Download The Beatles, Shea Stadium, New York, New York, August 15, 1965

     “And at least once a day I ask myself what if I hadn’t given up. You know, what if I’d have kept at it for another year more.” Mick waved me aside. Once his line of sight cleared he relaxed.
      “So you think I should keep going?”
      “Is failing something you can live with?”
      “Why would I have to fail?”
      “You’re going to fail a lot before you ever get it right, son. Your skin’s thick enough and your head’s hard enough that in ten or fifteen years you’ll know.”
      “Know what?”
      “Whether or not it’s time to give it up. Giving up too early leaves a pretty sour feeling. Might be the only thing worse than hanging on too long.”

From THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK

When I was a kid I didn't have many heroes. I can't remember if it was some sort of discontentment, or just plain ignorance. I mean, I liked Han Solo and all, but I knew I'd never pilot my very own Millennium Falcon. So I think, in retrospect, this was why I wasn't very ambitious.

Blame grunge and Eddie Vedder, but my musical heroes were not, to my teen-aged mind, hard workers. Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden gave the appearance of rolling out of bed and playing shows in what ever they happened to be wearing. Magazine articles focused on lifestyle and 'shredding' which was why I focused on weed and 'shredding.' Not sure how I missed all the stuff about hard work.

And that's what I like about Lennon and The Beatles. Enough has been written about the band to provide a blueprint for guys like me who otherwise would have no idea how to pursue success. They were perfectionists, tenacious and they weren't afraid to have a laugh. Reading Lennon's bio by Philip Norman right now, and in some ways, the book is magic. I mean, IT'S ALL THERE. Laid out. Everything a boy needs to dominate the world.

But I'm not a boy. And I'm not John Lennon. Doesn't matter though. World domination... It's coming.

"To the toppermost of the poppermost!"

Download the show at Sugarmegs.

Artist: The Beatles

Album: The Beatles And The Great Concert at Shea!

Label: Yellow Dog Masters Choice

Source: Silver CD > EAC > Flac Frontend > You

CD 1

Line Recording (part 1)

1. Introduction
2. Twist And Shout
3. She's A Woman
4. I Feel Fine
5. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
6. Ticket To Ride
7. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
8. Can't Buy Me Love
9. Baby's In Black
10. Act Naturally
11. A Hard Day's Night
12. Help!
13. I'm Down

--A few other acts round out the first disc, but I've edited them out of the track list for the sake of space.

CD 2

Original 1966 BBC Soundtrack

6. Introduction
7. Twist And Shout
8. I Feel Fine
9. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
10. Ticket To Ride
11. Act Naturally
12. Can't Buy Me Love
13. Baby's In Black
14. A Hard Day's Night
15. Help!
16. I'm Down

The entire Shea Stadium Concert 1965 plus the BBC TV special and a reproduction
of the vinyl album THE BEATLES LIVE AT SHEA as described by Erupting fans [???].
For the first time ever the complete unedited version of the famous Shea Stadium concert.

THE MUSIC AND PRESTON BLACK The Beatles, Acoustic Submarine

Some people think the idea of a soul in literature is a bit passé. A critique partner told me that. Thankfully, I disregarded her advice and wrote a novel about a guy who has to fight for control of his own soul. Don't we all have to fight for control of our soul from time-to-time?

I think soul is what moves Earth's 4.5 billion tiny little sparks through the universe. Soul gave us "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day..." and "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow....' Soul is why we distillers wait seven years for good bourbon.

Maybe soul, or a soul, is one of those things you don't notice until it's gone. That's kind of what happens to Preston Black in my novel. One day he wakes up, and life as he knows it is gone forever. His means of making music are taken from him by external forces. Without his old routine he's forced to make a change to pursue his passion or lose it.

Who better to guide Preston toward his grail than John Lennon, a man who seemed to spend the last ten years of his life searching for his own soul. Only recently have I started to see early John Lennon and late John Lennon as two totally separate entities. India is probably where the split began. John hooked up with Yoko just after returning to England. She was in the studio with him for most of The White Album sessions. Prior to Yoko he'd never had to choose. The Beatles were his soul.

During their time in Rishikesh with the Maharishi, The Beatles worked on thirty songs. Some were completed in India, some, like "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Something" remained unfinished until the sessions for Abbey Road in 1969. Some, like "What's the New Mary Jane?" never appeared on any official releases. "Child of Nature" was reworked by Lennon as "Jealous Guy" and included on the album Imagine.

Most of what remained showed up on The Beatles, a.k.a. The White Album. (A month from now a purist is going to leave the comment, 'Um, there's no such album as The White Album. Did you mean...') In order of appearance, the India songs on The White Album are: Back in the U.S.S.R., Dear Prudence, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, I'm So Tired, Blackbird, Rocky Raccoon, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, I Will, Julia, Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Revolution, and Cry Baby Cry. Demos of these songs recorded at George Harrison's estate just after everybody returned from England, and show up on a bootleg called the Esher Demos or the Esher Tapes. The White Album songs on this bootleg come from those sessions.

To me, the songs from India represent the last drop of life The Beatles were able to squeeze out of their collective soul.

Download Acoustic Submarine.

Here's the recording info from Sugarmegs:

The Beatles - Acoustic Submarine
Teddy Bear Records

Liberated Bootleg

Original silver discs>EAC(secure)>SHN(mkw)

Disc 1:
Do You Want to Know a Secret
And I Love Her
I'm a Loser
Help
Yesterday
Yes It Is
Norwegian Wood
I'm Looking Through You
We Can Work It Out
I'm Only Sleeping
Yellow Submarine
A Day in the Life
The Fool on the Hill
Christmas Time is Here Again
The Happy Rishikesh Song
Jubilee
Child of Nature
Goodbye
Everyone Had a Hard Year
What's the New May Jane

Disc 2:
Heather
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Julia
Mother Nature's Son
Hey Jude
Because
I Lost My Little Girl
Teddy Boy
Mama, You've Been on My Mind
For You Blue
Two of Us
Across the Universe
I Me Mine
Maggie Mae