sound by plugging the amps directly into the Abbey Road recording desk and pushing the volume into the red. “We got into distortion on that, which we had a lot of complaints from the technical people about,” said Martin. “But that was the idea. It was John’s song and the idea was to push it right to the limit. Well, we went to the limit and beyond.”
Filming for promotional clips of ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Revolution’ took place on September 4, 1968 at Twickenham Film Studios in England, under the direction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Two finished clips of ‘Revolution’ were produced, with only lighting differences and other minor variations. The Beatles sang the vocals live over the pre-recorded instrumental track from the single version.
Here’s the previously unseen video of ‘Revolution’ …
Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
The Beatles’ classic 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine is to be re-issued on DVD and Blu-ray on May 28 after experts spent four months digitally restoring the original animation artwork by hand.
The Yellow Submarine Songtrack album, first issued in 1999, will also be re-released on CD on the same day. The album was produced as an alternative to the original 1968 film soundtrack album.
Fans of Sir Cliff Richard are being given a chance to relive his recent Soulicious live arena tour with the release of a new DVD titled The Soulicious Tour: Live At The O2.
Also available in a deluxe Special Limited Edition, the DVD includes 18 of Cliff’s classic hits and fan favourites, plus live versions of the soul classics and brand new songs featured on his recent Soulicious duets album.
Joining Sir Cliff on stage at the O2 are legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, Fred Payne, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davies, Jr., Percy Sledge, James Ingram and Jaki Graham.
Dusty Springfield fans are in for a treat this Christmas following the release of a brand new Super Deluxe box set that spans her entire career.
Titled Goin’ Back: The Definitive Dusty Springfield, the comprehensive collection comes in a lavish pink box and features four CDs, three DVDs, two hardback books and four photo prints.
The four CDs are split thematically into Dusty’s hits, rarities, BBC recordings, and her work for stage and screen.
Also now available is The Magic Of Dusty Springfield – a new 4-disc set that is presented in hardback book-style packaging.
Foreigner have released a new 11-track studio album, titled Acoustique, which features ‘unplugged’ versions of the band’s classic songs.
The decision to record Acoustique followed the tremendous response the band received from fans during their recent series of live acoustic shows. They are now working on plans for a ‘Foreigner Unplugged’ tour.
Martin Scorsese’s new George Harrison TV documentary, titled George Harrison: Living in the Material World, is set to receive its UK premiere in Liverpool.
It will be launched at Liverpool’s Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) on 2 October 2011.
The film, made in collaboration with Harrison’s widow Olivia, documents the Beatles guitarist’s rise to fame and his life as a member of the Fab Four. It features interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono.
Bad Company’s reunion concert at London’s Wembley Arena in April 2010 is now available on CD, DVD and Blu-ray.
Bad Company: Live At Wembley features the three surviving original members: Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke (bassist Boz Burrell died in 2006), supplemented by Howard Leese on guitars and Lynn Sorensen on bass.
With a running time of nearly two hours, the Eagle Rock Entertainment release features all 16 songs from the band’s live set – including fan favourites such as ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Young Blood’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Rock And Roll Fantasy’, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, and ‘Movin’ On’.
The DVD and Blu-ray also contain interviews with the band as bonus material.
Bad Company was originally founded in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke of Free, guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople, and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. The band split up in 1982, but reformed in 1986 with Brian Howe of the Ted Nugent Band replacing Rodgers on vocals. Howe left the band in 1994 and was replaced by ex-Distance singer Robert Hart.
Paul Rodgers was reunited with Bad Company in 1998 and has continued to perform with the band in between his solo projects.
Bad Company: Live At Wembley – Tracklisting:
1) Can’t Get Enough 2) Honey Child 3) Run With The Pack 4) Burnin’ Sky* 5) Young Blood 6) Seagull 7) Gone, Gone, Gone 8)ElectricLand 9) Simple Man 10) Feel Like Makin’ Love 11) Shooting Star 12) Rock And Roll Fantasy 13) Movin’ On 14) Ready For Love 15) Bad Company 16) Deal With The Preacher
* Not on CD version
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Sh-Boom! is now available as a digital magazine. You can read a sample of the first issue here (best viewed in full-screen mode).
Fans of The Who are at last being given a chance to see a full-length version of the band’s famous 1977 concert in Kilburn, North London which many Who aficionados regard as Keith Moon’s finest hour and one of the band’s greatest performances.
A film of the legendary event is now being made available on DVD for the first time. It is part of a 2-disc package which will be released in the UK on November 17, 2008.
On December 15, 1977, The Who performed in front of a select invited audience at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, North London to record a concert for Jeff Stein’s film, The Kids Are Alright. It was one of Keith Moon’s last public appearances with the band before his death in 1978.
Over the years, footage of the show has become a much sought-after “holy grail” for Who fans because only a few glimpses of the concert ended up in the final cut of The Kids Are Alright.
The performance was originally shot in 35mm, but the rare footage – showing drummer Keith Moon in fiery form – has now been digitally restored and remastered in High-Definition and Surround Sound from the original film elements.
The 2-DVD set also includes another never-before-seen rarity: The Who’s landmark live performance at The London Coliseum in 1969 which is said to be one of the band’s personal favorites.
Full tracklisting for Kilburn 1977 (DVD Disc 1)
1. Can’t Explain
2. Substitute
3. Baba O’Reilly
4. My Wife/Going Mobile
5. Behind Blue Eyes
6. Dreaming From The Waist
7. Pinball Wizard
8. I’m Free
9. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
10. Summertime Blues
11. Shakin’ All Over
12. My Generation
13. Join Together
14. Who Are You
15. Won’t Get Fooled Again
Full tracklisting for The Coliseum 1969 (DVD Disc 2)
1. Heaven And Hell
2. Can’t Explain
3. Fortune Teller
4. Tattoo
5. Young Man Blues
6. A Quick One While He’s Away
7. Happy Jack
8. I’m A Boy
9. I’m Free
10. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
11. See Me, Feel Me
12. Summertime Blues
13. Shakin’ All Over
14. My Generation
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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have allegedly blocked plans to release The Beatles’ 1970 film Let It Be on DVD because they don’t want to revive “old issues” about the darker side of the legendary band’s story.
A source reportedly told the Daily Express: “There has been talk of Let It Be finally being released on DVD, but there has now been a change of heart. Neither Paul nor Ringo would feel comfortable publicising a film showing The Beatles getting on each other’s nerves.”
The documentary was originally intended to show The Beatles at work in the studio in January 1969, rehearsing and recording songs for their album Let It Be, and eventually performing a live concert. Instead, the film only served to illustrate the extreme tensions between the Fab Four as the band edged closer to breaking up.
Created from hundreds of hours of raw footage, Let It Be famously included scenes showing McCartney and George Harrison bickering over the latter’s guitar-playing, and John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono looking increasingly disinterested.
Let It Be premiered at the Liverpool Gaumont on May 20, 1970 and went on to win an Oscar for ‘Best Music, Original Song Score’. It also won a Grammy for ‘Best Original Score’. However, none of the four Beatles attended either the film’s premiere or the Oscar Awards ceremony.
Although the film was shown widely in cinemas in the early 1970s – and was released on VHS in the 1980s – it has been out of circulation for more than 20 years.
In a February 2007 interview with Fox News, the late Neil Aspinall – who was chief executive of The Beatles’ Apple Corps. for nearly 40 years – indicated that remastering the film for DVD release was proving to be a painful experience.
“The film was so controversial when it first came out,” he said. “When we got halfway through restoring it, we looked at the outtakes and realised: this stuff is still controversial. It raised a lot of old issues.”
Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
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