1+ - part six

Alternate versions of promos made by the Beatles over the years provide the basis for much of the + portion of this collection.  The reason that there were sometimes two or three different films or videos for individual songs was due to the fact that each competing broadcasting outlet wanted to feel as if it had an exclusive clip.  This was especially true in the UK.  Manager Brian Epstein catered to the demands of the powers that be and made sure that multiple versions were produced, some featuring only subtle differences and others using a completely different setup.  We start off this part, however, with a clip from a show that helped to inspire much of what would soon follow.

Day Tripper - In the midst of the month-long sessions for the album Rubber Soul, the Beatles devoted two days to working on a television special for Granada TV entitled The Music of Lennon and McCartney.  Most of the songs were performed by an array of international stars (including Liverpool's Cilla Black, pictured above), with scripted intros by John and Paul.  The Beatles appeared only to mime to both sides of their upcoming single.  For this number, a group of go go dancers in sunglasses run past the boys as they pretend to play the song under the scaffolding on the set.  Ringo stops drumming for a moment at the end of the second rave up before realizing his mistake and resuming.  Otherwise, it is a rather straightforward performance.  (The real gem of this program, by the way, is not a song.  Rather, it is Peter Sellers delivering the lyrics to A Hard Day's Night in the style of Laurence Olivier as Richard III.  Yes, you read that right.  Google it for a genuine treat.)

Day Tripper - The ten videos recorded at Twickenham Film Studios only a few weeks later were clearly influenced by the aforementioned television special.  This alternate version was shot on a set of flats depicting an airplane, which John and Paul stand behind, and a railroad car "carrying" George and Ringo.  The boys all wear the Nehru jackets mostly associated with their famous Shea Stadium concert.  Ringo alternates between shaking a tambourine and using a pair of drumsticks on the set - until he gets bored, that is.  He then produces a handsaw and proceeds to cut away at the set as an amused George looks on.

We Can Work It Out - The group also wears the Nehru jackets for this alternate video, shot on the same basic set as the earlier version I covered in part two.  Some additional set pieces with old photographs on them are added for a different look.  Once again, John goofs around to get a laugh out of Paul as he mimes singing, and John's harmonium playing gets even more outlandish.

Paperback Writer - This alternate video was shot specifically for the Ed Sullivan Show.  The boys hold colored gels over their faces (a black and white photo of them in roughly the same positions appears on the back of the LP Revolver) before Ringo sends greetings to Ed in a typically nonsensical introduction, claiming that they are too busy to come to New York due to all of the "cooking and cleaning."  Director Michael Linsey-Hogg shoots the number from a high angle, showing the bandmembers all seated as they mime to the song in the large Studio One at Abbey Road.  You can see chairs behind them set up for an orchestra session.  Also visible is Paul's front tooth which he chipped in an accident a few days earlier.

Rain - This color film shot by Lindsey-Hogg for the B-side of the single begins with Ringo walking in an archway that has a sign reading "way out" at Chiswick House.  The others have their guitars in several shots on the beautiful green grounds, some kids playing in the huge tree behind them.  At other times, they all stroll through the ornate greenhouse on the premises.  Very MTV.

Rain - The alternate video, shot in black and white on the same day as the one for Paperback Writer, has the guitarists standing this time, shot from a low angle in Studio One.  It is pretty straightforward, though there is an amusing moment when John attempts to mouth the backwards lines from the end of the song. 

1+ - part five

The second DVD in this collection - the + in the title 1+ - brings together a number of alternate promotional films and videos that were made by the group (not all of them, however, which was a criticism by some fans at the time of its release).  Also on display on this disc are some other promos made over the years to coincide with the release of various compilations, and even one associated with the soundtrack of the Las Vegas show Love.

Twist and Shout - This stark black and white videotape from the Granada/ITV program Scene at 6:30 was shot in August of 1963.  Most of it simply goes back and forth from one close up of John delivering his solo lines to another of Paul and George singing their answering phrases.  Ringo is seen in the background either brightly lit from below or as a large shadow on the back wall of the set.  They wear black turtlenecks as they mime to their original recording from the album Please Please Me.

Baby It's You - This promo was made for the 1995 release of the single and EP of Baby It's You following the success of the compilation Live at the BBC.  It uses many of the still photos from that collection's booklet, as well as some stock footage of fans camped out waiting for a show and surging crowds being held back by bobbies.  Best of all is the 8mm color film of the boys goofing around outside the BBC Paris Theatre shot by Kevin Neill of the Karl Denver Trio in April of 1963.  And there are a few shots of  Neil Aspinall's rundown van, which transported the group all around the UK for years before they became world famous.

Words of Love - This piece was put together to promote the collection On Air - Live at the BBC in 2013.  It uses some of the same footage from outside the BBC Paris Theatre as the previous entry, plus shots of the group in a studio's control room, at an airport with masses of fans, and even a few bits from A Hard Day's Night.  There is some animation interspersed here and there, including a bit about the time Mal Evans punched out the cracked windscreen of Neil's van.  The accompanying audio is from a performance of the Buddy Holly tune from an episode of Pop Go the Beatles in 1963.

Please Please Me - This great song, which I continue to believe should always have been on the original collection 1, is finally represented by a clip from the Ed Sullivan Show.  This performance is from the group's third appearance on the program, broadcast on January 23rd, 1964, but actually shot first on the afternoon of January 9th before their historic live appearance later that evening.  This black and white videotape features the typical shots of screaming fans in the audience and shows the band in their usual positions, with John a little bit forward in his signature bow-legged stance.  The delivery of the song, by the way, is flawless.

I Feel Fine - At some point during the long day at Twickenham Film Studios in November of 1965, while shooting ten different promotional videos, some fish and chips were delivered and put on the floor of the set.  As the boys gathered around, eating with their fingers, their guitars still strapped on, the cameras kept rolling and playback of this song began.  John looks up, surprised, as the opening feedback is heard, mimes singing a little in between bites, then his attention drifts to a story in the greasy newspaper.  During the guitar solo, George hops onto the exercise bicycle and pedals a bit.  Ringo merely continues eating throughout.  Manager Brian Epstein was not amused by any of this.  Of all the promos shot on this date, this is the only one not to be distributed for broadcast.  Fortunately, we are allowed to see it on this collection.  It was stored away for years, labelled by some wag as "I Feel Fried."

1+ - part four

In 1969 and 1970, the Beatles shifted their promotional model once again.  Some of their final number one singles merely used Michael Lindsey-Hogg's footage from the Get Back sessions in January of '69.  Another was comprised of found footage from John and Yoko's recent exploits.  Only one required new footage specifically shot for the occasion, yet the four members of the group shot their contributions separately.  Still, as with the more unified efforts from the previous years, these new forms proved to be influential for decades to come.

Get Back - The world probably got its first glimpse of the famous rooftop concert with the release of this promotional film, which combines Michael Lindsey-Hogg's footage from all three performances of this song during that historic event.  The action does not always match up perfectly with the recording made a few days earlier in the basement studio of the Apple building, but it is glorious nonetheless, including a few shots of the bobbies grouped behind Billy Preston, waiting to shut the whole thing down.

The Ballad of John and Yoko - There's a lot to unpack in this one, which is nicely put together.  John and Yoko are seen in the back of his white Rolls-Royce, in black and white footage from their Amsterdam bed-in, and sitting in a bag at a press conference in Vienna.  Apple executive Peter Brown is seen on the phone when he is mentioned in the lyrics.  All of this is interspersed with a good deal of Michael Lindsey-Hogg's footage of all four Beatles during the early days of the Get Back project at Twickenham Film Studios, giving the impression that this recording is a group effort, even though only John and Paul play on the record.  The cleverest bit occurs when a lone devotee of Krishna is seen sitting in a corner at Twickenham on the line "you don't take nothing with you but your soul."

Something - While the four Beatles could not be bothered to get together to shoot a promotional film for George Harrison's only A-side, they did agree to be seen with their wives, which actually makes for a rather nice piece to accompany this great love song.  Longtime assistant Neil Aspinall shot George and Pattie in Esher, John and Yoko at Tittenhurst, and Ringo and Maureen near their home.  Paul and Linda provided their own footage from Scotland, including some shots of themselves frolicking with sheepdog Martha.

Come Together - This is an animated film that was created for the original release of the album 1 and the launch of the group's website in 2000.  The figures of the Beatles are clothed as on the cover of Abbey Road.  They are seen floating with umbrellas, riding go carts and sitting in large teacups like those at amusement parks.  At times, they are also seen with guitars and Ringo wearing a big marching band bass drum.  Near the end of the song, they march across a giant spiraling keyboard resembling the zebra crossing on the famous album cover.

Let it Be - Michael Lindsey-Hogg's footage from January 31st in the Apple basement studio accompanies the single version of McCartney's great hymn.  Thus, though we see George playing a guitar solo on film, what we hear is his overdubbed solo from April of 1969.  While there are no shots of Billy Preston, we do see Yoko sitting on the floor beside John.

The Long and Winding Road - For this clip of their final American single, we hear the actual sound from January 31st instead of Phil Spector's orchestra and choir.  This is, in fact, an entirely different take shot on that day.  We thus get some vocal variations from Paul, including alternate words at times.  Billy Preston is seen here, playing a nice solo in place of the huge orchestration we are used to hearing.  Curiously, the final shot is the exact same one we just saw at the end of Let it Be, showing Glyn Johns and part of the film crew off to the side of the grand piano.

1+ - part three

By 1967 and 1968, making a promotional film or video for each new single release had become almost second nature to the Beatles - so much so, in fact, that even after the death of their manager Brian Epstein, they automatically carried on the trend without his guidance.  And the quality did not lag, either.  There is something unique about each of these visual gems, matching the variety in the music that they accompany.  

Penny Lane - Swedish director Peter Goldmann was recommended to the Beatles by old Hamburg friend Klaus Voormann, and Epstein hired him to direct promotional films for both sides of the new double A-sided single in early 1967.  The world got its first glimpse of the group's new look in these 35mm color films, with each of them sporting a moustache and John keeping his round-rimmed glasses from his appearance in Richard Lester's How I Won the War.  Though the song is a McCartney composition, John is featured the most walking around London's East End.  This is intercut with real footage of Liverpool that Goldmann's crew shot on another day.  The boys mount horses and ride them both in the East End and in Knole Park in Sevenoaks, Kent (as with their skiing in the film Help!, none of them had any previous experience horse-riding).  They ride past risers on which Ringo's drumkit with its distinctive Beatles logo sits, eventually dismounting at a round table set with candlesticks and glasses, where some uniformed footmen - assistant Mal Evans among them - bring them their guitars before they overturn the table.  At no point do they actually pretend to sing or play the song.

All You Need Is Love - There was no need to produce a video for this song, as it was broadcast live to every corner of the globe on the first-ever worldwide satellite program Our World on July 25th, 1967.  It was colorized for the Anthology series in the 1990's, and that version is included in this collection.  With a group of famous friends gathered around them (pictured above), the Beatles perform along with a small orchestra and a playback of the basic track of Lennon's anthem.  One camera in the control booth shows the tape machine capturing the moment as producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick mix it live for the simultaneous video transmission.  

Hello Goodbye - Since the group had just finished directing themselves for their television production Magical Mystery Tour, McCartney figured he could handle the chore of directing the promotional films for the next single, as well.  The Saville Theatre, still leased by Epstein's NEMS enterprises, was used to shoot three versions of the group miming to the song.  This first one begins with the curtain rising to show the band in their Sgt. Pepper outfits.  Lennon does not wear his glasses, which works well in a few quick throwback shots of the boys in their matching collarless 1963 suits waving to the camera.  Ringo sits sometimes at a very small and sometimes at a very large drumkit.  And several young ladies in grass skirts join the Beatles onstage for the Maori finale.

Lady Madonna - Quickly arranging a promotional film shoot for a song recorded only a few days earlier, the group reported to EMI's Abbey Road Studios on February 11th, 1968.  Instead of simply pretending to be shown recording McCartney's number, they actually recorded Lennon's Hey Bulldog.  This explains why John is seen sitting at the piano more than Paul, and why the two of them share one microphone when Paul is clearly heard singing lead alone on Lady Madonna.  At the end, Paul is seen stepping away from a piano at Chappell Studios with Cilla Black on a different date.

Hey Jude - The Beatles reunited with Michael Lindsey-Hogg for their next promotional videos.  On a soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios, backed by an orchestra and surrounded by 300 random people and a group of Apple Scruffs, the band mimed to their latest hit, though Paul did sing into a live microphone.  His vocal gymnastics are therefore different during the extended coda, especially when he throws in a few lines from the Band's song The Weight.  At the top, David Frost introduced the band after they did an impromptu version of his television theme song.  They then launched into a ghastly It's Now or Never as he looked on stone-faced.  While this was edited out of the tape before it was distributed worldwide, we get to watch this strangely delicious moment of anarchy on this collection.

1+ - part two

Richard Lester, director of both A Hard Day's Night and Help!, has been retroactively credited as being the father of MTV, based on his creative staging for the songs written by the Beatles for those films.  Band manager Brian Epstein certainly recognized the power of those images, with the running, jumping and standing still version of Can't Buy Me Love serving as the prime example.  He also realized that the punishing schedule which the boys had somehow managed to survive for almost three full years could not be maintained.  Yet each new single still had to be promoted worldwide to achieve maximum success.  A new way of doing business needed to be devised.

To that end, a day was set aside on November 25th, 1965, for an ingenious project.  Promotional videos would be shot on various sets at Twickenham Film Studios for distribution to television outlets around the world.  The latest release, the double A-sided single Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out, was the most important, of course, but the previous three singles would get their own videos, as well.   All in all, ten videos were shot on this date, with eight of them appearing on this collection.  I have already covered one version of I Feel Fine in my last entry.

Ticket to Ride - Lester's sequence for this song in Help!, featuring the Beatles skiing in Austria, rivals that for Can't Buy Me Love in the first movie for sheer inventiveness.  Rather than getting permission from United Artists to use that clip, this simple video version was shot instead, showing the boys wearing winter coats before a backdrop of huge tickets as pictured above.  Ringo goofs around playing the lopsided drum pattern from the record.  And John has forgotten where his extraneous "yeahs," "ohs" and "ahs" were, shooting a look at Paul and laughing every time he gets them wrong.

Help! - For this video, the boys sit astride a plank between two sawhorses, with John in front.  The others poke their heads from side to side to be seen, bouncing up and down during each refrain.  Ringo sits at the back holding an umbrella, which he puts to good use when a heavy fake snow begins to fall near the end of the song, definitely to the surprise of George.

Yesterday - We take a break from the promotional videos for this clip from the Ed Sullivan Show.  George introduces this song, not yet known to American audiences, as the others step aside and Paul takes up an acoustic guitar.  The lights come down low to isolate him as he sings along to three live violinists and a backing track.  The screaming fans soon realize they need to quiet down and just listen to this brilliant number.

Day Tripper - Back to Twickenham for the first of three versions of this great rocker.  John and Paul share one of three risers in front of the type of simple backdrop used on many TV shows of the era.  Except for Ringo swinging his elbows whenever he is not playing, they play this one straight for a change.  A tinsel curtain closes near the camera at the end of the number.

We Can Work It Out - Three videos were also shot for this song, with this first one using the same set as Day Tripper.  John sits at a harmonium on one of the risers, and he cannot resist mugging for the camera early on, as Paul sings the verse aware that John is up to something.  George becomes bored and sits on the front of Ringo's drum riser during the second bridge.  The notes that John plays on the keyboard at the end of the number are surely not those heard on the record.

Paperback Writer - Michael Lindsey-Hogg directed the color promotional film for this spring 1966 single.  He shoots the band in the lush garden of Chiswick House, with each member sporting tinted sunglasses at times.  While the others have guitars to occasionally mime playing the song, Ringo sits by without even a pair of drumsticks in his hands.  

Yellow Submarine - Neither film nor video was shot at the time for the double A-sided single that featured songs from the August 1966 album Revolver.  For this collection, footage from the 1968 animated film was assembled, most of it featuring scenes from the submarine's journey to Pepperland.  There is one shot of the Sgt. Pepper drumhead and a Blue Meanie at the moment that the brass band is heard in the song.

Eleanor Rigby - Like Can't Buy Me Love and Ticket to Ride in the earlier films, Eleanor Rigby is the brilliant standalone sequence in the Yellow Submarine film, and there was simply no better way to represent this song visually for this collection than to include that original sequence.  The animators combined black and white photographs of people and places (mostly brick) with splashes of color to create a bleak and lonely urban landscape mirroring the lives of the characters in McCartney's lyrics.  Even the submarine does not really brighten up this world as it wanders through it.  A stunning piece, then and now. 

1+ - part one

For the first time, I will be taking a look not at a musical collection by the Beatles, but rather at an outstanding collection of videos based on their greatest hits package simply known as 1, which was a worldwide smash when it was released in the year 2000.  Fifteen years later, a deluxe Blu-ray set was made available, featuring videos or films of each of the twenty-seven number one songs appearing on the original.  Twenty-three additional films and videos brought the total up to an impressive fifty.  A CD with remastered versions of all twenty-seven number one hits was included, as well.  And all of this was housed in a hard cover booklet with photos and entries detailing the sources of the visual material.  

For the selections tied in with the original CD, I will group each entry as I did for that collection.

Love Me Do - The Beatles were filmed in August of 1963 performing without an audience for a BBC television program entitled The Mersey Sound.  The first recorded version of the song from September 4th, 1962 with Ringo on drums was played with the footage seen here.  Also, interspersed with the performance clip, are shots including manager Brian Epstein in his NEMS record shop, the boys reading fan letters and putting on make-up in a dressing room, riding on the Mersey ferry in Liverpool, and some actual fans at a concert.

From Me to You - This clip from the famous Royal Variety Command Performance shows the curtain opening with the band already playing.  The ITV broadcast then briefly puts the group name on the screen for the home viewers not yet familiar with them in November of 1963.  Only after the number is concluded are John and Paul seen moving their microphones forward of the curtain line in preparation for the introduction of their next song.

She Loves You - The Beatles appeared on the Swedish television program Drop In (pictured above) at the end of their weeklong visit to that country in October of 1963 - their first foreign tour.  The fans sitting at the band's feet are amused when Paul and George shake their heads while singing the falsetto "woo."  And, at the end of the number, we see the boys step back to do their patented unison bow - a classy, old-fashioned move that Epstein added to their act.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - For the Granada TV program Late Scene Extra, the group is clearly miming to their latest single in November of '63.  There are no microphones to be seen, and John and George are strumming acoustic guitars.  The set features a giant camera and mock-ups of the Daily Echo newspaper.

Can't Buy Me Love - During the final week of principal photography for A Hard Day's Night, the group actually began rehearsals for a television special entitled Around the Beatles.  Talk about a grueling schedule!  They also had a session to record the numbers that they would be doing on the program.  This clip shows them miming to the new recording of this hit single.  Oddly, the camera focuses more on John than Paul, even though John does not sing on the original.  Some extra screaming was added to that from the audience all "around the Beatles" before the actual broadcast.

A Hard Day's Night - In June of 1965, the boys made a triumphant return to Paris, playing for much more enthusiastic crowds than those that had attended their January '64 shows.  This footage from one of the '65 concerts was featured on a television special called Les Beatles.  Aside from the usual shots of frantic girls in the audience, we see some young boys happily clapping along, as well as one teenage boy ecstatically dancing alone.

I Feel Fine - This is the first of several promotional films made at Twickenham Film Studios in November of 1965 for distribution worldwide (more about them in my next entry).  Some gym equipment sits on the empty studio floor as the distinctive feedback at the top of the song is heard.  John, Paul and George enter wearing their guitars and pretend to play and sing along with the record, George singing into a standing punching bag in place of a microphone.  Ringo eventually runs in and hops onto an exercise bicycle which he pedals sporadically.

Eight Days A Week - The first color film in this collection was assembled expressly for it using footage from the historic Shea Stadium concert in 1965.  The Beatles fly over the stadium in a helicopter looking down on the massive crowd, a cop covers his ears as they run out onto the field, girls scream, pass out, are chased down by security, the boys cavort on stage, and Brian Epstein proudly stands off to the side taking it all in.  They did not perform this song, by the way.  In fact, they never played it live.  

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - sides five & six

In 1965, the Beatles made numerous appearances on BBC Radio, yet only one of them was actually a musical program - a special entitled The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride which was broadcast in June.  Two selections from that program are on Live at the BBC, but none appear on this second collection.  Every time the Beatles, either collectively or individually, were heard on the radio from this time forward, it was in the form of an interview, most of them pre-recorded.

While some of these interviews were of the silly, off the cuff style of those on earlier programs, more and more of them were of a serious nature, as the Beatles began to be seen as interesting young men with ideas and opinions worthy of discussion, rather than simply shallow pop stars.  Mind you, pop/rock journalism still had a long way to go.  It was in its infancy at this point, but it, too, would soon grow in stature.  

Brian Matthew had developed a nice rapport with the boys on programs such as Saturday Club and Top Gear.  Now, he put that relationship to good use and met with each of them individually for Pop Profile, a series of in-depth interviews which were recorded, edited and shipped out on discs to radio stations worldwide.

The interviews on side five were conducted by Matthew with John and George on November 30th, 1965, only a few days before the release of the LP Rubber Soul and the single We Can Work it Out/Day Tripper.

John - Pop Profile - Matthew kicks off this interview by asking John about a recent quote which stated that he didn't care about anything.  At first, John doesn't mention anything specific, but he finally states that he does care about his family.  The talk goes on to material possessions such as his house, which he admits is much larger than the places he lived in back in Liverpool, and his black Rolls Royce.

They discuss the education of his son (Julian and Cynthia are never mentioned by name), with John expressing his preference for a French school rather than conventional public or private schools.  He hopes that as a parent he would allow his son to be whatever he chooses to be, though he feels the influence of music in Julian's life would be undeniable. 

When the subject of politics is brought up, John states that he has no political leanings.  As we know, that would definitely change in the ensuing years.

George - Pop Profile - When asked what else he might have done with his life, George admits that he was a bad pupil in school.  He reveals that he worked for a few months as an apprentice electrician before quitting to go on a brief tour of Scotland with the band.

He states that he became the quiet Beatle because he got fed up with answering stupid questions at press conferences quicker than his mates.  With his chief interest being music, the impetus to begin writing his own songs came, of course, from the influence of John and Paul.  Now, he was becoming more interested in arrangements so that each instrument served the song as a whole.

He was enjoying living in a quiet area outside of London.  He states that at present he was not ready to be a father.  And, as we know, he and Pattie never did have a child together.

The interviews on side six with Paul and Ringo were conducted by Matthew on May 2nd, 1966, a few weeks into sessions for the album Revolver.

Paul - Pop Profile - After briefly touching on the difference between being "Beatle" Paul and a regular person, Paul talks about Indian music, which George had introduced him to, and the theatre, as two examples of things which he had previously dismissed but which now interested him.

He states that he would be interested in making a film, though not a big budget production.  Of course, this idea would blossom in the next year into the Magical Mystery Tour project.

He also expresses a dislike of traveling, foreshadowing the end of touring in the coming months.

Ringo - Pop Profile - He likes the group's new schedule in early '66 with more time off, though he admits that he easily becomes bored doing nothing.

He enjoys material possessions such as his house and cars, and his role as a family man.

At age fourteen, while he was in hospital, a music teacher came around with various percussion instruments, resulting in his interest in music in general and the drums in particular.

As you can see, there is nothing earth shattering here along the lines of other interviews such as Paul admitting that he took LSD or John's infamous "we're bigger than Jesus" quote.  I'm sure many fans only listened to these once, if at all.  With each of these running roughly eight minutes in length, they take up quite a bit of space on this collection which otherwise might have been used for more musical selections or amusing interactions between the Beatles and the presenters of the various BBC programs. 

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side four

Though the year 1964 brought worldwide fame to the Beatles, the relentless schedule coordinated for them by manager Brian Epstein continued unabated.  A three-week series of concerts in Paris, a whirlwind trip to America and a seven week shoot of the group's first feature film kicked off a year that would also include their first international and North American tours, not to mention multiple recording sessions which produced two albums and a handful of singles.  

Sandwiched in between all of these other activities, the group still managed to make numerous trips to BBC Radio, even during the filming of A Hard Day's Night.  Several of these appearances were now solely for the purpose of interviews rather than musical performances.  And, as the group's catalog continued to grow, they tended to spend more time promoting their latest records rather than playing their old favorites. 

The bulk of the selections on side four are from a new program called Top Gear, which the Beatles helped to launch in the summer of 1964. 

I Got a Woman - Unlike the version of this Ray Charles number presented on the previous collection, John's vocal is double-tracked for this Saturday Club performance.  While the band is in fine form, the double tracking is rather sloppy.

Long Tall Sally - Paul delivers the goods, as usual, on this Little Richard tune that the Beatles kept in their repertoire for most of their performing career.  By the time of this July 1964 broadcast, fans were probably already missing producer George's Martin's driving piano part as heard on the recently released EP.

If I Fell - John double tracks his vocal introduction before Paul joins in for their perfect duet.  I find it surprising that the band added this delicate ballad to their live set list for their tours soon after this.

A Hard Job Writing Them - On the inaugural broadcast of Top Gear, host Brian Matthew asks the boys about writing the songs for the film soundtrack on a tight deadline.

And I Love Her - Paul double tracks his vocal throughout for this performance.  The instrumentation is different from the record, with George playing electric instead of acoustic guitar and Ringo tapping on his drum kit in place of bongos.  Unlike If I Fell, they never played this ballad live.

Oh, Can't We?  Yes We Can - The second From Us to You special was broadcast on Easter Monday, March 30th, 1964.  Here, host Alan Freeman asks John about his book release In His Own Write.

You Can't Do That - John snarls his way through his nasty rocker.  Paul's pulsing bass line sounds great, but John's guitar solo and George's backing vocal part get a bit lost in the mix.  And, of course, something is missing from the record - no cowbell!

Honey Don't - The boys returned to Top Gear for their second and final appearance on the program in November of 1964 to promote their fourth album Beatles for Sale.  Ringo got to sing a truncated version of this Carl Perkins tune, which gave George another opportunity to show off his rockabilly chops.

I'll Follow the Sun - This performance of this ballad by Paul was previously released on the EP Baby It's You.

Black with Green Shutters - A brief but wide-ranging interview with Brian Matthew for Top of the Pops.

Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! - A good rendition of a Little Richard medley that the group had been performing for years, with a free form guitar solo from George, not nearly as good as the one he plays on the album track on Beatles for Sale.

That's What We're Here For - Talking about the latest single, host Brian Matthew states his preference for the B-side She's a Woman, much to Paul's delight and John's chagrin, I'm sure.

I Feel Fine (Studio Outtake Sequence) - The earlier collection, Live at the BBC, featured this same performance of the latest A-side, with John's lead vocal double-tracked.  Here, we get a fascinating listen to the unedited tape before that double tracking.  It takes four attempts for the boys to get the feedback right at the top of the song.

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side three

Manager Brian Epstein set up two very important auditions for the Beatles in early 1962.  The first was the infamous, unsuccessful one for Decca Records on New Year's Day.  Nine days later, he submitted an application form to the BBC in an attempt to get the group on one of that esteemed organization's radio programs.  Epstein realized that this would be almost as important as securing a recording contract in his drive to gain national recognition for the band. 

On February 12th, the Beatles passed the audition at the BBC's Broadcasting House in Manchester, something other Liverpool groups such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and the Big Three failed to do.  John, Paul, George and Pete made their BBC Radio debut on March 8th on the program Teenagers Turn - Here We Go.  (Pete Best would make only one more radio appearance with the group in June before being replaced by Ringo.)

Once their records hit the charts, their popularity quickly grew and the Beatles made frequent appearances on various BBC programs, culminating in their own series Pop Go the Beatles in the summer of '63.  It was a television appearance, however, on Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium on the ATV network, that truly sparked Beatlemania that October.  TV naturally became more prominent from that moment on, and visits to BBC Radio became fewer and further between.

Most of the selections on side three of this collection are from those latter months of 1963, and primarily from the programs Saturday Club and Top Gear.

I Saw Her Standing There - This great rocker which opens the first album Please Please Me was one of the numbers they most frequently played on the BBC.  Paul counts the band in as on the record.  They choose not to repeat the bridge, however, thereby slightly truncating the song.

Glad All Over - As usual, George excels on this cover of a Carl Perkins rockabilly tune.  Host Brian Matthew announces the song over the instrumental introduction.

Lift Lid Again - Paul opens an elaborate box sent in by a listener to make a request.

I'll Get You - As on most BBC recordings, this one lacks John's harmonica part as heard on the B-side of the group's fourth single.

She Loves You - All of the good-natured, boyish enthusiasm of early Beatlemania is on display in this monster hit.  George seems to join in here vocally more than on the record.

Memphis, Tennessee - John sang this Chuck Berry classic several times on the BBC.  This version seems a bit shaky compared to the one previously released on the earlier collection.

Happy Birthday Dear Saturday Club - The Beatles celebrate the fifth anniversary of what was probably the most prominent pop program of its time in the UK by playing a rocked up version of this song we all sing to one other.

Now Hush, Hush - Before a live studio audience on the program Easy Beat, Paul confirms that the group has been chosen to appear in the upcoming Royal Variety Performance.  The boys then launch into...

From Me to You - ...the song they performed more than any other on BBC Radio.

Money (That's What I Want) - The first of four special programs called From Us to You was broadcast on Boxing Day 1963.  To promote their recently released second album With the Beatles, they performed this raucous cover of the Barrett Strong number which closes that album.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - On the same program, they played their latest hit single, the one which would soon kick the door wide open not only for themselves but for the entire British Invasion in the USA.  On this occasion, they overdubbed handclaps onto the song, as they had on the record, then applauded themselves at the end of the number.

Brian Bathtubes - The boys give a good amount of grief to host Brian Matthew while reading more requests.

This Boy - This Saturday Club performance of the great three-part harmony B-side is more relaxed and assured than the one heard on Anthology 1 for the television program Morecambe and Wise.  Some reverb is added, John double tracks his vocal part in the bridge, and the song fades out as on the record.

If I Wasn't in America - While some BBC appearances were presented live, most were recorded in advance.  Here, the boys talk about relaxing in Miami once this edition of Saturday Club is eventually broadcast.  

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side two

Most of the songs on sides one and two of this collection are from various editions of Pop Go the Beatles.  The fact that BBC Radio gave the group their own fifteen-week series is remarkable, especially considering that they only had three singles and one album out at the time.  Their most recent release was, in fact, the single From Me to You.  It wasn't until the series was nearing its end in September of 1963 that the monster fourth single She Loves You arrived, soon followed by the full-blown national explosion which the press dubbed as Beatlemania.  Being featured on a weekly basis on the BBC Light Programme throughout the summer surely aided the group in the buildup to that cultural phenomenon.

In the booklet that comes with this collection, Kevin Howlett (who is right up there with Mark Lewisohn among the best Beatles scholars) states that, with six or so songs required for each program, the boys intended to play many of their old favorites from their stage act, including a strong emphasis on American R & B.  While pulling out these numbers from their Hamburg and Liverpool setlists, they also discovered songs that they might want to record for their next album, such as...

Till There Was You -  This standard from the Broadway show The Music Man had been in the band's stage act for a couple of years, as a welcome change of pace during long sets.  After playing it here on July 10th, 1963, they returned to it a mere ten days later at the first session for the album With the Beatles.  On the record, George played acoustic guitar and Ringo shifted to bongos, but this Pop Go the Beatles performance features electric guitar and a gentle Latin beat on drums.

Lend Me Your Comb - This rendition of a Carl Perkins number by the boys was previously released on Anthology 1.

Lower 5E - A fan letter has Paul and George reminiscing about several old mates from the Liverpool Institute, which they both attended.

The Hippy Hippy Shake - This is a different version of a Chan Romero rocker than the one which appeared on Live at the BBC.

Roll Over Beethoven - In this instance, the group had recorded this song for With the Beatles two days prior to this slightly slower, uneven performance of the Chuck Berry classic.

There's a Place - Once again, George has to play a part on guitar which John had played on harmonica on the original recording of this number from Please Please Me.

Bumper Bundle - All four of the boys and Lee Peters read requests for the same number...

P.S. I Love You - The group's very first B-side.  Ringo faithfully recreates Andy White's drum part from the original.

Please Mister Postman - Performed on the same edition of Pop Go the Beatles as Till There Was You, this merely hints at the urgency of the version on With the Beatles, recorded on July 30th at the second session for that album.  Other differences include a brief guitar introduction and a tidy ending, yet none of the breathless breaks near the end of the song which make the record so exciting.

Beautiful Dreamer - Here we have a real gem for a number of reasons.  Goffin and Keller added some new lyrics for this rocked up version of the old Stephen Foster standard for a teenage singer by the name of Tony Orlando - yes, that Tony Orlando.  Only weeks after hearing it, the Beatles were playing it as part of their first appearance on Saturday Club.  Recorded on January 22nd, 1963, this has the distinction of being the earliest performance on either of their official live BBC collections.

Devil in Her Heart - This song by a girl group named the Donays was recorded for With the Beatles only a few days after an earlier Pop Go the Beatles performance.  Here, we have another version from the final show of the series.

The 49 Weeks - John salutes Rodney Burke, who actually hosted the program for eleven weeks.

Sure to Fall (In Love with You) - This is a more laid back performance of a Carl Perkins number than the one on the first Live at the BBC collection.

Never Mind, Eh? - The boys dedicate the final number of the series to each other.

Twist and Shout - The group performed this great cover of an Isley Brothers tune ten times for the BBC.  This rendition was from July 16th, 1963, a date on which they recorded an astonishing eighteen songs for three full editions of Pop Go the Beatles.

Bye, Bye - The boys sing an amusing little farewell at the end of the final episode.

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side one

As I was busy writing a series of entries for this blog about the first Live at the BBC collection back in 2013, the news broke that a second such compilation was in the works, and that it would be released before the end of that year.  Though I was expressing my admiration for the original at the time, I found it hard to believe that another edition could possibly be as good as the first and questioned whether it was even necessary.

Once it was released and I had a chance to peruse the tracklist, I put off buying it for quite a long time.  For one thing, it replicated some of the performances previously issued on the first collection, on the Baby It's You EP and on Anthology 1.  It also featured far fewer cover versions of songs by other artists who had influenced the Beatles, which had been one of the strongest reasons I had come to love Live at the BBC.  And it contained much more of the banter from the boys with the hosts of the various programs which, enjoyable as that sometimes is, leaves less space for actual music from the group.

I eventually gave in to temptation and purchased a used copy in near perfect condition when I came upon it in one of the shops I frequent.  And, while I was happy that I finally had it in my possession, my initial misgivings about it were largely confirmed, though there are a few delights to be had in its sixty-three tracks.  While the copy I possess is on 2 CDs, I will discuss the contents as they appear on the 3-LP vinyl edition, as I have done in past entries for other collections.

And Here We Are Again - Host Rodney Burke introduces the group at the top of an episode of their own program Pop Go the Beatles, which was broadcast for fifteen weeks in the summer of 1963, long before we even knew who they were here in the USA.

Words of Love - The boys played this Buddy Holly number on Pop Go the Beatles more than a full year before recording it for their fourth album Beatles for Sale.  Paul and John perform the breathy harmonies and George replicates Holly's guitar part exactly as they did on that later occasion.

How About It, Gorgeous? - Rodney Burke and George read letters from listeners, one of them making reference to a children's BBC television program called The Flowerpot Men for some odd reason.

Do You Want to Know a Secret - A brisk rendition of a song Lennon wrote for George to sing on the group's first album Please Please Me.  Instead of fading out as on the original, a suitable ending is played by the band.

Lucille - Paul does his best Little Richard impersonation on Pop Go the Beatles.

Hey, Paul... - Paul chatting with a host by the name of Lee Peters.  Off the air, the Beatles referred to him as Pee Litres.

Anna (Go to Him) - As on the album Please Please Me, John puts his all into this torch song by Arthur Alexander.

Hello! - More nonsense from John and Lee Peters.

Please Please Me - The group's exciting second single and the title song of their first album was performed often on the BBC, always without John's harmonica.  Instead, George plays the distinctive riff on guitar, as he had done on the demo/first version of the number.

Misery - An early performance of this McCartney/Lennon original for the program Here We Go in front of a studio audience that would not yet be familiar with the number in advance of its release on Please Please Me.

I'm Talking About You - One of the true highlights of the collection is this live-on-the-air performance of a Chuck Berry number from an early appearance on Saturday Club.

A Real Treat - While reading a fan letter, Ringo cracks everyone up with some off the cuff remarks when they interrupt him.  "College?...You're posh."

Boys - Though they played this Shirelles number seven times on various BBC programs, this is the very same one previously released on the EP Baby It's You.

Absolutely Fab - More of Lee Peters, this time with George.

Chains - A fine rendition of a song by a girl group called the Cookies that the boys covered on Please Please Me, with George handling the solo verses.  

Ask Me Why - This performance is a truncated version of the group's second B-side, a rather old-fashioned composition by Lennon.          

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Bob Dylan was already a huge influence by early 1965 on many other singers and songwriters, and the Beatles were definitely among them.  George Harrison wound up becoming close friends with Dylan over the years, spending time with him and the Band in late '68, coaxing him to appear at the Concert for Bangladesh in '71, and recording two albums with him as members of the Traveling Wilburys.  On the other hand, John Lennon's relationship with Dylan was somewhat uneasy, like two combatants with mutual respect who are nonetheless determined to both impress and outdo each other. 

In late '64, Lennon had written I'm a Loser for the album Beatles for Sale, singing a set of self-reflective lyrics and altering his style of harmonica playing to sound an awful lot like Dylan.  Now, in February of '65, during sessions for the soundtrack of the film Help!, Lennon brought in a composition with even more of a Dylanesque feel to it - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. 

The Beatles recorded the song on February 18th, but Lennon must have met with producer George Martin earlier than that, resulting in the hiring of musician Johnnie Scott for the date of the session.  Lennon did not want to play harmonica on the track this time, desiring a different sound.  Scott played flute instead, providing more of a lilting feeling to the end of the song.

Before Scott could play his tenor and alto flute overdubs, however, the Beatles ran through nine takes of the basic track (though only two of them were complete), featuring John and George on acoustic guitars, Paul on bass, and Ringo playing gently on his snare drum with brushes.  Anthology 2 allows us to hear take five - the only other complete take - after the false start of take one and some amusing banter from John before take two.  Onto take nine, the master, Ringo added tambourine, Paul played maracas, and George played an additional acoustic guitar part.  John deliberately chose not to double track his lead vocal, knowing he had captured the proper mood in a single go. 

Director Richard Lester had presented two ballads - Lennon's If I Fell and McCartney's And I Love Her - imaginatively in A Hard Day's Night.  For Help!, he set You've Got to Hide Your Love Away in the group's fictional shared flat.  John sings the song straight while Paul winks at the priestess Ahme, which George eyes jealously in between attempts to impress her while strumming his guitar.  At the end of the number, the live-in gardener, who had been seen earlier trimming a patch of grass in a corner of the flat with some joke chattering teeth, produces a flute and mimes Johnnie Scott's part.

The song appears on both the US and UK versions of the album Help!  It became prominent enough to be chosen as one of the few album cuts on the Red Album in 1973.  It was also featured on the 1977 collection Love Songs and the 1982 compilation Reel Music.  

Eddie Vedder recorded a great cover version of the song for the soundtrack of the film I Am Sam.  Vedder chose to play harmonica on the track, confirming for me, at least, that Lennon should not have shied away from sounding too much like Dylan on the original. 

This brings to a close my alphabetical look at the song catalog of the Beatles, which has surprisingly taken much longer that I anticipated.  In the dozen years since I began this blog, I have purchased a few more collections which have been released, and which will now become the subjects of my next series of entries.  Please stay tuned, if you are so inclined.