Beatles Cd - 2nd. Recorded Hour of The Let It Be Sessions

Second recorded hour on the first day of the Let It Be Recording Sessions at Twickenham, Jan. 2. 1969. Film Roll Numbers : 5A/6A/7A/8A.

The Beatles rehearsing, chatting and fiddling about at London's Twickenham Film Studios, taped on Thursday January 2, 1969.

Preserved here on disc four of this second volume of Yellow Dog's The Beatles Ultimate Collection is that long-forgotten first hours of this first day of recordings for what was initially to be a half-hour TV special: The Beatles At Work. Dennis O'Dell (head of Apple films) suggested this documentary film to accompany Paul's refreshing idea for the boys to stage just one more major public performance. In the end, these two weeks of tiring sessions at Twickenham Studios turned out to be rehearsals for their newly-planned motion picture Get Back, later to be re-named Let It Be: their final LP. The planned-for live show stint was eventually agreed upon to be staged on top of their own London Apple off1ces, on January 30, 1969. Filming and recording on The Beatles' ill-fated, confusing and most frustrating Get Back sessions started at London's Twickenham Film Studios in the early hours of Thursday January 2, 1969. Direction was by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, with Glyn Johns as a sound-engineer and one Tony Richmond being contracted as director of photography. The Beatles themselves operated as executive producers. In his 1971 interview to Rolling Stone, John Lennon fondly referred to these sessions as: "...the most miserable on earth". Over a period of two weeks, up to Wednesday January 15, the film crew registered something like ninety six hours of jamming, rehearsing, whistling, chatting, lunching, discussing, sometimes even playing and singing. All in all, an estimated total of some 200 to 250 songs; sometimes just a line or two, sometimes several complete run-throughs. They were dire performances, lacking any clear musical direction, mostly out of tune and time, and rarely played with any conviction. The repertoire ranges from their own new writings (Don't Let Me Down, I Me Mine, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Octopus's Garden and Let It Be), on to a rich list of old Rock 'n' Roll standards (Blue Suede Shoes, Be Bop A Lula, Bad Boy and Not Fade Away), some Beatles-oldies (Help, Please Please Me and Strawberry Fields Forever) and a collection of yet to be released solo-titles (Every Night, All Things Must Pass, Teddy Boy, Jealous Guy and Let It Down). After two weeks at Twickenham, The Beatles moved on to recording for Get Back at their own Apple Studios in Savile Row. It was here that they taped another thirty hours of repertoire and staged their famed 42-minute long rooftop concert, both guesting pianist Billy Preston. Following these long-running sessions were seemingly endless months of editing and mixing by three different producers: Glyn Johns, George Martin and Phil Spector. It wasn't before some sixteen months later, some nine months after the release of the new Abbey Road LP, that the finished Get Back product finally saw the light of day: Let It Be, an 88-minute motion picture and twelve songs, a 35-minute long LP, with first pressings housed in a deluxe cardboard box holding a 160-page colour photo-book. The greater part of the sessions at Twickenham Studios still remains unreleased. Although parts have been made available on various underground records over the years, these have always been grabbed collections of little bits and pieces, mostly heavily edited and thus losing sight and sound of the overall unique atmosphere. With the release of these volumes of The Beatles Ultimate Collection, Yellow Dog Records is pleased to present all of the Beatles Get Back sessions as they were originally recorded at the time. Starting here with the first hours of that first day, complete and unedited.

Core collection Track identified Version validated Lyrics available Version details available Audio excerpt available Participants list available 1. Nagra Tape A Roll (unknown) 16:06

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Back Session Nagra Tape Roll 0005A 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles

Speak To Me (Lomax)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969 GB02.033 The Beatles The Beatles' version of George's newly composed Speak To Me, later to be released on Jackie Lomax's 'Is This What You Want' LP (Apple Sapcor 6). I've Got A Feeling (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles impromptu rehearsal of I've Got A Feeling, continued from roll four the previous hour. John and Paul sharing the lead vocals, singing the right chords I've Got A Feeling (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles again it's McCartney taking the musical lead, teaching the other three what his songs should sound like. What to play and even what not to play. George and John joking around: "Is that one called I've Got A Hard One?" Then singing: "Everybody had a hard one, oh yeah". All unreleased. 2. Nagra Tape A Roll (unknown) 16:19

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The Beatles

Dialogue (The Beatles Section)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles More rehearsals for I've Got A Feeling, continued from roll five. With John obviously being the only one really interested in friend Paul's teachings, it's the two of them discussing and song-writing most of the time: "Put the Foot Down for about four or eight and then back into I've Got A Feeling and Foot Down." I see, I'll just repeat the first verse." "Yeah, take the two of them together. It's a bit scrappy around here." Practising riffs and long solos, yeah-yeah. All of this, previously unheard. I've Got A Feeling (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles More rehearsals for I've Got A Feeling, continued from roll five. With John obviously being the only one really interested in friend Paul's teachings, it's the two of them discussing and song-writing most of the time: "Put the Foot Down for about four or eight and then back into I've Got A Feeling and Foot Down." I see, I'll just repeat the first verse." "Yeah, take the two of them together. It's a bit scrappy around here." Practising riffs and long solos, yeah-yeah. All of this, previously unheard. 3. Nagra Tape A Roll (unknown) 16:16

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Back Session Nagra Tape Roll 0007A 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles

Dialogue (The Beatles Section)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles Starts with a long piece of quite interesting studio dialogue. It's Paul, director Michael-Lindsay Hogg and producer Glyn Johns chatting about recording The Rolling Stones' Rock 'n' Roll Circus, the terrible acoustics of Twickenham Film Studios and plans for travelling abroad staging a big out-of-doors thing.

I've Got A Feeling (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles And onto more I've Got A Feeling jamming. Next, it's George proposing: "It may be better to like, learn as much as we've learned of this one of all the rest. Rather than just know one perfect and having to come down there." Paul can only fully agree: "Okay, so we'll just do it a couple of more times. I've Got A Feeling..., sing it to me children." Styling his song in a Mick Jagger no-no yeah-yeah free rockery. Don't Let Me Down (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles "If we'd just write down the words and have the chords match. Let's do another song now, learn some new chords like you said. What shall we do next?" "Don't Let Me Down it is", says John. 4. Nagra Tape A Roll (unknown) 16:19

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Back Session Nagra Tape Roll 0008A 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles

Don't Let Me Down (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles More rehearsals for Don't Let Me Down. John and Paul going through the lyrics. Various verse-attempts and false starts. Dialogue (The Beatles Section)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles Instrumental intermissions in Do'nt Let Me Down. "What about having a piano or an organ on this? We can try it, better we should just learn them and see what's needed. Problem is I don't know what order I'm doing in this, what repeats. Skip this little interlude. It's the first time I'm singing it. I'll just do it how I was doing it, the same until I think of something. I've just not sung it enough. What's better to repeat, what not. Just have it developed." Don't Let Me Down (Lennon/McCartney)

Get Back Session 2 Jan 1969

The Beatles Finishing off with a rehearsal version of the song which sounds already quite a lot like the later, officially released, one