S4E02 - The Fab Four - The Cacophony Sessions

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dan Whitell (00:00):
I've managed to listen to every Beatles album.

(00:03):
at least once.
I was gonna, you all bastardSome of them are good, some of
them are not so good.
I almost watched a hard day'snight, but I thought it was not
really gonna add much to thepodcast, so I'm not wasting two
hours of my life watching aBeatles You're

Dan B (00:16):
be better off watching North by Northwest if you want a
train based film to watch.

I haven't

Martyn (00:23):
Is that the

Tom (00:24):
the old,

Martyn (00:24):
Alfred Hitchcock film?

Tom (00:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a beautiful Oh yeah.
It's amazing.
I've never

seen it.
No.
What

Martyn (00:29):
great

great film, man.
I've not seen that manyHitchcock films, actually.
I've only seen, oh,

Martyn (00:34):
north by Northwest is his best in my opinion.
Rear windows,

Dan B (00:38):
windows really good as well.

Martyn (00:39):
Yeah.

But good old Jimmy Stewart, man.
Yeah.
a, It is a good film.
It feels ahead of its time, eventhough you can tell like
production values, it's not, butstory wise it

Dan B (00:49):
Both

got some red light,

Dan B (00:52):
mood Hell yeah.

the Bette Light right there.
That's the Pel Underground.
Have you

Martyn (01:00):
got your pentagram going?
I've got join, yeah.
everything I can to get him tocome around, but he doesn't.
Back to the white light, whoa.

Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
You say goodbye and I say holdon to your drawers.
It's time for the CacophonySession's, lonely Club podcast.
Tonight we take on the Fab Fourin case you were born yesterday.
This podcast has traveled a longand winding road, but I am the
Egg man, not Dr.
Robotnik.

(01:48):
No.
My name is Dan Whittle, and Idon't do this by myself.
I get by with a little help frommy friends, and they are Martin.

Martyn (01:58):
Hello, I'm Martin and I don't have a one liner.

Okay, Tom,

Tom (02:06):
you realize that tin food is just for crack heads and
wars.
That's supposed to be aquestion, but I fucked it Sorry.

And b

Dan B (02:14):
I'm addicted to collecting vintage Beatles
albums.
I need.
help.

Martyn (02:18):
Ah,

It's a good one too.
Good to get So welcome to theshow, whether you're watching
this on the free opening sampleon our Cacophony Sessions
YouTube channel, listening in onone of the various podcast
platforms, or even if you'vegiven five of your kindest
pounds, to provide me with a aof income.
And watch the fall podcast inall its video glory, on our

(02:42):
Patreon.
join us As we discuss ourfavorite Beatles albums, our
favorite Beatles songs, ourfavorite themselves, and the
best cover versions of theirsongs that there are out there.
hit us up on Facebook.
Send your tweets to at cSessions Pod and poise your
angry fingers over the YouTubecomments section, after you've

(03:02):
subscribed to our channel.
for your takes and your opinionson our takes.
bells, whistles, plugs, likes,bfat and jazz fusion.
It's time to slaughter thoselong-haired, sacred cows from
Liverpool, or perhaps not.
We'll see as a warmup though.
It's time for the quickfirequarry blast Uncovering the
belly gems in our collectivemind.

(03:24):
It's time for, does it slap?

Martyn (03:33):
it's a song called Ethel by, murder Capital.
And I think it's one of the mostemotionally heartbreaking songs
I've heard for a long time.
It's beautiful.
It's like Interpol, maxed out.
It's absolutely wonderful.
I know Tom has heard a MurderCapital.
you, recommended them to me atsome point.
The song Ethel, is absolutelybeautiful.

(03:54):
if you like post punk fontainstyle, edgy guitar stuff, check
it out.
It's amazing.

Tom (04:00):
So It's a really good nomination.
Mine, but does it slap, requirestwo of the other people, the oth
I know the song and I agree.
But neither of the dances willhave heard of it cuz it only
came out a couple of weeks ago.

Dan B (04:12):
just watching the music video.
It's got a very attractive womansmoking melancholy Nick Lee.
Yes.
And, it's got two chickenscooking in an oven.
confus.
I'm mean,

Martyn (04:23):
Can I then pause it?
I Feel Love by Donna Summer

Tom (04:27):
is that not on there already?
no.

One of the most important songs there ever
recorded.

Martyn (04:32):
Marda

Tom (04:33):
is Yeah, you can have that the first important department.
Ah,

without that song, there is no, no dance music.
No DAF Punk, nothing.
I'm sure it would've comeeventually, but that song is the
spiritual successor too.
It was Italo disco stemmed fromwhat Maro did in that song.
Very important.
Loved Donna Summer.
Before we get onto tonight'smain course, some topical

(05:01):
appetizers.
who's got the news?
Who's got the Blues?
Danby, you're back after coupleof episodes sitting out.
so give it to me straight What'spopping?

Dan B (05:10):
I've become very middle-aged and middle class.
we're looking at Moving House.
My recommendation to anybody isdon't ever move house.
Stay where you are.
Stay indoors.
Remain indoors.
Moving house is just an absolutescam.
You're gonna just have to paymoney for every little thing
that you do, even if it doesn'trequire any help, don't do it.

(05:31):
Apart from that, done donenothing.
don't move House.
take that on

Sound advice.
Tom.

Tom (05:41):
I've been doing a lot of listening to music.
I think it'll be linked on theblog at some point.

I've already linked it on the blog, Oh, fantastic.
I'll, I'll keep updating it witheach post that I put up on
there.

Tom (05:52):
Yeah.
This year I'm back on the newreleases again.
I did a big catch up sessionwhere I listened to about 110
albums in their entirety in thepast three weeks.
67 of them.
I liked the rest of them.
I didn't hundred Reasons.
New album.
I'm gonna recommend that onehere because it's of bands that
from the early two thousandsthat you really wanted to reform

(06:13):
and to see live.
Again, hundred reasons aren'tgonna be high on that list yet.
This album is every bit as goodas they were at their peak.
I think, Colin Doran's voice isstill strong.
They've still got a good chorus.
It's really poppy.
I didn't want to like it.
I wanted to go in and think thisis just like emo for people who

(06:34):
haven't grown up.
but it's actually really good.
on a completely different note,I'll do more reviews of records,
on one of our news episodes, I'msure.
Yeah.
cuz I could go on for ages.
My band that I'm in with Martin,I'm gonna steal his thunder.
We are going into the studio torecord an ep.
On Thursday.
We're traveling down to Cornwallon Wednesday.

(06:55):
we are doing that age old bandthing of renting a cottage in
Cornwall and recording in themiddle of

Oh, you're doing it.
Captain Beefheart.

Tom (07:05):
Yeah, We are that stereotype now.
That's what we're doing nextweek and just been getting ready
for that.
really.

Cool.
Martin, anything to add?

Martyn (07:12):
Yeah.
Tom totally stole my thunder cuzI wanted talk about going to the
recording

studio.
It's what he

Tom (07:17):
what he does.

Martyn (07:17):
It's gonna be, yeah, it's what he does.
it's gonna be be my firstexperience in a professional
recording studio I've recordedat d b s with you, Dan.
And, yeah, we did that wholething and that was fun.
But this is gonna be different.
It's gonna be a whole weekend ofjust, hanging out with the band
and recording and in an actualprofessional recording studio.

(07:41):
It's gonna blow my mind.
I'm gonna be like in my absoluteheaven and it's down in Cornwell
as well, so I can go out andwalk around the cliffs and stuff
and get all my muse on and allthat.
I'm so looking forward to it.
It's going to be quite anexperience for me personally,
because in all of the years I'vebeen playing guitar, the one

(08:02):
thing I've always wanted to dois just be in a recording studio
and, just lay down my parts Thatsaid, I think it's gonna make or
break the band

Ooh

Martyn (08:15):
either gonna go really well or it's not.
And I just hope it goes well.
I can't wait.
Anyway, other than that, Tomturned me onto Slow Readers
Club.
Silly name, but such a greatband.
Again, part of that whole, likefontes style,

Tom (08:32):
I hate how Martin just groups every post punk brand in
with Fontes, cuz I really don'tlike But I I love both Murder
Capital and Slow Readers Club.
There is post-punk.
That doesn't sound like FontesDC So these two bands are
post-punk.
that don't sound like Fontes DCbut do sound like post-punk.
They probably sound closer toearly Interpol.

(08:53):
Sorry to just jump in there,Martin.
Carry on.
No

Martyn (08:55):
Either way, it's great.
And I've come to the realizationthat I don't, I haven't listened
to shoe gays in a long time andShoe Gays for many years was my
number one genre.
But I've come to the realizationthat eighties post-punk is
literally my favorite genre.
Echoing the bunny, man, Jesusand Mary Chain, all that stuff.
I've been getting into Jesus andMary chain again recently, like,

(09:18):
revisiting them and,, enjoyingthem a lot.
I think post punk is, for me,the most perfect genre ever.
It's so so great to the point.
I don't really even listen toshoe gay anymore.
I'm so bored of like ride andall that stuff.
Yeah.
Anyway, that's me.

I have been doing quite a bit Of listening, mainly
to the Beatles.
In preparation for tonight'sspecial, I have listened to
every album that they've putout, which was quite the journey
and a lot of their early stuffis very slick, but it's very
forgettable.
It wasn't until later on thatthey, Started to make more

(09:55):
interesting projects musically.
We'll get onto that in a bit.
That's occupied the majority ofmy time.
There have been some newreleases which will go over, on
cat news episode on our YouTubechannel.
we'll be doing another one ofthose shortly we'll keep the new
releases to that.
Gorillas was mediocre.
I didn't enjoy Algiers new albumas much as I thought I would.

(10:17):
But

Tom (10:18):
I

enjoyed that.
I know I'm gonna go back intoit.
Caroline Polo's album has reallyengaged me, though.
I love that album.
I said on Cat News that I wasgonna go back to it, and I was
right to do so because listeningto it on headphones, it's a
fantastically produced recordwith many great moments in it.
And I'll be going back to thatmany times this year.

(10:39):
I think

Tom (10:40):
there is a reason why it's getting 10 outta, tens
everywhere.
like it's not even my style ofmusic particularly, but even I
can listen to that and go, oh,it's gonna be hard to not see
this on Album of the Year lists.

Yeah.
Yeah.
Totally.
In terms of general news, we hadthe passing of Bert Bak.
he was one of the finestsongwriters of the 20th century
how David, raindrops keepfalling on my head.
walk on by which DionneWarwick's Walk On By is one of
the most perfect pop songs everspecial shout out as well to the

(11:15):
Isaac Hayes cover, from his 1969album, hot Buttered Soul.
it's a sprawling masterpiece ofa cover and it really brings out
Backer ACT's songwriting, andarranges It.
Become larger than life.
nothing that he put to tapehimself of particular but it's
just when he wrote these hitsfor other people, they were

(11:38):
timeless.
couldn't pass up an opportunityto pay tribute to one of the
best.

Martyn (11:43):
he was a massive influence on James Dean
Bradfield from the Manic Streetpreachers, and you can hear it
all over, everything must go thealbum.
You can hear that whole likebig, massive orchestral sound.
Very melodic, you can hear itall over the manic music after
the Holy Bible.
Sad.

Tom (12:02):
The

Dan B (12:02):
only real way that I knew of Burt Ba Rack originally was
through the Austin Powers moviehe what the world Needs Now and
it's just a fantastic song.
And then he came back in, thenext film as well, didn't he?
Oh, what did he do in the nextone?
Trying to remember now.

Tom (12:15):
I'll never fall in love

Dan B (12:17):
Yes, that's right.
and although that was the onlybit that I really knew of him at
the time, you look at Some ofthe songs that he's got credit
for and as in writing credits,just incredible endless list of
songs.
yeah,

very sad, what a phenomenal, obviously

Dan B (12:33):
had a good life.

Yeah.

Tom (12:33):
Yeah.
I think in the sixties andseventies there was barely a
year went by where he didn't winan Academy Award or a Grammy
pretty much.
Not it was nominated.
It's insane.
Like you look at his that's nutsyou look at the honors list on
just go to his Wikipedia pageand look at his honors pretty
much every year in the sixtiesor seventies you'll find

(12:54):
something that he was nominatedfor.
69, he won both Best OriginalScore and best song, for.
example, at the Academy Awards.
It's pretty

nuts.
Yeah.
We're talking about somebodywho's influence, to the d n A of
pop is as fundamentallyimportant as the guys that we're
talking tonight, I But back Rackis up there.
I think that if you take,especially if you take, the
Beatles individual contributionsto music, I would say any of the

(13:28):
Beatles as individuals, they'resongwriting isn't quite there,
but Baac is better.

Tom (13:34):
yeah.
I think well, yeah, and I thinkthat period at the end of the
1960s where back up really comesup, is probably the era with the
most important music going on.
Cuz you've got Hendrix makingrock music, rock, you've got the

(13:57):
Beatles and the Stones makinglike rock pop almost.
You've got, Steve Rice doing histape experiments, which go on to
dev to create dance music as weknow it, and those sorts of
sonic experimentations.
I'd say dance electronic musicas we know it, and then you've

(14:17):
got Burt back writing songs thatare, classics

It's a, fertile period.
To name Check the guy on myt-shirt.
Mr.
Stone.
Funk originated from the latesixties slim Family Stone,
especially Larry Graham's basework.
I listened there's a riot goingon from 1971 other week, and
it's such a sparse album, but areally influential and important

(14:45):
And James Brown was doingsimilar, rhythm experiments,
after the famous flames, when hehad the likes of Bootsy Collins
in the jbs.
It's such a wonderful period,the late sixties.
And, yeah, we're gonna get intoit in a bit with perhaps the
most I important group of thetime.
because we're about to kick backand are about to delve into the

(15:09):
Beatles.
They were only around from 1963until 1970, so we're talking a

(15:33):
seven year period, which isremarkable.
Everybody thinks that they werearound for a long time, but they
weren't seven years.
I think it's less time than onedirection spent as a band, but
yet all of albums are regularlylisted the lists of greatest
albums of all time.

(15:55):
So there's got to be somethingthere the best place to start, I
think, is albums.
My favorite album is Revolverfrom 1966.
It's their first experimentalrecord, coming off of the back
of making rubber.
Soul They'd mastered the slickpop sound.
But they introduced, Indianelements, sitars.

(16:17):
George Harrison was very muchinto his Buddhist lifestyle.
it is one of those records whereyou listen to it and the songs
themselves are quite slight.
Most of them are short, but asan experience, they flow so
well.
And I think a lot of their otheralbums are lacking that.

Tom (16:35):
I also went back through all of the albums in order, in
in order, and I can see thisalbum is a very big turning
point in their career in that.
it's where they start reallyusing the studio as an
instrument and experimentingwith, recording techniques.
Now, I think they got better atthat later on.

(16:56):
I think the thing for me is thisalbum, because, so when I was a
kid, so this will explain a lotabout what comes up from the
episode.
I had a cassette player in mybedroom for when I was about
four, three or four, somethinglike that.
and the first one of the first,cassettes I had was, do you
remember they did those, theBeatles anthology cassette box

(17:17):
ca cassette boxes was like, andvolume three was like 1967 to
69, and that was the one that Ihad, and I listened to it so
much, I think the tape wore outand I can't find it anymore.
So that era for me has a lot ofnostalgia.
So for me, revolver.
I, listened back to It Itdoesn't have that nostalgia for

(17:40):
me cuz I think a lot of us ofour we grew up listening to the
Beatles because it's what ourparents listened to,

No, I was never a Beatles listener growing up.
didn't start listening to TheBeatles and probably until I was
a at the very earliest.

Dan B (17:55):
would say I'm similar as well where my parents growing
up, like my mom, we grew up inthe early nineties.
My mom used to listen to Radioone at the time, so we'd be
listening to some prettyterrible early nineties Pop I
probably didn't get into themuntil my early twenties where
Wow.
you experienced music on yourown time scale and, I always had
this opinion of the Beatles,that they were some weird old

(18:18):
person overrated version of onedirection from the sixties.
Cuz that's, I, didn't know theirmusic Yeah.
at least I thought I didn't.
That was

the you're thinking of the Monkeys

Dan B (18:29):
yeah, Do you know what I probably was, but obviously at
the time I was completelyoblivious.
I had no idea.
I just assumed they were somesort of sixties version of a boy
band that had no real substancethem.
And yeah, now that I've become alot more familiar with them, I
couldn't have been more wrong.
and I know people out therethink, oh, they are quite
simplistically are quite basic.
Whatever I disagree I they'vewritten between the four of

(18:51):
them, just countless classics.
And yes, They're quite generallyquite shortish, simplest songs,
but the, range that they have,it really stunned me when I
really got into them.
They're not just a simple popthey were obviously really
popular, with the girls at timeand they had that same thing
that One Direction had, but theywere a lot more musically

(19:14):
gifted, I think.
And that's what I was reallyimpressed and Revolver, like Tom
said, is a change in their soundand they do try and get a bit
more.
Yeah, like George Harrison'sIndian influence is definitely
shoving.
Yeah.
I'm gonna put a comment outabout albums generally, if
that's all right.
I, don't, think The Beatles area good albums band

I don't,

Dan B (19:37):
their albums have a few good songs in them each, and
then quite a few sort of, allright.
Average e songs.
I, I think The Beatles are agreat band to go, right.
Let's put their greatest hits onand you get.
get.
a good array of various typesmusic, just from listening to
some of their, not just theirsingles, but some of their
better known songs because theyare generally the better ones.

(19:58):
this album is one of theirbetter ones.
I agree with you.
When we were asked to pickfavorite album, I dunno if I
really have one.
I think there's about three orfour albums, which are all
pretty good

Tom (20:08):
and

Dan B (20:08):
they've all got great songs on them.

Tom (20:09):
towards the end of their career, I don't think the albums
all necessarily flow that well.
I think there are two albumsthat fit together quite well as
albums, but I'm not convincedabout the rest of them.
There is a lot of filler on allof their early records.
I think even when their albumsflow better towards the end of
their careers, there's still alot of filler.

(20:30):
It's in better.
This album has six for me.
There are six songs on here thatyou can say to anyone in the
street and they'll

Yeah.

Dan B (20:40):
dunno if if si I dunno if I agree.

You've got Tax Man, which is classic.
Eleanor Rigby, which is amongtheir

Dan B (20:46):
the best song on this

this album.
I don't think so.
I don't think

Tom (20:50):
no,

I don't think so either.
I don't, I do think though, indiscussing Eleanor Rigby, I
believe it may be the greatestsecond song on an album of all
time.
It occupies that territory ofgetting past the intro and
setting up for something bigger.
And it does it perfectly.
Then you've got, I'm OnlySleeping,

Tom (21:10):
That's probably not up there.
The six I had in mind thateveryone would be able to sing
back to you pretty much will beTax Man, ele Rre here, there and
everywhere.
Yellow Submarine, good Day,sunshine, and got to get you
into my life.
They're the six that I thinkeverybody knows now.
I know there are other ones onthere that like you guys
probably like better.

(21:31):
and there are other ones onthere that I like better, but
those I don't think you can denythat pretty much everyone in the
street will No.
Yeah.

I wasn't really that familiar with here, there
and everywhere.
before.
I've heard it many times becauseI've listened to Revolver many
times, but when I revisited itthe other day, Felt like filler

Tom (21:52):
it's the chorus of it.
Most people would be able tosing that back to you, I

maybe it's because I didn't get into the Beatles
until later in life because asDan said, when I was a kid, I
also felt that they were asixties pop phenomenon.
in the vein of the Monkeys.
Growing up, and having a vagueawareness of bands from the
time, I always assumed that theBeach Boys were the musically

(22:17):
talented and then bands like theMonkeys and The Beatles were
Ripoffs of that.
But in going back and revisitinga lot of music that period, I
think that revolver especiallyis better than pet sounds.

Tom (22:32):
Oh, that, that's fighting Talk, man.
I am not agreeing with you onthat.
Not a chance, I'm with Tom

Martyn (22:39):
on this one.
I'm with Tom

Tom (22:40):
on this one, there's no way I'm gonna agree to that.
There's no way I

Martyn (22:45):
is on its Own fucking platform.

I love pet sounds.
I really think it's anexceptional record, but I truly
believe that Revolver is, theone good album start to finish.
I'm not I'm gonna walk that backlittle bit because saying that
The Beatles only release onealbum, it's not something I want
to carry while I present a musicshow.

Tom (23:02):
just watch the YouTube comments coming.
in

Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
But I think it's the one albumthat I would say I can listen to
and every track to some extent,it Carries an energy.
from start to finish that Idon't think have I'm sure we're
gonna get onto this because Ithink that one of the biggest
problems I have with a lot ofBeatles albums is their

(23:24):
insistence on letting everymember of the band have at least
one song on the album that theywrote themselves.
And I think that many of theRingo songs across their
discography are so much weakerthe other songs that they're
writing.
but I think that YellowSubmarine is perfect for

(23:47):
Revolver.
I think that it fits the mood ofthe rest of the album to the
point where I'd say that onRevolver Yellow Submarine isn't
the worst song.
I, I would say that is for noone, the towards the end.
I'd say that's the most boringsong on it.
And the one I would probablyskip, nine times outta 10 if I'm

(24:07):
in a rush.
revolver it comes together forme as a more condensed
experience than Pet Sam.
So I know they're similarlengths.

Tom (24:16):
Pet sounds for me, but then Revolver isn't the era of
Beatles that I know as well.
What's your favorite album?
it was a toss up cuz there aretwo Beatles albums that I would
say hang together well as albumsand that let it be actually
surprisingly hangs together verywell as an album.
And my favorite is Abbey Road.

(24:36):
There's a couple of reasons whyI go with Abbey Road.
It's got like three of thestrongest songs The Beatles ever
recorded on it.
the problem I have with theBeatles after Revolver is The
Beatles are to English music.
What Monty Python are to Britishcomedy.
they're bringing in this verysort of traditional British
whimsy, That I absolutelyfucking hate.

It's why I don't like Queen.

Tom (24:59):
exactly, it's the same thing.
the thing is in small doses thatlittle bit of British whimsy is
okay, but like Sergeant Peppers,it overwhelms a large num Yeah.
There's too much of it.
Whereas Abbey Road, the Britishwhimsy, all the few tracks are
like a minute long and strungtogether in a medley towards the

(25:20):
end.
it's counteracted by the factyou've got Golden Slumbers in
there, which is just beautifuland a minute long.
it's a medley of great ideasthat they never really fleshed
out.
it's got, here comes the sun onit, which is up there with their
best songs.
I think it's got Ringo's best.
Which is Octopus's

Garden.
No, Absolutely

Dan B (25:42):
together on it and something.
They're both

Tom (25:44):
Yeah.
I think I really loved, as akid, I always loved Maxwell's
Silver Hammer.
And I think, and I love thattrack.
The vocal performance on ODarling is Really good.
she came in through the bathroomwindow.
I've always loved, a great song.
I since I was a kid and it'sless than two minutes long, so
yeah, it's got a lot of theirstrongest songs.
For me, I don't think there'sany filler and the bits that are

(26:07):
close to being filler are shortenough it not to matter.

I think.
that, potentially it could betheir best record.
I think it's one of the fewtimes where the track listing
makes sense.
Come together.
You open with that.
That makes sense.
The ending of it, where it goesinto the end and that, tiny Her
Majesty but the end, is aperfect ending to their career.

(26:32):
Yeah.
This being the latest album thatthey ever let it Be, was
actually before a Road problem.
I have with Abby Road is itcontains Maxwell Silver Hammer
and Octopus's Garden in thefirst half.
And I hate both of those songs,come together and something are
brilliant.
And then until you get to I wantyou, she's so heavy.

(26:54):
I'm completely done with thealbum it a lot of effort for me
to get back on board, which theydo.
It's over an eight and a halfoutta 10 record.
We're talking a great record.
I just don't think it's asexceptional as Revolver.

Tom (27:09):
I disagree obviously

Yeah.

Tom (27:11):
I that's what we're here for.
that is we're here for.
I think for me, there were threeBeatles records that my mom had
on vinyl when I was a kid.
And that was Rubber Soul AbbeyRoad And let It Be was the ones
she used to put on the mostoften actually.
I chatted to her about it andshe was annoyed.
I didn't pick, let it.
be she maintains it actually atthe time Hung Together Better as

(27:34):
an album.
and she maybe has a point, Fortheir late era.
It's quite a concise record.
But the reason for going forAbbey Road is I have great
nostalgia for if you got intolistening to Maxwell's Silver
Hammer when You were about five,you'd absolutely love it.
Octopus's garden as well, wedidn't own a TV when I was a
kid, I used to watch VHS tapesat my grandparents' house was

(27:57):
the only TV I got.
So Octopus's Garden for me as afive year old was the perfect
song to be sung by the guy whonarrated Thomas the Tank Engine
on VHS s I have nostalgia forthose two tracks that I don't
have for anything on Revolver.
and I don't have for anything onSergeant Peppers.
When I say about the whimsy sideof It and not liking that, I

(28:18):
don't like any of that, that I'mapproaching as an adult.
But the stuff when I approachedit as a I can like that.

I think we've let it it's much maligned for the
production.
Phil Specter produced it asopposed to George Martin who
regularly handled And a lot ofpeople don't like massive
orchestral, wall of.
Sound, trademark that he has, Ithink that's unfair.
I do actually think that itsounds fine.
The problem I have with Let ItBe is the track listing.

(28:50):
I think that starting an albumwith two of us makes no sense.
When you are finishing an albumwith Get Back, that is the
perfect album opener and it,winds up being

Dan B (29:00):
It should probably end, with the Long and Winding

shouldn't Yes.
Yeah.
All Let It Be.
That's such a

Dan B (29:05):
great song.
Yeah.

Yeah.
One of the twos

Dan B (29:07):
three standout.

Yeah.
other than that, there isn'tanything exceptional on the
record across the Universe isOkay.

Tom (29:14):
Dig A Pony's good I love, that track.
I've always liked two of us andlet it be, we used to sing in
our primary school choir.
It may not be their finestmoment, but it's definitely
catchy and deserves a bit ofrecognition.

Martin, what's your favorite Beatles album?

Martyn (29:29):
It's gonna be Sergeant Peppers and I'll give only two
words why.
Okay.
Computer Sergeant Peppers waslike Tom said earlier, it was a
band that used studio as aninstrument and it absolutely
changed the way that bands makemusic.
it wasn't just oh, we've writtensongs and we'll record them.

(29:50):
it's What do we have at ourdisposal?
Everything.
Then let's use everything.
So for me, it's Sergeant Peppersit's a production masterpiece.
It's absolutely wonderful andthe songs aren't the best, but
that's not the point.
It's about the way that themusicians work with the
producers and with the stuffthat they had in the room.

(30:12):
it's a very gestalt way ofworking as a musician and I
absolutely fucking love it.
Also, the drum part on onSergeant Peppers, the song
everyone slags on Ringo as adrummer, but nah, he was good.

He

Tom (30:25):
Oh, anyway, He has moments of being very good, but for the
vast majority of most of thealbums, he plays.
Like he's bored or high, orboth, but every now and then he

Martyn (30:37):
bit like Meg

Tom (30:38):
Meg White

That's what I had in my notes.
He is Meg White.
Before Meg White was born,

Martyn (30:44):
did what he needed to do and it it fit perfectly because
if He was a better drummer thanhe was, it probably would've
taken away from a lot of theother stuff that was going on in
the band.

It gives

Tom (30:55):
it room to breathe.
There are a couple of trackswhere I definitely think he gets
the drumbeat so wrong to listento dear Prudence, drumbeat
underneath that so incongruous.
I really don't like it.
like it's, that is a really goodsong Ruined by a drumbeat is

(31:15):
just, the way he's playing withthe time really annoys me.

Martyn (31:19):
I am gonna disagree with that.
I think his drum part on thatsong is perfect,

Tom (31:23):
Oh, I know.
it really draws with me.

Martyn (31:25):
It's not right.
And that's the point.
It's off.
And that's the beautiful thingabout it,

Tom (31:30):
yeah.
It doesn't sound like it'sdeliberately off though.
That's the thing.
It sounds a, that

Martyn (31:35):
it

Tom (31:36):
even better better to play.

Martyn (31:37):
That makes it even that makes it even better.
the The fact he played to hislimitations He knew that he was
no Keith Moon or John Bonomy.
It was just like doing what hedid and it fit the music
perfectly.

if you are a studio technician, that album is the
ground zero weird techniques toget different sounds out of
instruments.
Exhibit A being the final track,day in the Life just that final
note, it took so many peopleplaying the same note on a
piano.
The way that they recorded itto, echo and service The

(32:11):
crescendo to the album.
It's amazing.
and it is so inventive.
But the songs, I, I ever have tolisten to being for the benefit
of Mr.
Kindly ever again, I'll be a sadpanda

Martyn (32:26):
I will listen to Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band over and over againand never get poured.
It's fucking beautiful.

it.
does have some great songs onit.
Lucy and the Sky With Diamondsis a classic.

Martyn (32:37):
oh, come on.

Yeah.
I cannot stand Ringo Starsversion of, with a little help
from my friends.
I much prefer the cover by JoeCocker, cuz it brings energy to
it, but it is still a good song.
getting better, fixing a HoleI'm 64, I quite like that.
Yeah, that's a good song.
Within you without you is butthe rest of it's filler.

(32:58):
I like.
about four songs on it Out of 13and it, for me, it's not got a
good enough hit rate for me

Martyn (33:04):
that's a good point.
It's not about the songs, it'sabout the, the,, the
revolutionary way in which theyabsolutely, changed the way
music is made.
If it wasn't for SergeantPeppers, you would have no radio
head.
It's simple as that.
one of the most important albums

full-time.
is important to remember thatone we're discussing The Beatles
cuz we are not just discuss.
some songs that.
were made in a year There's somany facets to what makes them
so relevant in 2023, manydecades after they recording as
a band, we're still talkingabout them as a culture.
Society still time for theBeatles, And it's because

(33:41):
there's other facets, such asthe impact that they had on
recording techniques.
The way that they became, sofamous as individuals within the
context of a band So they werethe first band where people
would have a the band.
Before that, it, was just you'reeither the front man or that's

(34:02):
it, Nobody knows who the hornplayer is.
they brought personality popculture.

Dan B (34:09):
what massive bands were anywhere near as big as them
before this, they were the firstever giant band.
Really, when you think about it.
Before that, you had lots ofvery big solo artists, or you'd
know the lead singer, but youwouldn't know like the
instrumentals behind them.

Yeah.
It was composers, so somebodywould be popular be like Duke
Ellington, and it would be hisorchestra playing songs that
composed.
Whereas when The Beatles becomebig, suddenly it's the people
making the music that are thecelebrities Fronting the whole
thing, and they've this masspopularity, a hysteria, and

(34:46):
suddenly they're accessible tochildren, teenagers.
They almost created pop cultureas you know it today.

Tom (34:53):
And what sort is they did it by essentially starting off
with quite derivative pop Rock.
Really?
Like they, their first recordparticularly wasn't doing
anything particularly new, butsold loads and all their
follow-ups did.
This is what I find odd aboutthe Beatles, We remember them

(35:14):
now for the late sixties to theseventies for the choruses on.
And I think as well, the otherreason we remember the Beatles
now is their songs always soundbetter in their, in your head
than they do on the record.
Bear with me on this.
So if you walk round, you couldsing the chorus to yesterday or

(35:35):
probably the whole song Off byHeart.
And in your head, that songsounds amazing on the recording.
And then you go back and listento the recording and it's a
little bit It's basic.
Yeah.
Strength of, the vocal partparticularly is why we, and the
recordings, it's, I find itamazing how they got big off the

(35:56):
back of doing stuff thateveryone else was doing well,
and then they just carried onand then they didn't do the
weird stuff until after theywere already the biggest band in
the world.

They were covering the Isley Brothers contemporary
acts, if you put on any of theirearly sixties albums, it doesn't
sound any better than somethingthat any rock roll or soul r and
b bands were putting out.
It's all very much just generic.

Tom (36:22):
Three minute pop songs.

Martyn (36:24):
I, think you've also gotta remember as well, the
Beatles were.
uh, Four lads from Liverpool whohung out mates and they're all
very good looking lads.
And like it goes beyond themusic.
It goes into like the image aswell they looked good on
posters, didn't they?

of image, how is Tom all four of the Beatles on,
I had a look at that cover,,andI couldn't tell which you look
like most.
So I came to the conclusion thatyou are all four of the on that
album you're a, pop cultureicon,

Tom (36:58):
something that.
If only that was in fashiontoday, I'd be sorted.

Dan, what's your favorite Beatles album?
You haven't said?

Dan B (37:05):
I don't really have one I know we were forced to pick one
You know when you like, I wannasit on the

Tom (37:09):
At gunpoint,

Dan B (37:10):
go behind the, scenes here say that we were made to
pick one.
Coincident conveniently, shouldI say, I picked one that nobody
else had done, although again, Icould be swayed for any of the
other three, to be honest withyou I went for the white album
or the self-titled album butit's got problems.
Don't get me wrong.

Oh, yeah,

Dan B (37:28):
it's the longest of all the albums.

Did you listen to it in full?

Dan B (37:32):
No, I not.
Yes, because

nobody listens to the White album

Dan B (37:35):
before I got fed up with .so there you you go.
It's not, it's my favorite inthe way that it's got a few
tracks that I really like Ireally like back in the U S R, I
really like Blackbird.
while my guitar Gently Weeps, Ilove those songs I said it
earlier, every album has a fewsongs that I love, I think it
follows on a little bit fromRevolver in that it's got that
sort of experimental style toit.

(37:56):
They do.
Again, I think you said it, Dan,that because there's four
different people writingdifferent songs, there's a real
range to the

Yeah.

Dan B (38:04):
collection, and sometimes that works where you go, oh,
look, it's got a song like this,and a song like that.
That's great.
It's real nice variety.
And then other times you go, oh,it's all over the place.
I think it works in part in thisalbum, but it just goes on for
about 30 minutes too long.

Tom (38:18):
yeah, I think this album has the highest number of
classics on it of any otheralbums, but that's a thousand
monkeys with a typewriters,Isn't frankly,

biting the White album.

Dan B (38:32):
was the the

Tom (38:33):
first of if you're gonna make a 90 minute double album in
1968, nowadays putting out a 90minute double album when bands
on average, what release analbum every three or four years,
it's impressive.
But, putting out a 90 minutedouble album when you released
an album, what the before

Dan B (38:53):
And the

Tom (38:54):
even, yeah.
Even like every prolific artistwho's releasing albums like that
is gonna put a shared load offiller on that 90 minute album.
looking at you, prince

Hey.
Okay.
I'm saying it now.
I think emancipation is moreenjoyable listen than the White
album no, It is twice as long.
But that's because I'm a Princefan.
You're right, I think it doeshave the most highlights of any
of Thee all's album on itbecause it's got some really
excellent tracks.
back in the U S R, dearPrudence, while my guitar gently
weeps Happiness is a warm gunBlackbird, why don't we do it in

(39:30):
the road?
Sexy Sadie held a skelter andthe one that I actually hated,
but now think is genius, isRevolution nine.
when you get to that eightminutes, 22 seconds, upon
listening to the rest of thealbum, does it build enough to
earn that status as, anexperimental, bit of

Dan B (39:53):
Congratulations.
You're the first one who ever

that Yeah.
I listen to it the way throughand it makes Revolution nine
work because of how big thealbum is.
Goodnights at the end, butRevolution Nine is this
combination of all they've beendoing up until that point.
I think it does work, but onlythe context, of the full album.
Outside of that, it's justrandom We'll move on to songs,

(40:16):
cuz it, goes hand in hand, Witha lot of the, album talk.
So my favorite song is also onRevolver.
My favorite song is The ClosingTrack, which is Tomorrow Never
knows.
I think Ringo Stars drummingmakes this song exceptional.
I think it's absolutelybrilliant what he does on that,
because his limitations, nobodyelse would think to play such a

(40:36):
clunky Tom based, drumbeat And Ithink it's phenomenal.
it's got just the right amountof sitar Fading in at the start
with George.
Harrison's influence there.
the vocals are great.
It's weird sound effects.
It's only a few minutes long.
It's funky, which is not foundon, many of their records
danceable sound.

(40:57):
and I just think it haseverything that I want from a
Beatles track.
the moment I Loved TomorrowNever Knows is from a TV show.
Martin, you'll be familiar withthis.
there is an episode of Madmanwhere Don Draper sits down at
the very end of episode Yeah.
And puts on tomorrow.
Never knows.
it represents How things aredifferent from this point.

Martyn (41:18):
got

goosebumps.

Martyn (41:18):
It's a culture show.

Goosebumps.
absolutely.
and that song resonated with methen, I watched that show maybe
about five, years I've stillnever been able to shake that
song the song that I will goback to the most The There are
other songs that I love, Butwith a lot of Beatles songs,
either the ballads or the morehigh concept sometimes I have to

(41:41):
be in a specific seek it out andlisten to it.
Whereas tomorrow never knows Ican put that on any playlist,
whether it's amongst Princesongs, whether it's David Bowie
songs, whether it's amongst,even some hip hop.
It's got a similar beat.
it sounds like something that anearly nineties hip hop record
record could have employed as asample.

(42:01):
I just think it fits everywhereand it's an exceptional

Martyn (42:04):
I absolutely agree with everything you just said, and
I'm really fucking angry at youfor choosing that song because I
wanted to choose that cuz it ismy favorite Beatles song.
too.
you.
it's a proto shoe gay song.
it.
is just absolute beautiful.
like a drone, it's what a lot ofmy favorite bands do.

(42:25):
They'll take one chord and youdon't need a bridge.
You don't need a chordprogression.
You don't need a chorus oranything like that.
Just like one chord, fuckingnoise experimentation over the
top and that's all you need.
I fucking adore this song somuch.
Ringo's drumming is the bestthing about it.

(42:45):
it's just a wonderful tune.
Being a big Brian Jonestownmassacre fan, you can definitely
hear where this song was soimportant in that San Francisco
new psychedelia movement ThatI'm really into.
It's not even really a song.
a piece of music.
it's an exploration of musicalsound.

It's one of the few recordings the Beatles that I
think sounds.
massively ahead of its time.
I a lot of Beatles songs, eventhey're timeless classics, that
they were recorded in the latesixties, whereas if you heard
tomorrow, never knows and youdidn't know what it was.
it could pass for a lateseventies record.

Martyn (43:22):
it could have been

Tom (43:23):
recorded yesterday and it could be still sound fucking,

It could have, it could be on remaining light by
talking heads.
It's that kind of vibe.

Tom (43:32):
it would've fitted quite well in a lot of what was
happening in the mid 1990s aswell.
It's a very good of psychedelia.
This is one of those times whenI say that, Ringo Star isn't the
greatest drummer and he doesn'talways get it.
I will agree on this one.
He does get it, right.
it's a great piece ofpsychedelia, and I can totally
see why you like it.
And it's great.

Martyn (43:52):
there's a great cover of, Tomara Never Knows By Ride.
They never did it live,

Tom (43:56):
but

Martyn (43:56):
When Ride did it, you would think that Ride wrote it.
it's very early nineties shoegaze.
you wouldn't have known it was aBeatle song if you didn't know.
it's that fucking perfect song.
You bastard for choosing thatSorry.

Tom (44:12):
so favorite.
I went for something reallyobvious actually.
but as bass guitarist, it'sgotta be come together

Martyn (44:20):
Oh.

Tom (44:22):
Because it's one of those bass lines every bass guitarist
at some point will try and playit because it's really simple
and it sounds

I actually discovered that song through a
cover.
And that cover was on the seconddisc of history, the Greatest
Hits Michael Jackson'scollection from 95 and his
version.
Is basically the same, but he'sjust put gloss because he
recorded it, I think it wasrecorded 88 cuz it's, actually
in Moonwalk, the movie.
He does a live performance,with, Steve Stevens on guitar,

(44:58):
And the cover is very much astraight cover with different
production values from adifferent period.
I went back and discovered the,Beatles version and it's much
better.
a lot more raw.
John Lennon's vocals on thatsong are it's example.
There's a bit of funk in thereas well.
they clearly did their blueshomework that day and it is a

(45:20):
great song.

Tom (45:21):
The reason picking this isn't just cuz it's a great
baseline cuz it is a greatbaseline, but it's one of songs
that, it's very catchy.
Everybody knows it,

it has weird lyrics for a song that everybody knows.
a lot of their songs were veryesoteric they were referring to
in jokes.
they even had fun with the wholePaul is Dead Rumor.
and they started constructinglyrics that designed to be
difficult to into just becausethey knew that their lyrics were
gonna be studied.
There's a there's an interviewwhere John Lennon said that it

(45:52):
doesn't actually mean anything.
it would just be fun, createsomething where people will
study it in classrooms when itdoesn't actually have a which I
think is expert level trollingfor the mid sixties.

Tom (46:04):
That's what he was good at.

Dan, what's your favorite Beatles song?

Dan B (46:08):
it took me a long time to choose.
I went in the end with the onethat I've always said is my
favorite because I must havesaid that for a reason.
I went for, here Comes the song.

Good choice.
it's such a,

Dan B (46:19):
it's a lovely song.

It

Dan B (46:20):
Makes me feel both happy and sad at the same time.
It's uplifting yet the sombermoments in it.
And I like the way that makes mefeel.
It's just a nice, simple classicsong.

Did you get into it through the Gary Barlow cover?

Dan B (46:36):
I didn't know there was a Gary Barlow cover, so I guess
not.

You also didn't need to know there was a Gary
Barlow cover, so

Dan B (46:42):
Oh now

us never find that.
it was one of the supermarkets,it was either Morrison's or or
Saintsbury, I'm sure.
And they used a Gary Barlowcover, of, here Comes The Sun,

Dan B (46:51):
I hope that supermarket has gone out of

Yeah, I hope so

Dan B (46:56):
I was struggling.
I wanted to choose.
I got, I wrote a list of songsthat I wanted to go for and in
the end it was between, hereComes The Sun and, hard Day's
Night,

That's a classic.
It's one of their best earlysongs Yeah,

Dan B (47:09):
it is.
My son Alex, is learning to playthe guitar at the moment and
we've been listening to quite alot of the Beatles together and
he was like, just random lastnight.
He suddenly went, I think I'veworked out how to play the cool
bit from a hard day's night.
And He started writing thenotes.
He started draw, he drew thestave, he writing it down.
Then he played it and wasn'tquite right, but it was just one

(47:31):
of those moments that you haveand I think that's music being
passed onto a new generation itwas really special as a dad to
watch that.
Special moment for me, I like alot of their, More meaningful
songs.
I like let it be I likeyesterday.
I like that sort of track.
I don't like their ridiculously,I don't like Yellow Submarine

(47:52):
and that type of track that theydo.
Ticket to Rye Day Tripper.
Oh, there's so really good

When you said at the start They're not
necessarily an album band Ithink if you've got, there's two
greatest hits collections from1973.
There's the red one, which is1962 to 1966, and there's the
blue one, which is 67 to 70.
If you've got both of those, youdon't really need a lot else,
because all of their best songson from all their periods.

(48:18):
there are so many

Tom (48:19):
yeah, I've just gotta shout out Penny Lane cuz no one's
mentioned that

Dan B (48:23):
Why have I not mentioned Penny Lane?

Fantastic.
Strawberry forever.

Tom (48:27):
Yeah, we haven't mentioned that either.
Go, what's

wrong with us?
Yeah.
Nobody's mentioned Aladi.
Aladar.

Dan B (48:32):
I nearly mentioned it in a negative way,

but Yes.
..Yeah.
Actually I

Tom (48:36):
loved that one a kid, so I, I can't slag that off.

A lot of the songs are almost, especially Ringo
songs.
and Paul McCartney to a lesserextent, a lot of them seem to be
almost written for a youngeraudience.
So if you are not somebody whoknew them as a kid, it's really
difficult to go back in laterand go, oh yeah, I really like
Octopus's Garden.
It, just doesn't make any senseif you're not a kid.

(48:59):
But I can understand if you'vegrown up on it, then nostalgia.
Martin, you have a favoriteafter I, I stole you.
first.

Martyn (49:09):
Yeah.
you did.
Still my first, but my secondfavorite.
She said.
She said, which is literally theperfect pop song.
It's the most simplest of riffs.
It's such a great little song.
It's very short.
It's just tell what it says onthe tin.

it is time to explore our favorite individual
Beatle because I think help putsome light some of the opinions
that we've had and why we favorsongs.
I've got a bit of a, theory withthe individual members and I'll
explain who is my favorite.
But I think that if I'm lookingat the Beatles as a band, I

(50:04):
think that John Lennon is the Ithink that Paul McCartney is the
the Ringo Star is the.
body, not like in a JesseVentura way, George Harrison is
the balls.
John, he drives the bandideologically, a lot of
political ideas come from JohnLennon.
you can tell that from me.
Stuff.
and that as a kid growing up, Ialways thought John Lennon was

(50:29):
the lead singer the case.
if you're not too familiar withthem, that can come across,
especially considering that hedied earliest.
he's built up as this legendaryfigure that died far too early.
If you're coming from anoutsider's perspective, seen the
lead singer.
So it makes sense for him to bethe head, the face of the band.

(50:51):
I think Paul's the musicalheart.
I think deep down, I think PaulMcCartney is most musically
talented member of Beatles,purely from a melodical,
perspective.
I think he's responsible for,,some of the most poignant
moments, some of the most,heartfelt ballads.
but if he does skip a beat, weend up with palpitations.
That sounds.

(51:11):
Maxwell Hammer, which, sucks.
I think that Ringo as the body,he grounds the He's got these
underrated grooves.
He's not the best body cuz thatwould've been but his
idiosyncrasies, without them itisn't the but he should
absolutely never be given anyautonomy under any circumstances

(51:33):
whatsoever as his completelydevoid of taste.
finally, I think that George isthe dark brooding force that
provides a bit of grit, with hisguitar.
I think with George Harrisonbeing the balls of the band,
he's, a constant presence, butyou only get small flashes They
are often the most memorablebangers.

(51:54):
My personal taste, I am aHarrison I've been back and
forth.
I've listened to multipleMcCartney multiple Len I haven't
listened to any Ringo Staralbums, he's got one single,
that came out post worth to, andI can't even remember the name
of it.
I think the only thing Ringo didthat after the Beatles other

(52:14):
than Thomas the Tank and makingthat.
hilarious YouTube video where hetells people that he's not
signing any fan mail with peaceand love.
other than that, the only thingof note he did was working with
Sheila e, from Princess withGeorge Harrison.
I think, I love George Harrisonthe most, not because I like I

(52:35):
do like balls my own, but, Ithink all things must pass.
Is the most capable record thatany the Beatles made on their
own.
I think it's better than theWhite album.
Pound for Pound, he has thesongs within the Beatles.
he doesn't get to write thatmany, but I think what he does,
he's got a better success ratiothan Paul McCartney and John

(52:56):
Lennon.
he is a bit of an Indo file.
So everything ends up beingabout Harry Krishnas with Satar
over it.
So you got that risk.
But I think all of the Beatlesare essential.
I think you can't have TheBeatles without those four I
don't think any of them had aspecial solo career.
Even John Lennon, was onlymaking records for 10 years
after The Beatles, and I thinkby 75 he'd lost his mojo.

(53:18):
I loved the early stuff with theplastic Oho band.
cold Turkey, instant Karma.
great after that.
Imagine

Tom (53:25):
Double Fantasy,

Double Fantasy is okay.
Half of it's okay.
The other half is Yoko Oho andI'm not a Yoko hater.
I do appreciate what she bringsto John and his art, and I think
she does have a place on some ofthose songs in the background,
but on Double Fantasy, he putsher up front on half the record,
I'm not listening to that ever

Tom (53:48):
I don't mind it.
I think his songs are allstronger than hers, but his
songs are very strong

starting over is a good final single to go out on

Tom (53:56):
Yeah.
think so.
George Harrison, the best thinghe?
did after, the Beatles.
he was.
in the traveling Wilbury, wasn'the?
Yes, he was.
Yeah.

But he wasn't one of the best members of The
traveling wilbury.

Tom (54:08):
That's, it's really hard to say who the best members of the
traveling will you go through.
Who's in the traveling?
It was

Jefflin or Tom Petty or Royal Oron?

Tom (54:15):
It's Roy ORs.
Orson.
It's the Roy Orbison is the isthe correct answer.

Martyn (54:18):
No, it's not.
It's Jeff Lynn.
Jeff Lynn was the best member ofthe traveling Wilburys.

Tom (54:24):
they also managed to do some trolling, didn't they?
Cuz they only made two

albums.
Yeah.
Volume one and three.

Tom (54:30):
Yeah.
Volume One

and Volume.
That great.
That's a great joke.
I like that George Harrison solocareer.
It is fine after all Things mustpass.
I just think he saved up all hisbest records for that massive
triple album.
And then everything else wasjust above average.
got my mind set on you, whichwe've discussed on the podcast I
think is an okay song.
it's a cover as well.

(54:51):
I don't think he did anythingtruly exceptional after that But
yeah, the traveling world Be, isa highlight

Tom (54:56):
for me, John Lennon is my favorite.
Beatle, I'm afraid,contradictory.
Just coming, jumping in now.
According to the mythology.
At any rate, he's very much thedriving force behind the band.
I think he's got the strongestvocal.
I think he clearly has a largerrole than McCartney in the
strong, in the songs that Titantend to find the stronger on

(55:19):
their records.
he, brought the, experimentaledge, I think later,
particularly judging by what hewent on to do with the Sailor
records and what he was doing inhis solar records at the, time
when the Beatles were stilltogether.
I think a lot of theexperimentation comes from him
and wanting to do that.
I actually really I think that,I think it matters

fine.

Tom (55:39):
Of the I think his solo output proves Everything I liked
about the band really came

Paul McCartney's solo career, there isn't word
that I can, it's not very good.
It's not even that becausethere's a lot of it.
He's been by far the mostprolific and not just because
he's still alive.
Yeah, he is still even beforeLen and died, McCartney was
making the most albums.
He has McCartney in 1970,straight straight after they
break up, which is I think Okay.

(56:09):
But ends amazingly with maybeI'm amazed, which is one of the
greatest songs then Ram, whichis okay, it steers too much into
folk, me to really get on boardwith it Then a lot of the wings
albums are very mediocre.
banned On the Run is anexceptional song, but there's

Tom (56:27):
Oh, it isn't, have you listened back to it recently?
This is my problem.
Band on the run it's exceptionalsongs.
It's

two good songs,

Tom (56:35):
yeah.
two songs, one good one not sogood that have been jammed
together.
it's funny cuz it seems likenearly every wing song.
Is very much working in the sameway that a Day in the Life
worked in the Beatles.
It's almost like you can't writea verse in the chorus that fit
together.
So you'll just write two songsand cut them up and stick them

(56:55):
together.
they're not even necessarily inthe same freaking key.
And it's it just, so, just,Yeah.

You've got the, the first bit that's like orent
driven, which is boring, butthen when they're ba on, that
comes in, that's good.

Tom (57:07):
yeah.
And then it goes back to beingshit again.
Yeah, It's a good chorus and notmuch else.
That's true with a lot of wings.

it's a, it is true with a lot of his solo stuff,
not just the wing stuff.
I'm more

Tom (57:19):
familiar with the Wing stuff.
And then he did duets withMichael which are painful.

Say's a good song I like say But the girl is Mine
dog shit

Tom (57:31):
it is one of the worst songs I think I've ever heard,

It ruins thriller.
how do you ruin the biggestselling album of all time?
And you put that song

Tom (57:39):
Yeah.
And then you've also got Mul ofKintyre Frog

Chorus, or

Dan B (57:44):
exist.
Let's just

Paul chorus is the worst thing any of them ever
did.
I think

Dan B (57:49):
Oh, But it was so great on Rupert Bear That was on that
photograph.
It was Bear, it was great.
But I've got, that was probablymy first Paul McCartney I ever
heard.
Oh

really?

Dan B (57:58):
I reckon it probably was, if I think back, that was
probably when I was about fourthat I watched that.
In spite of the Frog Chorus, heis who I would vote as my
favorite Beatle.

I'm glad we can have some because I

Dan B (58:09):
just just think he was the most talented musician.
is probably why I'm gonna gowith him.
there is a quote, which ismisquoted.
It's not actually John Lennon,but apparently I think it was
Jasper Karat, the comedian.
Made this quote, but people haveattributed it to John Lennon, a
reporter apparently says, isRingo the best drumm in The
world?
And Lennon apparently says, he'snot even the best drummer in the

(58:30):
Beatles.
What he's implying there wasthat Paul McCartney was the best
drummer In, the Beatles.
Cuz actually when Ringo quitbriefly, during the recording of
the White album, He recorded,the drums for back in the U S R
and a couple of other tracks.
And, They were really good sonot only was he a very good
drummer, but obviously his bassplaying was phenomenal.

Tom (58:50):
That's the one thing that I will give him.
Is that in the Beatles?
on that one.
Oh, yeah.
in The Beatles.
The way that he plays bassguitar is hugely influential on
what came after.
If you listen to interviews thebig bass guitarists of the prog
acts, who then influencedeverybody, you'd speak to people

(59:12):
like Chris Squier, Getty Lee.
They will all, and even Lemifrom Motorhead will all tell you
that the way Paul McCartneyplays bass guitar is what
influenced the way they played.
That's how important as a bassthrow.
Cuz he's got a very melodic, sowhat he's doing with his bass
guitar is most of the time he'seither, he's not just playing

(59:33):
The guitar he's not playing aroot making the basic guitar
play a riff in its own right.
Which up until that point didhappen, but common.
that's what he did so well.
I forgive him.
I won't forgive him the, Frogchorus for his bass playing,

Dan B (59:52):
you

Tom (59:53):
but I nearly will,

Dan B (59:54):
the, thing.
I think that sums it up again,I've got a real quote from John
Lennon this time.
he.
said, Paul is one of the mostinnovative bass players.
Half the stuff that's going onnow is directly ripped off from
his He's an egomaniac abouteverything else, but his bass
playing, he'd always be a bitcoy about.
And I I, think that bit, but atthe end really sums it up.

(01:00:15):
You can tell Paul McCartney's anabsolute egomaniac.
So the fact that he's actuallyquite coy and quite, subdued
about it means actually he knowsthis is the thing I'm actually
pretty special I think it showsin the music, if you've seen any
of the, documentary on DisneyGet back some of the little, he

(01:00:35):
just, when they're jamming, hejust comes up with these little
bits and you can hear thebeginnings of what go on to be
some of their other songs.
And he is just got a really goodnatural, I think, ability to
come up with just cool soundingbass rifts just out of nowhere.
I think That's really talented.
That's why he is my favorite.
I also actually, another reasonhe's my favorite I prefer his

(01:00:58):
vocals to John Lennon.
I like John Lennon's vocals, butI prefer some of the more Ballad
songs that we talked about.
And to be honest, I think McCartneeds the lead vocalist on most
of the ones I like.

Dan Whitell (01:01:08):
Paul McCart

Dan B (01:01:08):
a bit of a

of a prick though.
Yeah.
you're speaking to somebodywho's just spent the last to, I
think, what six Paul McCartneyalbums in a week.
which is too for anybody, Ithink that, that incredibly
talented.
And that's why I think he isalmost like the of the Beatles.
you're right.
He's a phenomenal bass player,but has no filter and he just

(01:01:33):
Insists on for every great songthat he releases, there are five
awful songs that he's put outwith and promoted as heavily.
Just from some notes on his solomaterial, if you'll indulge me,

Dan B (01:01:47):
But we're on about best Beatle, not best solo artist.
Okay, let's just, let's clarify

It's important to measure the solo material as
much as it is within the I thinkit allows you to see why they
fell apart because they were allso different.
and I think if they'd all stayedin harmony, the Beatles would've
been a better group.
I think they fell apart becausethey were all chasing love in
different avenues.

(01:02:12):
Paul McCartney fell in love withLinda and John Lenon had Yoko.
George Harrison was party Boyd,who would go on to have an
affair with Eric Clapton, Andinspire the song Wonderful
Tonight.
fun fact about WonderfulTonight.
it features an Early appearanceof Marcello Detroit, would then
go on to be in Shakespeare'ssister.

(01:02:32):
In terms of listening to PaulMcCartney solo records,
McCartney two is a fine album,but all the high end sounds like
Paul was spending quite a lot oftime in the bathroom and just to
move the equipment to him.
But all he could carry werefunny.
kids microphones.
it has more energy than thefirst album though.
Good to see him try some newwave style music.

(01:02:56):
when he moved on from I think hehe became for one or two albums,
he became a bit more urgent.
a few bug bears on the albumthough.
the song Temporary Secretary,for bar of it, he sings
Temporary Secretary, when ifhe'd sung the full line in
French, switching up for,secretary Tempore would work.

(01:03:18):
it would be a more interestingswitch.
But then Who am I to argue with?
A guy that wrote Pledge stockmeat-free mondays.com.
You can do it right now.
Please.
I think waterfalls from thatalbum is a pretty good song.
The egregiously titled FrozenJap, that sounds like he'd been
listening to Lowe by DavidBowie.
about years.

(01:03:39):
Too late though., there's a tunecalled Room that's really cool.
But one of my biggest problems,and that leads me onto this with
Paul McCartney you said downabout his vocals.
I think he's a fantastic vocalbut he has this tendency to do
all these silly voices all thetime.
Cod reggae accents and reallyoffensive, African stereotypical

(01:04:01):
voices.
And it really grinds my when I'mlistening to Paul McCartney
because he could have just doneit in a straight voice He's got
a lot of soul in his voice.
If you listen to, Hey Jude, theoutro that is his voice is
amazing He's screaming like asinger.
Tur of War, the album afterwardsis okay, but it ends with Ebony
and Ivory.

(01:04:21):
he does a collaboration Wonder.
the song watch that you aredoing is really funky.
It's the funt thing that GeorgeMartin ever produced, cuz he got
George Martin back for thatrecord.
but a lot of his stuff, it'slargely boring.
And to paraphrase James Murphy,he was losing his edge to kids
from France and London and Gary,Indiana and Minneapolis,

(01:04:45):
Minnesota.
He just lost his edge, and hedidn't really have anything to
offer pop music.
After that he became irrelevantand he's still chasing that to
this day.
some great experiments.
he has some Latin stuff on,dress me up like a robber.
it sounds like Tame I parler 30years before it out, But he
can't help but ruin himself byfinishing albums with Ebony and

(01:05:05):
Ivory and putting the pipes ofpeace to open up a record or
doing the Frog Chorus.
he's just got no filter and hemakes exceptional records and
then ruins them by following upwith three shit That's I don't
like John Lennon

Tom (01:05:20):
was his edge and I think, and Paul McCartney grounded John
Lennon.
I think the of them together iswhat works so well.
Lennon added some bite and somecritical appraisal to Paul
McCartney's work and PaulMcCartney reigned in John
Lennon's.
You listened to the solarrecords that John Lennon and

(01:05:42):
Yoko owner were putting out.
All the Beatles were togetherand you realize that Revolution
nine was about as far as PaulMcCartney was willing to let
John Lennon go cuz he was readyto go further than that when he
makes records that are like 45minutes of noise.
so the two of them canceled eachother out.
I think I find that PaulMcCartney's voice, cuz he always

(01:06:03):
puts an affectation, like hisvoice on something like
yesterday just sounds reallyquite thin.
I think so in the Beatles,generally I prefer John's
vocals, but then every now andthen Paul McCartney will
absolutely belt it.
And you're like, where did thatcome from?
Why didn't you do that all thetime?

Martin, who

Tom (01:06:23):
was your favorite?

Martyn (01:06:24):
I was gonna say London until, started about Paul
McCartney and I was like,actually, yeah, you're right.
Paul McCartney was the fuckingbest musician in the Beatles.
But no, I'm gonna go Landon.
And for one.
Cold Turkey.
Oh, what a song.
cold.
Turkey is just one of myfavorite songs of all time.

(01:06:46):
It's absolutely incredible.
And that's why I love Len.
I think Lennon was rock androll.
I think, Bellon was right in thesense that Paul McCartney was a
consummate musician.
George Harrison too.
I should be, saying GeorgeHarrison being a guitar player,
because, George Harrison's oneof the greatest guitar players
of all time, but now it's Sloanman.

(01:07:06):
He was rock and roll.
He He absolutely just hundredpercent just, he was a
visionary.
He wasn't just about music forhim, it was about like the whole
of, wild abandon, I love inmusic,

Dan B (01:07:22):
He wanted to change the world, didn't he?
I

Tom (01:07:23):
think he

Martyn (01:07:24):
did.
He really did.
And he was a shit as well.
Yeah, he was a fucking, a not avery nice

man, domestic abuser.

Martyn (01:07:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
And that's of what I like, Ilike the fact you have a very

Dan B (01:07:35):
What

that's not the take to have, man,

Dan B (01:07:38):
of

all the things,

Dan B (01:07:39):
bit of the of

the podcast, of all the things I like about the
Beatles, the best was thedomestic abuse.

Tom (01:07:46):
we've

Dan B (01:07:46):
got three of us with our heads our hands, heads.

Martyn (01:07:48):
but I

know right.
Come on, man.
Yeah.
Put this shuffle down.

Martyn (01:07:52):
Jesus.
Yeah.
But, the thing is about Lenon,who's, he was 100% authentic,
and I love in my music, he was agenius musician, A shit person.
Genius musician.
And unfortunately we have a lotthose, we have really amazing
musicians who are not very nicewhat I think was really great

(01:08:16):
about Lennon it, showed that up.
It showed you can be a musicalbut you don't necessarily have
to be a decent person, I'm, notstanding for that at all
whatsoever, but in, in the PostMe Too era.
don't hear a worship musicians,because they might not be very
good people.

(01:08:38):
And it's that whole separateseparating the art the artist
thing.
It is, it's very big on myradar, Beck's a Scientologist
for sake, separate the art fromthe artist.

Yeah, exactly.
this conversation tends to comeup more and more when we go back
into the past and do specialsLegacy Not all of them are nice
people.
And John Lennon, I think he wasquite open about it later in his
life.
He did talk about how, he, thinkthere's a quote that says that
he to people and beat women ifhe didn't get his way.

(01:09:10):
So he was aware it and he didtry and change.
And as somebody who is,preoccupied with finding out
more and more about leftistvalues and socialism, myself, I
do admire some of Lennon'stenacity with the political
message of his work.
I don't always think that it wasthat well directed.

(01:09:33):
I think sometimes it the messagegot lost a I think me for
instances in, Imagine.
I can see what he's getting atin terms it, it's ultimately a
song about leftist revolution.
But I think that it's a bitoverly simplistic.
when you have lines like imagineno possessions, people then have
that unfortunatemisinterpretation of what he was

(01:09:55):
getting at as just being like ahippie and a we should all
abandon Yeah, our possessionsWhen you look at Karl Marks, it
talks about private property,and I think that's what John
Lennon was getting at theabolition of private property as
opposed to not owning a phone orthink he had a bigger message,
but I think that the simplisticlyrics of that song do it a

(01:10:17):
disservice.

Martyn (01:10:18):
I agree.
Totally.
And I, think the thing for meabout was he just highlighted
the fact that, he was in the,probably the most important and
biggest span of all time.
And everyone looks at themembers of the Beatles of being
like, They're great musiciansand stuff, but looking behind
the surface of what was going onwith them there, was some

(01:10:41):
serious going on.
Lebanon was not a nice man, andthat kind of carries through to
quite a lot the musicians thatwe look up pretty much every
single musician that we all heara worship probably had some
problematic stuff going on intheir life, their personal life.
And Lenon is The standardbearer.
for Not hero worshiping yourheroes.

(01:11:05):
Yeah.

Like Chuck Berry or James Brown.

Martyn (01:11:08):
Yeah.

Jim Jimmy Page,

Dan B (01:11:09):
talk about the sort of anger between the members of the
band.
I think there could be anargument for the fact that
without that tension they maybewouldn't have produced as
interesting things.
If they just said, do you knowwhat John?
You go and do everything andthen we'll play it.
And then do you know what?
I think without them havingthose arguments, having that
constructive criticisms againsteach other, maybe some of the

(01:11:32):
songs wouldn't have turned outas well as they did.

Yeah.
I think that's why Revolver isfavorite album, if you listen to
that album, I get the sense thatthey all had The same mission
statement in their head, andthey put aside their differences
of what and collaborated as awhereas the later albums from
the White album Let It Be andSergeant Peppers and A Road, I

(01:11:54):
think that you can hear thatthey're almost albums that are
made by four four differentalbums as to people making the
same it's one of the most talkedabout subjects in pop music
history, the Beatles, and Idon't think we're gonna provide
any astoundingly new takes, andI think that people either judge

(01:12:15):
our opinions to be good or notbased on the conversation so
far.
But I think one thing that youcan't deny about the Beatles is
that they have one of thebiggest legacies pop act ever.
And I think the best way to endthis podcast round off tonight's
discussion is by taking a fewexamples of songs that came

(01:12:36):
after the that were directlyinspired by them the form of
cover versions.
There are a number of greatcover versions.
So I wanna start.
One of the things when I grewand I, wasn't that familiar with
the Beatles, I, was aware ofseveral Beatles covers, I, seem
to think, it is probably a badtake, but most Beatles covers
are better than the I findagreed.

(01:12:56):
You are wrong.
Absolutely.
I don't agree.
think, I think a hundred percentagree.
I think that they're the easiestband in history to cover because
I think that there are so many,and maybe it's they're just
really good songs.
And as we said earlier,sometimes if you revisit them,
they don't sound as youimagined.
covering a song will be able toupdate the production values and
maybe present a song that fitsmore with how you think the song

(01:13:20):
originally sounded.
So largely

Tom (01:13:23):
agree apart from at one point, yesterday was the most
covered all time, I believe it

I think it's

Tom (01:13:29):
of records, there is not a single

good cover Oh, there are.
Ray Charles's cover of yesterdayis than the original, and so is
Marvin Gaye's version.
They are both better than,

Dan B (01:13:41):
Marvin Gaye's version.
I was listening to

it.
It's a lot more subtle and It ismore of a love song.
but I, think I, I'm just asucker for Marvin

Tom (01:13:48):
yeah.

Yeah.
Yeah.
It's,

Dan B (01:13:50):
I was going into it expecting to like it, and it
just changed it in a way that Ididn't feel the same emotional

Tom (01:13:55):
Nearly every cover of yesterday slows it down and as
soon as they do that, it makesit worse than the original.
That's my problem with it.
So I think if you compare likeartists being covered, I'd say
like Bob Dylan for example,every time he's covered that is
nearly always better than the Idon't think another one.
.Yeah, I don't think it'snecessarily true with the

(01:14:15):
Beatles.
I think there are lots of verygood covers, but I think there
are a lot of covers that I don'tprefer to the original.
I Listening through the list Ofall the top Beatles covers and
There are two covers that getput at the top all the time.
One of them I agree, is probablybetter than the original, and
one Of them is beautifully sung,but I don't think it's better
than the original.

(01:14:35):
And that's two covers of acrossthe Universe, which is Fiona
Apple, which I do really like,and Rufuss Wainwright, which I
think is beautifully sung, but Idon't think is better than the
original.

Of course, David Bowie covered it on Young
Americans in 1975 as well.
And I don't like the David Bowieversion as much.
It's, it's like the one I haveto what I David Bowie being in
my top three artists of alltime.
that's one of my favorite Bowierecords.
but I actually prefer theBeatles version.
Maybe I'm not entirely right onthat.

(01:15:06):
It may be just me talking Martinwhat was your.
favorite?

Martyn (01:15:09):
I was gonna choose dear Prudence, but that got stolen
from me.
Yeah, Susan, the Banes, but I'mgonna go with strawberry Fields
forever by candy Flip.
It was the nineties.
Yeah, It was fucking awesome.

It's awful fucking awesome.
Go ahead.
It's like a mu It's great.
It's like a Mack interpretationwith, the funky drummers just
over the top like a tablecloth.
The limp vocals that make mewonder if I'm having a coma.
It's like I'm listening to agood song, but all the parts are
played on instruments made ofshit.

Martyn (01:15:44):
It's it's like going back to nineties.

Tom (01:15:46):
It's, so ni, It's,

nineties.
What's wrong with that?

Martyn (01:15:50):
But it's just wrong that.
What?
Because that nineties fuckingManchester thing?
It's fucking

wonderful weed is a very different drug ecstasy.
And the psychedelic tinges ofstrawberry feels forever by the
Beatles are ruined by makingdancing like

Martyn (01:16:11):
Yeah.
But

Tom (01:16:11):
that's

Martyn (01:16:11):
point that?
that was the point of the songin the original place.
And it was like, it's aboutdancing a field

it's not about dancing.
They didn't have the original,doesn't have a dance beat and it
doesn't need it.
It's about,

Dan B (01:16:23):
there's quite a good quote about the Beatles during
the original from their pressofficer.
He said cuz obviously they'vebeen on L D and he said it was a
case of four Scouts exploringinner space and just finding
more and more scouter downthere.
And I think that quite nicelysums it up.
It's, that L s D trip isn't allOr they found when they did L S

(01:16:43):
D is more scouter.

Martyn (01:16:45):
it is.
It's very scales.
But anyway, I had my favoriteaway from me and Dan.
You took

Tom (01:16:51):
But so the thing is Martin, I took your favorite off you and
you?
went for that over Hendrix's

Martyn (01:16:56):
it

Tom (01:16:57):
was It

Martyn (01:16:57):
you that took it from

Tom (01:16:58):
me?
Yeah.
Was it you?
Yeah, It was.
You took the It was me.
I took that one because it's thebest cover.
And, and then you went forcandy.
For, you went for candy Flipinstead of Hendrix Covering Day
Tripper or Sergeant Peppers.

Martyn (01:17:11):
I'd forgotten them.

Susie and the batteries had a couple.
Dear Prudence, 1980 fours Highalbum.
But also, their debut recordfeatures a cover of Helter
Hilter Skelter as well from1970.
and that's really good.
Susie and the Banes are a, greatband and they did too many

Martyn (01:17:27):
Su Susan and the Banes are one of the greatest bands of
all time, in my opinion.
They're the whole post punkfucking thing, and

Tom (01:17:35):
kind In, they helped invent Essentially, yeah, beginning.
Yes, they did.

Martyn (01:17:41):
gonna let Tom speak about my favorite cover,

Tom (01:17:44):
it's mine as well this one is definitely better than the
original.
It's one of the Besa Beatlessongs ruined by Ringo's
drumming, but this time TheDrummings better.
The G I see Tan's face Idiscovered this song because
it's actually, this song is apost punk song that is on best
of the eighties compilations.
It's on some like weird best ofthe 1980s compilation CD my

(01:18:08):
parents had.
And this song came on and I waslike, I love this I did happen
to know It was by the Beatlesbefore, but I instantly liked it
better than the Beatles version.
It's cooler basically.
What was it?
Color

Martyn (01:18:22):
is the best term.
it really is Yeah.
Like that guitar part is soperfect.

Tom (01:18:28):
yeah,

Martyn (01:18:29):
It's way

better than the original.
It adds an edge.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dan, you had a reallyinteresting one.

Dan B (01:18:35):
Yeah.
And I'll be honest, it wasn'tone I was familiar with before,
basically looking up a bunch ofBeatles.

Yeah.
I didn't know it.

Dan B (01:18:41):
so I picked Day Tripper, but by Jose Felician, is that
how you say it?
It's it's not that different Idon't think to the original.
I dunno, there's just a, there'sa, nice feel to it.
It's very similar.
I think one of the things thatstands for it is that apparently
John Lenon hated covers of theirsongs, but this was one that

(01:19:01):
actually he approved of Oh.
Stamp

of

Dan B (01:19:04):
Approval.
you've got the John Lenon sealof approval for this.
And I, It's also, again, it's a,it's one of those covers that
was at the time, it wasn't yearsand years later.
So I think we're looking at awhole array of covers, When
trying to choose all the wayfrom that to Billy Eilish This
is really cool.
It's just him and another guywith a big double bass just

(01:19:24):
playing.
Sounds brilliant.
I really would recommend peopleto check it out

If you're not familiar with Jose Feliciano
you'll know his most famous songgets played every year and it's
Fise Navad his Christmas song.
Yes.
So he's a Brazilian banger.
Yeah.
Brazilian Latin folk jazz.
He's got Jodi Mitchell music.
He's good.
I like home name yeah, FelicNavad is the one that everybody

(01:19:50):
knows and they don't, know it'shim.
favorite Beatles cover.
It's obvious for anyone who'sbeen listening to the podcast
any of the other episodes andknow that I'm a a raging prince
maniac because Prince in 2004covered while my guitar weeps
for the Rock and Roll Hall ofFame ceremony, which was

(01:20:11):
actually a tribute to GeorgeHarrison after he years earlier.
Most people, I imagine if you'veever used YouTube and have
searched for a guitar solo onYouTube, you've it starts off as
a straight cover with, anall-star cast.
It's got Danny Harrison, who isGeorge Harrison's son.
It's got Jeff Lynn, Tom Petty.
It's also got Steve Wynwood whois playing on keyboards, who's

(01:20:34):
another great in his own rightfrom traffic.
And Mark Mann, who was playingguitar in, largely in Jeff
Lynn's backing band and alsohelped to finish off George
Harrison's posthumous 2002release brainwashed.
And it seems fine.
Everything's going according toplan.

(01:20:55):
And then Prince steps up towardsthe end and is allowed to do his
guitar solo.
And he just makes while myguitar gently weeps his own
song, he takes that song fromthe Beatles and he makes it his
own.
He throws guitar into the air,it never comes down, and Prince
leaves the, stage like some sortof alien presence.

(01:21:17):
The Beatles song is great.
I like the original but thisversion takes it to another
level and makes it one of thegreatest guitar The solo is
insanely good.
He's showboating all the waythrough it.
throws himself back and caughtby a security guard as he's
stage diving whilst soloing.
Danny Harrison loves it.
He's got the coolest It's thebest Beatles cover.

(01:21:43):
I

Tom (01:21:43):
agree.
That is

Martyn (01:21:44):
literally best guitar solo I've ever heard in

my entire life.
It's gotta be up

Martyn (01:21:49):
As a guitar player, I can say, If I could have done
half of he was, doing in Thatsolo would've made

Tom (01:21:57):
it.

Martyn (01:21:57):
It's

Tom (01:21:57):
perfect

in every way.
choice

Dan B (01:21:59):
the best cover you've won.
This is easily the best cover.
If I Yeah, it could have chosenit.
I I would've done,

Wasn't letting you I dunno.
But yeah, Mark Mann, theguitarist, Who does the the
solos in the first half of it isessentially just playing.
What was Eric Clapton on thestudio and He's essentially just
mimicking the same licks andriffs that Eric Clapton plays.
And then the spotlight comesdown on Prince and he just gets
given about three minutes toabsolutely whale.

(01:22:27):
If you haven't seen it, check itout on YouTube.
It's one of the greatestperformances It's Prince.
I'm not going to pass up anopportunity to have Prince win
something on this podcast.
And for me,

Tom (01:22:37):
No,

we

Tom (01:22:38):
can't.
Cause be two things he can't winthat'll be two in a row.

you haven't seen our Cat News episode, go check
it out because Prince is alsothe best Super Bowl halftime
show of all time

Tom (01:22:51):
I know.

be, to

Tom (01:22:52):
be, To be fair too,

There are also some other really good ones.
was I.
imagining someone might call meup because it's a live cover, So
if I was gonna be pushed for astudio cover, I really love the
Carpenter's version of Ticket toRide, But because Karen
Carpenter could sing the phonebook and would've sounded
amazing.
Wilson

Dan B (01:23:11):
Picketts.
Hey, Jude is also another.
one that pointed out earlier,it's absolutely lovely.
Yeah.

It's

Dan B (01:23:17):
than the

the original.
Yeah.
Hey, Jude is a Ma mate song.
You either love it or hate it.
I actually love it.
I think it's great.
But the Wilson Picket song takesit to another level.
It's this southern soul behemothand it's got Dwayne Norman on
guitar.
On the slide.
Guitar is absolutely WilsonPickett, of course, being the
guy who sang Land of a Thousandand, various other soul hits

(01:23:42):
with a big, powerful voice Andhe makes, Hey, Jude sound like
the soul ballad.
It probably should have always

Dan B (01:23:48):
also really quite liked.
The Earth, wind and Fire coverof got to get You into my

Yeah, that's ano cool.
That is another one that'sbetter than the original.
And I think, I can't remember,might have been Paul McCartney,
but they actually wrote thatsong.
to attempt to write a Motown r bstyle hit, and then it was
covered by Earth, wind and Fire.
And I think it was PaulMcCartney.
He said that's what the songshould have always sounded like.
because It gives it the funkenergy it needed.

Tom (01:24:13):
One, cover I'm gonna mention because it was mentioned
in our group chat by anothermember of the who's not here
tonight And I've gotta mention,yeah.
Godheads cover of Eleanor Rigby,cuz I'm pretty sure I remember
that being in the charts forages.
I don't actually like it at

all.
I quite liked it.
Industrial metal version of itit it is very 2001.
Eleanor Rigby is such amagnificent song that there's
not a lot you could do to itthat would make it sound bad

Dan B (01:24:41):
Oh, I think anything being done to it would ruin it.
That's almost off the

way I, yeah.
it is not, an idiosyncratic songfor me.
Like a Purple Rain would bewhere I don't think you can
cover Purple Rain becauseeverything about it is Prince
brings to the performance.
Whereas I think the strength ofEleanor Rigby in the
songwriting.
I think it's a well constructedsong.
So I think it lends its itselfwell to cover performances
because the power of the song isin how it's arranged personally.

Dan B (01:25:09):
Then I think you'd have to play it as a very straight.
cover.

Yeah.
Oh yeah.

Tom (01:25:14):
The vocal is a very straight cover

Dan B (01:25:16):
anybody listen to the damned version of help that was
mental?
I haven't heard It's like a veryweird kind of punk sort of
sounding version of help.
It's equally cool, but prettyterrible at the same time, but
worth her.
Listen, The only other one isone that you mentioned quite a
bit earlier when you said aboutJoe Cocker's version of whether

(01:25:39):
it'll help from my that Yes, wasreally

good.
There's also, I wanna hold yourhand by Al Green.
His soulful version of that isgreat, but I'm listening to
myself here and I'm thinking Imay only just like these because
I prefer the artists that coverthem.
So I don't know if they'renecessarily better.
I just prefer the voices WilsonPickett.
I prefer the voice of Al Green,It is largely down to personal

(01:26:01):
tastes.
I think ultimately if you've gotsongs that are this strong,
there's always gonna be shitloads of good covers

Dan B (01:26:07):
I dunno where fits in the podcast at all, but shout out to
Worms.
Worms was the first place that Iever really knew the names of
the four Beatles.
Oh yeah, the original wormsPlayStation, and probably PC as
well, one of the teams.
So you'd had four worms in teamand one of the teams were called
the Fab Four, and you hadGeorge, Ringo, John, Paul.

(01:26:31):
I remember that my very firstintroduction

Yeah.

Dan B (01:26:33):
those

beings.
Well, I think that just speaksfor how much of an impact
they've had on pop As I wassaying earlier, starts sixties
with, Beatles as we know it now.
With big album releases, heavilypromoted singles and
recognizable band members thathave an army of a dawning fans.
I it all goes back to theBeatles.

(01:26:56):
whether or not you think thattheir albums are masterpieces,
or whether you think thatthey're a little messy, and
whether you think that aparticular song is great or not,
I think that you can't that theyare pivotal in the conversation
to starting everything that wediscuss on this So all of the

(01:27:20):
conversations that we have aboutvarious forms of Lock, pop,
soul, the, Beatles are the CTextinction event.
All yeah.
It's they created a mediacreator the size of Mexico,
killed all the dinosaurs, andthen created a new world that we
all live in now, which has popstars that we hate thrown in our

(01:27:43):
faces.
And all that kind of The, cynicside of fame, I think a lot of
it stems from how people reactedthey put Britain on the map.
In America, no band has everreally captured the same success
from here as the Beatles did inAmerica.

Tom (01:28:00):
There is one British band that broke America as well as
The Beatles probably.

And that's their contemporaries?
Rolling Stones.
No.

Tom (01:28:07):
It's one direction, isn't it?
Oh, I hate to say it, but it'strue.
I don't want that to be thecase.

They were massive.

Tom (01:28:15):
yeah, they were there was the British invasion that The
Beatles started into America.
So bands looking to breakAmerica.
So you had the kinks did fairlywell.
The Rolling Stones did fairlywell.
None of them matched theBeatles, But they did well
enough to make a living out of

I actually thought the other day, I'm gonna go back
and listen to a one Directionalbum.
I think if I can go back andlisten to The Beatles, 19 63, 19
64 records, then compare them towhat One Direction Made in say,
2011, I'll be an interest in ButI have already ruined my street
credibility by listening PipesPeace, tug of War, Ebony and

(01:28:56):
Ivory, so many bad songs.
I can't have one Direction Alsoshowing on my recently Played
for the moment, to go thereanother

Tom (01:29:06):
that might be another episode.
Listen along to One Direction,

we didn't get any undeniable bangers on this.
Any, no, we didn't.

Dan B (01:29:26):
I mean, we, they, we could have named like five
Beatles songs as undeniablebangers.
Surely.

I would say tomorrow Nedos is an unable.
agreed.
Yeah.
All right.
a day in the life,

Dan B (01:29:39):
I think here

Tom (01:29:40):
No.
here comes The sun.
and come together.
I'd do, but not a day in life.
It's, it just doesn't, I don'tthink it's popular enough.

I would say come together, here comes the sun And
tomorrow never knows.
I'm happy to put in Yeah, I'dput those three tomorrow.
Never knows.

Martyn (01:29:59):
in agreement tomorrow.
Neno, get that in there.

Tom (01:30:01):
Yeah.

I'd agree on those.
those are thoughts on theBeatles And whether you find
them informative, you plainlydisagree or whether you were
just.
Listening along, not reallypaying any attention, and like
the bright colors let us knowand to hit us up on social
media.
Before we go there, we've gottadecide what we are going to be

(01:30:22):
covering on our next episode.

Dan B (01:30:25):
Quite like to listen to some new music, quote unquote.

We could do a chart one again.

Dan B (01:30:31):
some sort of chart episode I think would really

into a top 10?

Dan B (01:30:34):
It probably hasn't changed in the last year has it,
it's probably

same track.
Well, We did the UK one in 2021and we did the US chart in 2022.
So

Tom (01:30:43):
stupid

like this?
Japanese it was painful.
I'm not doing the Japanesechart,

Dan B (01:30:47):
how we gonna

fill two hours where none of us understood any
of the lyrics or what hashappened I don't know.
I think what we should do is, Ithink we should it's been almost
two years since we looked at theUK chart so we can go back in
I'm sure it's changed since God,

Tom (01:31:02):
I bet you one of the, I bet you one of the songs is still
there

We'll dip into, the chart and see What's there.
Hopefully there'll be some Drakefor Al to his teeth into, I
dunno what this is be.
we'll see you on the, nextepisode of the Cacophony
Sessions let's know yourthoughts on The Beatles.
In the meantime, stay funky.
none of you are gonna sayanything.
Just let me die on my ass as we

Dan B (01:31:25):
Beatles were good.
Woo.

Martyn (01:31:28):
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S4E02 - The Fab Four

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