The film we’ve been hearing about all year is finally about to make it’s debut. George Harrison: Living In The Material World will premier in the U.S. on HBO this October 5th & 6th and be showing in the U.K. (and Dublin, Ireland) at theaters, for one day only, on October 4th (check local listings).

Home video releases will be out in the U.K. on October 10th, but unfortunately not until next Spring in the U.S. There is a limited edition Deluxe version packaged in a custom-made picture frame box w/easel back for photo display. It includes a Blu-ray disc of the 209 minute film and two DVDs with 11 bonus features (as outlined below). There is also an audio CD containing 10 previously unreleased tracks (see below for tracklisting) from George, and even a 96 page book.

The film promises to be a detailed and captivating documentary using never before seen footage to cover George’s childhood, the whirlwind of his life as a Beatle, his introduction to Indian music and culture, and finally the highs and lows of his post-Beatle years as a solo artist and ‘Wilbury’. There is also more insight into the joys and pains of his private life. Even the most devoted fan of George and his music, is sure to come away from the film with a closer sense of what he was all about.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is a trailer…

More details on the home video version:
The limited-edition Deluxe version is packaged in a custom-made picture frame box with an easel back for photo display and includes:

1) 2 DVDs and one Blu-ray featuring the film & 11 bonus features
2) 10-track CD of previously-unreleased recordings
3) 2 exclusive lithographs
4) 96-page book

CD Tracklisting (with bonus edition only):
1) My Sweet Lord (demo) 3:33
2) Run Of The Mill (demo) 1:56
3) I’d Have You Any Time (early take) 3:06
4) Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind (demo) 3:04
5) Let It Be Me (demo) 2:56
6) Woman Don’t You Cry For Me (early take) 2:44
7) Awaiting On You All (early take) 2:40
8) Behind That Locked Door (demo) 3:29
9) All Things Must Pass (demo) 4:38
10) The Light That Has Lighted The World (demo) 2:23

Bonus Features:
-George plays the Uke* 1:37
-Deep Blue* 1:11
-Here Comes The Sun 2:38
-Dispute and Violence 5:12
-Growing Up In Liverpool* 4:20
-Paul McCartney 2:23
-Neil Aspinall* 3:31
-The Inner Light* 2:31
-Jeff Lynne 2:56
-Gordon Murray* 4:17
-Damon Hill 4:21
(*exclusive to Deluxe Edition)

Please note: This post is sponsored, but all thoughts are my own.

Buy at Amazon UK
or check your local retailer.

Not yet available on Amazon.com (US). Stay tuned for updates. But the book is (see below)! –

George Harrison: Living in the Material World – A new book by Olivia Harrison. Drawing on George Harrison’s personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries, and memorabilia, Olivia Harrison reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. Here too is the record of Harrison’s lifelong commitment to Indian music, and his adventures as a movie producer, Traveling Wilbury, and Formula One racing fan. The book is filled with stories and reminiscences from Harrison’s friends, including Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and many, many others. Among its previously unpublished riches are photographs taken by Harrison himself beginning in the mid-1960s. It is a rich tribute to a man who died far too young, but who touched the lives of millions.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

1. Living in the Material World – video clip w/”Here Comes The Sun” A new clip from the Martin Scorsese film George Harrison:...

A new clip from the Martin Scorsese film George Harrison: Living In The Material World is now viewable on GeorgeHarrison.com (starring Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr).

Click to view the video clip

The documentary itself will debut in about a week!

Here is more info on the documentary showtimes and the upcoming CD, DVD/Blu-Ray and bonus goodies:

In the US:
October 5 & 6 – The film will be broadcast exclusively on HBO October 5 (Part 1) and 6 (Part 2). A US home video release will follow in the Spring.

In the UK:
4th October – The film will be IN CINEMAS for one day only!
View theater listing and find a showing near you.

10th October – The film is released on home video in the UK on DVD, Blu-Ray and Deluxe Edition versions.

The limited-edition Deluxe version is packaged in a custom-made picture frame box with easel back for photo display. It includes:

1) 2 DVDs and one Blu-ray featuring the film & 11 bonus features
2) 10-track CD of previously-unreleased recordings
3) 2 exclusive lithographs
4) 96-page book

CD Tracklist:
My Sweet Lord (demo) 3:33
Run Of The Mill (demo) 1:56
I’d Have You Any Time (early take) 3:06
Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind (demo) 3:04
Let It Be Me (demo) 2:56
Woman Don’t You Cry For Me (early take) 2:44
Awaiting On You All (early take) 2:40
Behind That Locked Door (demo) 3:29
All Things Must Pass (demo) 4:38
The Light That Has Lighted The World (demo) 2:23

Bonus Features (*exclusive to Deluxe Edition):
George plays the Uke* 1:37
Deep Blue* 1:11
Here Comes The Sun 2:38
Dispute and Violence 5:12
Growing Up In Liverpool* 4:20
Paul McCartney 2:23
Neil Aspinall* 3:31
The Inner Light* 2:31
Jeff Lynne 2:56
Gordon Murray* 4:17
Damon Hill 4:21

Buy at Amazon UK
or check your local retailer.

Not yet available on Amazon.com (US). Stay tuned for updates. But the book is (see below) –

George Harrison: Living in the Material World – A new book by Olivia Harrison. Drawing on George Harrison’s personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries, and memorabilia, Olivia Harrison reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. Here too is the record of Harrison’s lifelong commitment to Indian music, and his adventures as a movie producer, Traveling Wilbury, and Formula One racing fan. The book is filled with stories and reminiscences from Harrison’s friends, including Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and many, many others. Among its previously unpublished riches are photographs taken by Harrison himself beginning in the mid-1960s. It is a rich tribute to a man who died far too young, but who touched the lives of millions.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

1. More on Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison: Living In The Material World The film we’ve been hearing about all year is finally...
2. The latest: Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film on the life of George Harrison… A press release issued yesterday (July 14, 2011) gives further...
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Welcome to the BROW. It’s pretty common knowledge that by the late summer of 1966, touring had become such a strain on The Beatles and they simply were not interested in doing it anymore – at least not in the near future. For examples of why, check out here, or here. Their careers had been non-stop up to this point, and they all needed a break for a few months. In November, John Lennon occupied himself with the filming of How I Won The War, in Almeria Spain and Paul McCartney went on a Kenyan safari.

It was during Paul’s flight back from Africa to London, when he formed the idea of “the act you’ve known for all these years”. Soon afterward, the idea came together of how this famous sergeant’s band would actually become an alter-ego of The Beatles themselves. The Anthology documentary reveals how long-time Beatles assistant Neil Aspinal came up with the idea of this Sgt. Pepper figure coming on at the beginning of the album and introducing the band and then toward the end of the album have him return to announce their final number and say goodbye. This is just as The Beatles themselves had done in their previous stage acts where Paul would tell the audience they had one more song, thank them for coming, do the final number and split. In the case of the album, the title song could open the album and introduce the band and the farewell before the last song is, of course, the purpose of the Sgt. Pepper reprise before the A Day In The Life finale. The idea here was to send the album on tour instead of the band itself. Of course, the applause and audience sound effects used were also there to add to the fantasy of this live show. The Beatles further reasoned that since Elvis Presley had just sent his gold-plated Cadillac on tour, instead of himself, for people to actually pay to see, then certainly they could send Sgt. Pepper and his band on tour, on their behalf.

On February 1, 1967 The Beatles recorded the initial takes of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band opening. It took 9 takes to perfect a backing track and the following day Paul added some bass overdubs and lead vocals while John and George added their harmonies. A mono mix of this finalized take 9 was cut onto an acetate for producer George Martin to use in scoring the section for the French horns. A slightly degraded copy of this acetate is what is featured for this week’s BROW. The audience/atmosphere sound effects and other overdubs are yet to be added, and the connected entrance of Ringo Starr’s character Billy Shears doing With A Little Help From My Friends was still being thought out. The ending here has the band vamping on a C major chord long enough for the recording to be faded. With the addition of these further improvements, the final mix took it’s place in the sequence of their other groundbreaking music that would soon be introduced.

It’s interesting to note that just before the release of the Sgt. Pepper album, the media was hinting at how The Beatles had “dried up”. There were articles pointing out that they had not only stopped touring, but their last single was held out of the #1 spot in the UK by Engelbert Humperdinck’s Release Me, and it had been nearly a year since they had put out an album. Almost a whole year…imagine that! History was then made in the first few days of June 1967, when Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band magically put the world in a state of amazement, by coming to your town and all the others, and from there, completely redefining where rock music stood, and where it could go, and in the process, creating a whole new level on which to enjoy it in a fresh new way. And the world followed…..

Happy 43rd, SPLHCB!!!

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (alternate cover shot), 1967

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? If so, I will do my best to deliver, so let me hear from you. To browse for ideas, check out this search-able listing of Beatle-related recordings to choose from. Then let me hear from you here.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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It’s time for this week’s BROW. As you likely know, it was fairly customary for John Lennon and Paul McCartney to pen a song together, for Ringo to sing, on whatever album they happened to be working on at the time. During the Revolver sessions of 1966, John had a verse melody in mind for the “Ringo” song to put with a chorus melody of Paul’s. I’m not sure whose idea it was to write fairy tale-type lyrics, but it fit perfectly with this time of psychedelic influence. It could have even been Donovan, who has no official composition credit but, I understand, did come up with some of the words. Of course, the song is Yellow Submarine. The backing track was recorded and Ringo’s vocal’s added on May 26, 1966 and originally, it was probably just thought of as album filler. Then, possibly with the help of some sort of mind-bending imagination enhancement, the color came to the project.

The idea was to add a “party atmosphere”, and what better way to create it than by having a party in the recording studio? The date was scheduled for June 1, 1966. The invited, who participated in recording the party atmosphere heard in the mix, include Brian Jones (of The Rolling Stones), Marianne Faithful, George’s wife Patti Harrison, Beatle assistants Neil Aspinal and Mal Evans and others. This week’s BROW is a special recording of the effects used in the Yellow Submarine song, with the backing track and Ringo vocal from take 5 heard in the background. In order of appearance (roughly) there is:

1. John blowing bubble in a straw
2. 2 bells
3. a grinding noisemaker
4. party chatter
5. an ocarina (which is an ancient flute-type wind instrument)
6. a propeller cranked up and dunked in the water
7. spilled coins
8. a foghorn
9. a group singalong of the chorus
10. chains swishing in a metal tub of water
11. clinking glasses
12. more coins spilling and party chatter
13. a brass band
14. a tapping noise
15. “full speed ahead” and other mock naval orders
16. some type of submerging “whoosh” sound
17. response shouts from John (“life of ease”, “all we need”, “sky of blue” etc.)
18. Mal Evans playing a marching band bass drum

So, these things livened up the song a bit and instead of being “album filler”, Yellow Submarine topped the charts as a single on both sides of the Atlantic. Things were definitely changing as far as the unorthodox recording process of The Beatles. Their unique ideas and abilities, in that regard, blossomed even further for the next album, when they became Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Beatles, 1966

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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This week’s Beatles Rarity Of The Week is special because this is the week that BROW is one year old. The Beatles were always big on birthday celebrations as can be felt through this medley of happy and rare birthday recordings that I have assembled for this week. The medley includes:

1) Whit Monday – from the BBC program From Us To You. It was recorded on May 1, 1964 and aired on May 18, 1964 (just a few days after my first birthday).

2) Birthday – The Beatles’ classic performed by Paul McCartney in Stockholm, Sweden on May 5, 2003.

3) Happy Birthday Michael Love – Recorded with Michael Love (of the Beach Boys) while The Beatles were in India during March 1968.

4) Happy Birthday – This recording comes from October 1971 at John’s 31st birthday party in a Syracuse NY hotel room. Eric Clapton, Ringo & Maureen Starkey, Klaus Voormann, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Keltner, Mal Evans and Neil Aspinal were all present and “o-blue-terated” (to borrow a word used by the Blue Meanies in the Yellow Submarine film).

5) Happy Birthday Saturday Club – The Beatles performed this one on the BBC program Saturday Club in honor of it’s 5th birthday. The recording was made on September 7th, 1963 and aired on October 5th, 1963.

6) Happy Birthday John – From John’s 30th birthday celebration on October 9, 1970. Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Stephen Stills and Klaus Voorman were all present (and once again: O-blue-terated).

The Beatles cutting the cake, late 1964

It’s been “fab” bringing you rare Beatles-related recordings over the past year and a sincere thank you goes out to all the “gear” people out there who have taken an interest.

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

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