When They Was Fab: Electric Arguments About the Beatles

While the four solo artists formerly known as the Beatles did not equal their illustrious previous decade, they did all show chart success in the Seventies.    Eleven total number ones.     This week we start our next multi-part series (hey, two counts as "multi") covering those chart toppers.    We partially go the Paul McCartney route ("we play the hits"), but also look back at how these songs w...

Marv and I are joined by Antony Rotunno (Glass Onion: On John Lennon), as we finish our look at the Mind Games Box Set with Disc Six - The Outtakes.     While we discuss the tracks, we also take a step back and consider Lennon the man.    The personal, political and psychological are all strongly represented in the lyrics found between the grooves.     

The return of friend of the show Darin Murphy (a man who portrayed John Lennon on Broadway, and played with Denny Laine, Todd Rundgren, Joey Molland, Micky Dolenz and more!) He pojoins us to discuss Disc Five of the Mind Games Box, the raw studio mixes.     Sean gives us plenty of material to consider, and we discuss how this album would influence artists as diverse as Meat Loaf, Tom Petty and pos...

Recorded Live in Chicago (with additional audio from Houston, Cleveland and more), this week we present "When They Was Fab" in front of a live audience.     Dr. Kenneth Womack ("Living the Beatles Legend", "Solid State", "John Lennon: 1980" and more) joins us as we look at the circumstances of 1960, 1961 and 1962 which would lead to a new drummer and a new era for everyone that is a fan of popular...

Marv, Lonnie and I sit with Nashville HOF songwriter, author and man who worked with a Beatle about his lifelong love of the Fabs, touring (and writing!) with Carole King, his Brian Epstein-themed song on the new Billy J. Kramer record, collaborating (and recording) with Ringo and the forthcoming Ringo country album.     We also dig into his new novel ("Reunion"), which imagines a universe where J...

The "Mind Games" train rolls on.   Disc four, the evolution mixes.    Possibly the closest we will get to hearing the evolution of the "Mind Games" album.    Each track, from the earliest known demo through the various changes in the studio through to the near-complete version.    John, Yoko, Roy Cicala and all the musicians chime in at various times for a full look at just how the recording proce...

The Ultimate Box review continues!    This week we move on to the third disc - the elements mixes.     How many other (non-instrumental) albums have a disc not featuring lead vocals from the named artist?    This one does.      Marv and I talk about what we learned, and we extend the concept talking about Keltner, Gordon, Something Different, Sneaky Pete and the others that migrated from "Feeling...

Lonnie and I roll on with part two of our "Mind Games" SDE review.    This week, disc two - the Elemental mixes (not to be confused with the Elements mixes).     Lonnie also unveils his initial thoughts on the Mind Games (Ultimate Collection) Super Deluxe Box Set!    Roll the I-Ching and see if it advises you to drop the cash!

Lonnie Pena, Jon Stone and I sit down to discuss the first disc of the "Mind Games: Ultimate Collection" Deluxe Box set.           When asked about the release, Sean Lennon says: "People were having trouble adjusting to the 'new' John Lennon. So, I think Mind Games fell through the cracks for a number of reasons. The fact that the mixes were a bit thin didn’t help either."     Does that apply to J...

Marv and I talk the Birmingham, UK Soundcheck (2015, "Out There" tour).      Soundcheck is 40-60 minutes of Paul doing (mostly) songs not part of the main show.     This week we talk "Celebration", "Miss Ann",  "It's so Squeazy", "I'll Follow the Sun", and a bit about how the show has changed since Out There (two encores compressed to one!    No "Yesterday").    As they say in "Midnight Special" (...

The Last Houston storm resulted in Lonnie Pena uncovering his Seventies Beatles scrapbook.     Festival Seating in the Houston Summit!     Ringo, "I Dream of" Jeannie, Jim Backus and one of the hippest looking sexagenarians captured in a photograph.     Also, more "Got Back 2024" dates, preparations for the "Mind Games" box, and the wonder of AI "Get Back Sessions".

The annual "Peace and Love" bonus episode of Fab.      Fire it up precisely at 11:45 local time on Sunday July 7, and join our shows in wishing Ringo "All the Best" and the world "Peace and Love" as we celebrate Richard, Richie, "Ringo-Starrtime" Starkey.

Marv and I review the second disc of the "One Hand Clapping' set, and the contents of the vinyl EP.    It is becoming popular for many internet types to claim that this collection is now amongst their favorite Wings albums.     That might be a bit of hyperbole, and it might be recency bias, but even so, this new mix and official release of the 1974 Paul McCartney and Wings bootleg favorite is at a...

Lonnie and I review the first disc of the "One Hand Clapping' set (available on Vinyl, Vinyl + single, CD and streaming), the new mix of the 1974 Paul McCartney and Wings Favorite.     Just how good a drummer was Geoff Britton?  

Lonnie and I discuss the new Mind Games-related "You Are Here" video with new footage of John and Yoko from the Robert Fraser Gallery, talking about the WWF (not the wrestling one), balloons, charity boxes and tiny badges.     We also discuss Ringo's summer 2024 tour (and Lonnie's visit to Hidalgo, TX), the McCartney 2024 tour,   the Blue plaque at 12 Arnold Grove and several other items from the...

Marv and I finish up our review/overview of the McCartney "Life in Lyrics" podcast with episodes 11 and 12 ("Michelle" and "The End").      We then briefly overview the series to date, and talk about some of the things we noticed (both positive and negative) through the twenty-four episodes.    No full episode on any song after "Here Today" and the Tug of War album?     That's a shame.      Despit...

This week I am joined by the host of Fans on the Run and our own Chas Newby (and the guy who made that really neat graphic of "Rocky"), Ethan Alexanian.    He joins us to discuss the Mark Lewisohn kerfuffle.   For those who don't know, here is the dictionary definition of Kerfuffle: a  commotion  or  fuss , especially one caused by  conflicting  views. "there was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship"

WHO is talking?    You might not know, as we get a quick flyby from "Toppermost of the Poppermost" hosts "Queen of All Beatles Media" Kit O'Toole and "Yeah, he is also among the co-hosts of the show" Martin Quibell.    (In baseball terms, they are "openers").     The bulk of the show features BC the Beatles co-host Erika White, and "Writer, Occasional Troublemaker and Full-Time Whovian" Jim Ryan. ...

As with practically every other Beatles podcast in the multiverse, the topic of the week is the 2024 release of "Let It Be" on Disney+.    Lonnie Pena and I sit down, discuss the VHS, Laserdisc, new streaming version and more.

Marv, Lonnie and I talk the new Record Store Day Mind Games EP and two more episodes from the "Life In Lyrics" podcast.  A nice preview of the box set coming later this summer, and we return to Paul McCartney's Life in Lyrics podcast for episodes covering "Here There and Everywhere" and "Give Ireland Back to the Irish."

A review of the Geoff Emerick Lagos tape as auctioned off last September.     Two high-profile "Dutch Imports" have hit the market recently (confusingly, each coming from a different dub of the Emerick masters).    The variants were classified, artifacts removed and a single "good" copy of the tape exists, and we review it!     How does it compare to the "underdubbed" release?     We also review L...

Kit O'Toole joins the show this week as we run through the voluminous Beatles news from the past week (Record Store Day, Ringo, Let It Be) and discuss the Beatles portion of "Around the Beatles."     Costumes, Shakespeare, Trevor Peacock and some kicking rock and roll.

Lonnie Pena and I discuss Wings at the Hammersmith Odeon - the Concert(s) for the People of Kampuchea.     Through circumstance, December 29, 1979 would end up being the final Wings concert ever.     Got to Get You Into My Life, Coming Up, Maybe I'm Amazed, Mull of Kintyre and Let It Be.    One-Two-Three-Four!

Marv and I sit down and chat about the Ringo selections on Rob Sheffield's "100 Best Solo Beatles Songs" list.    As Dana Carvey might say, "isn't it conveeeeenient" that each claims one of the top four.      More seriously, we discuss the nature of such lists, how, when and why - and we talk about the thirteen selections.    Does Ringo deserve 25% of the take?     Is thirteen too little? 

More of our thoughts on the "Life in Lyrics" podcast.    Martin Quibell and I discuss Episodes 6, 7, and 8.     The episodes are entitled "Silly Love Songs", "A Day in the Life" and "Hey Jude".    However, roughly fifteen different songs get covered within the three episodes...