| "But In My Heart I Wanted More": Free As A Bird And Real Love redux |
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| "It sounds just like the bloody Beatles!"- Ringo Starr |
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| Ancient times: King Arthur promises his return to England in the hour of her darkest need. 1995: Like the aforementioned King, the Beatles return to the U.K. in her darkest time (Oasis, Blur). Are they embraced? Lauded? Well, not exactly... Since 1970, everybody in the world had been harping about a Beatles reunion. Except, paradoxically, the Beatles themselves. "We're doing just fine with such art as 'McCartney II' and 'Gone Troppo'" they seemed to say. Even the death of "adult" Beatle John Lennon did not stop the cobbers. But what if they did reunite? What magic would flow, the public seemed to say. "You can't re-heat a souflee'" Paul McCharmley chortled. George Parisol was a bit more optimistic, admitting that they would re-unite, if only John was somehow ressurected. Well, the re-heatable souflee' was apparentley invented, for Paul, George and Ringo re-grouped, obstensably to record incedental music for the forthcoming Anthology project. "Ooh, but what if?" ooh'd the musical public. Then IF happened. On November 19. 1995, ABC-TV premiered the video (and hence, the soundtrack) for the first new Beatles song in 25 years (if Klattu isn't counted) called "Free as a Bird". Upon hearing it, I only wanted to pick my jaw up and hear it again. The second time I thought, "Uh oh, should they really have done this?". A lot of folk stopped there. Later, pondering the quality of John's voice in the track, it all clicked with me. "Ya know, this is exactly the kind of weird effect John always went for in Beatles songs. He'd love it!". Not everyone took my road tho'. The British press roundly thrashed the song. "OK, we'll try again", the Fab 3 said. "Whatever it is that'll please you, we'll do it!". And in March of '96, "Real Love" was released as a single. Such furor erupted over BBC1's decision not to play the song that the argument went all the way to Parliament! (and I don't mean George Clinton, either). Had the Beatles blown it? Was it really that bad? I mean, "Supersonic" was hardly a gasser. Now the 'Redux' part... |
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| The first thing that many noted (after Lennon's voice) on "FAAB" was Ringo's drums. Now, I'll be the first to admit, they do sound quite a bit like the drums on Tom Petty records, but this is likely due to producer Jeff Lynne putting too heavy a thumb on the scale. That said, remember that engineer Geoff Emerick was brought in because, in Paul's words, " he knew how to get Ringo's snare sound". No matter tho', Ringos unique style is very evident, with the drums mixed better here (in my opinion) than on "Real Love". Another surprise is how out-of-the-way Paul stays with his bass. One might argue that this is the most 'un-Beatleish' thing about the song, but aha! Listen to the "I Am The Walrus"-like |
| octave jumps in the fade-out. Still yet, Paul could have featured more with no problem, but this was McCartneys own decision. As for our Georgie? There was never such glorious, dirty slide guitar ever allowed before on a Fab single. Harrison gave his all to snarling, lyrical guitar all over the track. Listen to how the slide wonderfully intertwines with his and Pauls harmonies in the solo section. And such emotion from George in his verse! You can't tell me George was not inspired being a Fab again. And to twist the knife a final time, we're given a mysterious fade out. Why is John saying 'made by John Lennon'? He's not, of course. Backwards it's 'turned out nice again', a catchphrase of music hall hero Homer Formby. And indeed, it did turn out very nice. Then came the second second coming... |
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| Although "Real Love" was not released as a single till 1996, everyone had already heard it during the second night of the televised Anthology. Besides, most fans thought they had the gist of it anyhow, since the song was featued in the film "Imagine" as well as the soundtrack album. But the Beatles played another trick here, using a piano based demo sporting some different lyrics from the acoustic guitar version. |
| Johns original demo is really quite a bit different from the final Fab version. It's in a lower key, making it almost drag, as well as having a very different order of verses and choruses. One interesting aspect is that John occasionally slurs or comes in wrong on some words that are crystal clear in the Beatles version. Did Paul double track John on more than the final verse? Unfortunately, there's just something... missing here. Ringo nearly misses a fill, Georges slide is good but uninspired, and Paul is nearly missing on bass. And yet... theres something that pulls at the heart. I maybe have a more personal feeling here than some of you, as I really connect John's lyrics with the then imminent birth of my son, Christian. Still, one wonders if Jeff Lynne had much less to do with this track than "FAAB". So, after "Real Love'' missed out on top 10 status, many wondered what the 3 would do next... |
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| "And in the end..." It was then revealed in March of '96 that PG&R had finished work on another new song, "All For Love", without Lennon. They had already done some work on John's "Now and Then" before backburnering it; and at least a glance was given to "Grow Old With Me'' before they realised they couldn't do much with it. As mentioned, whether these songs were ever really completed remains a |
| mystery. Jeff Lynne liked "Now and Then", but the other Beatles felt, quite rightly, that the song would have taken a lot of work, or a "real hatchet job" in Paul's words, to get the song up to speed. Theres really not much to the verses, even if there is interest in the chords and melody; and the sound quality is worse that even "FAAB", so maybe the band felt they shouldn't ought to push their luck. George had said they wanted 'Beatles NOW, not 1966", and they got it. "Real Love" was then announced as the 'last new Beatles single ever',and that was that. The end. So are these tracks mere novelties? Do they count as Beatles canon? Are they best forgotten? Well, look at it this way: #1, we all whined for them for so long, when they did come back, it was kind of anti-climactic. But #2 (and this is my favorite), listen to the songs again. No other three could replicate those gorgeous harmonies. No other four could infuse a song with so much joy. "Made by John Lennon"? It sounds like the Beatles to me. ADDENDUM: I just wanted to note a couple of things discovered since first writing this article. The CD "Meet The Threetles!" came out earlier this year (2003) and revealed the true version and mix of "Real Lovc". Heard at its originally recorded tempo, its true lovliness is revealed. It just makes sense now, sonically. Georges solos sound right, Ringos drum sound (mentioned in this artivle) sounds like it did on "FAAB". I highly reccomend fans of these songs to hunt down this 'Beatleg' CD. It also features an 'acoustic' mix of "Real Love" that is charmimg. Both these videos are also (finally!) featured on the DVD version of "Anthology". Of course, there still remains the possibility that "Now and Then" (or "I Don't Want to Lose You") COULD eventually see the light of day. Paul and Yoko have both said they'd like to put it out; tho in what state the track is in is unclear. |
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| (C) 2003, The Walrus Was Crow Productions |
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