THE BEATLES(ish) ON SPOTIFY!

 

Of course none of the music of The Beatles is available on Spotify, but here's the next best thing--a collection of amazing Beatles' covers done by a variety of artists! 

THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK Spotify playlist!

Every song in the book. Well, almost. The Beatles didn't make it easy.

Top Nine: Best Beards in Rock!

Beards come and go, but the nine groups listed below have done their part to make sure the beard is more than just an accessory. We've heard from the Lepsches, but I get the last word? Is it definitive? Read their posts below and decide.

Yonder Mountain String Band

Somehow YMSB missed the Mumford/'New Banjo Revival,' which is a shame, because Yonder brings it. Hard. They are as much at home with John Hartford and Ralph Stanley as they are with The Misfits and Pink Floyd. And if you don't know who Ralph Stanley is, you should be ashamed to call yourself a music fan.

Band of Horses 

SGs AND Les Pauls? They ain't playing. They are more Seventies than Mr. Neil Young himself.  For BoH, the beard ain't a phase, it's a way of life. I bet they drive Chevy Novas, too. 

The Civil Wars

Any time 50% of the band has a beard, you're in legit territory.  And covering The Jackson Five? Well that's just showing off. (Civil Wars--get your shit together and make some more music!!)

Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl is facial hair x2. Even though he didn't rock the beard in Nirvana, Kurt did. So having Cobain as a stubble mentor is like having The Dalai Lama as your personal therapist. (Dave is rocking the mini-beard here.)

 Middle Brother

Flannels, beards and thumb picks! It's a hipster trifecta, and I don't even care. (Is that a red Solo cup?) They rock so hard, they require members from three different bands (Dawes, Delta Spirit, Deer Tick) just to make music. They are the hipster Beatles, and I love them.

Bob Marley 

Beards were (literally) his religion. So don't come at me with your white dreads, telling me about how you're Rasta because you like to burn one because this man lived it. He took bullets for his faith. And he died because he wouldn't cut any of that lovely hair.

Bruce Springsteen

The Boss didn;t always rock facial hair. But when he did, he owned it. From 70 to 83 he carried the beard torch. Beard + knit hat + leather jacket = hipster savior. Throw in a gold earring, and you're seeing God. 

The Allman Brothers

When At Fillmore East was recorded, the Allman Brothers were batting 1000%. Duane Allman--facial hair. Gregg Allman--facial hair. Dicky Betts--facial hair.  Berry Oakley--facial hair. Butch Trucks--facial hair. Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson--facial hair. Don't believe me? Take a look.

To top it all off, At Fillmore East, is ranked #49 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of all Time. My boys weren't playing. They lived it. The fact that two of the band's members died in motorcycle accidents (a year apart and three blocks apart) tells you these fools were for real. They are so far removed from bearded hipster shit, that bearded hipsters don't even know to look to The Allman Brothers for guidance. I mean, we don't look AT the sun when we want light, do we?    

The Beatles

Were the Fab Four known for their beards? No.
Were they the first? No.
Did they do it better than anybody else, before or after? Most definitely.

When The Beatles reinvented themselves, they did so in a big way. They were the forerunners of the beard. They invented retreating (India) and reemerging with a whole new look. Post Sgt. Pepper they owned the look. Zeppelin, The Who and the rest just copied. Check out "Something" to see what I mean. Paul, George and Ringo rocked beards. For some reason, John didn't (and we all know how he could pull off a beard) but he was rocking a cape (that matched Yoko's) so he gets points for that. 

TOP NINE: Duets

Just in time for (the day after) Valentine's Day, here are Preston Black's Top Nine Duets!

#9 'Islands in the Stream' Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

From The Devil and Preston Black: My brother and me were pretty much forced to listen to whatever mom played in the car. Mostly country. Kenny and Dolly singing "Islands in the Stream."

 

#8 'Hunger Strike' Temple Of The Dog (Feat. Chris Cornell & Eddie Vedder)

 

#7 'Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart' Against Me! and Tegan Quin.

 

#6 'Fairytale of New York' The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

 

 #5 'Wake Up' Arcade Fire and David Bowie

 

#4 'Rich Woman/Gone, Gone, Gone/Done Moved On' Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

 

#3 'Safe and Sound' Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars

 

#2 'Jackson' Johnny Cash and June Carter

From The Revelations of Preston Black: "Jackson" came through the shitty speakers first. I looked at Katy and smiled but she just rolled her eyes. I said, "You're hotter than a pepper sprout, you know that, my love?"

She smiled an acknowledgement. "Haven't heard that one yet."  

#1 'If I Fell' The Beatles

Who'd you think I was going to put at #1? Alice Cooper? Whatevs.

From The Revelations of Preston Black: Ignoring the request, we played them our version of Arcade Fire's "Deep Blue" and finished the night with an abbreviated version of our setlist. Harmonizing with Katy on an a cappella "If I Fell" as an encore was my personal highlight. It was something we always practiced in the car—Katy doing the Paul part and me doing the John part—but never sang in public. The song had become our little secret, our way of telling each other that everything was going to be just fine. And after tonight, a little assurance was all we needed.
 

Dog Con Countdown! Def Con 2. The Beatles "Hey Bulldog"

#2 Dog Con Countdown! Def Con 2. The Beatles "Hey Bulldog"

Dog Con Countdown! The Beatles "Martha, My Dear"

#10 Dog Con Countdown! The Beatles "Martha, My Dear." With Dog Con so close, it's time to pull out the big dogs. Yeah, that's right, a dog pun.

Everything I Need to Know, I learned from John Lennon.

To celebrate what would've been John's 72nd birthday, I decided to pay tribute by giving thanks where thanks is due. Very simply, here's the song, the lyric, and the lesson.

"I'm Only Sleeping"

When I'm in the middle of a dream, stay in bed, float upstream...

Life is better in bed. Spend a little time in your head. Dreams are not fantasy, they are a reality that just hasn't happened yet.

"Revolution"

...You say you got a real solution? Well, you know we'd all love to see the plan... 

Talk is for talkers. You want to stand up for something? Stand up for something. You want to make waves? Then make some waves.

"In My Life"

...Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them... 

John, and Paul and George, and Ringo climbed out of Liverpool's craters and burned-out factories to become the greatest music machine the world has ever seen. I can move past the blemishes and banalities of my hometown and make an amazing life for myself if I choose.

"God"

...I don't believe in Elvis. I don't believe in Zimmerman. I don't believe in Beatles. I just believe in me....

I don't turn water into wine, I turn words into stories and people. Who gave me permission to do this? God?  I'm motivated by a belief in my own capabilities. Otherwise, I'd keep my stories to myself.

"Working Class Hero"

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school, they hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool...

My job is not me. I am not my job.

"You're Going To Lose That Girl"

If you don't take her out tonight, she's gonna change her mind. And I will take her out tonight and I will treat her kind...

That's how I met my wife.

"Whatever Gets You Through The Night"

It's your money or life...

That's an easy one.

"Dear Prudence"

...Won't you come out to play?

Forgetting to play is like forgetting to breathe.

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

...nothing is real...

Except for this moment, right now.

"All You Need Is Love"

...love is all you need.

Because it is.

THE MUSIC AND PRESTON BLACK, THE BEATLES, Empire Stadium, Vancouver, August 22, 1964

From THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK:

     Katy got a cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake. I got a double with extra pickles and a Coke. We split an order of fries. They were cut real big and came in a red plastic basket lined with paper, like French fries used to be when you were little. Drenched in Heinz, the taste reminded me of when there used to be lunch counters at the drug stores on High. I ate like I'd never eaten before.
     A couple of old guys kept playing Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline songs. Katy sang in a really deep voice, "Crazy..." I laughed. The lights came on in the parking lot, and Katy asked if I was ready to head back. I wasn't, but I knew she had things to do and felt guilty for keeping her all day.
     When she went to the bathroom to freshen up my phone buzzed. I read Lennon's text and smiled.

Download the book on Amazon.com.

Download the show on Sugarmegs.

From SUGARMEGS:

I didn't see this show on Dimeadozen, either in active or dead torrents, so I thought I'd share.

This is the Beatles playing at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on August 22, 1964, during their first full-length North American tour.

The recording comes from a radio broadcast at the time. The tape eventually found its way into collectors' circles, and now it comes to you.

This is from the Purple Chick release of "Seattle Down Now". I didn't share that full disc because there's some officially-released stuff on it, and the rest (particularly the Seattle show) is of unlistenable sound quality.

The presumed lineage would be:
FM broadcast >> 1st Gen tape >> Silver Disc >> FLAC.

But I don't know Purple Chick's lineage--there may be more generations between the tape and their disc (and I don't know if the tape was reel-to-reel or cassette or what). Either way, it sounds as good as it ever will. I'd give it about an 8.5 out of 10 on sound quality.

The show itself is probably my favorite Beatles concert from 1964. The crowd gets really rowdy, and the emcee has to come on stage to scold them to stand back, otherwise, "kids are gonna get crushed". The Beatles' press officer Derek Taylor joins in at one point as well, pleading with the crowd to stand back. And then the Beatles have to go right back to their set! (And even encourage them to "clap your hands and stomp your feet"!)

None of this has ever been released officially in any form--PM me if you have questions. Enjoy! Here's the tracklist:

01 - Intro
02 - Twist and Shout
03 - You Can't Do That
04 - All My Loving
05 - She Loves You
06 - Things We Said Today
07 - Roll Over Beethoven
08 - Can't Buy Me Love
09 - If I Fell
10 - Boys
11 - A Hard Day's Night
12 - Long Tall Sally

THE MUSIC AND PRESTON BLACK: John Lennon Unreleased Home Demos

Excerpt from THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK:

    The cold NYC sidewalk on my cheek had given me a chill. I heard sirens, saw city lights reflected in the windshields of cars on Central Park West. Yoko screamed. I even felt them lift me into the cop car. All I knew was that we were headed to Roosevelt Hospital. Christmas lights and wreaths drooped from some of the poles, but not all of them. Then I woke up.
     I felt a hangover steeping in my gut. I thought maybe I could make myself throw up. The sulfur from Chapman's bullets bit the back of my nose, stuck to my sinuses.
      My breath came back to me in the living room. I lay on the couch to sleep. I didn't want to wake Dani up. But out in the kitchen I heard somebody rummage through a cabinet. I rubbed my eyes and stretched and went out to apologize to her.
      "Preston," John Lennon said in a very narrow voice, "Have a seat." He poured brandy into the other glass and pushed it across the table. John looked just like he did when he played Instant Karma on Top of the Pops. His hair had just been cut short and he seemed agitated, like the primal scream therapy hadn't kicked in yet.
      I almost asked what he was doing here and he said, "If you knew he'd shoot, why didn't you stop him?"
      My reply got caught in my throat like a hiccup, and I took a quick drink to ease it out.
      Lennon said, "If it was you on the sidewalk and me on the street I'd have let you know. It's the right thing to do, right?"
      "But I didn't know. I thought he was one of us."
      "Oh, I see." John took a drink. He held the glass by the stem and swirled the brandy around. "One of us, huh? Like you, me, us, 'one of us'? Or one of you 'one of us'? Big difference, you know."

The idea of John Lennon after The Beatles used to agitate me like neckties and missionaries. It wasn't his music, so much, although his Beatles stuff was obviously much more accessible. I think the idea of him all alone in that apartment is what scared me. Knowing that my parents had an ugly divorce (and an uglier marriage) makes it easier to understand why I would rather see John with Paul, George and Ringo surrounded by flowers and wearing pink and lime green costumes than in a dark city wearing leather jackets and sunglasses.

Would Preston had listened to Beatles John? I don't think so.
Download John's unreleased home demos here. (Preferably while reading your copy of THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK.)

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

JOHN LENNON AND DECEMBER 8, 1980, ALL OVER AGAIN

It’s a bit embarrassing to admit this, but I didn’t discover The Beatles until about ten years ago.

NEVERMIND came out when I was a junior in high school. That album’s release was supposed to have been the shot heard through the Gen X world, but I got into Pearl Jam a whole lot more than I ever did Nirvana. And as far as I was concerned, the kind of music I listened to sprang from seeds like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. The Beatles, and the Beach Boys, and Chuck Berry were oldies radio. Background. My mom liked The Beatles. That’s who we were rebelling against.

So yeah, my youthful naivety deprived me of the greatest band I’d ever hear. I don’t have a problem with that, because I believe I found The Beatles exactly when I was supposed to. In my thirties and unsatisfied with the life I’ve been living. The music I loved becoming the background noise I resented so much in high school. My passion to pick up my guitar waned as I felt myself plateauing as a player. Strumming out riffs on my porch swing with a glass of bourbon was relaxation, not the passion it’d once been.

I can’t remember how I got into The Beatles. May have been LET IT BE…NAKED in 2003, or a random Yonder Mountain String Band Beatles’ cover. Must’ve been the LET IT BE, because DON’T LET ME DOWN stands out as the song that changed everything for me. It didn’t sound like The Beatles I knew about--sock hops and cruisin' (without the ‘g’) or whatever. It was like I stumbled upon an entirely new genre.

And when I watched video from the Rooftop Concert, it made me sad to learn the stuff I liked came so close to the end. And even though I went backwards and bought the whole catalog and downloaded concerts and studio outtakes with esoterica like multiple versions of STRAWBERRY FIELDS and THE ESHER DEMOS, I couldn’t help feeling like I was getting to the scene a little too late. Like, if I’d gotten PLEASE, PLEASE ME first I would’ve experienced a rise and fall with each successive album I bought. But as it was, starting at the bottom of the discography only reminded me that no matter what happened, it all comes to a sad, inevitable end. It was like I got to experience the break-up all by myself. I couldn’t ask anybody if they heard rumors, if the band would get back together, if Lennon had fired Allen Klein yet. Because I already knew the Rooftop Concert was the last.

And I knew exactly what was going to happen when I started buying Lennon’s solo albums. The bitter strength and sadness of WORKING CLASS HERO and IMAGINE would only, always, give way to The Lost Weekend, and the birth of Sean and John’s return to the studio in the late 70s. And no matter what happened, no matter in what order I bought his albums, December 8, 1980 would always come rushing up at me.

During the recording of NEVERMIND, Kurt Cobain refused to double-track his vocals. Butch Vig eventually got Kurt to agree by telling him that his hero, John Lennon double-tracked his vocals. I couldn’t hear John in Nirvana way back in 1992. But I hear John when I listen to Nirvana today. I hear John in The Clash, in Radiohead. I hear John almost every time I hear music.

http://www.johnlennonday.com/