CD
POSTERS INCENSE AND STROBE CANDLES – THE WBCN RADIO BROADCAST COMPLETE NEW MASTER EDITION
Radio DJ Introduction / LET IT BE (Incomplete) / WBCN Radio Stations ID – Chess King AD – DJ Chat / LET IT BE / DON’T LET ME DOWN / FOR YOU BLUE / GET BACK / THE WALK / DJ Chat – Arlo Guthrie Concert AD / Hey Jude Tap – Harry Zonk / GOLDEN SLUMBERS – CARRY THAT WEIGHT – THE END – trial mix original version* / DJ Chat / Alice’s Restaurant AD / Get Back Honk / GET BACK / I’VE GOT A FEELING – HELP! (Fragment) / TEDDY BOY / TWO OF US / DIG A PONY / DJ Chat / GIVE PEACE A CHANCE – THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO / Poor Hungry Hillbilly Boy / The Child AD / THE LONG ONE : YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY – SUN KING – MEAN MR.MUSTARD – HER MAJESTY – POLYTHENE PAM – SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW – RS2 – trial mix original version* / I’VE GOT A FEELING / THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD / HERE COMES THE SUN – basic track mix* / Let It Be Dialogue (US Apple Promotion Disc)* / GET BACK (Reprise)* – * > additional tracks (not included original broadcast) (77:29)
DVD
UNRELEASED SESSIONS FILM / PROMO VIDEO – GET BACK (Promo Version) / DON’T LET ME DOWN (Promo Version) / ALL THINGS MUST PASS / YOU WIN AGAIN / ALL THINGS MUST PASS
/ TENNESSEE / HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN / ENOCH POWELL – COMMONWEALTH / JOHN JOHN (JAM) / speech / DON’T LET ME DOWN / piano play / FEEDBACK Jam /
GET BACK – Play Back / speech / FOR YOU BLUE / LET IT BE / speech / FOR YOU BLUE / TWO OF US / SLIDE JAM / I TOLD YOU BEFORE / CAN YOU DIG IT / I TOLD YOU BEFORE / SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME / CAN YOU DIG IT / I WANT YOU (SHE’S SO HEAVY) / WITHOUT A SONG – ALL THINGS MUST PASS / THREE COOL CATS / TWO OF US – HEY GOOD LOOKIN’ /
TAKE THIS HAMMER – LOST JOHN / RUN FOR YOUR LIFE / TWO OF US / FRIENDSHIP / TWO OF US / LET IT BE (Guitar Solo) / LET IT BE (Take 22) / LET IT BE (Take 23) / DON’T LET ME DOWN (Original Promo) / LET IT BE (Instrumental) – DVD Colour / B&W NTSC 16:9 Dolby Digital Stereo (duration 124min.)
How cool would it have been to tune in to this broadcast just at the turn of the seasons, in the last year of the 1960’s and be blown away by what you were hearing – highlights from the Beatles latest LP and an LP that seemed to have been consigned to trash for the time. The good folk of WBCN came up well with a tape of brand new Beatles material and decided, as other stations had, just to spin it out on the air – Writs be damned! The recording was published in the 90’s by both Vigotone (Posters, Incense and Strobe Candles VIGO 109), later issued on Godfather Records as, ‘The Legendary 22-9-1969 ‘Get Back’ Radio Broadcast’ (GR 412) and Yellow Dog (WCBN Get Back Reference Acetate YD 035) both labels taking a different approach – Yellow Dog trimmed away the experience of listening to the radio and added LIB outtakes to the end of the disk while attempting to sweeten the sound to make it a much more CD friendly sound, Vigotone went with the warts and all approach and put out the tape ‘as was’ as they had previously done on vinyl (Purple wax packaged with some incense sticks). To save you from extra googling, h
ere’s the text from the back of the Vigotone set –
According to Beatle folklore, promotional copies of their unreleased 1968 Get Back LP were distributed to radio stations in the United States.
In fact, no promotional copies of the album were issued, although many radio stations aired tapes which were in circulation at the time. Some stations (such as WBKW in Buffalo, and WEBN in Cincinnati) aired an undocumented mix of Get Back (available only on an obscure bootleg entitled “O.P.D.”), which mirrors the “final” track listing of the LP, as documented in The Beatles: Recording Sessions.
A second source for the Get Back material was a reference acetate prepared by Beatles producer Glyn Johns on March 10th 1969. This was also aired by a number of American stations, including WBAI in New York, KXOK AM in St.Louis, and WBCN in Boston (which is our source here).
This tape is significantly different than the “final” mix, which is widely available on various illicit records. It’s noticeably less processed than the other both in terms of editing and the use of reverb. It also includes an extra performance of “Get Back” and a cover of Jimmy McCracklin’s “The Walk”.
What’s notable here, though, is that this is far and away the best sounding tape of this material you’re ever likely to hear. WBCN obtained a reel-to-reel tape of the actual reference acetates. Their broadcast of this was preserved on another high-quality reel, and a digital copy of that tape was used to master this LP. We’ve also elected to leave in some of the actual commercials and announcements from the WBCN DJ. This provides a charming framework, and sadly reminds us how much radio has changed.
This is an artifact of an era that won’t come again. Enjoy it !
Ed Nein X
Goldies have gone with the Vigotone release and, once again, have decided that they weren’t going to polish it too much, just put it out as it was heard in good old stereo (And this is a stereo balance that’s just so pleasing to the ear with various instruments panned correctly in a way that was obviously pushing the limitations of what the Beatles were previously used to). HOWEVER, the label have also gotten ahead of themselves and have made the decision to add in some extra tracks to the end of the tape that weren’t on the original broadcast.
In some cases, these are the recordings that ended up on the official ‘Abbey Road’ deluxe set. Firstly, does it work? Yes, yes it does. Because of the way a lot of these songs are tracked with spaces between, like an LP would be, it makes perfect sense and sounds like it should – there’s very little discernible difference between the sound for it to stick out like a sore knuckle too. Is it right? Depends on your point of view – Historically, no. That’s not how it appeared originally and maybe it shouldn’t have been bastardised in this way, though, I guess if we’re got our sligs and arrows ready, if Apple can do it and will get away with it .. it just SOUNDS correct. If you, like I was prepared for, want to be a stickler, hang around for the Vigotone or Godfather reissue to come your way.
The bonus DVD is a mixed bag – The hardened Beatles collectors amongst our readers might remember that when we were being treated to elements of the film that were due to be put out by Peter Jackson through the monolith presentation of “Get Back” footage, some diehards were suggesting that Apple just put out the full 50-odd hours of footage and they’d make do with sitting down to watch that for a month (It was November in to December so it would have come as a handy excuse not to wrap the familys gifts or just leave the house) – A lot of the footage here might make them think again.
Ripped from the old video cassettes that were traded through Beatle swop meets, through the post and latterly, burned on to DVD-Rs for prosperity before the Lord of The Rings director had thrown his hat in to the pile to suggest that he re-edit the film – A lot of this footage thrilled at the time of unearthing as, well, what else did we have? Now it looks and feels just a little lacklustre. Certainly the presentation is a lot too be desired – heavily unbleached colours, black and whites, wobbly sound or – worse! – no sound at all and yet, there’s the proustian rush of having it all again (My copy of ‘Winter Of Discontent’ still around SOMEWHERE but it’s not like I’ve watched it in the last 15 years or so.)
No real attention paid to synching a lot of the time. That’s not to rubbish everything of course – A lot of the material that did appear is more complete in places than Peter though deserved preserving and there are a few oddities that look as close as, say, having the VHS again. It’s certainly a blast from the past. These clips are bookended by official promo clips – Really, these are the very versions from stripped from YouTube and aren’t in quite as good a quality, though I can’t blame the label for giving us extra for our money if it’s out there -apart from the instrumental of ‘Let It Be’ that’s rendered over a grainy outtakes clip that was promoting the newly remastered ‘Get Back which was just baffling.
At over two hours long, it’s a great deal to have and that’s not to be sniffed at but it can, just like the remastered ‘Get Back’, be a bit of a trudge sometimes too.
This set is a lot of fun – Sometimes it’s not true to “how it was” but then if you want that, there are other places to look. If you’re an avid collector of Beatles and / or ‘Get Back’, it’s a great set, a rousing listen and also a watch. I heartily endorse.
