When They Was Fab: Electric Arguments About The Beatles

The past is gone, but something might be found to take it's place.     However, sometimes, the past is only a few weeks ago.      Ethan Alexanian joins Martin and I to review "Beatles '64" - the good, the bad, and the questionable.      

The definition of a "hit record" in 2025 is fairly difficult to determine, but by the "old fashioned" metrics, Ringo certainly has one with his country album "Look Up."     Lonnie Pena and I go through the album, track-by-track and talk about the songs, guests, and the directions the career of Ringo Starr might head in.     We close the show discussing the (mostly positive) reviews, where even the most negative reviewers can only niggle on the songwriting of T-Bone (when they could have used ALL of THAT unknown NASHVILLE TALENT!), and how Ringo is quite possibly too genial to be successful!

Jon Stone is guided by Voices (or are voices guided by Jon Stone?)     Following on from Beatles '64, Marv and I wanted to talk actual memories of the year with the only co-host who had some.      Lots of Beatles chat, a bit of meandering (Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, Sunday-Sunday-Sunday), and a tiny bit of off-period chat, but that's true to the documentary ;), and in this case, it does all manage to come around to almost-cohesive!

After a news segment (update on Julian, Richard Perry), Marv and I sit down for part two of our look back at some of the happenings in the Beatles world over the last twelve months.   A passel full of Documentaries, the 'Living in the Material World" box, Ringo tour pt. 2, and the latest chapter in the "Got Back" tour.     We also chat about Ringo's plans for 2025 (country album, Nashville shows and Spring/Summer tour), the Concert for Bangladesh and some of the other things we are looking forward to.

After a news segment (Julian, Joey Molland, Ringo and Paul!), Marv and I sit down for part one of our look back at some of the happenings in the Beatles world over the last twelve months.    New music in the form of an EP from Ringo, an anniversary release from Paul for "Band on the Run", a brand new mix for "One Hand Clapping" and more!

Marv and I are joined by Eoghan Lyng and Ken Michaels to discuss the "Living in the Material World" album with an emphasis on the 50th Anniversary remix as found on the "Super Deluxe Edition".     Ken rates the record at the very top, but in general the reviews over the years have been on the positive side, but perhaps less than ecstatic.     

Marv, Lonnie and I sit down with Director David Tedeschi to talk Beatles '64 - the documentary newly available on Disney+ presenting 17 minutes of new Maysles Brothers footage.      The Documentary also features greatly cleaned up footage, complete with new audio stems and remixes from the 1964 Ed Sullivan shows, the Washington Coliseum, and newly restored interviews from "The Beatles Anthology".    All this and chat covering Tedsechi's entire career that goes from "The Shield" to "Vinyl" to "No Direction Home" and plenty more!

Part Two of our discussion with Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair covering the McCartey Legacy, Volume 2.      All four of us (Lonnie, Jon, Ed and Marv) are still in on the conversation, as we pick up the McCartney story in New Orleans, visit John Lennon in the Dakota ("Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!") travel around the globe on a world tour, record on the high seas, record in a castle, complain about Pete Townshend (he wouldn't wear the suit), and end up in Japan...

Part One of our discussion with Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair covering the McCartey Legacy, Volume 2.      All four of us (Lonnie, Jon, Ed and Marv) are in on the conversation, as we proceed from the McGear album to Paul's time in Nashville, with stops along the way at Rembrandt, Printer's Alley and that room Jimmy McCulloch hung out while he was working with Paul in Scotland.

Marv and I talk a bit about the new "Living in the Material World" box, mostly Disc Two - EXTRAS!    Alternate versions of the entire record, remixes of "Miss O'Dell", and a brand new recording of "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)" featuring a George Harrison lead vocal, and guest appearances from Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Rick Danko from The Band, alongside Ringo Starr.

Marv and I sit down to discuss the 1994 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class.     Yoko Ono handed over a tape.     Paul McCartney inducted John Lennon as a solo artist (an honor since given to Paul, George and Ringo) while friends and familiars including Elton John, The Band, the Animals, the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley had their names added to the pantheon now housed in Cleveland.

Lonnie and I review "Midas Man".   We discuss the good (production and set design), the bad (dancing around the relationship the NEMS acts including the Beatles had with Brian's homosexuality), and the downright odd (the height difference between Jonah Lees' "smaller-than- John Lennon" and Jacob-Fortune Lloyd's "taller-than-Brian Epstein".

A "Gab Four" show!    Martin, Lonnie, Jon and I are together chatting on what Jon has named "The Murky Times".     The period between the end of the "Get Back" sessions and McCartney's "Self Interview" in the "McCartney" promotional package!

News, updates and discussion on the last few weeks.    Ringo Starr has a new country album.     A very nice stream (both video AND audio) of Paul McCartney in Buenos Aires.      Answers to some of our questions regarding John and Yoko on Mike Douglas, and a bit of "Lonnie's Scrapbook", mostly a couple of pieces from the seventies (and the Houston Post) covering John and Yoko's trip to Houston in 1971 (while dealing with custody and visitation rights over Kyoko Chan Cox), 1979, and how things were finally settled in the early nineties!

Marv, Lonnie and I finish our review of "Daytime Revolution" (and to a certain extent, more generally John and Yoko's week on Mike Douglas).    Following that, we are joined by Erik Nelson, the man behind "Daytime Revolution", who gives his own thoughts on the the week of shows (filmed over five weeks), the process of editing 7+ hours of television down to less than ninety minutes, locating and filming new interviews with the guests still with us, and choosing representative elements (bumpers, etc) to keep that "1972 television" feel.

Marv and Lonnie join me for our discussion of the first few days of the Lennons on the Mike Douglas show in 1972, particularly as the days are represented in the new documentary "Daytime Revolution."    John, Yoko, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale and Mike Douglas?     How did millions of American housewives react to the counterculture entering their avocado-colored breakfast nooks?     The review concludes next week, which will also feature a discussion with director of the film Erik Nelson.

Lonnie joins as we review the theatrical presentation of "One Hand Clapping", combined with the first ever appearance of the full (?) "Backyard" film.      Paul, Linda, Denny, Geoff and Jimmy.     Also in the studio were two other musicians, an orchestra and a dog. One of the musicians was called Howie Casey and played a saxophone. The other was called Del Newman and he conducted the orchestra. The dog was called Poppy and didn’t really do much at all. The studio at number 3 Abbey Road, London is where The Beatles recorded their first album Please Please Me in 1963 and the studio hasn’t been painted since then. Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer, said it would ruin the acoustics.

Lonnie and I spend this week looking at the Ron Chapman film "Revival 69."      How much did we really know about the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival?     This fil goes into the nitty gritty of September 13, 1969 - and exactly how John Lennon ended up in Canada premiering "Cold Turkey".      

Marv and I finish our look at the Seventies US number ones of John, Paul, George and Ringo.     Casey drops by, as do clips of John, Paul, Elton and Billy Preston.     Look for a bit of a Billy Revival as Jon Batiste portrays him in the forthcoming "SNL 1975" film.        With all these other films, the casting of Beatles incidentals is done for him!

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 were viewed in "real time".     Lots of news, and plenty of archival clips from Casey's coast to coast!