Paul McCartney

Classic Concert: Paul McCartney and Wings Live at Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne 1975

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Paul McCartney and Wings, ‘Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia’

Recorded live on the 13th November, 1975, from the same tour that gave us, ‘Wings Over America’ (different leg). The material is mainly from the albums, ‘Band On The Run’ and ‘Venus And Mars’, but also giving us a little taste of what was to be released on ‘Wings At The Speed Of Sound’, the tour was also the first time they played Beatles tracks.
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September 26: Abbey Road by The Beatles was released in 1969

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Released 26 September 1969
Recorded 22 February – 20 August 1969,EMI, Olympic and Trident Studios,London
Genre Rock
Length 47:23
Label Apple
Producer George Martin


Abbey Road is the 11th studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It is their last recorded album, although Let It Be was the last album released before the band’s dissolution in 1970. Work on Abbey Road began in April 1969, and the album was released on 26 September 1969 in the United Kingdom, and 1 October 1969 in the United States.

Abbey Road is widely regarded as one of The Beatles’ most tightly constructed albums, although the band was barely operating as a functioning unit at the time. Despite the tensions within the band, Abbey Road was released to near universal acclaim and is considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2012, Abbey Road was voted 14th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. In 2009, readers of the magazine also named Abbey Road the greatest Beatles album.

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The story of how John Lennon’s Beatles demo Child of Nature became Jealous Guy

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

During the Beatles’ stay in Rishikesh in 1968 studying transcendental meditation under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the members of the fab four wrote ca. 30 songs. It was a creative boost.

A lot of them ended up on “the white album”.

Lennon wrote “Julia,” “Dear Prudence,” “Sexy Sadie,” and more. McCartney wrote “Rocky Raccoon,” “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road,” and “Back in the U.S.S.R,” among them. Harrison wrote “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Sour Milk Sea,”and a few others.

The period was so productive that John Lennon and Paul McCartney each wrote a song following the same lecture by the Maharishi.

Paul wrote Mother’s Nature Son (that ended up on “the white album”), John wrote the song Child of Nature ( or I’m just a child of nature that it was called first). John’s song did not end up on any Beatles albums, but was part of the so called Esher demos:

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The story of the unreleased Beatles medley Black Dog Blues / Right String Wrong Yo Yo

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

This is a traditional country blues that dates back to the1920s. It has been recorded a lot of  times under several names, including Daddy Where You Been Gone So Long, Black Dog, Black Dog Blues, Call Me A Dog and Honey Where You Been So Long.

It is however NOT the same song as the Blind Blake song called Black Dog Blues. It also has nothing to do with the Led Zeppelin song.

Beatles recorded this “jam” on the last day of the so called Get Back sessions, 31st of January 1969. I don’t think it should be released as such, but I do think it’s interesting to see (hear) what was floating around in the studio. And to speculate what it resulted in or inspired the Beatles to create on a later stage, together or as solo artists. Also I like to find out why these songs were chosen to run through.

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The Story of the unreleased Now and Then by John Lennon and The Beatles

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“Now and Then” (sometimes referred to as “I Don’t Want to Lose You” or “Miss You”) is an unfinished song by John Lennon, recorded in 1978 as a solo piano/vocal demo. After his death, it was considered as a third possible reunion single by his former band, the Beatles, for their 1995 autobiographical project The Beatles Anthology, following “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”.

Lennon wrote “Now and Then” in the late 1970s. He recorded the unfinished piece of music in a demo form at his home at the Dakota Building, New York City, 1978. The lyrics are typical of the apologetic love songs that Lennon wrote in the latter half of his career. Despite reports, for the most part the verses are nearly complete, though there are still a few lines that Lennon did not flesh out on the demo tape performance


I think it’s already, in this form, a beautiful melancholic ballad. Full of sadness about estranged friends and lost possibilities, and hope.

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The Story of the unreleased Sour Milk Sea by The Beatles

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Sour Milk Sea was written by George Harrison during the Beatles’ stay in Rishikesh, India, and given to Jackie Lomax to help launch Apple Records. The recording is a rarity among non-Beatles songs since it features three members of the band – Harrison, who also produced the track, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, the song also includes musical contributions from Eric Clapton and session pianist Nicky Hopkins, and was the first of many Harrison productions for artists signed to the Beatles’ record label.

“..it’s based on Vishvasara Tantra, from Tantric art. ‘What is here is elsewhere, what is not here is nowhere’. It’s a picture, and the picture is called ‘Sour Milk Sea’ – Kalladadi Samudra in Sanskrit. I used Sour Milk Sea as the idea of – if you’re in the shit, don’t go around moaning about it: do something about it”
– George Harrison (I, me, mine, august 1980)

George Harrison wrote “Sour Milk Sea” to promote Transcendental Meditation, which the Beatles had been studying in Rishikesh with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In the lyrics, Harrison espouses meditation as a remedy for worldly cares. The group recorded a demo of the song while considering material for their 1968 double album, The Beatles (also known as “the White Album”). The Demo is part of the so called Esher recordings (also called the Kinfauns tapes). This version has now been officially released on the 50th anniversary box-set of The White Album.

The Esher-version:


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